Tag Archives: video games

Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Maze Invaders

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This one’s a cool addition to the Atari Flashback Classics collection: a “lost” game from the Atari archives.

Maze Invaders sadly never saw an official release either as an arcade machine or a home port, languishing in the archives until recently. The International Centre for the History of Electronic Games managed to acquire a whole bunch of old Atari goodies back in 2014, and part of that heap of fun times was Maze Invaders.

It’s kind of surprising this never got an official release for one reason or another; it’s a really interesting, unusual and highly addictive game with a ton of personality to it!

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

Cover Games, Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog: Everything Old is New Again

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cropped-sonicheader-9220777This article is one chapter of a multi-part Cover Game feature!
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If one thing has become apparent over the course of exploring the complete Sonic the Hedgehog series, it’s that no-one seems to be able to agree on how to handle it “best”.

We have Sonic Team’s attempts to move the franchise forward with various gameplay styles, new narrative components and a somewhat coherent, consistent narrative that ties in with other forms of media. We have Sonic Lost World’s much-maligned but utterly joyful jaunt into Super Mario-esque territory. And we have probably the most disappointingly “mainstream” opinion: that “Sonic hasn’t been good since the Mega Drive”.

Among other things, the perhaps vain hope of shutting this latter group up is the reason Sonic Mania exists.

Continue reading Sonic the Hedgehog: Everything Old is New Again →

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!

Cover Games, Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog: Take 2

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cropped-sonicheader-9220777This article is one chapter of a multi-part Cover Game feature!
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Remember back when we explored Sonic 2006 and I suggested that game was an attempt to provide a “big-budget movie” type of Sonic experience? It’s hard not to see Sonic Forces as Sonic Team having another crack at that.

All the major components of “big-budget movie adaptation of popular series” are here: recognisable but somewhat different setting; established characters in unconventional situations; brand-new, original characters designed for newcomers in the audience to attach themselves to; and significantly higher stakes than seen elsewhere in the series as a whole.

If you’re a “once and done” kind of player, you can also probably add “done and dusted in two hours” to that list, too, but rest assured, if you’re the sort of person who likes collectibles, secret levels and objectives, there’s significantly more than that here. Let’s take a closer look.

Continue reading Sonic the Hedgehog: Take 2 →

Videos

Atari A to Z: Keystone Kapers

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Today it’s time for one of my favourite early Activision titles, and a great game from designer Garry Kitchen. Kitchen, if you’re unfamiliar, was responsible for the Atari 2600 version of Nintendo’s Donkey Kong, and also the wonderful Pressure Cooker, the spiritual precursor to popular indie title Overcooked.

Keystone Kapers kasts you in the role of Keystone Kelly, a kopper who is keen to katch his kriminal nemesis, Hooligan Harry. Harry, it seems, likes hanging out in department stores, and thus begins an increasingly ridiculous series of chase scenes up to the rooftop of the store, with Kelly being forced to dodge all manner of mundane yet perilous obstacles that put his mission at risk.

Loosely inspired by the old Keystone Kops movies, Keystone Kapers is simple to learn but tough to master — and a near-perfect example of what early ’80s Activision was all about.

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

Announcements, Community, One-Shots

Happy Birthday to Me (38) and MoeGamer (5)!

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April 29, for those unaware, is both my birthday and the anniversary of MoeGamer’s first post. This year I am thirty- (counts on fingers) eight? And MoeGamer is five.

Those who have been following me for a while will know that the last five years — and beyond — have been full of plenty of ups and downs, for sure, but I’m extremely happy with what MoeGamer has grown into over the course of that time, and what I, personally, get out of putting so much time and effort into this site and my other creative projects.

I covered the story of how MoeGamer came about in detail back on the site’s third birthday, so do please go and read that retrospective if you’d like to know a bit of background. Today I’d instead like to ponder things that have happened in the last year or so. This last year in particular has been a very exciting one, as I started experimenting with lots of new ways of doing things. And I have no intention of slowing down or stopping any time soon!

Continue reading Happy Birthday to Me (38) and MoeGamer (5)! →

Podcast

The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 21 – Profound Carnage

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It’s another MoeGamer Podcast, featuring my good self and the equally excellent Mr Chris Caskie of MrGilderPixels.

The MoeGamer Podcast is available in several places. You can subscribe to my channel on YouTube to stay up to date with both the video versions of the podcast and my weekly videos (including the Atari A to Z retro gaming series); you can follow on Soundcloud for the audio-only version of the podcast; you can subscribe via RSS to get the audio-only version of the podcast in your favourite podcast app; or you can subscribe via iTunes. Please do at least one of these if you can; it really helps us out!

Or you can hit the jump to watch or listen to today’s episode right here on MoeGamer.

Continue reading The MoeGamer Podcast: Episode 21 – Profound Carnage →

Announcements, Community

Around the Network

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Good even… err, morning. Gosh, it got late all of a sudden.

I’ve been editing a podcast today! Hurrah! Please look forward to it (hopefully) tomorrow, as you’ll be able to enjoy both Chris and me waxing lyrical about the joy of gory games. We had some rather in-depth thoughts, as it turned out!

Anyway, in the meantime, there’s a chance you might have missed something awesome in the last week, so let’s have a look back over everything that’s been going on!

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