Category Archives: Videos

Auto Modellista, Sunday Driving, Videos

Sunday Driving: Feel Nothing Without Vibration – Auto Modellista #1

1 Comment

Last week, I actually wanted to cover Capcom’s Auto Modellista, but instead ended up taking a look at Jaleco’s questionable (but actually quite entertaining) World Super Police.

The reason for this was that the copy of Auto Modellista I picked up a while back… uh, it didn’t work. I’d put it in the PS2, the drive would make chirpy zappy noises and then nothing would happen. There didn’t appear to be anything wrong with the disc itself and the PS2 was working fine, it was just a dead copy for whatever reason.

I still wanted to take a look at it because it’s a game I’ve been curious to explore for a long time. So I tracked down another copy and… well, hit the jump for the video to see how I got on.

Continue reading Sunday Driving: Feel Nothing Without Vibration – Auto Modellista #1 →

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Double Dragon II – The Revenge

1 Comment

Today’s Atari ST title is a good example of the general standard of arcade conversions during the 16-bit home computer era.

Technos Japan’s Double Dragon II is a classic of the beat ’em up genre with good reason, and the Atari ST port wasn’t awful — compare it to footage of the arcade original and you’ll see that graphically, at least, it’s surprisingly close.

Like many arcade conversions of the era, though, it was missing a few features… like the background music from the original game. There are many possible reasons this might have been the case — most likely it was either the fact that the ST’s sound chip was never really up to the job of doing sound effects and music simultaneously, or that many of these Western-developed home computer ports of the era were put together from scratch rather than being able to make use of the arcade machine’s original code and audio-visual assets.

Either way, it’s far from an amazing game from the Atari ST, but it’s a good time if you’re looking for some brawler action, or just to experience what an arcade conversion of the era was like.

Follow Atari A to Z on its own dedicated site here!

Videos

Atari A to Z: Into the Eagle’s Nest

2 Comments

Let’s shoot some Nazis!

Pandora’s Into the Eagle’s Nest, first released in 1987, is an early example of the “stealth” subgenre of action adventure, with elements of survival horror, such as resource management. Interestingly, its Atari 8-bit port followed a year after its initial release — which included 16-bit platforms such as the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga — when Atari decided it would make an excellent game for their last-ditch effort at pushing the 8-bit range, the hybrid computer-console XE Games System or XEGS.

It’s an interesting game with some cool twists on the usual top-down action-adventure formula… and hordes of Nazis just waiting for you to mow them down. Just make sure you aim properly.

Follow Atari A to Z on its own dedicated site here!

Sunday Driving, Videos, World Super Police

Sunday Driving: Flagrant Disregard for Civilian Safety – World Super Police

1 Comment

Although there’s still a bit of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed to go, we technically “beat” the game (or saw the staff roll, at least) last week.

With that in mind, I thought I’d change up the format of Sunday Driving a little for greater variety: instead of focusing on one game exclusively, I’m going to cycle around a few games a bit, try out some new things and also act a bit on viewer feedback if there is any.

With that in mind, today I grab something random (but arcade racery) from my shelves and fire it up for the first time. If you want to see more of this particular game, let me know in the comments here or on YouTube! Hit the jump to see the vid.

Continue reading Sunday Driving: Flagrant Disregard for Civilian Safety – World Super Police →

Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Chase

1 Comment

Deep in the seventh galaxy of the Nebulus system, a lone warrior has been selected from thousands to perform an unenviable task: to save the beautiful Princess Chardonnay from the clutches of the evil Disgusmatrons.

Thus begins the rather overblown story to Mastertronic’s Chase, an Atari ST title shamelessly attempting to ride the coat-tails of the popular Star Wars arcade game with its transparent vector graphics and arcade-style thrills.

As with most titles from the era, the story was completely and utterly irrelevant… but that didn’t mean that the game experience itself was lacking. On the contrary, despite the game’s simplicity and its rather bare-bones presentation, Chase is an oddly addictive little affair I still enjoy booting up for the occasional blast-and-dodge session even today!

Follow Atari A to Z on its own dedicated site here!

Videos, Warriors Wednesday

Warriors Wednesday: Cavalry’s ‘Ere, Luv – Warriors Orochi #9

1 Comment

Yes, it’s that time again, and today it’s Lu Xun’s time to shine, having been left somewhat on the sidelines for the last couple of missions.

Today the Samurai Warriors and friends take on the Battle of Nagashino and attempt to obtain some cavalry support while assaulting an Orochi stronghold.

Unfortunately said cavalry doesn’t appear to understand the concept of “strength in numbers”…

Continue reading Warriors Wednesday: Cavalry’s ‘Ere, Luv – Warriors Orochi #9 →

Videos

Atari A to Z: Henri

1 Comment

Today’s Atari 8-Bit game shows us that even back in the 1980s, programmers weren’t above churning out something just to make a quick buck.

Enter Henri by one Adam Billyard, a developer who would later go on to produce great things for The English Software Company — specifically the technically stunning (but exceedingly irritating) racer Elektra Glide, and the well-animated one-on-one fighting game Chop Suey.

At the time he put out Henri, however, he was just trying to scrape together enough money for his air fare to get home. The result was a competent, if relatively unremarkable Mr. Do! clone. I hope you like the sound of Bach…

Follow Atari A to Z on its own dedicated site here!

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, Sunday Driving, Videos

Sunday Driving: Finale? – Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed #7

3 Comments

We’ve been making good headway through Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed… but today we clear the game!

Or do we…? This is a Sega game in the classic console mould, after all, so it only stands to reason that seeing the end credits isn’t necessarily the end of the experience…

Regardless, today we see the “ending” of the game… and from there we’ll have to decide what to do next!

Continue reading Sunday Driving: Finale? – Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed #7 →

Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Beyond the Ice Palace

2 Comments

I never played this game back in the day, but it was one of those titles you saw all over the place in the early days of the ST.

Throughout the ST’s lifespan, it played host to a variety of different bundle packages, many of which were extremely generous in terms of the number of games and applications they included. Beyond the Ice Palace was a regular inclusion in such bundles, and as such became reasonably well-known.

Loosely inspired by action platformers such as Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins, Beyond the Ice Palace sees your green-booted, gender-ambiguous hero(ine?) battling their way through hordes of enemies and admiring how the ST’s lack of sound channels meant that a single sound effect could mess up an entire musical composition.

Follow Atari A to Z on its own dedicated site here!

Videos, Warriors Wednesday

Warriors Wednesday: Most Definitely Sorcery Bullshit – Warriors Orochi #8

1 Comment

It’s once again time for the Samurai Warriors and friends to continue their adventure through the otherworldly realm of Orochi.

The difficulty level is starting to ramp up noticeably now — today’s mission takes a few attempts to get just right, but we get there in the end!

We’re well past the halfway point of the Samurai Warriors scenario now… where will things end up next?

Continue reading Warriors Wednesday: Most Definitely Sorcery Bullshit – Warriors Orochi #8 →