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Last Friday i was bored. Not just 'bored', but *BORED*. Magical though the festive season is, it seems as much of a tradition as Christmas itself, is the empty wallet. Hence, any long sought voyages manning the good ship boozeroony were halted, as i could not afford the fuel; BEER. So, i was forced to stay 'in' - just what *is* the opposite of agorophobia? :o)
With only 4 gold coins in my wallet (that's less than Mario..) i decided i would head down to the video shop and rent a game. After settling on this plan of action, i was actually warming to the idea of staying in for the evening, convincing myself it would be 'a nice change'. When i got to the video shop a cloud was cast over the evening. It was a cloud with a paper sign on it which read: "Your evening is going to be rubbish". All the good games were out: SSX Tricky, Silent Hill 2, Fifa 2002... What now? I toyed with the idea of renting a DVD, but there wasn't really anything i wanted to watch, or to put it another way: there were a lot of things i didn't want to watch. I returned to the PS2 section... then something caught my eye. It was a hat. An amusingly shaped one at that. Then... something else caught my eye: 'Crash Bandicoot 5 - The Wrath of Cortex'. "Why not" i thought. Then i answered: "No reason...". "Good," i said.. "I'll get this then". I had enjoyed the very first game of the series on the PSone, and hadn't played a platform game since.. so thought it was maybe time to get re-acquainted with the genre.
To fully communicate how long overdue this re-union really was, i would need very long arms, and plenty of extra help. (Picture 50 people standing side by side in a line, an arm outstreched on either end... at which point the bloke in the middle announces: "This long". In other words: a long time.) It was such a good game. I was amazed. It still maintained the core aspects of gameplay that i had enjoyed in the very first Crash, but presented on a platter of smooth graphics and quirky features. The main thing noticeable about the 5th installment of the Crash Bandicoot series was the outstanding variety it possessed. One minute i was in a jeep, the next in a kind of hamster ball, then underwater! It isn't possible to get bored playing this game... there are so many great vehicles to keep you amused.
My problem quickly shifted from boredom to pins and needles: only leaving my seat when nature really insisted.
My enjoyment of this game made me realise just how great platform games truly are. This was the first time i had played one in about 3/4 years! I was quickly reminded of the joys of 'stand still' villains, holes in the floor, violently coloured obstacles, and irritating kitchy music: all the things we love about the genre, but which we quickly learn to hate when spending a whole hour trying to get past 'that bit' on 'that level'.
It occured to me that some of my favourite 'gaming moments' (sounds like a cable tv show..) were had with platform games. The goofy gameplay of Crash Bandicoot 5 harked back to the halcyon gaming exploits of my youth: The very first game i ever played was 'Chucky Egg' - a great little game on the now ancient Dragon 32 console, which i think contained about 3 different colours per level! You assumed the role of 'Hen House Harry': frantically climbing ladders and jumping platforms collecting eggs, whilst trying to avoid patrolling hens. (Doesn't that just *sound* great?)
Another favourite was 'Rolling Ronny', which i think was on the commodore 64 - a game in which you took on the guise of a spotty teenager errand-boy named (surprise!) Ronny. It was your job to rollerskate across the rooftops pocketing coins and collecting packages from seductive women and delivering them to their addressees for some more of those shiny coins. They just don't make 'em like that anymore! :o)
A large amount of successful games have been platform games. Possibly the two most recognisable gaming characters in the world derived from the genre: Sonic The Hedgehog & Mario. It is probably the genre which appeals to the widest spectrum of gameplayers also. It has produced great games such as Manic Miner, Rayman, Donkey Kong, Zool, and another of my personal favourites: the James Pond series. James Pond 2: Robocod was one of the greatest games of it's time - i mean.. a fish in a suit of armour battling against super-fat ballet dancers and evil penguins? Come on! How could that *not* be great?!
Recently, however i think there have been fewer platform games made, with games companies choosing instead to go for action adventure games. I have no objections to this at all.. but it would be nice to see a few well-polished, muscular, lean next-generation slants on such a classic genre. The Crash Bandicoot series has done it's developers proud throughout it's long run of titles, and that is reflected in it's popularity - but as far as i know there haven't been any other games to capture the platform spirit (and in *3* dimensions no less!) as this series has with such style
...Yet
There has recently been a great deal of kerfuffle about a plucky young contender going by the name of 'Jak & Daxter'. Rumour has it that it is *superior* to Crash Bandicoot 5... could this be true??? If it is, i am truly excited. Could Jak & Daxter be the best platform game *ever*??? I truly hope so, and it sure does sound like it. Reviews, screenshots, and rumours all testify to it's greatness... and i have to say i believe them. This is one game i *must* own. It will be mine, oh yes.. it will be mine.
I am hooked. I am aboard.
Chucky Egg -----------------------------> Jak & Daxter
Evolution never smelt so good.
With only 4 gold coins in my wallet (that's less than Mario..) i decided i would head down to the video shop and rent a game. After settling on this plan of action, i was actually warming to the idea of staying in for the evening, convincing myself it would be 'a nice change'. When i got to the video shop a cloud was cast over the evening. It was a cloud with a paper sign on it which read: "Your evening is going to be rubbish". All the good games were out: SSX Tricky, Silent Hill 2, Fifa 2002...
To fully communicate how long overdue this re-union really was, i would need very long arms, and plenty of extra help. (Picture 50 people standing side by side in a line, an arm outstreched on either end... at which point the bloke in the middle announces: "This long". In other words: a long time.) It was such a good game. I was amazed. It still maintained the core aspects of gameplay that i had enjoyed in the very first Crash, but presented on a platter of smooth graphics and quirky features. The main thing noticeable about the 5th installment of the Crash Bandicoot series was the outstanding variety it possessed. One minute i was in a jeep, the next in a kind of hamster ball, then underwater! It isn't possible to get bored playing this game... there are so many great vehicles to keep you amused.
My problem quickly shifted from boredom to pins and needles: only leaving my seat when nature really insisted.
My enjoyment of this game made me realise just how great platform games truly are. This was the first time i had played one in about 3/4 years! I was quickly reminded of the joys of 'stand still' villains, holes in the floor, violently coloured obstacles, and irritating kitchy music: all the things we love about the genre, but which we quickly learn to hate when spending a whole hour trying to get past 'that bit' on 'that level'.
It occured to me that some of my favourite 'gaming moments' (sounds like a cable tv show..) were had with platform games. The goofy gameplay of Crash Bandicoot 5 harked back to the halcyon gaming exploits of my youth: The very first game i ever played was 'Chucky Egg' - a great little game on the now ancient Dragon 32 console, which i think contained about 3 different colours per level! You assumed the role of 'Hen House Harry': frantically climbing ladders and jumping platforms collecting eggs, whilst trying to avoid patrolling hens. (Doesn't that just *sound* great?)
Another favourite was 'Rolling Ronny', which i think was on the commodore 64 - a game in which you took on the guise of a spotty teenager errand-boy named (surprise!) Ronny. It was your job to rollerskate across the rooftops pocketing coins and collecting packages from seductive women and delivering them to their addressees for some more of those shiny coins. They just don't make 'em like that anymore! :o)
A large amount of successful games have been platform games. Possibly the two most recognisable gaming characters in the world derived from the genre: Sonic The Hedgehog & Mario. It is probably the genre which appeals to the widest spectrum of gameplayers also. It has produced great games such as Manic Miner, Rayman, Donkey Kong, Zool, and another of my personal favourites: the James Pond series. James Pond 2: Robocod was one of the greatest games of it's time - i mean.. a fish in a suit of armour battling against super-fat ballet dancers and evil penguins? Come on! How could that *not* be great?!
Recently, however i think there have been fewer platform games made, with games companies choosing instead to go for action adventure games. I have no objections to this at all.. but it would be nice to see a few well-polished, muscular, lean next-generation slants on such a classic genre. The Crash Bandicoot series has done it's developers proud throughout it's long run of titles, and that is reflected in it's popularity - but as far as i know there haven't been any other games to capture the platform spirit (and in *3* dimensions no less!) as this series has with such style
...Yet
There has recently been a great deal of kerfuffle about a plucky young contender going by the name of 'Jak & Daxter'. Rumour has it that it is *superior* to Crash Bandicoot 5... could this be true??? If it is, i am truly excited. Could Jak & Daxter be the best platform game *ever*??? I truly hope so, and it sure does sound like it. Reviews, screenshots, and rumours all testify to it's greatness... and i have to say i believe them. This is one game i *must* own.
I am hooked. I am aboard.
Chucky Egg -----------------------------> Jak & Daxter
Evolution never smelt so good.
Okie dokie, have it your way then ;)
Codename: Robocod
Codename: Robocod
Aww no, please tell this isn't so. Sheesh, next we'll be "treated" to the delights of Bubsy the Bobcat.
Last Friday i was bored. Not just 'bored', but *BORED*. Magical though the festive season is, it seems as much of a tradition as Christmas itself, is the empty wallet. Hence, any long sought voyages manning the good ship boozeroony were halted, as i could not afford the fuel; BEER. So, i was forced to stay 'in' - just what *is* the opposite of agorophobia? :o)
With only 4 gold coins in my wallet (that's less than Mario..) i decided i would head down to the video shop and rent a game. After settling on this plan of action, i was actually warming to the idea of staying in for the evening, convincing myself it would be 'a nice change'. When i got to the video shop a cloud was cast over the evening. It was a cloud with a paper sign on it which read: "Your evening is going to be rubbish". All the good games were out: SSX Tricky, Silent Hill 2, Fifa 2002... What now? I toyed with the idea of renting a DVD, but there wasn't really anything i wanted to watch, or to put it another way: there were a lot of things i didn't want to watch. I returned to the PS2 section... then something caught my eye. It was a hat. An amusingly shaped one at that. Then... something else caught my eye: 'Crash Bandicoot 5 - The Wrath of Cortex'. "Why not" i thought. Then i answered: "No reason...". "Good," i said.. "I'll get this then". I had enjoyed the very first game of the series on the PSone, and hadn't played a platform game since.. so thought it was maybe time to get re-acquainted with the genre.
To fully communicate how long overdue this re-union really was, i would need very long arms, and plenty of extra help. (Picture 50 people standing side by side in a line, an arm outstreched on either end... at which point the bloke in the middle announces: "This long". In other words: a long time.) It was such a good game. I was amazed. It still maintained the core aspects of gameplay that i had enjoyed in the very first Crash, but presented on a platter of smooth graphics and quirky features. The main thing noticeable about the 5th installment of the Crash Bandicoot series was the outstanding variety it possessed. One minute i was in a jeep, the next in a kind of hamster ball, then underwater! It isn't possible to get bored playing this game... there are so many great vehicles to keep you amused.
My problem quickly shifted from boredom to pins and needles: only leaving my seat when nature really insisted.
My enjoyment of this game made me realise just how great platform games truly are. This was the first time i had played one in about 3/4 years! I was quickly reminded of the joys of 'stand still' villains, holes in the floor, violently coloured obstacles, and irritating kitchy music: all the things we love about the genre, but which we quickly learn to hate when spending a whole hour trying to get past 'that bit' on 'that level'.
It occured to me that some of my favourite 'gaming moments' (sounds like a cable tv show..) were had with platform games. The goofy gameplay of Crash Bandicoot 5 harked back to the halcyon gaming exploits of my youth: The very first game i ever played was 'Chucky Egg' - a great little game on the now ancient Dragon 32 console, which i think contained about 3 different colours per level! You assumed the role of 'Hen House Harry': frantically climbing ladders and jumping platforms collecting eggs, whilst trying to avoid patrolling hens. (Doesn't that just *sound* great?)
Another favourite was 'Rolling Ronny', which i think was on the commodore 64 - a game in which you took on the guise of a spotty teenager errand-boy named (surprise!) Ronny. It was your job to rollerskate across the rooftops pocketing coins and collecting packages from seductive women and delivering them to their addressees for some more of those shiny coins. They just don't make 'em like that anymore! :o)
A large amount of successful games have been platform games. Possibly the two most recognisable gaming characters in the world derived from the genre: Sonic The Hedgehog & Mario. It is probably the genre which appeals to the widest spectrum of gameplayers also. It has produced great games such as Manic Miner, Rayman, Donkey Kong, Zool, and another of my personal favourites: the James Pond series. James Pond 2: Robocod was one of the greatest games of it's time - i mean.. a fish in a suit of armour battling against super-fat ballet dancers and evil penguins? Come on! How could that *not* be great?!
Recently, however i think there have been fewer platform games made, with games companies choosing instead to go for action adventure games. I have no objections to this at all.. but it would be nice to see a few well-polished, muscular, lean next-generation slants on such a classic genre. The Crash Bandicoot series has done it's developers proud throughout it's long run of titles, and that is reflected in it's popularity - but as far as i know there haven't been any other games to capture the platform spirit (and in *3* dimensions no less!) as this series has with such style
...Yet
There has recently been a great deal of kerfuffle about a plucky young contender going by the name of 'Jak & Daxter'. Rumour has it that it is *superior* to Crash Bandicoot 5... could this be true??? If it is, i am truly excited. Could Jak & Daxter be the best platform game *ever*??? I truly hope so, and it sure does sound like it. Reviews, screenshots, and rumours all testify to it's greatness... and i have to say i believe them. This is one game i *must* own. It will be mine, oh yes.. it will be mine.
I am hooked. I am aboard.
Chucky Egg -----------------------------> Jak & Daxter
Evolution never smelt so good.
With only 4 gold coins in my wallet (that's less than Mario..) i decided i would head down to the video shop and rent a game. After settling on this plan of action, i was actually warming to the idea of staying in for the evening, convincing myself it would be 'a nice change'. When i got to the video shop a cloud was cast over the evening. It was a cloud with a paper sign on it which read: "Your evening is going to be rubbish". All the good games were out: SSX Tricky, Silent Hill 2, Fifa 2002...
To fully communicate how long overdue this re-union really was, i would need very long arms, and plenty of extra help. (Picture 50 people standing side by side in a line, an arm outstreched on either end... at which point the bloke in the middle announces: "This long". In other words: a long time.) It was such a good game. I was amazed. It still maintained the core aspects of gameplay that i had enjoyed in the very first Crash, but presented on a platter of smooth graphics and quirky features. The main thing noticeable about the 5th installment of the Crash Bandicoot series was the outstanding variety it possessed. One minute i was in a jeep, the next in a kind of hamster ball, then underwater! It isn't possible to get bored playing this game... there are so many great vehicles to keep you amused.
My problem quickly shifted from boredom to pins and needles: only leaving my seat when nature really insisted.
My enjoyment of this game made me realise just how great platform games truly are. This was the first time i had played one in about 3/4 years! I was quickly reminded of the joys of 'stand still' villains, holes in the floor, violently coloured obstacles, and irritating kitchy music: all the things we love about the genre, but which we quickly learn to hate when spending a whole hour trying to get past 'that bit' on 'that level'.
It occured to me that some of my favourite 'gaming moments' (sounds like a cable tv show..) were had with platform games. The goofy gameplay of Crash Bandicoot 5 harked back to the halcyon gaming exploits of my youth: The very first game i ever played was 'Chucky Egg' - a great little game on the now ancient Dragon 32 console, which i think contained about 3 different colours per level! You assumed the role of 'Hen House Harry': frantically climbing ladders and jumping platforms collecting eggs, whilst trying to avoid patrolling hens. (Doesn't that just *sound* great?)
Another favourite was 'Rolling Ronny', which i think was on the commodore 64 - a game in which you took on the guise of a spotty teenager errand-boy named (surprise!) Ronny. It was your job to rollerskate across the rooftops pocketing coins and collecting packages from seductive women and delivering them to their addressees for some more of those shiny coins. They just don't make 'em like that anymore! :o)
A large amount of successful games have been platform games. Possibly the two most recognisable gaming characters in the world derived from the genre: Sonic The Hedgehog & Mario. It is probably the genre which appeals to the widest spectrum of gameplayers also. It has produced great games such as Manic Miner, Rayman, Donkey Kong, Zool, and another of my personal favourites: the James Pond series. James Pond 2: Robocod was one of the greatest games of it's time - i mean.. a fish in a suit of armour battling against super-fat ballet dancers and evil penguins? Come on! How could that *not* be great?!
Recently, however i think there have been fewer platform games made, with games companies choosing instead to go for action adventure games. I have no objections to this at all.. but it would be nice to see a few well-polished, muscular, lean next-generation slants on such a classic genre. The Crash Bandicoot series has done it's developers proud throughout it's long run of titles, and that is reflected in it's popularity - but as far as i know there haven't been any other games to capture the platform spirit (and in *3* dimensions no less!) as this series has with such style
...Yet
There has recently been a great deal of kerfuffle about a plucky young contender going by the name of 'Jak & Daxter'. Rumour has it that it is *superior* to Crash Bandicoot 5... could this be true??? If it is, i am truly excited. Could Jak & Daxter be the best platform game *ever*??? I truly hope so, and it sure does sound like it. Reviews, screenshots, and rumours all testify to it's greatness... and i have to say i believe them. This is one game i *must* own.
I am hooked. I am aboard.
Chucky Egg -----------------------------> Jak & Daxter
Evolution never smelt so good.