[Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker - Spoiler-free review]

Nailed it

[Atari vs Activision]

Activision was good at ripping off other companies too.  Megamania is based off an arcade game called Astro Blaster https://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=6943

 

There are so many Space Invaders rip-offs closer to the original that I hardly think Megamania qualifies.

[James Bond: 007 5200 (Parker Brothers)]

Nice Review!

 

This is usually the game I suggest as the worst 5200 game too.  Its not a good game on any platform and is a huge disappointment for Bond fans.

[H.E.R.O. (Activision)]

Good points, I have played this game A LOT in my lifetime and I generally consider it the best game on the 2600 (I actually first played it on the C64), but I've often wondered at what point in the development they put those instant kills in there.  Did they think it was too easy?  Maybe players were wasting too much time going down the wrong path, so they figured "Let's just kill 'em?"  I dunno, but FWIW, I think the "wrong path" tends to be fairly predictable.  In most cases, the harder to reach path is the correct one.  Meaning, if you have to destroy a wall to get to a shaft then you better destroy it because that is the correct path.  This isn't always the case though.

 

When you say "crushing difficulty," in my mind, I'm not thinking of Castlevania, but I'd compare this to earlier platformers like Miner 2049'er along with its sequel and then the "Miner Willy" series out of the UK.  Those games demanded harsh memorization and absolutely pixel perfect precision to navigate.  I recently played a game called Tales from the Arabian Nights that is similar in that it demands a tremendous amount of perfect memorization from the player.  HERO wasn't like that.  It let you screw up and explore a bit.

 

I give HERO a lot of credit for designing a 2d platformer that uses a single button in an excellent way.  Ideally you have two buttons, one for jump and one for fire, but here the designer eliminated the need to jump by allowing the player to slowly (at first) fly upward.  I think this is an amazing game design decision that keeps the game interesting and different to this day, and while I do still have most of the levels memorized, I enjoy trying to run all through 20 ever few years.  There are always a few things I forget and have to re-learn along the way, so it keeps me coming back.

 

Note, if you hate HERO, you'll also probably hate Dark Caves, although I seem to remember them going a little easier on the player in the instant kill department.  It has been a while though.

[Pac-Land]

This game had a very unusual control panel, but you didn't really know it was unusual at the time because you weren't as accustomed to the D-pad and 2 buttons config for platformers.

 

http://gamesdbase.com/game/arcade/pac-land.aspx

 

While the "float in the air" mechanic seems ridiculous at first, I found that I only really thought that because I'd never seen it before. After I figured out how to do it, I kind of appreciated the variation and even sought out the Namco Museum discs for PS1 just to have another way to play this game. Although with all the configuration options in MAME that is probably my favorite way to play. There are quite a few secrets buried in there, so find some hints online or just the MAME "history" of the game to unlock all it has to offer. Save states help with this one too.

 

 

http://www.arcade-museum.com/game_detail.php?game_id=8955

[Grand Theft Auto V]

I only play the Rockstar games because I am interested in games that get high reviews. I typically wait years to buy them or I just borrow them. Something about their games just doesn't resonate with me as it always seems that they emphasize the absolute clunkiest parts of the game.

 

Last year, I decided to go through GTA III, San Andreas and GTA IV and play enough of them that I could say I'd experienced it. For each one, there was something in the main campaign that I felt was really a broken part of the game - stuff like a surprise "sniper" mission in GTA III; Bad targeting and NPC AI in SA; and just really not fun driving in GTA IV. I've played other games by them that are better, but it still always feels like they spend more time on the tetris mini-game then deciding what it would actually be fun to do in the main story.

 

What's funny is if you read user reviews (in some places) of GTA IV it doesn't get reviewed as highly as critics. I think Rockstar has managed to get reviewers on their side somehow which really drives up their sales.

 

I hear GTA V is an improvement, but I'm not racing to buy it. Its also hard to believe the game is so interesting that a twelth of all Xbox owners chose to pre-order. Did they think hanging out with Nico's cousin was really that much fun?

[I'm back to my old 2600! :D]

I go through phases of gaming where I play modern games for awhile and then something gets me back into classics. I wouldn't feel bad about buying a game and not playing it either - sometimes the purchase doesn't immediately change my "phase." Just keep doing what's fun.

[Replaying Pool of Radiance on the Amiga in 2011]

Nice blog Byrdo - you've renewed my interest in this game.