tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14712208218978067932024-03-14T12:16:57.925+00:00Amiga Longplay GamesCelebrating the awesomeness of Amiga Games, Amiga Longplay Videos and the Commodore Amiga computer with reviews, videos, images, a quiz and plenty more to walk you down nostalgia lane...The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-34326492871733732212013-07-02T11:50:00.003+01:002013-07-02T12:26:48.130+01:00Amiga Games - Sensible Soccer - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<b><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/amiga-games-sensible-soccer-classic.html">Sensible Soccer Amiga</a></b><br />
The <b>football game</b> that defined the 1990s (apologies to Kick-Off), 1992's offering from Sensible Software is a cult classic that remains playable to this day.<br />
<br />
Sensible Soccer ended up being incredibly popular and spawned a multitude of sequels and enhancement packs.<br />
<br />
The game soon became known in the gaming circles as 'Sensi', and even those of us that were not huge fans of football ended up enjoying the playing experience.<br />
<br />
So let's take a look back at the original version of Sensible Soccer which ended up founding a miniature dynasty in art of simulating the beautiful game.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmAIBOKd8J9McnPCJJJXwtAglGcB5TNNJM7GzYyL95p_-rca3zL2cfS1jnhunHcz0UJ3BYi6U13AYlO9OnE3cNcqD2HuSZwmVzBrNEVyi6YcHUuYfeWz8Yry-2pJ2-gYi_rwDBxGMvOfA/s320/sensible_soccer_01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmAIBOKd8J9McnPCJJJXwtAglGcB5TNNJM7GzYyL95p_-rca3zL2cfS1jnhunHcz0UJ3BYi6U13AYlO9OnE3cNcqD2HuSZwmVzBrNEVyi6YcHUuYfeWz8Yry-2pJ2-gYi_rwDBxGMvOfA/s320/sensible_soccer_01.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sensible Soccer on the Commodore Amiga</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Jon Hare and Chris Yates wanted to create a football game (I refuse to call it 'Soccer') that would appeal to both ardent fans and the more casual gamer alike.<br />
<br />
With a vast number of international teams to pick from (all of which featured accurate player names at the time) you could customise your favourite team by swapping substitutes in and out prior to playing a match.<br />
<br />
Each team was also designated with star players and it was wise to keep them in your starting line-up. You could also view the first and second kits for your team and alter these to suit yourself too!<br />
<br />
Being able to 'pick' your team like this was a lot of fun and added depth to the game before a ball was kicked.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnEoHQXYUTrmRgCxUh0O0m4GbGk7oNGpQ-YVeUcQG8yhX2tJpkQ8EILT3oFhFMmeTevBAxLCm5wjoSrCo6UW97NNRjAa7pDS14TVYZ1bg-7rE5jwDq6ScnVerra37NjZLSYz0gqcHgtoY/s320/sensible_soccer_02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnEoHQXYUTrmRgCxUh0O0m4GbGk7oNGpQ-YVeUcQG8yhX2tJpkQ8EILT3oFhFMmeTevBAxLCm5wjoSrCo6UW97NNRjAa7pDS14TVYZ1bg-7rE5jwDq6ScnVerra37NjZLSYz0gqcHgtoY/s320/sensible_soccer_02.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sensible Soccer on the Amiga allowed you to select your players and kit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
What was good about the game was the control you could exert over the football.<br />
<br />
Kick Off 2 had allowed for the gamer to exert swerve and power when kicking the ball, and Sensi managed to make this type of ball control fast and fluid.<br />
<br />
The hardest part for me was learning how to run with the ball and keep it under control; but once this was mastered you were able to go on mazy runs, weaving through three of four opposition players before threading the ball through to your forward player to finish it off nicely.<br />
<br />
Passing (both short and long), shooting and tackling were all intuitive and easy enough to pick up. The fire-button was used to accomplish everything and it worked superbly.<br />
<br />
The real trick to winning was applying the right amount of power and swerve to your shots to out-fox the goal keeper.<br />
<br />
It must be said that the computer controlled goalkeepers were sometimes capable of herculean and almost superhuman reflexes in keeping your shots out of the old onion bag. For me this was the only downside to the game as you unleashed a shot directly into the top corner only for the keeper to somehow keep it out.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPS-0FINunCq-fr14D_40qV8VqO6-M6YsZkOhZ1fr0cplSfpsrJg5AUEozx9ZWeUlej02WId1cGaP_vTmGWXKZXk7wfY-sk77pmtdtFgB3RBmCiih9qNRkSWDNPDo_oPzcpGhIWUogTEE/s320/sensible_soccer_03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPS-0FINunCq-fr14D_40qV8VqO6-M6YsZkOhZ1fr0cplSfpsrJg5AUEozx9ZWeUlej02WId1cGaP_vTmGWXKZXk7wfY-sk77pmtdtFgB3RBmCiih9qNRkSWDNPDo_oPzcpGhIWUogTEE/s320/sensible_soccer_03.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sensible Soccer Amiga pre-match screen</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The players were tiny and the action was viewed from overhead.<br />
<br />
The miniature team members did not distract from the game-play at all; in fact they were all quite highly detailled and you could easily make out different hair styles and skin tone.<br />
<br />
Plenty of character and charm oozed from the little men as they dashed around the screen at breakneck speed.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuZJrzYKGqJTIaddmlH1vRwRPethWJ4wpgO1Z5h1-nxvEKrXc4mlvcyXtY2kzw6e-9xMOpAj5YBbSja7s9Gp0ENk91S-yfKm8OBru9Hf-6pQJSkcBDaGiU1ZXs5Px0vb6x_dEvCumO_nc/s320/sensible_soccer_05.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuZJrzYKGqJTIaddmlH1vRwRPethWJ4wpgO1Z5h1-nxvEKrXc4mlvcyXtY2kzw6e-9xMOpAj5YBbSja7s9Gp0ENk91S-yfKm8OBru9Hf-6pQJSkcBDaGiU1ZXs5Px0vb6x_dEvCumO_nc/s320/sensible_soccer_05.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sensible Soccer on the Commodore Amiga</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Playing against the computer was great fun, but playing against a friend was what really brought this game to life.<br />
<br />
If both players were proficient it was easy to rack up double scores, especially if you were playing a longer match.<br />
<br />
All in all everything about this game was brilliant. The intro-music, the in-game sound effects (the thud of the ball being booted around the pitch, the crowd chants and the cheering as a goal went in), the control you could exert on the ball, the slide tackling....<br />
<br />
Sensible Soccer is a classic game and for me is one of the greatest football games ever.<br />
<br />
We recommend getting hold of the real Amiga hardware - but if not then download an Amiga emulator and download <b>Sensible Soccer</b>. Alternatively you could try and <b>play</b> it <b>online</b>.<br />
<br />
Please see our other <b>Amiga Game</b> reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys<br />
<br />
GENRE: <b>Arcade Game </b>/ Sports<br />
RELEASE DATE: 1992<br />
RELEASED BY: Sensible Software / Ocean Software<br />
DEVELOPER(S): Jon Hare, Chris Chapman, Chris Yates, Dave Korn<br />
PRICE: £25.99<br />
<br />
<b>Classic Arcade Action</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/kL2T4Yn2Tq8" width="420"></iframe>
<br />
<b>Classic Games</b>, <b>Arcade Games</b> and <b>Amiga Games</b>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-43376885383801908222012-07-03T08:48:00.000+01:002012-07-03T08:48:49.159+01:00Amiga Games - Defender - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<b><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/amiga-games-defender-classic-commodore.html">Defender Amiga</a></b><br />
Way back in 1980 Williams Electronics gave us the <b>classic arcade game</b> Defender.<br />
<br />
This game turned out to be a huge hit and is rightly regarded as a <b>classic game</b> in the shoot em up genre.<br />
<br />
It ended up being ported to pretty much every home gaming console and computer of the 1980s, with official conversions as well as plenty of unofficial ports churned out on a huge number of platforms.<br />
<br />
So, when this version was released for the <b>Commodore Amiga</b> in 1994 it was already regarded as a retro game back then!<br />
<br />
As shareware games go this is a pretty good effort and any fans of the <b>arcade original</b> will have enjoyed this version a lot...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJCQ531KDjZfKy-EGJ8RqRoUN349mJjrbjoo9orXTvbl6KUG93GUp41NYyuo3yYKZdSA95Bzm99GOKMkv3vGMGnIrON0Y3QgIHYx4Nbtiw3QZWOHrypVWI-rGR9h6YFgjO6xorHrV0zNg/s1600/defender_01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJCQ531KDjZfKy-EGJ8RqRoUN349mJjrbjoo9orXTvbl6KUG93GUp41NYyuo3yYKZdSA95Bzm99GOKMkv3vGMGnIrON0Y3QgIHYx4Nbtiw3QZWOHrypVWI-rGR9h6YFgjO6xorHrV0zNg/s1600/defender_01.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An all time classic</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Defender was a two dimensional side-view scrolling shooter set on the surface of an unnamed alien world.
<br />
<br />
The player controlled a space ship as it navigated the terrain, flying either to the left or right. The ship could also be moved up or down as well as moving in either direction.<br />
<br />
The object of the game was to destroy alien invaders whilst also protecting astronauts on the surface from abduction.<br />
<br />
Humans that were successfully abducted by the invaders (by being taken to the 'top' of the game screen) returned as mutants, which rendered them incredibly hostile. It was fast flying and rapid shooting all the way to outsmart these fast moving mutant attackers.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvReNs9B3-XfpX1thIDx3vUA4dPSicoTp-jRQEUvCW-c0feb492IXXxUcpje0cyR1o0yypD2Jor5x8CKlb2jkaBulH5Bau2TczMoCPDCUGxZOQ3EvXW1cgmqHMzw1iXiXtluWCArPjhrc/s1600/defender_03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvReNs9B3-XfpX1thIDx3vUA4dPSicoTp-jRQEUvCW-c0feb492IXXxUcpje0cyR1o0yypD2Jor5x8CKlb2jkaBulH5Bau2TczMoCPDCUGxZOQ3EvXW1cgmqHMzw1iXiXtluWCArPjhrc/s1600/defender_03.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Astronauts are being abducted</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Defeating all of the aliens in the current level allowed the player to progress to the next level (naturally).<br />
<br />
Failure to protect the astronauts caused the planet to explode and for the level to become populated with mutants. Taking out all of these mutants was difficult, but if you did the planet was magically restored!
<br />
<br />
Players were allotted three lives with extra lives awarded (in <b>classic arcade</b> style) by reaching certain scoring benchmarks. A life was lost if the ship flew into an enemy or was shot.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiX04RQpCeYGE9RGLHdWc9ESjyxBKLyC3a3qjcwSEi2wz-ZP-YVPYoxGJZm0N3lDTGcHMus4X2Kfn_zEIZeyXJHwiLesrGtHgZSEDbxUDGbDw007VtJEfTiflumMnBtCxB29xw8o7AjeA/s1600/defender_05.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiX04RQpCeYGE9RGLHdWc9ESjyxBKLyC3a3qjcwSEi2wz-ZP-YVPYoxGJZm0N3lDTGcHMus4X2Kfn_zEIZeyXJHwiLesrGtHgZSEDbxUDGbDw007VtJEfTiflumMnBtCxB29xw8o7AjeA/s1600/defender_05.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fancy flying defeats level 2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After all of your lives were gone the game ended, and your defending days were over.<br />
<br />
We recommend getting hold of the real Amiga hardware - but if not then download an Amiga emulator and download Defender. Alternatively you could try and <b>play</b> it <b>online</b>.<br />
<br />
Please see our other <b>Amiga Game</b> reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys<br />
<br />
GENRE: <b>Arcade Game</b><br />
RELEASE DATE: 1994<br />
RELEASED BY: Ratsoft<br />
DEVELOPER(S): Giles F McArdell<br />
PRICE: Shareware
<br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Classic Arcade Action</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5vks3TvjtM0" width="420"></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>Classic Games</b>, <b>Arcade Games</b> and <b>Amiga Games</b>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-81516901063508060492012-04-25T10:27:00.000+01:002012-04-25T10:27:30.915+01:00Amiga Games - Alien 3 - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<b><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/amiga-games-alien-3-classic-commodore.html">Alien 3 Amiga</a></b><br />
It was always nice to see an <b>arcade game </b>on your favourite machine which was a movie tie in, that wasn't actually crap.<br />
<br />
Released in 1992 by Virgin Interactive (is it really twenty years ago already?) this was actually a decent run 'n gun game that appealed to fans of the movies and <b>arcade gamers</b> alike.<br />
<br />
In true <b>classic gaming</b> tradition this game was very 'loosly' tied in to the movie, and also took elements from the first two films to help mould the gameplay.<br />
<br />
Hence the inclusion of grenades, pulse rifles, flame-throwers and the motion tracker.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwTMz-DfSQjlVvT_CvY4_YrU39yLZfmtkO4TdhjqntLLVFcYvPsMsDvp9MT5B1vbg3FlYH3veauRivrezpp5f6iS44W91bMm6ELeJEc8vLHx8ddTHDdKiBrq16Yiat5fag9S-5mwoyTLA/s1600/alien_3_01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwTMz-DfSQjlVvT_CvY4_YrU39yLZfmtkO4TdhjqntLLVFcYvPsMsDvp9MT5B1vbg3FlYH3veauRivrezpp5f6iS44W91bMm6ELeJEc8vLHx8ddTHDdKiBrq16Yiat5fag9S-5mwoyTLA/s1600/alien_3_01.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Bitch Is Back - On Your Amiga</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Taking on the role of a shaven headed Ellen Ripley the game was set on the Fury prison planet, with your aim being to rescue inmates who had been captured by those goddam xenomorphs and pasted to the walls with some sort of secreted resin. Yeah, but secreted from what?<br />
<br />
It was a classic scrolling platform <b>arcade game</b> with plenty of ladders, lifts and tunnels to make the levels interesting.<br />
<br />
You could collect different weapons as you explored the scenery, with the good old personal friend of mine, (the pulse rifle) being the most satisfying to use. Dealing out destruction to those pesky aliens was nicely satisfying as you cut them to ribbons or blew them away with your grenade launcher.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkVRxaFUPhCAkZUp9xF0A-XEBnFDWOyz_SSmFZhjDblLav0Ms3ejJKGUz5FRH5PJNOrOUZbKLR7eq78dhvuFgA4pqL87HRMz33ObWHsUC74AQBHM742WCRKZVQBsBeimcFCOV-Pca56ac/s1600/alien_3_05.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkVRxaFUPhCAkZUp9xF0A-XEBnFDWOyz_SSmFZhjDblLav0Ms3ejJKGUz5FRH5PJNOrOUZbKLR7eq78dhvuFgA4pqL87HRMz33ObWHsUC74AQBHM742WCRKZVQBsBeimcFCOV-Pca56ac/s1600/alien_3_05.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That'll be a scale and polish sir</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
A slight downside to the game was the fact that the aliens seemed to be able to sneak up on you without being seen on the motion tracker - so sometimes poor old Ripley would end up losing energy a little unfairly.<br />
<br />
The aliens were in no short supply either - so it was lucky that there were plenty of weapons and ammo lying around for you to use. In a good touch you could also use your grenade launcher to blast through locked doors, which was sometimes a necessity.<br />
<br />
It was also possible to fire your weapons as you climbed a ladder meaning you could take out aliens below you before you dropped to that platform. This type of attention to detail ensured a bit of playability.<br />
<br />
The game was split into five overall levels (I think) and each one was tougher than the last. Fast reflexes and a fast trigger finger were required to succeed, as well as a good memory of the level layout.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNzJ6Tqe5tNmVNMM7TMElVjQgJsgHCcAwlheSR80PmQgpG5CqAvuR3s-R4RJl7RJDybYM80tSOLwngApTmX9qxWnj3uTatRod2EUbVgChKdvkkPSvXPUf0n7NmIUFFfNAsfTm61qvC44w/s1600/alien_3_03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNzJ6Tqe5tNmVNMM7TMElVjQgJsgHCcAwlheSR80PmQgpG5CqAvuR3s-R4RJl7RJDybYM80tSOLwngApTmX9qxWnj3uTatRod2EUbVgChKdvkkPSvXPUf0n7NmIUFFfNAsfTm61qvC44w/s1600/alien_3_03.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's A Bug Hunt</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Graphically the game was pretty good, but it did lack the overall polish visually to make it a top class title. The music and sound effects were also pretty good and helped to rack up the tension and create a scary atmosphere as you made your way around the levels.<br />
<br />
Overall this game was a good effort back in the day, and was a decent tie in to a great movie franchise. I played it quite a bit but never quite managed to finish it - I came close a few times but it was always game over man.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuzEYBX4lEDOqOsceSf_vZdDq7RTr-Xzw-vLXCBgvt8Tompgpopva7MGOHXNxQhvvgg5GXEViTB0wQ8wcUlyliaTCm4Q9OtaCpCtxLeNA6-33LZSlstZ0hg8Q20AwYx7nArRONhutxlOM/s1600/alien_3_08.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuzEYBX4lEDOqOsceSf_vZdDq7RTr-Xzw-vLXCBgvt8Tompgpopva7MGOHXNxQhvvgg5GXEViTB0wQ8wcUlyliaTCm4Q9OtaCpCtxLeNA6-33LZSlstZ0hg8Q20AwYx7nArRONhutxlOM/s1600/alien_3_08.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stay Frosty...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We recommend getting hold of the real Amiga hardware - but if not then download an Amiga emulator and download Alien 3. Alternatively you could try and <b>play </b>it <b>online</b>.<br />
<br />
Please see our other Amiga game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys
<br />
<br />
GENRE: <b>Arcade Game</b> (Scrolling Platform Run 'N Gun)<br />
RELEASE DATE: Late 1992<br />
RELEASED BY: Virgin Interactive copyrighted by Acclaim Entertainment<br />
DEVELOPER(S): Probe Software and Eden Entertainment Software<br />
PRICE: £25.99 - UK<br />
<br />
<b>Classic Arcade Action</b><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/54HjXuDKGn4" width="420"></iframe>
<br />
<b>Classic Games</b>, <b>Arcade Games</b> and <b>Amiga Games</b>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-83229860668414048782012-03-22T12:00:00.000+00:002013-02-05T11:51:18.262+00:00Amiga Games - Exolon - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<b><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/amiga-games-exolon-classic-commodore.html">Exolon Amiga</a></b><br />
This <b>classic game</b> had been yet another quality release for the <a href="http://retrobrothers.hubpages.com/hub/ZXSpectrum">ZX Spectrum</a>, <a href="http://retrobrothers.hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-64">C64</a> and <a href="http://retrobrothers.hubpages.com/hub/Amstrad-CPC-646">Amstrad CPC</a> (published by Hewson Consultants).<br />
<br />
Unfortunately the version we got for the good old <a href="http://retrobrothers.hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Amiga</a> was, well, a huge pile of steaming dung dropped by the quick-and-lazy 16-bit port over creature.<br />
<br />
On the 8-bit platforms Exolon had been an <b>arcade game</b> with a difference.
Here it was just a completely awful, tedious and unrewarding gaming experience.<br />
<br />
I will now persevere with playing and reviewing Exolon...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJG05WOylgN9GFX6JlE2hwLbQb9vBV2XDgzIp16nCiDqRsxR9Eh78OOznw2OyTybx-bY_E4_CA8aprxtlL5U_1PFQGnTbM94l3GBJDwbM1uSu4OqfCSBSwNthk4Cjcr6Ozo9c9uLZ9WeA/s1600/exolon_01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJG05WOylgN9GFX6JlE2hwLbQb9vBV2XDgzIp16nCiDqRsxR9Eh78OOznw2OyTybx-bY_E4_CA8aprxtlL5U_1PFQGnTbM94l3GBJDwbM1uSu4OqfCSBSwNthk4Cjcr6Ozo9c9uLZ9WeA/s1600/exolon_01.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to duck out of the way of quick and lazy ports...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The aim of the game was to fight your way (from left to right in <b>classic arcade</b> fashion) through four levels of 25 screens, making a grand total of 100 screens to conquer.<br />
<br />
The alien world you were placed in was infested with rotund attackers released from 'birthing pods', homing missiles, exploding mines, accelerating space lice and crushing hydraulic plungers.<br />
<br />
For protection your character carried a blaster to destroy the lesser thin-skinned aliens and weaker obstructions.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2grGxlslvqJy9MP7YACxPDeejqutUU5Ow7-IgAV5oblQGEdDG3wOZNKi7tLRFQPwZK0fzuiOgz7KGArEhT0JxBG6jqp_lIYpxSwL_sJq-6uhphkxZDMHTCxLZ3SnPVLAhouDME0s02bs/s1600/exolon_02.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2grGxlslvqJy9MP7YACxPDeejqutUU5Ow7-IgAV5oblQGEdDG3wOZNKi7tLRFQPwZK0fzuiOgz7KGArEhT0JxBG6jqp_lIYpxSwL_sJq-6uhphkxZDMHTCxLZ3SnPVLAhouDME0s02bs/s1600/exolon_02.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note the washed out colours</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
You were also armed with homing grenades that were able to destroy stronger creatures, machinery and any obstructing pieces of landscape such as rocky outcroppings.<br />
<br />
It <i>should have</i> been <b>classic arcade game</b> weaponry, but the grenade launcher seemed about as powerful as wet fart on a wet Wednesday.<br />
<br />
Blaster ammunition and grenades were replenished on the loss of a life, but extra ammunition could be collected from supplies that were lying around the landscape.<br />
<br />
For additional safety and kill-a-bility, walking through a dressing unit 'clothed' you in an armoured exoskeleton, giving you have extra blasting power and protection against ground mines and even some aliens. Again this part of the game had been implemented perfectly on 8-bit machines but here it was (for want of a better word), crap.<br />
<br />
If you were wearing this suit on the completion of a level your bravery bonus was decreased. But by this point you just didn't care anyway.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbF9m01RDvS2qzTtAhwG4_nNCCGMmr_gWAQwKUsCYEP3tRSM6KBUs8Gp01eG6a1bLxIoyWns_0xTDlyE4zqfD5Wjf5zjoMW03qtE5IfTfmxmxHYr3q6hjjNsCLyIiDP0dASdvzL9KEtw/s1600/exolon_03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbF9m01RDvS2qzTtAhwG4_nNCCGMmr_gWAQwKUsCYEP3tRSM6KBUs8Gp01eG6a1bLxIoyWns_0xTDlyE4zqfD5Wjf5zjoMW03qtE5IfTfmxmxHYr3q6hjjNsCLyIiDP0dASdvzL9KEtw/s1600/exolon_03.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unimaginative graphics are the order of the day in Exolon...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I suppose I should also mention that Teleport pods were also dotted around the screens allowing you to 'move' to higher or lower ledges on the screen and collect various items.<br />
<br />
This also made for more than one route through some of the screens - it was up to you to find out which way was the easiest. To be honest the game was so unplayable that there were no easy routes to take.<br />
<br />
With 100 screens to fight your way through, this title was a tough nut to crack... I never ever cracked it and never will.<br />
<br />
With really poor graphics, unimaginative sound effects and negative playability this game screams 'amateur' at every turn. Not even the musical talents of <a href="http://zxspectrumgames.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/spectrum-games-programmer-interview.html">J Dave Rogers</a> can raise this game above mediocrity. Turgid.<br />
<br />
We recommend getting hold of the real Amiga hardware - but if not then download an Amiga emulator and download anything but Exolon! Alternatively you could try and <b>play</b> it <b>online</b>.<br />
<br />
Please see our other Amiga retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys.
<br />
<br />
GENRE: <b>Arcade Game</b><br />
RELEASE DATE: 1989<br />
RELEASED BY: Hewson<br />
DEVELOPER(S): Martin J Bysh, Gary Felix, Guido Henkel, J Dave Rogers<br />
PRICE: £24.99? - UK<br />
<br />
<b>Classic Games</b>, <b>Arcade Games</b> and <b>Amiga Games</b>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-47869220108818565292012-01-10T16:06:00.002+00:002012-01-10T16:47:42.057+00:00Amiga Games - Panza Kick Boxing - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<strong><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2012/01/amiga-games-panza-kick-boxing-classic.html">Panza Kick Boxing</a></strong><br />
This is a <strong>classic game </strong>on the Commodore Amiga, that for me never quite got the recognition it deserved.<br />
<br />
Released by the French company Loriciel in 1990, this game was met with mainly positive reviews, but for some reason never quite acheived the same level of fame as the likes of <a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2011/03/amiga-games-body-blows-classic.html">Body Blows</a> or (the admittedly excellent <strong>arcade game</strong>) Mortal Kombat.<br />
<br />
Still, for those that played it back in the day it must surely be up there with the best of the beat-em-up gaming genre from the 8-bit and 16-bit era. We're talking the likes of <a href="http://zxspectrumgames.blogspot.com/2009/05/zx-spectrum-games-way-of-exploding-fist.html">Way of the Exploding Fist</a>, Full Contact and <a href="http://zxspectrumgames.blogspot.com/2009/06/zx-spectrum-game-barbarian-zx-spectrum.html">Barbarian</a>. <br />
<br />
It was also endorsed by Andre Panza (hence the name of the game) who was champion kick-boxer at the time.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7xGcGf9VYd42AsrTDnzXRRp_sAizjUMxHPvkq3Rmbmw1-8J04s8KLwfIBQ5Mv57woJpYFANWj1a0YsYBaDUSpvIQJpPphYZ6qF0lLi0rR0NfcdtSw2jGb6-4Ldo7NdJYeR-KTyaESgeM/s1600/panza_kick_boxing01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7xGcGf9VYd42AsrTDnzXRRp_sAizjUMxHPvkq3Rmbmw1-8J04s8KLwfIBQ5Mv57woJpYFANWj1a0YsYBaDUSpvIQJpPphYZ6qF0lLi0rR0NfcdtSw2jGb6-4Ldo7NdJYeR-KTyaESgeM/s1600/panza_kick_boxing01.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the best beat em ups on the Amiga</td></tr>
</tbody></table>What set this apart from other beat em up <strong>arcade games</strong> of the era was the customisability available to the player as well as a variety of fighters and moves to choose from.<br />
<br />
Once a fighter was selected you were able to customise him with various moves. Each fighter could be equiped with thirteen moves picked from a total of fifty five - allowing the player to experiment with different fighting styles and techniques.<br />
<br />
All of the moves available for selected were geniune moves from the real art making the game a geniune representation of kick-boxing appealing to fans of the real art and <strong>gamers</strong> alike.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBzXjbTFlFCq-LCehSBsNvSkT_OuRRBmGn4nXQ_ua1RxrEV9G1UE8hUv9gJIIn2BPeY5BuraGfpfSPI6_vSHPSKHgxpCqzDx1omRY4EIe6j2dwY-eUEZB92jZhR6qJ-csgD9ATFWqTmU8/s1600/panza_kick_boxing_03.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBzXjbTFlFCq-LCehSBsNvSkT_OuRRBmGn4nXQ_ua1RxrEV9G1UE8hUv9gJIIn2BPeY5BuraGfpfSPI6_vSHPSKHgxpCqzDx1omRY4EIe6j2dwY-eUEZB92jZhR6qJ-csgD9ATFWqTmU8/s1600/panza_kick_boxing_03.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Train your fighter to the max</td></tr>
</tbody></table>You also had to train your game character; you could choose the amount of strength, stamina (resistance) and speed training (reflexes) prior to a fight with various exercises in the gym hall. This would determine how much damage you could doll out, how much punishment you could take as well as your speed around the ring.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTPudXRYZCKpeuWX0MNWzBq05Npso9bsCplCK4PFnvWQ7ml2NiNwZ77A3-50iqhqxHi2TnDEdzmvPA-TquNQOViJoMzyItbsFhou60uZo_7V5Yei7B3UHUkHoIhy-vDprz27LhUmjl7Vw/s1600/panza_kick_boxing_04.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTPudXRYZCKpeuWX0MNWzBq05Npso9bsCplCK4PFnvWQ7ml2NiNwZ77A3-50iqhqxHi2TnDEdzmvPA-TquNQOViJoMzyItbsFhou60uZo_7V5Yei7B3UHUkHoIhy-vDprz27LhUmjl7Vw/s1600/panza_kick_boxing_04.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A round-kick to the face is always a stinger</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The actual <strong>arcade action</strong> in the game was well implemented too. Each fighter was very well animated and moved in a life-like manner. Punches and kicks were textbook perfect and there great in-fight moments as a fighter was doubled up from a blow to the ribs or dollops of spittle would fly from a hook to the head. Great stuff!<br />
<br />
The aim of this <strong>classic game</strong> was to fight your way from the bottom of the rankings to the top to eventually take on and defeat the champion. With a huge variety of moves to pick from, increasing your fighters skill and superb animation this was a game that would keep you coming back for more. <br />
<br />
All in all this was a great game that not even the referee's annoying voice could spoil!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3GSGjTTPxwYcIgLXLF-3YxAnRod5xA41Gq91p0kD70tBeciIXErWy98m87eg5nz1HAKbVXpGLXZyz-i752mmsViwfqiQW8uYDxG4Ldy9BIgbchvMfWydJBxzVWYtaN3t5oG6I4Uu-d6U/s1600/panza_kick_boxing_06.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3GSGjTTPxwYcIgLXLF-3YxAnRod5xA41Gq91p0kD70tBeciIXErWy98m87eg5nz1HAKbVXpGLXZyz-i752mmsViwfqiQW8uYDxG4Ldy9BIgbchvMfWydJBxzVWYtaN3t5oG6I4Uu-d6U/s1600/panza_kick_boxing_06.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's a slightly camp top for a kick-boxer</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
We recommend getting hold of the real Amiga hardware - but if not then download an Amiga emulator and download Panza Kick Boxing. Alternatively you could try and play it online.<br />
<br />
Please see our other Amiga retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys.<br />
<br />
GENRE: <strong>Arcade Game</strong><br />
RELEASE DATE: 1990<br />
RELEASED BY: Loriciel<br />
DEVELOPER(S): Nicolas Massonnat, Marco de Flores, Michel Winogradoff<br />
PRICE: £24.99 - UK<br />
<br />
<strong>Classic Arcade Action</strong> on the Commodore Amiga:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kapZTb_yYgI" width="420"></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>Classic Games</b>, <b>Arcade Games</b>, <b>Amiga Games</b>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-62755385478929334122011-09-16T09:34:00.002+01:002011-09-17T12:08:57.921+01:00Amiga Games - Richard Hewison - Project Mangager and Games Tester<strong><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2011/09/amiga-games-richard-hewison-project.html">Richard Hewison</a></strong><br />
Richard Hewison worked as project manager and <strong>games tester</strong> during the 8-bit and 16-bit era's on machines such as the <a href="http://retrobrothers.hubpages.com/hub/ZXSpectrum">ZX Spectrum</a> and <a href="http://retrobrothers.hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga"><strong>Commodore Amiga</strong></a>.<br />
<br />
With a vast library of titles under his belt including <strong>classic games</strong> such as Beneath a Steel Sky, Cannon Fodder, Sensible Soccer, <a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2009/07/amiga-games-stunt-car-racer.html">Stunt Car Racer</a> and <a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2010/03/amiga-games-speedball-2-commodore-amiga.html">Speedball II</a> he has project managed and play tested some of the most recognisable games to grace best 16-bits in history.<br />
<br />
Richard was more thank kind enough to take me through his days working in the <strong>gaming</strong> sector on the <strong>Commodore Amiga</strong>...<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0hvOIe5k1bj0s4YBNcUri6VyMD7pf-tNpmXSzhFQDqX_PhFUDqFjjx25sP-5jRRoFti1Pr-oyaP9meIhgmcUsViKjokhWwOa7twK9rAjBHyYd-3ZyJ3nuiBunuRN5nWnWv6M5lpsygAQ/s1600/speedball2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179px" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0hvOIe5k1bj0s4YBNcUri6VyMD7pf-tNpmXSzhFQDqX_PhFUDqFjjx25sP-5jRRoFti1Pr-oyaP9meIhgmcUsViKjokhWwOa7twK9rAjBHyYd-3ZyJ3nuiBunuRN5nWnWv6M5lpsygAQ/s320/speedball2.jpg" width="320px" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the greatest games ever...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">1: Hi Richard. First of all how did you get into the games industry - and when did you make your first foray into this area?</span><br />
Short version - I happened to know someone who managed to get a job at TelecomSoft and just a month or two later he called me to let me know there was a tester's position that had become available. I went for the interview and got the job!<br />
Long version - I was writing a regular Adventure helpline column and computer game reviews for the computing section on BBC2's teletext service CEEFAX in the mid-1980s. <br />
<br />
The section was called NEXT and was edited by a guy called Martin Cooper. <br />
<br />
I started by posting the mode 7 teletext pages on 5.25" floppy disks to the editor at BBC Television Centre every couple of weeks, and I then started subscribing to Prestel & Micronet so I could upload the pages via a 1200 baud modem connected to our <a href="http://retrobrothers.hubpages.com/hub/BBC-Micro">BBC Micro</a>. Heady stuff!<br />
<br />
Anyway, I made friends with a number of other subscribers on Micronet and Prestel who were <strong>adventure game</strong> fans. I was a full time student by then, doing Business Studies and specialising in Business Computing (as it was back in the mid-80s!). <br />
<br />
I saw an advert in Popular Computing Weekly in early 1987 for a job at Rainbird Software in central London. I applied, got as far as an interview, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Fast forward six months or so and I was now an unemployed student but busy trying to get a job in 'the industry'. <br />
<br />
I got interviewed for a job at EMAP in London (writing for Computer & Video Games magazine) but didn't get that job either. I did get a few reviews published though as some kind of compensation. <br />
<br />
It was shortly afterwards that one of my Micronet & Prestel buddies managed to get a job working at TelecomSoft. I was of course very envious having failed to get a job at the same company the previous year, so I told him to let me know if any jobs came up.<br />
<br />
A few months later and I'd only just started a new job when my friend phoned up out-of-the-blue and told me that a game testers job had just been suddenly vacated and I should get in there before they have the chance to advertise the post. <br />
<br />
I did this the very next day and was interviewed in London the following week. They called my home to offer me the job before I'd even got back. Oddly, it turned out that I knew the previous post holder (who had been sacked). Sometimes it's a small world!<br />
You could say this was all pre-ordained though, as I had done some early games testing for Kevin Toms' <strong>Addictive Games</strong> back in 1983/84. <br />
<br />
I was constantly pestering him by letter to do a BBC version of Football Manager, so in the end I like to think he caved in and did one, then phoned me up and asked me to play-test it. This I did and was rewarded with a free copy when the game was finished.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6;">2: Did you spend much time working in the 8-bit scene? If so - which games did you playtest or project manage and on which machines?</span><br />
Ignoring my brief games testing stint in 1983/84, I was joining the industry when 8-bit was on its last legs in early 1988. I had been a BBC user, then bought a Spectrum and then persuaded a friend to sell me his <strong><a href="http://retrobrothers.hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-64">Commodore 64</a></strong> in 1986.<br />
<br />
I considered myself a naturalised Speccy user (owning both a rubber-keyed 48k model and the souped-up Sinclair 128k+ when that came out in Feb '86) so once that became known at TelecomSoft, I got to critique and test the 8-bit conversions of the 16-bit games like Starglider 2, Virus, Carrier Command and so on because I still cared enough about those platforms to try and make the conversions worth doing. <br />
<br />
I even got to contribute some artwork into <a href="http://retrobrothers.hubpages.com/hub/Realtime-Software">Carrier Command</a> (one or two of the icons in the ZX Spectrum and <a href="http://retrobrothers.hubpages.com/hub/Amstrad-CPC-646">Amstrad CPC</a> versions are mine) and I contributed the stars and the space clouds on the Starglider 2 Spectrum loading screen! Ahem... I'll get my coat!<br />
I was involved in lots of 8-bit stuff in general. The very first game I ever professionally tested at TelecomSoft on my very first day was Graftgold's highly underrated 'Intensity' which was published by Firebird. <br />
<br />
I also play-tested <strong>classic games</strong> such as; Soldier of Fortune, Dynamic Duo, Savage, Virus, Starglider 2, Carrier Command, Corruption, Fish!, 3D Pool, P47, Mr Heli, Action Fighter, Exploding Fist +, G.I. Hero, Rainbow Islands, Betrayal, <a href="http://zxspectrumgames.blogspot.com/2009/07/zx-spectrum-games-stunt-car-racer-zx.html">Stuntcar Racer</a>, Rick Dangerous, Samurai Warrior, and Star Trek: The Rebel Universe (which Commodore User magazine amusingly credited me as being the programmer when I wrote their two-page players guide in an early '89 issue). <br />
<br />
At Mirrorsoft, I managed the 8-bit and conversions of Bloodwych, Predator 2 and Robozone for C64, CPC and Spectrum.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">3: When did you move into the 16-bit market?</span><br />
I didn't 'move' into 16-bit; it was already there when I arrived in early 1988! I had bought myself an <a href="http://retrobrothers.hubpages.com/hub/Atari-ST">Atari 520STFM</a> about six months earlier and was busy playing Magnetic Scrolls adventures and Dungeon Master on it before I started working in the industry.<br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">4: What was best - the Amiga or the <strong>Atari</strong> ST?</span><br />
Well, at first I would definitely say the Atari because you could actually do useful stuff with TOS and Gem without the need for a hard drive or two floppy drives. Trying to do anything useful on an Amiga A500 via Workbench 1.3 with just one floppy drive was almost impossible! <br />
<br />
However, the Amiga was technically superior and although the ST had the early advantage, I think the Amiga took over within a few years. <br />
<br />
Certainly the <a href="http://retrobrothers.hubpages.com/hub/Amiga-1200">A1200</a> with an internal hard drive and a second floppy became a very useful machine in the early 90s once the ST/STE/<a href="http://retrobrothers.hubpages.com/hub/Atari-Falcon">Falcon</a> had pretty much died a death. It wasn't until near the end of my stint that ST conversions of games were not being considered.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">5: Can you tell us some of the titles you worked on during the <strong>Commodore Amiga</strong> years?</span><br />
Lots! <br />
As a tester - Starglider 2, Virus, Savage, Corruption, Fish!, Verminator, 3D Pool, Action Fighter, Rick Dangerous, Druid II: Enlightenment (Pete Molyneux's first ever game!), Oriental Games, Elite, Whirligig, Flying Shark, Mr Heli, P47, Quartz, Rainbow Islands, The Sentinel, Tower of Babel. <br />
<br />
As a Project Manager - Predator 2, Robozone, Blade Warrior, The Final Battle, Sensible Soccer (before and after it went to Renegade), Cannon Fodder (before it went to Virgin), Legend (before and after it went to Mindscape and I also wrote the manual and the Adventurer's Handbook), Lure of the Temptress (before and after it went to Virgin) and some unpublished titles including Duster, Terrarium, Drop Soldier. <br />
<br />
I also tested Reach for the Skies (before and after it went to Virgin), did rudimentary testing on a slew of Cinemaware titles including Wings, It Came from the Desert (the pre-prod disks came from the duplicators labelled as 'It Came from the Dessert' which made us laugh!), Ant Heads, TV Sports Boxing and a little bit of Roller Babes I seem to recall too. <br />
<br />
Also got to do some testing on Cadaver, Speedball 2, Flipit & Magnose, Back to the Future II and III, The Killing Cloud, Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, Overlord, Dino Dini's Goal! (I wrote the manual as well), Battletoads, Beneath a Steel Sky, Liberation: Captive 2 (I also wrote the manual), Dune II, Elf Mania, Frontier: Elite II, KGB (I'm listed as a KGB agent in the end credits!), Worlds of Legend: Son of the Empire (I also wrote the manual), <a href="http://those-funny-games.blogspot.com/2011/02/funny-games-rise-of-robots-classic.html">Rise of the Robots</a>... which I probably shouldn't be admitting too!... and probably a few more besides that I've blotted from my memory!<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">6: Which titles give you fond memories and why?</span><br />
Quite a few - on 8-bit I loved Intensity. Starglider 2 and Virus because they were pretty cutting edge back then on 16-bit. Rainbow Islands was just a terrific conversion and it was so hard to see us do all the work and then <a href="http://retrobrothers.hubpages.com/hub/Ocean-Software">Ocean</a> snatch the publishing and the glory afterwards. <br />
<br />
Legend was a terrific little RPG with a wonderful magic spell casting system. Sensible Soccer and Dini Dini's Goal! were both terrific footie games (but I actually prefer Goal! out of the two). Dune II was special although the Amiga conversion was really only playable on an A1200. <br />
<br />
Frontier was almost great but suffered from trying to do too much on hardware that wasn't quite up to it.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">7: Conversely which titles give you less than fond memories and why?</span><br />
Quite a few of these too! Where do I start? <br />
<br />
On 8-bit Dynamic Duo was a mess and should have been a budget release not a full price Firebird title, G.I. Hero was just awful and had no real game in it at all (and I got lumbered with testing it because nobody else could face doing it!). Robozone was a great idea that got watered down so much as development went on that in the end it was a huge disappointment. <br />
<br />
I had a much better idea for the Predator 2 game design but it was all decided before the project was given to me and shoot 'em ups were never my thing. There's a reason why Terrarium was cancelled - it was terrible - and the list could go on and on but I'll stop there and try and be a little diplomatic.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">8: Can you tell me any coders you watched working and just thought 'wow'?</span><br />
Well, I didn't do too much 'watching' because I was based in the publisher's office and we didn't have many/any in-house programmers. I'd say that the guys who impressed me with their work were Geoff Crammond, Sensible Software, Ross Goodley, Dino Dini and the guys at FTL.<br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">9: Do you play any the games you tested or project managed these days?</span><br />
Yes, thanks to the wonders of <strong><a href="http://retrobrothers.hubpages.com/hub/Spectrum-emulator">emulation</a></strong> and my web sites I get to revisit the good/bad old days on a regular basis. I don't get much time to play games at all due to work and family, but when I do I nearly always go back to the 8-bit and <strong>16-bit games</strong> rather than boot up modern PC, Wii or PS3 stuff. <br />
<br />
At the time you can't wait to see the back of most games once they're finished, but now with years between the pain and the game I actually quite like playing most of them to varying degrees!<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">10: Can you tell us what you have been up to since the Amiga scene faded in the mid 1990s?</span><br />
I went freelance for a while (Virgin, Domark, Mindscape, Renegade, Abbey Road etc), then worked for Sony CEE for a while on the new Sony PSX console (this was back in mid-1994 the year before it's launch) then got out of the games industry all together.<br />
<br />
I then decided to set up my <a href="http://www.birdsanctuary.co.uk/sanct/s_me_2.php">Bird Sanctuary</a> web site all about TelecomSoft and I'm planning to do one all about Mirrorsoft too. I also get to write on a semi-regular basis for <strong>Retro Gamer</strong> magazine and have done articles about TelecomSoft, Beyond, Virgin, The Electronic Pencil Company, Hewson, Mirrorsoft and a whole load of other publishers and developers over the last 6 or 7 years. <br />
<br />
It's a great excuse to get back in touch with some of the people I used to work with and it gives me an excuse to research the period of computer gaming (the 1980s and early 90s) which I honestly believe were the most innovative and exciting in the UK.<br />
<br />
Once again many thanks to Richard for taking the time to talk to me about his Amiga days. <br />
<br />
<strong>Classic Games</strong>, <strong>Arcade Games</strong> and <strong>Amiga Games</strong>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-46816586521373428772011-08-31T13:27:00.001+01:002011-08-31T13:27:39.447+01:00Amiga Games - Outrun - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<strong><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2011/08/amiga-games-outrun-classic-commodore.html">Out Run Amiga</a></strong><br />
Ahhh now this is one the most iconic <strong>arcade games</strong> of all times. Who else can remember the thrill of sitting in the Out Run cabinet, the 3D graphics racing towards you, hydraulics lurching you in all directions and the sterio-tastic Magical Sound Shower pumping in your ears?<br />
<br />
Out Run (by <strong>Sega</strong>) was a fantastic beat the clock <strong>arcade racing game</strong>, and a conversion to the <a href="http://retrobrothers.hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Commodore Amiga</a> was always on the cards. <br />
<br />
But could such a large and graphically intensive game be converted to the Amiga? <br />
<br />
Well, yes is could have been converted quite well in the hands of talented developers- but what we got from US Gold (and Probe software) was only Out Run in name, not in playability.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixMlaXQmSFdzYdZj8HM4J397cRbtjQQc40NxVnpXJgwNf1NbWT8ZTIZPKYpO9H_FmHHvg0cpNCEeAdJBEBaO8orRR-trE8-dJpwRp07MriRFGQTxUQ1UqvBMZUCWAc-LSov0kRym-7MoY/s1600/out_run_01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixMlaXQmSFdzYdZj8HM4J397cRbtjQQc40NxVnpXJgwNf1NbWT8ZTIZPKYpO9H_FmHHvg0cpNCEeAdJBEBaO8orRR-trE8-dJpwRp07MriRFGQTxUQ1UqvBMZUCWAc-LSov0kRym-7MoY/s1600/out_run_01.png" xaa="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The loading screen to Out Run - the best part of the game</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Out Run was released for the Amiga by US Gold in 1989 and was met with a mostly negative reception. <br />
<br />
I'll get this out of the way first; the Spectrum 128 (or +2 and +3) versions were actually superior to the Amiga offering despite it coming out two years earlier and of course only having 8-bits of processing power and 128K of RAM to play with.<br />
<br />
Even the <a href="http://retrobrothers.hubpages.com/hub/sound-chip-in-8-Bit-computers-the-AY3-8912">AY music</a> was better than the approximation to the <strong>arcade music</strong> we were given on our favourite 16-bit beaut, I'm getting angry all these years later (again) just thinking about it...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbyjqFGIqUXo2Fy7is8uV0luX44IOj9wZyBn0DkCfenWpXSnFRwXiHoGqS0EwX2G3qXdfafyWNj42gAEZcZb0zv2HT-1S1-8AlwSFmU-jUQOr96X0GSgyP3DlVpMZE4pABSu7lW6AfIE0/s1600/out_run_03%255B1%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbyjqFGIqUXo2Fy7is8uV0luX44IOj9wZyBn0DkCfenWpXSnFRwXiHoGqS0EwX2G3qXdfafyWNj42gAEZcZb0zv2HT-1S1-8AlwSFmU-jUQOr96X0GSgyP3DlVpMZE4pABSu7lW6AfIE0/s1600/out_run_03%255B1%255D.png" xaa="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crashed and burned huh Mav.....</td></tr>
</tbody></table><strong>Gameplay</strong><br />
This game (the original <strong>arcade game</strong> anyway) placed you in the driving seat of a Ferrari Testarossa convertible with a stunning blonde in the passenger seat (female players had to pretend it was a right-hand-drive vehicle ;-)), to race around a series of tracks at breakneck speed.<br />
<br />
As you neared the end of a track (assuming you did not run out of time) then you would take the left or right fork to move onto the next track - each one branching into a different area. This continued until you either ran out of time or you reached the end of the whole 'race'.<br />
<br />
What really p1ssed me off about this version is that it completely fails to capture the spirit or feel of the original <strong>Sega game</strong> - the graphics are flat, the 3D effect poor and the sense of speed.... Well there is no sense of speed.<br />
<br />
The Amiga is capable of so much more and this version here smacks of a quick and lazy port over. We never expected it to match the <strong>arcade game</strong> perfectly, but the Amiga was capable of getting pretty close to it.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvw-4BPcF-6vGpzbNlD-dagFyGEJpXKKlGCTdVprk7KCHmAbQVS1a7DDTbqP7gKyZY5YLJdV5ABFFNshhrutLUW6aWsNlPeMYDPq78Svm3ZGF22nPmE3a1YLZqrwE3K_TnGvIrKk2nXbM/s1600/out_run_09%255B1%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvw-4BPcF-6vGpzbNlD-dagFyGEJpXKKlGCTdVprk7KCHmAbQVS1a7DDTbqP7gKyZY5YLJdV5ABFFNshhrutLUW6aWsNlPeMYDPq78Svm3ZGF22nPmE3a1YLZqrwE3K_TnGvIrKk2nXbM/s1600/out_run_09%255B1%255D.png" xaa="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even when it's moving you don't feel the wind in your hair</td></tr>
</tbody></table>This was a major disappointment for Amiga gamers back in '89 and was yet another quick and crappy conversion of a good arcade original.<br />
<br />
We recommend getting hold of the real Amiga hardware - but if not then download an Amiga emulator but do not bother to download this game. Alternatively you could try and <strong>play</strong> it <strong>online</strong>, but seriously, just fire it up on MAME or even play the <a href="http://zxspectrumgames.blogspot.com/2010/09/spectrum-games-out-run-classic-zx.html">Speccy version</a>.<br />
<br />
Please see our other Amiga retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys.<br />
<br />
GENRE: <strong>Arcade Game</strong> (3D Racing)<br />
RELEASE DATE: 1989<br />
RELEASED BY: US Gold<br />
DEVELOPER(S): Probe Software<br />
PRICE: £19.99 (UK)<br />
<br />
A very poor conversion of a <strong>classic arcade game</strong>:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eOGxxYm4z5I" width="420"></iframe><br />
<br />
<strong>Classic Games</strong>, <strong>Arcade Games</strong> and <strong>Amiga Games</strong>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-80311038026000435682011-08-03T12:50:00.001+01:002011-08-03T12:53:28.808+01:00Amiga Games - The Light Corridor - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<strong><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2011/08/amiga-games-light-corridor-classic.html">The Light Corridor Amiga</a></strong><br />
This classic game was released for the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Commodore Amiga</a> in 1990 by Infogrames. I suppose it could be classed as a sort of clone of the <strong>classic arcade game</strong> breakout with a massive twist.<br />
<br />
It was now a 3D vector graphics breakout style game, and very good it was too.<br />
<br />
This game was released at a time when the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/8-bit-to-16-bit">8-bit to 16-bit</a> transition was gathering pace and a 16-bit machine such as the Amiga was the ideal machine for a game of this type. <br />
<br />
If you liked breakout and <strong>puzzle games</strong> then you wouldn't go far wrong with this one...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXsorvJUiJ8z0zY2VB-ycD23xy_qYozeNNkGtwKtWiHr0aODy3-jvQ4_Mh3gjPQvrWyzRDulq19w2BMElJ_O29xJof-Jmu0G4K-GDBWhLQVp33wir1aCv79DRYGg_NvNaemMOIaKo0TUE/s1600/light_corridor.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXsorvJUiJ8z0zY2VB-ycD23xy_qYozeNNkGtwKtWiHr0aODy3-jvQ4_Mh3gjPQvrWyzRDulq19w2BMElJ_O29xJof-Jmu0G4K-GDBWhLQVp33wir1aCv79DRYGg_NvNaemMOIaKo0TUE/s1600/light_corridor.png" t$="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prepare To Enter The Light Corridor....</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The aim of the game was to navigate your way along 'The Light Corridor' (taking the 1st person view).<br />
<br />
Equipped with a translucent 'raquet' you had to guide the metallic sphere along the heart of the corridor by using your raquet to continuously keep it 'in play'. As you can tell it really was breakout or <strong>Arkanoid</strong> in 3D.<br />
<br />
Avoiding the walls and the traps, you had to collect the bonuses on offer and battle your way along, until eventually you would see the light, at the end of the tunnel. :-)<br />
<br />
The game was spread over four stages and in <strong>classic arcade</strong> style there were plenty of powerups to collect and nasties to avoid.<br />
<br />
After chillin' to the smooth intro music it was time to enter the game...<br />
<br />
At the beginning of the game you had to release the ball and watch if fly down the corridor until it struck a wall or similar obstacle. At this point it would bounce back towards you and you had to 'hit' it thus sending it back 'away' from your viewpoint again.<br />
<br />
The player moved along the game-corridor during the time the ball was in flight (you could stop and start as and when you wished). The colour of the walls also changed to show your progression through the levels.<br />
<br />
The object of the game was to reach the end of the corridor without allowing the ball to miss the raquet and 'hit' the player. If this happened, as you may guess, it was the loss of one life.<br />
<br />
Obstacles such as moving elevator-style doors and sliding blocks ensured that navigating your way was quite difficult and the game was all about quick reflexes and timing. <br />
<br />
There were also nice powerups to be had to help you on your way such as 'sticky sphere' (ooerr), multi-balls, speedup etc etc. All of the usual <strong>arcade game</strong> powerups were in here.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ZG9nA6eRkFC6L9N4TAQwPELIrIslPNOHeX9_ohbqG6D5OSzVrgEhZC0Vt0_C9xxKDgtqWt-AoadLct2DlseygqdCVFvqjhRfYHr6KnVL5-77fbaNcPpiZEvb1ml3FsgY1vno7dexSgQ/s1600/light_corridor2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ZG9nA6eRkFC6L9N4TAQwPELIrIslPNOHeX9_ohbqG6D5OSzVrgEhZC0Vt0_C9xxKDgtqWt-AoadLct2DlseygqdCVFvqjhRfYHr6KnVL5-77fbaNcPpiZEvb1ml3FsgY1vno7dexSgQ/s1600/light_corridor2.png" t$="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Those Pesky Corridors...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>It must also be said that this <strong>classic game</strong> was extremely customisable.<br />
<br />
You could run the 'raquet' at normal or fast speed which was nice, but the real boon was being able to create your own game levels to play through. <br />
<br />
The game had an in-built editor that allowed you to create corridors and then save them to disc. Now just how cool is that?<br />
<br />
This was a great feature at the time and added a lot of longevity to the game.<br />
<br />
All in all this is a bit of <strong>cult classic game</strong> that offered something a little different to home gamers back in the day and it still plays pretty well all of these years later.<br />
<br />
We recommend getting hold of the real Amiga hardware - but if not then download an Amiga emulator and download this game. Alternatively you could try and <strong>play</strong> it <strong>online</strong>. <br />
<br />
Please see our other Amiga retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys.<br />
<br />
GENRE: <strong>Arcade Game </strong>(3D Breakout)<br />
RELEASE DATE: 1990<br />
RELEASED BY: Infogrames<br />
DEVELOPER(S): Vincent Pourieux, Carole Arachtingi, Dominique Girou, Sandrine Nove-Josserand, Didier Chanfray -- Music by Frédéric Mentzen<br />
PRICE: £24.99 (UK)<br />
<br />
Welcome To The Light Corridor.... <strong>Classic Amiga Gaming</strong><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XrgRHujHD0A" width="425"></iframe><br />
<br />
<strong>Arcade Games</strong>, <strong>Classic Games</strong> and <strong>Arcade Games</strong>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-63874124238641346572011-06-30T11:02:00.002+01:002011-06-30T11:03:31.096+01:00Amiga Games - Operation Wolf - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<strong><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2011/06/amiga-games-operation-wolf-classic.html">Operation Wolf Amiga</a></strong><br />
I've been a little quiet on here lately mainly due to conducting programmer interviews over on my <a href="http://zxspectrumgames.blogspot.com/">ZX Spectrum Games</a> site (with <a href="http://zxspectrumgames.blogspot.com/2011/06/spectrum-games-programmer-interview.html">Mark R Jones</a> of <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Ocean-Software">Ocean Software</a>) but it's back into those classic 16-bits again with a decent conversion of a once popular <strong>arcade game</strong>, Operation Wolf.<br />
<br />
When this came out for the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Commodore Amiga</a> (along with the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/ZXSpectrum">ZX Spectrum</a>, <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-64">C64</a> and <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Amstrad-CPC-646">Amstrad CPC 464</a>) late in 1988 home computer conversions of <strong>arcade games</strong> were still popular.<br />
<br />
The original <strong>arcade game</strong> by Taito had been more popular than neon blue lighting effects in a James Camron flick - with gamers loving the pseudo 3D viewpoint and control via the force feedback cabinet mounted uzi machine gun.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEMVgEA55KLNzPHxVY0iDtZnk1D4uQe90tp5IQPw5SMR2qNhYcIwR6rC8bMyQbABZTfeaaU28CE2MWwCDv1KlEeZUq_neyB-keSWg3tfE1a6lGkSWAPIC4WoAgKpeKCbazqrfhVBV3PhI/s1600/operation_wolf_03%255B1%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEMVgEA55KLNzPHxVY0iDtZnk1D4uQe90tp5IQPw5SMR2qNhYcIwR6rC8bMyQbABZTfeaaU28CE2MWwCDv1KlEeZUq_neyB-keSWg3tfE1a6lGkSWAPIC4WoAgKpeKCbazqrfhVBV3PhI/s1600/operation_wolf_03%255B1%255D.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Time to kick some butt</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The <strong>arcade game</strong> (at the time) featured state of the art graphics (large animated enemy soldiers, helicopters, tanks, sizeable buildings with breakable windows etc) and superb sterio sound. <br />
<br />
Couple this with the actual uzi machine gun you used to play it with and you were onto a sure fire winner. Converting such a game to a 16-bit machine was never going to be <em>that</em> easy - and Ocean software stepped up to the task.<br />
<br />
It was possible to replicate the large full colour graphics on the Amiga quite well, so Ocean decided to go for a similar look - and it ended up working pretty well but just not quite as smooth as the <strong>arcade original</strong>.<br />
<br />
The game began with you (as a double-hard crack commando with 'enemy mow down capabilities' in the realm of John Matrix) being parachuted into hostile territory to locate an enemy concentration camp and free the captives.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHLScptW9yI0HCR7im0xQ2D4hwyLFMRcPzbnWxd3c-LlY0hMphFT5PkBbKZZqdZUmz0fv2o_qMwESIxwlDMPy2rCi6yypWFU9tSLERPVdZZ48Q0ZBFf3GGd9Kp9zmoynXkOlAlL0Qd4-w/s1600/operation_wolf_02%255B1%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHLScptW9yI0HCR7im0xQ2D4hwyLFMRcPzbnWxd3c-LlY0hMphFT5PkBbKZZqdZUmz0fv2o_qMwESIxwlDMPy2rCi6yypWFU9tSLERPVdZZ48Q0ZBFf3GGd9Kp9zmoynXkOlAlL0Qd4-w/s1600/operation_wolf_02%255B1%255D.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I eat Green Berets for Breakfast</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
You began the game with seven clips of ammunition and five grenades - so straight away you had to get used to short controlled bursts.<br />
<br />
The mission was split into six sections which matched those of the <strong>arcade game</strong>. <br />
The sections were as follows: <br />
Communication Setup, Jungle Area, Jungle Village, Powder Magazine, The Concentration Camp and finally the Airport. <br />
<br />
On each level the landscapes slowly panned from right to left before you in first-person perspective as looked down your gun-sights (represented by a cross-hair).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQtzK-RsyVxizzurQPYfWSK5jrv8_nAuAwywpJ0u3Q4sFQbs41kuwkecLlZ428HiI4GkE7m2j7wnHs6ym6SEHzKK-bw_buJOHAZC_5MEfV9dXeBvf1scbNA-C1oyqRPxS0dQHvdYBDVwA/s1600/operation_wolf_06%255B1%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQtzK-RsyVxizzurQPYfWSK5jrv8_nAuAwywpJ0u3Q4sFQbs41kuwkecLlZ428HiI4GkE7m2j7wnHs6ym6SEHzKK-bw_buJOHAZC_5MEfV9dXeBvf1scbNA-C1oyqRPxS0dQHvdYBDVwA/s1600/operation_wolf_06%255B1%255D.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That beardy bloke doesn't stand a chance</td></tr>
</tbody></table>As the game landscape scrolled before you soldiers parachuted downwards or ran into the action firing away at you, whilst helicopters, boats and tanks also arrived to make things really interesting.<br />
Vehicles required a barrage of shots to be destroyed - but could be taken out in one go with one of your precious rocket propelled grenades. The characters from the arcade game were re-created pretty faithfully - those huge Schwarzenegger type badguys who appeared right in front of you were even included. Waaahhh!<br />
<br />
On later levels some enemies wore kevlar jackets and had to be hit with a headshot to dispatch them. Also requiring fast reactions were the daggers and grenades lobbed at you, these could be shot out of the air to prevent them from hitting you and reducing your energy.<br />
<br />
To the side of the playing screen was the ammo counter, a damage meter and three icons. The latter told you how many men, tanks, boats and so on had to be destroyed before the current level was cleared.<br />
<br />
Extra ammo and grenades were available (by shooting them as they appeared on-screen) and a power up was available which gave you double rapid fire and unlimited bullets for around ten seconds. This was always good for a laugh as you mowed down huge amounts of the enemy with ease.<br />
<br />
There were also items which would reduce your damage level by a few points - which could make all the difference in completing a level.<br />
<br />
Apart from human targets various animals appeared (like birds and pigs) from time to time and shooting them would occasionally give you an item of food to boost your energy or extra ammunition. Just how shooting a pig yields more ammunition is anyones guess, but for some reason I never even questioned it back then!<br />
<br />
Shooting any prisoners, villagers, nurses etc took a fair bit of your energy away - so you needed to be accurate in your shooting.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXGXd1TSNfFekysYB0wYHRJOJ29PinAh6HLswKamjyRZTPVYhVAuYsxpD201pa9qVQ1vhcBxSaVci61nYO6T2kSejVErwK0_Sz26zLtpDVhjYR3Zan_u8l6MXSM2Ewe09u916HX5X4Gw/s1600/operation_wolf_07%255B1%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXGXd1TSNfFekysYB0wYHRJOJ29PinAh6HLswKamjyRZTPVYhVAuYsxpD201pa9qVQ1vhcBxSaVci61nYO6T2kSejVErwK0_Sz26zLtpDVhjYR3Zan_u8l6MXSM2Ewe09u916HX5X4Gw/s1600/operation_wolf_07%255B1%255D.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm the demolition maaaaaan!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The Amiga also managed to represent the cut-scenes from the <strong>arcade game</strong> pretty accurately, and all of the voice samples were replicated too. <br />
<br />
All in all this was a decent enough version of the arcade game, but without that force-feedback Uzi it just wasn't the same. <br />
<br />
But that's it, I am finished..... here. <br />
<br />
We recommend getting hold of the real Amiga hardware - but if not then download an Amiga emulator and download Operation Wolf. Alternatively you could try and <strong>play</strong> it <strong>online</strong>.<br />
<br />
Please see our other Amiga retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys.<br />
<br />
GENRE: <strong>Arcade Game</strong><br />
RELEASE DATE: 1988<br />
RELEASED BY: <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Ocean-Software">Ocean Software</a><br />
DEVELOPER(S): Christophe Gomez, Benoist Aron, Phillipe Chastel, Marc Djan, Jean Baudlot<br />
PRICE: £24.95 (UK)<br />
<br />
Sweat it out with some <strong>Classic Arcade Action</strong>:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EYq_V6V4QrE" width="425"></iframe><br />
<br />
<strong>Arcade Games</strong>, <strong>Classic Games</strong> and <strong>Amiga Games</strong>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-53177110714465777042011-05-18T08:47:00.004+01:002011-08-16T11:45:06.920+01:00Amiga Games - Alien Breed - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<b><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2011/05/amiga-games-alien-breed-classic.html">Alien Breed Amiga</a></b><br />
In <strong>Amiga Games</strong> no-one can hear you scream...<br />
<br />
Well that is if I am playing Alien Breed from Team 17.<br />
<br />
Team 17 were known for producing <strong>quality games</strong> for the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Amiga</a>, and this one was no exception.<br />
<br />
It had it all; superb gameplay, excellent graphics, top notch music, brilliant sound effects and a claustrophobic and terrifying atmosphere.<br />
<br />
The game would go on to spawn several excellent sequels, but this is where the alien horror all began for us <strong>Amiga gamers</strong>...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCT5WJurkseajg0RexqT0xAXkBpRDAf1iBTogJ2BdIFgjBRuHdNzul5q3o226nBJH6kcudfj5OLeqTpWoni5i3l6YAT2hHiJbHJcV7xNsaHsCWc9S7T87qx5AfMdRMnIVjVOgh-IqygzU/s1600/alien_breed_04%255B1%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCT5WJurkseajg0RexqT0xAXkBpRDAf1iBTogJ2BdIFgjBRuHdNzul5q3o226nBJH6kcudfj5OLeqTpWoni5i3l6YAT2hHiJbHJcV7xNsaHsCWc9S7T87qx5AfMdRMnIVjVOgh-IqygzU/s1600/alien_breed_04%255B1%255D.png" /></a></div>The game was a <strong>classic arcade</strong> top down eight way scrolling run 'n gun game which owed a little debt to the <strong>arcade classic</strong> Gauntlet.<br />
<br />
The game was set within 'Intex Space Research Centre - Number 4' where you as a character named Johnson stepped into action to see why no contact could be established with the base. <br />
<br />
In two player mode (which was brilliant fun) a character named Stone was also along for the ride.<br />
<br />
Basically you had to negotiate your way through each level, killing lots of aliens, collecting money, keys and ammunition. <br />
<br />
All of this led to the completion of a particular task allowing you access to the next level, but first let's talk about the games presentation...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikgwjVHaFSOQuOxllUDIuOGhXsbTZw6K3nNsQBFp7-q20F8RisoZr26d41nyYf9m-KqnAIEAnLRUWhEsc9hdBrHMsZDBJWTUiu_Ejp1Q5XNLYRsKMi1S1ogLWc8IGLS-6syf29aGOFEdY/s1600/alien_breed_01%255B1%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikgwjVHaFSOQuOxllUDIuOGhXsbTZw6K3nNsQBFp7-q20F8RisoZr26d41nyYf9m-KqnAIEAnLRUWhEsc9hdBrHMsZDBJWTUiu_Ejp1Q5XNLYRsKMi1S1ogLWc8IGLS-6syf29aGOFEdY/s1600/alien_breed_01%255B1%255D.png" /></a></div><br />
The loading screen was simple yet effective. <br />
<br />
Anyone familiar with the Alien movies knew what lay ahead - and once the game loaded and you got an earful of one of the greatest ever tunes composed for the Amiga you were into excitement overdrive.<br />
<br />
The atmospheric and downright scary theme-tune to Alien Breed:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/h954mvdXVLg" width="425"></iframe><br />
<br />
This quality continued with the game itself.<br />
<br />
The background graphics were superb to look at with each level complete with huge spaceships, compact corridors, tiled floors and computer terminals. There were neat little signs around pointing out certain areas, fire doors, moving machinery and air ducts. All of these features made it seem as though you really were on a research station on some distant planet.<br />
<br />
On top of this the character and alien sprites moved realistically and the in-game sound effects and speech were a pure joy.<br />
<br />
"Player One Requires Ammo" still gives me the chills to this day.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2MrenS3_Af-XVPjewU2p0jE419mPnTbAMPCZzcQGCiTelpy5X0czB8N3Dj4VEvMNuzvBkfoRE9szXLSIA0TWjkelE3khnxvFHatsJbx_cIPquMKGT9QvfGeJlz-Eft4gBuj5dTAc08B4/s1600/alien_breed_05%255B1%255D.png" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>There were lots of neat touches in this game that added to the overall class and polish, moving it from being a good game to great.<br />
<br />
Dotted around the levels were Intex computer terminals which you could log onto. The way the developers created the screen menu and the soft female voice samples used which announced "Welcome to Intex systems" was a stroke of genius.<br />
<br />
On deeper levels the screen would crackle and break up as you logged on which really added to the already creepy atmosphere.<br />
<br />
You could use these terminals to view a map of the current level and also to purchase items such as extra ammunition and weapons.<br />
<br />
Being able to upgrade your weapons added a lot to the game - it was fun blowing those aliens away with your new powerful flame-thrower.<br />
<br />
Also as you progressed through the game different aliens would appear - and they would also begin to popup through the floor. Sneaky bast*rds!<br />
<br />
Throughout the game there was also a steady background 'hum' which was almost heartbeat like, which again added to the overall opressive atmosphere.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqkj4nYXC-dn7PBjv8zor7TE9d5i3K-4Y3Stn6gIer_L68KwGQ9amGhtG0spdepiz5aT3ZsuK17KWdJQ4MjFZnStbEUXLBEDQRmqWN74llBDhgZBCZX9n-qTV3Cp2KiJMMvLoySuLnSI/s1600/alien_breed_07%255B1%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqkj4nYXC-dn7PBjv8zor7TE9d5i3K-4Y3Stn6gIer_L68KwGQ9amGhtG0spdepiz5aT3ZsuK17KWdJQ4MjFZnStbEUXLBEDQRmqWN74llBDhgZBCZX9n-qTV3Cp2KiJMMvLoySuLnSI/s1600/alien_breed_07%255B1%255D.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>I remember the first time I flicked the switch to escape from the second level and the same soft spoken 'Intex systems' voice announced to me that destruction was imminent as the whole screen darkened to a deep red colour and an ominous warning klaxon began to sound.<br />
<br />
With only sixty seconds to haul ass to the escape elevator it was nerve jangling stuff. If you didn't make it there in time it was game over man, game over.<br />
<br />
I have to say that two player mode was a real blast. You could really plan your way around with one player covering the other and doubling up on firepower in those heavily infested areas.<br />
<br />
The only niggles I have with this <strong>gaming classic</strong> is the fact that you can only shoot in the direction you are facing and the re-spawning aliens can get a bit much some times.<br />
<br />
Aside from this, as far as top down <strong>arcade games</strong> go this is a total classic. The one were it all began.<br />
<br />
We recommend getting hold of the real Amiga hardware - but if not then download an Amiga emulator and download Alien Breed. Alternatively you could try and play it online.<br />
<br />
Please see our other Amiga retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys.<br />
<br />
GENRE: <b>Arcade Game</b><br />
RELEASE DATE: 1991<br />
RELEASED BY: Team 17<br />
DEVELOPER(S): Rico Holmes, Stefan Boberg, Peter Tuleby, Andreas Tadic, Allister Brimble<br />
PRICE: £24.99 (UK)<br />
<br />
<b>Classic Arcade Action</b> - Play It In The Dark:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/N-aSztV1QLo" width="425"></iframe><br />
<br />
Are you interested in space games? Then you should have a look at Bigpoint's <a href="http://us.battlestar-galactica.bigpoint.com/">Battlestar Galactica</a> or try some <a href="http://us.ramacity.com/">sim games</a> or a <a href="http://us.drakensang-online.com/">fantasy game</a>!<br />
<br />
<b>Classic Games</b>, <b>Arcade Games</b> and <b>Amiga Games</b>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-84429792232963575302011-04-22T11:31:00.002+01:002011-04-22T11:42:17.515+01:00Amiga Games - Pinball Dreams - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<b><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2011/04/amiga-games-pinball-dreams-classic.html">Pinball Dreams Amiga</a></b><br />
<br />
I was never a fan of pinball games until this came along for the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga"><strong>Commodore Amiga</strong></a>. <br />
<br />
With wonderful graphics, nice music and superb physics this <strong>classic game</strong> came straight out of the <strong>amusement arcades</strong> was (and still is) a joy to play.<br />
<br />
Digital Illusions gave us <strong>Amiga gamers</strong> this title in 1992 and it was certainly something a little different from the mainstream, and once more the good old Amiga gave us pure arcade atmosphere in the comfort of our own homes...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio82hjd0VJX-9DyJ81-XN78ihlYxkapxoeQhKDRwz9JFaev7OBRkSs-4Fg1JWcd8_CNx6eAHVnA-4iKpRsS4MS8MdNnE5GbJUzVC0jchUmbOzcI3ht3wnDdPntwTCTFfvXBtPQOwhEdaA/s1600/pinball_dreams_02%255B1%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio82hjd0VJX-9DyJ81-XN78ihlYxkapxoeQhKDRwz9JFaev7OBRkSs-4Fg1JWcd8_CNx6eAHVnA-4iKpRsS4MS8MdNnE5GbJUzVC0jchUmbOzcI3ht3wnDdPntwTCTFfvXBtPQOwhEdaA/s1600/pinball_dreams_02%255B1%255D.png" /></a></div><br />
There were four <strong>pinball tables</strong> within this game to play through, each with it's own flashing lights, bonuses and power-ups.<br />
<br />
The tables were superbly designed and contained authentic clicks, blips, whirring noises and any other bells and whistles you can think of that made you feel as though you were actually on a real <strong>pinball table</strong>.<br />
<br />
The attention to detail was fantastic. The ball moved around in a realistic manner and even the initial launching of the ball onto the table was power adjustable, you could belt it in at fult pelt if you wanted or gently ease it onto the table, it was all down to you.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglJ1B2QQqmXNjFhZ9i2Chci95Vy26tQ1lXY1u6gHbGxDIacVn3DUnV8mOLboSijBsVVaBcsmBnLJjLY3aEb4HJiUA0-ayl-mt8hBu5b3L8c8my8wf_lrphXBsWdm9qSYwk8J0reXyO7lU/s1600/pinball_dreams_01%255B1%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglJ1B2QQqmXNjFhZ9i2Chci95Vy26tQ1lXY1u6gHbGxDIacVn3DUnV8mOLboSijBsVVaBcsmBnLJjLY3aEb4HJiUA0-ayl-mt8hBu5b3L8c8my8wf_lrphXBsWdm9qSYwk8J0reXyO7lU/s1600/pinball_dreams_01%255B1%255D.png" /></a></div>With the myriads of bonuses on each table there was plenty to get your teeth into here. Letters to light up, targets to hit, sticky points which allowed you to aim the ball.... you could even tilt the table via the space bar! Too much tilting resulted in your 'turn' being revoked though.<br />
<br />
This <strong>classic Amiga game </strong>was a masterpiece of programming and design. Each table was excellently crafted, the sound effects were spot on, the ball physics were astonishingly realistic and the differing in-game music per table kept things fresh.<br />
<br />
It was also possible for up to eight players to take part in the game, allowing you to host your very own mini pinball tournaments which was great fun. Food, drink and pinball dreams was a great way to while away a cold evening in Carlisle I can tell ya!<br />
If you like pinball, and even if you don't, this game is still very playable and addictive. Try it, you may even become a pinball wizard like me..... ;-)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSJYXhOb-ayeMrnGJN19uo2VMFwhJODRIxJqzmDrHUJjLs8S7sa4sEjRvDtM9IRv53UmGGupT9EDPYGB79TXYZR7WSUjaIRgfHggAdFzS74YNSDlmsmqxtkZfOklJJlt9SfnA5SQKCEbE/s1600/pinball_dreams_08%255B1%255D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSJYXhOb-ayeMrnGJN19uo2VMFwhJODRIxJqzmDrHUJjLs8S7sa4sEjRvDtM9IRv53UmGGupT9EDPYGB79TXYZR7WSUjaIRgfHggAdFzS74YNSDlmsmqxtkZfOklJJlt9SfnA5SQKCEbE/s1600/pinball_dreams_08%255B1%255D.png" /></a></div><br />
We recommend getting hold of the real Amiga hardware - but if not then download an Amiga emulator and download Pinball Dreams. Alternatively you could try and <strong>play</strong> it <strong>online</strong>.<br />
<br />
Please see our other Amiga retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys.<br />
<br />
GENRE: <strong>Arcade Game</strong> (<strong>Pinball</strong>)<br />
RELEASE DATE: 1992<br />
RELEASED BY: 21st Century Entertainment<br />
DEVELOPER(S): Digital Illusions<br />
PRICE: £25.99 (UK)<br />
<br />
<strong>Classic Arcade Action</strong>:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6UNGMiPETXo" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe><br />
<br />
<strong>Classic Games</strong>, <strong>Arcade Games</strong> and <strong>Amiga Games</strong>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-87229428538756508902011-04-06T08:06:00.013+01:002011-04-06T15:31:57.195+01:00Amiga Games - Bombjack - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<strong><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2011/04/amiga-games-bombjack-classic-commodore.html">Bombjack Amiga</a></strong> <br />Tehkan (now Tecmo) had created this popular <strong>arcade game</strong> in 1984 and it already been converted to most 8-bit machines in 1986. <br /><br />A 16-bit conversion was always on the cards and Bombjack arrived on the <strong>Commodore Amiga</strong> in 1989 - and whilst it was a playable game it was also a little disappointing. <br /><br /><a href="http://zxspectrumgames.blogspot.com/2009/12/spectrum-games-bombjack-zx-spectrum.html#comments">ZX Spectrum Bombjack</a> had been an awesome conversion, but on the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Amiga</a> we were treated to a lazy <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Atari-ST">Atari ST</a> port, which of course would just not do...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg28N-zSWJg5zKLg_juHbaiTGdEc2hoctqkpi0RuGGhXtpwtKF4TikndcVjC-VoHQXoG6BjNUwb_-aehC7ACkjCUxwVsdscBXM96UNVeZ5RYyDup2e8dXF60laJcJ7Emy7TBqcXdHgt8m8/s1600/bomb_jack_01%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592364188374705810" border="0" alt="Bombjack Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg28N-zSWJg5zKLg_juHbaiTGdEc2hoctqkpi0RuGGhXtpwtKF4TikndcVjC-VoHQXoG6BjNUwb_-aehC7ACkjCUxwVsdscBXM96UNVeZ5RYyDup2e8dXF60laJcJ7Emy7TBqcXdHgt8m8/s320/bomb_jack_01%255B1%255D.png" /></a><br /><br />In this (by 1989 a <strong>retro arcade game</strong>) you controlled Jack - a 'superhero' who could leap incredibly high and gracefully glide to the ground.<br /><br />He could diffuse bombs too by simply touching them - I suppose that's why he was called Bomb Jack. Anyway - in this <strong>arcade game</strong> a load of bombs (depicted in a cartoon style - black 'balls' with a fizzing lit fuze) had been placed in famous locations all around the world. <br /><br />Just why is anyones guess! <br /><br /><u>The locations were:</u> <br />The Sphinx and pyramids <br />The Acropolis <br />Neuschwanstein Castle <br />Miami Beach <br />Hollywood (LA) <br /><br /><a><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592364151618693266" border="0" alt="Bombjack Visits Egypt - Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt75FEgfXq9abgaBR2oclcSkDnQwGab8dT7tEAJFl0uA3nSOqJ79IK2G2Md34fd67BIVgjJPHxqQq9ivmSu07HodWnxBLj2qjkRnWJo0Qioyk5RjFntCLKSxzkrV_s4_w4NmQiHe6MbFk/s320/bomb_jack_02%255B1%255D.png" /></a><br /><br />The object of the game was to 'diffuse' the bombs and defeat the various enemies on each screen, with screen having one of the famous locations as a backdrop. The screens matched up with the original <strong>arcade game</strong> quite well.<br /><br />Each of the screens usually had platforms on it too - you couldn't jump through these platforms but you could land on them and walk across them if you wanted to - giving a nice mix of <strong>arcade action</strong> and classic platform gaming.<br /><br />Various nasties populated each screen such as robots, birds and deadly snails (yep, deadly snails!) which would take one of your three lives on contact with you.<br /><br />You had to manouver around these nasties by leaping and 'floating' around the screen, you could also change direction in mid-air which was pretty cool.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnfkxduOcVxDYC00nEjxRwD3SN4G5mZvHv_w3LSUSBuGrlf1thLhpiat6cY4bRWcEa7wHOm41n8DsY7xBOu3SX9QLzKxJ56HP_YAFUNCkNsARa7L2-seYmgAQDOhCJx9bQQfmTmWAJqAI/s1600/bomb_jack_04%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592364117064368354" border="0" alt="Jack Those Bombs!" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnfkxduOcVxDYC00nEjxRwD3SN4G5mZvHv_w3LSUSBuGrlf1thLhpiat6cY4bRWcEa7wHOm41n8DsY7xBOu3SX9QLzKxJ56HP_YAFUNCkNsARa7L2-seYmgAQDOhCJx9bQQfmTmWAJqAI/s320/bomb_jack_04%255B1%255D.png" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeqRrX3KAReDLzsYXw55r0IMTbhl8pAKOM1BYHTAS7eK8xjg9gBXS74KRSshUy6xS4U4rumW_kJ7iXA50Nx4OZDGg0lbtHwGKyDKvKijw8nvExZdLN3gb5_qvRHJCp7gP-sZl4tSC7iIU/s1600/bomb_jack_05%255B1%255D.png"></a><br /><br />Once you had collected/diffused the first bomb (they never exploded, no matter how long you let them fizzle away) another one's fuse would ignite.<br /><br />You could collect them all in the order that they 'lit up' - but it didn't really matter if you didn't bother, you could still complete each game screen no matter in what order you collected them.<br /><br />If you did collect them all in order a bonus was put your way. Collecting all twenty three in the active state resulted in a whopping 60,000 bonus points. Wahey!<br /><br />Either way - once all the bombs on screen had been collected, you moved on to the next screen. Every so often a disk bearing the letter P arrived onscreen (A powerup which was familiar to all <strong>Commodore gamers</strong>) - collecting this immobilised the enemies and turned them into stationary smiling faces (for a few seconds - <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Pacman-Game">Pac Man</a> style)which could be collected for yet more points. Wahey again!<br /><br />An E disk added an extra life, while a B disk added points and increased the value of any subsequent bombs collected.<br /><br />Once you had visited all of the screens and in true <strong>arcade game</strong> tradition, you were whisked back to the beginning - with the platform layout altered and the nasties even nastier.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTraVel9qlxcXErvRwEfjCE1jn-oQ1-iD05BsU5M0S4bLMMBfzwtF8v2WlhPoifb1XqoI4uoREGK3pHlhyphenhyphenRq6C2iLv1D89lLAIBDu9OGXNJ5WRdaiNCwce5uiseNtaIl5z-5hEf8ZuGO8/s1600/bomb_jack_06%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592364034896203842" border="0" alt="More action for Bomjack - Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTraVel9qlxcXErvRwEfjCE1jn-oQ1-iD05BsU5M0S4bLMMBfzwtF8v2WlhPoifb1XqoI4uoREGK3pHlhyphenhyphenRq6C2iLv1D89lLAIBDu9OGXNJ5WRdaiNCwce5uiseNtaIl5z-5hEf8ZuGO8/s320/bomb_jack_06%255B1%255D.png" /></a> <br />I have to say that I enjoyed this <strong>arcade game</strong> and loved the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/ZXSpectrum">ZX Spectrum</a> version, but the version we got for the good old <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Amiga</a> was a little flat.<br /><br />It was still playable enough and captured some of the spirit of the <strong>original arcade game</strong> - but it just wasn't as good as it should have been.<br /><br />With a little more effort this would have been the definitive home version of the <strong>arcade game</strong>, but it turned out to be just another 'decent conversion'. A real opportunity missed.<br /><br />Still, give this old <strong>Commodore Amiga</strong> game a go, it certainly has a level of retro charm.<br /><br />We recommend getting hold of the real <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Amiga-1200">Amiga hardware</a> - but if not then download an Amiga emulator and download Bombjack. Alternatively you could try and <strong>play</strong> it <strong>online</strong>.<br /><br />Please see our other Amiga retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys.<br /><br />GENRE: <strong>Arcade game</strong><br />RELEASE DATE: 1989<br />RELEASED BY: Elite<br />DEVELOPER(S): Paradox Software<br />PRICE: £25.99 (UK)<br /><br />Not quite a <strong>classic Amiga Game</strong>:<br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jLLYvTHPp9I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><strong>Classic Games</strong> and <strong>Amiga Games</strong>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-79583748523446692372011-03-22T07:54:00.011+00:002011-03-28T12:20:17.817+01:00Amiga Games - Body Blows - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<strong><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2011/03/amiga-games-body-blows-classic.html">Body Blows Amiga</a></strong> Those famous <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Commodore Amiga</a> coders Team 17 (who authored many a great game) gave us a rival to Street Fighter in 1993 with Body Blows. <br /><br />All of the usual features for an <strong>arcade</strong> style beat em up were in there; varying fighters, special moves and differing backgrounds as you progressed through the game. <br /><br />Now Street Fighter and <a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2010/09/amiga-games-mortal-kombat-classic.html">Mortal Kombat</a> were very good <strong>arcade games </strong>(And Mortal Kombat ended up being a very good <strong>Amiga Game</strong>) - could Body Blows go toe to toe or would it be finished off after three short rounds?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQuhhlI9sMqP4Elv9DiCOMiBVxFndoFViFLgdw0fcDJJhj7WfZ4SD6OmYskrigxwvA3QJGlduhfwax6hlKR3KjOIa6BmmVWqKrCMDLlhAvOXTcATid-QDgua9YXSFFnp3uZZZlWTEL7o/s1600/body_blows_04%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586809796987579490" border="0" alt="Body Blows On The Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixQuhhlI9sMqP4Elv9DiCOMiBVxFndoFViFLgdw0fcDJJhj7WfZ4SD6OmYskrigxwvA3QJGlduhfwax6hlKR3KjOIa6BmmVWqKrCMDLlhAvOXTcATid-QDgua9YXSFFnp3uZZZlWTEL7o/s320/body_blows_04%255B1%255D.png" /></a> <br /><br />Like any good game of this type it offered two modes of play. Single player mode pitted you against the computer (after you had chosen your fighter) making you fight against six increasingly difficult opponents before finally taking on the hardest of them all 'Max'. <br /><br />Give Max a kicking and your victory was complete. <br /><br />Multi-player mode with a bunch of friends was also possible, allowing two, four or even eight players to take part in a knockout tournament. Great fun. <br /><br />In <strong>classic arcade</strong> fashion (which <strong>Commodore gamers</strong> were familiar with) each fighter was blessed with a plethora of moves with lots of punches, kicks and flying attacks available to each. <br /><br />Of course each character had special moves too which could be real fun - see 'Cossack' and his Superdrill move for example.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlWISs-D5eHp5MiBzFwygDprAMLtjohzkH8aL_9l6WkNa2-0b4Oe05L-pqLQ9UJO5kHAkBc-YpfbggcYEHWD7DEsJ10Yjw5jm1wDDf-Bhj_mM7LMNWJ3srPJyZGjNKmTM9DmJObNn3R-Y/s1600/body_blows_01%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586809833870672210" border="0" alt="Have The Fight Of Your Life With Body Blows" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlWISs-D5eHp5MiBzFwygDprAMLtjohzkH8aL_9l6WkNa2-0b4Oe05L-pqLQ9UJO5kHAkBc-YpfbggcYEHWD7DEsJ10Yjw5jm1wDDf-Bhj_mM7LMNWJ3srPJyZGjNKmTM9DmJObNn3R-Y/s320/body_blows_01%255B1%255D.png" /></a> <br /><br />Another good feature in this game was that it allowed you to put the same characters against each other (which required a cheat in Street Fighter to accomplish) for a real evenly matched battle. <br /><br />Great combo-attacks could be executed after a fair amount of practice too and huge bonus points were awared for winning a bout without taking a single blow - a perfect victory. <br /><br />For me as usual you usually ended up with a couple of fighters that you preferred and stuck to those when playing the game. <br /><br />I remember Max being a real b*stard to beat - I don't think I ever did as far as I remember. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg31eduszS6NSYA_8XyZ5DPeZQ5CalS89rOE4Puhy7x-EpKj6so6palqlNJVlefpHuC0UNBTnVrHFdfWcyooMpCVcFqiBqRVFmT8gV8B_7HvMyZ0-G5cz4OqpFWRbMJXYcxloAP3-8s06I/s1600/body_blows_05%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586809749582031714" border="0" alt="Ass Kicking On The Docks In Body Blows - Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg31eduszS6NSYA_8XyZ5DPeZQ5CalS89rOE4Puhy7x-EpKj6so6palqlNJVlefpHuC0UNBTnVrHFdfWcyooMpCVcFqiBqRVFmT8gV8B_7HvMyZ0-G5cz4OqpFWRbMJXYcxloAP3-8s06I/s320/body_blows_05%255B1%255D.png" /></a> <br /><br />All in all this game was well recieved when it was released. It was a well polished game with decent characters which were nicely drawn (and pretty big), great looking four way scrolling backdrops, nifty in-game speech and great music both in-game and on the title screen. <br /><br />Some of the special moves were very well done too - the ninja who sort of 'dissolved' into thin air ('Shadow!') was rather cool at the time! <br /><br />Team 17 were synonymous with quality and they delivered a fine <strong>arcade game</strong> in the beat em up genre to us <strong>Amiga gamers</strong>. It perhaps lacked a little soul - but once you got the hang of it this game was well worth playing. <br /><br />It kept me occupied until MK came out anyway - and was one of the better beat em ups in <strong>Commodore gaming</strong> history. <br /><br />The only real downside to the game was the disk swapping and long load times between levels - but we can forgive it that as the game could be played on a standard Amiga 500. <br /><br />We recommend getting hold of the real Amiga hardware - but if not then download an Amiga emulator and download Body Blows. Alternatively you could try and <strong>play</strong> it <strong>online</strong>. <br /><br />Please see our other Amiga retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys <br /><br />GENRE: <strong>Arcade game</strong> (Beat em up) <br />RELEASE DATE: 1993 RELEASED BY: Team 17 <br />DEVELOPER(S): Allister Brimble, Cedric McMillan Jnr, Alex Garnier, Nik Harbor, Daniel J Burke <br />PRICE: £25.99 (UK)<br /><br /><strong>Classic Arcade Action</strong>: <br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UTn4Asi7DuY" frameborder="0" width="480"></iframe><br /><strong>Arcade Games</strong>, <strong>Classic Games</strong> and <strong>Amiga Games</strong>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-75487084403458083082011-03-09T13:20:00.009+00:002011-03-09T13:43:03.270+00:00Amiga Games - Xenon - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<strong><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2011/03/amiga-games-xenon-classic-commodore.html">Xenon Amiga</a></strong><br />Once again the Bitmap brothers came up trumps with a slice of <strong>classic arcade action</strong> with Xenon in 1988.<br /><br />The Xenon series ended up being regarded as <strong>classic games</strong> on the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Commodore Amiga</a> and the first game in the series was extremely playable and also featured some excellent music courtesy of musical genious David Whittaker.<br /><br />Like any good <strong>arcade</strong> style shoot em up there was a back story to explain why you were pitched in battle against a bunch of bad guys...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Um44YPjGjiRnLugxJoNI0IxWes5BYlg3exS94vzNmF0xdKI-CXwjvcSLPfDWNgHDlkUo94Lkkx_6IsMzNIFZHgefUFIFi1OLocTyfF9TLzhA8nEx1hD_p0k9CWPLSas2VZ48hdT_NEA/s1600/xenon_02%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582069624197812882" border="0" alt="Xenon on the Commodore Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Um44YPjGjiRnLugxJoNI0IxWes5BYlg3exS94vzNmF0xdKI-CXwjvcSLPfDWNgHDlkUo94Lkkx_6IsMzNIFZHgefUFIFi1OLocTyfF9TLzhA8nEx1hD_p0k9CWPLSas2VZ48hdT_NEA/s320/xenon_02%255B1%255D.png" /></a> From the moment that Captain Xod's face appeared on the vid-com, you just knew he was in a spot of bother. As the only other ship in the sector it was up to you to go to his aid. Cue Sector One!<br /><br />So - you had to fight your way through the many game zones whilst collecting essential supplies for the fleet. At the end of each sector you have a chance to refuel and reload ammunition - but only after you have defeated the end of level 'boss'.<br /><br />So there you have it - a <strong>classic arcade game</strong> back story . In the game you had to negotiate four sectors, each of which were divided into four game zones. A nice voice-over (by a bloke wearing shades) announced each sector as you progressed through the game.<br /><br />In a nice twist had a choice of two craft which could be changed at will depending on the environment. You were in control of a ground craft which was capable of eight-way movement as well as a faster jet-fighter.<br /><br />It was up to you to select the appropriate craft to negotiate the current obstacles and you also had to be prepared to switch between them rapidly. Certain types of your opponents were ground based and some were airborne - meaning that only the right craft could destroy certain enemies you faced.<br /><br />In true <strong>arcade gaming</strong> tradition there were powerups aplenty. Certain weapons could only be collected and used by the fightercraft and vice-versa. Shooting the aliens and their weapon emplacements revealed power cells which could be collected to give you some much needed extras.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582069587339949314" border="0" alt="The Xenon Title Screen On The Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3MFAjQWWprBo4KQGrvTBpy6HUis5lUgItiBthW1hoYBFtCkMvmwhcPP9nWiEPVlrqllEvQYZ22oods7FUuNKWSgsPtj0kmaVRpAO-vzULjxuipqMS2FJPCRWz5vSgxiga4QkwNcR-v0E/s320/xenon_01%255B1%255D.png" /> <p><br />The powerups available to the player were: </p><ul><li>A ARMOUR - Granted total invincibity for 15 seconds </li><li>F FUEL - There were two types of fuel cell. Those with one orange band restored five fuel units; those with three gave you a full tank</li><li>H HOMING - Gave homing missiles for 15 seconds</li><li>L LASER - Armed your fighter with lasers</li><li>G GUN - Canceled the lasers (boo!) and reverted to normal bullets</li><li>P POWER - Increased the range of your shots</li><li>R RATE - Sped up your ground craft</li><li>S SIDE - Armed fighter with side firing lasers</li><li>W WINGS - A can of red bull. Only joking, gave you wing-tip weapons</li><li>Z ZAP - No, not a copy of the magzine. Two types of zap pills. A single orange band zapped all aliens on the screen; a triple band zapped aliens and emplacements</li><li>Balls - Up to three rotating balls that followed you and replicated your fire pattern. What a total balls up</li></ul><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQzb2MVAacyWGWt609zHpevULxBlbNhixbFbi9v0RzJrDnluJYO6sFg-nzwcc60fpRTQISLPyS_2P8jVmCQHn3_bp8Ef4tKa-CPvSPgoxwWqQgfi1b0UXLpuK-tlkMD5oTw8lhlf09CuM/s1600/xenon_03%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582069541665828386" border="0" alt="Smooth Scolling Action in Xenon on the Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQzb2MVAacyWGWt609zHpevULxBlbNhixbFbi9v0RzJrDnluJYO6sFg-nzwcc60fpRTQISLPyS_2P8jVmCQHn3_bp8Ef4tKa-CPvSPgoxwWqQgfi1b0UXLpuK-tlkMD5oTw8lhlf09CuM/s320/xenon_03%255B1%255D.png" /></a><br />To be honest this game was quite tough and one for the seasoned <strong>arcade gamer</strong>, although with practice and learning you could find a 'knack' to taking on the various waves of the enemy.<br /><br />Each time you were hit you lost at least a unit of fuel which was used to recharge your shields. If you collided with any of the aliens you suffered substantial damage and consequently used up more fuel.<br /><br />If your fuel ran out you lost a life and had to restart from the beginning of the current game zone. Some aliens required more than one hit to destroy and some were indestructable - all of the traditional <strong>arcade gaming</strong> elements were here.<br /><br />In keeping with this gaming tradition you would face off against a single large opponent roughly half way through the current level. This was a 'Sentinel', a supposed fully sentient enemy. As usual you had to find out the vulnerable points and concentrate your fire upon it - it was the only way to destroy these big bad boys.<br /><br />Colliding with a 'Sentinel' was instantly fatal, and if that wasn't bad enough at the end of each section you had to take on another larger and more dangerous 'Sentinel' than the one you faced at the halfway point!<br /><br />If you succeeded in defeating the end of level boss you were refuelled and re-equipped for the next game zone, but you lost any weapons you had collected in the previous section. Harsh!<br /><br />We recommend getting hold of the real Amiga hardware - but if not then download an Amiga emulator and download Xenon. Alternatively you could try and <strong>play</strong> it <strong>online</strong>.<br /><br />Please see our other Amiga retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys<br /><br />GENRE: <strong>Arcade Game</strong><br />RELEASE DATE: 1988<br />RELEASED BY: Melbourne House<br />DEVELOPER(S): Steve Kelly, Mike Montgomery, David Whittaker<br />PRICE: £19.99 - UK<br /><br /><strong>Classic Arcade Action</strong>:<br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5TBt9CQd6tg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><strong>Classic Games</strong>, <strong>Arcade Games</strong> and <strong>Amiga Games</strong>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-16011855300285847352011-02-25T08:47:00.006+00:002011-02-25T10:54:31.520+00:00Amiga Games - Hybris - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<strong><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2011/02/amiga-games-hybris-classic-commodore.html">Hybris Amiga</a></strong><br />This <strong>classic arcade game</strong> was released for the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Amiga</a> in 1989 by Discovery Software.<br /><br />I only discovered this game recently but for me it's one of the greatest vertically scrolling shooters I ever played on the Amiga - I like it a lot.<br /><br />It was also the precursor to the excellent Battle Squadron (which was developed by the same programmers) - both of which are must play games.<br /><br />This game is pretty standard <strong>arcade gaming</strong>, but it's just so playable...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZgqf2OsgeqeRsQ2o-vBVlvZaVyVmaN_nVRJvGfYKqtqLqgh23IucodmR0wpQYanPJxMyOwJUruiK4rVX6AyxxftA68KeS87053U_jUt4joOCBm1J1MIXFz8pmL1UdHw7WlLnQbHJn4vw/s1600/hybris_03%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577546736953450546" border="0" alt="Hybris Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZgqf2OsgeqeRsQ2o-vBVlvZaVyVmaN_nVRJvGfYKqtqLqgh23IucodmR0wpQYanPJxMyOwJUruiK4rVX6AyxxftA68KeS87053U_jUt4joOCBm1J1MIXFz8pmL1UdHw7WlLnQbHJn4vw/s320/hybris_03%255B1%255D.png" /></a> The thing about this game was that when it was released really good shmups were thin on the Amiga ground.<br /><br />We'd already been treated to the decent <a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2011/02/amiga-games-menace-classic-commodore.html">Menace</a> and Xenon, we had the decidedly average <a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2010/04/amiga-longplay-blood-money-classic.html">Blood Money</a> and Xenon II and Silkworm (both good games) were released around the same time. As far as <strong>arcade type games</strong> go that was about it, we were yet to be treated to the likes of <a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2011/01/amiga-games-swiv-classic-commodore.html">SWIV</a>.<br /><br />To be fair this game was not the most impressive graphically (not that it looked bad or anything it just looked kind of average) - but as soon as you picked up your joystick the gameplay wrapped it's arms around you and gave you a big hug. <p></p><p>This was pure playability at it's vertical scrolling best. In <strong>classic arcade</strong> fashion you could move your craft in all directions and could collect icon powerups which appeared on the screen every now and again.</p><p>One point really enhanced the gameplay though: On collection of a powerup you could 'waggle' your joystick to make the weapon take on new (temporary) destructive powers. This feature could be used three times per powerup making tactical use important, but it really added an extra element to the game.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7BrToAP35-2Iibg9WueHiUZWplGE7pUS6UsUjTIMQSc_FtiXuODoFfoyNEbYzX8ZMXEqmPe2Wx-1xGrCHV7BODx3e29Lb9l8JACRbCs5MSFPcXvzW3a0STrvYOl5ZmgZrOrgkTlZ4QRw/s1600/hybris_01%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577546654471735106" border="0" alt="The nifty title screen to Hyrbis on the Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7BrToAP35-2Iibg9WueHiUZWplGE7pUS6UsUjTIMQSc_FtiXuODoFfoyNEbYzX8ZMXEqmPe2Wx-1xGrCHV7BODx3e29Lb9l8JACRbCs5MSFPcXvzW3a0STrvYOl5ZmgZrOrgkTlZ4QRw/s320/hybris_01%255B1%255D.png" /></a>Couple these powerups with the perfectly balanced playability (which I would describe as hard but fair) and you were onto a winner. The game (in <strong>classic arcade gaming</strong> tradition) also allowed a player continue when all lives were lost - which again added to the playability.</p><p>I have to mention the in-game music too which is bloody marvellous. Paul Van Der Valk composed a piece of music that accompanies the game perfectly and stays in your head for days afterwards.<br /><br />Hybris in-game music:<br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/aKKNBjFz9XE" frameborder="0" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />You were also able to customise the game to a degree by altering the rate of enemy bombs, changing the duration of powerups and so on. All good stuff.</p><p>The only downside was the plain-ish graphics (which scrolled nice and smoothly) - but when the game was this good it mattered not a jot.<br /><br />Hyrbis is a <strong>classic arcade</strong> shooter that still plays well today.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh56JRPl-uKdM2cjTdA02FgU924fEvlPcMSmqo5xbvbWaD3sY49HhYJL2oyXyTd-ZxWDZ-TBKXLYspg0pYKWhUBGSXAZaI2Azfr-Voi8z1cVXa9v-QrQ4NBTnpX_XPK9vhXH2K3kRtEmr4/s1600/hybris_02%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5577546695063280466" border="0" alt="Hyrbis is superb on the Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh56JRPl-uKdM2cjTdA02FgU924fEvlPcMSmqo5xbvbWaD3sY49HhYJL2oyXyTd-ZxWDZ-TBKXLYspg0pYKWhUBGSXAZaI2Azfr-Voi8z1cVXa9v-QrQ4NBTnpX_XPK9vhXH2K3kRtEmr4/s320/hybris_02%255B1%255D.png" /></a><br /><br />We recommend getting hold of the real Amiga hardware - but if not then download an Amiga emulator and download Hybris. Alternatively you could try and <strong>play</strong> it <strong>online</strong>.<br /><br />Please see our other Amiga retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys<br /><br />GENRE: <strong>Arcade game</strong><br />RELEASE DATE: 1989<br />RELEASED BY: Discovery<br />DEVELOPER(S): Martin Pederson, Torben Bakager Larsen, Paul van der Valk<br />PRICE: £19.95 - UK<br /><br /><strong>Classic Arcade Action</strong>:<br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9QBStOhiIzA" frameborder="0" width="480"></iframe><br /><br /><strong>Classic Games</strong>, <strong>Arcade Games</strong> and <strong>Amiga Games</strong></p>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-58349797815571631302011-02-15T07:41:00.007+00:002011-02-15T08:33:39.048+00:00Amiga Games - Menace - Classic Commodore Amiga Games<strong><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2011/02/amiga-games-menace-classic-commodore.html">Menace Amiga</a></strong><br />You know, this is one of those <strong>classic arcade games</strong> that just exudes charm. <br /><br />It was released for the <a href="http://hubopages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Commodore Amiga</a> in 1988 by Psygnosis and was developed by good old DMA design (who went on to create <a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2010/04/amiga-longplay-blood-money-classic.html">Blood Money</a>).<br /><br />For me it is one of the good 'early' horizontal scrolling shmups for the Amiga that was playable, good to look at with great sound effects and a pumping soundtrack. Read on if you fancy a spot of danger, danger, danger...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0dcdAFzgb-GJHzTxN1Ea3dPoe4mussnuiw-0iIT1CUTA2_mIRgOQUV1NFwz2mqI7md5xfKTRVosM2WY3EP6CYulZ6ALd1kYMe6ksxG8SWButn4HhpnY-LUUPPZpHnF-9QjGOq9F6X9hE/s1600/menace_09%255B1%255D.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0dcdAFzgb-GJHzTxN1Ea3dPoe4mussnuiw-0iIT1CUTA2_mIRgOQUV1NFwz2mqI7md5xfKTRVosM2WY3EP6CYulZ6ALd1kYMe6ksxG8SWButn4HhpnY-LUUPPZpHnF-9QjGOq9F6X9hE/s320/menace_09%255B1%255D.png" border="0" alt="Menace on the Amiga"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573820081459475570" /></a><br /><br />The planet Draconia must be destroyed! Infiltrate this artificially created planet and blow it and every alien slimeball there away. So there is the games 'plot' - shoot first, don't even bother asking questions.<br /><br />Let's be honest here, this game took 'inspiration' from the famous <strong>arcade games</strong> such as <strong>R-Type</strong>, Nemesis and Salamander - but it proved that coin-op gaming could be reproduced in your own home.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFPIGzK8AhNvxuf6VSsMrnDadguiPzihyHMdJ38BDUhxSUjNN93rVysR7tPZ8ydAw6Z7gIhuysOzxYFCtUYavOBlDWgo3hUZ0CtpfE7xFTuaWA6pt4zwqGgs1Pu9hZ0AKPvubthC380ls/s1600/menace_08%255B1%255D.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFPIGzK8AhNvxuf6VSsMrnDadguiPzihyHMdJ38BDUhxSUjNN93rVysR7tPZ8ydAw6Z7gIhuysOzxYFCtUYavOBlDWgo3hUZ0CtpfE7xFTuaWA6pt4zwqGgs1Pu9hZ0AKPvubthC380ls/s320/menace_08%255B1%255D.png" border="0" alt="Another level on Menace for the Amiga"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573820038202784818" /></a><br /><br />With six levels to play through the game offered a decent challenge. The graphics were nicely drawn and scrolled by smoothly enough. In true <strong>classic arcade gaming</strong> tradition you were able to power up your craft by destroying waves of nasties which would leave a token for you to collect.<br /><br />You could shoot the token to change the powerup type from Guns to Lazers to Outriders and more. A nice voice over informed you of what you had just collected. I can still hear 'Outrider' in my head all these years later...<br /> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV34NrcnPWgM2906LxVd-Ud2yFEsEjO0f2xfilSd_u6EpdI3eeI7zMP5RMg46CHcRBNjEiADoh7H3HKzUS8Hoe-px1rxc8DRCQA2W6brErgeZRx9Lz2GBiMly_hkfPZpTencuIHwPCLj0/s1600/menace_06%255B1%255D.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV34NrcnPWgM2906LxVd-Ud2yFEsEjO0f2xfilSd_u6EpdI3eeI7zMP5RMg46CHcRBNjEiADoh7H3HKzUS8Hoe-px1rxc8DRCQA2W6brErgeZRx9Lz2GBiMly_hkfPZpTencuIHwPCLj0/s320/menace_06%255B1%255D.png" border="0" alt="Blast the alien scum as they are a Menace"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573819984775129218" /></a><br /><br />So, the weapons powerups was pure R-Type, and in more <strong>arcade game</strong> necessities there was always an end of level boss to deal with. Each boss was tough to kill and always had a weak spot for you to aim for.<br /><br />Whilst there are better soundtracks to <strong>Amiga games</strong> there is something just bloody good about this one. The tune is almost jolly, but keeps the action going and really suits the game perfectly.<br /><br />The spot FX are decent enough too with nice shooting sounds and explosions, but the voice overs and the end of level 'Danger, Danger....' really were superb back in the day. Eerie and 'menacing'.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjidjOEhIiEG901qaO7xb1HQvtiR6f3VCjYcrhx5Uklv5URJV6b0bZMS6udNKly15Ic1F8kUlnWHcwzP0qKnJvok0f-U6HYJ6k_U7acskhG9ZzA-ClAvjg723jOnHoHKe7Y1TEHL_P-aU4/s1600/menace_02%255B1%255D.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjidjOEhIiEG901qaO7xb1HQvtiR6f3VCjYcrhx5Uklv5URJV6b0bZMS6udNKly15Ic1F8kUlnWHcwzP0qKnJvok0f-U6HYJ6k_U7acskhG9ZzA-ClAvjg723jOnHoHKe7Y1TEHL_P-aU4/s320/menace_02%255B1%255D.png" border="0" alt="The impressive opening scene to Menace - Amiga"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573819930775098626" /></a><br /><br />What more can I say? It's six levels of pure blasting mayhem from the golden era of scrolling shooters. I loved it then and still like it now.<br /><br />If you are a good <strong>arcade gamer</strong> then this one will be relatively easy for you to complete, but it is playable, easy on the eyes and ears. It also paved the way for the likes of Team 17's <a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2010/12/amiga-games-project-x-classic-commodore.html">Project X</a> and is a true <strong>classic game</strong> from the late eighties.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgumdJzUJE4IxUs2tZ_JsXjlq-3cElRlIB-mxXQWKIBDEl31HUH5cex4gkVCVo-YX2WBMpSc2ezLFShlYAYGySuf-nQI2nJSkS2QZkQczsxRE-E7rdl1eJn3m11xd19-JxdA0xLq3IVeDI/s1600/menace_01%255B1%255D.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgumdJzUJE4IxUs2tZ_JsXjlq-3cElRlIB-mxXQWKIBDEl31HUH5cex4gkVCVo-YX2WBMpSc2ezLFShlYAYGySuf-nQI2nJSkS2QZkQczsxRE-E7rdl1eJn3m11xd19-JxdA0xLq3IVeDI/s320/menace_01%255B1%255D.png" border="0" alt="The slightly trippy menu screen"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573819853261164642" /></a><br /><br />We recommend getting hold of the real Amiga hardware - but if not then download an Amiga emulator and download Menace. Alternatively you could try and <strong>play</strong> it <strong>online</strong>.<br /><br />Please see our other Amiga retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys<br /><br />GENRE: <strong>Arcade game</strong><br />RELEASE DATE: 1988<br />RELEASED BY: Psygnosis (On their Pysclapse label)<br />DEVELOPER(S): Dave Jones, Tony Smith, Dave Whittaker<br />PRICE: £24.95 - UK<br /><br /><strong>Classic Arcade Gaming</strong>:<br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eXBpMCVicic" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><strong>Classic Games</strong>, <strong>Arcade Games</strong> and <strong>Amiga Games</strong>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-12137099580746964972011-01-31T13:22:00.015+00:002011-10-18T08:56:08.381+01:00Amiga Games - Agony - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<strong><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2011/01/amiga-games-agony-classic-commodore.html">Agony Amiga</a></strong><br />
This is a <strong>classic arcade game</strong> for the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Commodore Amiga</a> from Psygnosis which featured all of the ususal features from the publisher:<br />
<br />
Beautiful box art (which quite often had little to do with the game itself!), fantastic atmospheric music, beautifully drawn cut-scene images and good in-game sound effects and music.<br />
<br />
Some of the <strong>arcade games</strong> from Psygnosis tended to be a little hit and miss, but just like their early actioner <a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2011/02/amiga-games-menace-classic-commodore.html">Menace</a> this shmup tended to be more hit than miss...<br />
<br />
So let's take a lengthy dip in the atmosphere of the highly polished Agony...<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3pTd5Uy_9xhsVWGj8-AYvnTyz4n5sMLr-DCRxnldC9j0hyEePkuXw54y-7xS00VDGHLY_l-BSwEYll-IFsZGLp45EQVCtoK7frGpQDXVYik4zWuz5HveeOmogpnnRAPbyGN9SMdqxqVs/s1600/agony_03%255B1%255D.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The stunning artwork in Agony - Amiga" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568340390090719698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3pTd5Uy_9xhsVWGj8-AYvnTyz4n5sMLr-DCRxnldC9j0hyEePkuXw54y-7xS00VDGHLY_l-BSwEYll-IFsZGLp45EQVCtoK7frGpQDXVYik4zWuz5HveeOmogpnnRAPbyGN9SMdqxqVs/s320/agony_03%255B1%255D.png" style="display: block; height: 256px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Those beautiful cut-scenes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Before getting into the game proper, I have to comment on the intro music; it must be amongst the best ever created on the Amiga, and many <strong>Amiga gamers</strong> hark back to it again and again.<br />
<br />
It is incredibly well composed and really highlights the capabilities of the Amiga's sound hardware.<br />
<br />
The Intro Music To This <strong>Classic Arcade Game</strong>:<br />
<iframe class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/P7SRlCkVtzg" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="480"></iframe><br />
<br />
So, the game music set you in the mood for some <strong>classic arcade</strong> style action, and in the main, the game delivered to you nicely.<br />
<br />
You took the part of a (superbly animated) owl, flying over a multi-layered parallax horizontally scrolling background - all of which was beautifully drawn. <br />
<br />
The first level even incorporated a raging see which scrolled slowly by in the distance - putting this game up there with Shadow of the Beast for jaw-dropping visuals.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1nrBzP9_d-2dU-yxnuMht_XX8DhU8Lt7AL4dw9_igB7C4LmpwXJdXe0uAuvQOaO-zMPx7OY8dkpgwbiveAaPBkMkxucuxQAy7JWJpT_F9F-8qQZHzvuyl04xPNeYMMhzOi4Y4e0LiTIA/s1600/agony_04%255B1%255D.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Classic shoot em up action in Agony - Amiga" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568340350206052578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1nrBzP9_d-2dU-yxnuMht_XX8DhU8Lt7AL4dw9_igB7C4LmpwXJdXe0uAuvQOaO-zMPx7OY8dkpgwbiveAaPBkMkxucuxQAy7JWJpT_F9F-8qQZHzvuyl04xPNeYMMhzOi4Y4e0LiTIA/s320/agony_04%255B1%255D.png" style="display: block; height: 256px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The visuals were right on the money</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The game was pretty much standard fare, it was a case of shoot first (and shoot fast!) to cut through each level, killing as many nasties as possible and avoiding the myriad of weird and wonderful creatures.<br />
<br />
In true <strong>classic arcade</strong> style there were powerups to collect (in the form of potions) which would give you a more powerful shot, a floating sword which would 'float' above you (giving a modicum of protection) and so on. <br />
<br />
There were enemies that would come at you from unexpected places, and of course those end of level bosses which took a fair amount of damage before being overcome.<br />
<br />
Once you got over the sumptious graphics the limited gameplay became apparent. It was actually a pretty simple shmup that lacked variety in the gameplay stakes. <br />
<br />
Not that it makes it a bad <strong>arcade game</strong> by any means (this is still a good <strong>computer game</strong>), but when you compare it to the likes of <a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2011/01/amiga-games-swiv-classic-commodore.html">SWIV</a> or Apidya the gulf in class jumps up and beats you over the head with a stick.<br />
<br />
Oh, and after a while the in-game music can tend to get on your tits too.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrcJlA2WKHgGQrp7ICWNYYcHd4zyMVIf3Gy6sY6EEU1g8XJYWX9PD9Vqr7gFAH149sAJvv6S6TLlea1Q9cuy2rYxxk3jrifRCTFvGzGexZkP6bZxiscudg6pDB3X_qbz5133CjV352PdY/s1600/agony_06%255B1%255D.png"><img alt="Amazing backgrounds in Agony - Amiga" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568340305317981794" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrcJlA2WKHgGQrp7ICWNYYcHd4zyMVIf3Gy6sY6EEU1g8XJYWX9PD9Vqr7gFAH149sAJvv6S6TLlea1Q9cuy2rYxxk3jrifRCTFvGzGexZkP6bZxiscudg6pDB3X_qbz5133CjV352PdY/s320/agony_06%255B1%255D.png" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 256px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
The game was not overly tough or long either, with six reasonable sized levels to play through, and most accomplished gamers (especially those of us who revelled in <strong>arcade games</strong>) could complete the whole game in a matter of days.<br />
<br />
For me it falls short of the top, top shmups on the Amiga, but is still a good game in it's own right. The intro music is amongst the best ever created on the machine, and the game environments (and in between level scenes) are a joy to behold.<br />
<br />
Each level did look quite different from the last, so kudos goes to the developers for ensuring the level design throughout the game changed as you made progress - one of the key points to any good shooter.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJZsyFov3c8cw21qoM4motwzFOBaJBVVDNrJotST5ZU0Snp0n4z5k76sZvOh2GpfYXklFbAw6xENFrZxfGKRjc_vj7XX17ZnRgdyCnGLxilJ5TvmfGnfmj2heROXi_bSJdThBl1saxlZk/s1600/agony_14%255B1%255D.png"><img alt="More beauty in Agony - Amiga" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568340254686475362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJZsyFov3c8cw21qoM4motwzFOBaJBVVDNrJotST5ZU0Snp0n4z5k76sZvOh2GpfYXklFbAw6xENFrZxfGKRjc_vj7XX17ZnRgdyCnGLxilJ5TvmfGnfmj2heROXi_bSJdThBl1saxlZk/s320/agony_14%255B1%255D.png" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 256px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
Despite it's relatively simple gameplay it also managed to be suitably atmospheric due to the game sprites and backgrounds having the right 'fantasy' look, evoking images of netherworlds, mythica creatures and mystical lands.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZMz8XSc2pin6IuHXX2VTTdYu3kbM59XAVFDIcvX4_yu1iFXKhkwzMlkGTOJ8eD9PvS2Wwxepozbrkh64sL34-_RrSDPtdHM2NUmdL_YiQd-pzVuPJ-egTTLTO_1TqgDv5QDALq1pfNs/s1600/agony_20%255B1%255D.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The graphics had the right 'fantasy' style..." border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568340208564655570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaZMz8XSc2pin6IuHXX2VTTdYu3kbM59XAVFDIcvX4_yu1iFXKhkwzMlkGTOJ8eD9PvS2Wwxepozbrkh64sL34-_RrSDPtdHM2NUmdL_YiQd-pzVuPJ-egTTLTO_1TqgDv5QDALq1pfNs/s320/agony_20%255B1%255D.png" style="display: block; height: 256px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More mystical lands to make your way through</td></tr>
</tbody></table>If you like <strong>arcade games</strong> and scrolling shmups then you can't go far wrong. Whilst not being the best of it's type on the good old Amiga it's certainly far from being the worst, and there is no doubt that it this game is worth a look. <br />
We recommend getting hold of the real Amiga hardware - but if not then download an Amiga emulator and download Agony. Alternatively you could try and <strong>play</strong> it <strong>online</strong>.<br />
<br />
Please see our other Amiga retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys<br />
<br />
GENRE: <strong>Arcade game</strong><br />
RELEASE DATE: 1992<br />
RELEASED BY: Psygnosis<br />
DEVELOPER(S): Yves Grolet, Frank Sauer, Marc Albinet<br />
PRICE: £25.99 - UK<br />
<br />
<strong>Classic Arcade Action</strong>:<br />
<iframe class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Rd_Ax7DSZ9w" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="480"></iframe><br />
<br />
<strong>Classic Games</strong>, <strong>Arcade Games</strong> and <strong>Amiga Games</strong>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-73130366182044087932011-01-21T08:22:00.018+00:002011-01-21T15:32:31.974+00:00Amiga Games - Silkworm - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<strong><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2011/01/amiga-games-silkworm-classic-commodore.html">Silkworm Amiga</a></strong><br />Since I was playing <a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2011/01/amiga-games-swiv-classic-commodore.html">SWIV</a> last week, let's have a look at the prequel to that game, which was the hugely popular <strong>classic arcade game</strong> Silkworm.<br /><br />This game was originally released by Tecmo and was converted to most home formats of the era. Just like SWIV I am looking at the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/ZXSpectrum">ZX Spectrum</a> version on our brother blog, <a href="http://zxspectrumgames.blogspot.com/">ZX Spectrum Games</a> if you fancy making a comparison with the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Amiga</a> version.<br /><br />Anyway, this must go down as one of the best horizontal shmups for the Amiga, and is a firm favourite amongst many retro gamers. Let the <strong>classic arcade action</strong> commence...<br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi427gcfC8gJKuI-2dAipBWoBrSat_LGt7CmDKtnGLlwI2ZvNwbiL6l25dWPLGg1qRXqBLoLygYEV7x_XoWNuzwEcARFmWceciHIIxLvJD7-597nbHzUIhpS3krTxl4giKUy1QNhrb29P8/s1600/silk_worm_01%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564553973004101650" border="0" alt="Silkworm starts up on the Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi427gcfC8gJKuI-2dAipBWoBrSat_LGt7CmDKtnGLlwI2ZvNwbiL6l25dWPLGg1qRXqBLoLygYEV7x_XoWNuzwEcARFmWceciHIIxLvJD7-597nbHzUIhpS3krTxl4giKUy1QNhrb29P8/s320/silk_worm_01%255B1%255D.png" /></a> The <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Amiga</a> conversion was given to us in 1989 and really matched up to the <strong>arcade original</strong> well. These are the types of games that the Amiga excelled at - talented coders could replicate the <strong>arcade gameplay</strong> to a tee.<br /><br />The cool aspect of the game was being able to play as a helicopter or a jeep (more difficult) and also the two player co-op mode, with one player taking a vehicle each.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlldLjAfKrgXjfODYLk2XelC1R-mRpamTIRiiepPFDyo2JX2FoKV8gstfHXlM_jllqdHHTbf814p-Ckm5E_Kbs3O5m4f-p_CK6xRWTUm9cJj5jcSO7qLojhxCvkzJbujPYSLekDsn5rwQ/s1600/silk_worm_02%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564553936202672194" border="0" alt="Choose your vehicle of choice" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlldLjAfKrgXjfODYLk2XelC1R-mRpamTIRiiepPFDyo2JX2FoKV8gstfHXlM_jllqdHHTbf814p-Ckm5E_Kbs3O5m4f-p_CK6xRWTUm9cJj5jcSO7qLojhxCvkzJbujPYSLekDsn5rwQ/s320/silk_worm_02%255B1%255D.png" /></a><br />The game featured dual layer parallax scrolling and to be fair the sprites matched up to the <strong>arcade version</strong> pretty well. All of the <strong>classic arcade game</strong> features are in here: large bosses to overcome, weapons powerups, enemies that would 'pop up' and surprise you... the list goes on.<br />The dual fire was especially great for wiping out hordes of bad guys, the heli and jeep could cut a swathe through the enemy targets with ease.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5glwHjZsxDsW8Ey09SWORxVPEO7kxJgWcHP8Hk2hT0pn_QwwU_bukSPPZ9MkxEoR3VR6_UFkgdVJ0xjNQC3sEMRbGUbfbvX2XjoI7nB5Jas6mvTxJSzp8DPorYDZmtAQtXnvJX3htp40/s1600/silk_worm_04%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564553902585684706" border="0" alt="Silkworm on the Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5glwHjZsxDsW8Ey09SWORxVPEO7kxJgWcHP8Hk2hT0pn_QwwU_bukSPPZ9MkxEoR3VR6_UFkgdVJ0xjNQC3sEMRbGUbfbvX2XjoI7nB5Jas6mvTxJSzp8DPorYDZmtAQtXnvJX3htp40/s320/silk_worm_04%255B1%255D.png" /></a><br />The sound effects in the game were great with suitably meaty explosions, ricochet sounds, weapons firing and so on. These effects gave the game a proper 'arcade feel' and fans of the coin-op liked the conversion - the Amiga had done it justice.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmbSlQmIjRrRMroj90V5Gfo1nujDcdbsUO_ljZZiuOuLSE0i9cl4IaSN9y9FDHHXdo2QF39mBu32NBmfZELIpz3stxvg3bcIskpwN3UN2iWqZ6RvYWcdyDoDOWGDpWqCe23uZ83mRXZ0/s1600/silk_worm_06%255B2%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564553860197460658" border="0" alt="Rolling green hills make a fine backdrop for mayhem" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmbSlQmIjRrRMroj90V5Gfo1nujDcdbsUO_ljZZiuOuLSE0i9cl4IaSN9y9FDHHXdo2QF39mBu32NBmfZELIpz3stxvg3bcIskpwN3UN2iWqZ6RvYWcdyDoDOWGDpWqCe23uZ83mRXZ0/s320/silk_worm_06%255B2%255D.png" /></a><br />As you progressed through the game the background scenery changed too. You went from hills and greenery, through red-orange rocky deserts, across blue oceans (complete with battleships) and even grey rocky landscapes. If you were blessed with Jack Burton-esque reflexes then you would end up inside the enemy base - the metallic grey/blue walls scrolling nicely by. </p><p>The enemy sprites changed as the game progressed too giving the game yet more variety.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmxFIvezRquT16yZ-_IdlpQDYMSDWh_EGRYqchgAuJxOa5cOq9uUhSEjoQbfBfRBRBihD_quXfwKdrCe3k_xYptb2N9PAZw5t2rJSdpCJ4XyRDqP6C5NQdD_bjT3III9K1hji6BtD_CuA/s1600/silk_worm_12%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564553803701565218" border="0" alt="Blowing the crap out of bad guys over the desert" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmxFIvezRquT16yZ-_IdlpQDYMSDWh_EGRYqchgAuJxOa5cOq9uUhSEjoQbfBfRBRBihD_quXfwKdrCe3k_xYptb2N9PAZw5t2rJSdpCJ4XyRDqP6C5NQdD_bjT3III9K1hji6BtD_CuA/s320/silk_worm_12%255B1%255D.png" /></a>Playing as the helicopter was generally regarded as being easier than playing as the jeep as the latter would have to destroy or jump over obstacles in it's path.</p><p>When playing in two player co-op mode each player had to 'cover' the other which made the gameplay more interesting and fun. </p><p>For instance the helicopter could only fire forwards, so the jeep would have to cover the rear with it's swiveling gun turret. However, when covering the rear the jeep was vulnerable from frontal attacks, so the helicopter would then have to provide covering fire for it. Saving your best buddy from death felt like a super achievement!</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8GA9TFMgIYcP0QvF0ZrnsHWluNi8rP9Uh6h-JUgIxH_tn2DQfrBx1qzIlWt0uJaY3MBeUU-mV2ffkssXVKFi14dJKTPDlo77G_6H2yFZ4f0JmCfFinSev_trejOaIkuU4y9H7JNyYRMc/s1600/silk_worm_13%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5564552436504607810" border="0" alt="Nearing the end of Silkworm on the Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8GA9TFMgIYcP0QvF0ZrnsHWluNi8rP9Uh6h-JUgIxH_tn2DQfrBx1qzIlWt0uJaY3MBeUU-mV2ffkssXVKFi14dJKTPDlo77G_6H2yFZ4f0JmCfFinSev_trejOaIkuU4y9H7JNyYRMc/s320/silk_worm_13%255B1%255D.png" /></a> All in all Silkworm is a true <strong>classic arcade game </strong>that was converted very well to the Amiga. For me it is a super example of how to develop a horitzontal shooter correctly. Simple yet fun gameplay, great sound effects, varied enemies and that magical 'one more go' factor. Nice.<br /><br />This was a superb Amiga game and a good follow up to the <strong>original arcade game</strong>. If you own an Amiga and you like shoot em ups then this is a must have title.<br /><br />We recommend getting hold of the real Amiga hardware - but if not then download an Amiga emulator and download this game. Alternatively you could try and <strong>play</strong> it <strong>online</strong>.<br /><br />Please see our other Amiga retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys<br /><br />GENRE: <strong>Arcade Game</strong><br />RELEASE DATE: 1989<br />RELEASED BY: Virgin Games<br />DEVELOPER(S): Random Access<br />PRICE: £19.99 - UK (Then £7.99 re-release)<br /><br /><strong>Classic Arcade Action</strong>:<br /><iframe class="youtube-player" title="YouTube video player" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LxAdQQ2GrrU" frameborder="0" width="480" type="text/html"></iframe><br /><br /><strong>Arcade Games</strong>, <strong>Classic Games</strong> and <strong>Amiga Games</strong>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-45663399620664057692011-01-04T16:33:00.013+00:002011-01-11T09:16:42.422+00:00Amiga Games - SWIV - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<strong><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2011/01/amiga-games-swiv-classic-commodore.html">SWIV Commodore Amiga</a></strong><br />Now this <strong>classic game</strong> is heralded as one of the 'must have' shmups for the good old <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Commodore Amiga</a> - and I have to agree.<br /><br />I am playing this and the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/ZXSpectrum">ZX Spectrum</a> version simultaneously, you can see it at my <a href="http://zxspectrumgames.blogspot.com/">ZX Spectrum Games</a> blog for a comparison or at <a href="http://zxspectrumgames.blogspot.com/2011/01/spectrum-games-swiv-classic-zx-spectrum.html">SWIV ZX Spectrum</a>.<br /><br />I have to say though that the Amiga absolutely excelled at this type of game - it was like having an <strong>arcade machine</strong> in your own home when you played shmups of this quality.<br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5IQlG0nv5ETGY0jPt2toAAJwffZN_eNu5cCiTeAZFKggNp1kFFzZyuBc8Ozr2ZhfUhC266olMkEWyxZJY5t3kO0rF6EIsp6HtjbAFciWJb2abg35WpBV80hNDO0gEFUPk6P7178JY6tI/s1600/swiv_01%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558369996096722482" border="0" alt="SWIV loads up on the Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5IQlG0nv5ETGY0jPt2toAAJwffZN_eNu5cCiTeAZFKggNp1kFFzZyuBc8Ozr2ZhfUhC266olMkEWyxZJY5t3kO0rF6EIsp6HtjbAFciWJb2abg35WpBV80hNDO0gEFUPk6P7178JY6tI/s320/swiv_01%255B1%255D.png" /></a><br />So, this game was of the tried and tested top down vertical scrolling variety and was one where it all just came together nicely.<br /><br />It was the sequel to the hugely popular <strong>arcade game</strong> Silkworm, and for me it beat the first game hands down.<br /><br />SWIV stood for Special Weapons Interdiction Vehicle and allowed you (just like the first game) to play as the helicopter gunship or as a fully armoured battle tank.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaMJRET3tQhxTJYqsZ6O-eg-FeOBPMu6tizUnPsNZcQFJNkg5ME0-9iZgpeGlbwAwMIVgQEcC5tCayBzWBxQ6UMeFimaIdvHT6BEIIx4G_4ek5y0x0ur877TfZzGMK_dnspGfKDgYybiE/s1600/swiv_02%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558369944824545410" border="0" alt="SWIV - Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaMJRET3tQhxTJYqsZ6O-eg-FeOBPMu6tizUnPsNZcQFJNkg5ME0-9iZgpeGlbwAwMIVgQEcC5tCayBzWBxQ6UMeFimaIdvHT6BEIIx4G_4ek5y0x0ur877TfZzGMK_dnspGfKDgYybiE/s320/swiv_02%255B1%255D.png" /></a><br />Each vehicle had it's advantages and disadvantages - for example the heli did not have to avoid any ground based obstacles but could only fire forwards.<br /><br />The tank could crash into pot-holes and buildings, but you could rotate it's field of fire. Nice.<br /><br />It could also jump over some of the ground based obstacles - but beware jumping into enemy helicopters!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiizucbLQFVsr_RlGZ2JYOc_Es1jfq0J5x7WNXiMw0H_FXg-qswMdjQ-lgfULVqfDZtnJpbJ6Kj_z6hRT4u1yjE9YI49wAOyYRKpTW2pJz1ZUpDi0s1h207ZVUMAfsxki9UdArHDr6BauU/s1600/swiv_04%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558369903236181506" border="0" alt="Smooth scrolling graphics in SWIV on the Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiizucbLQFVsr_RlGZ2JYOc_Es1jfq0J5x7WNXiMw0H_FXg-qswMdjQ-lgfULVqfDZtnJpbJ6Kj_z6hRT4u1yjE9YI49wAOyYRKpTW2pJz1ZUpDi0s1h207ZVUMAfsxki9UdArHDr6BauU/s320/swiv_04%255B1%255D.png" /></a> The graphics in this game were mighty impressive. Huge sprites scrolled smoothly across the game zone, gun emplacements popped up sneakily from the ground and large motheships would take off (leaving 'crop circles' behind in a great touch) to try and take you down.</p>Tall buildings and enemy air units cast shadows on the ground giving the game a proper sense of depth. All in all the graphics and sound effects were top notch and kudos goes to the developers for creating such a playable technical marvel.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv6b0cQl5gUv-g7NcjAOx6EYOgvkuYoSDstYSHiyQB69c-5dwqppqSMO2ElyvShnxO34MqcZ-Ch4AQwstA_ifdmIN-f4OhirVRWTP4djv7LtsZrDdoqERY-LnBShtFM6-FDKWK_yAFrs4/s1600/swiv_06%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558369855862002290" border="0" alt="A classic shmup" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv6b0cQl5gUv-g7NcjAOx6EYOgvkuYoSDstYSHiyQB69c-5dwqppqSMO2ElyvShnxO34MqcZ-Ch4AQwstA_ifdmIN-f4OhirVRWTP4djv7LtsZrDdoqERY-LnBShtFM6-FDKWK_yAFrs4/s320/swiv_06%255B1%255D.png" /></a><br />The game was further enhanced by the two player option. With one as the heli and the other as the tank it was great fun blasting away at the bad guys, plotting your route as you went.<br /><br />The usual <strong>arcade game</strong> power ups were there to be had such as triple fire, shields, multi-cannons and so on.<br /><br />The only gripe I have (or had) with SWIV is the lack of in-game music. When you look at the music to accompany the likes of Apidya then this one sounds a little sparse. Still, with the graphics shifting along so nicely we can forgive the developers for leaving out a sound track.<br /><br />The game was over when you lost all of your lives or if you defeated the boss at the end of the final level. Each level had bosses to overcome (naturally), but despite being difficult they could be overcome with a bit of practice.<br /><br />That's the key to a great shmup - the levels are hard but fair.<br /><br />This was a superb Amiga game and a good follow up to the <strong>original arcade game</strong>. If you own an Amiga and you like shoot em ups then this is a must have title.<br /><br />We recommend getting hold of the real Amiga hardware - but if not then download an Amiga emulator and download SWIV. Alternatively you could try and <strong>play</strong> it <strong>online</strong>.<br /><br />Please see our other Amiga retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys<br /><br />GENRE: <strong>Arcade game</strong><br />RELEASE DATE: 1991<br />RELEASED BY: Storm<br />DEVELOPER(S): Dan Marchant, Ronald Pieket Weeserik, Ned Langman, Andrew Barnabas<br />PRICE: £24.99 - UK<br /><br /><strong>Classic Arcade Action </strong>(Helicopter):<br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AzD81DjnLl0?fs=1&hl=en_GB"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AzD81DjnLl0?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><strong>Classic Arcade Action</strong> (Jeep):<br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kDyBX3YX0lg?fs=1&hl=en_GB"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kDyBX3YX0lg?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><strong>Arcade Gaming</strong> for 2 players<br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/woseXTQw3Qw?fs=1&hl=en_GB"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/woseXTQw3Qw?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><strong>Classic Games</strong>, <strong>Arcade Games</strong> and <strong>Amiga Games</strong>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-19002224477124511412010-12-15T20:42:00.014+00:002010-12-17T12:55:39.944+00:00Amiga Games - Smash TV - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<strong><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2010/12/amiga-games-smash-tv-classic-commodore.html">Smash TV Amiga</a></strong><br />Now this really is a cult <strong>classic arcade game</strong>.<br /><br />Smash TV was an arcade conversion of the 1990 Williams game and was released for the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Commodore Amiga</a> in 1991 by good old <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Ocean-Software">Ocean Software</a>.<br /><br />The <strong>arcade game </strong>'plot line' borrowed heavily from the movie 'The Running Man'; in the game you took part in a futuristic game show based on ultra violence, mass weapons, destruction, big prizes, lots of cash and 'total carnage'.<br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ckINye4w5L8yuYCVn-pE-uySTc1AGKIOQx0G3mQiWxKEkCUKkbOVTkWASogKPcO5hIrkF6vVU9c0dSMIWXM8yStZQuIuGUz4Xyy1apDmhC_xFape3O9ArkWJt3LofyCPmXM2ZIGyrLY/s1600/smash_tv_01%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551012589871661762" border="0" alt="Smash TV - Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ckINye4w5L8yuYCVn-pE-uySTc1AGKIOQx0G3mQiWxKEkCUKkbOVTkWASogKPcO5hIrkF6vVU9c0dSMIWXM8yStZQuIuGUz4Xyy1apDmhC_xFape3O9ArkWJt3LofyCPmXM2ZIGyrLY/s320/smash_tv_01%255B1%255D.png" /></a> Let's get this out of the way first; this game was a total scream. With it's tacky game-show host, voice samples shouting 'Total carnage... I love it', over the top violence and crazy body count it took the <strong>arcade game</strong> to a whole new level.<br /><br />For one or two players you took part in this futuristic game show laying waste to hordes of 'bad guys' collecting money and prizes from the game arena. Armed with a powerful hand gun you could mow down the masses with ease. For the first few screens that is.<br /><br />As you progressed the bad guys became a lot tougher. Mr Shrapnel took a few hits before being dispatched and when he did shrapnel would fly out in all directions, meaning he could still kill you after you had killed him!<br /><br />As you made your way through the game zones there were the usual <strong>arcade game</strong> style powerups to collect. Rocket launchers, grenade launchers, double fire, 'fast feet', lazer shields to name but a few would help you to mow down the masses. These powerups were temporary of course.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwKVoQ4LgGoe266BrvaTG2nIgYhBU3LZu6XPuFpgGbVnXwuaJVo_T7oKKfh6aIJMk1j0b9Dhn4-EZ_9fH2SLpNq9Hj3lTAL-QKX-F3xVw-yyYDM1nNmw93BfEjhxxp607hLLlWLsm9Ow/s1600/smash_tv_02%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551012534724437874" border="0" alt="Smash TV - Phwoooar... Well not quite" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwKVoQ4LgGoe266BrvaTG2nIgYhBU3LZu6XPuFpgGbVnXwuaJVo_T7oKKfh6aIJMk1j0b9Dhn4-EZ_9fH2SLpNq9Hj3lTAL-QKX-F3xVw-yyYDM1nNmw93BfEjhxxp607hLLlWLsm9Ow/s320/smash_tv_02%255B1%255D.png" /></a><br />There were four game zones to fight through, with each one divided up into around a dozen screens. At the end of each zone you had to fight a tough end of level boss (such as Mutoid Man), with each boss requiring a lot of hits to be destroyed.<br /><br />Bad guys died nicely in over the top blood splatter animations - made all the funnier as you could be collecting electric toasters, video machines and board-games whilst laying waste to baseball bat wielding thugs.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCK4ofFjeYCxAhmKMBdd9PmKL362aA2YfcLBH3FcMjSqr81CXPRK1cBsO8xILg4waZ7bjSOyer8YxzQB1MpN5hjrpGqmqegPD5NPOjcHF9ElZwHMS6y1EOKR5XxHxsMcbLyqdyaGma30/s1600/smash_tv_03%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551012484930523330" border="0" alt="Total Carnage - I LOVE IT!" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNCK4ofFjeYCxAhmKMBdd9PmKL362aA2YfcLBH3FcMjSqr81CXPRK1cBsO8xILg4waZ7bjSOyer8YxzQB1MpN5hjrpGqmqegPD5NPOjcHF9ElZwHMS6y1EOKR5XxHxsMcbLyqdyaGma30/s320/smash_tv_03%255B1%255D.png" /></a> One aspect of the game that could make it or break it was the control method. Ideally one player needed two joysticks. One to control your characters movement and one to control the direction of fire. </p><p>On later levels this was an absolute necessity as you could back away from a huge group of bad guys whilst simultaneously mowing them down. Being able to fire in the opposite direction to which you were moving was the only way to survive and without this control method you didn't stand a chance. </p><p>So, with the good old Amiga only having two joystick ports you needed a joystick splitter for proper two player action. Playing with the keyboard just wasn't the same.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdaIrbi2Q2uCx3DTkqg7AUxlGXTtUmkpjHpR9YCYy3kaCqV9jWDjPvod7zbvGiGdABlZkWGECDzVUUmHg3Ko09wYtbi-KUOTzIfINvm4R2MEEVgiLdL7dnaVaqTo5TnLPorPSteNmn2e8/s1600/smash_tv_05%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551012427913800674" border="0" alt="End of level 2 in Smash TV - Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdaIrbi2Q2uCx3DTkqg7AUxlGXTtUmkpjHpR9YCYy3kaCqV9jWDjPvod7zbvGiGdABlZkWGECDzVUUmHg3Ko09wYtbi-KUOTzIfINvm4R2MEEVgiLdL7dnaVaqTo5TnLPorPSteNmn2e8/s320/smash_tv_05%255B1%255D.png" /></a>Control method aside - if you had a stick splitter then the game was superb for two players. Playing in co-op mode was brilliant fun giving you twice the mayhem and the ability to mercilessly murder a sh*t load of on screen bad guys.</p><p>It also meant that taking on the end of level bosses was a little easier as you could strategically attack from two sides. This game is probably one of the best two player games I ever tried on the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Amiga</a> anyway.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimnu9jWLSf9a9didmrB_5fB0HcOJ_EOd_i4fovoxcUIZeCWW818xquKlmr_XeiY7XgIHejKZvz23Cg8fDS5zUJForQZCrofYj4_79hvrtgaISAqhQ0ybDeKuRnKWVNPs52ycjs8VtqlX4/s1600/smash_tv_06%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551012260959952226" border="0" alt="Those thugs are easy meat in Smash TV" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimnu9jWLSf9a9didmrB_5fB0HcOJ_EOd_i4fovoxcUIZeCWW818xquKlmr_XeiY7XgIHejKZvz23Cg8fDS5zUJForQZCrofYj4_79hvrtgaISAqhQ0ybDeKuRnKWVNPs52ycjs8VtqlX4/s320/smash_tv_06%255B1%255D.png" /></a> As usual for an <strong>arcade game</strong> extra extra lives were awared for the scoring of a lot of points, and there were also bonus sub-games to build up your points and cash totals.<br /><br />The game was over when you lost all of your lives or if you defeated the boss at the end of game arena four. A tough game that was beatable with a bit of practice.<br /><br />This was a very good <strong>Amiga game </strong>and a good converion of the <strong>arcade original</strong>. With a little tweaking it could have been a true classic, but as it stands this game is well remembered by Amiga gamers.<br /><br />We recommend getting hold of the real Amiga hardware - but if not then download an <strong>Amiga emulator</strong> and download a this <strong>arcade game</strong>. Alternatively you could try and <strong>play</strong> it <strong>online</strong>.<br /><br />If you have an Amiga then grab a copy from Ebay - you could always buy that for a dollar! ;-)<br /><br />Please see our other Amiga retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys<br /><br />GENRE: <strong>Arcade game</strong><br />RELEASE DATE: 1991<br />RELEASED BY: <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Ocean-Software">Ocean Software</a><br />DEVELOPER(S): Zareh Z, Mark Knowles, Tony Williams, K Johannes<br />PRICE: £7.99 - UK<br /><br /><strong>Classic Arcade Action</strong>:<br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yUVIS_b7Dns?fs=1&hl=en_GB"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yUVIS_b7Dns?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><strong>Classic Games</strong>, <strong>Arcade Games</strong> and <strong>Amiga Games</strong></p>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-31572538871496214162010-12-13T12:35:00.011+00:002010-12-14T14:52:42.481+00:00Amiga Games - Renegade - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<strong><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2010/12/amiga-games-renegade-classic-commodore.html">Renegade Commodore Amiga</a></strong><br />Well it's time to have a look at a crappy <strong>Amiga game</strong>; so here we go with the unforgiveably bad Renegade.<br /><br />This <strong>arcade game</strong> had been a huge hit on the likes of the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/ZXSpectrum">ZX Spectrum</a>, <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Amstrad-CPC-646">Amstrad CPC 464</a> and <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-64">Commodore 64</a> with all machines being treated to an excellent version. <strong>Arcade gaming</strong> at it's finest.<br /><br />The <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/ZXSpectrum">ZX Spectrum</a> version of <a href="http://zxspectrumgames.blogspot.com/2009/05/zx-spectrum-game-renegade-zx-spectrum.html">Renegade</a> was an extremely playable and addictive <strong>arcade game</strong> / beat em up - so surely the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Commodore Amiga</a> version would be better still? Not quite...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMUl9VYonF3l2qq8OAbDZvYJ22aB7CY7sd3DRuGDZcAPMGdliFrhO5_ggNq2kZwNRoaX499j-h5olrFTCEWBvv1bzHWVb8K-HACLUC2qJXE6sfVL6U7Rh5HgoynsHtxRI9kaE9p3qIuaA/s1600/renegade_01%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550145080155226850" border="0" alt="Renegade - Commodore Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMUl9VYonF3l2qq8OAbDZvYJ22aB7CY7sd3DRuGDZcAPMGdliFrhO5_ggNq2kZwNRoaX499j-h5olrFTCEWBvv1bzHWVb8K-HACLUC2qJXE6sfVL6U7Rh5HgoynsHtxRI9kaE9p3qIuaA/s320/renegade_01%255B1%255D.png" /></a> The backstory to the game had you (as the 'Renegade') moving across town to meet up with your girlfriend Lucy.<br /><br />As soon as you step off the train a group of thugs decide to try kick the sh*t out of you. You must fight off the attackers and move through five levels of action to reach your lady love.<br /><br /><u>The five levels were:<br /></u>The Station<br />The Pier<br />The seedy back streets<br />The main street<br />The meeting place<br /><br />Your character was handily well versed in martial arts and street fighting, which gave you a chance when making your way through the levels. If you didn't switch off through boredom and frustration that is.<br /><br />In each 'location' there was a different type of gang, from unarmed brawlers, hells' angels armed with chains, to whip wielding ladies of the night. Ahem.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4g-OctmMe5RKNcO8yZTDUFJ-w8jIv0VcpCD-sMecwmoYT3V6Wh52d5JSB8JIRfuq_EVm2NCqVMBzVPDSUXp9coC3Y9OnuPXmxjwaScCFoyGH5tKX_AwBnP-9KRoCX2WG7gEWUXwfClpA/s1600/renegade_02%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550145040497325394" border="0" alt="Renegade on The Amiga - not so great" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4g-OctmMe5RKNcO8yZTDUFJ-w8jIv0VcpCD-sMecwmoYT3V6Wh52d5JSB8JIRfuq_EVm2NCqVMBzVPDSUXp9coC3Y9OnuPXmxjwaScCFoyGH5tKX_AwBnP-9KRoCX2WG7gEWUXwfClpA/s320/renegade_02%255B1%255D.png" /></a><br />Our hero could punch, kick, flying kick and even knee opponents to send them sprawling. In a slight difference to other beat em ups, it was possible to dish out more 'violence' than normal.<br /><br />For instance you could grab an assailant by the shoulders and knee them in the groin repeatedly. Nice. You could also knock an attacker to the ground and get on top of them and punch them in the face over and over again.<br /><br />These touches in the game were a lot of fun on the 8-bit versions, but it was so badly implemented on the Amiga it didn't even seem violent. It should have set it apart from other <strong>arcade games</strong> / beat em ups on the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Amiga</a> but I'm afraid to say it didn't.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFOY9kTlnPsVr1dxbkQNtD9695tak6v320B5HTPQIMXl4X86hMdTBmsrgE-nL7EykjEfmhv6Rxb0jZW8fqHh9b8ncXXsBKOfhMVnaVUgf58jKq2O3wt-9qfS01EE98DyerJgBLNe66evI/s1600/renegade_03%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550145005106740498" border="0" alt="Flying sidekicks is the way to win here" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFOY9kTlnPsVr1dxbkQNtD9695tak6v320B5HTPQIMXl4X86hMdTBmsrgE-nL7EykjEfmhv6Rxb0jZW8fqHh9b8ncXXsBKOfhMVnaVUgf58jKq2O3wt-9qfS01EE98DyerJgBLNe66evI/s320/renegade_03%255B1%255D.png" /></a><br />In <strong>classic arcade</strong> tradition there was usually a 'boss' attacker on each level who you would have to defeat to progress to the next part of town. The bosses were way tougher than the normal gang members, as you might expect.<br /><br />The environments were really poorly drawn and managed to be devoid of any atmosphere that you would expect from seedy areas at night time. The characters were poorly implemented and badly animated, for the Amiga it just was not acceptable.<br /><br />There was a nice variety of enemies to battle (such as hell's angels on bikes who would try and run you down), but the backgrounds, characters and sound effects were so poor it was more of a chore than a pleasure.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpolnQIX51UrcUTNsib-1TWtK1yUhPJwLe8Hcq1mel5_ohMaHczEra6TTpulsJmEbOXhsaXRvzWhkfzzEkVHH42FRIXQLPQI-QjzN8U_WrXTKdIMtbldDNVPBYg0APv7-XZiYE6kG3w4Q/s1600/renegade_05%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550144965587149090" border="0" alt="Slap those beyatches Renegade!" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpolnQIX51UrcUTNsib-1TWtK1yUhPJwLe8Hcq1mel5_ohMaHczEra6TTpulsJmEbOXhsaXRvzWhkfzzEkVHH42FRIXQLPQI-QjzN8U_WrXTKdIMtbldDNVPBYg0APv7-XZiYE6kG3w4Q/s320/renegade_05%255B1%255D.png" /></a><br />The game was completed once you reached your meeting place with Lucy and defeated all of the enemies there. If you got that far then I really do doff my cap to you - I finished this game on the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/ZXSpectrum">ZX Spectrum</a> but the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Amiga</a> version bored the crap out of me.<br /><br />I could go on but I won't. This game disappointed me a lot back then, and looking at it now it's one of the worst games I have ever played. It's almost as bad as <a href="http://zxspectrumgames.blogspot.com/2010/07/spectrum-games-adventure-of-st-bernard.html">The Adventures Of St Bernard</a>. Almost.<br /><br />It's a shame that with a LOT of tweaking it could have been a true classic <strong>Amiga game</strong>. As it stands this game is well remembered by Amiga gamers for all the wrong reasons. Even at £7.99 it wasn't worth it.<br /><br />We recommend getting hold of the real Amiga hardware - but if not then download an Amiga emulator and download a different game. Alternatively you could try and <strong>play</strong> it <strong>online</strong>.<br /><br />Please see our other Amiga retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys<br /><br />GENRE: <strong>Arcade game</strong> (Beat em up)<br />RELEASE DATE: 1992<br />RELEASED BY: Imagine<br />DEVELOPER(S): Bill Barna, Wayne Blake, Tim Follin<br />PRICE: £7.99 - UK<br /><br />Not so <strong>classic arcade action</strong>:<br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IDYr1-s97WU?fs=1&hl=en_GB"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IDYr1-s97WU?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><strong>Classic Games</strong>, <strong>Arcade Games</strong> and <strong>Amiga Games</strong>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-38669463670982227832010-12-02T15:40:00.009+00:002010-12-03T13:33:33.336+00:00Amiga Games - Project X - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<strong><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2010/12/amiga-games-project-x-classic-commodore.html">Project X Amiga</a></strong><br />Here we go with yet another polished <strong>arcade game</strong> inspired by that <strong>classic shoot em up</strong> that ate your 10p's, Nemesis.<br /><br />The unimagitively titled Project X was releasd for the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Commodore Amiga</a> in 1992 and was developed by the mostly good, Team 17 Software.<br /><br />Graphically beautiful with nice sounds effects and a decent soundtrack, this <strong>arcade game</strong> had all the ingredients to be a classic in the genre. Sadly is just fell short just a little...<br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfE-HKlDxaYz40OhIVEoZoUC0KTKlCVC6CJuf729pntEGU0cr1kJyUPYalRg40pj5RTcE5iPMGWEzztvljGsDRwkTOKv4w6YM960BdYiVWhi37cbUOVmKec40TsfGw95VcFgbdjBtN2c/s1600/project-x_01%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546113931470977170" border="0" alt="Project X - Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfE-HKlDxaYz40OhIVEoZoUC0KTKlCVC6CJuf729pntEGU0cr1kJyUPYalRg40pj5RTcE5iPMGWEzztvljGsDRwkTOKv4w6YM960BdYiVWhi37cbUOVmKec40TsfGw95VcFgbdjBtN2c/s320/project-x_01%255B1%255D.png" /></a> In the usual <strong>arcade game</strong> fashion there were a number of levels to play through, lots of powerups to collect and three different ships for the player to choose from at the beginning of the game.<br /><br />The aim of the game was to navigate each of the four levels (which scrolled from right to left) and destroy the 'boss' once you had reached the end.</p><p>All of the usual powerups were in there, increase craft speed, increase firepower (which could be guns, plasma, lazers or magma cannons), install 'side shots', homing missiles or invoke a handy 'stealth' mode.<br /><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9jfYvMlfl4ILO_PiDrFI1k0vUpSOZ5MZY98MIGrBlNQsnFSdZK_Q5ACi0GGjB2jSUVPqfMiAZ0ixbMwIOTbky04XMllWSYPZ589EPa6WqpiCdS7N-83YMmM5Kv9xxFkoF6et0OleyeEc/s1600/project-x_11%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546430778643398674" border="0" alt="The action hots up in Project X - Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9jfYvMlfl4ILO_PiDrFI1k0vUpSOZ5MZY98MIGrBlNQsnFSdZK_Q5ACi0GGjB2jSUVPqfMiAZ0ixbMwIOTbky04XMllWSYPZ589EPa6WqpiCdS7N-83YMmM5Kv9xxFkoF6et0OleyeEc/s320/project-x_11%255B1%255D.png" /></a> Nice voice-overs would tell you which 'powerup' item you were on (the game used the Nemesis style of powerup selection) and then which selection you had chosen. </p><p>The voice-overs were pretty neat and I remember on the second level the computer would tell you 'beware, storm!' moments before a lightning strike would fork the sky. It was all highly polished stuff.</p><p>Despite the superbly drawn backgrounds (level two was very pretty), nice variety of powerups and crafts, the decent sound effects and cool voice over effects the game just lacked a certain something. The absence of an in-game soundtrack was noticeable by it's... absence, especially when compared to the likes of Apidya. You did get end of level 'boss' music and in-between level music though. </p><p>On top of all of that this game was insanely difficult. Now I regard myself as a pretty good <strong>arcade gamer</strong>, having completed the likes of <a href="http://zxspectrumgames.blogspot.com/2009/05/zx-spectrum-games-green-beret.html">Green Beret</a> on the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/ZXSpectrum">Speccy</a>, Menace, First Samurai and Smash TV (to name a few), but I could never get past Level 3 on this one.</p><p>The real flaw to the game was the fact than when you lost a life most of your powerups which you had worked so hard to accumulate, were stripped away from your craft. On level 2 and onwards it was almost pointless to continue as your underpowered craft was hopelessly outmatched by the hordes of aliens which swarmed across the screen.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDDyGwZTPfgu1ocu4savekFUiMPDnJh98M9ilZziokvegu_N3qyv0Z-so4mct8uGW_F6GyYvSIXQuKYt83ELofX9SGX1RWbLqPLNpqWPlVB_lkN1u-pZUl2EOTj-JJXuABp2rEfffvB-Y/s1600/project-x_45%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546430504016085714" border="0" alt="It's not the Matthew Broderick movie of the same name" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDDyGwZTPfgu1ocu4savekFUiMPDnJh98M9ilZziokvegu_N3qyv0Z-so4mct8uGW_F6GyYvSIXQuKYt83ELofX9SGX1RWbLqPLNpqWPlVB_lkN1u-pZUl2EOTj-JJXuABp2rEfffvB-Y/s320/project-x_45%255B1%255D.png" /></a> If the loss of a life had been a little more forgiving then the game would have been a lot more playable. It has all the elements in there: Great presentation, lovely backdrops, smooth scrolling, suitable <strong>arcade style</strong> sound effects and great weapons to mix and match. Some of the attention to detail was fantastic too; take level three where the lava and fire actually attracts your homing missiles, this was brilliant programming.</p><p>There was even a nice fast scrolling bonus stage (if you imagine <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Scramble-games-on-the-ZX-Spectrum">Scramble</a> without the enemy ships then jacked up on steroids you'll get the idea). </p><p>It's a shame that with a little tweaking it could have been a true <strong>classic Amiga game</strong>. As it stands this game is well remembered by <strong>Amiga gamers</strong> but most will have a few other shmups that they prefer.<br /><br />We recommend getting hold of the real Amiga hardware - but if not then download an <strong>Amiga emulator</strong> and download Project X. Alternatively you could try and <strong>play</strong> it <strong>online</strong>.<br /><br />Please see our other Amiga retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys<br /><br />GENRE: <strong>Arcade game</strong> (shoot em up)<br />RELEASE DATE: 1992<br />RELEASED BY: Team 17<br />DEVELOPER(S): Andreas Tadic, Rico Holmes, Stefan Boberg, music by Allister Brimble & Bjorn Lynne<br />PRICE: £25.99 - UK<br /><br /><strong>Classic Arcade Action</strong>:<br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MI7axN1coR4?fs=1&hl=en_GB"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MI7axN1coR4?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br /><strong>Classic Games</strong>, <strong>Arcade Games</strong> and <strong>Amiga Games</strong></p>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-39540146428160856702010-11-18T12:55:00.009+00:002010-11-18T14:53:50.807+00:00Amiga Games - Frost Byte - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<strong><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2010/11/amiga-games-frost-byte-classic.html">Frost Byte Commodore Amiga</a></strong><br />A platform / puzzle game that first appeared on the 8-bit machines such as the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/ZXSpectrum">ZX Spectrum</a>, <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-64">Commodore 64</a> and <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Amstrad-CPC-646">Amstrad CPC 464</a> late in 1986.<br /><br />It finally made it's way onto our beloved Amiga in 1988, and whilst never being a blockbuster hit it did offer something different to play. Taxing, frustrating yet addictive at the same time, this game must surely go down as a cult <strong>classic game</strong>.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDDmXuNmc4MRvNr89fkEk1KV7a_Z4vybKEMYzCVviLgTisjJLN4lgCXYSd-DvXN4_mQbCjA8r0_MCvG5y9kqBwf5NuYy-ES4V90NeRcZpunfI-Fsb_L9KDrWPCUkpmIRAQCb6MV-ntmhE/s1600/frost_byte_01%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540873264473240594" border="0" alt="Frost Byte Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDDmXuNmc4MRvNr89fkEk1KV7a_Z4vybKEMYzCVviLgTisjJLN4lgCXYSd-DvXN4_mQbCjA8r0_MCvG5y9kqBwf5NuYy-ES4V90NeRcZpunfI-Fsb_L9KDrWPCUkpmIRAQCb6MV-ntmhE/s320/frost_byte_01%255B1%255D.png" /></a>This flick screen <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/PlatformGames">platform game</a>/<strong>arcade game</strong> was nicely styled with icicles and igloos for you to explore. You being the hero of the game 'Hickey' (a Kreezer no less), had to slinkabout to rescue his race from the monsters that now inhabited the planet.<br /><p></p><p>Okay, so in this <strong>classic game</strong> you played the part of a slinky (although some though of it as a bendy frankfurter!) and in another slight difference from the norm sweets also played their part in the game. </p><p>These tempting morsels gave Hickey extra powers such as extra high jumping ability, move faster or being able to fall further. </p><p>The gameplay was based on brains and puzzle solving rather than fast paced <strong>arcade action</strong>. Negotiating the screens took a test of timing and positioning. You ended up spending more time waiting for the right moment to move than blasting away at the nasties. </p><p>It was not so easy to time a step when Hickey had to arch up and over. Dodging baddies could be difficult until you got the hang of the physics of the game.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF5HacW910hOHRnApRFskXt-AYY4T7dsGjl9iVO0E4_eCPl6slIUnfqVidK8egM0vXC8XwLlCletlAufiekRVgLqJ3m5t-FiTwMbLYZdGkDR7k7abjVL-b_hqKlUnEyHdycLovdAm8Tsg/s1600/frost_byte_03%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540875523762760162" border="0" alt="The puzzles get trickier in Frost Byte on the Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF5HacW910hOHRnApRFskXt-AYY4T7dsGjl9iVO0E4_eCPl6slIUnfqVidK8egM0vXC8XwLlCletlAufiekRVgLqJ3m5t-FiTwMbLYZdGkDR7k7abjVL-b_hqKlUnEyHdycLovdAm8Tsg/s320/frost_byte_03%255B1%255D.png" /></a>With a little perseverance though you could learn how to judge the jumps, and then it was all a question of finding out what you needed to get through to the next screen. </p><p>Plenty of shocks that lay ahead as you searched for your five imprisoned friends. You could pick up items (such as bullets) and then use them to take out some of the bad guys. Different items were strewn around the screens, so in true <strong>arcade adventure</strong> style experimentation was required when picking them up and using them.<br /><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilUaaLqBSHe4PxLXMp1CXy81_fM_q4yNVmn2aeglNQ5p3ghvpFvEiIVlC5xBfAaVrvGvqy2d_YGryPdbN0Zp3aEHjcCeeH7VehXFFeRVbC9jSyaJthr_4cNqc_khh7TlFpnIP0LoGMhPs/s1600/frost_byte_05%255B1%255D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540875582599988098" border="0" alt="Stay Frosty..." src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilUaaLqBSHe4PxLXMp1CXy81_fM_q4yNVmn2aeglNQ5p3ghvpFvEiIVlC5xBfAaVrvGvqy2d_YGryPdbN0Zp3aEHjcCeeH7VehXFFeRVbC9jSyaJthr_4cNqc_khh7TlFpnIP0LoGMhPs/s320/frost_byte_05%255B1%255D.png" /></a>This wasn't the sort of game that was raved about but if you did get into it then you could end up being sucked in.<br /><br />It was certainly a bit different from other platform games (the slinky main character was nicely animated too) and it did have that one-more-go factor.<br /><br />It was not a blockbuster game, but for fans of <strong>arcade adventures</strong> it was certainly something worth playing.<br /><br />Not bad overall but for an Amiga game it did tend to lack a lot of overall polish and did not take advantage of 16-bit power.<br /><br />We recommend getting hold of the real <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Amiga</a> hardware - but if not then download an Amiga emulator and download this game. Alternatively you could try and <strong>play</strong> it <strong>online</strong>.<br /><br />Please see our other Amiga retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys<br /><br />GENRE: <strong>Arcade game</strong> / Puzzle Game / <strong>Arcade Adventure</strong><br />RELEASE DATE: 1988<br />RELEASED BY: Mikro-Gen<br />DEVELOPER(S): Julian Jameson, Dave Armstrong, I Waugh<br />PRICE: £14.95 then £2.99 budget re-release(UK)<br /><br /><strong>Classic Arcade Action</strong>...<br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/b7VasY_Srvs?fs=1&hl=en_GB"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/b7VasY_Srvs?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br /><strong>Classic Games</strong>, <strong>Arcade Games</strong> and <strong>Amiga Games</strong>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-41237784731523629122010-10-25T16:26:00.011+01:002010-10-26T08:57:06.015+01:00Amiga Games - Blasteroids - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<ul><li><strong><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2010/10/amiga-games-blasteroids-classic.html">Blasteroids Amiga</a></strong><br />Ahh, now this is so retro, it's classic retro. It's golden age <strong>retro gaming</strong>.<br /><br />It was already part of <strong>classic gaming</strong> folklore when it was released in 1987. This was an update to the then already classic <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Asteroids-Game">Asteroids</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Asteroids-Game">Asteroids</a> was old hat by 1987, but this was a nice update for your <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Commodore Amiga</a>, and if you were a fan of the original <strong>arcade game</strong> then you couldn't go far wrong with this one...<br /><br />Let's have a quick look at a simple yet playable game that graced most home computers at the time...<br /><br /></li></ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZyLmp2i7QsWJ_eTrEWoMQjmkmYGvIU8IrRq4RBo6fMuQbHbQnb31ICCEyspWqPv2lVa7aansFAiYLsYtH6MFQtqMAyAhRJAL29SbKS9TAeSvsrKgTDH2b1eY5kdn5DsnsU9CWH3fJyf8/s1600/blasteroids_01%5B1%5D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532005493705474162" border="0" alt="Blasteroids Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZyLmp2i7QsWJ_eTrEWoMQjmkmYGvIU8IrRq4RBo6fMuQbHbQnb31ICCEyspWqPv2lVa7aansFAiYLsYtH6MFQtqMAyAhRJAL29SbKS9TAeSvsrKgTDH2b1eY5kdn5DsnsU9CWH3fJyf8/s320/blasteroids_01%5B1%5D.png" /></a><br />The gameplay for this <strong>arcade game</strong> is basically the same as for the original <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Asteroids-Game">asteroids</a> - the player (or players as the game was for one or two players) controlled a spaceship viewed from 'above' in a 2D representation of space.<br /><br />The ship was controlled by rotating it and using thrust to give the ship forwards momentum (in the direction it was pointing). To slow down or completely stop moving, the player had to rotate the ship to face the direction it came from, and generate the right amount of thrust to nullify its momentum. The inertia effect was very cool, and once you got the hang of it some rather splendid moves could be made by the player.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtxU7LHb0vPPg7HzhMD2OyAHpYB-5UjjE8gCu_s2flB_dM4bRsqItJgQJflDJi1q37S7ImnQWej0FzWRCl-Ean02B8_tKjVrRP8bTYFoO1c43CmdgFlRIL_h6FtOpC-bJnL3bEZN08S8E/s1600/blasteroids_04%5B1%5D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532005637409163298" border="0" alt="Pick your Blasteroids options" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtxU7LHb0vPPg7HzhMD2OyAHpYB-5UjjE8gCu_s2flB_dM4bRsqItJgQJflDJi1q37S7ImnQWej0FzWRCl-Ean02B8_tKjVrRP8bTYFoO1c43CmdgFlRIL_h6FtOpC-bJnL3bEZN08S8E/s320/blasteroids_04%5B1%5D.png" /></a>The ship had a limited amount of fuel to generate thrust. This fuel came in the form of 'Energy' that was also used for the ship's shields which protected it against collisions and enemy fire. Once the energy supply was deleted the ship was kaput.<br /><br />The ship could shoot to destroy asteroids and enemy ships. The ship could also be transformed at will into 3 different versions, namely the 'Speeder', the fastest version, the 'Fighter', which had the most firepower, and the 'Warrior', which could take more of a pounding.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUAVrYIPz6kFMmMX_ON-9IIjdAfRuuVsd-xBsuIObAfC0rvIY2hf3cpP5Za_j25whObhLLH0OYEnuyJBKg8Eep6ylonNZq7pPB_Z26hjn-59IXLTOQDvcaoJpRxT7ySFf7hULMJ0LdslA/s1600/blasteroids_05%5B1%5D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532005706421019682" border="0" alt="Earhrise in Blasteroids - Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUAVrYIPz6kFMmMX_ON-9IIjdAfRuuVsd-xBsuIObAfC0rvIY2hf3cpP5Za_j25whObhLLH0OYEnuyJBKg8Eep6ylonNZq7pPB_Z26hjn-59IXLTOQDvcaoJpRxT7ySFf7hULMJ0LdslA/s320/blasteroids_05%5B1%5D.png" /></a>The conversion from the <strong>arcade original</strong> to the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Commodore Amiga</a> was pretty well done and on the whole the game remained faithful to the coin-op version. All of the powerups were in there, including:<br /><br />Shields - gave a limited amount of protection, indicated in HUD .<br />Blasters - gave the ship double shots, nice!<br />Extra Shot Power - Allowed shots to penetrate everything, nicer!<br />Ripstar - Caused the ship to spin furiously, firing in all directions.<br />Extra Fuel Capacity - increased fuel capacity, indicated by the HUD. Depleting fuel reserves to critical with this increased capacity reverted the ship to normal fuel capacity. Boooo.<br />Booster - increased movement speed for all ship forms. Cool!<br />Crystal Magnet - attracted loose Power Crystals to the ship. Cooler!<br />Cloak - ship turned invisible to enemies, preventing them from detecting the ship.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4svUHiyjBdwIXDTaotVs1YpBflliE3nGxlKmt2KY-gp1raGx0LowQFiRCotrn97hskROJs2UpU9mTH0VwgcC_sSk3WZHHV3hoiXqk-5WdAZ74M2jt-Adcm45ap0U1O8JdrwsxbBgJxyo/s1600/blasteroids_02%5B1%5D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532005594613127218" border="0" alt="That's no moon, it's a..." src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4svUHiyjBdwIXDTaotVs1YpBflliE3nGxlKmt2KY-gp1raGx0LowQFiRCotrn97hskROJs2UpU9mTH0VwgcC_sSk3WZHHV3hoiXqk-5WdAZ74M2jt-Adcm45ap0U1O8JdrwsxbBgJxyo/s320/blasteroids_02%5B1%5D.png" /></a><br /><br />The only real issue with the game was the fact that it was basically a souped up version of <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Asteroids-Game">Asteroids</a>. No matter how many bells and whistles there were, different ships, powerups, 2 player co-op mode and pretty-ish backdrops, games had moved on a lot since the likes of Asteroids had first wowed us.<br /><br />So - the game was fun to play, especially with 2 players, but after a while it did tend get a little repetetive.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpd2lOvGnkcElyoXqNkXhAx_bYCR3RxhyphenhyphendkBaK5-HF1JVfMTT2gg3FQkhxvTpuITgKtwIDGhQIuIh7Qv9tBewh0ndeELvatQE9wPiCM3CKbKAaKklaV9wa-_uZ8uL0LZcmz45St7OiUYA/s1600/blasteroids_07%5B1%5D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532005550123194130" border="0" alt="Pick your Warp Gate and Blasteroids yourself!" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpd2lOvGnkcElyoXqNkXhAx_bYCR3RxhyphenhyphendkBaK5-HF1JVfMTT2gg3FQkhxvTpuITgKtwIDGhQIuIh7Qv9tBewh0ndeELvatQE9wPiCM3CKbKAaKklaV9wa-_uZ8uL0LZcmz45St7OiUYA/s320/blasteroids_07%5B1%5D.png" /></a><br /><br />I would say that the game was overpriced when it was released too, at £24.99 it was probably about a tenner too much.<br /><br />We recommend getting hold of the real Amiga hardware - but if not then download an <strong>Amiga emulator</strong> and download Blasteroids. Alternatively you could try and <strong>play</strong> it <strong>online</strong>.<br /><br />Please see our other Amiga retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys<br /><br />GENRE: <strong>Arcade game</strong> (Shoot em up)<br />RELEASE DATE: 1987<br />RELEASED BY: Mirrorsoft<br />DEVELOPER(S): Teaque Sofware<br />PRICE: £24.99 (UK)<br /><br /><strong>Arcade Games</strong>, <strong>Classic Games</strong> and <strong>Amiga Games</strong>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471220821897806793.post-58370770757125433622010-09-30T16:31:00.006+01:002010-09-30T17:05:58.373+01:00Amiga Games - Mortal Kombat - Classic Commodore Amiga Game<strong><a href="http://amiga-games.blogspot.com/2010/09/amiga-games-mortal-kombat-classic.html">Mortal Kombat Amiga</a></strong><br />Surely one of the greatest ever game programming achievements on the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Commodore Amiga</a>?<br /><br />Probe Software converted the <strong>original arcade game</strong> to our favourite 16-bit machine, and to be fair, they did a damn good job of it.<br /><br />Mortal Kombat had been maligned for being overly violent (blood in a computer game - gasp!), which made it even more popular down the <strong>arcades</strong>. With it being more popular than Mr Pop from ular, a conversion to home computers and <strong>game consoles</strong> was always going to happen.<br /><br />I'm just glad that Probe put some real effort into it and avoided the route of the lazy port.<br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmWUwlxVdZ5jDwTqCBVBy0_xOKgf0d9FHtPzX0flnqTQjLhiFeIhvCbN5CzWBIi9uNhNDvhlCBNA8awuuEVYP034zCz3WsUsQOAH7bQImBPNaUCA6OWybZOb-mZEZMzPIAa501nUg71uU/s1600/mortal_kombat_03%5B1%5D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522730136044345698" border="0" alt="Mortal Kombat Amiga" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmWUwlxVdZ5jDwTqCBVBy0_xOKgf0d9FHtPzX0flnqTQjLhiFeIhvCbN5CzWBIi9uNhNDvhlCBNA8awuuEVYP034zCz3WsUsQOAH7bQImBPNaUCA6OWybZOb-mZEZMzPIAa501nUg71uU/s320/mortal_kombat_03%5B1%5D.png" /></a> The <strong>arcade game</strong> was great because of the variety of characters, the wide range of moves the player could execute, the hidden special moves, the well drawn backgrounds and the superbly animated almost photo-realistic game characters.<br /><br />Well, on the <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Amiga</a> it was all pretty much there. Each fighter, the different backgrounds, the special moves...<br /><br />What was most impressive about this <strong>arcade game</strong> was the fact that it was playable. The characters were nice and responsive, the moves were easy execute and the fights were fun (and violent).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXWJw_TE72E6ZS-lcseKKmpFGHEagdCp4bJoR3faGK7HCmbyl6sjejSG1ngYXEXKuUkWzrCUQtviAZGGWFnem0RhCVi875LfIjFur_f7Syp-j90EtvqaEAjqBnuyucaTE_LJNjPLJpSY/s1600/mortal_kombat_01%5B1%5D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522730048728097730" border="0" alt="Amiga Mortal Kombat Title Screen" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXWJw_TE72E6ZS-lcseKKmpFGHEagdCp4bJoR3faGK7HCmbyl6sjejSG1ngYXEXKuUkWzrCUQtviAZGGWFnem0RhCVi875LfIjFur_f7Syp-j90EtvqaEAjqBnuyucaTE_LJNjPLJpSY/s320/mortal_kombat_01%5B1%5D.png" /></a> Each character was quite different too (apart from Scorpion and Sub-Zero obviously!), and it wasn't just a case of the same character with a different 'skin'.<br /><br />There were notable differences between the fighters; being able to freeze people as Sub-Zero was always worth a laugh, Scorpion and his 'Get over here!' was equally funny, Johnny Cage and his 'cool' shades etc etc...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojnagDdOfUgq1h21uDsClm0w-RKOe_Xsw11WNqoks53rty1XKMeSNWmBL6ryuhUP0D_exzMXVHXvuLpso0dC7ewVJwjIfkiNpSkp98rybGKcgyW7ypLCnLwgxqhaBdudJJkpysis8VaA/s1600/mortal_kombat_02%5B1%5D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522730091868094466" border="0" alt="Choose your Mortal Kombat fighter" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgojnagDdOfUgq1h21uDsClm0w-RKOe_Xsw11WNqoks53rty1XKMeSNWmBL6ryuhUP0D_exzMXVHXvuLpso0dC7ewVJwjIfkiNpSkp98rybGKcgyW7ypLCnLwgxqhaBdudJJkpysis8VaA/s320/mortal_kombat_02%5B1%5D.png" /></a> The difficulty level ramped up nicely as you progressed through the game too. Each fighter was generally more difficult than the last - and if you were any good you would eventually face the weird Goro in the final showdown.<br /><br /><u>Finish Him!</u><br />Of course everyone remembers being able to finish off a fighter with a fatality move. Figuring out how to execute the moves was part of the fun of the game - but you did not have to in order to complete the game. That was the beauty of Mortal Kombat - they added great extras into an already playable <strong>arcade</strong> beat em up.<br /><br />I never ever managed to figure out the finishing moves for all of the characters, but I did complete the game.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2jdLftSfS9oF5_jDrY64a9Qn-QvY4doh_nbEpB_7DxG4lxrAumE-EKeI1rAowsgytbOYcWU4aPmWSjqzvXZUlZefPuskK5cxS5mT5bN8oB9TSDJj7w5QSDJXMtSIPDpw2Rciu4c-pwdw/s1600/mortal_kombat_06%5B1%5D.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 256px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522730185867147362" border="0" alt="More ass kicking in Mortal Kombat" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2jdLftSfS9oF5_jDrY64a9Qn-QvY4doh_nbEpB_7DxG4lxrAumE-EKeI1rAowsgytbOYcWU4aPmWSjqzvXZUlZefPuskK5cxS5mT5bN8oB9TSDJj7w5QSDJXMtSIPDpw2Rciu4c-pwdw/s320/mortal_kombat_06%5B1%5D.png" /></a><br />Sometimes the game was best played against a friend. It was extremely playable in 2 player mode - beating the sh*t out of each other had never been so much fun.</p><p>The only real downside to the game was the disk swapping and long load times - but we can forgive it that as the game could be played on a standard <a href="http://hubpages.com/hub/Commodore-Amiga">Amiga 500</a> - a great programming achievement.<br /><br />So that's it, you have FINISHED IT! - Go play it again.<br /><br />We recommend getting hold of the real Amiga hardware - but if not then download an <strong>Amiga emulator</strong> and download Mortal Kombat. Alternatively you could try and <strong>play</strong> it <strong>online</strong>.<br /><br />Please see our other Amiga retro game reviews - all links are listed in alphabetical order. Cheers guys<br /><br />GENRE: <strong>Arcade game</strong> (Beat em up)<br />RELEASE DATE: 1994<br />RELEASED BY: Midway, Acclaim<br />DEVELOPER(S): Probe Sofware (Gary Liddon, Paul Carruthers, Richard Costello, Jason Green, Lee Ames, Allister Brimble<br />PRICE: £29.99 (UK)<br /><br />Classic beat em up <strong>arcade gaming</strong>:<br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mDpRih01SM4?fs=1&hl=en_GB"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mDpRih01SM4?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Classic Games</strong>, <strong>Arcade Games</strong> and <strong>Amiga Games</strong></p>The Retro Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14651403945932259915noreply@blogger.com1