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

Creepy Classic of the Month: House of the Dead

Manufacturer:	Sega
Developer:	Wow Entertainment
Genre:	Light gun
Board:	Sega Model 2
Year:	1997

It's halloween at the end of the month, so's time for another creepy classic of the month and boy, is it a doozy.

Zombies and videos games appear to be a match made in heaven. From dedicated zombie games such as Resident Evil, Left 4 Dead and ZombiiU, to the undead appearing in otherwise non-horror games, such as Elder Scrolls, Call of Duty and even western adventure Red Dead Redemption. For fans of arcade games, the number 1 zombie game has to be Sega's light gun series, House of the Dead.

The game is set in the undead-infested Curien Mansion, home and laboratory of the scientist Dr. Roy Curien. Now I won't go as far as to call Curien a mad scientist, but his experiments did lead to the zombie outbreak that permeates the series, so he certainly wasn't all that stable. You and a friend take control of agents Thomas Rogan and "G", as they search for Rogan's missing girl friend. On arrival at the mansion, you encounter a dying man, who hands you a journal containing details of Curien's monstrosities. This becomes essential as you face the game's various bosses.

House of the Dead first made its international appearance in 1997, a few years after Namco's Time Crisis and Sega's own Virtua Cop. Like those two games, House of the Dead featured polygonal graphics, but in the years since those other games first appeared the technology had improved no end. The increased detail in the textured models was essential for giving the zombies and other nasties a suitably decayed and grotesque appearance.

Unlike Time Crisis with its cover/reload pedal, House of the Dead stuck to the old technique of making players to shoot off screen to reload. This only added to the tension of being surrounded by hordes of brain-hungry undead, as you had to readjust your aim when you flicked back to the screen. Whether this was Sega's intention or not I don't know (although I doubt it, given their earlier games used the same technique), but it certainly increased to the sense of desperation.

This first video shows the game in action, but second from FindArcadeGames shows an old cabinet they've recovered, which looks to be in excellent condition.

MTW