Tag Archives: Disney

One-Shots

Castle of Illusion and the value of simple, short-form games

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For those following the ongoing saga of my gaming schedule, yesterday saw me break said schedule to go to Ikea with my wife.

I bought a new chair to go in my study, which contains all my retro consoles and computers, because I came to the conclusion that the “gamer chair” I picked up a while back (actually, my workplace at the time paid for it as part of working from home arrangements) actually wasn’t all that comfortable. And thus, given my renewed desire to enjoy my retro consoles, I thought it worthwhile to have something comfortable to sit on.

Naturally, having acquired a new chair in which to enjoy retro gaming action, it made sense to enjoy the remainder of the evening sitting in said chair enjoying retro gaming action. And I am happy to confirm that it is indeed very comfortable. So I call that a win. I also had a thoroughly pleasant couple of hours playing Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse on the Mega Drive in my new chair, so I also call that a win.

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Mickey Mouse – The Computer Game

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Who’s the leader of the club that’s made for you and me? Some mouse, I think.

Yes, it’s time for the official computer game adaptation of one of Disney’s most beloved properties: one Michael Mouse. This game was produced by Gremlin Graphics, and was noteworthy at the time for being a licensed game that eschewed the usual platform game formula. (Granted, Mickey Mouse and friends had several very good platform games throughout the 8- and 16-bit eras, but it was cool to see something a bit different!)

This is a pretty cool game with a couple of aspects that are inordinately frustrating… most notable of which is the fact that actually completing a level is next to impossible thanks to a monstrously difficult boss encounter! Oh well. At least it looks nice.

Find a full archive of all the Atari A to Z videos on the official website.

Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Winnie the Pooh in the Hundred Acre Wood

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Nostalgia is a funny old thing. Since starting this project, I’ve found myself really appreciating some of the games that, for one reason or another, had an impact on me growing up. Not necessarily the best games, but those which have some sort of meaning to me.

One of my favourite examples to date is today’s game: Winnie the Pooh in the Hundred Acre Wood, an early title from Sierra during their partnership with Disney. As well as being a game I loved playing with my family as a child and possibly one of the most charming, kid-friendly adventures of all time, it’s an interesting game from a historical perspective, too, since it’s one of the earliest titles Al Lowe put out.

Al Lowe, if you’re unfamiliar with your Sierra history, is the man who would later give us the Leisure Suit Larry series, a mainstay of Sierra’s portfolio alongside King’s Quest, Space Quest and Police Quest for many years… but a little different in subject matter to what we have here!

Find a full archive of all the Atari A to Z videos on the official site.

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…

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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!

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