Retro Review: Crazy Taxi

Posted by: Danny Morgan

I was going to review Crazy Taxi 2 actually. I'm not sure why, but it may be because I thought it would be better than the original. How wrong was I! Crazy Taxi 2 sucks like you would never believe. On appearance it looks the same as the first installment (which is a good thing) and it has the same modes (which is a bad thing).

In short, Crazy Taxi 2 keeps most of the recipe which made the first so great, but doesn't add enough to the mix. You now drive around New York, but all the fares seem to go to the same places and you barely see much of the city in any case. They just didn't make enough progress to warrant a crappy sequel.

Thankfully the original Crazy Taxi doesn't have any of these problems - in fact it would make a better sequel to the...er...sequel.

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Super Soccer Retro Review

Posted by: Danny Morgan

Hot. Sweaty. Passionate. No I'm not talking about 'the other night', but rather the intense sport that is Football. It's a sport that captivates much of the Earth's population with tens of thousands of fans turning up to most Premier League matches. But what can 'match' the intensity of Football? Yes, that's right...Super Soccer on the SNES.

Don't tell me you didn't see that one coming. Okay, so there have been many Football games on consoles over the years. Some remain popular today (FIFA and PES) while others have faded into obscurity (anyone remember 'This is Football'?). But nothing can rival the immense realism and joy that comes from playing Super Soccer. Not even the modern FIFA games.

I'll be honest...this game is bad, soooo bad! But for a few reasons it sticks out as an all-time classic. One of those classics that not everyone remembers, but it's a classic to me and sometimes that is what 'retro' is all about right? So let's get down to business and kick off (they get worse) with what's so good about Super Soccer on the SNES.

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Mars Explorer

Posted by: Yannick Hill

I found this free in-browser game last night called Mars Explorer. Designed by a remarkable 18-year-old chap called Aubrey Falconer, Mars Explorer puts you in control of a space buggy in a small 3D environment that is meant to resemble Mars. The supposed draw is the online multiplayer laser tag mode, but I couldn't connect to any games. The alternative is a charmingly aimless single player exploration mode that reminded me of playing Hunter on the Amiga. What really makes Mars Explorer is this looped piece of music that wouldn't be out of place over the opening or end credits of a Werner Herzog film.

You can drive around with the cursor keys, but when you press the space bar something special happens: your buggy spreads a pair of green, semi-transparent wings. Press the down key and your strange little craft will take off. In flight, controls are really responsive, and you can glide around the very limited environment to your heart's content. If you like Herzog films and nice gliding physics, try playing Mars Explorer.

PC users can play the game here:

http://aubreyfalconer.com/view-238

Mac users can download the dashboard version here:

http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/games/marsexplorer_atidesign.html

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Lost Winds

Posted by: Yannick Hill

I downloaded Lost Winds yesterday and completed it this afternoon. Lost Winds is an adventure platformer made by Frontier Developments for Nintendo's WiiWare series. While the world and characters are in 3-D, the game controls in 2-D, with sideways movement mapped to the Nunchuk. Instead of a jump button, you use the motion control of the Wii Remote to create gusts of wind around the player character, lifting him from platform to platform. It's this innovative control scheme, rather than the story and the graphics, that really blew me away.

It's rare that I come across a game where it's the very act of playing, of moving through the levels and enjoying the physics of the movement, that makes it memorable. As the game progressed, I levelled up my wind powers, and by the time I was near the end, all I wanted to do was experiment with the different ways I could alight on a grassy platform. I haven't played a game with such satisfying physics since Exile on the Amiga. I do recommend it if you have a Wii.

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Dino Run

Posted by: Yannick Hill

Dino Run is a free flash side-scroller developed by Pixeljam. You are a yellow dinosaur trying to escape extinction, running and jumping from left to right, away from a wave of mutilation. The game is about timing your jumps and keeping up the momentum of your run, collecting bonuses, and most importantly hitching rides with pterodactyls. The world is lovingly rendered in a 4-bit style, with set-piece obstacles that will take your breath away. In the event that you crash into another dinosaur or fall down an awkward crater, you will hear the rumble of your impending doom, which takes the form of a wall of destruction that is always just behind you. When it catches up, everything gets darker and silhouetted, while meteors crash around you, creating dynamic obstacles for you to negotiate on the fly. Believe it or not, this game is really exhilarating once you get going, and the attention to detail in the art department keeps the journey from left to right interesting, and, dare I say it, quite beautiful.

There is also a hectic and brilliant online multiplayer option.

Play Dino Run here:
http://pixeljam.com/dinorun

And play other Pixeljam games here:
http://www.pixeljam.com

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Retro Review: Virtua Tennis

Posted by: Danny Morgan

Last month I re-gained the use of my Dreamcast after managing to get hold of the AV cable I'd lost. I even picked up two controllers for a quid each - this means Fur Fighters is a must buy now. Ever since my consoles reincarnation I've been playing Crazy Taxi and Chu Chu rocket endlessly. But the one game I've not been able to keep away from is Virtua Tennis. I've 'virtually' completed the game now so it seems appropriate to post a retro review.

Virtua Tennis made it's debut in 1999 in the arcades. It was a decent game then but in 2000 it was ported to the Dreamcast - things got a whole better. There were added modes, players and various other things. At the time though that didn't matter; the fact that Virtua Tennis could be played in peoples' homes was smashing. (okay, no more puns I promise).

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