Raiden II is what happens when a shoot ’em up looks at the original Raiden, nods politely, and then comes back with more enemies, more spectacle, and a much meaner grin. On paper, that sounds like the ideal sequel strategy: keep the core loop, turn up the heat, make the screen feel busier and more […]
Raiden II (1993) – Review – Bigger, Louder, and Still Happy to Blow You Up Read Post »
This is one of those games whose reputation gets mangled by loose recollection and later packaging. Strip away the myth fog and what remains is simpler, cleaner, and, mercifully, more interesting: a vertical shoot-em-up that understands it does not need a million systems if it has one very good idea and the nerve to keep
RayForce (1997) – Review – The Beautiful, Ruthless Geometry of Lock-On Doom Read Post »
Reader Rabbit’s Reading 2 is not trying to seduce the jaded adult in the room, which is frankly one of its virtues. This 1997 The Learning Company reading game, best supported here in its Windows PC form, is a no-nonsense piece of children’s software built for ages 5 to 8, the sort of thing that
Shadow Warrior, in its original 1997 PC form, is what happens when a studio looks at the post-Duke Nukem 3D landscape, grins like it has a fresh pack of fireworks in its jacket, and decides subtlety is for accountants. This is a Build engine first-person shooter from 3D Realms, the sort of game that arrives
SEGA Worldwide Soccer ’97 is the kind of football game that arrives wearing a shiny arcade jacket and then, halfway through the first match, quietly admits it has a limp. On paper, that sounds like a deal breaker. In motion, it is more complicated, and more interesting, than the usual retro sports memory lane nonsense.
SEGA Worldwide Soccer ’97 (PC, 1997) – Fast Feet, Slow Hands, and the Old Saturn Gospel Read Post »