Game Reviews – Page 74 – Obsolete Gamer

F-Zero

Obviously the Grand Prix mode forms the bulk of what F-Zero has to offer but it’s not the full extent. Also available is a Practise mode, which allows you to do just that on seven courses from the various leagues against a chosen opponent, or no opponent at all (making it a time-trial mode, essentially). One problem with many racing games in my experience is the difficulty curve. Happily, it’s nigh-on perfectly pitched here. Sure, this can be a pretty frustrating game on occasion, but it’s also one that rewards perseverance.

Sega Genesis

Luis Zena

Sonic 2

This week we have a true classic of the Sega ages! Sonic 2 defined the way we looked at sonic games. This is probably the best sonic for the Genesis (Sonic 3 comes real close) because of how many memories we had with it. For me, it was the first Genesis game I ever played, in fact, it was the first time I ever saw the Genesis and it was all thanks to the popularity of this franchise. The game is breath taking from beginning to end with some of the best level design in any Sonic game.

Arcade Games

Simon Lethbridge

Outrun

Simon explains how the original Outrun fueled his passion for forever being in love with video games.

Spectrum

Simon Lethbridge

The Caves of Doom

Simon reviews the extremely hard platformer The Caves of Doom for ZX Spectrum.

Spectrum

Simon Lethbridge

Chronos

Simon reviews the lost shooter from ZX Spectrum: Chronos.

Arcade Games

Simon Lethbridge

Chase HQ review

Before the days of polygons, it was pretty rare to find a decent driving game. Even in the arcades they were pretty rare. If you asked any gamers around my age to name their favourite, most would probably say OutRun, and with good reason – it was a revolutionary game that made a huge impact. There was a few other good examples from around that time as well though, and one was Chase HQ.

NES

Luis Zena

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2

This game is a lot of fun either way especially for TMNT fans. You get to fight your old buddies from the cartoon series like Bebop, Baxter, and some polar bear that froze New York City……yeah all of them! The game does get a little boring after killing off over five hundred foot soldiers but the atmosphere and the attempt to make the game feel like the arcade game(which rocks) keeps it interesting.

PlayStation

Simon Lethbridge

Ridge Racer

Overall, Ridge Racer was an enjoyable arcade game, but is unsuitable as a home game without a radical overhaul, which this conversion has not received. There really is very little to return to here, after the first few days – the desire to improve lap times is something that prolongs the lifespan of most driving games, but when that game only has one course, it’s not nearly as attractive a proposition.

Arcade Games

J.A. Laraque

Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon

When you reach the end of a level, you face a boss, which most of the time is not much harder than a normal bad guy but their attacks are much stronger. Sometimes Tuxedo Rose shows up and tosses a rose that causes damage and then leaves, quite the hero.

Super Famicom

Luis Zena

Captain Tsubasa 3

This time around I will suggest any of you to pick up a copy of Captain Tsubasa 3 for the Super Famicom. This game is unique in many ways. The most unique way this game separates from any other game is because it has a Soccer/RPG genre glued to it. How can this work together you say? Well the geniuses at Tecmo did it with high success.

Unreleased Games

J.A. Laraque

Æon Flux

For those that may not know Æon Flux started out as an animated series on MTV. During its run, Æon Flux gaming popularity and in 1996 a video game was announced. The game was loosely based on the television episode titled “The Demiurge.” Æon Flux was to be developed by Cryo Interactive and was to be published by Viacom New Media.

Game Gear

Luis Zena

Defenders of Oasis

This week I have a real treat and probably a game many of you didn’t knew about. Defenders of Oasis is a Dragon Warrior(Quest now) RPG that involves a kingdom going at war. It’s the cliche storyline but wasn’t this what the games were and still are about back then. Who cares about a cliche story when you have such fun gameplay. This game is challenging in many factors but mostly in battle. I got killed five times at the first dungeon before I was able to get past it….yeah it’s a challenge at least for me.

Arcade Games

Simon Lethbridge

Super Sprint

There can’t be too many people that don’t know all about Super Sprint, and there’s not really too much that you can say about it. It was a simple game, even compared to others of the time. It’s based on either Formula One or Indy/Cart racing (probably the latter considering how unpopular F1 is in the US) and can be played by between one and three players simultaneously, whilst a fourth ‘drone’ car is controlled by the computer. This was before the days of linking machines together of course, so this is achieved by presenting each course in its entirety from an overhead perspective.

TurboGrafx-16

Simon Lethbridge

Alien Crush

Graphically, the game is a real treat, especially considering this was an early Engine game. I think it’s safe to say that the Alien movies were something of an inspiration for the visuals this game, though! Still, if you’re going to be influenced by things, it might as well be the best things, right? The sound, too, is decent enough. There’s the choice of two tunes before playing – Lunar Eclipse and the splendidly-named Demons Undulate, and the sound effects are suitably befitting of the game’s style.

NES

Luis Zena

Super Contra

Super C has some of the craziest bosses around including aliens and Helicopters and more aliens well if you played it you’ll see all of them. One of the more interesting things about this game is the so called Konami code that’ll give you 30 lives for those of you who die a lot. I highly suggest playing the game without the code since it’ll give you a challenge to accomplish man I can’t remember how many times I died practicing levels with this game but now I can go through it with ease.

Computer Games

Simon Lethbridge

180 Darts

There are eight humorously-named computer players in all who you’ll face in a random order with the exception of the final opponent, Jammy Jim. Apart from him, none of them have set skill levels and the difficulty will gradually increase regardless of who you’re facing. It’s also possible to play against a human opponent or ‘tune up’ which is basically a ’round the clock’ training mode to get you used to the controls. It’s a good idea too as the disembodied hand you use to throw your darts is constantly moving and can only be moved in the four diagonal directions.

Computer Games

Simon Lethbridge

Thunder Force Series

Although now known as a horizontally-scrolling shooter series, the Thunder Force games didn’t start out like that. Sure, TF2 featured both overhead and side-viewed levels, the overhead ones were dropped for subsequent games. This game, however, features overhead levels exclusively. The looping landscape is free-roaming, and scattered liberally over it are a large number of gun emplacements. Luckily, your ship is equipped with bombs to destroy these with, as well as a standard forward shot for taking out the periodic airbourne enemies.