Top 10 licenced games

It's nearly Christmas, the decorations have been adorning shops since Halloween, the cheesy songs are playing on the radio and everywhere you look there are adverts for toys, gadgets, chocolates, booze, food, DVDs, books, games, you name it. With this in mind, I thought I'd end my run of top 10s genres with licensed games.

Video games have been part of the merchandise for TV shows, movies and toys for a long, long time. These days the term "licensed game" is generally regarded with derision, but once upon a time that wasn't always the case and there were plenty of classic arcade games that were also nothing more than merchandise for something else. Sticking to my rule of one game per franchise (sorry, Marvel), here is my top 10:

Star Wars

Let's start the show with a show stopper! Released in 1980 (the same year as the best Star Wars movie of all), this vector graphics X-Wing simulator set the tone for decades of Star Wars games to come. Despite the psychedelically-coloured graphics, the cabinet, the yoke controls and a samples from the movie meant this was as evocative as any games based on the classic franchise could hope to be. It's probably one of the most highly regarded arcade games of all time, let alone licensed ones.

RoboCop 2

Movie trailers are such delicious teases. I remember when the trailers for RoboCop 2 came out and thinking the antagonist robot, Kane, looked awesome. I can remember recording Film '90 just so I could replay the snippets of RoboCop battling Kane. My 15 year-old self was dizzy with excitement to see the film and sadly I had to wait for several years.

Data East had made an arcade game for the first RoboCop film, but where as that film was superior to its sequel, the sequel to the game was much better. From the gorgeous, sharp graphics to the novel little set pieces (such as forcing the truck back against a wall to crush it, as pictured above), this game let the player re-enact loads of key elements of RoboCop. At times, as a video game character he felt a little stiff, but the ability to shoot in a different direction to the one you were moving in (there was a button to shoot left and one to shoot right) did compensate for his rigidity some what.

WWF Super Stars

"I am a real American, doo doo doo dar dum dee doo dar." Sorry, where was I, oh yeah, WWF Super Stars hit the arcades at the same time as I first discovered "American wrestling". Although this game had a limited roster it did at least feature venerable favourites of the era Hulk Hogan, Randy "Macho Man" Savage, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Ultimate Warrior and Big Boss Man (a favourite of mine at the time) among others. The game features lots of hallmark moves and the context-sensitive controls mean that with just two buttons and a joystick, each wrestler has a pretty good repertoire. The controls were a bit woolly to be honest, but this was as much a game of atmosphere as anything else and it captured the over-the-top action of 80s wrestling brilliantly. And given I only got to see wrestling when I went to a friend's house who had satellite TV, this game formed a major part of my childhood wrestling fanaticism.

Aliens

Man alive were there some great movies in the 80s and one of the best was James Cameron's Aliens. There were a number of arcade games made out of the franchise, but this (as far as I know) was the first. You take control of Ripley (with player 2 controlling who I can only assume was Hicks) as they try to rescue Newt from the alien infestation on LV426. There are one or two suspect aliens in this game, which I don't believe ever appeared in any of the movies, including weird bat creatures and mutants, but it's still a blast.

Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara

Capcom made a shed load of side scrolling beat 'em ups in the 90s, though few managed to better their classic Final Fight. However, this D&D brawler's use of simple RPG mechanics, including an inventory (something that was very rare in arcade games), makes it stand out from the pack. Of course it has all the staples of the genre: elves, dwarves, wizards, rangers, paladins, you name it. And all wrapped in a lovely bit of hack 'n' slash action. This game is now available of XBLA and PSN as part of a double-pack with its predecessor, Tower of Doom, both of which are great.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Talking of classic 80s movies, the original Indiana Jones trilogy might be my favourite 80s trilogy; there isn't a dud in the pack. Many people say Temple of Doom was a let down, but the film's cheesy morbidity delighted me as a kid ("Ahh, chilled monkey brains!") and the mine cart chase was superb. As with some other movies in this list, I played the game long before seeing the film. The Temple of Doom game was in the arcade at the Old Hall, so I played it a LOT. There's not a lot to the game and if you aren't bothered about high scores you can always play it in easy mode and get a feel for the whole thing in just a few minutes, but in that short time you do get to play through many of the movies most memorable sequences, including the mine cart chase and the fight over the lava pit.

The Simpsons

There is a pattern to this list of games. WWF, Simpsons, D&D, Indiana Jones and Tron (see below) are all franchises I knew about because of the games as much (or something rather than) the source material. I didn't get to watch Simpson's until the late 90s, when my parents finally got cable TV, but because of this game I knew precisely who Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie were. The game itself was a madcap brawler, with each member of the family sporting their own special (and canonically accurate) moves. Marge's use of a vacuum cleaner could be seen as sexist, but it was funny to see one used (quite literally) in anger.

X-Men: Children of Atom

Here we are again, Capcom churning out loads of versions of basically the same game. Over the years they've made loads of Marvel-themed fighting games, primarily ones incorporating either Street Fighter characters or other Capcom characters. However, I prefer the purity of this super hero-only instalment, even if the roster of fighters is much reduced from the other games.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

What boy in the late-80s and early 90s didn't love the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (or Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, as they were known here in the UK)? I never read the comic, but I watched the cartoon and loved it. However, it was decidedly lacking in actual ninja action, with the turtles usually dispatching Shredder's foot soldiers with a bowl of spaghetti or a rubbish bin. So when the game let you wield each turtle's signature weapon (katana, bo staff, sai and nunchuks), what fan wouldn't lap it up?

Tron

This is an important game for me, because although I had played video games before it was this game, above all others, that made me fall in love with arcade gaming. It was so futuristic, with its neon paint and glowing pistol-grip joystick. In an arcade with a black light (which in my opinion is an essential piece of equipment for any arcade) this cabinet was stunning to behold.

It's 30 years since I first played this game and sadly its bespoke controls do not map to modern controllers very well at all. Whether it's on MAME or on XBLA, there is no good version to play, other than the original. As much as I love Street Fighter, if I had to have just one arcade machine, it would be Tron cabinet.

And that's it, all of the top 10 games by genre. I probably won't publish anything else this side of Christmas, so until next time, Merry Christ and a Happy New Year.

MTW

Classic of the Month - Warlords

Manufacturer:	Atari
Developer:	Atari
Genre:	Puzzle
Year:	1980

Atari's Pong inspired lots of clones and spin offs, most notably Atari's own Breakout, which went on to become almost a genre in its own right. One of Atari's other variations on the same basic concept was Warlords. The game combined Breakout's block breaking with the four-player action of the rare 4-player Pong follow up Quadrapong and dressed it all up in a medieval theme. The idea is simple, you take control of a shield and have to protect your castle walls (I'll avoid saying rampart for obvious reasons) from a fireball, which is kindly donated by a dragon at the start of the game. When you deflect the fire ball it cascades around the screen and will hopefully take down one of your opponents' walls, unless they deflect or even capture it, in which case be prepared to defend yourself. Once a gap has been made in a castle wall, the warlord inside is exposed. If a fire ball hits a warlord it's game over, however there's no reason why a skilled player couldn't indefinitely defend a warlord with no castle walls - although a skilled player probably wouldn't end up in that situation in the first place.

The machines came in upright and cocktail form factors. The upright version supported up to 2 human players and actually used a mirror with overlays to give the otherwise basic black and white graphics a colourful and detailed look. However, the cocktail version (pictured right) is the one you want. It used simple colour graphics rather than the overlays, but it supported 4 players, each with their own corner of the machine. And Warlords is one of those games that gets exponentially better with more players. It's a great party game, especially if you decide to play in teams, as it's really hard not to accidentally bat the fire ball at your team mate. Warning though, many expletives may be uttered during the course of a game of Warlords, so those of you who are sensitive to curse words should bear this in mind.

The game also uses paddle controls, so it's another classic that does not play well on MAME. Not that you should be using an emulator to play any games and in the case of Warlords it was re-released a couple of years ago on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network with updated graphics and comical goblin characters running around the battlefield. Despite that, here is someone playing it via MAME and doing a hell of a lot better against the CPU than I ever could.

(UPDMTWE: 8:05, 02/12/2013) Turns out there were two versions of Warlords on XBLA and PSN. The first was one of the many Atari updates by Stainless Games, it included both the original 4-player game and a graphically enhanced version, with a future sport sort of vibe. The other was more of a remake, which really played up the medieval fantasy theme, complete with goblin minions and dragon riders, all beautifully rendered by a modern graphics engine. It also added new game modes, including a one-on-one versions of the game. Of the two, only the Stainless update is still available (and it's this version my kids and I have been playing for this article). Shame, because the remake looked really cool in the trailers back in 2011.

MTW

Love letter to a generation

I want to talk about what I genuinely believe has been the greatest generation of gaming there has ever been - and no, this is not another overwrote trip down Memory Lane where I harp on about arcades. This article is about the last generation of games machines, the generation which, with the release of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this month, is finally entering retirement.

While I'm far from the oldest gamer around, at 38 I am still an old gamer. I'm old enough to remember the halcyon days of the 8-bit generation, the dawn of 16-bit generation and the sense of wonder that came with the first polygonal graphics. I started out on an old Pong clone, which featured two paddle controllers, five game modes and that's it! I "progressed" from that to an Atari 2600, then an Acorn Electron, then a Sega Master System, then a Commodore Amiga, then on to a PlayStation, an N64, a PC (with all the upgrading jiggery-pokery that goes with PC gaming), a Dreamcast, a PlayStation 2 and a GameCube combo, and I currently own a Wii and Xbox 360, with a smattering of PC gaming via Steam. I've owned GameBoys of all generations, as well as a Neo Geo Pocket and now get my mobile gaming kicks on my Sony Xperia phone. I was there when arcades ruled gaming and I rue the fact I did not realise they were fading into obsolescence until it was too late. I spent a number of years working in the industry for one of the UK's oldest developers, only to see them falter and fold under the mounting development costs of the last generation. What I'm saying is, when it comes to gaming, I've pretty much seen it all. So believe me when I say this past generation, the generation of the online console, DLC, motion gaming and indy games, has been the greatest generation in gaming history. Let's have a look at what's been going on since launch of the first last gen console.

Ex-Box

In 2001 Microsoft entered the console market with the Xbox, a vast black leviathan of a games machine with an equally vast controller, nicknamed "The Duke". The console was moderately successful, with Halo proving to be one of the most important games of the whole generation, but the Xbox was no where near as popular as its main rival, the PlayStation 2. Nonetheless, I think we were all surprised when Microsoft promptly replaced it, a mere 4 years later. That replacement was the Xbox 360, followed a year later by Sony's new console, the predictably named PlayStation 3. Little did anyone realise at the time just how different things were going to be this time around.

The first Xbox, not to be confused with the Xbox One.

High definition and online gaming

The mid-2000s saw the popularisation of two technologies that were crucial for getting the most out of the 360 and PS3: HDTVs and broadband internet. Suddenly, home consoles could offer the kind of high quality visuals and intense online competitive play which had previously been the preserve of PC gaming only. Both consoles had their fair share of brilliant online games, such as Forza 2 and Gears of War on the 360 and Killzone 2 and Resistance: Fall of Man on PS3, but it was a game that was available on both systems that really elevated online console gaming. That game, if you hadn't guessed, was Infinity Ward's sublime, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. From the moment we saw the ghilly suit and perks trailers, we knew this was going to be great, but we had no idea it would pretty much take over the gaming world, with people who might otherwise not even call themselves gamers buying consoles and playing nothing but Call of Duty.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was probably the most important
game of the generation.

But online gaming didn't just mean multiplayer, it also offered companies the opportunity to flog us Downloadable Content, or DLC for short. Some of this stuff genuinely added to the gaming experience, things like additional level packs, weapons and vehicles, but some of it was trash (the horse armour for Elder Scroll IV: Oblivion epitomised this kind of virtual racketeering)! It also allowed companies to push patches for their games, which lead to the unfortunate situation where games would ship needing to be patched right out of the box. The other controversial thing online consoles allowed companies to do was charge for content that was actually shipped on the disc . This had people incensed, although the idea of licensed software was not anything new, it was just new to video games; operating systems and software suites have been doing the same thing for years.

Motion gaming explosion

While Microsoft and Sony were winning over hardcore gamers, Nintendo, in a way that only Nintendo could pull off, won over non-gamers with something completely different. Technologically, the Wii console was years behind the 360 and PS3, but its use of motion based gaming as the central control method opened up the hobby to millions of people, from young children to mothers looking to do some exercise to old folks who had never previously even used a computer. For many people, the only games they needed on the Wii were Wii Sports, which was bundled with the console, and Wii Fit, complete with its high tech scales known as the balance board. Nonetheless, the console went on to ship over 100 million units - more than either of its HD rivals.

PlayStation Move is probably the best motion controller of them all.

Of course Microsoft or Sony could not allow Nintendo to corner such a significant part of the market and so in 2010 Sony launched their own version of the Wii-mote called the PlayStation Move and Microsoft launched their controller-free answer, the Kinect sensor. Neither proved to be as popular as Nintendo's console and for many hardcore console gamers these devices were an affront to everything the 360 and PS3 stood for.

Rise of the indies

Something else significant happened during the last generation. In stark contrast to the rising budgets and increasingly cinematic feel of games such as Uncharted, Heavy Rain and Mass Effect, small and independent studios started to attract the attention of the gaming press. Figures such as Jonathan Blow, Phil Fish and Markus "Notch" Persson created imaginative, alternative games that formed the foundation for the indie dev scene (which was also the former name and focus of this very blog). With the success of Minecraft and rave reviews Braid received, small developers started springing up everywhere. And thanks to the popularity of iPhones and Android phones, these developers found audiences everywhere.

These days I don't have much time to play games and so I love all the little gems that are out there. The other thing about the indie dev scene is that they tend to make games with a retro aesthetic. For many this was done to cut costs, but it soon became fashionable and despite the HD capabilities of the modern consoles, it was no longer a crime to show your pixels.

(Clockwise from top-left): Minecraft, Braid, Fez and Super Meat Boy,
four of the most influential indie games over the past 5 years.

More than just a games machine

Just as mobile phones have become smart phones, with more power than most PCs had back in 2005, so too have consoles grown to become more than just games machines. These days people are just as likely to use their consoles to play DVDs and Blu-Rays or use one of the many media streaming services, such as Netflix or the BBC iPlayer to stream movies, TV series and even live events! I actually have friends who only use their consoles for this, because they can do such a good job of it (especially the PS3). 

Who needs Sky or Virgin Media?

My highlights

I wouldn't be writing this article if I didn't have lots of highlights, some of which I have spoken about already in So you don't like modern games? Aside from what I talked about in that article, other highlights have included the rise of the indie scene, with many of my favourite games costing less that £15 quid. Fez is such a beautiful, ingenious game that it makes me feel sad for people who don't play games. I've also loved the renewed popularity of pinball, thanks to Zen Studios and Far Sight Studios. I own versions of their tables on my phone, my PC (via Steam) and my 360 and I'm constantly dabbling with them. Other highlights have been little things like cable-free controllers (once I wised up and bought a load of rechargeable AAs). But if I had to pick just one franchise that has thrilled and enthralled me the most, it would be Bioware's Mass Effect. For me this series encapsulates everything that was great about this generation.

I've probably thrown myself harder into this generation than any other during my adult life, but despite that there are a number of big gaps in my gaming career over the past 8 years. Most notably, I've not played any of the Assassin's Creed games. I thought the original looked great, but it came out in 2007, same as COD4, Mass Effect, Portal, Guitar Hero III, Super Mario Galaxy and Uncharted, so something had to give. And because I no longer own a PS3, I haven't had the chance to play Last of Us, a stunning example of just how powerful and progressive modern games have become.

The new generation

I'm not one for early adoption, not least because early games are often poor, but also because I take a long time to get through games; I still have a considerable stack of 360 and Wii games to finish. Deciding which console to buy is always tricky. Last time around the decision was made for me, because I won my 360 in a competition and my Wii came with a phone contract. I did briefly own a PS3, but at the time there were not many exclusive games and Sony's online services did not compare well to Microsoft's, so I sold it (sorry, Sony fans). 

In some ways, as games machines get closer to one another, as the PS4 and Xbox One undoubtedly are, it actually gets harder to decide. Back in the days of the MegaDrive vs SNES, both machines had loads of exclusives, so which ever you chose you were going to get a pretty distinct experience, but the Xbox One and PS4 will only have a handful of exclusives, with only a few games on either machine to sway your decision one way or the other. I really like the look of the Xbox One and of all the next gen games I've seen Titanfall interests me the most, but... after 6 years of intensive gaming on the Microsoft machine, I fancy a change of scenery, so I'm being pulled towards the PS4. However, there is a new player coming next year, one who's service I already use and like a lot more than either Sony's or Microsoft's, so who knows.

One thing's for sure: I've been gaming for over 30 years and with how busy I am at work, it's about the only hobby I have left, so whatever happens, I'm not going to quit now.

MTW

Top 10 light gun games

Games and guns, it's like an unfortunate match made in heaven. These days there are anxious parents, politicians and religious groups worried that 11 year-olds who play Call of Duty will one day gun down their class mates, whilst simultaneously overlooking facts like 11 year-olds shouldn't be given access to Call of Duty, America's gun laws are way too lax or truly disturbed people need little reason to commit acts atrocity. Anyway, I'm getting a little off topic here. This month's top 10 is light gun games, one of the few types of game you're still likely to see in an arcade, which is ironic, as it's up there with pinball games as one of the very oldest forms of arcade entertainment, going back to the 1930s. This bunch are all a lot more modern than that though.

Operation Wolf/Operation Thunderbolt

Despite the fact light gun games have been arcades for decades before video games entered the amusement industry, for most arcade throwbacks the granddaddies of the genre are Operation Wolf and its sequel Operation Thunderbolt. At the time, Arnold Swartzeneggar was one of the biggest action heroes around and was synonymous with the Uzi 9mm, so getting to hold the replica on the cabinet was a thrill in itself.

Mad Dog McCree

Full Motion Video (FMV) in video games never fails to be cheesy, even when people have tried to use it seriously, but when it's used knowingly, as with American Laser Games' 1990 Western, Mad Dog McCree it's even more fun. The hammy acting, the distinct lack of any actual gun shot wounds and every Cowboy cliché under the sun, it's all here.  This game is now available on Wii, so you can still enjoy the cheese today.

Virtua Cop

The Sega Model 2 arcade system powered some great examples of the 90s polygon insurgence, which saw more and more video games move away from sprites in favour of 3D models. The Virtua series is worthy of an article all of its own, with Sega attaching the name to everything from sports games and driving simulators, to beat 'em ups and law enforcement. Virtua Cop pre-dates Namco's Time Crisis by a year and like many of the Virtua games tried to be more serious and realistic. Whatever, it was still great fun.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Back in the early 90s, Terminator 2 was a cultural phenomenon. Arnie being suitably robotic, Linda Hamilton butching up, but somehow still managing to be sexy, a Guns 'n' Roses sound track that rocked the cinema and the best CG we'd ever seen. Translate this to the arcade and of course we get a light gun game. This shooting gallery of mechanical mayhem may not have looked as good as Robert Patrick's liquid metal T-1000, but who wouldn't want to fill one of those cyborg monsters full of hot digital lead?

Ninja Assault

Ninja's are fast, agile, deadly assassins, employing shadows and camouflage to move through the night unnoticed, so when you think about it, the best way to deal with such a deadly foe is probably to blow them away with a machine gun. I never really understood the disparity between your weapons and the attackers, but it was a blast nonetheless.

Point Blank

So far this list has been full of soldiers, criminals and killer robots, so let's change gear and talk about one of the cuteness, craziest light gun games of all time, Namco's Point Blank. Instead of a cheesy story as with all the other games in this list, Point Blank was technically a mini-game collection, where the player could chose what stage they wanted to play next and no single stage took more than a 30 seconds to a minute to complete. The game used similar guns to Time Crisis, so you got that same great recoil action and in context with the game's visuals, the pink and cyan guns made a lot more sense than with Time Crisis.

Ghost Squad

Nothing Sega's Ghost Squad does is particularly original, in fact it employs every wrote trick and set piece in the book, but there's something about the way it brings all these familiar elements together that makes it a joy to play. It's like a really good cover band, who, despite playing another band's music, still manage to rock the house. This is a game I first discovered on the Wii and it demonstrates Nintendo's uber-popular console is a great platform for light gun action.

Police 911

Taking of motion gaming, before Microsoft's Kinect camera or even Sony's EyeToy camera, Konami's Police 911 used a similar system way back in 2000 to give players the opportunity to dodge digital bullets for real. It worked surprisingly well and made for one of the most energetic arcade experiences outside of Dance Dance Revolution or Final Furlong. As the image above shows though, as with all motion gaming, it required good amount of space for players to fling themselves around.

Silent Scope

Now we're taking serious action. Silent Scope wasn't about flicking the trigger as fast as possible, instead it was about patience and accuracy as you played the part of a sniper. In another brilliant innovation by Konami, the scope on the gun didn't actually magnify the the screen in front of you. Instead it contained a 2nd, mini screen, which rendered your target separately. This provided a crystal clear view of the action (not obscured by the sights rendered on the main screen), whilst still having the main screen for you to do your spotting. The gun was great to hold and required the player to really shunt themselves around to get the best angles. Brilliant stuff.

Time Crisis series

As a self-confessed arcade aficionado, it's easy to think I need to pluck some oft-forgotten treasure to top a list like this, but the truth is sometimes the most popular games are popular for a very good reason. Such as it is with Namco's Time Crisis. It's a former classic here on Arcade Throwback and who would argue with its status as one of the greatest, if not the great light gun game ever. Aside from the great gameplay, Time Crisis's double whammy of the recoil on the gun and the pedal to take cover and reload put it well ahead of the competition. Each new instalment added features that elevated the series even further, with co-op coming in the first sequel and different weapons in the second. It's a game any arcade nut would want in their private collection.

MTW

Worth a Look - November 2013

Wow, I've been so busy at work this past few months that it's been ages since I did a Worth a Look compilation. Let's have a catch up in time for Xmo.

RESOGUN

Developer:	Housemarque
Publisher:	Sony Computer Entertainment
Platforms:	PS4 PSN
Price:	Free on PS Plus
Demo available:	Unknown

Oooh, the first next gen game to make this list. It says a lot about where the industry is these days that a game as so obviously retro as RESOGUN is one of the most talked about launch games on the PS4. I could not have imagined a Defender clone getting so much attention when the PS3, PS2 or even the PS1 launched. I'm not arguing, it looks great. The next gen consoles have not launched here in the UK yet and I'm not one for early adoption, but after the love affair I had with my Xbox 360, I rather fancy a PS4 this time and this would definitely be the first game I'd get (plus it's free to PlayStation Plus members, which is cool if you're into that sort of thing).

More info: http://us.playstation.com/ps4/games/resogun-ps4.html

Pinball Arcade

Developer:	Far Sight Studios
Publisher:	Far Sight Studios
Platforms:	Steam (also Android/iOS and PSN
Price:	Platform dependant
Demo available:	Yes with Tales of Arabian Nights provided for free

I went a bit pinball crazy this summer, thanks to a combination of getting a phone that could finally play Zen Pinball and Pinball Arcade and having little time for anything other than mobile gaming. However, as good as video pinball is on a smart phone, the small screen means many of the details of the table are diminished. Now the greatest pinball simulator ever is available on PC via Steam. What's more, all 39 tables are available right out of the gate. If, like me, you really didn't play enough of these classic tables when they were in the arcade, there is absolutely no reason not to get this game. In the download not only do you get demos of all the tables, but you get the brilliant Tales of Arabian Nights for free. So get it - now! Not, not now, after you've read the rest of this article, then you can go.

There is no PC launch trailer so to speak, so here's the trailer for the latest two tables.

More info: http://www.pinballarcade.com/

Lawless

Developer:	Eight Pixels Square
Publisher:	DeNA
Platforms:	iOS
Price:	Free to play
Demo available:	N/A

In the interest of full disclosure I'll come right out and admit this game was developed by a team of my former colleagues, but even if that wasn't the case the Lawless's Time Crisis-esque gameplay would still make it worthy of a look. Set in LA in the 90s, the game throws together every goofy cop show trope ever. You take control of a professional criminal, trying to climb the greasy ladder of the criminal underworld by... well... blasting everything. The game isn't out yet, but when it's free to play, you might as well give it a go when it does appear.

More info: http://lawlessgame.com/

PixelJunk Shooter

Developer:	Q Games
Publisher:	Q Games
Platforms:	Steam/PS3 PSN
Price:	£6.99
Demo available:	No

Originally released for the PS3 about 3 years ago, Q Games' wonderful twin stick shooter is definitely a thinking man's shump and is now available on PC via Steam. As you explore vast caves trying to rescue miners, you find you can manipulate various substances in the environment. Blast open an underground reservoir and let the water hit a lava pool below and you'll create new land, fly past the magnetic goo and it will be attracted to your ship - or repelled if you have the right power up. The game is ingenious and also gorgeous to behold, with clean, pastel visuals and a corking sound track to go with it.

More info: http://pixeljunk.jp/library/Shooter/

Dragon's Crown

Developer:	Vanillaware
Publisher:	Atlus/NIS
Platforms:	Vita/PS3 PSN
Price:	Around £30
Demo available:	No

If you still have a soft spot for classic side scrolling fantasy brawlers, such as Shadow of Mystara, Black Tiger and (of course) Golden Axe, then Dragon's Crown will be right up your street. It's the same set up as all of these games, choose a hero (yes, there's a dwarf, yes there's a knight, yes there's an elf and a wizard and an Amazon, all of core fantasy archetypes are covered) and hack, slash and abracadabra your way through forests, caves, castles and dungeons. The game features a pretty decent skill tree to unlock more powers as you level up and generally pushes all of the right action RPG buttons. Its hand painted artwork is fantastic, but also somewhat controversial, as this features some of the most blatant sexualisation of women since Dead or Alive. Armour is scant and bosoms doth heave to the point of ridiculousness. So ridiculous in fact, that in this day and age of Miley Cyrus appearing naked on a wrecking ball in the video of the same name, I doubt even 12 year-old boys would think much about the pixellated flesh on display in this game. Nonetheless, it's needless and for many it has already detracted from what is otherwise a pretty decent hack 'n' slash game.

More info: http://www.atlus.com/dragonscrown/home.html (age check required)

MTW

Classic of the Month - Zoo Keeper

Manufacturer:	Taito
Developer:	Taito
Genre:	Puzzle/Platform
Board:	Dedicated
Year:	1982

Last month I finally finished reading Yann Martel's highly praised novel, Life of Pi, which, as I'm sure many of you know, features zoo animals in an unconventional setting (to put in mildly). Such is my retro gaming nature, this reminded me of Taito's Zoo Keeper from 1982.

The plot of many games from the 80s and 90s was to rescue your girlfriend from some peril or another and surprisingly, Zoo Keeper has the same overall objective. Animals are breaking out of their enclosures, so Zeke the zoo keeper must wall them back in and rescue his beloved Zelda, before something terrible befalls her.

Zoo Keeper is very much in the puzzle/platform genre, but there is a surprising amount of variety for a game of this period. On the first level most of the animals are contained within a fairly sturdy compound. However, they are bashing against the walls of their compound and will eventually escape, at which point they they prowl around the perimeter. Zeke's task is to run around this perimeter and rebuild the wall (which happens automatically). Every time you run over a section of the wall it gets thicker, so it's possible to focus of different areas depending on the level of threat. If an escaped animal gets in your way you have to leap over them, which also earns you points. Thankfully nets periodically appear on the play field, so it's possible to recapture the escapees. Keep this up until the timer runs out and you'll get a bonus for every captive animal. Each animal (elephant, snake, camel, rhino, moose and lion) is worth a different amount of points. In classic gaming style, the more points any animals is worth, the bigger the threat they are. Elephants are only worth 250 points, because they are slowest and as such the easiest to jump and capture (ignore the fact in real like they are mahoosive), while lions are worth 30,000 points, because they are the fastest and they jump, making it harder for Zeke to jump over them himself.

The next level follows this formula, but this time the initial wall is thinner, which means you have to work much, much faster to contain the animals. Things change on the third level, which is like a cross between Donkey Kong and Frogger. Zeke has to make his way up a series of moving platforms to rescue Zelda, who's being held prisoner by an ape. This ape is also lobbing coconuts your way, just to make the job of navigating the platforms all the harder. Succeed and you'll get a extra life.

Survive this and the fourth level goes back to the original formula, minus the starting wall. This level becomes much more about leaping over the escaped animals as it is about containing any additional animals that appear. After this the levels alternate between building walls around escaped animals and leaping up platforms to rescue Zelda from an ape. However, there is another level type that appears less often. On these levels you have to run along platforms and up escalators to rescue (you guessed it) the missus from all of the animals prowling around.

The video below shows a guy who is far, far better at the game than I ever was (to be honest, I never knew about the escalator levels until I saw this vid). It's a bright and colourful game and the animals are all surprisingly detailed for the period.

MTW

Is gaming now an acceptable hobby for an adult?

Short answer is no! But that doesn't make for much of an article, so let's expand on the subject.

Despite the popularity of the big franchises like Grant Theft Auto and Call of Duty or the success of the family-friendly Wii or the pervasive nature of casual games on Facebook and mobiles, it seems to me people's attitude towards gaming as a specific hobby has not improved at all over the last couple of decades. I know plenty of people who play games like Candy Crush Saga or FIFA 14 (perhaps even more than I play my games these days), but they don't consider it a hobby; it's something akin to listening to the radio in the car and given no more priority in their lives than that.

How bad is it?

It depends on who you talk to, but at the most extreme it's worse than I originally thought. Here's a quote from a guy where I work, on hearing some other guys talking about the upcoming Xbox One and PS4:

"If that's what you do with your time, you might as well commit suicide. I mean, what's the point?"

While I didn't think people's acceptance of gaming as an adult hobby had grown much, I had not realised how strongly some people felt. And as I get older (I'm in my late 30s), I'm finding people are even more bewildered by my enjoyment of gaming.

Really, gamers, it's for your own good.

But it will improve?

Maybe, but I doubt it and I have a very simple reason for saying that: just because someone likes something casually, doesn't mean they understand taking it to the next level.

Over the past decade the Marvel movies have been a huge success, with plenty of people seeing Iron-Man and Avengers in the cinema, then going on to buy the film on DVD and Blu-Ray, but only a very small percentage would go on to buy the comic books. Likewise, although millions of people bought Wii's, only a small percentage bought its most hardcore game, Monster Hunter Tri (2 million sales worldwide, compared to the 100 million Wii consoles sold).

Monster Hunter Tri -- probably not one for the Candy Crush fans

I actually think as games get more mainstream press coverage, the more of a backlash there seems to be against them. Whatever depth of gameplay there is in Grand Theft Auto V, the fact Sky News still talk about shagging hookers and then killing them to get a refund means the game probably does more damage to the medium than good. At best, non-gamers deem the coverage to be either a waste of valuable news time or some subverted form of advertising; at worst they see it as damaging to children (who shouldn't be playing such games, but in the minds of these people only kids should play games, so it's catch 22).

Likewise Call of Duty's dedicated fanbase talking about how great it is to shoot people online or World of Warcraft players talking about playing 30+ hours a week doesn't help either and neither will the inevitable footage of people queuing up for Xbox Ones and PS4s. We'll be seen as pathetic man children who have nothing better to do with their time.

It's not just games

I know plenty of people for whom the idea fiction full stop (let alone outright fantasy) is something to be shunned in adulthood. To paraphrase another guy I once worked with, on the subject of reading novels,

"As soon as I read, 'John walked into the room' I just think, no he didn't, he's not real and neither is the room." 

As far as suspension of disbelief goes, that's as fragile as it gets.

'To be or not to be?' Well, not to be, cause it's all made up!

Does this actually matter?

To me, no, there are plenty of niche hobbies I don't understand and (whether I realise it or not) sneer at, comic books and roleplaying board games among them. Equally, there are plenty of mainstream hobbies and activities I don't get, such as soap operas, reality TV and pretty much all spectator sports. 

As gamers, it's more important we understand and accept gaming's place in society and culture. The following are both fundamental to gaming as a medium, but also mean other people cannot take them seriously:

• Games are something people first indulge in as children and so they are automatically associated with toys.
• They focus on violence as the main sources of motivation and entertainment.
• They are ethereal and nothing you achieve in a game exists in reality. Once the console or computer is turned off, it's gone.
• Generally speaking, games are disposable. Once we complete a game or a sequel is released, we move on. And while this is a ostensibly a retro gaming blog, the fact it retro gaming is a pretty small niche in the community.

What can we do to improve people's attitude?

As much as you love your games, your best bet is not to take them too seriously and don't get too defensive about your hobby. Nobody like an evangelist and the more you argue, the more you are likely to reinforce people's views that mature gamers need to get a grip. In my experience I've found a version following line is your best defence when asked if you play games or why you play games:

"Yeah, I play a few games here and there. It's better than watching X Factor or Geordie Shore."

And then move on, change the subject. Admittedly talent shows and reality TV are soft targets, but that's the point. And when you get back home to your console or PC and you fire up some brilliant, awe-inspiring game that pushes our beloved hobby to new heights, games like Mass Effect, Heavy Rain, Skyrim, Fez, Journey or dare I say it, Grand Theft Auto V, remember, at the end of the day, the non-gamers of this world are the ones missing out and that's not your problem.

(For the record, the guy who made the suicide comment suggested exercise as something better to do as a hobby, which to me is on par with suggesting "eat breakfast" or "get dressed" as a hobby.)

MTW 

Nostalgia Trip - Coin-ops and chlorine

Such was the ubiquitous nature of arcade machines in the 80s and early 90s that you could find them installed in all sorts of locations. I've spoken in the past about video rental shops in my home town having Street Fighter II in them, but as the idea of family pubs grew drinking establishments started to add cabinets and pinball tables along side their fruit machines, jukeboxes and pool tables. Sometimes lone machines appeared in youth clubs, chippies, cafes, launderettes, shops, cinemas and even break rooms in businesses. However, there was one non-arcade establishment that frequently trumped them all and bizarrely that was swimming pools.

The Marina Centre in Great Yarmouth had a dedicated arcade for a while.

I first played a number of significant games at swimming pools. It was in the canteen at the pool in my village where I first played Atari's vector graphics Star Wars; it was at a pool in a neighbouring town that I first played Gorf and Mikie; and it was at a surprisingly well equipped arcade at a pool in Great Yarmouth that I first played Paper Boy, Hang-On, Fire Fox and a number of other machines.

As such, taking my own kids to the pool now often brings back a strong sense of nostalgia; when I visit the same pools I used to go to as a kid, I can sometimes picture the machines they had and where they were located. Sadly these days, traditional video arcade machines and pinballs rarely have a place in modern, so-called arcades, let alone leisure centres. Where as all of the other businesses I mentioned replaced their video games and pinball tables with fruit machines and quiz machines, swimming pools have either simply removed the machines altogether or, paradoxically, replaced them with drinks and snack machines.

While it would be easy to say swimming pools got rid of their arcade machines for the same reasons as everyone else, I have to wonder if there is another, more sinister factor. The truth is, businesses simply do not want kids loitering their premises. Growing up I used to see crowds of kids congregating a number of unlikely locations, from the fountains in the shopping centre to the wall outside mini-super markets. These days such crowds of teenagers are a rare sight. Indeed there is even a device called a Mosquito alarm (also known as SonicScreen) that businesses can install outside their building that emits a high frequency sound that only people under 25 or so can hear, which is designed to irritate their young ears to the point they move away. This is all part of the demonising of teenagers that has plagued British tabloids and daytime chat shows for the past decade or so and which is incredibly unfair to the vast majority of kids. So when an old arcade throwback like myself thinks back to those days when spotting arcade machines was as easy as spotting pigeons, I have to wonder, what have these businesses really go rid of?

MTW 

Top 10 run 'n' gun games

Run 'n' gun games may contain elements of shoot 'em ups and platformers, they can be modern day or futuristic, but whatever elements they're made of, they're all about blowing s**t up and taking names, just like the OTT action movies of the 80s and 90s. Speaking of which...

Ikari Warriors

One of the original top-down run 'n' gun games, Ikari Warriors is an all time classic. After crash landing your plane behind enemy lines, you have to fight your way up the scrolling jungle of enemy soldiers, taking weapons and also vehicles to aid your escape. The game is very clearly inspired by the Rambo films, with player 1's character looking almost exactly like Stallone (player 2 was the same, but blue). It's also one of those games that is difficult to translate to home platforms due to its rotating joystick controls (a problem we'll encounter again later on).

Metal Slug series

If you don't know what a typical run 'n' gun game looks like, you have obviously haven't played any of SNK's Metal Slug games. And if you haven't played any of these beautiful, violent and brilliantly ridiculous examples of arcade gaming, what the hell are you doing on a site like this? Metal Slug is one of the crowning jewels of SNK's legendary Neo Geo system and features some of the most detailed pixel art ever, but it's the high energy, high explosive, tongue-in-cheek gameplay that makes it a classic.

Gunforce: Battle Fire Engulfed Terror Island

If I was giving out awards for Most Awesome Subtitle, Gunforce: Battle Fire Engulfed Terror Island would probably win. This Irem run 'n' gun game from 1991 is very clearly inspired by Contra, but has a contemporary setting and two player co-op. Gunforce gives players the ability to lock the direction of fire by simply tapping the joystick and staying still, something many other similar games didn't do (such as Contra which always put the gun in a neutral position when you let go of the joystick). And although plenty of run 'n' gun games give you control of vehicles, there was something more free form about Gunforce's selection. They tended to be the same as the enemy vehicles and included screen-filling examples, such as the helicopter in the screenshot above. 

Total Carnage

In the 90s, Midway were the kings of over-the-top, parent shocking video games, from the visceral digitised action of Mortal Kombat to the worship of the cathode ray tube and total disregard for human life that was Smash TV. Released in 1992, Total Carnage shares a lot in common with Smash TV. Many of the game play elements, weapons and even characters came from Smash TV. As the name suggests, this is probably the craziest, crassest game in this list - a delight for teenage boys who grew up watching Willis, Van Damme, Lundgren, Sly and Arnie in action. The game also features an interesting password system, that will let you warp to sections of the if you know the four letter code.

Cyber-Lip

Here's another one from the SNK Neo Geo. Released a few years before Metal Slug, Cyber-Lip takes the game play of Contra and the plot from Terminator. You and a friend take control of two human soldiers, sent to take out the robotic army that's terrorising Earth after a military super computer goes haywire. Some notable features of Cyber-Lip are the ability to shimmy along handrails and the fact when you die you come back on a flying jet ski thing, which, for a few seconds, not only gives you the ability to clear the screen, but also allows you to position yourself where ever you like.

And no, I don't know what a Cyber-Lip is.

Mercs

Capcom's 1985 Commando was one of the earliest examples of vertically scrolling run 'n' gun games, pre-dating Ikari Warriors by a year. However, sticking to my rule of only including one game from any series, I must confess to preferring the faster, more hectic sequel from 1990. This game not only plays great, it looks great too, with clean, yet detailed pixel art that for some reason reminds me of Bitmap Brothers games. Unlike some of the other top-down games in this list, Mercs doesn't require any specialised controls, which means it translated well to home platforms too.

Midnight Resistance

I have found memories of various Data East games, but none more so than Midnight Resistance from 1989.  Like many of the games in this list, the characters looked like Rambo, but then he was the biggest action hero around at the time. Fallen enemies would sometimes drop keys, of which players could collect up to six. At the end of each level you break into a weapons store and each weapon or ammunition pack would require a certain number of keys to unlock. This was effectively just a coin and shop system, but it was more in-keeping with the story than having a random shop in the middle of the war-torn environment. This is another game that requires a rotating stick and so it didn't translate well to home platforms.

Finest Hour

Despite taking its name from a Winston Churchill speech, Namco's Finest Hour from 1989 is actually set in the future and puts the player in control of an armoured robot, seeking out the enemy in a jungle-like terrain and blasting them to smithereens. Finest Hour has a few unusual features. Firstly, it has an auto-lock on for the main gun and second, although it's not a one-hit-death game, you don't have health either. Instead you have a heat gauge, which goes up when you are hit. If the meter reaches critical, you blow up. However, stay out of danger for long enough and you'll cool down again. So when people talk about the auto-recharging health and shields of modern games like Halo, Gears of War and Call of Duty, you have to wonder if it started here. Officially, the game was only available in Japan, but I do remember it making it over to a few UK arcades. 

Rolling Thunder series

A former Classic of the Month, Namco's Rolling Thunder oozes spy style. The original had super smooth and detailed animation to go along with its great gameplay and atmosphere; the sequels added more locations, improved graphics and two player. The sequels are also some of the few run and gun games that put player 1 in control of a female protagonist (although others, such as later Metal Slug games, had optional female characters).

Alien Syndrome

Firstly, I love, love, love Sega's 1987 classic Alien Syndrome! I mean, I have soft spots for all the games in this list, but I have particularly found memories of Alien Syndrome - not so much the arcade original as the Sega Master System conversion. It wasn't as fast, but I always thought the graphics were cleaner. Nonetheless, this game manages to evoke the sense of foreboding and dread that permeates the Sigourney Weaver movies and with the kind of squelchy, undulating monstrosities found in John Carpenter's The Thing. Unlike the other games in this list, the maze-like structure of the levels of this game force players to explore and the time bomb ticking down in the background only added to the sense of dread.

Contra (AKA Gryzor)

Characters that looked like Arnie and Sly? Loads of big, crazy guns? Soldiers, robots and aliens to blast? What was not to like about Contra - or Gryzor as I knew it in the 80s. I was truly terrible at this game, but it wasn't until I was much older that I discovered it is generally considered one of the hardest games of that period. I own the Xbox Live Arcade version and even when I lower the difficulty and use all my continues, I still can't get past level 3. This game also made it to my original Top 10 list of seminal arcade games from my youth and for good reason. As good as similar games are in this list, Contra is still my favourite. So you can imagine how excited I was a few years ago when the games company I worked for at the time were pitching for the contract to do a modern remake of this classic franchise. Sadly, the bid fell through and it wasn't to be.

Join me again next month when I'll be counting down my top 10 light gun games.

MTW