Classic Replay

Released: 09/09/99 Company: SEGA Is it any good? The Dreamcast had a ton of potential, but unfortunately a futile amount of time to establish and adapt. Many folk blame piracy for its downfall (I hate piracy), but if that was the case... how come the PS1 didn't fail? Some people believe it was down to the brand being damaged, due to the Mega-CD and piss poor management of the Saturn. I wouldn't be surprised if the real reason was because it lacked a DVD player as seen in the PS2, but seriously, who knows? It's probably a debate that will rage on forever, and never reveal an answer. Should I still get one What is for certain is that SEGA make great games, always have and always will... and these days we get to play them on a multitude of platforms. You simply must own a Dreamcast, its library of games are still very attractive, and the console is easily affordable. The Dreamcast changed gaming forever, and that's why it left such a massive cav...

Here's an interesting fact, guess how many NDS units have sold to date? How about this then, just under  147.86  million (only the PS2 has sold more), with the new Super Mario Bros being its best selling game, totalling 27million. According to Nintendo, hardware sales of the NDS are still good, and they'll continue production as long as software sales stay strong. No surprise there then, as the NDS has served people well, and will probably continue to do so for many moons to come.

What was once old, appears current again, and although prehistorik by todays standards, the simplicty of early video games still see us wishfully reaching, and scouring our memory banks for those once forgotten classics. I think it's safe to say, that Retro games have found a new home amongst our younger generation of folk, on next generation hardware. But because of our throw-away mentality of yesteryear, the kids today will probably never experience these games, as the gods intended. Shame then, as the Arcades were a giant first step in gaming... it was an era of Space Invaders, Pacman, Defender and hot girls, ahem. These days, the only place you'll likley find an Arcade machine, is in a collectors garage, or warehouse gathering dust. The culture, friendships and atmosphere that sprung up around these places, are almost a thing of the past. Once we've gone, no one will ever remember they happened. Hallelujah then ...

Capcom are one of my all-time favourite publishers. Their games are hardly breathtakingly original, but a large percentage of their efforts appeal to the arcade lover in all of us. Final Fight is no exception, it's a mow-em-down, side scrolling beat-em-up with huge sprites, fast gameplay and simplicity at its finest. It's a particularly good game for those who like a quick gaming fix, and if you've not played Final Fight for some time, it's great to go back in and give it one more go. In fact, as far as beat-em-ups go, Final Fight should probably be considered one of Capcom's perfect moments. Back in the day, beat-em-ups were the done thing, and until Final Fight appeared, Renegade, Double Dragon and Streets of Rage were where I became a proper hard knuckle head.  For me, beat-em-ups are as much a necessity to gaming, as the 'ol shiny silver ball is to pinball. I'm currently lucky enough to own the Mega-CD version (jap), Snes, iPhone and the ...

So what was the definitive home conversion of Yu-Suzuki's Outrun? I've played the arcade original on many an occasion, and like everyone else back in the day, hoped my respective home conversion came out the closest to Sega's arcade original. Sadly, the CPC conversion was the litter of the runt, and looked and performed like a badly curled poo. That didn't deter me from hunting down the ultimate home conversion though... In fact i became obsessed in doing so. Over the years I've played Outrun across a vast range of machines including the C64, Speccy, Amiga, ST and Sega Megadrive to name but a few. Over 26 years on, I'm now convinced I've found the ultimate home conversion. Gor blimey! Can this be true? The almost unbelievable answer is yes. Before we jump straight in, lets quickly take a look into the 8-bit versions. The ZX Spectrum effort actually plays quite well, features some good authentic music, and graphically holds its...

Developer: Sculptured Software, Lucas Arts Released: 1992 Star Wars is old skool... As old skool as a massive ruler straight to the back of the hand. In the late 70’s, early 80’s… Star Wars: A New Hope acquired iconic status in popular culture. It seems as if everyone was touched by the force, and Yoda. From it came advancements in sound, Special effects and the video game studio, Lucasarts. Lucasarts are solely responsible for some of the best (and worst) games from a galaxy far, far away. But what game could possibly stand alongside such a great movie? Well; none really, but Super Star Wars on the SNES at least mimicked the film, and captured its essence, a teeny bit. Super Star Wars first appeared on the NES console. The SNES version is basically a remake of the classic NES release from 1991, only this time with more scum and villainy. The SNES version was voted best action game of 1992. And the game is widely considered one of the best movie to game conver...

The Amstrad CPC was never really catered for when it came to the beloved shoot-em-up genre. I know, I know... there was X-out, P-47 and R-Type, but the majority were crappy ports of otherwise good Speccy games. In 2009, everything took a change for the better, and the trend is set to continue well into 2011. I’m talking Star Sabre, Dead on Time and the imminent R-Type remake. Imagine my surprise then, when I heard Sub Hunter was scheduled for a release on the CPC. Sub Hunter really brings it home for the CPC. It's considered a Commodore 64 classic. It’s loved within it’s community, and now the Amstrad CPC has its very own shiny special version. As for the story, just think government cover up, chemicals, and undesired effects. Basically the government have gone and dumped all sorts of shizzle in the ocean, and now the fish have increased massively in size and all turned a bit radio rental, mental. Never fear... the bigger they are the h...