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

As birthdays come and go, every now and then one of them is a milestone. Be it 16, 18, 21, the dreaded 40 and the even more dreaded 65 – only one stands above them all. That is the Big One and RetroBear joins in the centenary celebrations of Retro Gamer Magazine…..

Happy 100 Retro Gamer !

Usually I shun birthdays as I have no wish to be reminded just how old I am getting and how young I actually used to be. However there is one birthday I shall be raising a crafty glass to this week and that is the milestone reached by Retro Gamer magazine – it’s sparkling, glittering 100^th issue. 8 long years in the making and the publication is still going from strength to strength, packing loads of pages with lots of articles about the games from the past.

When it started in 2004 there would have been much trepidation as to how successful a magazine could be, especially with the subject matter being in the past. There must have been a demand for it, but given how collectable retro gaming has become in the last 2-3 years there can be no doubt that as us gamers who remember all the old games get older we wish to be reminded of just how much fun computer games were back in the day.

The very first issue of Retro Gamer - which is being reprinted and available as a free gift with Issue 100

So how can a modern publication, now published monthly as opposed to quarterly and surviving the collapse of their original publisher in 2005, find articles to fill their pages with. Well it’s quite simple really. There is a news section, a calendar featuring key dates in gaming history, a look back at 2 months in retro history, game reviews, players guides, arcade reviews for those gamers who restore old cabinets. There are also future classics featuring games which will be retro in the future, the compulsory letters page, interviews with programmers, games designers and retro gaming figureheads and reviews of new games, as well as retro reissues.

If you throw all that together, as well as a series of articles looking in depth at how retro consoles came about, you get an idea of the wealth of information that is out there. Many of those previously in the computer and video game industry have stepped forward to be interviewed and talk about their experiences back in the day. The sheer passion they still have comes out in interviews and articles. They must be surprised as anyone at just how their comments and insights are lapped up by gamers, both old and new.

I have been a subscriber for nearly 3 years after picking up my first issue back in the summer of 2008. While I haven’t necessarily been interested in all of the articles and can certainly claim to have gone back and read some of the ones I skipped just because I wanted something to read, a huge proportion of the magazine is of great interest to me and a fabulous read. In the day and age of blogs and websites such as these, one must bow down and accept that Retro Gamer magazine is the bible for gamers from all works of life.

Issue 53 - ah yes the delights of Track and Field, or as it is more commonly know, Sore Wrists and Broken Joysticks

For someone brought up on the likes of Zzap64, C&VG and Amiga Format, Retro Gamer has been the first publication for a very long time I have wanted to read again and again and again.

Gentlemen, RetroSection proudly salutes you and toasts you to 100 more fabulous issues.

Here;s to another 100 !

To close the February Free For All – which in all honesty has been a bit of a disaster content wise but Bear with me because the Mega Drive is up next and I absolutely love that machine – I thought it best to close out with another patented RetroSection list. They are easy to do and don’t require too much taxing of the old brain cells. I can feel the writer’s block gradually lifting and personally cannot wait to get my teeth into the mass of Mega Drive games that await me.

This game is like the February Free For All - a bit of a disaster.....

So join me as we bid farewell to February and welcome the much warmer, brighter and altogether more appreciated March with some more retro musings…..

WHY CAN’T I GET ON WITH……

STREET FIGHTER II – Hailed as one of the best beat em up games ever, and hailed by me as a button mashing nightmare of a game. I for one cannot and will not see the appeal of this side-on fighting game. I resent having to know all the button combinations beyond kick and punch. Too may of my formative years were spent being pulverised by people who knew what they were doing. Nothing was guaranteed to piss me off more than another night playing Street Fighter II on the SNES. Just for the record I tried to play it the other night…..and still couldn’t do any more than punch or kick.

SUPER MARIO KART – It might seem like this is turning into a hatred for all things Nintendo but I can assure you it isn’t. No matter what version of Mario Kart it is, I simply cannot think of anything worse – well maybe a night in playing Street Fighter II. If it wasn’t for the total unfairness of it all, I might like it. My friends have always agreed that there is a certain unpredictability about it and friendships have been strained because of it. I will admit a liking for Double Dash on the Gamecube, however, but that version along with Mario Kart 64 are regarded by many as inferior to the original Super Mario Kart – therefore meaning that I only like crappy versions of Mario Kart, which in my opinion is most of them.

WHY DOES THIS NOT EXCITE ME LIKE IT SHOULD…..

THE PLAYSTATION VITA – Seriously I am about as unexcited about this as I am excited to be getting a new motorised polisher for my car. The 3DS died on its arse when it was launched and only now, because of Mario releases, is it beginning to get noticed. Time will tell on the Vita but for me it’s not something I care two jots about.

N64 AND PS1 GAMES – Some of these games look absolutely  horrible now compared to when we first came across them back in the day. Two examples spring to mind – Turok on the N64 and Spiderman on the PS1 (Probably because I have played these two fairly recently). When Turok first came out it was well received but playing it now sees you running round in a foggy atmosphere with not much going on. Ditto for Spiderman which is ruined by some god awful polygonyish graphics at the start of the game. I know it’s meant to be a comic book but some of this is barely playable. Why have games like these aged so badly? Are they now more unplayable than less technically advanced games i.e. Frogger? Pop a PS1 game in your PS3 and you’ll soon find out.

IT’S TIME TO RUMBLE – SOME REASONS WHY SOME THINGS ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS (AND OTHER FANBOY ARGUMENTS)

WHO WOULD WIN A FIGHT BETWEEN :

C64 V SPECTRUM V AMSTRAD

The C64 had the most awesome music chip of all time
The Amstrad came with a green screen monitor
The Spectrum was responsible for a whole generation of gamers and coders

RESULT : I like music so the C64 just takes it from the Speccy

MEGA DRIVE V SUPER NINTENDO

The Mega Drive came in black whilst the SNES was sort of beigy cream
Sonic AND Mario – two killer games and practically inseparable
The SNES had Mode 7 tucked away to give some fairly impressive 3D stuff
The Mega Drive was the console which revolutionised home gaming and had at least a 12 month head start on the SNES

RESULT : Close to call but I’d have Sega’s black beast winning by a nose

AMIGA V ATARI ST

The Amiga, while occasionally suffering from lazy porting of games from the ST, was superior in graphics, sound and capabilities
The ST was crap

RESULT : Duh…...

GAMEBOY V GAME GEAR V LYNX

Although the Game Boy was monochrome it actually made the portable gaming market its own – and came packaged with Tetris
The Game Gear ate batteries and was the size of a small house
The Lynx did exactly the same as the Game Gear, and didn’t even have a TV Tuner

RESULT : Are you mad ? Game Boy by a distance

PS1 V SEGA SATURN V N64

Sony showed that you could make games using CD’s that were pretty good
The Saturn suffered because it was too late to market, causing irreparable damage to Sega
The N64 was hampered by being cartridge only which came in those silly cardboard boxes. Some games needed you to invest in an expansion pack because the cartridge was bigger in memory terms than a stock N64 could handle

RESULT : No looking beyond the PS1 on this one. The N64 comes a close second though.

DREAMCAST V PS2 V XBOX V GAMECUBE

The Gamecube and the Dreamcast could not play DVD’s
The XBOX was made by Microsoft, which in turn wasn’t all that bad a thing as people made out at the time
The PS2 was first to market, took hold of it and never let go – they were still making games for it in 2011 – and it outlasted all it’s rivals
The Gamecube never took off after a lacklustre launch
The Dreamcast never took off because Sega were last to market and despite making a damn fine machine, had no takers
The XBOX was made by Microsoft which turned out not to be as good a thing as people made out at the time

RESULT : PS2 takes it with the rest fighting amongst themselves for second place.

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

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.

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

The end is in sight and now is the time to roll out some of the good stuff. Roll around your living room and pop out to shoot the bad guys, it’s Time Crisis…..

The mighty G-Con 45 and Time Crisis - a formidable partnership

Nothing captures the gamer’s imagination more than a giant, hulking arcade cabinet. Those with all the flashy bells and knobs on – cabinets shaped like cars, those with hydraulic mechanisms and those with plastic Uzi 9mms bolted on to them – were likely to gobble up more 20p’s than standard stand up versions. Whether they were any good or not, gamers were lured in by the bells-and-whistles and kept coming back in their droves. The mention of cabinets with mounted guns brings us to our next entry.

Operation Wolf probably defines that game best of all. With it’s Rambo-esque opening sequence and death message of “You have sustained a fatal injury” (Yes thank you for pointing that out) had you pumping more 20p’s in as you wanted to get that bit further into the game. It was a very good game too and had many fine home conversions to go with it. Namco decided a few years later that they could improve on this, by adding a few extra bits and pieces to make this run-and-gun genre a little more interesting, and thus Time Crisis was born.

Its fast and furious and all against the clock

All these types of games, to this point, had one major fatal flaw. It was impossible to avoid enemy fire unless you got to them first, and that wasn’t always easy. By adding a pedal to the arcade cabinet you were now able to hide behind objects, therefore allowing you the time to choose the right moment to leap from behind a crate all guns blazing. The gun for the game was no longer mounted and allowed you free and easy movement when making your shots. Firing off screen reloaded the gun and eliminated the need to shoot objects along the way in order to get more ammunition. Throw in a time limit for each section of the level and it really was a race against the clock.

This is what set Time Crisis apart from the rest of that genre. More freedom for the gamer equalled a more satisfying and fun experience. You could even have 2 players at the same time and this paved the way for more exciting games to come into the market, like The House Of The Dead Series and Virtua Cop. So, when the chance to transfer the success of Time Crisis to the PS2 came about, once again the boffins went to work to make the conversion a success.

Time attack gaming is never usually as much fun as this

Thus the Namco G-Con 45 light gun adaptor was produced and my word what a rather fabulous piece of kit it was. It was lightweight and responsive, something which light guns had not been to that point. Aside from the trigger there was also a button on the side of the gun which activated the hide feature of the arcade game. Throw in some pretty adequate graphics and the excellent game play and you had a cracking little conversion which sold very well.

Time Crisis has now spawned three sequels with the latest once being transferred to the PS3. It’s a game series that revolutionised that ilk of games, whilst at the same time providing some exciting home gun action for those in need of it. This is most definitely worth a revisit with a decent learning curve, although anyone with an eye for this sort of game should blast through it with very few problems.

So make time for Time Crisis, it really is worth it.

VERDICT : Gun toting, bad guy popping, action entertainment of a very high standard. Make sure you get the G-Con peripheral to get the full experience.

NOTES : You can buy the game and gun for £8.00 on Amazon. On eBay this package sees bidding start from 99p whilst a complete set on Buy It Now will cost you £12.99

UP NEXT : The good stuff didn’t last – it’s Dragons Lair on the SNES

Taz and Retrobear share a few things in common. They are always hungry, both hideously ugly and both amazingly hairy. It seemed only fair to look at Taz’s first platform outing on the Mega Drive and find out if the rave reviews on release were still justified 20 years later…..

That is the worst case of indegestion I have ever seen

I love cartoons, not sure I have mentioned that before. Not the modern day rubbish you find polluting our screens on some obscure kids satellite TV channel. I am talking about proper cartoons – Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear, Scooby Doo and Looney Tunes. It’s the latter I probably love the most, with humour so far ahead of its time, wacky characters, insane violence and some high quality animation. No cartoon studio captures the spirit of what a cartoon should be more than Warner Brothers so it comes as no surprise that at every opportunity they will license their characters to video games.

There are literally far too many to mention and as a result of that I am going to focus on Taz-Mania which was released on the Sega Mega Drive. Incidentally this is not to be confused with the SNES game of the same name, which was totally different and thus vastly inferior to this game. At the time Warners had created a brand new cartoon based around the Tasmanian Devil, his family and friends and this game tied in nicely with that.

Lush graphics make the game feel like it was lifted straight from the TV series

You all know Taz, he’s the unpredictable, loud, always hungry, scruffy looking monster that tried numerous times to eat Bugs and Daffy in the 1950’s. Now back in his homeland of Australia (giving the Americans enough ammunition to take the piss out of the Aussies whenever possible), Taz was strapped into yet another platform game based around his adventures. Taz sets off an a quest to find the mythical lizard egg which will feed a family of Tasmanian Devils for a year. All he has to do is simply walk, jump or spin his way through various levels, avoiding spear chucking bushrats amongst other things while eating everything and anything he can along the way. He can’t eat everything though and eating something that doesn’t agree with him will result in a bellyache.

The first thing that strikes you about the game is how beautiful it looks. At the time it was one of the most stunning games to look at on the Mega Drive. It really captured the feel of the cartoon so well. In fact it may have been this that blinded a lot of the positive press at the time. Strip the lovely visuals away and you are left with quite annoyingly bad sound effects and twee, inappropriate music. Taz is well animated, as are the other graphics but the whole thing moves at a snail’s pace, even when Taz is in spin mode. Finally the whole thing is just too damn easy. My bad games playing skills are well known but even I was able to get quite far into the game after a few goes, and that doesn’t bode well.

As good as it looks, Taz-Mania plays like any other platform game of its era and has nothing to make it stand out from the crowd

Throw in yet another linear platformer and all Taz-Mania has to stand out from the crowd is its looks. Its a real shame that revisiting a game I quite enjoyed as a kid now finds it in a state where it can have no real place in gaming history. Sadly the bad games for Taz didn’t end there. The afore mentioned SNES game was a 3D running game which has no redeeming features whatsoever. Taz Express on the N64 wasn’t much better, going back to the tried and tested formula of platform gaming, and ends up being a poor man’s Mario 64 type game.

Taz-Mania sadly isn’t the licence it should have been. If you have fond memories of this from your childhood, keep your distance and hold on to them

VERDICT : At the time, stunning visually. Now, its exposed for the shallow platform game it was at the time. A real shame.

NOTES : Taz-Mania can be found for around £2.00 on Amazon and 99p on eBay.

TBC : Put together time and crisis and what does that give you – Time Crisis on the PS1

Donning his whites and shouting Howzat in an incredibly loud voice at anyone who’ll listen, RetroBear turns his hand at the gentleman’s game and asks why there was never a decent cricket game before this one….

For the first time a cricket game actually looked like a cricket game

When considering which sports get picked up and turned into computer games developers have to consider what would sell best,. Football is a no brainer really and in the US big selling games series like Madden have proved global money spinners. Its all about appealing to the mass market as well as creating a game that replicates playing the sport well. Of course there will be those who would say why not go out and kick a proper football about, but they are missing the point.

Cricket had been hard done by for many years. The only games were either poor stick men simulated on a big green screen with little input from the player on the outcome of the game. Tynesoft licensed Ian Botham to a game but on one version they made it impossible to bat thus rendering the game useless. It wasn’t until Audiogenic got Graham Gooch to sign on the dotted line and produced a fine C64 game based on the genetleman’s game. It was later updated and released on the Amiga which wasn’t too bad but didn’t improve on the original game much.

Looks marvellous doesn't it, almost like being there. Ahhhh the thwack of willow on leather....

To that point Codemasters had long been associated with budget games, creating a star from the game character Dizzy. So it was to everyone’s surprise when they got Brian Lara, at the time the world’s best batsman, to lend his name to their new Mega Drive game. Whilst not appearing all that different from the Gooch games it was more up-to-date and gave you far more options and game types than before, enabling the cricket aficionado to be fully satisfied.

When the series moved to the Playstation it was then that cricket games really began to look and feel like cricket. The players were more realistic, you could partake in World Cups, international test series and any number of limited or maximum over games. Stadiums were beautifully and accurately replicated and as is the norm for sports games, the dulcet tones of TV and radio commentators were added.

Batting was easy and more involved. The eight way joypad allowed you different shots and providing your timing was right , especially on the harder levels, balls could be whacked to the boundary with ease. Bowling was more involved too, allowing you to dictate the pace, type of action and placement of your delivery more accurately than before. Finally you could actually field the ball manually rather than have the computer do it for you.

Pakistan v Sri Lanka. Just watch the old no balls....

At the end of the day it’s a game based on cricket so not everyone is going to lap it up no matter how good it is. It sold well, allowing for a sequel before Lara was moved onto the PS2 and XBOX. These games looked a lot better but perhaps didn’t capture the imagination of the other games. EA decided to bring out their own series, ranging from the very good 2002 version, the not so good 2005 version and a much better 2007 version with an option for a full county season.. Codemasters have since brought out further games on the PS3, Wii and 360 based on the Ashes and an International Cricket game. Whilst OK these have not found the audience the original Lara games did.

Cricket doesn’t appeal to all but the original Brian Lara game made more than enough cricket fans misty eyed and thankful that finally someone had managed to recreate the great game on a grand scale.

VERDICT : A big hit over long off, Brian Lara’s Cricket is a very well accomplished and playable game. Do seek out the PS1 versions though as they stand out.

NOTES : As much as 1p will nab you this on Amazon whilst an outrageous 25p will get you this from eBay. Not much excuse for getting this then !

UP NEXT : Yearrrgghh me hearties – Treasure Island Dizzy on the Amiga

It is the most explosive night of the year and what better way to relax than whipping out your own brand of fiery fun. RetroBear must burst as many balls as he can and light up that dark night with the many bright colours of Super Pang…..

There is not much I can add to that - what is a pang anyway ?

The great thing about arcade conversions is that every now and again a machine which didn’t collect all that many 20p’s gets licensed for the home computer market, and then gets a stunningly good conversion into the bargain. Being a decent arcade smash doesn’t guarantee a belting home conversion – why for example could the Amiga not produce a full arcade version of Bubble Bobble whereas lesser versions contained extra elements missing from the arcade ?

One such title that passed under the bridge on it’s release was Pang, or Buster Bros as it was originally known in Japan. Created by Capcom and licensed by Ocean in 1990/1, Pang was known and appreciated by few gamers. The good thing though was that Ocean gave it their full treatment and some excellent marketing and as a result had a huge hit on their hands.

Use your gun to pop the bubbles and keep popping till the screen is clear

When the game appeared over on the SNES in 1993 it got the word “Super” slapped in front of it – not because this was a souped-up version of the game but that was just what Nintendo did, making Tennis, Soccer, Castlevania and, errrr, Chase HQ sound special. This didn’t detract from the gaming experience at all and on reflection Super Pang is most definitely worth of it’s name.

The premise is simple : use your gun to pop the bubbles whilst trying to avoid being hit by them and the odd monster that infiltrates the screen. You can collect fruit – it’s always fruit for some reason – and weapons upgrades allowing you to have multiple shots rather than the standard one. Clear the screen of bubbles to move on. You can either play the normal version of the game, moving from continent to continent, and believe me this is very much a challenge in itself, or there is Panic mode (Panic Pang ?) where you simply have to survive as long as you can.

The first thing that strikes you about Super Pang is how cute and colourful the graphics are. They really capture that Japanese essence of the original games. While the sounds aren’t up to much it is the game play which wins through. You simply cannot put it down once you pick it up. Make no mistake it is one heck of a challenge to go through all the levels, and in some cases it is insanely tough and unforgiving. Like all good games though it does reward you for continual play and the feeling of achievement as you progress is terribly pleasing.

Patience shall be rewarded my friends, keep the faith

All in all Super Pang is one game worth seeking out. Mixing puzzle with arcade action you’ll keep playing it until you succeed or end up pulling all your hair it. It’s one of those games where it could go either way.

VERDICT : Bubble bustingly good but leave yourself enough room to throw the control pad when you get frustrated.

NOTES : Super Pang is a very rare breed indeed. Only one copy exists on Amazon and that is a Japanese copy at around £30.00. Ebay isn’t going to save you much either – a boxed copy will set you back around the £20.00 mark, possibly more. The Super Pang Collection, released on PS1 and containing Pang, Super Pang and Mighty Pang is equally as expensive.

UP NEXT : Handheld Heaven or Tiny Screen Torture ? It’s WarioLand II on the Game Boy.