retro gaming

[Spaceghost]

Thanks to the wonderful world of emulation I've had the chance to revisit a lot of the old games I used to play, and introduce them to my son.

I must say, the thing it's taught me is that most of the games I used to love are terribly boring in the cold light of day. There are a handful of games on each system that are still worth playing and the rest are rubbish.

Enjoyed revisiting all the Mario and Sonic games and a few others.

[uncle fester]

I once bought 3000 Spectrum games (with an emulator) for a tenner and it STILL didn't have Nemesis The Warlock. Gutted. There's a game that should have a reboot. Possibly including a Nemesis that didn't walk like he'd just been melvined...

[Pyroxian]

Just download it from here

http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0003387

[Spaceghost]

I once bought 3000 Spectrum games (with an emulator) for a tenner and it STILL didn't have Nemesis The Warlock. Gutted. There's a game that should have a reboot. Possibly including a Nemesis that didn't walk like he'd just been melvined...

I loved the Nemesis game as a wee boy. I downloaded a Commodore 64 emulator (C64 roolz! Spectrums is for gaylords!) and the Nemesis game.

It's very, very, very shit.

[bluemeanie]

Got MAME and a Spectrum emulator on the ipad and play them quite a lot. Also bought Final Fantasy 3 for it which was a bit pricey but figured I'd get a hell of a lot of gameplay out of it.

Currently having a twitter "debate" with someone who DARES to suggest the c64 might be better then the spectrum!

Co-incidentally found a load of pdfs of the old Crash magazine a few weeks back so been re-reading those as used to read it religiously as a kid. Think their 100% score for Ant Attack's graphics might have been slightly generous though

[Dandontdare]

The modern gaming scene leaves me cold - mainly 'cos I'm crap! games are too hard and I don't have the natural affinity and dexterity with games controllers that young people seem to have. I don't play games for the challenge or to test myself, I just want entertainment. And from what I've heard of online multiplayer gaming - no thanks!

Steam is great though - I downloaded Quake 3, which I surprised myself by remembering almost all the way through, but still loved it. And after my DVD drive packed up I can't load Civ4. I'm not keen on Civ5, so have reverted to playing Civ3 insstead, one of the finest games ever made. I don't think I'd want to go as as far back as spectrum or c64 games though!

And I'm addicted to free flash games like Bloons Tower Defense 4.

[radiator]

The modern gaming scene leaves me cold - mainly 'cos I'm crap! games are too hard and I don't have the natural affinity and dexterity with games controllers that young people seem to have.

Eh??? By and large games are far, far easier and more user friendly than they used to be. Most old games are almost laughably difficult and unfair in comparison. Also, as I mentioned in my previous post, there are an almost bewildering array of diverse gaming experinences available now - from the hardest of hardcore to the gentlest 'casual' titles. If you can't find anything to play, you're not paying attention...

As for current retro gaming, I'm currently addicted to the original Doom games - I recently completed Doom 2 on the XBLA and I'm battling through the original on the iPhone. Still amazing games that hold up extremely well by todays standards. I like the stripped-down nature of them - no empty spectacle, no cut-scenes, just pure, undiluted run and gun. I've also downloaded Duke Nukem 3d - again on iPhone, but it seems to be quite buggy and the touch controls don't seem to be nearly as well implemented as on Doom.

Also, I've got the remastered versions of of the two original Monkey Island games alo on the iPhone - bliss! Now, only if they would hurry up and port Full Throttle, Day of the Tentacle and Grim Fandango!

[Spaceghost]

The modern gaming scene leaves me cold - mainly 'cos I'm crap! games are too hard and I don't have the natural affinity and dexterity with games controllers that young people seem to have. I don't play games for the challenge or to test myself, I just want entertainment.

I find the total opposite is true. I think games are muuuuuuuuuuch easier these days. Games used to be really unforgiving with 'one touch, you're dead' mechanics and no save points. I remember gradually working towards completing Sonic 2 with no save points. If you died you started again on level 1!

Modern games like Mario Galaxy 2 and Smash Bros. are perfect entertainment. Mario Galaxy is the video game equivalent of gorging yourself on a box of chocolates. Every single level offers something new and is a joy to play.

[IndigoPrime]

I had a full size arcade cabinet running MAME

this is my ultimate dream, i got an arsom game x dual arcade stick that'd fit perfectly in a cabinet (and an old dual core PC that runs maim fine) unfortunatly i lack the necesary carpenty skills to knock up the actual cabinet.  I have seen pre-built ones for sale but they're a bit pricey.

In my 'I just won the lottery' dream world, I'd eschew MAME. What I'd like is a small room in our surprisingly large new house that I've bought with my imaginary lottery winnings, which would have a half-dozen or so choice cabs from the glory days of gaming. (Mrs G says I can buy *one* if I want to if we build an extension on our current house, but I've no idea what one I would pick.)

Currently having a twitter "debate" with someone who DARES to suggest the c64 might be better then the spectrum!

To be fair, the C64 was better than the Spectrum. [continues poking ant nest with stick]

[radiator]

I find the total opposite is true. I think games are muuuuuuuuuuch easier these days. Games used to be really unforgiving with 'one touch, you're dead' mechanics and no save points. I remember gradually working towards completing Sonic 2 with no save points. If you died you started again on level 1!

Modern games like Mario Galaxy 2 and Smash Bros. are perfect entertainment. Mario Galaxy is the video game equivalent of gorging yourself on a box of chocolates. Every single level offers something new and is a joy to play.

While I agree with your sentiment, there is the very real issue that most 3d games put off the majority of potential players. While almost everyone can get to grips with the original Super Mario Bros, very few will have the patience and/or spatial awareness required to get into Super Mario Galaxy, wonderful as it is. In my experience, a lot of people just find navigating a 3d virtual space fiddly and confusing. Perhaps that is something that will change when true 3DTV displays become the standard? There's also the perfectly valid point that modern joypads aren't the most intuitive of devices and have far too many buttons for the average non-gamer to get their heads around.

Even so, there are masses of games out there to suit more casual tastes, from Fruit Ninja to Warioware to Angry Birds to Dance Central and Rock Band.

[Dandontdare]

The modern gaming scene leaves me cold - mainly 'cos I'm crap! games are too hard and I don't have the natural affinity and dexterity with games controllers that young people seem to have. I don't play games for the challenge or to test myself, I just want entertainment.

I find the total opposite is true. I think games are muuuuuuuuuuch easier these days. Games used to be really unforgiving with 'one touch, you're dead' mechanics and no save points. I remember gradually working towards completing Sonic 2 with no save points. If you died you started again on level 1!

Modern games like Mario Galaxy 2 and Smash Bros. are perfect entertainment. Mario Galaxy is the video game equivalent of gorging yourself on a box of chocolates. Every single level offers something new and is a joy to play.

as regards the harder/easier thing; it's not so much the content, just the controllers.

when it comes to FPS games, I used to love the old PC versions - move the mouse side to side to rotate l/r, press one button to move forward and the other to fire. When I got my first console with controller (a PS2) I found I could play games like Tomb Raider with the arrow keys, but then the norm changed to one joystick controlling where you look and one controlling where you move. I find these really difficult and end up playing "shoot the ground-shoot the sky-die". I just can't handle two of those little joystick thingies at once! Are there any good FPS games tha don't rely on dual joysticks?

[Spaceghost]

The modern gaming scene leaves me cold - mainly 'cos I'm crap! games are too hard and I don't have the natural affinity and dexterity with games controllers that young people seem to have. I don't play games for the challenge or to test myself, I just want entertainment.

I find the total opposite is true. I think games are muuuuuuuuuuch easier these days. Games used to be really unforgiving with 'one touch, you're dead' mechanics and no save points. I remember gradually working towards completing Sonic 2 with no save points. If you died you started again on level 1!

Modern games like Mario Galaxy 2 and Smash Bros. are perfect entertainment. Mario Galaxy is the video game equivalent of gorging yourself on a box of chocolates. Every single level offers something new and is a joy to play.

as regards the harder/easier thing; it's not so much the content, just the controllers.

when it comes to FPS games, I used to love the old PC versions - move the mouse side to side to rotate l/r, press one button to move forward and the other to fire. When I got my first console with controller (a PS2) I found I could play games like Tomb Raider with the arrow keys, but then the norm changed to one joystick controlling where you look and one controlling where you move. I find these really difficult and end up playing "shoot the ground-shoot the sky-die". I just can't handle two of those little joystick thingies at once! Are there any good FPS games tha don't rely on dual joysticks?

I'm playing Goldeneye on the Wii at the moment (it's a remake of the original game with Daniel Craig as Bond and all new graphics and stuff. It's really good.) and that's really easy to control.

Aim, look and fire by moving the Wiimote, move with the Nunchuk stick. Much easier than mouse and keyboard and more intuitive and realistic too.

[bluemeanie]

Tried Goldeneye on the wii, just couldnt get into it

Never been able to do FPS without mouse and keyboard but sure its just what you're used to as been on PC shooters since the first Quake

[Peter Wolf]

Defender - As good today as it always used to be.An oldie but a goodie.Apparently some players were put off by the configuration of the controls as in too many buttons but i wasnt in the slightest and i never found it a problem apart from the hard plastic red ball that was the up/down joystick used to cause blisters.I havent acheived my childhood dream of one day owning my own Defender machine yet though......Same goes for Robotron.Part of the gaming experience of these games is playing on the original upright cabinet and not on a modern console and kids today who were not around back in the very early 80s are seriously missing out on the arcade experience.I was addicted to those games and spent a lot of 10ps getting to be good at them*

likewise the 360 controller which has been criticised because of its layout and configuration but again i never found it a problem as its perfectly fine.

*There was a way of getting 6 credits[games] of Defender by flicking a 2p up the coin reject slot next to the slot that rejected coins came out of as there were 2 slots up there.

[mogzillazarus]

defender reminds me of being about 11 ish ish playing it before and after judo class with a fizzy orange from the machine!

  playing last night the wife commented "they look a bit crap now dont they compared to your xbox"

on the whole  yes even rouge leader looked a bit ropy but the resident evil remake and resi 0  still hold up well, but resi 4 looks worse!

still mini's happy with winnie the pooh's rumbly tumbly adventure