Tag Archives: gameplay

Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Gilbert – Escape from Drill

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The ’90s were an era of “attitude”, not just in video games, but in popular culture at large — and especially in children’s TV.

One largely forgotten attempt at an edgy mascot was Gilbert, the snot-encrusted alien who first appeared as part of the Saturday morning show Get Fresh, and subsequently found success in his own right.

Naturally, he also had his own video game that allowed you to take control of the dribbling snot monster himself as he attempted to track down the parts of his spaceship that his jealous countrymen had hidden from him. Clearly, the only solution is to play lots of arcade games!

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

Videos, Warriors Wednesday

Warriors Wednesday: Shu on Wu – Warriors Orochi #38

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In this week’s Warriors Orochi mission, the various narratives cross paths as the Shu forces take on the Wu warriors who have been brought to heel by Orochi.

This conflict, which unfolded off-screen during the Wu campaign, sees the Shu people continuing their quest to track down the missing Liu Bei… only to find a bit of a surprise waiting for them at the conclusion of their mission.

It seems Zhao Yun is not to be reunited with his precious lord just yet… but there’s certainly never a dull moment in the lives of these brave fighters.

Videos

Atari A to Z: Laser Hawk

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Horizontally scrolling shooters are perhaps most commonly associated with the 16-bit Japanese consoles, but there were some great ones on offer on earlier home computers.

One such example was Laser Hawk from Red Rat Software, developed by Kiwi programmer Andrew Bradfield with graphics by Harvey Kong Tin. This was an enjoyable, speedy, helicopter-based horizontal scroller with a cheeky line in fanboy-baiting — the structures you had to destroy at the end of each level all bore an uncanny resemblance to rival, non-Atari computer manufacturers’ logos!

It’s a game that I greatly enjoyed revisiting, and was very pleasantly surprised to discover still plays rather well today. Give it a shot!

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

Atelier Arland Trilogy, New Game Plus, Videos

New Game Plus: Closing Out Year 2 – Atelier Rorona DX #14

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It’s time to wrap up the second year of Rorona’s adventures with the final preparations for the next Annual Festival!

Of course, New Game Plus Rorona got all the boring stuff done absolutely ages ago, vastly ahead of schedule as usual, so instead we take some time to continue exploring the Dark Woods and see what we can find.

There are plenty of mysteries still surrounding our current party members Tantris and Lionela, too… so perhaps we’ll get a little closer to some answers today!

Videos

Atari ST A to Z: F-15 Strike Eagle II

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When I was a kid, I really, REALLY got into military flight sims, particularly those from MicroProse.

One of my favourites was F-15 Strike Eagle II, a particularly accessible take on the 16-bit era jet fighter sim, and a game that I used to like to dress up to play. I’d wear a green bomber jacket, a backpack (to simulate both a parachute and a seat belt), a balaclava (to simulate a helmet, in the absence of anything like a cycle helmet or the like), sunglasses (goggles) and an “oxygen mask” crafted from a bit of paper, some duct tape and an old vacuum cleaner’s hose.

My parents and brother referred to it as “The Elephant”. I thought it was badass. Whether or not it actually enhanced my enjoyment of F-15 Strike Eagle II is probably debatable, but I do know that I still enjoy this game today!

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

Videos, Warriors Wednesday

Warriors Wednesday: Ganbare So Ganbare – Warriors Orochi #37

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The Shu campaign in Warriors Orochi continues today with another side mission, this time featuring everyone’s favourite thief, Goemon.

Goemon has been doing what he does best: nicking stuff. So it’s up to the crack all-girl team of Zhurong, Yueying and Ginchiyo Tachibana to save the day… or at least all the stolen stuff, anyway.

And perhaps we can even recruit Goemon to our cause if we try hard enough… but you know what they say about setting a thief to catch a thief — I feel like our band of lovely ladies might be just a little too honest for their own good under these circumstances!

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Major Havoc

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Major Havoc is one of the more unusual games from Atari’s back catalogue of arcade titles, and it’s interesting from a historical perspective for being one of the first games Mark “PlayStation” Cerny was involved with.

Making use of vector graphics to provide seamless transitions between three very disparate types of gameplay, Major Havoc challenges you to blast enemies in space, land accurately on an enemy space station, navigate a perilous route to a reactor and then get the hell out of there before the whole thing blows.

It’s frantic, high-energy, super-difficult and a whole lot of fun. Take a look!

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

Atelier Arland Trilogy, New Game Plus, Videos

New Game Plus: Deep Water and Dark Forests – Atelier Rorona DX #13

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It’s time to check in on Rorona again! This time around, she has her hands not-so-full with preparing for the second Annual Festival of the game.

As always, the head start that the New Game Plus bonuses afforded us means we can get the assignment out of the way very quickly, which leaves plenty of time for a bit of exploration.

For today’s episode, we check out the underwater Lost City as well as the Dark Woods. And my cat “helps”.

and the Rainbow Paintbrush, Delving Into..., Kirby

Delving Into Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush – #1

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One of the Nintendo series that I have never really explored over the years is Kirby. This isn’t for any reason other than the fact I simply haven’t really got around to it.

I picked up Wii U title Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush (known as Kirby and the Rainbow Curse elsewhere, I believe) a little while back, and just recently I thought I’d put it through its paces just to see what was going on.

So far I’m having a blast. I understand it’s not like some other Kirby games… but I also understand that there isn’t really a set “Kirby formula” in the way that some other Nintendo franchises have a distinctive way of doing things. So as such it’s an interesting one to start with… and an interesting one to take on its own merits.

Continue reading Delving Into Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush – #1 →

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters

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Whew, now there’s a mouthful, eh? As you may have guessed from the title, this one- or two-player arcade romp — originally developed by Atari Games — channels the very best of 1950s B-movies into a fun and satisfying isometric blaster.

Sadly, the home ports lack the arcade version’s “Hall Effect” joystick, which allowed movement and aiming in sixteen directions instead of the usual eight — a precursor to our modern analogue sticks — but the ST version seen here still plays well with a nice joystick!

Just remember to turn off Sticky Keys in Windows if you’re emulating to, say, record a video… you need that Shift key quite a bit in this game! Oh well, you live and learn, huh…?

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