Gaming the Pandemic - Day 18: Burnout: Revenge (PS2)

I'm playing one title from my 629 game backlog every day that the UK is in lockdown. 

Previous days games can be found here, but today we have...

Burnout: Revenge on Playstation 2

I find myself wondering what to write about this game that could possibly be interesting, worthwhile, or new.

It was in my backlog because I hadn't played it - but then, after the VERY turn of the century music had played, and the VERY turn of the century intro movie had finished, and I actually started playing, it was... well... it's Burnout, isn't it?

Sandwiched between the breakout third entry 'Takedown' and the landmark 'Paradise' (Both of which I've played a lot), Revenge is much more an iteration on the former than a step towards the latter.

There are small tweaks to gameplay in a lot of areas and the titular Revenge mechanic is the largest of them - and it is a good one. Essentially you get extra points for taking out the car that last took you out. A different coloured icon over the vehicle is about as much as this amounts to, but it really works. I found myself desperate to put my rival in a wall and genuinely disappointed if I hadn't achieved this before the race was over - even if I had won.

As a polishing of the original Burnout formula it's a hard game to fault. It comes with EA's trademark sheen and there's an impressive sense of speed for a 6th generation game - with the sound effects of particularly of quality when it comes the all round atmosphere of careening through city streets. 

I'm in the minority that really can't be arsed with 'Crash mode' so for me nothing before Burnout: Paradise even comes close to that game's quality. But Revenge is the 'next best' in the franchise and if you hadn't played any of these games from the pre-HD era then this would probably be the best place to start.

Although, with that said, I'm quite partial to Dominator on the PSP. Let's face it, these are not deep games, it's a pure arcade blast from start to finish and that structure suits handheld gaming really well.

Burnout: Revenge - You've probably played it already, but if not, you should

Gaming the Pandemic - Day 17: The Reap (PC)

I'm playing one title from my 629 game backlog every day that the UK is in lockdown. 

Previous days games can be found here, but today we have...

The Reap on PC

Look at that, a PC game in a box, cute. 

Finland's Housemarque were formed in 1993 when two smaller development teams (Bloodhouse and Terrormarque) merged. They are best known for the Stardust series and, although I'd played the PS3 version of that and various games from them over the years, they didn't really get on my radar until they worked with Eugene Jarvis on the phenomenal Nex Machina in 2017. It was at this point when I found and bought The Reap, a PC exclusive shooter originally released in 1997.

This game marks the greatest lengths I've gone to so far to play something from my backlog, becasue it just doesn't work on Windows 10.
I had to use VirtualBox and an online guide to set up a Windows XP virtual machine - nothing too taxing, but something I've never done before and certainly a lot more involved than jamming a cartridge into a Master System and turning on the telly.

Firing the game up I was immediately reminded of the classic shooter Zaxxon; The Reap is an isometrically scrolling shooter, however, in a since deleted 20 year retrospective of the game, Housemarque said they were more directly inspired by a Neo Geo arcade shooter called Viewpoint. There's an interesting graphical progression across these three games. 
Zaxxon has that classic, clean 8-bit style sprite-work, Viewpoint updates this to beautifully detailed 16-bit environments and enemies, and The Reap offers what is described as '3D modelled worlds and rendered graphics' that give an astonishing sense of depth and detail embellished by a liberal helping of, then, state of the art effects.

It's was in the detail that I first thought that there might be a kind of black humor to The Reap: As you destroy enemy vehicles and buildings tiny human figures run from the rubble and are flung from wreckage. Some of these are flagged as 'Scientist' or 'Government Spy', others seem to have given names; 'Sanna' or 'Ennis'... Intrigued, I checked the manual and discovered that you play the role of a mercenary, clearing planet Earth of human life before they can discover that their whole existence is that of universal lab rats. No one plays a shmup for the plot, but that is a pretty cool twist on the usual genre tropes.

These types of shooter usually fall into one of two sub-categories; defensive or offensive, and I prefer offensive. I take more pleasure in working out what should be destroyed next than I do in making my through bullet-hell patterns. Luckily for me The Reap definitely falls into the 'Offensive' category. It's a very tough game and the enemies are not shy with the missiles, but the focus is very much on destroying them before they destroy you.

The destroying itself is undertaking with a range five different upgradeable weapons, of which two can be loaded at any one time. So no lack of variety there, and the havoc wreaked is beautifully rendered with all the effects power DirectX 5 can muster and accompanied by decent if unspectacular sounds and an age-revealing 'metal' soundtrack.

I saw three levels in the time I played, there are ten in all, so whether I ever see the end is debatable (especially if the difficulty keeps ramping up at the current rate) but it's there and ready to go on my Virtual XP the next time the mood takes me and I definitely want to see more of this fun and incredible looking game. 

The Reap - Definitely worth the effort to play

Gaming the Pandemic - Day 16: Catherine (PS3)

I'm playing one randomly selected title from my 630 game backlog for every day that the UK is in lockdown. Todays game is...

Catherine on PS3

I don't really know why, but for a long time I felt almost obligated to buy Catherine. Generally speaking my taste in games falls outside the mainstream, and definitely away from the strong western influences that dominated so much of the games zeitgeist ten or so years ago. I think Catherine's ostensible existence outside these themes had a lot to do with the strange magnetism it held for me. It's very apparent oddness somehow appealed beyond the fact that the gameplay appeared to be an amalgamation of two genres I don't really care for: Sliding block puzzles and visual novels.

The visual novel aspect sees the player character Vincent torn between two women. The block puzzle elements are a nightmarish dreamscape that Vincent finds himself in whenever he sleeps. The presentation of both is beautiful, with first rate animated cut-scenes segwaying into the cell shaded graphics extremely well. Voice acting is also of the highest calibre, and the music, too, is high quality throughout. I found myself a little surprised at the level of polish on display, apparently I was subconsciously expecting a more 'indie' quality experience.

Unfortunately I found the game to fluctate wildly between being completely dull when it was too easy and infuriatingly frustrating when it was too hard - in the three levels I played it never found the sweet spot of enjoyable challenge.
To exacerbate this there are (well documented) control issues. The most prevalent is that, at times, the required directional control is unclear - in itself this wasn't something that bothered me too much. However, a short time into the game an enemy arrives who's primary mode of attack is to reverse the input controls. It was at this point that I stopped playing. 

Were the other part of the game, the visual novel/ role playing element, more compelling I may have been tempted to try again. But, having constantly read over the last ten years that Catherine appears to present maturity in the sleazy way, but actually delivers maturity in the more literal, 'grown-up' way, I was perturbed to find myself somewhat uneasy with it's themes - or rather, how they are conveyed. 

Without knowing how the story plays out I hesitate to throw words like 'misogynistic' around, but neither version of C/K-atherine is particularly sympathetic. One is a cold, marriage-obsessed control freak, and the other an emotionless temptress. In this game-world women are to be either feared or lusted after.
And I'm not really cool with that. 

There's always the argument that we are interacting with characters with these thoughts and worldviews, that this misogyny isn't what the game is conveying, just the thoughts and actions of 'realistic' characters with the flaws and misjudgements thereof. 
But even if this were true it doesn't make me want to spend any more time interacting with these characters or playing this game.

Catherine - Disappointingly, not for me.

Gaming the Pandemic - Day 15: Rebelstar (ZX Spectrum)

I'm playing one randomly selected title from my 631 game backlog for every day that the UK is in lockdown. Todays game is...

Rebelstar on ZX Spectrum

"This is no ordinary game! There is no fancy story or scenario, just you against the computer. It is a fight to the death!"

So states the instruction manual for Rebelstar, 2nd of a four game series that started with Rebelstar Raiders in 1984 and ended with Rebelstar: Tactical command on the Game Boy Advance in 2005. There were 2 years between each of the first three games and 17 between the third and fourth. They were all created by the master of turn based strategy; Julian Gollop, who to this day is still polishing the genre to a fine sheen with the XCom series.

Rebelstar was the first time the series had a single player mode, although 'mode' isn't quite accurate as it and the two player game are entirely separate programs stored on different sides of the cassette. As an aside to this, there's another great line on the inlay where it bluntly states that: 'Because of memory restrictions, at the end of the game you will have to RE-LOAD before playing again'. Simpler times.

I started my journey with the series with Rebelstar II when it appeared on a cover tape back in about 1990. I played it a lot but I'm pretty sure I never completed it. Loading up Rebelstar the first thing that hits me is how similar it is - the Aliens 'inspired' characters and designs are absent, but the familar yellow, blue, and green palette is here and it plays very similarly indeed.

It's recognisable turn-based strategy stuff. Movement points, action points, stamina, morale... they're all here and presented for each individual unit and enemy. It even has a version of 'overwatch' - although here it is called 'Opportunity Fire'. In fact there is so much here that is completely familiar that it's difficult not to speculate that this game may have been be the genesis of the whole genre. I'm no games historian, I have no idea if that's true, but it's very rare to pick up a game 34 years after it was released and be immediately au fait (control interface aside) with most of it's ideas and structure.

Obviously there are frustrations that come with the age of the software too. There is no map, for example, making a search of the surprisingly large play area a laborious task. There are also a few details of which you have to rely on the manual to convey - not unusual for games of this vintage, but definitely worthy of note for anyone thinking of giving it a look today. 

This is a series for which I have a lot of nostalgia and a develop for whom I have a massive amount of respect, it isn't easy to put those things aside when appraising the game - but there is no doubt that I loved going back and seeing the early days of this genre again. It's a historically fascinating game that's still a lot of fun to play.

Rebelstar - Essential for turn based stategy fans and good fun for everyone else

Gaming the Pandemic - Day 14: Mr Shifty (PC)

The latest randomly selected title, played daily from my 631 game backlog for every day that the UK is in 'lock-down' is...

Mr Shifty on PC

There's a thing that happens a lot in games media, the internet probably has a 'clever' name for it but to me it's just plain old 'judging a game for what it isn't' - as opposed, obviously, to what it is. I can only imagine, given the game's unfairly harsh reception, that it fell victim to this thinking.

Mr Shifty is a game viewed from the top down perspective in which you take on swarms of enemies with your fists and whatever else comes to hand.

Mr Shifty is not Hotline Miami. Maybe it wouldn't have found a publisher without Hotline Miami, maybe it was inspired by the success of Hotline Miami... But it isn't Hotline Miami. Nor is it trying to be.

Without a single second given to backstory or plot, Mr Shifty throw's you straight into the deep-end of an unrelenting onslaught. a basic plot does unfold as the game goes on but it completely generic and is delivered in a very knowing way. Sometimes this kind of thing can backfire, I've seen games make fourth-wall breaking jokes about fetch quests while sending the played on unending fetch quests; joking about it doesn't make it less annoying. Fortunately for Mr Shifty the jokes are usually quite funny and are online ever sidelines to it's frenetic action.

Levels are swarming with various enemy types, some have guns, some fight with their fists. As the game goes on other will arrive wield sword, grenade launchers, and flame throwers. There are subtle differences in the way these can be most effectively attacked but never in a way that slows down the breakneck pace. Even the light puzzle elements, moving laser traps of increasing complexity, are tackled at full pelt.

Shifty's main mechanic is the use of something I've seen often referred to as 'blink'; the ability to teleport or warp short distances. There is a small dot that hovers a fixed distance from your avatar, it shows exactly where you will shift to when you hit the appropriate button. It's a simple thing but one which unpins the core mechanic beautifully.

There's a very silly moment in the very silly film Transporter 2, where The Stath essentially dodges bullets as he runs down a corridor - Mr Shifty is basically that: The Video Game.

It's one of those games where the levels are short, death is frequent, and the restarts are instant - my record so far is 83 deaths in one level.

Pretty much my only criticism of this is that the game could really using some kind of rating system - like those you see in many Japanese games - to give the player an idea if their level complete time and number of deaths is good, bad, or average.

The game is short, three or four hours, I know this because I'm on the final boss level now, I paused only to write this when the game crashed (thankfully, all progress is safe). Whether that length bothers you is a matter of personal taste. I tend to prefer a short game that is designed to be replayed other one that is padded out with a sub-hollywood story, but you may feel differently.

Mr Shifty - Definitely recommended for action fans

Gaming the Pandemic - Day 13: Jungle Trouble (ZX Spectrum)

The latest in my attack on (at least) one title from my 631 game backlog every day that the UK is in 'lock-down'.

I'm not planning on completing them, just playing them for long enough to know: A) What they're all about and B) If they're good enough to continue playing ASAP

Back to the vintage days again as the randomiser chose...

Jungle Trouble on the ZX Spectrum

Mike Richardson is a name that means the same to me that Shigeru Miyamoto might mean to you.

As half of Durrell Software (interestingly wrongly credited as 'Elite' on the covertape I'm playing from) Mr Richardson was responsible for Turbo Esprit. A game I first played in 1987 and one I have loved ever since. It's easily in my top five games of all time. It turns out, 3 years before Turbo Esprit Mr Richardson was working with even less ram (16k) on a little game called Jungle Trouble - and it is delightful.

The entirety of Jungle Trouble is just a single screen divided into 4 'events' over 3 levels. First you have to hopscotch over the crocodile invested river, then you have to fell four trees, then rope swing over a pit of fire. Finally. You have to jump a chasm that opens in the ground just when you think you're 'Home'. There are also three monkeys who interfere with whatever you're up to.

This is it. This is the whole game. There are entirely two sound effects. Walking and dying, and there are 6 colours - including black and white. As video games go it doesn't get more basic than this, and that, usually, is a really bad sign.

I'm not really a fan of nostalgia. I'm not immune to it and I understand it's a powerful thing but too often I see it's rosy hue creep into peoples opinions - often without them noticing. Very old games are an area where I've seen this the most, so let me break this to everyone gently. The vast, VAST, majority of games from the early eighties and before are absolute rubbish. The majority of the Atari VCS library: Awful. 16k Spectrum games: Unplayable.

And yet there are always exceptions.

Jungle Trouble has it's idiosyncrasies... Without reading the instructions you would never find the axe required to chop down the trees. It takes trial and error just to realise that you have to release 'run' before you can jump. The keys are 5=Left, 6=Down, 7=Up, & 8=right - these were the cursor keys for the Spectrum and I've never seen them used before... Nevertheless, it kind of works. Still.

To get any longevity from the game you'd have to be obsessed with beating your high score on each of the speed settings (Charmingly, it literally just increases the speed that everything in game runs out) and I'm not pretending anyone is going to spend time doing that in 2020. But as an example of a properly vintage game that is actually playable - and enjoyable - nearly 40 years after it was made, Jungle Trouble is a lovely thing.

Jungle Trouble (ZX Spectrum) - Don't listen to me, play it yourself

Previously...

Day One was the excellent Luminees II on PSP

Day Two was the fun-but-probably-better-in-co-op Sanctum 2 on PC

Day Three was the pretty ropey but maybe worth a second chance on PS2 Dead to Rights 2 on Xbox

Day Four was the utterly stunning Pyre on PC

Day Five was the horribly aged but undeniably addictive skate it on the Wii

Day Six was the endearing and surprisingly competent Enduro Racer for the Sega Master System

Day Seven was the fun for a (very) quick burst Space Pirate Trainer in VR

Day Eight was the disappointingly awkward Draconus on ZX Spectrum

Day Nine was the idiosyncratic Ring of Red on PS2

Day Ten I lost half my text while trying to explain how Assassin's Creed Syndicate on PC was a pleasant, is simplistic, surprise.


Day Eleven was the utterly broken Perfect Dark on GBC


Day Twelve was the fun Rescue Raiders knock-off Glory Days on the GBA

Gaming the Pandemic - Day 12: Glory Days (aka Super Army War) (GBA)

Latest in my attack on (at least) one title from my 632 game backlog every day that the UK is in 'lock-down'.

I'm not planning on completing them, just playing them for long enough to know: A) What they're all about and B) If they're good enough to continue playing ASAP

A step forward from the GBC yesterday to the GBA today as the randomiser has chosen...

Glory Days on the Game Boy Advance

Way back in 1984 there was a game on the Apple II called Rescue Raiders. A forerunner of Choplifter, it featured similar gameplay to that later game combined with light Real Time Strategy elements. 3 years later, initially on the same machine, came the slightly better known Wings of Fury. Similar to Rescue Raiders with it's side on view but with a more attack focused outlook and the helicopter swapped for a WWII, carrier launched, Hellcat fighter.

For some reason, 20 years after Rescue Raiders first saw the light of day, a french developer called Neko (who spent most of their days phoning in cash-grab licensed games for whomsoever hired them) decided to take these two classics, smoosh them together, and remake them into a game called Glory Days which was then rebranded to the mind numbingly generic 'Super Army War' in the US.

Being a wholesale rip-off of two good games means that Glory Days is itself a good game. You fly either the chopper or the Hellcat over the battlefield as the good-guys advance from the right and the bad-guys from the left, attacking with the weapons specific to either vehicle.

During their advance your troops capture bunkers, these generate extra cash, which in turn generates extra troops. So in destroying the enemy you help the ground troops advance to the next bunker and eventually to the enemy base for victory. Pretty standard RTS stuff, just simplified into a side on view.

The depictions of the troops, tanks, choppers, and fighters are all small but quite detailed. The style is pseudo-realistic and while it looks nice, to my tastes the pixels of Wings of Fury on the Amiga - or even the GBC - were more attractive. Glory Days is by no means a bad looking game, it just lacks a little personality. Additionally, on the original GBA or even the front-lit SP, Glory days can be quite hard to make out when there is a lot going on. It looks great on the Micro though and if that's not an option the DS is a great alternative.

I'm not generally a fan of the RTS genre but so much is taken care of automatically in Glory Days that I found it didn't bother me at all. In the earliest levels strategy is as light as choosing which targets to hit, more depth follows later in the game but it never takes away from the feeling that your actions in the air are having the most direct impact on the tide of the battle.

Basically, this is game that steals directly from too highly addictive classics and essentially lets you play them both at the same time. It may leave a bad taste in the mouth for some, but on pure entertainment value it's a hard game to fault.

Glory Days (GBA) - Perfect pocket plagiarism. 'Wings of Rescue Raiders' if you will.

Previously...

Day One was the excellent Luminees II on PSP

Day Two was the fun-but-probably-better-in-co-op Sanctum 2 on PC

Day Three was the pretty ropey but maybe worth a second chance on PS2 Dead to Rights 2 on Xbox

Day Four was the utterly stunning Pyre on PC

Day Five was the horribly aged but undeniably addictive skate it on the Wii

Day Six was the endearing and surprisingly competent Enduro Racer for the Sega Master System

Day Seven was the fun for a (very) quick burst Space Pirate Trainer in VR

Day Eight was the disappointingly awkward Draconus on ZX Spectrum

Day Nine was the idiosyncratic Ring of Red on PS2

Day Ten I lost half my text while trying to explain how Assassin's Creed Syndicate on PC was a pleasant, is simplistic, surprise.

Day Eleven was the utterly broken Perfect Dark on GBC