Tag Archives: gameplay

Videos, Warriors Wednesday

Warriors Wednesday: Overly Ambitious – Warriors Orochi #47

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There I was, thinking that things were going a bit too well and things felt a bit “easy” as I started the Wei campaign on Normal difficulty. “Why not try Hard?” I thought.

This, it turns out, was a bit of a mistake. It appears that at the start of this campaign I’m in a bit of a limbo, where having acquired over a hundred levels’ worth of passive abilities in the previous storylines, my characters are now a bit too tough to have any real challenges placed before them on Normal, but not quite tough enough to stand up to the challenges Hard presents them with.

Oh well. At least now we know, eh?

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Sprint 2

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Back before makers of arcade games figured out how to do a vaguely convincing 3D effect, racing games tended to be strictly top-down affairs.

Sprint 2, developed by Kee Games (actually Atari in disguise so as to get around contractual obligations) was one of several examples from this early era. Pitting either one player against a computer-controlled car or two friends against one another over twelve different tracks, it helped define the early days of a genre that has grown and changed significantly over the ages.

The oldies can still be goodies, though, and I still have a lot of time for Sprint 2, as simplistic as it is!

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

Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: Those Blasted Pirates – Final Fantasy I #2

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After overcoming their initial challenge to defeat Garland and rescue Princess Sarah, the four Warriors of Light set out to begin their quest properly… and promptly get lost.

A key part of the early Final Fantasy games — especially this first one — is figuring out exactly what the hell you’re expected to do next. The series’ iconic linear main narratives wouldn’t become more pronounced until the SNES era, and this first Final Fantasy in particular is a prime example of the initial influences drawn from Western role-playing games.

Still, your progress is gated off in a few key ways on the road to adventure — beginning with the necessity to acquire a ship. And who better to get one of those from than a band of rowdy pirates?

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, Delving Into...

Delving Into Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse – #2

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One thing that I’ve been gradually learning over the course of the early Castlevania games that I’ve played so far is that it doesn’t always pay to be greedy.

Indeed, sometimes it’s in your best interests to forego potential rewards in favour of just proceeding onwards more safely. After all, you can’t make good use of those rewards if you’re dead, can you?

Castlevania III plays with this idea quite a lot, and it presents a few takes on it over the course of its early stages.

Continue reading Delving Into Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse – #2 →

Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Oids

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It’s always pleasant to revisit something you once bounced off pretty hard, only for you to discover that the passage of time has made you much more receptive to what it has to offer.

Such is the case for me and FTL’s Oids, a game which was relatively low-key in its native America, but which became something of a cult hit when Mirrorsoft brought it across the pond to the UK and Europe.

I did not get on with this game when I was a kid. Now, however, I definitely understand its enduring appeal…

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

Videos, Warriors Wednesday

Warriors Wednesday: Do You Know The Wei? – Warriors Orochi #46

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No, I’m not even a little bit sorry for that title. Because it’s finally time for the final campaign of Warriors Orochi!

Yes, after successfully clearing the Samurai, Wu and Shu campaigns, it’s finally time to tackle the Wei’s challenges — beginning with Cao Pi apparently in the service of the snake god himself. But, as anyone who has ever played a Warriors game will attest, anyone with “Cao” in their name is usually up to something… I wonder what?

Time to hack and slash our way to the truth!

The Zelda Diaries

The Zelda Diaries: Part 3 – I Wonder What’s Over There

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“I wonder what’s over there” has been an aspect of game design that creators of open world games have been grappling with for some time now.

Ideally, when playing an open world game, the player should be able to find a definitive answer to “I wonder what’s over there” simply by… well, going there. “You see those mountains in the distance? You can actually go there” and all that.

Not every open world game gets this quite right, but Breath of the Wild presents an excellent example of how to do it very well indeed.

Continue reading The Zelda Diaries: Part 3 – I Wonder What’s Over There →

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Super Breakout

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At this point, most people know that Super Breakout is a bona fide classic of the early days of gaming. But no-one really talks about how monstrously difficult its original arcade incarnation is.

Well, I’m here to change all that today! Super Breakout for the arcade is really, really hard, primarily because the paddle you control is such a stingy, pathetic little size that it’s very difficult to actually return the ball once… let alone enough times to clear the damn screen.

Doesn’t stop me coming back for more, though… particularly with three different game modes to take on in the vain hope I might be good at one of them!

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

Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy Marathon, Videos

Final Fantasy Marathon: Four Warriors of Light – Final Fantasy I #1

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It’s time! For the longest while, I’ve been thinking I should do a Final Fantasy marathon: that is to say, playing through all the mainline Final Fantasies one after another.

With my growing confidence in video and the ease of capture using my current gaming setup, what better time than the present to get started with this?

My long-term goal is to play through all the numbered mainline Final Fantasy games — including X-2, XIII-2, Lightning Returns and the two MMOs Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV. But before that, we need to go all the way back to the beginning… or at least one of many interpretations of the beginning, anyway. Let’s begin what promises to be a very long adventure.

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Never Mind

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How’s your spatial awareness? Reckon you could put together a picture puzzle from an isometric perspective? Easy, right?

Okay, now you have to do so by controlling a little dude who can walk on walls. Oh, and the pictures are sometimes (often) moving. And malevolent chess pieces want nothing more than to mess up all your hard work for no other reason than “because they feel like it”.

Doesn’t sound quite so easy now, does it? Oh well. Never Mind.

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