GROW - The Terminator - Sega / Mega CD

DEVELOPER       Virgin Interactive     
PUBLISHER       Virgin Interactive     
COMPOSER       Tommy Tallarico       
RELEASE          1993                        
GENRE             Platformer                
                       Run and Gun Shooter
PLAYERS           Single                      

When retro gamers think of video games based off movies they usually think two things, Terrible & LJN.  But not all were destined to that slaughter house.  Terminator 2 was unfortunately scooped up LJN and several less than great games were produced under that rainbow of sorrow but the good news is they left the original movie alone which gave Developer and Publisher Virgin a chance to make a good game from a good movie.  And folks, that is exactly what they did.  Let's go hunt some Terminators.....

PLOT

The game essentially tries to follow the movie from start to finish so if you have seen the movie than the game doesn't need too much of an explanation.  For those of you who have not seen the original Terminator flick I strongly suggest you watch the movie before you play the game if you want to appreciate it for what it's really worth.  But to cut a long story short you play as Kyle Reese in the year 2029 and are sent back to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor and her unborn child who as we all know becomes John Connor, the leader of the resistance that takes on Skynet.

GAMEPLAY

It's actually quite hard to compare this game to any others as it borrows from different genres to help create a 'semi new' experience and type of gameplay.  Without a doubt this game is very heavily a platformer but it's the speed at which you progress through the stages which makes it its' own unique style.  It might not be as heavy on the enemies and bullets like you would experience in Contra, Gunstar Heroes and Metal Slug but it still holds a very strong 'Run and Gun' feel.  The way these two genres have been combined could have gone seriously wrong but Virgin did a great job creating a unique experience using Dave Perry's engine.

Before each level starts you are treated to some 16-bit FMV clips straight out of the movie which although are great to watch are also there to outline which part of the movie you are actually going to play on the upcoming level.  Yes, the clips are about 1/4 of the screen and are grainy but I always try to review games in a light that would be similar to the way the game would have been reviewed back in 1993 and back in 1993 that was one epic way to start a level!

Although there is technically only one path to go from start to end, each level is full of branching paths where you will find weapon powerups, ammo, grenades and health packs.  So be sure to go everywhere because who knows what you might find to help you on your journey.  You will also find the levels have quite a few checkpoints scattered throughout the place and trust me, if you plan on playing this game on the 'Hard' or 'Super' difficulty you are going to need every last one.

The controls are simple but effective and feel great on both the Genesis / Mega Drives 3 and 6 button controllers.  You have 'Fire', 'Jump' and 'Grenade toss'.  I did notice there is the slightest bit of lag controlling Kyle Reese, but once you get a feel for the game it's far from noticeable.

GRAPHICS

This game fits perfectly on the Mega Drive hardware with it's dark and gloomy tones whilst still using the full spectrum of the Sega CD's color palette with each level having its own unique style and colors.  Virgin have even thrown in a few transparency effects as smoke billowing from the fires burning around you in certain stages.

Normally when I say I game lacks parallax I would usually follow it up with a negative, but not this time.  Just because this game only has one foreground layer and one background layer in most levels it is used in a way to create a huge range of depth and distance.  For example when you get to level 5 and are fighting your way through the city streets you will be running past buildings in the foreground but in the distance you will see this huge City Skyline scrolling by as you progress through the stage.

AUDIO

Two words...  Tommy Tallarico.  Need I say more?  This man knows how to compose a score for a video game.  Each level has its own soundtrack to start you on your mission and is an absolute treat to listen to.  I will actually go as far to say this... "The Terminator for the Mega CD contains a track called 'Destinationz Unknown' which is the most epic song I have ever heard for all video games past, present and future."  The sound effects themselves might not be as high caliber as the music but they still do a great job throughout the game.  From the gun shots you hear to the screams of the enemies you kill to the final sounds of the T-800 crawling towards Sarah Connor.

OVERALL

The fact this game has been rated as the best 'Terminator' game produced definitely says something.  Unfortunately the levels can feel a little repetitive sometimes as you are essentially performing the same task every mission but in my opinion it has a solid arcade feel to and being that unique mix of Platformer and Run and Gun it's certainly a game experience you wont find in too many places.

Until next time...  Stay Retro.

GROW: Worms

 
Worms

Developer	Team17
Publisher	Ocean
Platform	Amiga
Release date	1995
Designer	Andy Davidson

Worms was by no means the first artillery game, but it definitely was the game that popularised artillery games for the gamers of the nineties. Artillery games, i.e. games where you try to bombard your opponent by selecting an angle and force, can be traced all the way back to 1976, where Mike Forman published a BASIC game called Artillery in the magazine Creative Computing. Later on in 1991 artillery games were popularised by the game Gorillas, primarily because it was distributed as part of QBasic for MS-DOS 5.0, and therefore came pre-installed on many PCs of the time.

Like in any artillery game, the objective of the game is to blast the opponent into smithereens. In Worms each team has four worms and using an arsenal of weapons, ranging from grenades and bazookas to shotguns and explosive sheep, you have to eradicate the other team. Part of what made Worms such a good game was this wide variety in weapons to choose from, and the fact that each weapon was actually useful in different situations. Seasoned Worms players, who were able to throw a grenade with immaculate precision and timing, could bounce grenades off of walls and hit you even when you thought you were very well hidden. The action is divided into 60 second turns, where you have to position your current worm correctly for the shot, shoot, and retreat to a safer location. To add to the fun, chain reactions were a very common thing in Worms - you'd shoot at a worm, who'd then fly into a mine that bounced onto another worm, who then exploded (worms explode when they die) and set fire to a barrel of gasoline, that ran down a hill and pushed a third worm into the water. Setting off these chain reactions is immensely fun, whether they are planned or not :-)

Not all of your items are weapons. Some are used to either defend yourself by building barricades, or to help you move around the level. Expert players soon learned to use these accessories - e.g. the excellent ninja rope - to move quickly around the level, place a stick of dynamite, and then make a hasty retreat.

Fun is definitely the keyword with Worms. This was not a game that took itself too seriously. The game included speech, and the worms all had little sentences that they would say during combat. Like saying "watch this" or "fire" when firing, muttering "revenge" when hit, saying "bye bye" when dying and so on. All of these were done in a very cute little voice, which made it all the more adorable amongst the carnage that is Worms.

Worms turned into a series of games that is still running to this day. I fondly remember Worms Armageddon (1999) and Worms World Party (2001), but there has been countless other entries in the series, the latest one being Worms Battlegrounds which was released for the PS4 and XBox One this year.

The original Worms is an excellent game so I'd definitely recommend that you give it a go. I'm not sure where you can find the original game, but the second game in the series, simply named Worms 2, is available at gog.com.

GROW: Lemmings

Lemmings





Developer: DMA Design

Publisher: Psygnosis

Designer: Dave Jones

Composer: Brian Johnston, Timothy Wright

Release: 1991

Platform: Amiga and pretty much every system ever. 


Lemmings back in 1991 was a revelation, a genuinely fresh concept of having  you assign your suicidal rodents to help them escape.  This is a video all about that game, how it came about and what the Lemmings developer DMA Design went on to do.  I hope you enjoy...

Visual Guide to Amiga Games: Cannon Fodder

This week the Visual Guide to Amiga Games, an ongoing coffee table book project by @madsdk, takes a look at a great Sensible Software game. No, it isn't Sensible Soccer, although that was a great title as well. Feast your eyes on the wonder that is Cannon Fodder - and if you haven't already, go play this game now! Hint: To fully appreciate these images, click the cogwheel in the upper right corner and choose "View Full Resolution".

GROW: Bruce Lee - C64

Developer	Datasoft
Publisher	Datasoft
Designer	Ron J. Fortier
Platform	Commodore 64
Release date	1984
Genre	Platformer / Fighting

This week I wanted to take a look at a personal favourite of mine: Bruce Lee for the Commodore 64. To try something new, I decided to do a small video review/playthrough of the game, instead of the normal text-only reviews we do each Saturday.

The video is quite short - only 5 minutes - so I hope you'll want to watch it in its entirety. Enjoy the show!

GROW: Night Trap - 3DO

Developer	Digital Pictures
Publisher	Virgin Interactive
Distributor	Hasbro Interactive
Platform	3DO
Release date	NA 1994 JP June 2
Genre	Survival horror, Interactive movie
Mode	Single player

Review by Clint 'ThoRn' Thornton

                  @RetroGameRevive

FMV (Full Motion Video) is one of the greatest and most beautiful disasters of the early to mid (and even some in the late) 90's.  But just because it was destined for the slaughter house, does not mean at the time it looked to be the 'Way of the Future' and everyone who got to experience it when it first became commercialized in video games couldn't help but be taken in by this 'One Hit Wonder'.

Although Night Trap on the 3DO was released 2 years after it's initial launch on the Sega/Mega CD and most Night Trap enthusiast will take Sega's 16-Bit CD version over other platforms as this holds most nostalgia for them (that includes me), I think the 3DO is by far the most polished version and also offers a few useful additions to enhance the game play like a map of the house in your HUD.  Now....  If you haven't heard of Night Trap then there is something seriously wrong with you,  but I forgive you because now you have and after this review you will want to play it....Maybe,  I probably shouldn't hold my breath on this one...lol.

Ok, let's get started on the undisputed champion of interactive FMV games and let's play some Night Trap!

STORY

SCAT (Special Control Attack Team) agent Kelli Medd (Dana Plato) has gone undercover in to the home of the Martin family with a group of innocent girls for a slumber party invited by the daughter of Mr and Mrs Martin.  She has been sent there to investigate the disappearance of 5 other girls who previously stayed at the house as well as looking in to some other 'odd' occurrences that have been happening on the property.  Your job is to follow the girls around the house using a series of cameras and traps that have been set up in each room and and hopefully uncover the mystery of the missing girls whilst protecting the the ones currently in the house.  As the evening progresses you realize you are up against a vampiric group called 'Augers' who have one thing on their mind, attack and capture.  I don't want to give the ending away as I would prefer you to experience the game for yourself if you have not already done so.

GAMEPLAY
You are referred to as 'Control' in this game and this is exactly your purpose.  As stated before you control all of the cameras and traps throughout the house and using the HUD on the screen you have a meter which starts to spike and at the right moment when you have an Auger or two on screen and your meter peaks you hit a button to release a trap and capture the intruder(s).  Now, the concept is easy but the execution is a challenge as you don't actually receive any information telling you when an Auger is approaching in another room that you are not currently watching.  This is where the challenge lies as you are essentially required to use a pen and paper to help with your on-screen interactions writing down the times and the rooms when an Auger enters the house.  Well that's what I did when I played this game back in the 90's.  Although there is a story you can follow, if you choose to follow each character from room to room you will be watching your little Auger capture meter climb higher and higher on all the intruders you have missed as they will all enter the house through a vacant room and that is usually when you need to capture them.  Now to make things even more interesting you will find each trap is locked by a color access code which throughout the game needs to be changed so you still have control of the traps.  But to know which color code you require you need to know when a member of the family is talking about it so you can hear what color it is.  So let's recap quickly....  Most of the time if you follow the family members (or sometimes the girls and boys) you will get to follow the story but you wont be capturing many Augers and you need to capture a certain amount to continue on with the game.  If you try to continuously scan each room looking for the Augers you will get the chance to capture them but you will also be risking missing out on hearing the next access code color to control the traps as well as missing out on the plot of the story.  Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

CONTROL
Controls are very straight forward in Night Trap as you basically use your control pad to move from room to room, using one button to enter that room, using another to set the traps and a 3rd to change the access code color.  Using the start/pause button is also a necessity in this game as it will pause time but still allow you to change from room to room.  And if you use a pen and pad like a did it will also give you the opportunity to look at your notes so you know what room and at what time you will be capturing your next Auger.

The infamous scene which sparked controversy all over the world

VIDEO / AUDIO
When it comes to FMV games there is not really much depth when it comes to discussing the graphical and audio highs and lows.  The game itself has been filmed to feel like a horror/thriller movie, well like your typical cheesy 80's horror movie (but we all know the best horror movies came out of the 80's).  Using the hardware of the 3DO the video footage is very clear and uses most of the screen except for your HUD down the bottom.  The sound effects and music are all of good stereo quality but there really isn't too much more to look in to.  Overall I would say it's of VHS standard and considering that was the video format of the time and also what format this game was originally supposed to be released as, you really can't find any negatives in this part of the game.

ALL THE OTHER STUFF
Night Trap is a bit of a cult classic these days and even though the depth of the game play isn't much deeper than the kiddies pool at your local aquatics center it's regarded as on the pioneers of 'violence in video games' which is one of the big reasons it holds its cult status.  But that's not what draws me in to this game.  It's very much a nostalgic game for me as my memories are playing it at my friends house (you know, the kid who lived down the road and had everything) working as a team moving around from room to room whilst taking all these notes....  And speaking of notes, the reason why I decided to write this article is because I found something from those days and thought I would share it with you all.  From memory I would have taken these notes in 1995.

My notes as a 12 year old

I found the times and rooms up to the 27 minute mark and compared them to all the walkthroughs that are available these days and I have to admit, we did very well and were pretty accurate capturing everything considering we were only 12 and 13.  Although I did notice I spelt 'Entry Way' as 'Enter Way' and 'Upstairs' as 'Upstars' :)

It really is hard to write this article and praise it like I do with the other games I review, but I have also told myself to only review games that I think are good and worthy of being reviewed in a positive light.  So how do I justify it?  Well I can't, but I think that is the charm of Night Trap and the hold it has on me and many others out there.

Not all games have to be 10 out of 10.  Not all games have to hold up over time.  Sometimes you can't really explain it, but then again why should you.  It doesn't matter what the game is and how other people look at it.  It's about how that game makes you feel, how that game puts a smile on your face when those old memories come back and how as time goes on we will always have those moments and they can never be taken away.


Until next time...  Stay Retro!

Game of the month September 2014: Rainbow Islands

Rainbow Islands
Developer: Taito
Publisher: Taito
Designer: Fukio Mutsuji
Composer: Hisayoshi Ogura
Release: 1987
Platform: Arcade





The winner of this month's vote was the classic Taito platformer Rainbow Islands. Rainbow Islands is the second game in the Bubble Bobble series, and has you playing as the two boys, Bub and Bob, who have been turned back into boys after having been turned into bubble dragons in the first game.
Rainbow Islands abandons the arena platformer roots of its predecessor for a new race-from-bottom-to-top style of gameplay. It has you blasting your enemies with handy rainbows that also double as platforms for you to use when ascending the level.

Rainbow Islands is very near and dear to my heart. Therefore I recently made a small video about the game and what it meant to me as a gamer back in the day. I was saving this video for later, but now that Rainbow Islands is the game of the month I think it is only fitting that I release it now. So feast your eyes on the first video "review" done by the Retro Gaming Club crew:

For this month's playthrough we will be playing the PlayStation version of Rainbow Islands as that is very close to the original arcade version. So come along, bring your friends, and join us in the forums of the Retro Game Squad podcast to discuss this great classic from Taito.