Game 11: Blast-Off (PC)
This is a game I read about in the excellent, now sadly defunct, 'Unknown Pleasures' feature on Rock, Paper, Shotgun. This was a regular column that highlighted a handful of the dozens of games that get released onto Steam, without fanfare, every day.
Blast-Off is a properly hard-core in the true sense of the word. It's a game that demands the players complete focus, and obviously, on this occasion I was unable to give it.
The gameplay involves launching your orb up the screen and using the explosions of destroyed enemies as propulsion to keep travelling ever upwards - rather like a kind of reverse Downwell.
Unlike so many mobile games that share similar mechanics, this is incredibly difficult, and, as I've already said, not something I was able to give the attention required. So I quite quickly moved on.
Game 12: Shantae and the Seven Sirens (PC)
I have a physical copy of this (for the Switch) on the way from Limited Run Games, but my impatience got the better of me so I'm playing it on PC while I wait.
It's the usual Shantae fare embellished with animated cutscenes. I'll echo a lot of the professional reviews and say that I think the formula is in need of a shake-up.
There's a more immediate mechanic for magic than in previous games but other than that it all feels a little too familiar. Luckily, I'm a massive fan of series for the gloriously upbeat characterisations and presentation, and that's all present and correct, it's just the deja vu is undeniable.
On the whole, though, there's absolutely nothing really 'wrong' with Shantae and Seven Sirens. As evidence to this, it was the second game, after Grow Up, that I really got stuck into during the marathon; it's just that the series as a whole isn't really moving forward. I hope that Mr Bozon and the team really take their time with the next instalment and make Shantae 6 a game that brings something really special to the table.
Shantae & the Seven Sirens - It's really good, but the series is starting to feel a bit 'samey'
I'd been in contact with my nephews while playing this and Daniel, the eldest, suggested I play a PS1 classic such as Tomb Raider or Resident Evil - and that reminded me that I'd recently acquired a US copy of Dino Crisis.
Game 13: Dino Crisis (PS1)
From start to finish this was an unmitigated disaster.
The first problem was with my heath-robinson phone/camera/screen-sharing set up. Something somewhere was introducing massive lag into the stream. It took me a long time to figure out that the screen-sharing app needed a cache clear (of all things) so with that done, eventually, I started the game.
I'd played just enough to appreciate the improved presentation of this game over Resident Evil, with the panning cameras and more polished CGI standing out in particular, when I opened a door and nothing happened. In the silence, I could hear the disc spinning in an unusual way in my multi-region console.
I was able to continue for a little while by opening and closing the disc door when this happened but, in the end, I had to give up.
Thankfully, my might Dave was in the chat and had been scouring our Steam libraries for something to play. We eventually settled on Speed Runners.
Game 14: Speedrunners (PC)
This was another in a huge number of games that I'd read about, loved the sound of, and never got around to playing.
I'd been having on and off microphone problems alongside all the other issues, but at this point (about half ten at night) I just didn't care about the stream any more. I was quite proud that at some point I'd hit the dizzy heights of 17 viewers but, as I settled in for a long night, I was more concerned with keeping myself entertained, rather than any stray Twitch viewer who might stumble across my broadcast. As it happens, I think everything worked fine anyway.
Despite having a story mode (that I've yet to try) Speed Runners is first and foremost a multiplayer game.
You and up to three others race around 2 dimensional, side on levels until the player at the back hits the edge of the screen (Micro Machines style).
The style is simple but given class by invoking Saul Bass, who, as you might remember from Ape Out, is a favourite of mine. The music fits this cartoon-capers style too; brassy and bombastic tunes accompany the chaos brilliantly.
The character designs fit the bill too, with zany superhero types and bizarre offerings that, while only offering cosmetic differences, still add fun and interest to proceedings.
The levels have varying degrees of complexity but all are arranged in a loop; you run across the bottom, climb a vertical section, and then run back across the top before jumping, sliding, running, swinging back down to the lower level again.
Movement is embellished with a classic double jump and the excellent implementation of a grapple line. The grapple in particular adds a whole new level of mobility across the stages when you get to grips with its idiosyncrasies.
Throw in some simple but effective weapons and it's the recipe for 5 hours of non stop fun until 3am in the morning. It's a brilliant game that really boils down the competitive multiplayer experience to its core components and focuses on them over everything else.
The broad strokes of colour and geometric designs may be a means to an end, but they are brought to screen with a genuine style that shines even at the breakneck speeds that can be reached when players start to learn the routes, tricks, and timings required to get the best from the game.
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