Category Archives: Videos

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z: Vanguard

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This one was a new one on me until quite recently. I present to you Vanguard, an unusual shoot ’em up originally released by SNK in the arcades.

Vanguard is unusual because it’s not just being one thing, unlike a lot of shoot ’em ups at the time. Instead, it shifts between horizontal, vertical and diagonal scrolling at various points in the levels, and even has some rudimentary boss fights. It’s also quite unusual to find a game of this era with a proper “continue” system, particularly in its home incarnations.

While its visuals may not look like much these days, it’s a great shoot ’em up that is still worth revisiting today — and there’s an Atari 2600 version too, for those who prefer to console it up.

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Split/Second, Sunday Driving, Videos

Sunday Driving: Splashdown – Split/Second #2

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Having cleared the pre-season training and the first episode of exciting new TV show Split/Second, it’s now onto the next installment.

This episode, Splashdown, introduces the Air Strike event type. This involves helicopters firing missiles at you while you’re just minding your own business trying to drive in circles around an abandoned city.

It’s as intense and ridiculous as it sounds. Hit the jump to see how things went…

Continue reading Sunday Driving: Splashdown – Split/Second #2 →

Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Asteroids Deluxe

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How do you make Asteroids better? Add the word “Deluxe” to its name, obviously.

Okay, 1980’s Asteroids Deluxe adds a bit more to the basic Asteroids formula than that, but it’s still very much recognisable. The whole experience is a bit smoother than the original, the presentation is sharper and cleaner (and blue!) and there are some additional enemies to deal with. But you’re still rotating and firing and dodging. And dying. Dying a lot.

I’m still no good at Asteroids, Deluxe or otherwise, but I actually enjoy it a lot more today than I did back when it was “current”. It’s a game that’s held up extremely well, and it’s a pleasure to revisit both of its most famous incarnations in the Atari Flashback Classics collection for Switch.

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Project Zero, Videos

New Game Plus: Where’s My Head – Project Zero #10

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I think we’re over the worst in our Project Zero Nightmare mode playthrough!

Today’s episode concerns the third “night” of the game, and unfolds surprisingly smoothly. There are only two “vanishing” ghosts to find in this chapter… but there are some tough fights ahead, so we’re certainly not in any sort of safe space just yet.

Hit the jump to see how things went…

Continue reading New Game Plus: Where’s My Head – Project Zero #10 →

Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Pac-Mania

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There have been numerous attempts to improve on Pac-Man over the years by both Namco and third parties.

One such attempt by the former was Pac-Mania, a game which transplanted Pac-Man’s simple single-screen maze-based gameplay into a scrolling, oblique-perspective affair with jumping, power-ups and visually themed worlds.

Opinions vary as to whether it’s actually an improvement on Pac-Man or not, but one thing is certain: Grandslam’s port to Atari ST was very solid indeed, and one of the few Atari ST games I actually remember buying for myself back when I was a kid!

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Videos, Warriors Wednesday

Warriors Wednesday: Robert Miles Presents – Warriors Orochi #21

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Today on Warriors Wednesday, we jump into the fourth main story chapter of the Wu campaign in Warriors Orochi.

Today sees Sun Ce finally getting the opportunity to rescue his dear old dad from Snake-Eyes himself… and unfolds partially in the interior of a castle rather than on the usual outdoor battlefields.

It also features a soundtrack that sounds more than a little bit like ’90s trance DJ Robert Miles’ most well-known work Children. (Also did you know Robert Miles died in 2017? I didn’t. Rest in peace, sir.) Hit the jump to watch… and listen!

Continue reading Warriors Wednesday: Robert Miles Presents – Warriors Orochi #21 →

Videos

Atari A to Z: Up Up and Away

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Some days it just feels like everything is out to get you, when all you want to do is go for a nice peaceful ride in your beautiful hot air balloon.

Of course, in Ringblack Software’s Up Up and Away, everything literally is out to get you, whether it’s punks on the ground throwing rocks at you, birds who have apparently been eating nothing but razor blades for the last week or even Mother Nature herself.

This “avoid ’em up” goes well beyond “NES Hard” into a whole new territory of difficulty. If you even clear the “training” level you’re doing well… but I suspect you’ll be plummeting towards the ground long before that happens.

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Split/Second, Sunday Driving, Videos

Sunday Driving: Rigged to Blow – Split/Second #1

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I fancied a bit of a change from OutRun this week, so I present to you one of my all-time favourite arcade racers: Split/Second, developed by Black Rock and published by Disney.

Split/Second is a tragic tale, really; it was a spectacularly good game that came out at a bad time, had no marketing whatsoever and consequently flopped so badly that Black Rock had to close down and Disney stopped doing anything interesting like unusual cinematic arcade racers ever again. Booo.

Still, at least Split/Second still exists, and we can still enjoy it for ourselves, so let’s do just that!

Continue reading Sunday Driving: Rigged to Blow – Split/Second #1 →

Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Asteroids

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Asteroids is a longstanding classic with good reason: it made a solid impact on the early video games industry, and it has influenced a great many subsequent games over the years ever since.

There’s a beautiful simplicity to the sparse black and white vector graphics of the original arcade game, and it’s still enjoyable and playable today… so long as you can get your head around the whole “turn and thrust” movement system, which is something I’ve always struggled a bit with over the years!

Still, if you want to play early era space games, it’s a mechanic you better get used to pretty quick… and there’s no better place to practice than the original never-ending field of space rocks.

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Project Zero, Videos

New Game Plus: Eat Paralysey Camera Death – Project Zero #9

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No more fleeing children!

That doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods in our Nightmare mode playthrough of the first Project Zero on PlayStation 2, however. There are still plenty of hostile ghosts just waiting to cover us in ectoplasm and have their wicked incorporeal way with us. Perhaps not necessarily in that order.

Hit the jump to see how Miku’s continuing adventures proceeded today…

Continue reading New Game Plus: Eat Paralysey Camera Death – Project Zero #9 →