Classic Replay

I’m sitting here staring at a blank white Microsoft Word background. My head is swimming with random retro thoughts, however, I haven’t got a clue where I’m gonna go with this, but I'll give it a shot.  I've currently been thinking about all these new remakes i.e. The NES, Megadrive and five hundred other devices that are currently available or incoming. Initially, I was really excited by it all, but in essence, these are just more lumps of plastic that I’ve already collected. In 2016, shouldn't we be able to play all our favourite games on a single platform? For sure we have the PC and Raspberry Pie, but I’m thinking more along the lines of a SEGA console that plays all SEGA games, for example; SMS, Megadrive, Game Gear, 32X, Saturn, and Dreamcast all in one lovely lump of Japanese plastic. The same goes for Nintendo, Atari and any other console manufacturer, sick of the prospect of buying yet another lump of plastic and feeling restricted to only one genre of consol...

I'm sure gaming enthusiasts everywhere at one point or another have experienced the arcade behemoth that is Power Drift! In my humble opinion, it is still a great racing game, especially when you consider that it was released way back in 1988? I also had the Amstrad CPC version which turned out to be one of the best arcade conversions for the CPC. It looks a bit messy these days, but back then it felt just as fresh and in y' face as the arcade original. Seriously, it was like a roller coaster ride on steroids. I'm now playing the new 3DS port, which was released by Sega on their Classics Collection compilation, but I'm really struggling. Even on the lowest difficulty, I can't make it past the fifth stage, across any of the twenty-five different circuits. Thrilling and exciting this game might be, but far more difficult than I remember. Lucky for SEGA fans, we now have a 3DS port, re-written and lovingly crafted in 3D. As with 'Outrun' released last ye...

Most people associate gaming with kids' classics like Outrun, Space Harrier and Streets of Rage are games that have lived on and continue to live on through adults. Nowadays, it feels as if SEGA has tapped into this and is on a mission to re-release most of their prized possessions, such as PowerDrift, a perfect racer in which you race across all sorts of weird and wonderful structures, or the legendary Outrun, it took me years to properly master this Yu Suzuki classic, it was like no other racer in the world. But it's the imminent arrival of Turbo Outrun that has me real excited, it's not quite "Outrun" I mean you can't really compare the two, for example, the sequel is more of an atmospheric hi-octane race, that transports the player through nearly every road-like extremity. Gone are the branching paths and selectable soundtracks, but it does have better graphics and more features, including upgrading your car between stages, and more importantly, you can...

In the hot seat this month is 8-bit legend Jim Bagley. He's the main man and sole programmer responsible for many classic games on the Speccy and CPC. He was behind the fantastic Batman: The Caped Crusader, Cabel, Midnight Resistance and the massively addictive adventure, Hudson Hawk! But all these were nothing compared to what Jim considers his greatest achievement... Read on!   I played Batman the Caped Crusader to death? Glad it was good enough to keep you playing, I enjoyed making it. and Hudson Hawk was a great game, Yeah, shame the movie was a flop, I really loved the game also, it was fun to make as well! Amstrad Action awarded it a MasterGame! You must of been really proud? Yeah, I was, especially considering the slating the movie got, it was like we were off to a bad start I guess the only way was up lol. I loved Midnight Resistance, although a tad slow, played like a dream back in the day? Thanks :D yeah it was a bit slow on CPC unfortunately, but it was p...

Opening with cold-blooded murder, this game relentlessly pushes your emotional boundaries, as you are taken on a journey of wonder, mystery, and vengeance. Released in 1999, #Shenmue was a #Sega Dreamcast exclusive  from the same team that brought us Sega Rally and Virtua Fighter and was also produced and directed by games designer Yu Suzuki, the same chap responsible for programming the original Space Harrier, Outrun and Hang-on.  Maintaining and average 89% on Game Rankings, Shenmue received the "Excellence Prize for Interactive Art", at the 2000 Japan Media Arts Festival, and was voted "Console Game of the Year" by Game industry News. However, despite the rave reviews and seemingly obvious success, sales simply couldn't justify its staggering budget, which has been estimated to have been between $47 million - $70 million - unheard of at the time, rendering Shenmue, arguably the most highly revered 'flop' in gaming history. During the first sce...

Rumour has it Yu Suzuki wants to make Shenmue 3 and that he's already finished the story, but apparently SEGA aren't willing to take the risk! It's looking increasingly like SEGA has pulled the rug from underneat h both him and the fans. When you have a massive software company, like SEGA, shying away from such a project, and leaving fans in the balance, is confirmation that we're living in strange times. But for some unknown reason, our bond with SEGA appears to have strengthened.  For whatever reason, the HD age hasn't tempted SEGA to re-release many of their flagship games onto next generation systems. In fact, HD to SEGA has been the equivalent of what the ice age was to the dinosaurs. There's been the occasional effort, like Daytona and AfterBurner, but classics, the likes of Shenmue and Sega Rally, remain on the Sega software scrap heap. Very sad, as even the most unimaginative Sega fans could daydream for hours about a remastered Shenmue, and how aw...

Tell me about the Saturn? It's big, it's powerful, and a good all-rounder. The Sega Saturn might not be the most glamorous in the polygon department, but its ability to churn out games like Sega Rally and Panzer Dragoon caused quite a stir in gaming circles. Originally priced at £399, and released four months early without informing either the developers or retailer. SEGA showed the world and more importantly Sony, how not to release a console. Retailers were outraged as they were already trying to clear down previous stock for all the existing Sega hardware taking up valuable shelf space. The PlayStation ruled, but the Saturn shouldn't have been left so far behind.  Any good? It used two Hitachi SuperH-2 7604 32-bit RISC processors at 28.63 MHz and many other off the shelf parts that made development difficult, but most Japanese  developers swore by it and were able to produce exciting results. The Sega Saturn wasn't the wet salmon everyone believ...

ROLLING START! If you owned a Sega Saturn (chances are you didn't) it's more than likely that Daytona USA would have formed as part of your early gaming collection. Those who have played the arcade original will be forced to admit that it's without question one of the best racers in arcade history. So, therefore, a Saturn conversion with all the tracks, vehicles and a prancing pony should be perfect, right? Well, the tracks from the arcade original were faithfully converted, along with the over-the-top presentation and bizarre music (so awful it's good). Unlike most coin-op racers of the time, the player's view of the racetrack can be viewed from a multitude of different angles, including inside and not just from behind the car. Besides having to stay on the racetrack and avoid crashing into barriers, there are forty other cars to contend with, that see's you competing at three different levels ranging from beginner, advanced and expert. The Saturn versio...

Designer Racing: Motor racing is dead! Long live anti-gravity racing! This old skool, but futuristic racer, used to be my crack pipe of gaming. Wipeout is a white knuckle adrenalin rush, from start to finish. The opening sequence sets the game up nicely, and the boys at Psygnosis should have been knighted on the presentation alone. What's it all about: The year is 2052, and Anti-gravity racing has become the biggest show in the Solar System. This ballistic racer puts you in the cockpit of a souped up craft. In the Championship mode, you must race across six massive circuits in a bid to secure first place. The tracks contain all sorts of crazy swerves and curves, and on the later tracks, you'll need to rely heavily on the air brakes. How does it handle: There are two racing classes in Wipeout. These are Venom (beginner) and Rapier (Hard as nails). If you're skillful enough to complete all six tracks, and finish top of the points table...