The weather in March was lovely. Now we have entered April the weather has turned for the worse. Hail, thunder and torrential rain coupled with colder than average temperatures can mean only one thing. Yes, it’s Car Boot season once again. Ah yes you can almost smell the hotdogs and burgers from the comfort of your own room. Never has there been more fun from being crammed into a tiny field at 7am on a Sunday morning than by going to a booty.

A perfect site for sore retro eyes - there be bargains to be had out there !

So here are a few tips to keep you on your guard during the next few months :

1. Always take a small bag or rucksack with you. I made this mistake many times believing that it was either too late in the season to get any bargains or there won’t be any booters around because it was holiday season. Never underestimate what might be there.
2. Park as close as you can to the car boot as is possible. Nothing hurts more than carrying round a boxed Nintendo Gamecube Donkey Konga set, as I experienced 3 years ago. You can’t always park close but if you do make a large purchase like that don’t man up and think that because you only have a few rows to go it won’t hurt. It does.
3. Get there early. I know some of these things start at stupid o’clock but even arriving an hour after the boot starts means you are likely to have missed something. These places are full of traders and specialists who will be there when Dawn cracks. If you want the best stuff, get there early.
4. Get in early. Almost the same as above. Don’t leave something to chance as in “I’ll come back later”. If it is something you want, buy it there and then. It won’t be there later.
5. Use your own judgement. If you think you are paying too much for something then say so. It’s always best to barter, after all that is what car booting is all about. In most cases the seller will have added a couple of quid to the asking price so if you knock them down they are still getting a good deal. I should take my own advice sometimes – I tend to consider the price and think if it’s fair I’ll pay it. If it’s too much I’ll walk away rather than haggle.
6. Watch out for traders. You’ll know who they are. These are the ones who have priced high and won’t move on it because then you will be eating into their profit margin. Occasionally you can get a good deal if you buy a few things but on most occasions if it is priced highly it is priced to sell and not to be knocked down.
7. Check the condition. This is particularly with disc based games. No one is going to shout at you if you want to look at the state of a disc. If they do, then they have something to hide. Always check the contents of the box too because you might not be getting what you think you are buying, but then again I have had the odd bonus find with an extra disc inside.
8. Be sensible. Nothing pisses people off more at a car boot than someone being aggressive when it comes to haggling on prices. It’ll get you short shrift and leaves a nasty taste in everyone’s mouth. Bite your tongue if someone is being a wanker and move on, don’t get involved and start anything. It will only end in tears. Some of these places are very well marshalled and some I have been to have police officers close at hand.

There are also a couple of tips if you fancy parting with any of your collection :

1. Be realistic with your pricing. Not everyone goes to a booty with £100 in their pocket so just consider this if you think marking up your dusty PS2 with a few FIFA and WWE games at £25 is going to attract many buyers. It won’t and you’ll end up taking it back home. If you want to make that sort of profit then shove it on eBay. Go to a booty, price sensibly so you make a few quid and enjoy it.
2. Beware the trader. We’ve touched on these guys before and they will become very persistent in wanting your stuff before it goes on sale. As soon as you arrive they’ll be hovering round your car, peeking inside and asking questions. You can either do two things – give in or sit inside and wait until they have gone. They’ll want your stuff and will pay only a fraction what you want for it, and you will guarantee walking around afterwards they’ll be selling it on their stall – at a much higher price than you sold it to them. Hold your ground and be strong.
3. Be kind. If someone is trying to rip you off – and this applies to selling as well – just a few kind words and send them on their way. The last thing you want to do is get into a scrap at a booty. If they try and knock down your prices, go with it and drop if you can. If you can’t, say so and be honest. If they get all aggressive about it, just be polite. Don’t let people bully you either – after all unless you are trading or selling for charity you have your own limits set and if they don’t agree with them that is their problem.
4. Do your research. It’s always best to try a few boot fairs as a buyer and see how busy they are. Do some internet searches as well and see if you can find popular sites. The last thing you should do is join a gaming forum and ask people where good ones are. Chances are most retro gamers won’t reveal where they go for fear of an influx of buyers. There is, most definitely, a difference between standing in a field and making a decent wad and standing in a field and making 12 sales all day, believe me I had the latter happen because I didn’t do my research. A good source of information is the local free paper as there always a few adverts about upcoming and long running events

So there you go. This is not a definitive list by any standards, nor should it be taken as gospel. This is simply me passing on my experiences to you. The best advice of all, buying or selling, is to simply go and have a good day and pick up some great bargains or make a few quid.

Now get out there and grab a bargain before they are all gone.....or I get there first

OK so this is it. The final instalment of my Retro A-Z 2012 edition. It’s been a fun traverse back through some of the weird and wonderful titles and games of yesteryear, and hopefully I’ll have the chance to revisit this again next year. So it’s on with the show as we go U through to Z…..

U IS FOR :

UMBRELLA CORPORATION : The fictional pharmaceutical organisation that brings about the outbreak of T-Virus that leads us into the very first Resident Evil game. If it wasn’t for them, shooting zombies and all manners of warped creatures would not be possible. Nor would we have some of the most wooden voice acting in games history. Funny how the link between Umbrella and Rhianna gives us something truly stomach churning that only our worst imaginations could conjure up…..

V IS FOR :

VIXEN : Truly horrendous platform game from the late 1980’s with the one saving grace being the scantily clad woman on the box and the free poster inside. Further proof that sex sells and the focal point of interest was far better than the mundane offering the game provided.

VIGILANTE : See the entry for Renegade and you pretty much have the spiel for this average beat em up. This game did come with the rather bizarre storyline of having you rescue Madonna – yes THE Madonna of Like A Virgin fame – from a gang of hoodlums. The game implies your girlfriend is actually called Madonna but, seeing as this was the 80’s, it is far too much of a coincidence to be true. Anyway the game was a bit meh and got lost in the glut of rescuing kidnapped girlfriend games so it doesn’t matter all that much.

W IS FOR :

WALUIGI : Possibly the best result of “long night at the office” syndrome. The brain trust must have been absent for this one, as creating Wario to rival Mario made sense. Creating an evil Luigi however must rank as one of the most pointless ideas ever. It’s not as if Luigi is that appealing a character in the first place – after all he’s just Mario’s stupider brother. It would have made more sense putting Crap in front of Luigi and might have been closer to the mark.

WACKY RACES : I have been lucky (or unlucky) enough to have have played 2 versions of games based on the popular 1960’s cartoon series. The first was a platformer on the NES which had you playing as Muttley and had about as much to do with Wacky Races as not at all. The other game was on the PS1 which was more based around the racing side of things but was so easy it didn’t offer the gamer much of a challenge. There have been other versions on the Dreamcast, PS2, Wii and Nintendo DS, proving at least there is life in the series. Perhaps one day we will see a definitive version……

WARLORDS : Classic Atari 2600 which had you and 3 other Warlords (computer controlled or played with your mates) battling in an arena. The idea is to deflect the ball around the arena damaging your opponent’s walls until they are exposed. Then the fun begins as you can catch the ball by holding down the fire button and aim for them. Keep playing till Last Man Stands and you can claim the title of Warlord. A timeless classic which must be played in it’s original format to truly appreciate how cool this game is.

X IS FOR :

XENON 2 : Vastly overrated shoot em up which at the time boasted 3 things that made everyone rave about it. Firstly, the graphics which looked fantastically amazing. Secondly, the music using the sampled track from Bomb The Bass’ hit Megablast. Thirdly, the sheer size of the weaponry on display – it was meaty, huge and downright ludicrous. So perhaps the biggest issue with Xenon 2 came with the speed – for a shooter it’s just too damn slow, and the bigger your weapons and add-ons get, the slower you move. In some cases you can’t actually get through certain sections with too much bolted on. Great for the time but blast fans now will find it hard to get on with.

Y IS FOR :

YOSHI : Dinosaurs are not meant to be cute. Yoshi is. Yoshi rules and for me he is the most appealing character in the Mario games, which makes me wonder why Nintendo have never made more of him.

YARS REVENGE : Another quality Atari 2600 title which sees you take control of a giant, insect type creature who has to nibble away at the fortress of a giant Apollo spacecraft-type alien. You have to do so whilst being tracked by a homing missile which you can take refuge from inside a neutral zone. Once you have nibbled a hole big enough you can fire your missile through it, hopefully hitting and destroying the alien craft. Simple enough, this is one of the best examples of why the Atari 2600 was so successful and the quality of games which were produced within the hardware limitations. Yet, once again, when someone tried to update it to the current generation of consoles the game was lacking in gameplay and hampered by the decision not to stick with original side on view.

Z IS FOR :

ZX SPECTRUM : Putting it as simply as I can, if it wasn’t for the success of this machine then we would not be where we are today. The Speccy is as revered as it is ridiculed, but you cannot ignore the impact it had on consumers. We should all give thanks to Sir Clive on a daily basis for this wondrous hobby that we have. Sir, my hat is doffed in your general direction for your vision, your brilliance and your belief in the home computer.

Not for the C5 though, I have no idea what you were smoking when you came up with that…………..

NB – What happened here is one of those instances where you lose a week. I have no idea where it went nor do I know what happened. Therefore the next post will actually commence with my diary entry for 20^th February 2012.

This is most definitely bringing back the memories as we go along. Whether it is curing the writer’s block is another thing entirely but it has been good for the soul. More glaring omissions along the way as we visit the more obscure retro references……

Warm sunny days and warm sunny memories

K IS FOR :

KONAMI : Probably the most recognisable games developer in the world, established in 1969. Responsible for such classics as Castlevania, Contra, Silent Hill, Metal Gear and Pro Evolution Soccer there is no doubt that Konami keep producing the goods. There have been one or two bumps along the way, the first Metal Gear game is far removed from the later games in the series whilst Metal Gear Solid 2 on the PS2 is a massive chore to play and the later entries into the Pro Evo series have seen them fall behind the FIFA series, but if it is Konami. Chances are it’s kracking.

KICK OFF : Revolutionised the way football games were played. By removing the ball from the foot of the player all of a sudden more fluid movements were possible. Those who couldn’t get used to the control hated the game and thus missed out. Those who got it, like yours truly, thought it was the best bloody football game ever, though some annoying bugs and glitches did mar the game. These were ironed out in Kick Off 2, therefore crowning itself at the top of the league. Sensible Soccer can try but in my eyes it cannot compete……..and that is an argument for the ages.

L IS FOR :

LEMMINGS : Who’d have thought short, green haired creatures with a tendency for exploding/committing suicide would have single handedly sold a lot of Amiga computers back in the 1990’s. The simple task of transporting 100 lemmings through a level is made more difficult by giving them tasks so they can reach the exit – such as digging holes to reach lower platforms, blocking other lemmings and pushing them in the right direction or floating down big drops. Once the percentage of lemmings needed to complete the level is reached, those expendable to the cause can be exterminated by pressing the NUKE button. No Lemmings were physically harmed during the making of this iconic game, but they made Psygnosis a lot of money back in the day.

LINE OF FIRE : Designed to be an Operation Wolf style run and gun, with the gun being statically mounted on the arcade cabinet, Line Of Fire was nothing more than an average arcade shooter. The home conversions were notable only for being average and lacking any excitement, with some versions having a lack of enemies. Also the Master System version, for being more of an Ikari Warriors clone than resembling the arcade original. Whichever way you look at it, imitation is the highest form of flattery and Operation Wolf had nothing to worry about.

M IS FOR :

MORTAL KOMBAT : When 2D fighting games threatened to take over the world both the Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat series stood alone at the top of the tree. Street Fighter had big, bold graphics and colourful backdrops and a none-too complicated control system. Mortal Kombat got straight to the point and incorporated as much gore and guts as you could get away with back in 1992, whilst using digitised graphics and some ludicrous finishing moves. The SNES home conversion was notable for a lack of blood, which took away the game’s impact and made it just another fighting game. Mortal Kombat is still with us, with a much maligned MK vs DC Comics game and a current generation remake which is better than it perhaps has any right to be.

N IS FOR :

NARC : Ultra violent and therefore controversial gun and run from the late 1980’s. The arcade original had you mowing down drug dealers whilst still finding time to shoot dogs. The drug dealers would end up being busted, accompanied by a large logo telling you so, whilst each dead guy left behind cash or leftover drugs. The sheer blood and gore on display was utterly unheard of in 1988 and thus the game garnered some unwarranted attention from the usual suspects – the gaming authorities, politicians and parents. It’s a very playable game and whilst similarities between this and Smash TV can be seen, it’s perhaps not as good. There were some great home conversions handled by Ocean Software but the NES release featured lots of guns and gore but the total absence of any drug reference. So it’s OK to shoot people, but drugs are not ? Go figure……

O IS FOR :

OUT RUN : The best time attack racer there was. Jump in the Ferrari and impress the blonde babe sitting next to you by passing through the stage targets in good time to carry on racing. Best played on a sit down version in the arcade with the wind in your hair and the pulsating beat of Magical Sound Shower blasting into your ears. Out Run is one the defining games of a generation of gamers. Yet when converted to the home micros a lot of versions were rubbish – Amiga, Atari ST, C64 and Amstrad to pick on the worst offenders. Relentless sequels and reboots followed until the release of Out Run : Coast to Coast on the PS2 and XBOX. Only then could modern gamers see what we retro geeks get all worked up about when we talk about Out Run.

OUTLAW : A basic Atari 2600 shooter which saw you and another cowboy duelling it out in a Pong-esque scenario. Standing across the screen from each other with only a cactus as protection (which should be shot away in one of the game’s many modes), the idea was to knock your opponent down more times than you. The game I most enjoyed on the cartridge was the bouncing target shoot where the idea is to hit it as quickly as possible 10 times. I spent hours on that.

Coming next : P to T

I’d like to make one thing clear about this retro alphabet thing – by no means at all is this a definitive list. There are going to be omissions, this list is simply a start ; a sort of launchpad if you will. It is something I want to add to as time goes on and yes it will eventually see names like Mario, Sonic and Zelda in there. However if you are a regular RetroSection-ite you will know that we prefer to look at some of the more obscure as opposed to the mass marketed.

Prey continue……..

It does help to be a little different

F IS FOR :

FROGGER : Static but vertical jumping game where the aim is to help a family of frogs cross a dangerous road, then a dangerous river. Often imitated but never bettered, Frogger is one of the most recognisable and copied games of the early days of video games. Yet whilst characters such as Pac-Man and Mario are constantly reinvented, when the Frogger character strays from the norm it’s a disaster. Anyone remember the PS2 3D adventure ? Hmmm me neither…

FLASHBACK : Having the distinction of being both French and weird, this beautiful looking game has you cast as Conrad who must rediscover his memory after waking up in a jungle and eventually will end in deep space. The game looks gorgeous with wonderful roto-scoped character movement, the gameplay is fluid and the whole experience is one where jaws drop constantly. It blew 16 bit owners away in the 1990’s and is still a revered game today.

G IS FOR :

GAUNTLET : Top down dungeon adventure where taking the role of a barbarian, wizard, valkyrie (when they were still called valkyrie and not Xena) or a dwarf, you had to negotiate your way through many levels of treasure hunting, exit finding and don’t-shoot-the-food-ing of medieval magic. Gauntlet started life as a gargantuan 4 player arcade game and was successfully converted to just about every console and computer. Famous for it’s sampled speech (“Red warrior needs food…badly”, “I know I know I can’t find any……argggh you shot the food you imbecile….”), it spawned a version with extra levels and a sequel, and was the sort of game, when playing with your mates, that could divide friendships. Just don’t shoot the food.

GOLF : There have been many variations of the golf game to grace computers over the years. In the early days you would mostly spend time wacking a pixel around a screen made up of mostly green, blue or yellow colours. Thankfully when Leaderboard came along it redefined the genre and golf games would never be so crappy again. Nintendo thought it best to put Mario in their NES games, and there he stayed through many variations over the years. After Leaderboard came the PGA series, which incorporated a grid system for putting so you could see all the contours and slopes. That series would wind up being the Tiger Woods games we know today. For slightly less serious golf types, check out either the Everybody’s Golf games or Outlaw Golf – the latter being one of the most frustrating golf games I have ever played whilst at the same time one of the most hilarious.

H IS FOR :

HORACE : A retro based alphabet wouldn’t be the same is we hadn’t included Horace. Created in 1982 and starring in his own series of games, the Horace games were nothing more than a series of copy/rip offs of popular titles : Horace Goes Skiing (Frogger), Hungry Horace (Pac-Man) and Horace & The Spiders (elements of Pitfall, Smurf and Space Panic). You cannot deny though just how successful these games were and therefore cementing Horace’s place in the Retro Hall Of Fame.

HYPER SPORTS : Responsible for providing a generation of children with wrists well beyond their actual age, this is the game that if you looked up joystick waggler in the dictionary then you would find a picture of Hyper Sports. Track & Field set the bar but when this was converted to all the home micros, joystick sales went through the roof. You had your own methods of course to get the best grip – place the joystick on the table, hold it in the air and waggle it etc – but whichever way you did it, you’d end up knackered. So Hyper Sports – Joystick waggling heaven or arthritis inducing pain. You decide…….

I IS FOR :

IMAGINE SOFTWARE : Set up in 1982, Imagine were well know for their flash image and sailing close to the wind before financially collapsing two years later. If it wasn’t for Imagine then it is likely the image of the computer programmer and games designer would have still remained some beardy, nerdy type rather than young, cool people in Ferraris. That’s the image they had, so when it all went wrong Ocean Software stepped in, bought the group and used the Imagine name on games such as Hyper Sports, Green Beret and Arkanoid, amongst others. When Imagine was sold, former programmers set up Psygnosis and Denton Designs, where such classic games as Shadow Of The Beast, Wipeout and Frankie Goes To Hollywood ended up being created.

J IS FOR :

JOUST : Not many games feature a flying ostrich – in fact I think this is the only one. Created in 1982 and released into arcades, this had you defeating evil knights riding buzzards set in space. It was just that sort of game. It makes you wonder what sort of things people smoked back in the day and purely for it’s great playability and quirky concept, Joust is an early arcade favourite that is still fondly remembered.

JET SET WILLY : One of the most iconic characters in video game history returns after the success of Manic Miner. Whether you loved the game, hated the game or if it reduced you to a gibbering wreck it makes no difference at all. This is one game that people can recall at the drop of a hat when you mention early Spectrum games.

UP NEXT : K to O

The best way to deal with writer’s block – which, as some of you may have noticed, is why there hasn’t been an update for a week – is to get some sort of list going that will stimulate the writing juices. It’s either that or finally give in and play some well known games for a change as opposed to the obscure ones. Argh No! So join me now as we go through the Retro Alphabet with as many glaring omissions as there are inclusions, I am sure :

Says it all really....

A IS FOR:

ARKANOID : Breakout update from the 1980’s. Not simply bat and ball, as collecting power ups will allow you to have an extra ball on screen or develop lasers. Set in space this is a worthy update to an arcade classic, and also spawned a sequel

ANGRY VIDEO GAME NERD : The player of some of the worst games known to man is a worthy entry in the Retro Alphabet. If you can get beyond some of the more tasteless gags, swearing and use of bodily functions, James Rolfe has done a lot for bringing video games reviewing, albeit angrily, into the new millennium. He’s even making a film about the Nerd.

ATARI : Once great, video games giant that introduced the world to the wooden wonder of the 2600. Did Atari single handedly bring about the Games Crash of 1983, or were they merely one of the casualties ? How time treats them is another matter but they were never quite the same again, as neither the colour handheld Lynx or the hard to program for Jaguar made any impression on gamers in the 1990’s. More likely now remembered for arcade classics like Star Wars and STUN Runner.

B IS FOR :

BANJO : The musical bear from the Banjo games from Rare for the N64 in the late 1990’s. Always accompanied by a bird in a rucksack and attempting to defeat the evil witch, Gruntilda Winkybunion (Grunty to her friends), the Banjo games were raved over back in the day. They still provide an excellent challenge and with Rare’s usual high quality graphics, sounds and gameplay these games have turned into classics. However Banjo’s comeback on the Xbox 360 last year was not quite as well received.

BABIES : You might be surprised to see this entry but there are at least 4 Babies that spring to mind : Baby Mario and Baby Luigi (perhaps Nintendo were running out of ideas of how to milk more money from gamers – and this was before WaLuigi), the giant baby in Zombies Ate My Neighbours (if there is one thing that is scary it’s a giant baby) and Jack The Nipper (who terrorised 8 bit owners back in the 1980’s).

BACK TO THE FUTURE : You’d have thought a great film franchise would spawn great games, but that’s where you would be wrong. The first film saw an atrocious NES version that had nothing to do with the film and whilst the C64/Spectrum/Amstrad game went for a different approach, getting George McFly to spend as much time as possible with Lorraine, they couldn’t pull it off. The second film saw yet another hopeless attempt on the 8 bit and 16 bit computers, splitting the game into sub games that, although relevant to the film, suffered from poor controls. For NES owners both the second and third films were lumped into the same game which again bore little resemblance to the original films. The final part of the trilogy was another sub game bonanza for home micros and the Mega Drive – some good, the shooting range, and some bad, the opening level which is about as hard and unfair as first levels get. Definitely a missed opportunity all round.

C IS FOR :

CAPCOM – Legendary Japanese game developer and publisher responsible for the following retro gaming greats : Devil May Cry, Ghosts N Goblins, Ghouls N Ghosts, Street Fighter, Mega Man, Bionic Commando, Final Fight and Resident Evil amongst others. You don’t need to say any more about them than that.

CENTIPEDE : 1980 arcade game that did for small insects what Space Invaders did for green men from outer space. Gun down the centipede as it moves it’s way through the garden. It moves incredibly quickly and you’ll have to be quick to keep up. Shooting it in the wrong place means it will split into two, making this one fast and furious shooter. One of the best vertical shooters of it’s kind and an undisputed classic to this day.

D IS FOR :

DOOM : It’s probably fair to say that the rise of games like Doom and Castle Wolfenstein led us to the current blitz of first person shooters that dominate the market to this day. Looking back now, these original games look incredibly dated, what with their blocky graphics, duff sound and a lack of impact they had back in the day. That doesn’t mean that Doom is any less playable – because it still is. This is probably the best of the 3 games that was released in the series and quite a challenge, but just don’t expect to be blown away like we were in the 1990’s.

E IS FOR :

EDDIE EDWARDS SUPER SKI : A British sporting hero of the 1980’s, if only for his lack of ability. Clearly a case of licensing gone to someone’s head. It’s debatable whether the developers had a skiing game ready to go and just need someone to front it. As skiing games go, it’s not bad but then there isn’t really that much to compare it with. Certainly one of the more curious games one has come across.

ELITE SYSTEMS : Games developer of the 1980’s where they had most of their success. They were responsible for converting a lot of arcade greats back in the day, some of which were better than others ; Buggy Boy, Bomb Jack, Commando, Ghosts N Goblins, Ikari Warriors, Paperboy and Space Harrier. They have also dabbled in the ever growing mobile games market in recent years. It is always good to see a name from the past taking on the technology of today.

END : After battling through many levels, suffering many heartaches and needless deaths along the way, my mate Jim finally completed Shinobi on the Master System which to this day he states is the hardest game he has ever played. After finally finishing the game he was greeted with the following message on screen – GAME OVER. Then the game reset itself. Needless to say he wasn’t a happy chappy, thus this must be a candidate for the world’s worst game ending ????

Coming next – F to I…….

OK it could have been a lot worse weather-wise..........

So what better way to continue the February Free-For-All with a couple of crackers on the Atari 2600……

KEYSTONE KAPERS (1983, ATARI 2600)

Another classic old school Atari cover

Paying homage to those great silent film classics you don’t see on television any more you take control of Officer Kelly, who through the course of this game tries his best to track down Harry Hooligan and stop him escaping the department store you are protecting. Along the way you’ll have to avoid being hit by toy planes, bouncy red balls and shopping trolleys, whilst jumping over radios. You also have the use of a lift between floors to help you catch Harry, but these run in sequence and sometimes it’s just best to run after him on foot. Stop him escaping and then it’s on to the next level, where things get progressively harder and faster each time.

You have to chase the criminal through 4 floors and stop him escaping on the top level

Keystone Kapers is one of the better looking games on the Atari 2600, with colourful graphics, well drawn sprites and good animations. The game moves very quickly with the difficulty level set such that progression is easy, so when you get to the harder levels you know what lies in wait. There is no annoying tune either, just some basic spot effects. It’s hard to find fault with this game at all really as it is playable from the moment you pick it up. You’ll want to keep trying to beat that high score so it is something you will definitely come back to.

It's not easy having to avoid all the obstacles in your way such as toy planes

This is a very impressive package and one that shows the Atari 2600 off to the best of its abilities. The fact it is still fondly remembered today goes to show how good it was at the time.

SNOOPY VS THE RED BARON (1984, ATARI)

Continuing the age old battle of beagle vs evil.........

The sneaky Red Baron has been up to no good. He has stolen valuable supplies from the Allies in his attempt to help the Germans win the war. So, who do you call for in a situation like this ? Why none other than Snoopy, the World War One Flying Ace. You will battle the Baron in aerial combat, shooting his planes down and catching the supplies he drops out of his plane. Be warned though, as sometimes he’ll drop a skull and crossbones causing you to lose all the supplies you have collected. Shoot the Baron down a number of times in the level before moving on to the nest, but be on your guard as he will fire back and shoot you down !

Engage the Red Baron in aerial combat and watch for any supplies he drops

Now it might seem like I have a thing for Snoopy games, I was playing another on the Gameboy this week that may or may not become an entry in the near future, but one thing I can’t deny is that unlike some Snoopy based games this was actually a lot of fun. By 1984 standards this game isn’t a lot to look at, but that’s quite unfair. The Snoopy sprite looks as good as any main character in an Atari 2600 game and, while the rest of the game looks suspiciously like an extended version of the aircraft sections from Combat, they do fit the game well. Add in functional sound effects, some pretty good tunes and an instant hookability to keep playing and you have a pretty impressive package.

Shoot down as many planes as you can and before you know it you'll be supping root beers in the officer's mess

Snoopy & The Red Baron may be simple looking, simple to play and quite easy to master once you get the hang of things, but it’s all wrapped up in a top notch package that will have you chasing The Hun back across Europe to where they belong.

Continuing the NES January Classic, under the microscope this time are a couple of original titles, a few arcade conversions and one game that had me laughing like a banshee. So join me as I go up to the letter R…………..

I have always said retro gaming gives you enough excitement to get wood. Here is proof.

JIMMY CONNORS TENNIS – I have never been a fan of tennis and have much preferred to play the game on a computer. Virtua Tennis has always been my preferred choice, but before that came around there were a number of games on the market. This one, using 8 time Grand Slam winner Jimmy Connors as it’s figurehead, isn’t a bad effort and you do get the chance to angle shots, put spin on your shots and smash the ball. A lot of early tennis games weren’t as varied as that which is a good thing. Another good thing is the number of tournaments you can play in, a very good control system and throw in some decent graphics to make a rather good package for a solid, if unspectacular game of computer tennis.

KIRBY ADVENTURE – Another Retro confession coming up ; I have never ever played a Kirby game. Call me unadventurous but there has always been something rather unappealing about a large pink blob and some weird platform related adventure. Boy was I wrong. Within moments of picking up this bizarre but beautiful looking game I was hooked. Its platforming at it most basic, but the way it is done really does make it stand out. Kirby self inflates, he can shoot all manner of pick ups like flame and swords from his mouth and the wacky sub and bonus games are a treat. I cannot recommend this game enough and its a harsh lesson learned not to judge anything by it’s cute package too much. No doubt about it, this is a quality title.

THE LITTLE MERMAID – It’s based on the Disney film/cartoon series of the same name. It scrolls left to right. You actually have to kill fish. I thought all the underwater creatures were friends of Arial ? Oh and some sub-reggae music plays on the soundtrack. It’s about as dull and uninspiring as film tie ins get. File this under YAWN.

MIGHTY BOMB JACK – I have only played the original Bomb Jack on the C64 and that was a number of years ago. Unfortunately that port of the game was one of the worst conversions of the original game, so not a very good example. I preferred playing this version, which was one of the early games for the NES. All you have to do is simply clear the rooms of the bombs whilst avoiding the enemies. However they multiply very quickly, which means stalling or going back for missed bombs makes for a tricky escape. Getting greedy with collecting the coins that provide your defence mechanism means the game sends you to a torture room, with ever increasing enemies. There is no doubt Bomb Jack is a little different and the challenge and difficulty of the game means you’ll come back to it again and again. Undeniably an improvement on the original.

NEW ZEALAND STORY – A game I adored on the Amiga, in fact I think it was one of the first games I had for that machine. I never quite finished it either and would love another crack on it. The C64 version was slower – obviously – and to me not as good, whilst the Master System version was just too twitchy with the controls. So how does the NES version fare ? Well it’s the best version I have played since the Amiga, with the difficulty level set just right. The game, whilst not as colourful as the Master System version, really does look the part with a cracking little rendition of the theme tune too. Its great that such a sterling job was done on this version and one every NES owner must possess.

OPERATION WOLF – The heavy rotation of arcade conversions continues with this offering of Taito’s gun mounted cabinet classic. I couldn’t play this with the light gun, as I only have an LCD TV and you need one of the old CRT models for the gun to work, so had to use the pad. This made everything ten times more difficult and getting 1/3 of the way through level 2 on my first go seemed quite good. Graphically it can’t compete with being anything like the arcade game, whilst it does a fair job, some of the graphics are a little disappointing. It does have that core element of the original – being run and gun – and it does succeed. You really need the light gun to experience this as it was meant to be.

POOYAN – This is a Japanese game that caught my eye. I must be honest I have no idea what is going on but it appears to be something along this lines of this : shoot arrows to stop the wolves. The first section has you preventing them from reaching the bottom of the screen, the second level stopping them getting to the top. You play the role of Mama Pig protecting her children from the clutches of the balloon loving wolves. Yes it doesn’t sound like the best game ever but it’s probably the most fun I have had for a long time playing a game. It’s cute, playable and very addictive. Converted to almost no consoles at all from it’s arcade original (There are versions for the 2600 and C64 according to Wikipedia), this is a gem which should catch your attention if you get the chance to play it.

Q-BERT – Ah yes. I remember this from the Atari 2600 with it’s inverted controls that for a 8 year old are incredibly difficult to comprehend. Nearly 30 years later it is less confusing but still as annoying and frustrating. You press your controller the way you think you want to go, only to see Q-BERT go in entirely the opposite. All you need to do is light up the blocks on the grid whilst avoiding being hit by various nasties lurking on the board. You need quick fingers and even quicker wits and a good measure of patience. Get beyond the frustration and you’ll have a lot of fun. Just get the controls sorted in your head first !

ROLLING THUNDER – Notoriously one of the hardest games to come from the arcade to the home computer, Rolling Thunder is your straightforward left to right scroller. Just keep shooting the enemies, avoid getting hit and keep picking up the extra ammunition and gun upgrades. However like a lot of the games of its time, the difficulty level is ramped up to maximum from the early levels and it will take a lot of skill and patience to proceed. It’s a shame because it is a great example of this genre of game, but doesn’t give the gamer a fair chance.

Join me next time for the final part of the NES January Classic !

A quick look ahead to some of the fun things that are planned here for Retrosection in the next 12 months. Of course there will be other bits and pieces but the idea is to have a nice them for each month. Read on for more details….

12 months is a long time in video gaming...........

Each month this year I am going to have a theme each month. It will be devoted to a different console/computer and it’s games. These will as always take a random form of selection but will also allow me to include all my favourites and a few obscure ones as well :

NES JANUARY CLASSIC : Focussing on Nintendo’s grey box of magic, which whilst not my favourite machine of all time, was more or less responsible for kick-starting the video game craze again after the traumas of 1983

FEBRUARY FREE FOR ALL : Completely random games across the board and from all sorts of places and areas. This will be a lot of fun as I shall be going into unknown waters. Where possible I shall try and avoid any of the other machines making up the 11 other months of the year

MEGADRIVE MARCH MADNESS : One of my favourite consoles, the Mega Drive was one of the machines I was lucky enough to own first time around. Plenty of arcade and original classics and I shall really enjoy giving them a whirl

AMIGA APRIL APOCALYPSE : The first proper computer I ever owned and the machine all my mates had when we went to big school. It will at least give me the chance to dig Kick Off 2 out again – and maybe Sensible Soccer though that is a BIG maybe…..

MASTER SYSTEM MAY MAYHEM : I prefer the Master System over the NES for reasons I cannot actually explain. It will be interesting to see by the end of this if that is very much still the case

N64 JUNE JAMBOREE : My second favourite console of all time. From the moment I first played Goldeneye I was in love with the machine and for me it is the best console Nintendo have ever produced

DREAMCAST JULY JUBILEE : A very underrated console which suffered from release delays and a market which by that point had lost it’s trust in Sega following the launch disaster that was the Saturn. This though for me is probably my favourite Sega console of all

PS1 AUGUST ARMAGEDDON : Some of the games have aged terribly but you cannot deny that the PS1 was something of a phenomenon when it launched. It gave us a new player in the games market and a little grey wonder with some fabulous games

XBOX SEPTEMBER SMASH-UP : Like the Dreamcast, I have always felt the XBOX was underrated and under-appreciated. Yes it weighed a tonne and cost a bomb but it had massive potential. Give me this over the 360 any day

GAMECUBE OCTOBER O.M.G. : You can argue all you want but I class the Cube, XBOX and PS2 as retro simply because I do. The Cube suffered from a lack of decent launch titles and no DVD facility so gamers stayed away and picked up PS2s and XBOXs instead. Its a shame because as we shall find out there were some awesome titles for it

SUPER NINTENDO SUPER NOVEMBER : I had a lot of exposure to the SNES growing up so it does have a fond place in my heart. Most of those involved being pummelled on Street Fighter II but not all the memories were as bad as that

PS2 DECEMBER DEMOLITION : To finish with, arguably the greatest console of them all ? Well we shall see but with a massive back catalogue which is still being added to a trip through some PS2 awesomeness is most definitely called for.

Roll up, roll up for the very first Retrosection NES January Classic. Well it sounds fun doesn’t it ? Random NES games will be put through their paces (briefly) as RetroBear gives some love to a console he hasn’t had a lot of time for in the past….

A mighty beast and built to last - if it was a cooler colour it would be AWESOME

You know when you have been a bit harsh on something in the past and as a result of that you tend to form an opinion that stays with you forever ? Hmmmm me too. I have always harboured ill feelings towards the NES for some reason. I don’t know why but for some reason it doesn’t give me the same feeling as I get from the SNES, N64, Gamecube and Game Boy. It’s kind of daft really as if it wasn’t for the success of the NES rising from the ashes after the Video Games Crash of 1983, we might not be talking about consoles in quite the same vein and computer games might be something completely different.

Of course that is like saying the world would be no more different if Hitler had won World War II – everyone wearing more brown, lots of marching and people mysteriously accidentally falling out of windows. I digress. The triumph of the NES over time showed to one and all that, yes, it was possible to have a successful video games console and market if everything was done correctly, controlled and monitored. Restoring that faith in the consumer paved the way for where we are now.

So rather than neglect and ignore the NES I thought I’d whizz through a few games and see how much fun I could have. I am taking these totally at random and therefore the games haven’t been selected for any reason other than they were on the list I was going through and I thought “Ooo that might be fun” or “Oh I have heard about that but never really played it”. So here we go – a quick trip through some NES games :

TECMO SUPER BOWL – With the NFL playoffs looming and my brain still in holiday mode following Christmas, I thought I’d plump for this rather than load up a more recent version of Madden. What a refreshing change to play an American Football game where you don’t need to scour through tonnes of play options. You have just 4 choices on offense and defense and the game moves on at a breakneck speed. Its all very simple in terms of presentation, graphics, sound and gameplay but boy was it fun. I returned my opening kick off for a touchdown which had me wearing the biggest smile. Tecmo Super Bowl is well known and, a favourite amongst NFL fans and I urge you to give it a go.

FINAL FANTASY – Now if I could make a New Years Resolution it would probably be to be even nicer to RPG games as well as being nicer to the NES. These sorts of games just simply do not appeal to me. I have no interest in walking round vast areas, talking to passers-by, buying things in shops that might be of use and then get ting into a random turn-based fight with some imps. I played Final Fantasy for about an hour and after finally getting beaten up by some zombies I lost interest. I guess these games need someone with more patience than I have. Still, I have inherited a couple of the later Final Fantasy games on PS2 to play, so my soul may yet be saved. As for now – sorry and all that but these games really leave me feeling a bit “shrugs shoulders” to be honest.

1943 – My obsession with all things 1940’s continues (see my last article for references to L A Noire and trilby hats) as I load up this old arcade favourite. Piloting your biplane against hordes of enemy planes, aircraft, submarines and aircraft carriers, simply keep clearing the skies without getting hit. That’s easier said than done because this series of games from the mid 1980’s were about as hard as they come. Mind you, games like this, where you get a little further each time or know if you were a little bit further to the right next time you might get a bit further on, keep you coming back for more. 1943 is one of those games which will have you pulling your hair out and punching the air with delight in one sitting, if not at the same time.

BALLOON FIGHT – Now this is one fun piece of software. Floating round the screen, pop the balloons of your enemy players whilst avoiding getting yours popped at the same time. Simple. Like 1943 this is one game that will frustrate and delight at the same time. It’s basic to look at but you will honestly lose a lot of time playing this. It comes from an era where the gaming concepts were simpler but where the trickyness was ramped up so you kept coming back for more. Personally I really enjoyed playing it and shall definitely go back for a sneaky play a bit later.

BUCKY O’HARE – Now if you are about the same age as me you will remember this cartoon from your childhood. After all a talking green rabbit defending his planet from an army of evil invading toads, taking place against one of the coolest theme tunes known to man, is going to stay with you. So imagine my absolute disappointment when once again something with a decent premise is turned into a run of the mill platform game – complete with “ice level” which has the slippery platforms. You know the ones that really pee you off because you keep sliding off them. Needless to say I shan’t be going back to this one any time soon. Though the music throughout is all kinds of awesome……

CONTRA – I remember seeing Contra on the NES when I was a lad and being impressed by just what the NES could do and how wonderful it looked compared to my wooden Atari. Truth be told I have never played Contra until now, and my goodness what a beast it is. It’s toughness is legendary and having played it for around an hour and still being unable to get off the first level I admitted defeat. However this is not absolute defeat, oh no. It is until we meet again defeat. Round 2 shall beckon sometime in the near future and I will be successful. Oh yes, it will be mine. Ooops almost forgot – Contra is a great game with colourful graphics, massive sprites and that cool look with lots of explosions and shooting people with ever increasing sizes of weapons.

ADVENTURES IN THE MAGIC KINGDOM – Geez OK, I was intrigued by the title. I didn’t know this was going to be as lame as it was. Walking around the Disney Theme Park looking for keys is not the best premise for a game. All you need to have with you is a good knowledge of Disney films as you will be constantly asked questions about them. The idea is to collect the keys, go to each various amusement, engage Mickey Mouse in conversation, partake in some sub games etc. I must admit I got bored after the first task, and there does appear to be a lot more to it as you have to take part in levels where zombies are trying to kill you. Wow are you sure this is a Disney game and not a kids games aimed at kids for kids made by big kids working for the biggest kid of them all ?

You might have gathered from the above that I seemed at some point to have started at A and was going to work my way through. Well done if you spotted that. If you didn’t spot that, well done as well and I am glad you weren’t fooled by that attempt to put you off the scent (coughs). I’ll post the next batch of games shortly……..

Making toast has never been such fun

Better late than never, RetroBear takes you on a journey by train to “That London” as he attends the first ever London Gaming Convention and has a thoroughly enjoyable time of it….

You may recall towards the end of November I mentioned I had been invited to the first London Gaming Convention not far from Arsenal Football Club. Well the good news is I did manage to attend. The bad news is it took me so long to write an article about it. However I can report that, despite a few teething problems, and those I can’t really comment on as I did not take take part, I found the whole thing to be really rather good.

It was held at the London Metropole University Rocket bar, which seemed to be a rather small venue for what this will hopefully branch out and become. There were various areas where you could go and experience gaming – a modern area for PS3, 360 and Wii fanatics, a LAN area for all the PC gamers, if 10 man Bomberman on the Sega Saturn was your thing then you could join in with that too, and finally a rather well stocked Retro area with more CRT TV’s than I have seen in a long time.

The well stocked retro area

Upstairs, there was a big stage where invited guests such as Guru Larry, Ashens and BrentalFloss all appeared, doing some Q&A sessions for the gathered masses. Elsewhere more modern gaming areas could be found and alongside that, an all out Super Smash Bros Brawl area with again up to 10 players at a time involved. It was also good to see a smattering of traders at the event, though one had to be careful with the wallet as the retro stuff was priced highly but all in rather good nick.

A smattering of traders meant those who brought enough cash with them could leave with a bagful of goodies

The event also ran alongside their usual Anime convention, with the games part being used for the first time. Whilst there is a certain amount of crossover between the two this was definitely more games orientated and the upcoming event in February 2012 plans to focus more heavily on Anime. All in all there was plenty to do and see and have a go on. I managed to revisit my love affair with Point Blank on the PS1 and, whilst some of the retro stuff broke down, there was still plenty of choice to sit down and sample.

The Q&A and audience participation stuff was good fun, but was marred by a lot of technical issues

The only criticism of the event which has been prominent is the organisation. A lot of events were cancelled or pulled at the last minute and upon arriving at the start time of 11am it was at least a further hour before the event managed to kick off. I spent a rather long hour waiting for everything to start while people ran round looking for cables. The bar was well stocked and very busy, and whilst the food on site looked and smelled great I think more thought needs to be given to the catering. There was very little to choose from and a long queue, so unfortunately like many others I preferred to wonder 250 yards down the road to McDonalds instead.

It was a long hour but at least the company was good

So all in all, with any new event starting up there are going to be a few teething issues and so this was not a bad event to go and see. The next event is planned for (to confirm) and if you are in the area it is definitely worth a look. I would once again like to extend my thanks to the team for their kind offer of an invitation and look forward to seeing them again soon. Meanwhile have a look at the images below for some of the goodies that were on general public play !

Atari Jaguar running Tempest 2000

More CRT TV's than you can throw sticks at - remember retro looks a lot better on one of these

You can't have a retro event without Sonic

The small arcade cabinet had literally hundreds of classic arcade games loaded in and was incredibly busy