The Chain

Ok so its not gaming related but check this out:



BBC Formula One coverage to bring back Fleetwood Mac's 'The Chain'


Hoorah!

GTAIV Rant

To the annoying little twat who really spoiled my first online game of GTA4 by shouting echo echo echo echo constantly for the whole game...

I HOPE YOU DIE SOON!!!

Mayhem in Monsterand Re-Release

One of the last commercial games released for the Commodore C64 has been re-released by Psytronik Software

Mayhem in Monsterland by Apex Computer Productions famously got a 100% review score in Commodore Format magazine.

check it out:

http://www.binaryzone.org/psytronik/

Games Workshop

Back when I was a young un I was a big collector of Games Workshop games and models.
From the age of about 9 up until about 25 I had a large amount of GW stuff but when I ended up moving to university I gave all of my stuff bar some books away.

Now a couple of years later, after doing a module at University on games design which covered all types of games not just video games I decided to check out my Local Games Workshop in Wood Green for some reason.

Within the space of a week I have now been in twice, spent huge amounts of time talking to the store manager, had a game of 40k and even bought a novel.

Am I allowing myself to be lured in again? Probably not, I just couldn't afford it but I still find myself staring at the Leman Russ Tank model thinking how cool it would be to build and paint one.

We Have a Winner!!

Remember my review of Panzer elite?? Well I found out a day or so ago I had won a review contest at gog.com! I get a free game for winning!

go me!

Old Review

This short review was originally written for the Retro Gamer website. a couple more may follow

Game Title: Retrograde
Released: 1990
Developer/Author Name: John Rowlands, Rob Ellis, Steve Rowlands
Publisher: Thalamus
Format Reviewed: Commodore 64
Genre: Shoot-’em-up




Game Profile:

A fantastic title from Thalamus. Retrograde combines the best elements of horizontal scrolling shooters and platform games to produce a frantic button mashing shoot-'em-up frenzy of a game.

As a mercenary hired to destroy the planets of 7 evil warlords, you must fight in the skies and on the surface of these worlds earning crystals with every enemy you kill. These crystals can be used at the local wepaon traders to upgrade your 360 degree weaponry and powerfist and also to buy planet busters. These planet busters allow you enter the core of the planet and then blow it up. Once the core is broken you must defeat the final guardian to move onto the next planet.

The game clearly shows its inspirations (Warhammer 40k anyone?). Each planet has its own distinct enemies and weapons available and each core guardian is a distinct challenge worthy of any shmup fan.

The graphics are crisp and clear with a huge number of sprites visable on screen at any one time. The weapon types available are varied and impressive, each with its own advantages and drawbacks and it also boasts one of the finest techno sountracks heard on the old SID chip

If there is any one drawback to the gme its repetative nature could put off some, and dont even try playing the game without autofire, you will only get cramp.

All in all Retrogade is one C64 title few owners will want to be without.

Some Top 10 Lists

This is just a couple of personal list of my top favourite simulators and strategy games over the years and their formats.

Top 10 simulators


1- Steel Beasts (PC)
2- Falcon 4.0 Allied Force (PC)
3- Silent Hunter III (PC)
4- Gunship 2000 (Amiga)
5- Wing Commander (Amiga/PC)
6- Mechwarrior IV Mercenaries (PC)
7- Dangerous Waters (PC)
8- Mechwarrior III (PC)
9- F-16 Fighting Falcon (C64)
10- Mig-29 Fighter Pilot (MegaDrive)

Top Strategy Games


1- Tom Clancy’s End War (Xbox360)
2- Advance Wars (GBA)
3- Panzer General (PS1/PC)
4- Harpoon III ANW (PC)
5- Pegasus Bridge (C64)
6- TacOps 4 (PC)
7- Combat Mission 2: Barbarossa to Berlin (PC)
8- Dune II Battle for Arrakis (Amiga)
9- Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War (PC)
10- Command and Conquer Red Alert (PS1/PC

Panzer Elite Review

originally posted by me at gog.com

A few years ago I was heavily into a modern tank simulation called Steel Beasts. It was a great game and ultra realistic but I always wished there was a WWII equivalent.

Panzer Elite is that game. You play the role of a Tank Platoon Commander (either Axis or Allies) during some of the most famous campaigns of the Second World War. Some of the tanks available include various M4 Shermans, Panzer IV’s and the famous Panther and Tiger tanks.

The game allows you to play in several different ways, either as a straight simulation taking direct control of all of the various stations and weapons of the tank directly or you can play more of the commander role, using various key commands to the AI of both your own and your platoon of tanks.

With accurately modelled ballistics and armour, gunnery sights modelled on the real thing and realistic tank performance there is plenty to keep hard core sim fans happy while the ability to scale the difficulty and let the AI take over some tasks opens the game up to a more casual fan base. There is plenty here for everyone.

The campaign system is also something worth mentioning; you take command of your platoon not only in battle but are also responsible for the platoons downtime between engagements, making sure you have enough fuel, and ammo to go around as well as requisitioning replacement tanks and crew if you loose any. This system works really well and the attention to historic detail is remarkable but as with most things in the game, if you would like the computer to deal with the logistics all you need to do is tick the correct box in the options screen.

With the gog.com download you get a wonderful .pdf detailing the history of armoured warfare and also a large bundle of user create mod files. These mainly contain new texture and sound files as well as new campaigns and playable vehicles (including British and Russian vehicles). This is a great addition but there is a lack of documentation on exactly what it all does and how to make it all work. Despite some internet research I still don’t know what half the files do.

On the topic of documentation, the main manual provided is almost useless. It only covers the bare basics of how to play the game and I would recommend checking out some of the guides for this game at simHQ.com to get to grips with the more technical aspects of the game.

The only other issue with the game are the dated 3D graphics. Even back in 1999 these graphics were substandard but they are adequate for this game.

Despite the graphical limitations and the poor documentation I would recommend this game to anyone looking for an authentic WWII tank simulation, I can’t think of any other game that has the attention to detail and realism that this game possesses.

**** 4 out of 5 Stars

Panzer Elite SE available now to download at gog.com for $5.99