Down Time Action

So, here I am, sitting outside my next classroom, which the class that will take place inside doesn't start for another hour. This is what college people call down time, which is a fancy word for bad scheduling.

My thoughts came to this: I have a laptop, I have nothing (better) to do, so, I have spun the wheel with a might force, and it was good.

Battlezone

Anyone who is keeping score will notice I dropped the in-depth info about the games pretty quickly. That is, after only one game. It's just to cumbersome for a casual blog. So, just names it will be.

Now, for anyone who played it in the Arcade or a PC, Battlezone was one of the funnest games to play. The weird green wire mesh, the paranoia of not knowing where the next enemy was, or if they were behind you, which you didn't know until you were dead. It made for a very compelling game, if you ask me.

This classic was, to no surprise, ported to a popular home console after its rise of fame in the arcades. Though, this didn't usually translate well. Just look at the Pac-Man port to the Atari 2600. It's atrocious and degrading to the original. Does this 2600 port do the same to another classic?

Well, yes and no. What Battlezone for the 2600 does well is convey a 3-D world that is truly astounding to think existed on a home console in 1983. What it does different from its arcade predecessor is actually fill in the vector world of the the original to give it, somewhat colorful, but very blurry world, compared to the originals crisp, albeit very green, world.

Now, I don't know if it's just been a very long time since I have played the original Battlezone but this version both seemed unnecessarily hard at the start, and painfully easy after you got the mechanics down. What I mean is, my first three lives in the game were taken away within minutes as I could not dodge any bullets from the enemy tanks, not to mention the UFO type crafts which swoop and dodge faster than you can even fire. But then, I realized all I had to do was drive in a large circle, firing at my enemies when my reticule lit up, causing a kill for all tanks, and allowing me to dodge mostly everything, taking away all fun.

Now, that brings up the question, is the game bad cause I was able to break it's rules so quickly? I would have to say yes. As a game developer, it is your duty to make the game as fun and engaging as possible, without letting the player exploit it. Tons of games did it before Battlezone, and tons did it after.

Gametap says 5.3. I agree, with a 5.0.
As fun as it kinda is, I want that space for something better. Which can be considered a diss being the game is only 0.008 MB. You decide.
31 of 987 complete.

Right Back Into It

Ok, so I accidentally published the last post before actually getting all I wanted to get into it. So I took a small break to check on other things real fast. You know, went for a walk, ate some pizza, talked to some family.

Wasn't much else to do so I came back, spun the wheel and got another Atari 2600 game, and again, this one has a fairly good score at 7.7, so, well, without further adieu I give you:

Pressure Cooker

Ok, so, a weird chute fires various burger ingredients at you, as orders for certain burgers with certain ingredients are given to you, you must make these burgers and get them out in due time.
Took a bit gettin used to it, but it was fun. Wasn't my cup of tea though.

Gametap has it at 7.7, I say it deserves about a 6.
8 out of 958 games complete.

Well, that one wasn't that interesting, so, lets hope for something better! SPIN THE WHEEEL!

Oh hell yeah! No more talking, time to play this next one!

Super Xevious

Ahhh, more shump loveliness. I have always been a fan of Xevious, and I don't think this will be an exception.

And it isn't! It is just pure distilled shump action. Not much fluff to it. Slow moving, top to bottom movement, enemies of predictable movements. Not much on the side of power ups or missles or enemies, but what do you expect from a game from 1984?

Suffice to say I played it for a good 15 minutes, nice good relxation game really, very low stress game. I like it!

Gametap has the game rated at 7.4, I say it deserves a 7.
9 out of 958 games complete.

All I can say, is NEXT! Spinnerrup!

Ha! Oh me oh my... this should be.. interesting, to say the least. Well, might as well get it over with.

Hoyle Children's Collection

So... a card game game! Yay! Lets see, it has a 4.5 rating... optimistic much? Lets give'r a whirl!

First off I must say, WOW. Not to it's quality of game, but the fact that the game is 272.6 MB! Thats huge for a game with several card games. Anywho, there was about a 15 minute gap just for this game. And what is it? THREE GAMES. Crazy Eights, Old Maid, and Checkers. Whoopie.


Gametap says 4.5, I say 3.
10 out of 958 games complete.
1.04% complete! Yay!

*eyes the wheel*

OH ok, ONE MORE!

Er, ok! My first Neo Geo game! Excitement! I loved Neo Geo back in the day, so, lets see how it holds up.

Cyber-Lip

Mmmm, did you just give me some cyber-lip, boy? Didja? DIDJA? Well we'll see about that. Well, I smacked it upside its head for that, you know why? It is nothing but a sad Metal Slug rip off. WHICH is made even more sad by the fact that it was made by SNK Playmore, the same people who MADE Metal Slug. I tried to get a screen cap for you, but, my computer seemed the hate the game enough to not let me cap it. Oh well. Just imagine Metal Slug, or Gunstar Heroes, just less good.

Gametap say 5.6.
Mookie say 4.
11 out of 958 games complete.

Zooom! The insanity continues.

Got Bored

Yeah, got bored not posting, so I decided to come back.

SO, I took another spin on the wheel, only to be heartbroken with the COMING SOON for Thief: Deadly Shadows, one of my personal favorite games. Well, guess I'll get around to it when it actually gets added. For now, time to take another spin.

Oh yay... another Atari 2600 game. 4.0 rating. Well, lets get it over with.


Sky Jinks

Well ok, Sky Jinks isn't that bad. Its one of the better 2600 games I've ever played. Basically what you do is hold down one button (V) and use the arrows keys to slalom past various obstacles of death and pain, such as trees, power lines, balloons and, what I GUESS are slalom posts. Though I have way of being sure at all.

Truthfully, I had a good time playing it, I reminded me a lot of SkiFree, one of my favorite old DOS games. So yeah, I recommend.


Gametap says 4.0, I say 6.
6 out of 958 complete.

Well, nothing better to do, might as well take another spin and keep on going until I get tired or something better comes up.
Here we go.

SPIN SPIN LETS GO ROUND!

Oooooooo! An arcade "Shump," or shoot em up, by Capcom! And a 7.3 rating! I'm excited. Lets giver a whirl, shall we?

Vulgus

What can I say? It's a competent enough shump. It has shooting, enemies, and you scroll upwards while collecting powerups. Oh, and it's hard. It can't be a shump and not be hard.

The best part is that the game was made in 1984, and looks really good for being so old, so it gets props from me for that.

Gametap has it ranked at a 7.3, I say it deserves a 7. So, works out. Next please!


7 out of 958 complete.