So I'm kind of creating this thread because somebody else on the forum has his own reviews, and I feel I can get a few out the door of more obscure titles. EDIT: 75% is average in my reviews.
Today: Crue Ball - Sega Genesis - 85%
Rarely does a game come around that gives me so much of what I want in one package. This is a high quality pinball game that centers around the band Motley Crue. The game features very well done digitized rock and pits the player against enemies like walking skulls and floating brains. To advance in the game, the player must hit various switches in the level to open the gates to the volume knob, and the slide the ball around the knob to turn the music up. There are a few liscensed songs on the cartridge, but since this is a Genesis game, you probably won't care very much about those. The original soundtrack, however, is very good. The tune "Twisted Flipper" is one of my favorite songs from the Genesis library. The graphics are pretty good also, but I found it hard to find specific examples of the graphical quality when I remember the soundtrack so well. The gameplay is standered videogame pinball, but the game is made more exciting by its theme.
Final thoughts: Awesome game, get it if you see it. Not really a must have though.
The Apprentice Presents: Gaming in the 90s
-
The Apprentice
- 128-bit
- Posts: 960
- Joined: Sun May 13, 2007 3:52 pm
- Location: Wishing I was in California again
The Apprentice Presents: Gaming in the 90s
Last edited by The Apprentice on Wed Sep 17, 2008 7:21 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Hatta wrote:Die Hard Arcade has Deep Scan in it. That's like retro inside retro. They must have heard we liked retro (dawg).
Jrecee wrote:What I like to do is knit little sweaters to put on the games.
-
The Apprentice
- 128-bit
- Posts: 960
- Joined: Sun May 13, 2007 3:52 pm
- Location: Wishing I was in California again
Today: Daytona USA - Sega Saturn - 55%
You'd think a game with such a good reputation would be a lot of fun to play, right? Well, I gave Daytona a good shot, but I just can't seem to get used to it. Not to say its a bad game, but it made me feel like I was playing exactly what I was, an arcade transition with shoddy-looking graphics and music that sounds like Sega paid some guy to be the worst singer he could aspire to be. Most games have a sense of magic, *just play along* that makes the game's technological age seem less irritating. But I couldn't find that magic here. The racing seemed bland. You only get three tracks, and you have to unlock cars. The first track is easy, the second is difficult, and the third is unbelievably hard. Judging by this games reputation, its probably me. Also there are well-known problems in this game that brought down the experience for me. Draw-in is annoyingly close to the player, and if I heard correctly, the game only runs at 25fps. The single quality of this game that made me want to keep playing, was the sheer ammount of cars on the track. It's fun to manuever around them. Then again, F-Zero X had a lot of cars on the track, and that was a much better game.
Final thoughts: I didn't find this to be very fun. I wouldn't recommend this.
EDIT: After playing this game's superior cousin, I can conclude that this game is indeed very bad, and if you want to try Daytona, I highly recomend you try CCE and avoid this game.
You'd think a game with such a good reputation would be a lot of fun to play, right? Well, I gave Daytona a good shot, but I just can't seem to get used to it. Not to say its a bad game, but it made me feel like I was playing exactly what I was, an arcade transition with shoddy-looking graphics and music that sounds like Sega paid some guy to be the worst singer he could aspire to be. Most games have a sense of magic, *just play along* that makes the game's technological age seem less irritating. But I couldn't find that magic here. The racing seemed bland. You only get three tracks, and you have to unlock cars. The first track is easy, the second is difficult, and the third is unbelievably hard. Judging by this games reputation, its probably me. Also there are well-known problems in this game that brought down the experience for me. Draw-in is annoyingly close to the player, and if I heard correctly, the game only runs at 25fps. The single quality of this game that made me want to keep playing, was the sheer ammount of cars on the track. It's fun to manuever around them. Then again, F-Zero X had a lot of cars on the track, and that was a much better game.
Final thoughts: I didn't find this to be very fun. I wouldn't recommend this.
EDIT: After playing this game's superior cousin, I can conclude that this game is indeed very bad, and if you want to try Daytona, I highly recomend you try CCE and avoid this game.
Last edited by The Apprentice on Sat May 10, 2008 1:58 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Hatta wrote:Die Hard Arcade has Deep Scan in it. That's like retro inside retro. They must have heard we liked retro (dawg).
Jrecee wrote:What I like to do is knit little sweaters to put on the games.
-
The Apprentice
- 128-bit
- Posts: 960
- Joined: Sun May 13, 2007 3:52 pm
- Location: Wishing I was in California again
Today: Sega Rally 2 - Sega Dreamcast - 90%
This sucks. No, not the game, but the fact that my disk is scratched. I picked this game up a few years back and it has become one of my favorites. The controll in the game is a real showcase of Sega's abillity to think outside the box. I have never played a racing game with this much precision in drifting. I mean, in this game, you will throw the front end of the car toward the inside wall as you come around the turn, go full throttle and roar out on a perfect motion. On the graphical side, this game has very modern looking detail, and the game runs smoothly. All I can say wrong about the graphics in this game, is that while I was playing the snow course, I realized that the game was supposed to play at a smoother framerate than it does... I hit a few seconds of this smoothness and the game was gold. Now it's a little sad knowing what could have been. Sound is good in this game, but the music included is less easy on the ear. One minute you'll hear some awesome guitar work, while the next you'll here some Euro-techno. Two much variety, too little theme. I can't complain too much, though. This game is too good to be dragged down by its music.
Final Thoughts: If you have a Dreamcast, buy this game. If you don't have a Dreamcast, get one, and get this game.
Sonic 3D Blast - Sega Saturn - 75%
If you play this game, the first thing you'll realize is that this game is nothing like the other Sonic games. If you're looking for a platformer, keep looking. But if you're an open-minded, patient, and calm person, you will find this game enjoyable like I did. First of all, the graphics in this game are incredible for a 2D game. Yes, it says 3D in the title, but this is an isometric 2D game. All of the levels are pre-rendered as well as the characters. The levels are huge and controll is solid. Remember the "tube" special stage from Sonic 2? They have a polygonal 3D version in this game that is also very fun. You can use the 3D pad in this game, and it works much better than the D-pad. The music is ok, some levels like Rusty Ruin have music I could listen to on a long drive. Other levels' music, like Green Grove, get anoying after a while. Spring Stadium's music is anoying from the beginning, and if you heard it you'd agree. It's a mixed bag in this game. But I found it to be very enjoyable.
Final thoughts: Average game. Pick it up used if you have some spare cash and give it a try, or borrow it from a friend.
This sucks. No, not the game, but the fact that my disk is scratched. I picked this game up a few years back and it has become one of my favorites. The controll in the game is a real showcase of Sega's abillity to think outside the box. I have never played a racing game with this much precision in drifting. I mean, in this game, you will throw the front end of the car toward the inside wall as you come around the turn, go full throttle and roar out on a perfect motion. On the graphical side, this game has very modern looking detail, and the game runs smoothly. All I can say wrong about the graphics in this game, is that while I was playing the snow course, I realized that the game was supposed to play at a smoother framerate than it does... I hit a few seconds of this smoothness and the game was gold. Now it's a little sad knowing what could have been. Sound is good in this game, but the music included is less easy on the ear. One minute you'll hear some awesome guitar work, while the next you'll here some Euro-techno. Two much variety, too little theme. I can't complain too much, though. This game is too good to be dragged down by its music.
Final Thoughts: If you have a Dreamcast, buy this game. If you don't have a Dreamcast, get one, and get this game.
Sonic 3D Blast - Sega Saturn - 75%
If you play this game, the first thing you'll realize is that this game is nothing like the other Sonic games. If you're looking for a platformer, keep looking. But if you're an open-minded, patient, and calm person, you will find this game enjoyable like I did. First of all, the graphics in this game are incredible for a 2D game. Yes, it says 3D in the title, but this is an isometric 2D game. All of the levels are pre-rendered as well as the characters. The levels are huge and controll is solid. Remember the "tube" special stage from Sonic 2? They have a polygonal 3D version in this game that is also very fun. You can use the 3D pad in this game, and it works much better than the D-pad. The music is ok, some levels like Rusty Ruin have music I could listen to on a long drive. Other levels' music, like Green Grove, get anoying after a while. Spring Stadium's music is anoying from the beginning, and if you heard it you'd agree. It's a mixed bag in this game. But I found it to be very enjoyable.
Final thoughts: Average game. Pick it up used if you have some spare cash and give it a try, or borrow it from a friend.
Last edited by The Apprentice on Sun Jun 15, 2008 9:51 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Hatta wrote:Die Hard Arcade has Deep Scan in it. That's like retro inside retro. They must have heard we liked retro (dawg).
Jrecee wrote:What I like to do is knit little sweaters to put on the games.
Nice review, but can I just point out that Daytona CCE is much improved, apparently running of a brand new game engine the frame rate is much improved as is the clipping. There are also extra tracks and cars and one supercar to unlock which add to the lifespan of the game. Its does however still have the same handling problems, the cars are very twitchy and dont drift the way they did in the arcade or even the saturn port of Sega Rally. Its very common too so it will only cost a few quid
-
The Apprentice
- 128-bit
- Posts: 960
- Joined: Sun May 13, 2007 3:52 pm
- Location: Wishing I was in California again
I happened to have picked up CCE just a day before writing the review of the original, so I needed a little bit of time to play it. You're right about the game, so I'll go ahead and write a review on it.Curlypaul wrote:Nice review, but can I just point out that Daytona CCE is much improved, apparently running of a brand new game engine the frame rate is much improved as is the clipping. There are also extra tracks and cars and one supercar to unlock which add to the lifespan of the game. Its does however still have the same handling problems, the cars are very twitchy and dont drift the way they did in the arcade or even the saturn port of Sega Rally. Its very common too so it will only cost a few quid
Today: Daytona USA Championship Circuit Edition - Sega Saturn - 70%
This game is definately an improvement over the original Daytona, with the exception of controll. Okay, first of all, the music is a thousand times better in this game, it matches the races much better this time. Second, the graphics are a huge step up in every area. The cars look much better this time around, and the extra tracks have some serrious eye candy. My favorite detail is the group of hot air ballons that actually move through the air in the desert level. I feel like this game is what Sega wanted the first time around, but never had the time to make. So maybe I'm playing it up a little, but when I say a game's sequal is 15% closer to perfect than the original, I really mean the sequal is better. Unfortunately the original only made 55%, because with what jump they made, they're still below average! The reason lies within the controlls. I haven't been able to drift, which is agrivating because on some turns like the final turn in the original's intermediate course are just begging to be drifted on. The cars in this game have a very large turning radius, which is bad considering the 90 degree turns you will find in some of the levels. While the game has made some progress, it still hasn't imperessed me.
Final Thoughts: Sega made a good effort with this one, but it still doesn't really make it a good game. I will look forward to reviewing the original Sega Rally, since I have other Saturn racers that haven't really cut the mustard.
EDIT: 6-14-08, Sega Rally has entered my collection and I will review it soon, but only after I put out a few non-racing reviews.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater - Sony Playstation - 85%
Remember when Tony Hawk games were about skateboarding? Good times. This game hit at a time when the 32 bit era was being thrown into chaos. New hardware was right around the corner, and game companies had to really work hard to bring attention back to the older systems. This resulted in games like Tony Hawk. THPS uses an ingenious controll scheme, great grapics, huge levels, and tons of unlockables to produce one of the most enjoyable games in the extreme catagory. This game has a nice mix of challenges, but some of them are unclear to the gamer. The secret tape challenges sometimes lead you to some of the craziest stunts in the game, such as crashing through a glass box suspended above a half-pipe. Specials (The skaters' best tricks) are hard to land, but they give massive points, and make good highlights for replays. Remember that glass box I mentioned? Do a backflip through it! The game has just the right ammount of difficulty, and if you're good at it, you can play through the entire game in a few hours.
Final Thoughts: If you have a Playstation, this is essential.
Last edited by The Apprentice on Sun Jun 15, 2008 9:54 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Hatta wrote:Die Hard Arcade has Deep Scan in it. That's like retro inside retro. They must have heard we liked retro (dawg).
Jrecee wrote:What I like to do is knit little sweaters to put on the games.
-
The Apprentice
- 128-bit
- Posts: 960
- Joined: Sun May 13, 2007 3:52 pm
- Location: Wishing I was in California again
Today: Defcon 5 - Sega Saturn - 15%
This is the equivelent of those times when we were all little, when we would mix all the sodas at the McDonalds drink dispencer and realize Coke and unsweetened tea don't go together. This game is bad. Very bad. To start, this is a mix of a first person shooter, a survival horror game, a stratagy game, and an FMV game. It throws you into a huge space station with a million rooms. The only purpose of the size of the place is to give you plenty of places to look for items you need to win the game. And when I say it throws you into there, I mean you have to have the instruction book just to know where to go to begin the game. The idea here is that you need to set up an automation system so the station can be unmanned and still fight off alien invaders. Sounds kind of neat, untill you realize the system has to be programmed, and there are hundreds of settings to take into account. Before you have perfected your system, you have to man the turrets yourself, which is both frustrating and pointless. Even if you hold off the aliens, you have about five minutes before the next wave comes, so forget about trying to program the system. Your turrets won't have even finished reloading before more aliens come. If you're God, you might be able to arm the system correctly, but now you have to find all the scattered parts in the station to build your escape vehicle. Like I said, the station is the size of Africa. It will take forever to find those things, and by this time, aliens will have boarded the ship. You have to fight them off in first person mode. Even when they die, they still hurt you because dead bodies apparently hurt the air quality in the station. It just goes on and on.
Final Thoughts: Even if you beat this train wreck, you still lose.
This is the equivelent of those times when we were all little, when we would mix all the sodas at the McDonalds drink dispencer and realize Coke and unsweetened tea don't go together. This game is bad. Very bad. To start, this is a mix of a first person shooter, a survival horror game, a stratagy game, and an FMV game. It throws you into a huge space station with a million rooms. The only purpose of the size of the place is to give you plenty of places to look for items you need to win the game. And when I say it throws you into there, I mean you have to have the instruction book just to know where to go to begin the game. The idea here is that you need to set up an automation system so the station can be unmanned and still fight off alien invaders. Sounds kind of neat, untill you realize the system has to be programmed, and there are hundreds of settings to take into account. Before you have perfected your system, you have to man the turrets yourself, which is both frustrating and pointless. Even if you hold off the aliens, you have about five minutes before the next wave comes, so forget about trying to program the system. Your turrets won't have even finished reloading before more aliens come. If you're God, you might be able to arm the system correctly, but now you have to find all the scattered parts in the station to build your escape vehicle. Like I said, the station is the size of Africa. It will take forever to find those things, and by this time, aliens will have boarded the ship. You have to fight them off in first person mode. Even when they die, they still hurt you because dead bodies apparently hurt the air quality in the station. It just goes on and on.
Final Thoughts: Even if you beat this train wreck, you still lose.
Hatta wrote:Die Hard Arcade has Deep Scan in it. That's like retro inside retro. They must have heard we liked retro (dawg).
Jrecee wrote:What I like to do is knit little sweaters to put on the games.
-
The Apprentice
- 128-bit
- Posts: 960
- Joined: Sun May 13, 2007 3:52 pm
- Location: Wishing I was in California again
Today: Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA - Nintendo 64 - 80%
This game is one of the ones I played a ton when I was little, so I have some good memories that probably help this game's rating. Rush is a very solid arcade racer by Midway. The game's theme is tracks from around the USA (Just like the name says) with twists like a giant loop at Alcatraz, and subway tunnels that skip portions of the track. The tracks are large, but some are boring, like Uptown New York and Seattle, while others like Las Vegas are bright and colorful. There are a lot of secrets like hidden cars and secret passege ways. The graphics are very good for the time, but the sound in this game is terrible. Midi hiccups pound your ears constantly, and the cars are whiny and annoying. Over all, though, this game is impressive for its time and is very fun to play.
Final Thoughts: Pick it up if you see it cheap at the flea market.
This game is one of the ones I played a ton when I was little, so I have some good memories that probably help this game's rating. Rush is a very solid arcade racer by Midway. The game's theme is tracks from around the USA (Just like the name says) with twists like a giant loop at Alcatraz, and subway tunnels that skip portions of the track. The tracks are large, but some are boring, like Uptown New York and Seattle, while others like Las Vegas are bright and colorful. There are a lot of secrets like hidden cars and secret passege ways. The graphics are very good for the time, but the sound in this game is terrible. Midi hiccups pound your ears constantly, and the cars are whiny and annoying. Over all, though, this game is impressive for its time and is very fun to play.
Final Thoughts: Pick it up if you see it cheap at the flea market.
Hatta wrote:Die Hard Arcade has Deep Scan in it. That's like retro inside retro. They must have heard we liked retro (dawg).
Jrecee wrote:What I like to do is knit little sweaters to put on the games.
-
timewarpgamer
- 64-bit
- Posts: 363
- Joined: Sat Mar 01, 2008 3:16 pm
- Location: Planet Funkotron
- Contact:
1980s and 1990s games are my specialty. I haven't had time to review all of my top games yet, but I do have some carefully researched top games list for the 8- and 16-bit consoles. Check my site out at: http://www.timewarpgamer.com.
-
Doctor Fugue
- 128-bit
- Posts: 936
- Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2008 5:50 pm
- Location: Canada
- Contact:
Seriously dude, this is The Apprentice's thread for his reviews and you don't even comment on his reviews!timewarpgamer wrote:1980s and 1990s games are my specialty. I haven't had time to review all of my top games yet, but I do have some carefully researched top games list for the 8- and 16-bit consoles. Check my site out at: http://www.timewarpgamer.com.
Every single one of your posts so far has been a vehicle for you to mention your site and get people to click on it. Once or twice is enough, then just leave it in your sig.
And in case you hadn't noticed yet, this IS a retro gaming site, and we ALL are specialists in games from the 80s or 90s.
"Your vessel, your beginning. All that you knew...is gone." - The Guardian of Forever
-
RyaNtheSlayA
- Next-Gen
- Posts: 9201
- Joined: Fri Mar 14, 2008 4:56 pm
- Location: Denver CO, USA