One wonders what goes through games developer’s minds before they hit that eureka moment, the one that all of a sudden seems like a dashed good idea. More often they are right – in the case of one of the games below – and sometimes they are wide of the mark – as in the case of our other game here. It’s that whole lottery thing where you never quite know if this will be the winning ticket, the one that sets you up.

 

George Lucas gets one of these every time someone brings out new technology so he can carry on butchering all the Star Wars films

JET SET RADIO (2000, SEGA – FOR SEGA DREAMCAST)

 

Youths out of control + spray paint + roller skates = a pretty damn good game

 

The streets of the little known city Tokyo-To are getting tough. Gangs of rowdy teenagers roam the streets wearing the most garish of clothes. They all must be art students in their everyday life, as they like to “tag” the city with their own graffiti. This is all done to the accompaniment of some rather loud and barely legible hip hop music. Along the way you’ll end up having to battle rival gangs by erasing their graffiti if they stray on your turf. You may end up in a trick-off, where you will try to outdo each other with high risk tricks on your roller skates. Reading all that you may be grateful for the police turning up……and they do, eventually.

 

Speak of the devils - if it isn't the old bill as predicted.....

 

When I first played this on it’s initial release I was struck with how cool the game appeared, how different it looked, the graphic style is particularly distinctive and looks amazing, how great the music was and just how different it was to anything I had ever played before. 12 years on and I still have some of the same opinions. The game is one of the best looking ever, and the gameplay is great. The controls are simple and not too hard to master. Unfortunately I am also 12 years older than I was back in 2000 and as such I felt rather old now playing this game. It also is painfully obvious that the music is nothing more than a lot of noise, but that’s me just being old.

 

I am sadly no longer as "down with the kids" as I used to be but this is a mightily impressive game today - the visuals and sounds especiially

 

Jet Set Radio is a great game to play and thoroughly recommended. However, if you are getting on a bit, this may make you feel a lot older than you think you are (or appear to be). Now then, where’s my cocoa and slippers…………?

 

XENOPHOBE (1990, ATARI – FOR ATARI LYNX)

 

That's one scary box cover, and one peed off looking alien

 

Looking all the world like an unofficial game based on the Alien film franchise, you take the role of a selection of engineers who are attempting to rescue a stricken spaceship. The captain has already told you it is full of deadly, acid based Xenos who have killed all on board. It is down to your team to take down all the Xenos, clear the ship and restore sanity. You’ll encounter levels with a number of different floors to clear as well as the ability to collect extra weapons, money, fluids and codes for the computer, which can allow you to self-destruct the ship.

 

I must be honest - I don't fancy her chances much in that fight

 

Originally an arcade release in 1988, Xenophobe was converted to just about every system going. It’s a pretty fair side scrolling shooter with some nifty graphics for the Lynx. The sound is functional and the gameplay, whilst fairly easy to master, never rises above average. There is just nothing that makes this game stand out. There is plenty of on screen action but it’s one of these games that requires you to clear the level then have to find your way back to the start to escape and move on to the next section. I also found the control method a bit strange, Power ups can be collected by pushing down to pick up, whilst one button is used for firing and one for throwing bombs. However, if one of the Xenos attaches itself to you, the bomb button must be pressed to shake them off and that can sometimes see you throw bombs when you don’t mean to.

 

Yes that is correct - one of your crew is a duck. After all ducks are well known destroyers of alien invaders. What, you have never heard of Howard ? That's one film George Lucas won't be revisiting any time soon eh George ?

 

I enjoyed playing Xenophobe, it’s just that after 3 or 4 levels and about 45 minutes of playing time I found myself wanting out. Good fun for a while and a very good conversion, but just not varied or exciting enough to keep you gripped.