Tubey's Retro Gaming Thread

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T

Tubey

Allardyce Out
'ello.

I play modern games, love PC gaming, have an XBox 360, will probably get a PS4 at some point, and I fully understand that some absolutely belting games are released on multiple platforms today.

However, I always find myself reaching back in time to older titles when wanting a deeper gaming experience. There are games I've played repeatedly and put over 200 hours into over the years, and there are more games still that I'm discovering all anew when looking for PS1/PS2/DS games etc. that continue to surprise me even though I didn't get to play them on release.

This thread isn't aiming to reminisce about the odd game that I loved 20 years ago that would be hideous to play today (so little to no Spectrum ZX discussion here!) - I'm aiming to talk about games that perhaps the younger lads and ladies on the board haven't heard of, but could still enjoy to this day, or the older chaps who either forgot about them or never knew of them and fancy giving something classic but still relevant a bash. These are all games I actually own, and it's just something I'm doing to help me unwind when I'm sick of Photoshop for the day!!!

I know I'll get a TLDR response to what follows, but hopefully it builds up a resource for any gamer looking to go retro as I have done.

Enjoy or whatever!


CONTENTS:

1. Grim Fandango
2. CTR: Crash Team Racing
3. Shining Force II
4. Side Pocket
5. Dungeon Keeper 2
6. Theme Hospital
7. Shadowrun
8. Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
9. Tekken 2
10. Baldur's Gate - Dark Alliance
11. Sensible World of Soccer
12. The Curse of Monkey Island
13. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
14. Chrono Trigger
15. Toejam & Earl/Toejam & Earl: Panic on Funkotron
 
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GRIM FANDANGO

Release Date: 1998

Available: Amazon, retro-game shops. No digital distribution available.

Compatability: Problems with modern Windows systems, needs patching. Details here: http://www.pcworld.com/article/239339/how_to_play_grim_fandango_on_your_windows_7_pc.html



The mid- to late-1990s was a golden age for gaming on the PC. The FPS genre was blooming into life with incredible titles like Quake and Duke Nukem 3D, game releases were varied and plentiful, aided and inspired by fantastic next gen consoles like the Playstation. RPGs had reached the plateau of gaming with the Final Fantasy series leading the charge… and a little something known as a point and click adventure existed. It relied on the mouse and clicking things to solve puzzles, move around the screen and progress. Simple enough.


Today, the genre sort of still exists. We’ve had a recent Broken Sword release, for example, but they aren’t a patch on incredible titles like the original and sequel in that series, and wouldn’t even hold a candle to Monkey Island.


Speaking of the Monkey Island series, the game I’m reviewing comes from those very same people responsible for Guybrush Threepwood and his escapades. LucasArts, a now defunct gaming company that developed the SCUMM engine which powered the point and click revolution. Curse of Monkey Island, released in 1997, was for me a revelation. I remember playing it open-mouthed at the brilliance of the humour, the clean beautifully drawn graphic style and cleverly written script and characters. I finished it believing I’d never play a better example of the genre.


Then I played Grim Fandango.


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In many ways, I both love and loathe Grim Fandango. I love it as it’s one of the greatest games ever made, put as bluntly as I can. However, I hate it because it was so good that it effectively made everything that followed it look utterly daft in comparison. It was like you’d spent the years looking for the holy grail of adventure gaming, then suddenly you walk around the corner and it’s right there in front of you.


And the strange thing is, it was just that unexpected. Fandango was a brand new IP from a company that had played the Monkey Island card for years, and many expected little from it. Not only that, at the time of release, it was pretty poorly optimised for many home user computers, meaning that it was expected to bomb commercially. This was actually sort of true, but as I’ll detail below, not enough to detract from just how awesome this title was and, to this day, still is.


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Grim Fandango follows the story of Manny Calavera, a Hispanic travel agent of sorts who works for the Department of Death in the Land of the Dead, consigned to this position due to his activities in his past life. His principle job is organising passage to eternal rest. Going by how much credit you had earned during your life, this journey can be aided by a comfortable journey on the Number Nine train – or a mere walking stick. It is a title heavy in Mexican folklore and, as such, is grounds for an unmistakable graphic design that is unique to this title. Any one screenshot from Grim Fandango is enough for those who have played it to instantly recognise it.


Unlike the Monkey Island series before it, Fandango is a fully realised 3D world. This came close to being the undoing of the title, as it’s clear in certain instances that the 3D camera threatens to disorientate. It just about clings on to usability, although the control system struggles to keep steady at certain times – this is one of the first point and click adventures to move beyond mouse only input and allow you to move around with the keyboard.


The linearity of the title is an unavoidable consequence of the genre – yet it is an embraced asset rather than a hindrance, allowing the developers to produce well thought out puzzles which don’t detract from the storyline or enjoyment of the player. Don’t get me wrong, this is a tough game. Unlike games from the year 2000 onwards, which seemed to revel in holding the hand of the player to the point of becoming non-sensical, Fandango presents logical puzzles and challenges you from the outset. You’ll get stuck in this game, but instead of frustration, you’ll feel compelled to work through them – going to sleep at night thinking it through and coming back to it a day after, getting over the hurdle and relishing the next.


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The soundtrack here is just wonderful. As the game progresses over a period of four years, the medley accompanying you switches to reflect the ambient mood, never once becoming tedious. You’ll be humming the jazzy soundtrack as you walk around – indeed, the music is an integral part of the experience here.


In terms of character development and script, Fandango is unparalleled in all of gaming. Quite simply put, there has never been a title that has done it better. The Last of Us, Final Fantasy 7… nope, Fandango has them licked. Wonderful voice acting, inherently deep comedy and emotion, everything is here that you would find in the best Pixar movie you can think of. Ask a player of this game to name five characters off the top of their head; it’ll be done with ease.


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The game is a technical marvel given it was released over 15 years ago, yet it remains graphically solid and infinitely playable to this day. It’ll take you around 40 hours to beat, and afterwards you’ll be left with a feeling of incredible satisfaction mixed with sadness that the experience had to end. It’s a labour of love from a developer who put their heart and soul into this production.


If you’re a gamer tired of the same old experience from FPS franchises, WoW knockoffs and DOTA-clones, looking for something a bit different, then this is the game for you. Nothing in the current market is anything like it, and you’ll remember it for the rest of your life.



VERDICT: 97% - One of the greatest video games ever made and a quintessential experience for any gamer looking to broaden their horizons, Grim Fandango is everything great in gaming in one package.
 
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