There is something appealing about discovering an arcade game that somehow managed to slip through the cracks of gaming history. Thunder Hoop and its sequel, Thunder Hoop Strikes Back, were never exactly household names, despite coming from Spanish developer Gaelco during a period when arcades were packed with increasingly ambitious platformers and run-and-gun games. Thunder Hoop Collection brings both titles together on modern consoles, giving players a chance to see whether these forgotten curiosities deserve a place alongside the better-known arcade classics. The answer is somewhat uneven, but the original Thunder Hoop in particular proves that obscurity does not necessarily mean a game has aged badly. Continue reading “Thunder Hoop Collection review (PS5)”
Category: Classic
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Songs of the Past preview (Gamescom)
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has already received two major expansions, a critically acclaimed tv series and now a substantial Remastered upgrade, so bringing Geralt of Rivia back for another adventure more than a decade after his original journey is an ambitious proposition. Songs of the Past is nevertheless doing exactly that, sending the veteran Witcher to the previously unexplored region of Letten for a story that puts his longtime friend Dandelion at the centre of another supernatural mystery. After seeing a lengthy hands-off demonstration of the expansion and the accompanying Remaster at Gamescom, it looks like CD PROJEKT RED is betting that there is still enough life left in Geralt’s story to justify one more trip down the Path. Continue reading “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Songs of the Past preview (Gamescom)”
Alien Breed 35th Anniversary Collection review (PS5)
There was a time when a game did not need a huge open world, dozens of progression systems or cinematic presentation to make an impression. Alien Breed was one of those series that made an Amiga screen feel surprisingly dangerous, filling relatively simple environments with hostile aliens, limited resources and an almost constant sense that the next corridor could go badly wrong. Alien Breed 35th Anniversary Collection brings the six Amiga-era entries together in one package, covering everything from the original top-down shooter through to Alien Breed 3D II: The Killing Grounds. Antstream has clearly approached the collection as a piece of game preservation rather than simply throwing six old games into a menu, adding modern controls, save states, visual options, multiplayer features and an extensive interactive archive. The result is an unusually thoughtful historical package, although the games themselves inevitably reveal just how much game design has changed over the past three and a half decades. Continue reading “Alien Breed 35th Anniversary Collection review (PS5)”
SiN Reloaded review
SiN was always an interesting case. Released in 1998, Ritual Entertainment’s shooter arrived with plenty of ambition, attempting to combine the fast-paced action associated with Quake-era FPS games with more elaborate interaction, branching objectives and a greater sense of place. Unfortunately, it was released only days before Half-Life and consequently struggled to receive the attention its ideas deserved – and the same can be said for when SiN Episodes stopped after a single episode. Almost three decades later, Nightdive Studios has brought the original game back with SiN Reloaded, a remaster that adds modern conveniences without attempting to disguise the age of its underlying design. The result is an unusual mix of genuinely forward-thinking ideas and unmistakably late-’90s game design, making it as much a piece of FPS history as it is a modernized shooter. Continue reading “SiN Reloaded review”
Thief: The Dark Project Remastered preview (Gamescom)
Thief: The Dark Project was already doing things differently when it first arrived in 1998. At a time when first-person games were largely concerned with shooting everything that moved, Looking Glass Studios built an experience around avoiding attention, manipulating light and sound, and finding your own way through complex environments. Nearly three decades later, Nightdive Studios is bringing the influential stealth game to modern hardware with Thief: The Dark Project Remastered. Based on an early PC build, this remaster certainly looks sharper than the original, but it is clear that Nightdive is more interested in preserving what made Garrett’s first adventure distinctive than turning it into something it was never meant to be. Continue reading “Thief: The Dark Project Remastered preview (Gamescom)”