Category Archives: Videos

Videos

Atari A to Z: Xirius Defect XXL

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In the mood for a good puzzle? Well, fire up the ol’ Atari 8-bit because I’ve got a right cracker for you today.

Xirius Defect XXL is, as the name suggests, an expanded version of Xirius Defect, a modern Atari 8-bit title developed for the ABBUC software competition. This newer version adds a bunch of new levels, tightens up the mechanics (and the explanations thereof) and is an altogether polished package for anyone to enjoy.

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Human Cannonball

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Are you a bad enough dude to fire a small black stick figure out of a cannon into a rough approximation of a water tower?

If so, Human Cannonball for Atari 2600 may be for you. It’s a game probably best described as an early example of a physics puzzle, and it has its roots in the usually competitive “artillery game” genre.

There may not seem like there’s much to this game, but there’s a surprisingly addictive challenge while it maintains your interest. Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: The Power of Fire – Final Fantasy III #7

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We’re making good progress in our journey through Final Fantasy III, though it hasn’t been an easy ride for our heroes!

No sooner did they think they had successfully taken care of Gutsco the thief, they discover that he wasn’t all that “dealt with” after all, and now it’s down to them to recover the dwarves’ priceless treasure. And perhaps discover the power of fire in the process.

Enjoy the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more.

Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Quadron

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So you reckon you’re a Tetris pro, hmm? Well, how would you manage if required to play two overlapping games of Tetris at the same time?

That’s the premise behind public domain release (and game development library showcase) Quadron, a game which takes the classic falling-block action of Tetris into a whole other dimension… and perhaps in not quite the way you might have expected it to!

It’s a mind-frying challenge, to be sure, but there’s definitely fun to be had here if you want to take your puzzling to the next level. Check out the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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short;Play, Videos

short;Play: Neptunia Shooter

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Don’t you love it when an April Fool escalates into something that is actually rather excellent?

That’s what happened with Neptunia Shooter, a game that started as a joke by Idea Factory International — a joke that people responded particularly positively to, resulting in it becoming a real, actual thing.

And it’s good! Paying homage to a variety of classic shooters while maintaining its own unique identity, this is a challenging blastathon for Nep fans and shmup enthusiasts alike. Now howsabout a Switch version, Iffy?

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z: Worms?

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EA, lest we forget, stands for “Electronic Arts”. And back in this company’s early days, they really stood by that name, releasing a variety of fascinating, experimental pieces of work that were notably different from a lot of other games at the time.

One great example from EA’s initial batch of five games is Worms?, a take on a cellular automata model known as Paterson’s Worms. In the game, you control between one and four worms in an attempt to capture as much territory as possible by “programming” the worms’ behaviour.

It’s more of a software toy than a “game” as such, but there’s a lot of fun to be had here — particularly if you enjoy creating interesting patterns through judicious application of mathematics. Find out more in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more.

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Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Home Run

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I live in a country where there have, for most of my life, been fairly strict rules in place saying that advertisers should advertise their own products rather than say how shit their competitors are.

It’s for this reason I always find it rather amusing when I come across titles like Home Run, and Intellivision’s rather mean-spirited attempts to make this game look as crap as possible next to their baseball game.

I mean, okay, Home Run is exceedingly simplistic… but as I’ve discovered a few times previously on this series, that can actually make sports games that I’d otherwise baulk at exploring rather more fun than expected! See the evidence in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more.

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Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: Desch’s Destiny – Final Fantasy III #6

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After last week’s wandering around not being quite sure what we were supposed to be doing next, this week we get back on track and get quite a bit done!

We climb the Tower of Owen, fight Medusa, admire Desch’s selfless commitment to his destiny and take on Gutsco the Thief. But disaster strikes! Will our heroes be able to recover from this? You’ll have to wait until the next episode…

Enjoy the video below and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more.

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Pandora

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Many of the most passionate people in the gaming industry got their start in its early days.

This was most definitely the case for Shahid Ahmad who, for a number of years, was well-known as a champion of indie games on the PlayStation Vita platform. Prior to that, he put out a number of well-regarded games in the 8- and 16-bit home computer eras — with one of those being the subject of today’s video.

Pandora tasks you with exploring and solving the mystery behind a spaceship that has been missing for a very long time. See how I get on with it in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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short;Play, Videos

short;Play: Demon’s Souls

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I’ve held off on exploring the Souls series for quite some time, because I know you need to invest a bit of time and effort to “git gud”, as the kids say.

Well, just recently I started to make that effort. And wouldn’t you know it — I’m having a good time! So much so that, having been enjoying Demon’s Souls on PS3, I went and picked up the whole Dark Souls trilogy for PS4 in a nice box set ready for some indeterminate point in the near future.

In the meantime, enjoy my experiences as a relative newcomer to the Souls series in the video below — and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!