Innehållsförteckning för No. 273 från Retro Gamer

DARRAN JONES I’m going for Doom 64’s Pain Elemental. If you thought Cacodemons were scary, wait until you see what a resurrected one looks like. Expertise: Juggling a gorgeous wife, two beautiful girls and an award-winning magazine, all under one roof! Currently playing: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Favourite game of all time: OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast ANDY SALTER The first time I played Doom was on the Sega 32X. I always liked the Baron Of Hell, as on that version they were the final boss you faced. Expertise: Modding games, no ‘vanilla’ versions for me, thanks! Currently modding: RTR: Imperium Surrectum Favourite game of all time: Rome: Total War although I guess it’s the Remastered edition now RORY MILNE I’m going to say Pinky. I love his Minotaur vibe, I respect that he…

In the Eighties, my parents worshipped at a fluorescent-lit temple called Kmart, a retail fever dream best known for its Blue Light Specials – a kind of flash-mob-inducing event where employees wheeled a blue-light-topped cart through the store like some sort of capitalist siren beckoning shoppers to deep discounts. Shoppers abandoned their pride, dignity, and children to chase it. My friend Derrick was once trampled during one of these ceremonies and came up clutching a bag of Tootsie Pops like a war hero. He still has a limp. But while the adults fought over half-off tube-socks and popcorn balls, I drifted to the only sacred place that mattered: the Kmart Computer Center. A realm of buzzing CRTs and blinking cursors that beckoned awkward ten-year-olds like myself to type: 10 PRINT…

Something I never imagined when I was growing up a gamer was how ubiquitous games would become. Back in the Eighties, they were niche – yes, pretty much all my mates played games, but it was never a hobby that spread beyond that. The turning point was the Game Boy – the fact my mother bought one after playing Tetris on mine was a real watershed. The Game Boy fixation spread through my family until other relatives started buying Game Boys. Again, just to play Tetris. They had no interest in Super Mario Land, or Faceball 2000. It was all about them blocks. My kids were never massively into games, but they did play them. When they were very little they would all come and sit on my lap and…

If there’s one thing you can guarantee when Christmas rolls around, it’s a slew of dependable cross-platform franchise games, and sure enough that’s what we got in 2008. WWE Smackdown! Vs Raw 2009, Tomb Raider: Underworld, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 and Midnight Club: Los Angeles clocked in and received scores around the 8/10 mark. Call Of Duty: World At War largely did the same, though some dissent began to emerge – Edge described it as “WWII on amphetamines” in a 6/10 review, and Play’s 68% review criticised the “shamelessly crass tone” of the game. Guitar Hero: World Tour added drums to keep with Rock Band, while Rock Band 2 allowed players to import songs from the previous game. Over on the Wii, Animal Crossing: Let’s Go To The City…

DOOM RPG (2005) The first of two mobile RPGs that were coded by Doom legend John Carmack, Doom RPG impressively adapts Doom’s frantic FPS action into measured turn-based gameplay. Depth is added by interactions with NPCs and accessing computer terminals. DOOM RESURRECTION (2009) This stylish rail shooter was designed by John Carmack around the limits of iOS devices available at the time of its development. Resurrection uses assets that were created for Doom 3, such as characters and art. DOOM II: NO REST FOR THE LIVING (2010) An expansion made for the XBLA Doom II, No Rest For The Living features hardcore gameplay and a wealth of secrets. There are more foes on-screen at any given time than the PC Doom II and ammo is limited, and there’s a hidden…

BLAZING BEAM ■ While starting out rather meekly, the green laser gains a lot of power by doubling and seriously increasing in size. It’s a very useful offensive weapon with high damage values and a useful piercing-effect, but little spread. VANISHING BUSTER ■ When picking up brownish-red capsules, Ellinor can use missiles. They start out slow, but have a good spread and a rapidly growing area of effect. When fully upgraded, they create black holes that draw in enemies. DEFENSIVE DETONATOR ■ Blue spheres circling Ellinor’s mech protect it from pesky enemy bullets and even damage foes they manage to touch. With more upgrades, they get bigger and also gain more offensive capabilities by circling and shooting straight ahead.…

■ Outside of his signature black suit and blood-red tie, the barcode stamped on the back of Agent 47’s head is one of the most iconic design elements in modern gaming. However, the barcode actually serves a functional purpose within series lore. As a cloned assassin, the barcode specifies where he was created and when: 640509-040147. The first set of numbers represent his ‘birth date’, 64-05-09, making him 60-years-old today. Supposedly, though, his genetic modifications as a superhuman killing machine render him impervious to ageing. Meanwhile, 04 denotes his clone series, and the 47 of his famed codename denoting his place within that series’ production line. Outside of the identifying details of the barcode’s sequence of numbers, it has been speculated among fans that the training facility where Agent 47…

How would you introduce RAIDOU to fans of more recent Atlus games? RAIDOU Remastered is a mystery drama where the player takes on the role of a named character, Raidou Kuzunoha, and aims to solve supernatural cases. I believe this will feel especially fresh and enjoyable for those who have played other Atlus games. You previously directed SMT: Nocturne HD Remaster. What are the unique challenges of remastering classic games? When remastering a title that I originally developed myself, I try to recall the ideal vision I had for the game, then carefully compare that vision with the fans’ memories as I make decisions about the game’s development. We have become more conscious of balancing creativity and service. That’s why, compared to SMT: Nocturne HD Remaster, we made even more changes to…

BOMB JACK EXTRA SUGAR EDITION <INFO FORMAT: AMSTRAD CPC (128K MEMORY NEEDED) CREDITS: ANTHONY FLACK PRICE: NAME YOUR OWN PRICE WEB: BIT.LY/BOMBJACK-EXTRASUGAR /> <BODY> Tecmo’s Bomb Jack is an arcade classic that sees the titular caped hero defusing bombs around the world. Anthony Flack has produced an incredibly faithful new conversion using the Amstrad’s Mode 1 (4-colour mode) and clever programming tricks. The gameplay remains the same: so you’ll be collecting all the bombs on each screen, with a bonus for collecting them when their fuse is lit. While the P power-up and bonus coins appear as normal, it is the numerous enhancements that make this conversion worth playing. There are four different difficulty levels, and three main modes – the original 20 screens in Arcade mode, Remix mode with new backgrounds…

Adam I just remember it being so atmospheric. The music was great, the grizzly noises and the way Doomguy’s eyes would move really set the scene. Simon Burton Playing it at work on the late shift at the time, to ‘test out’ our new PC’s graphics capabilities. Jonny Christmas 1996. Doom on the PlayStation. I played it for three days straight. The sounds, music and gameplay captured me immediately. Nothing since has come close. Gary Alexander Stott Da dun da dun da dun da dun da dun dun. Da dun da dun da dun da duuuuuuuuuuun. Murray Lane Playing it on the Sega 32X – even the cut-down version seemed amazing at the time. Tikanjiah My favourite Doom memory is trying to get the game and modem settings to connect…

There’s a good chance that many of you put off reading this issue of Retro Gamer, because it went on sale on the same day as the Nintendo Switch 2. Who can resist the allure of a shiny new console? Plenty of people, as it turns out. I watched the chaos unfolding on BlueSky as preorders opened, and while many eager customers secured hardware, a significant number were unable to do so. Me? I didn’t even try. The hardware price was in line with what I expected, but the prospect of paying £75 for a physical copy of Mario Kart World caught me off guard. If it’s not within your price range, I sympathise entirely. The cost of the new system is something that Nintendo Of America president Doug Bowser…

Few game designers are as well known or as respected as Shigeru Miyamoto. The talented developer has been involved with making games since the Seventies, and shows no sign of slowing down. While he has now moved into a production/supervisory role at Nintendo, he’s still involved in some of the company’s biggest games, from The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild to Pikmin 4. He’s also heavily involved in the non-gaming side of Nintendo, such as The Super Mario Bros Movie, Super Nintendo World and the recently announced live-action Zelda film. For this special 32-page tome, we’re more interested in Miyamoto’s past, meaning you’ll find its pages filled with some of the greatest games of all time, from Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros and The Legend Of Zelda, to Super…

You have to hand it to id Software, it certainly knows how to make a kick-ass first-person shooter. I’ve been playing through Doom: The Dark Ages and have had a right laugh with it. I’m not quite finished with it yet (hence no review in this issue) but it’s already clear to see that it’s a great alternative to the reboot of Doom released in 2016. In fact, I’ve been having so much fun with it that I’ve returned to the original game on Nintendo’s Switch, which is as satisfying to play today as it was when I first experienced it on my mate’s 486 back in the early Nineties. So join us this month for a look at the entire Doom series and how it has constantly evolved and helped…

MOUSE SUPPORT HITS THE EVERCADE BLAZE ENTERTAINMENT OFFERS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY TO PLAY CLASSIC GAMES It was recently announced that a brand-new update offering mouse support for a number of games was heading to Evercade systems. The titles included are Z from The Bitmap Brothers Collection 2, Broken Sword 1 and 2 from the Broken Sword Collection, Arcade Pool from Team17 Collection 1 and Future Wars and Operation Stealth, which both appear on Delphine Software Collection 1. The support itself is currently a beta feature, and works with all of Blaze’s non-portable systems, which means the Evercade VS, VS-R and Alpha all benefit from it. Additionally, Blaze has also revealed that it is experimenting with paddle controls for certain Atari 2600 games. Games currently supported include Night Driver and Steeplechase…

If you’ve taken a look at the Axyz screenshots adorning this spread, you’ll notice a striking similarity to the excellent puzzler Kula World. Mark Robinson chats with Nick Thorpe about the game’s inception and how it’s definitely not a Super Money Ball clone. So Mark, how did you get into game development? During the pandemic I did a part-time diploma course in game design here in Dublin, because I needed to do something and not lose my fucking mind like everyone else. […] I was then made redundant, and a friend of mine (who also worked in the same company) was made redundant six months later. He was like, ‘Look, you’ve always wanted to make a game, why don’t you just make a game then?’ So I was like, ‘OK,…

games™ The retro section celebrates the Dreamcast’s tenth anniversary this month. There’s a year-by-year retrospective, a feature on homebrew games and another arguing that the Wii is the console’s natural successor. Official Xbox 360 Magazine “Titles dumped after the Activision Blizzard merger are snapped up by other game publishers,” reports the mag. Atari snagged Ghostbusters and THQ took 50 Cent: Blood In The Sand, but Brutal Legend remains homeless. Play Console fanboys review bombed LittleBigPlanet and Gears Of War 2 in a tit-for-tat war on Metacritic. “This is the first true concerted effort to ‘stuff the ballot box’ in the games section,” said site cofounder Marc Doyle.…

DOOM VFR (2017) A spin-off from the 2016 reboot of Doom, although it’s made for VR. Unless your set-up has a joystick you teleport to move forward and to get to higher or lower levels. Then the Glory Kills work by teleporting into staggered foes to make them explode. SIGIL (2019) John Romero’s unofficial fifth episode of the original Doom has nine missions plus a deathmatch version of each. Its single-player offering is arguably more testing than the original episodes. John’s sequel Sigil II in 2023 got even more plaudits. DOOM 64: THE LOST LEVELS (2020) Created for the 2020 Doom 64 re-release, The Lost Levels is a new episode that was authored by the re-release’s developer Nightdive Studios. Its ending connects the narrative of the original games to the…

PINBALL DREAMS ■ Another great series made its debut on this disk. Pinball Dreams, by future Battlefield developer Digital Illusions, was the product of demoscene coders turned pro. The demo itself gives you the complete Nightmare table, though it locks you out after five minutes. CAMPAIGN ■ Campaign is a 3D WWII tank game letting you take a fleet of tanks into battle. It’s tough to figure out the demo, but a quick tip – right click the bullet to load the gun, and unpause the game to fire it. MAD BOMBER This is a short, sweet public domain game. You desperately move from left to right to catch the bombs dropped by the increasingly frantic mad bomber, whose victorious cackle will haunt your dreams. It’s certainly worth a few…

Ape Escape was a landmark title in the history of the PlayStation, being the first game that was only playable with a DualShock controller (which launched in 1997, around three years after the PlayStation’s debut). Before Ape Escape’s release in June 1999, several PlayStation games had added support for the DualShock’s analogue controls in addition to the standard d-pad, but Ape Escape was the first title to be entirely built around the DualShock, packed with weapons, gadgets and vehicles that required full use of the two sticks, along with the newfangled L3 and R3 buttons. Yet interestingly, right back at the start of development, there was no plan to use analogue controls. Shuhei Yoshida, who worked as an executive producer on Ape Escape, recalls that the team, “Wanted to create…

In the early Noughties, Atlus had reached a tipping point. Though critically successful, its games had not found enough of a mainstream audience to ensure the company’s survival. By 2003, the financial situation had become so dire that Atlus game director Kazuyuki Yamai said the company, “Was on the verge of being shut down.” Yet historical inflection points such as these are naturally unpredictable. Atlus may have been on the brink of collapse, but it also stood on the threshold of success. The 2003 PlayStation 2 release of Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne found greater mainstream appeal than previous titles and gave the company a new lease on life. It also marked the unofficial beginning of many of the core game design sensibilities that define the modern Atlus we know…

KAYA DAIDOUJI ■ A high school student and the only daughter of one of the capital’s wealthiest families, Kaya Daidouji is a victimised child and our first glimpse of the Soulless Army plot. She desperately begs Raidou to break her family’s curse. Predictably, things get worse before they get better… SHOUHEI NARUMI ■ Narumi is the owner of Narumi Detective Agency and Raidou’s partner and boss. He was once a soldier but left the service after becoming disillusioned by the corruption of the military. He’s lazy, but quietly capable of physical and mental excellence when properly motivated. RAIDOU KUZUNOHA XIV ■ The silent protagonist, Raidou is a high school student, detective, and the 14th Kuzunoha Devil Summoner. He uses his katana, revolver and demon allies to battle dark supernatural forces…

» System: PC (tested), PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X » Buy it for: £12.79+ » Buy it from: Online The original I, Robot from Dave Theurer was terribly impressive for its time, featuring astonishing flat-shaded 3D polygon graphics, a set of inventive levels and interesting game mechanics. Jeff Minter has taken that DNA and added his own unique blend of mayhem, psychedelia and pulsing audio to create an update that eclipses the brilliant original (sorry, Dave). At its core, I, Robot shares similarities with Q*bert as you have to paint over the tiled floor before you can move to the next stage. This is easier said than done, as there are numerous gaps that need to be jumped across and many enemies inhabit each level, and coming…

<Amiga: The vertically scrolling AGA shmup Sky Shapers is available as a download or physical CD. Swoop over to bit.ly/skyshapers /> <Amstrad CPC: The Mojon Twins have released their latest, Phantomas en el Museo. Name your price at bit.ly/phantomas-museo /> <Apple II: Richard Soberka released his 1987 game Zephyr for free. You’ll find it by visiting soberka.com/games//> <Atari ST: sark02’s brilliant Defender conversion runs on all ST models with 1 MB memory. Get blasting at bit.ly/defender-st /> <ColecoVision: Electric Dreams converted the strategy game Hamurabi. You’ll find it over at bit.ly/hamurabi-coleco /> <Game Boy: Hero GP is the latest from Shane McCafferty. Download it from bit.ly/herogp-gbc Incube8 Games released demos of Dracula Dark Reign (GBC, see RG257) and unusual platformer Discrete Orange (GBA). There’s more info at incube8games.com//> <Mega Drive: Preorder a…

<INTRO> SNUGGSY IS MIXING CHUCKIE EGG WITH NEBULUS TO CREATE A BBC AND ELECTRON MASTERPIECE CALLED CHUCKULUS </INTRO> <BODY> When it comes to coding, Snuggsy calls himself old school. “I’m developing my code in Notepad++, the sprites/artwork in Aseprite, and compiling in 0xc0de’s Max64. Disk and tape images are done with Gerald Holdsworth’s Disk Image Manager.” So what inspired him to create Chuckulus? “I was looking at C64 Nebulus and thought I’d see how far I could get with an Electron version. Someone mentioned Chuckie Egg on BlueSky, so I did a version with the Chuckie Egg sprites. I converted my code to give a more Chuckie Egg playing experience, and here we are!” It’s not been without challenges, though. “I struggled to remember some of the BBC Micro’s Interrupt…

Theresa Ridgway (aka Game Mistress) is a retro streamer who hails from Norway and still holds a passion for Sega that began when she was very young. “It started when I was about two years old and sitting in the living room with my mother,” she begins. “I noticed my sister’s NES and I started to press the power button while holding the controller until my mother asked if I wanted to play. We began playing Metroid, and I had a lot of fun. Later, she put on Zelda 2, and I played my sister’s completed save file.” This introduction to gaming began to turn into a passion that would lead Theresa to her beloved Sega. “When I turned three, my parents gave me a Mega Drive for Christmas. However,…

Joel J Games I got my very first console the Master System, with Alex Kidd In Miracle World built in and a copy of Sonic 1 for (the best ever) Christmas while the Mega Drive was already long out. I loved it but it was frustrating getting Mean Machines only to have 1-2 SMS reviews and left to drool over all the MD titles. Nick Wilson In 1995 my parents bought me for Christmas a Mega Drive with Sonic 1 and 2, Altered Beast and Quackshot. Also an OG Game Boy with ten games. A little ten-year-old Nick was so happy. I didn’t even know the PlayStation existed until 1998 when I bought one with my paper round money. Gavin Andrews I received a SNES when the PlayStation came out.…

I SHOT THE SHERIFF SHERIFF 1979 ARCADE • ARTIST The first notable game that Shigeru Miyamoto was involved with plays like a cross between Taito’s Space Invaders and Gun Fight. Taking control of the titular sheriff, your aim is to take out the many bandits who slowly amble around the other side of a fence, while you fight off their advances from inside it. It’s possible to shoot between the gaps of the fence, but you can also destroy it, which makes enemies easier to drop, but also makes it more likely that you’ll take a bullet from them. Condors fly across the top of the screen, similar to the UFOs in Space Invaders, while there’s also a backstory that involves you trying to rescue Betty who has been captured…

Which of our featured Miyamoto games are already part of your collection, and which ones should be? Use this handy list to check off the games within ❏ SHERIFF (Arcade) 1979 ❏ RADAR SCOPE (Arcade) 1980 ❏ DONKEY KONG (Arcade) 1981 ❏ POPEYE (Arcade) 1982 ❏ EXCITEBIKE (NES) 1984 ❏ DUCK HUNT (NES) 1984 ❏ KUNG FU (NES) 1985 ❏ SUPER MARIO BROS (NES) 1985 ❏ THE LEGEND OF ZELDA (NES) 1986 ❏ SUPER MARIO BROS 3 (NES) 1988 ❏ SUPER MARIO WORLD (SNES) 1990 ❏ F-ZERO (SNES) 1990 ❏ PILOTWINGS (SNES) 1990 ❏ THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: A LINK TO THE PAST (SNES) 1991 ❏ WAVE RACE (Game Boy) 1992 ❏ SUPER MARIO KART (SNES) 1992 ❏ STAR FOX (SNES) 1993 ❏ SUPER MARIO ALL-STARS (SNES) 1993 ❏ KIRBY’S ADVENTURE…

Despite being a huge success on the PlayStation 2, the Onimusha series has all but disappeared in recent years. We’ll be getting a brand-new game in the form of Onimusha: Way Of The Sword next year, but Capcom certainly hasn’t been complacent and has just released a remaster of Onimusha 2: Samurai’s Destiny. We were lucky enough to speak to Motohide Eshiro, who not only directed the original game, but is also directing the remaster. Interestingly, while Capcom has been properly remaking its early Resident Evil games, it is going down the remaster route with the early Onimusha titles, meaning quality-of-life improvements and updated visuals rather than fully overworked gameplay mechanics. Eshiro tells us that as Capcom was creating a brand-new overhaul of Onimusha for new systems, it was keen…

I used to be obsessed with car boot sales. From a very young age I would enjoy either trawling through them looking for stuff or even selling when I was about 17. I get the love for tat from my dad. Now long since gone, my dad was obsessed with, well, crap. He worked in the props department at the BBC which meant all manner of treasures would be brought home. My Grifter used to belong to Grange Hill’s Pogo Patterson and we once had a Dalek in our lock up. Our Sundays regularly involved trips to antique fairs, junk shops and if we were really lucky, a visit to the local tip. This was back in the glorious days of landfill before woke took over and we had to…

With economic turmoil continuing, major retailers began to collapse. On 18 December, Woolworths announced that its 807 UK stores would close by 5 January, with 27,000 jobs lost. The following day, furniture retailer MFI ceased trading, with 111 stores closed and 1,400 employees made redundant. Zavvi then, went into administration on 24 December. On 11 December, former Nasdaq stock exchange chairman Bernie Madoff was arrested on a charge of securities fraud, relating to his asset management business. Madoff’s sons Mark and Andrew had revealed to authorities that the business was essentially a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme – the largest in history. He pleaded guilty to 11 federal felonies in March 2009 and was sentenced to 150 years in prison in June, serving 12 years before passing away in 2021. During…

PLAYSTATION 3 1 – FIFA 09 (EA) 2 – Lego Batman (Warner Bros) 3 – Brothers In Arms: Hell’s Highway (Ubisoft) 4 – Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (LucasArts) 5 – Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 (EA) PC 1 – Far Cry 2 (Ubisoft) 2 – Spore (EA) 3 – Dead Space (EA) 4 – Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (Konami) 5 – The Sims 2: Apartment Life (EA) DS 1 – Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training (Nintendo) 2 – Lego Batman (Warner Bros) 3 – Mario Kart DS (Nintendo) 4 – More Touchmaster (Midway) 5 – High School Musical 3: Senior Year (Disney) MUSIC 1 – Hallelujah (Alexandra Burke) 2 – Hallelujah (Jeff Buckley) 3 – Run (Leona Lewis) 4 – If I Were A Boy (Beyonce) 5 – Once Upon…

MASTER LEVELS FOR DOOM II (1995) A response to other firms selling CDs of Doom content from the internet, Master Levels boasts 21 stages designed by authors contracted by id. It also includes Maximum Doom, a huge collection of amateur Doom files that were available online. THE ULTIMATE DOOM (1995) Essentially a retail version of Doom that collects the original shareware episode plus the two episodes that were sold via mail order. What sets Ultimate Doom apart is that it includes an exclusive fourth episode called Thy Flesh Consumed. FINAL DOOM (1996) Intended to be freeware but published by id instead, Final Doom incorporates two 32-level episodes: TNT: Evilution and The Plutonia Experiment. Created by hobbyists TeamTNT, Final Doom has the same weapons, items and creatures as Doom II. DOOM…

DOOM ETERNAL: THE ANCIENT GODS PART TWO (2021) New features in Part Two include supreme ruler of Hell, The Dark Lord, and the Sentinel Hammer. This launches the Doom Slayer into the air before bringing him crashing down, which causes a destructive shockwave as it slams into the ground. MIGHTY DOOM (2023) The top-down roguelike Mighty Doom was a short-lived mobile title set in the Doom universe. You got new weapons by filling an ability bar. This was done by killing demons, either with your autofire armaments or up close with a Glory Kill. DOOM + DOOM II (2024) Another re-release from Nightdive Studios, this bundle features The Ultimate Doom, Doom II, The Master Levels, TNT Evilution, Plutonia Experiment, No Rest For The Living, Sigil, Sigil II, and an exclusive…

SUPER CASTLEVANIA IV ■ It may just be a reboot of the original NES classic, but it’s a reboot that is filled with memorable boss encounters, some genuinely mesmerising setpieces (that spinning tunnel, travelling across the swinging chandeliers) and plenty of Mode 7 trickery. While its graphics can sometimes feel overly gaudy, it boasts one of the finest soundtracks you’ll hear on the SNES. SNATCHER ■ This sci-fi Mega-CD epic is now incredibly expensive, meaning many gamers won’t have experienced it. That’s a shame, because it’s a wonderful slice of Hideo Kojima brilliance that’s elevated by a strong visual style, rich storytelling and genuinely interesting characters. Konami is really missing a trick by not re-releasing this on modern systems. AXELAY ■ While the SNES is often criticised for its weak…

KINGDOM HEARTS ■ No one thought a crossover between Disney and Final Fantasy could work, but Square Enix proved the world wrong. The original 2002 title kickstarted a hugely successful RPG series still going strong that has, to this day, sold 36 million copies. The easiest way to play it today is via Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix. TIM BURTON’S THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS: THE PUMPKIN KING ■ Written as a prequel to the movie, the game was a 2D open-world action adventure where Jack Skellington is out to save Halloween Town. Great graphics and satisfying gameplay. By the developer of Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime. DONALD DUCK: GOIN’ QUACKERS ■ Donald stars in this 3D platformer that plays something between a Super Mario game and Crash Bandicoot. Alternating between…

■ With their cute but gormless expressions, the Pipo Monkeys make a natural fit for comedy, and it wasn’t long before they got their own TV show. Shogakukan Music & Digital Entertainment and Sony produced a series of 45-second comedy shorts starring the monkeys for TV Tokyo in 2002, which aired as part of the variety programme Oha Suta. There was also a 22-minute short movie released in 2002 called Ape Escape The Movie: Battle For The Golden Pipo Helmet. Both the movie and the shorts were released on the same DVD later that year. The monkeys got a bigger starring role in 2006 with Saru Get You -On Air-, a Japanese anime series that loosely adapts storylines from Ape Escape 3 and the spin-off games Saru! Get You! Million…

<INTRO> CHILDHOOD NINTENDO FAN AND MUSICIAN CLAY DISCOVERED NESMAKER, AND HAS BEEN MAKING NEW GAMES SINCE 2020 </INTRO> <INFO FROM: WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA WEBSITE: CALGAMES.US/FORMAT: NES PREVIOUS GAMES: JIM & DILL TRILOGY, BOBBY SIX SEVEN – TIME TRAVELLING DETECTIVE WORKING ON: MISTER SCARY /> WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO MAKE NES GAMES, CLAY? During COVID, I was working on some music and thought it would be fun to make a simple browser-based game as a marketing tool. My research led me to NESmaker. I never thought I’d ever make my own NES game. NESmaker and its built-in community have made this whole experience possible. It is designed to help folks who have little/no coding knowledge make something that works. The more you learn, and the more you dig into the guts,…

Doom: The Dark Ages is now out and we’ve got an earlier game on our cover, so it feels like the perfect time to revisit id Software’s seminal first-person shooter. Tim, Nick and Darran recall their experiences with the series. DARRAN What was your first experience with the original Doom? NICK It must have been at a PC-owning friend’s house, but I’m not sure who it would have been. What I do know for sure is that I was ‘too young’ to be seeing it. TIM I first played Doom on a friend’s PC, it was a significant step up from Wolfenstein 3D which I’d sneakily played in college when I should have been learning how to program in Fortran and Pascal of all things. DARRAN Mine was seeing it on…

THE COVER STAR DOOM You’d be forgiven for thinking a game as popular as the original Doom wouldn’t cost a trip to Mars, but to find the big box version is difficult these days. Expect to pay over £150 for a decent copy with floppy disks and a manual. MUSHA ALESTE Shooters always tend to be expensive, and this Mega Drive classic is no different. Complete Japanese copies blast over £150, while a loose cart can fetch over £75. STARGLIDER While there are several copies always available, a complete copy of Rainbird’s classic on the Amstrad CPC will cost more than your pocket money in 2025. Expect to pay over £100. BREATH OF FIRE III Capcom’s PlayStation RPG is still collectable, as good condition copies cost over £80. Those wanting…

IZZY’S QUEST FOR THE OLYMPIC RINGS » Being an Olympic mascot has to be pretty rubbish, when you think about it. Not only are the designs pretty much never memorable, but they only get a few weeks in the sun before everyone forgets about them. Poor old Izzy is one of these forgotten souls, but he got his own game about collecting the famous rings – let’s see what happens at the end… » You know, we know another blue platform game star who runs around collecting rings. We see what you’re trying to do here Izzy, but frankly you can’t pull the wool over our eyes. » Wait, is that a lighter? Izzy, what are you planning to do here, old chap? We were only teasing you a bit, given…

DONKEY KONG Shigeru Miyamoto’s breakout game featured two iconic characters: Donkey Kong and Jumpman, later known as Mario. The big primate has appeared in numerous games since, with his latest, Donkey Kong: Bonanza, due shortly on Switch 2. POKEMON Starting off on the Game Boy, Pokémon has turned into a gaming phenomenon, and is the second-biggest games franchise after Mario. It has spawned countless sequels and a number of spin-offs. SUPER MARIO BROS The Super Mario Bros series started off on the Nintendo Entertainment System, and turned into one of Nintendo’s most successful franchises. Mario has gone on to become the most recognisable videogame character of all time. MARIO PARTY This is an interesting collaboration with Hudson Soft that combines minigames with the layout of a board game and is…