Retro 247 Blog

Addictive 247 Games

2009-07-13T20:16:00.002Z

Addictive 247 games has a brand new design!

Devastro

2007-06-25T08:29:00.001Z

Devastro has just been added to Retro 247 Games.
It's alien invasion time again but this time you're going to teach them a lesson they'll never forget. Use your small squad of troops to blast them with grenades, machine guns or mow them down in cars and tanks.
Great fun!

Donuts in Danger Released

2007-06-17T20:57:00.001Z

Addictive 247 have just released their latest game Donuts in Danger.

It's a frantic action shooter with cool upgradeable weapons, tons of enemies and 45 manic levels.

More information about the game can be found at http://www.addictive247.co.uk/donuts.htm

Demo download at http://www.addictive247.co.uk/downloaddonuts.htm

The full version can be purchased at the low price of only $12.95 at http://www.addictive247.co.uk/purchasedonuts.htm

Retro 247 Competition - Ending Soon!

2007-06-08T09:31:00.001Z

The great Retro 247 Games Competition ends on Wednesday 13th June so you have less than a week to get your entries in!

A full list of the prizes and rules, plus the all important entry form can be found at http://www.retro247.co.uk/competitionmay2007.htm

Good Luck!

Donuts in Danger

2007-06-06T15:11:00.000Z

Addictive 247 have announced that they will be releasing their next game Donuts in Danger, hopefully next week.

It's a retro style shooter with tons of enemies, big explosions and a shop to upgrade your gun after each level.

Here's a few screenies from the game . . .

Back in Business!

2007-05-30T12:48:00.000Z

Well we've had fun and games for the last day or so with the main Retro 247 Games site being down. Everythings back to normal now and we've moved over to our new server.

Don't forget that you've still got time to enter the Retro 247 Competition and win some fantastic prizes. Go HERE for the details.

Echoes

2007-05-22T12:22:00.001Z

It's fast as hell, looks gorgeous and is called Echoes. The latest game from BinaryZoo has their trademark neon graphics and amazingly addictive game play.

It's a bit like Geometry Wars and a lot more like Asteroids. Personally, I'm sick to the back teeth of Asteroid style games but Echoes somehow feels different. It's a well put together game and best of all it's free! Enjoy :)

I am Jesus

2007-05-18T12:18:00.000Z

I am Jesus is a new game released by suicidal-entertainment.com
From the developers website it says

"I am Jesus is a free socialcritic action game about jesus and the 12 disciples.I am Jesus is also the first game which will wash away your real life sins."

The game never washed away my sins but it was bloody good fun! Throw spears at your disciples who are on the other side of a rock called "God's Cock"! Yep, you heard me right and here's a picture of God's cock, incase you were wondering.

We definately need more games like this!
Also, check out the Trailer and the How to Play Video

Retro 247 Games Competition - fantastic prizes!

2007-05-15T21:42:00.000Z

Retro 247 Games are pleased to announce their first big competition with fantastic prizes from a number of different companies.

All you have to do is to correctly identify the 25 different games that appear in the screenshot. Out of the correct entries one winner will be drawn at random along with two runners up.

The prizes up for grabs include:

1. A full version of MMF 2 Developer from ClickTeam (www.clickteam.com)
2. Signed CD version of Mr. Robot from Moonpod (www.moonpod.com)

3. A Mr. Robot mouse pad

4. Signed CD version of Repton 3 by Superior Interactive (www.superiorinteractive.com)

5. Full download version of Gibbage by gibbage.co.uk (www.gibbage.co.uk)
6. Full download version of Scavenger by pieyegames.com (www.pieyegames.com)

7. Full download version of Addictive Football by Addictive 247 Games (www.addictive247.co.uk)

More details about the competition and the entry form can be found at http://www.retro247.co.uk/competitionmay2007.htm
Closing date is Wednesday 13th June 2007.

Good Luck!

Arsecast 008

2007-05-14T21:03:00.000Z

The latest edition of the Arsecast has just been released, and as always is a funny, interesting and very British podcast.

Unfortunately, this will be the last Arsecast in its current form, so we'll have to wait and see what happens to the show in the future.

Give your ears a treat and listen now

Game Review of Schlongg

2007-05-13T08:04:00.000Z

This is an imaginative reworking of the tried and tested Breakout formula, with added bells, whistles and well…Schlongg, I guess.

As is probably well familiar to anybody aged over 20 or so, the idea of play is to use a “bat” (positioned at the bottom of the screen and moveable only left and right) in order to strike a flying “ball” at a number of targets positioned at and around the very top of the screen.

Though attempts are made to account for these classic gameplay features behind an “aliens invading Earth” storyline (which may or not be entirely tongue-in-cheek when taking into consideration the titular name of these invading “Schlonggs”) the underlying concept is really no different to Breakout whatsoever.

However, never has a bat and ball game been so technically advanced as Notsoft’s effort (Notsoft. Schlongg. Veeery funny). The 3D graphics - complete with alterable “pilot’s view” camera - are of respectable quality and very colourful, and not since the equally inappropriately named Game Gear title Woody Pop (what is it with these people?) have powerups been so varied and genuinely effective upon the play environment; your bat, or spaceship, or whatever on earth it actually is, will be shrunk, grown, stretched, sped up and slowed, as will the ball. There’s a multi ball powerup which can cause up to five balls to be caroming around the screen at one time, and you can even be supplied temporarily with guns, blasting the target bricks rather than relying on the ball to do it.

With a choice of control methods including the mouse, the ship will begin, with minimal practice, to respond fairly well to all these changes, with most deaths being almost entirely due to player error.

So far so good, but with over 160 levels, doesn’t this concept become a bit tired quite fast? Sort of. Help is, however, at hand with between level bonus stage-type levels, when the camera switches to chase mode and your ship/bat begins to accelerate frightfully fast along a twisting, turning tubular passageway. These sections play in an extremely similar fashion to a cross between Sonic 2 bonus stages and Wipeout, necessitating a dizzying journey through and around the sides of the tunnel collecting as many powerups as possible before the next stage. The only problem here is the myriad differently styled objects to collect at high speeds, which being so varied in their design, and generally unrecognisable, seem far more sensible to avoid than to collect, as half the time you’ll find yourself collecting the wrong green spikey thing and being stripped of all the powers you’ve gained. Still, the speed tube is a welcome diversion from the often stayed procedure in the main game, and looks pretty darn cool to boot.

So in conclusion, what exactly do we have here? If you’re a fan of Breakout, you’ll honestly be in hog’s heaven with this game. Masses of levels, some challenging boss encounters, inventive and graphically pleasing presentation and there’s even a level editor (which, if it catches on, could spawn a potentially unlimited amount of fan-made “episodes”) – this should satisfy any and all bat and ball desires for some time to come. However, if you’re not particularly into this type of game, there’s really not an awful lot to keep you coming back. While fun for a bit, tackling so many samey levels with a largely unbroken concept won’t be everybody’s cup of tea. Try the demo before you buy.

Finally, not wishing to be a killjoy but, at the end of the day how many people may be put off purchase by the prospect of a shortcut named Schlongg on their desktop for all to see? I’ve had some funny looks already…

Score - 5/10

More info, screenshots and the demo at http://www.shlongg.com/info/index.htm

Copyright © 2006 Peter Michael Gothard

Latest games on Retro 247

2007-05-11T13:18:00.000Z

Here's a bit of a breakdown of what's been added to the main Retro 247 Games website over the last week:

Bomb It - Bomberman clone playable in your browser. Cute and addictive with some cool music. Actually the music sounds familiar - is it from another game? Answers on a postcard!

Titan Attacks - Frantic shooter with a gorgeous retro graphics style. It's Space Invaders but with power-ups. Don't let that put you off though. I guarantee you'll be hooked after a few minutes. For Windows.

Mr. Robot - Isometric action puzzle game with elements of a RPG. Very slick presentation with excellent game play. For Windows.

The Peoples Mario

2007-05-09T21:24:00.000Z

This has probably been on the Internet for years but it's the first time I've seen it, so it's worth posting.

Nicely done animation with a bit of a different slant on Mario.
Watch the full screen, good quality version HERE

Bible Fight!

2007-05-04T14:49:00.000Z

Obviously I'm going straight to hell for posting this one but it's such a great idea. Bible Fight is like Street Fighter but you get the chance to play as characters like Noah, Mary, Satan and even Jesus himself. The locations are cool aswell, with fights taking place on Noah's Ark, Heaven and even the Garden of Eden.

Each character has a number of special moves (click the small "C" in the bottom right of the screen to bring them up) which they can execute. Noah can call his animals to stampede, Eve whips you with a snake (kinky!) and Jesus can give you a battering with his cross.

Fantastic stuff - Play it Online Now

Advertise on Retro 247 Games

2007-04-30T11:06:00.000Z

You can now advertise your game(s) or website on Retro 247 Games with our new banner ad campaign.

The cost is only $20 for a whole month. No hidden extras, no maximum page impressions etc. The banner will appear on every main page (30+ in total and growing each week) on the right hand side. We'll even host the banner for you.

More information can be found HERE

Horace and the Spiders

2007-04-25T12:27:00.000Z

Good old Horace is back in a remake of the ZX Spectrum classic "Horace and the Spiders".

This remake features lovely big bold colourful graphics, 2 different game modes and an online high score table. The game is quite tough but so was the original - just how I like it!

Grab Horace and the Spiders HERE

Operation Wolf remake with Lego!

2007-04-23T18:29:00.000Z

What a fantastic idea and truly original for a change!

Operation Block is an Operation Wolf remake but with Lego characters. You can read more about the development of the game over at http://retroremakes.com/forum2/showthread.php?t=6681

Looking forward to this one :)

Retro Recurring: New Super Mario Brothers

2007-04-20T13:50:00.000Z

For some time now, handhelds have shown themselves to be mainstream console gaming’s last bastion of retro-orientated gaming – even the super trendy Sony PSP sports 80’s arcade compilations and a Lemmings conversion as a launch title.
The Nintendo DS, despite its somewhat revolutionary approach to control via the touch screen interface, is also continuing to uphold Nintendo’s “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” gameplay sentiments with New Super Mario Brothers – a 2D Mario game in 3D. Confused? Relax, pull up a toadstool and I’ll tell you about it…

New Super Mario Brothers pulls every modern technology trick in the book (though, happily, largely ignores the touch screen in favour of traditional d-pad control), but tries to remain entirely faithful to Mario’s classic left to right, two dimensional platforming exploits. So, even though each and every character, block and powerup is a fully-fledged 3D model, the view of the action never alters from a classic side-on viewpoint, making this the first true 2D Mario adventure since 1992’s release of Super Mario World on the SNES (or perhaps 1995’s Yoshi’s Island depending on your beliefs).

As you may guess, the game looks absolutely gorgeous. Clean, crisp models, vibrant colours (even on the scabby old pre-Lite DS) and fluid animation abound, with a clearly deliberate return to classic Super Mario Brothers visual fare. Green fields to potter through beneath blue skies, towering mushrooms to clamber up before pulling down the level’s flag and disappearing into the little castle at the end – it’s all here, renovated from its 8 bit origins but treated with all the respect and tactility you’d expect Nintendo to lavish on its most important and well-loved IP.

So it looks the business, but how does it play? Utterly brilliantly, as it happens. As mentioned earlier, we see here gameplay largely unchanged since 1985. Nintendo have certainly played around with Mario’s physics a little – he’ll slide more to a stop after a long run rather than stopping immediately, and feels a little less floaty in his jumps (that’s probably what 20 years does to you), but the whole world reflects these changes, meaning you’ll never feel robbed of lives by an unfair system.

Meanwhile, though Mario still kicks shells, squashes goombas, bounces off bullets and collects enlarging mushrooms and fire flowers, there’s a little more going on here to reflect the needs of a more demanding generation of gamers. Welcome, then, Mario 64’s triple jump (great for scaling new heights) and wall kick (fantastic for preventing untimely pit deaths). Three new powerups also join the fold – a blue shell that turns Mario into a koopa-esque creature who can retreat into his body, skimming across surfaces knocking out foes in exactly the way they do to him. The tiny mushroom shrinks Mario to only a few pixels high, making him unable to kill most foes but able to jump far higher and enter small gaps to uncover secrets. Conversely to this one, the jewel in the crown of new gimmicks – the giant mushroom, a huge, unwieldy spore that flops across the ground and, when collected, will make Mario fill the screen, smashing his way through absolutely anything in his path – enemies, blocks and pipes alike – earning extra lives as he goes. This Mushroom Kingdom Godzilla fantasy never really gets old, and is guaranteed to wow your friends (or scare them to death in multiplayer!).

The game is navigated by a map screen, which can be wandered around, and have stages attempted from, at will (a lá Super Mario World again). Staying true to past outings, expect the usual devious alternate exits to many levels in order to discover new routes and levels (two entire worlds in fact being hidden – think small…), with actual 100% completion of this title taking a very long time indeed. However, played simply from start to end with no frills, this isn’t the longest or most challenging game ever, and therein lies the only criticism. This ain’t no Mario 3; Mario veterans can expect to be through this thing in a matter of hours, with most levels being easily completed on the very first attempt with a bit of care.

Longevity is, however, nicely enhanced by the multiplayer angle (single game card compatible for those with limited cash). Apart from the expected “dash around the levels smacking your mate round the head and stealing his stars” stuff, a large amount of DS Mario 64’s minigames are available as multiplayer outings, and some of these have the potential to last for ages. Case in point: I spent most of a 3 hour train journey from Manchester to Kent last week having the mother of all Reversi tournaments with a friend on New Super Mario Brothers’ bobomb-based version of this classic board game.

Just like Reversi, in fact, it becomes apparent with this latest Mario update that sometimes, it’s the simple things in life that are the most enduring. For me, this notion is perhaps the essence of retrogaming, and it’s great to see that the big companies are not yet ignorant of this fact. With so many classic franchises being defaced and ruined on an almost weekly basis in the often exclusively technology-led mainstream, it’s reassuring to see a contemporary offering that, by and large, gets it utterly right for a change. Welcome back, Mario.

Copyright © 2006 Peter Michael Gothard

What to play this week

2007-04-17T11:38:00.000Z

Ok, here are a couple of games that I've been playing over the last week or so. Prepare to watch the hours disappear!

Binary Land
Remake of an old NES classic action/puzzle game. Guide the 2 penguins to opposite sides of the cage. Also has a great level editor so you can create your own levels.
MORE INFO AND THE DOWNLOAD HERE

Push-Push Penguin
A remake of Sega's original 1982 arcade game Pengo.
This updated version includes power-ups, a combo system and more enemies.
MORE INFO AND THE DOWNLOAD HERE

Special Agent
I've mentioned this before in the blog so if you haven't played it yet, you really should do. Based on "Secret Agent" from 1991.
MORE INFO AND THE DOWNLOAD HERE

Review - Crusaders of Space 2

2007-04-15T21:50:00.000Z

Crusaders of Space 2 is great, make no mistake about it, but the hardest thing is describing exactly what it is.

You could say it’s a scrolling shooter – except it doesn’t scroll. Perhaps a Space Invaders inspiration? Except…enemies don’t so much “invade” as hang back in constant long-range attack.

Basically, it’s something of a hybrid concept in space shooters – a fixed-screen battle with scroller sensibilities, if you will. The player’s ship is only moveable left and right so, hemmed in at the very bottom of the screen, the need for accuracy (and, often, just pure luck) is paramount as streams of bullets flash across the play area, only avoidable by a quick flick of the mouse in one of the two possible directions.

Mouse control, in fact, is another interesting factor in Crusaders of Space 2’s success, allowing subtlety or rapidity of motion as and when required, with a real fluidity of movement on the ship at all times. Further, with the only other commands in the game being firing of the primary laser weapon and a secondary missile, the entire game can be controlled with the convenience of the mouse, making piloting the ship such a delightful no-brainer one can quickly commit all concentration to the battle in hand.

And what a battle. Beginning with little more than a single shot pop gun and weak missiles, one wonders how on earth this game is to be survived, as barrages of enemies swoop in to take increasingly merciless pot shots at your lone, underpowered craft. Progress is slow and painstaking until finally - and delightfully - after five levels or so, another peculiarity of this game is presented – the upgrade system.

Imagine the usual R-Type style weapon upgrades except with permanent effect (remaining even after the loss of a life), and a choice of what to add next via an “upgrade points” system. Alawar have added such a range of choice in upgrades that there truly are defined routes through these decisions: should you upgrade weapons first, and if so, should this be the power of the standard straight forward laser, or extra (but weaker) diagonal shots instead? Or should you use points to upgrade the ship’s armour capacity (slightly useless since in-game armour bonuses are so rare) but in doing so unlock the eventual health regeneration feature (invaluable)? Alawar have clearly taken a nod from RPG titles such as Final Fantasy X, and combining this “levelling up” philosophy with a retro-styled space shooter is nothing short of genius, adding immense replay value as well as the satisfaction of total control over your playing style.

The graphics and sound are as polished as the concept. Sumptuous, well-rendered backdrops of space, landscapes and eerie bionic machinery perfectly compliment professional, realistically animated enemy sprites. The player ship itself is a highly detailed polygonal structure which even tilts subtly left and right as it moves. A 16 million colour palette is used to the full, with glorious streams of purple, green, red and yellow laser fire burning and glowing their way across the screen, overlapping to create new and wonderful hues. Explosion sounds are meaty and boisterous, ammo powerups engage with a satisfying “ker-klunk”, and all this is backed up with a quality techno-based soundtrack that, while only offering a few tunes, is pleasant enough to provide satisfying, unobtrusive battle accompaniment.

Criticisms? Often it’s necessary to play ten or more levels before the game autosaves, and with something as inherently “pick up and play” as a space shooter, this necessity to put in the hours can sometimes frustrate. There’s also the rather odd fact that, though there are six ships to collect as the game advances, each vessel differs only in aesthetics. Though it’s possible to select any of the available ships at each visit to the upgrade screen, they all handle in exactly the same way, with no variation in speed, weapons load-out or defence capability. Regardless, it’s still pleasant to change once in a while, but one wonders if Alawar originally had more involved plans for the extra ships.

In summary, Crusaders of Space 2 holds true to traditional space shooter ethics, combining sub-genres with relative ease. Add to this a twist of RPG player development, with graphics and sound of the highest quality, and Alawar are onto a real winner. Most definitely recommended.

Score - 9/10

All New Gibbage.co.uk

2007-04-13T13:47:00.000Z

Dan Marshall's popular blog over at www.gibbage.co.uk has been re-launched completely into an Independent Gaming Resource.

A quote from the site:

From now on, every penny of profit this site gains will be plugged directly into funding future independent game projects. That doesn’t mean me hacking together some rubbish code while slurping on caviar you’ve kindly provided, that means hiring professional artists and coders to make interesting, high-quality, funny, funky and brilliant games for you to enjoy.

The sort of games independent developers should be making, instead of endless grotty Match-3s.

What that means, eventually, is me ringing up a struggling band of developers somewhere and saying “Hey! I like the look of what you guys are doing over there. It’s fresh and funky and innovative and exciting. Here’s an envelope stuffed full of cash. Go full-time Indie and do something amazing with it.”

Now that sounds like an excellent idea to me and Dan must be applauded for setting it all up. Why not help out all Indie Developers and buy a T-shirt or even donate some money to the cause.

What's new on Retro 247 Games

2007-04-11T13:22:00.000Z

Just a quick run down of all the new stuff added to Retro 247 Games over the last week.

In the Online Retro Arcade we have Kung Fu, Flash Sonic and Lunar Lander.

In the Windows game section we've got Scavenger and Rage of Magic II.

In the Mac game section we've also added Rage of Magic II

In the Freeware game section we've got Bernard & Hank: Springtime Again and Swarm Racer

Scavenger

2007-04-10T12:08:00.000Z

Scavenger is an action based shooter which has very well designed levels. I say it's a shooter (and it is) but it reminds me of a cross between Alien Breed, Thrust and Alien Abduction. This is not bad in anyway, infact the game is fantastic!

The general idea is to take your ship into the giant space hulk Icarus and get the key orbs to the sector exit. The game starts off easy enough and introduces you to the different elements/enemies at a managable rate. The game is also story driven which works well and never gets in the way of the action.

There are plenty of different game modes to play with. I started with the Easy mode which turned gravity off and gave me unlimited fuel. When playing like this the game reminded me of Alien Breed. However, play the game with gravity on and limited fuel and it's a whole new ball game. It's harder to get to grips with but in no time you'll master it.

More info about Scavenger including screenshots and the demo can be found Here

Stryker's Run

2007-04-09T10:44:00.000Z

Superior Interactive have just posted some new screenshots of their 2 up and coming games Stryker's Run and Quest. Both games are for the PC.

Read more on the Superior Interactive Blog

Review of Bonbon Quest

2007-04-05T11:44:00.000Z

Artemus and Hannah are two little wizards who seem to have had their sweets stolen by the undead! Of course, it’s the player’s job to help them recover the stash as they journey through 54 levels of platforming action.

This game seems rather generic until the realisation hits that, a lá the original Mario Brothers or Bubble Bobble, the screen doesn't have boundaries – basically, if you walk off the left, you come back in on the right, and similarly with the top/bottom.

This means that, as well as engaging in tricky head-bouncing navigation of enemy-infested clusters of sweets, it’s always necessary to sit back and consider how to access some seemingly unreachable areas. Often, by falling off the bottom of the screen, you can reach an area up top, or bouncing off an enemy off right can, if timed correctly, end up in being catapulted to a platform up left. It’s compulsive stuff, and many levels take the system into fine consideration with some devious tests of skill.

To match its sweet-collecting premise, the game looks and sounds suitably kiddified, with huge, nicely animated sprites and colourful backdrops working together to create a comical Halloween theme. Skeletons, ghosts, bats and spiders all trundle around on fixed courses, patrolling the large amounts of sweets, collection of which is required to complete a level. Even platform game clichés are nicely affected by the spooky atmosphere, with pumpkins acting as springboards to higher platforms and cauldrons teleporting Artemus and Hannah around the level. Mysterious, but strangely upbeat, background music punctuates the theme of each new world, ranging from castles to forests and graveyards. Everything just oozes cute, and is sure to appeal particularly to younger gamers.

Bonbon Quest is a solid, no-nonsense piece of platforming “collect ‘em up”, offering a generally slow-paced blend of thought and action. With more than enough levels to keep a player occupied, and a constantly fresh challenge as the levels become more complex, the process never becomes truly tired. While originality is perhaps questionable, Bonbon Quest reproduces a classic platform approach with relatively modern quality. With its simple gameplay, entertaining and bold graphics and nicely pitched difficulty level, this game seems a perfect choice for the younger gamer, though that isn’t to say everybody shouldn’t give it a look.

6/10
Download the demo version of the game Here

Copyright © 2006 Peter Michael Gothard

Sumo Gamer

2007-04-02T09:28:00.000Z

A brand new show will be coming to Channel 146 called Sumo Gamer.

The show delves in to the world of gaming, with reviews and news on consoles and up coming games, and much much more. There's also going to be a Retro Gaming section.

More details can be found at www.myspace.com/sumogamer

Superior Interactive Blog

2007-03-29T14:11:00.000Z

Superior Interactive of Repton fame have just started a new blog.

The blog will feature news and information about all their current and future games, so it should make for an excellent read.

Superior have been going since 1982 which makes me feel very old as I remember all their games. It's their 25th Anniversary this summer which makes them one of the longest running games businesses in the world - wow!

Review: Charlie II

2007-03-27T10:19:00.000Z

Cute. That’s is the first word that occurred to me as I sat down to have a stab at Charlie II. Everything about this little platformer oozes innocent forest charm, harking back to the child-like glory years of the original Sonic the Hedgehog or Mr Nutz (if anyone remembers that one!) – all primary colours, grass, cloudless skylines and log bridges.

Charlie II is Dutch developer Wiering Software’s sequel to popular platforming title Charlie the Duck. The titular hero is an off-yellow, happy looking little bird (complete with occasional heart melting –quack- as he stands at rest), who must navigate each of a series of levels in order to collect coins, diamonds and a group of letters to spell out his own name. Charlie must investigate thoroughly each environment in order to pick up a certain percentage of collectables in order to move onto the next area. That’s the gist of the gameplay – simple in theory, and not a lot more complicated in practice either.

Make no mistake though – beyond the cutesy appearance and simplistic gameplay lies a fiendishly difficult game. Even by the second level, I was having quite an amount of trouble not accidentally impaling the plucky young mallard on wooden stakes time after time, or simply being dive-bombed by the cunningly programmed crow things that will indirectly home in on Charlie as they fly by. Injury seems extremely difficult to avoid, but this free and easy loss of health and, ultimately, lives is offset by the inclusion of Zelda-esque “extra hearts” littered around that will extend Charlie’s health bar beyond its original three hits to any amount of extra protection. According to the manual, an extra heart is included in nearly every level of the game – further enforcing the need for heavy exploration in the adventure, with extra hearts almost a requirement in order to realistically progress.

So apart from a tough challenge, what else sets Charlie II apart from any number of platform clones? For a start, rather than the common tactic of picking a random cute creature that bears no relation to the gaming world, Wiering have taken the duck motif and used Charlie’s unique skills (as a duck!) within the gameplay somewhat. Yes, Charlie can swim! This removes the familiar platform game frustration of “death by water” and also adds to Charlie II’s exploratory focus by actually allowing him to dive below the surface - effectively a shortcut to another part of the level, and a tidy reworking of Super Mario’s famous green “warp pipes”.

The game’s presentation and general atmosphere also set it well apart from more amateur offerings. A defined, sumptuous art style exists throughout each backdrop, enemy sprite and collectable. Charlie himself is an endearing character to play as he waddles along with this little quacking, and special mention should go to the music which never fails to perfectly emulate the happy synthesised backing tunes of a more simple age (except here done with more instruments!).

Simply put: Charlie II is a perfectly pitched slice of retro gaming for a new generation. The game-making philosophy of old is followed to a tee, and the result is an authentic, enjoyable and (due to being very, very hard!) ultimately lastable title that is well worth its $15 registration price to any true platform game fan.

8/10

Copyright © 2006 Peter Michael Gothard

The Arsecast - March Edition

2007-03-23T11:23:00.000Z

The latest edition of The Arsecast is now available for your listening pleasure.

As always it's an excellent listen covering a massive amount of news and reviews from the Indie and Retro gaming world. A full breakdown of what's included this month can be found on the main page.

Retro Revisited: Chaotix Review

2007-03-19T13:58:00.000Z

Sega’s Megadrive 32X. Hands up if you remember it. Now hands up if you ever owned one. My condolences to the two of you.

The 32X came about at a time when Sega, after living upon a tower of extreme complacency for the past few years, found the Megadrive’s 16 bit rule was coming to an end with frightening announcements of Playstations, Jaguars and other 32 bit powered hardware.

A department of Sega Japan, in conjunction with Sega of America, were ordered to design a 32 bit add-on for the Megadrive, and this would become the 32X. Bizarrely, however, another section of Sega Japan were also working on what would eventually become the Saturn – a superior 32-bit CD format. Interestingly, this was done in secret, completely unbeknownst to Sega of America while they beavered away on the 32X. This famously weird manoeuvre was completed in style by Sega’s somewhat suicidal decision to release both consoles at roughly the very same time.

The result? The 32X, with its old-fashioned cartridge format, rather laughable operating procedure (two power supplies, an extra video cable, and even some wacky anti-magnetic clips to keep it held snugly in the Megadrive cartridge slot) and poor software support from the get go, was dead before it started - losing to the Saturn, which in turn was obliterated by the Playstation and Nintendo 64. A sad tale at the time, but an excellent proposition for retro collectors with failing cash supplies; fairly cheap to pick up, and only about six good games before you can call your collection “complete”!

Chaotix, then. The only existing 32 bit, two-dimensional Sonic game. But a Sonic game without Sonic. And a Sonic game sold on a gimmick. Initially panned at release – generally because Sonic fans wanted more Sonic, and less Knuckles – the game fell into quick obscurity helped in no small part by the short shelf life of the 32X. This is a shame because, once you look beyond its flaws, a tricky and intelligent platform adventure with a unique twist lies within.

Imagine a world in which you’re permanently attached to a companion by a mysterious elastic-like band of energy. When you move, they have to follow, when you jump, they jump. A nightmarish proposition and, indeed, the very core of Chaotix’s gameplay. So does it work? Hmm…sort of. When you get the hang of it, Chaotix is actually quite a wild ride.

Controlling the two characters simultaneously, bound together by one of Dr. Robotnik’s evil experiments, the player must learn to use this disaster to their advantage, namely by creating tension in the link to supply momentum to run faster, clear obstacles, and progress up platforms.

The physics engine that supplies this unique style of movement was a brave endeavour by Sega, and admittedly isn’t always one that pays off. The structure of the game’s levels is rather different to standard Sonic fare, with everything having to be far more spaced out to allow the bouncing, spinning (often out of control) twosome to rebound around the levels. Frustration will often come by becoming stuck either above or below where you want to be, mashing the buttons desperately to make the characters gain the movement necessary to progress.

Then there’s the constant risk of smashing clumsily into enemies (of which there are, wisely, also a lot less than usual) and losing a large amount of rings unfairly. Careening around randomly is something you’ll be spending a lot of time doing, and it’s fun at first, until you actually become bent on getting somewhere and trying to collect all the Chaos Rings (this instalment’s replacement for the classic Chaos Emeralds). Progress can become slow and frustrating, but after a while, when perhaps no longer judged simply as a “Sonic game”, Chaotix starts to get under your skin, and makes its subtleties known. I’d never promise you that true mastery of the crazy system is possible, but you’ll certainly begin to smile the first time you send your mammals speeding off in the right direction, clear a loop, kill an enemy, spin hectically through space and then make a neat, balletic landing at the level exit sign. That’s Sonic to the power of two, and then some!

And then, gameplay considerations put aside, as a 32X showcase title, Chaotix is a must for any collector. The 32X’s new range of colours is shown off fully, with every new level - chosen at random - taking place at a different time of day, resulting effectively in around four different colour palettes per stage (and there are about 30 of them!). This gives the game a real feeling of uniqueness on every play through. Sprite scaling is also used to hilarious effect - new powerups allow characters to shrink to a tiny size or grow into an enormous pixellated monstrosity. Then there’s the bonus stage…

Placed inside a fully 3D world, your character must collect blue spheres (a la Sonic 3), but this time, running up the walls causes the tunnel to rotate with the player, creating an immensely challenging, gravity-defying experience that often ends in falling - swearing and throwing your controller across the room - out of the bottom of the tunnel. Never has a Sonic special stage required such a devilish combination of planning and reflexes.

At the end of the day, Chaotix was a brave new idea, almost well executed but just missing that extra round of playtesting (probably due to being rushed out for the console’s ironically untimely release!) needed to make it a bona fide masterpiece. In addition to this failing, there were never enough people in possession of the hardware to play it, anyway.

Sega – release Chaotix on the next Sonic Compilation so the whole world can enjoy the elasticated eccentricities of this flawed, forgotten classic!

Originally posted on Retro 247 Games at http://www.retro247.co.uk
Copyright © 2006 Peter Michael Gothard

About the Reviewer:
Peter Gothard is a lifelong gamer, collector of rare and unusual Sega stuff, and eagerly anticipating the Nintendo Wii! He is just graduating in English Literature and Linguistics at the University of Manchester if you’d like to give him a job so as he can buy DarXside.

Alien Abduction is now Freeware

2007-03-18T09:39:00.000Z

Pumpkin Games have announced that their excellent shooter, Alien Abduction, is now Freeware!

More information about the game plus screenshots and the full version for both Windows and the Mac can be found HERE.

Review of Gibbage

2007-03-15T10:50:00.000Z

This review was originally posted last year on Retro 247 Games

Dan Marshall’s long awaited and much-hyped Gibbage has finally hit the streets, but was it worth the wait?

Around two years in development, Gibbage is a relatively simple concept with clearly high aspirations – playability over technological complexity, and thus a true “indie” experience in every way.

A two-dimensional platformer in the style of the 16-bit glory days, Gibbage takes frenetic platform-based item collection and adds a somewhat more modern one-on-one deathmatch feel to the proceedings, resulting in all the multiplayer madness of a game of Counterstrike but all the yesteryear charm of Bonanza Brothers or Chuckie Egg. Gibbage has no support for networks, so look forward to the added retro-styled bonus of being within poking distance of your friend who, just like in the good old days, is being forced to share your keyboard as well as your screen!

Each player is represented by a pod-like chamber on their respective side of the screen, from which, one at a time, emerge an unlimited supply of controllable gun-toting “clones” whose mission is to gather randomly dropped power crystals from around the level. These crystals are then carried back to the pod, and added to the amount of power the player has at their disposal. A tug of war ensues as each player increases their power by securing crystals, but at the same time risking power loss by being killed (and using power to spawn another clone) or losing crystals to the opposition. All the while, each player’s power level is steadily counting down, and the first player to reach zero is declared the loser.

Weaponry can be improved beyond the supplied popgun by the occasional presence of power-up bonus crystals, and these are generally typical upgrades such as homing rockets, land mines or lasers. However, the bonus crystals are also capable of enacting “negative” status changes upon the enemy, often with hilarious consequences. These include such gems as an “armless” state in which your luckless chum will spend several minutes running around unable to fire, with blood pumping from their limbless upper torso, or “cryo” in which the opposing player will be frozen on the spot for a length of time.

The gore, in fact, is another “feature” worthy of discussion, as this game is absolutely loaded with the red stuff. Death will generally result in a shower of gibs (hence the titular choice) and a comically rolling skull, and, as battle ensues, these scattered remains will pile up until stages begin to resemble warzones of the highest order – not for children (or, presumably, Daily Mail readers), this one.

With over 24 maps available, there is plenty here to keep both the casual or more serious gamer occupied, and the developer has sensibly integrated an unlocking system to control the availability of each stage, adding further to the “just one more go” feeling that Gibbage seems designed around.

But for how long will you actually want to play Gibbage? For a start, as a single player game, Gibbage is bordering on useless. The AI opponent begins to become unstuck the moment levels with any form of dangerous obstacle are introduced – cheerfully hurling itself into lava pits in an attempt to recover power crystals randomly dropped onto the deadly surface. If you have no friends, stay away from Gibbage! Multiplayer (clearly the real aim of this game), however, is an experience that, once one acclimatises to the tiny sprites and often rather unpredictable physics, can become a real time waster. A full round, either of long or short duration, will generally play out in a fairly balanced fashion, with a generally steady array of power and bonus crystals coming in regular supply. Perhaps the only criticism here is the tendency for something of a rush of crystals earlier in a game (often three or four falling in quick succession), with rather a dearth later on as players will find nothing left to do but turn their attentions to each other, often causing the rich to become richer in terms of power levels.

Attention too should also be drawn to the cryo bonus, which freezes the opponent for an almost unbearably long time; providing a real table-turner in game fortune and a massive frustration if a large lead was in hand before being crushed by this one swift move.

In conclusion, Gibbage is a bold, humorous and immensely playable title which, at only a £6 price tag, can be forgiven for its niggling playability issues by offering a lasting, entertaining and surprisingly deep (multiplayer!) gaming experience which should out live its asking price by quite a while. Roll on the next Dan Marshall release!

Score: 7/10.

More information at http://www.gibbage.co.uk

Copyright © 2006 Peter Michael Gothard

About the Reviewer:

Peter Gothard is a lifelong gamer, collector of rare and unusual Sega stuff, and eagerly anticipating the Nintendo Wii! He is just graduating in English Literature and Linguistics at the University of Manchester if you’d like to give him a job so as he can buy DarXside.

Old Reviews

2007-03-15T10:47:00.000Z

We used to have a Reviews section on the main site of Retro 247 but we've now decided to place all reviews here on the blog. Over the next few days/weeks we'll add all of the old reviews here for your reading pleasure.

Retro Style Header Graphics

2007-03-09T20:43:00.000Z

Adding to the new design of Retro 247 we've just included new header graphics on the top of each page. They all show some kind of retro gaming scene which really adds a nice bit of colour to the site.

A few more games have been added and I'm also looking at including maybe an Adventure game section. Adventure games seem to be making a bit of a comeback with some excellent work out there. I've played a few recently and they did take me back to the good old days of gaming :)

DROD, Streets of Rage and Zelda

2007-03-01T16:09:00.000Z

Some new updates to the Retro 247 Games website today.

DROD: Journey to Rooted Hold
Excellent game for the Mac featuring 25 levels and over 350 rooms.
Click for More Info

Streets of Rage Remake
Pays homage to the classic Sega Mega Drive game. For Windows.
Click for More Info

Flash Zelda
Everybody's favourite playable in your browser window.
Click for More Info

New Design

2007-02-27T11:18:00.000Z

We've just finished the new design for Retro 247 Games. Check it out at www.retro247.co.uk

The new design is a lot cleaner than the old one and should make navigation a hell of a lot easier. We're also going to be updating it a lot more often and including new sections as time goes on.

If you're a developer of either a game for Windows or the Mac or have completed a Freeware or Retro Remakes game then we want to hear from you. Our contact details can be found HERE

Changes on the way

2007-02-15T23:20:00.000Z

We're currently working on some changes to the main Retro 247 site (www.retro247.co.uk) and to this blog.

All for the better, so no need to worry.

The blog and the main site aren't updated enough which is going to change as from this week. Hopefully we've got a new editor on board for the blog and loads of other stuff too.

We'll keep you posted.

Mr. Robot

2007-02-07T12:05:00.000Z

OK, so I'm behind a bit but here's all the info about Moonpod's latest release Mr. Robot . . .

Moonpod, www.moonpod.com , is proud to announce release of its new independent game, Mr. Robot, available on PC. Journey through the bowels of a massive starship to save your robot friends and the precious human cargo. Solve puzzles. Overcome obstacles. Hack hostile networks. Evade crazed robots. Save the mission.

Mr. Robot is a 3D action-puzzle-adventure-rpg. Inspired by classic filmation games such as Knight Lore and Alien8 and mixed with'Ghost Hack' - an abstract RPG in which the player hacks into computer terminals and battles defensive computer programs. Featuring over 200 rooms, more than 20 different enemies, 7 friendly robots to aid in your quest, numerous medals to unlock and a built in editor so you can create your own adventures.

Demo download (24 meg): http://www.moonpod.com/externaldownloads.php?f=InstallMrRobot.exe

Official Mr. Robot Page: www.moonpod.com/robot

Moonpod press area (high res media, and company information): www.moonpod.com/press

Price Rise Bonanza!

2007-01-10T15:11:00.000Z

Addictive 247 are pleased to announce the Price Rise Bonanza!

At the moment the prices of all our games are at a stupidly low price, however, they won't stay that way and will now start to increase in price. The question is when will they increase and by how much?

More info at http://www.addictive247.co.uk/pricerise.htm

Time is against you!

Repton Spectacular Released

2006-12-29T12:18:00.000Z

Superior Interactive have now released Repton Spectacular.

It includes 112 new Repton levels plus 36 bonus Reptology levels. There's also special features such as The Making of PC Repton, Repton Facts and Figures and some hints and tips for players and level designers.

It's a fantastic addition to the Repton games and priced at $17.95, it's a must for any Repton fan.

Arse!

2006-12-20T22:06:00.000Z

Still waiting for the latest edition of The Arsecast to be released.

No, it's not some pervy porn show - it's a retro and indie gaming podcast. The latest show was originally meant to be out on 17th Dec but was delayed. Should be up there tonight now.

If you haven't heard it before then you're in for a real treat. Loads of gaming goodness and the host has a great style and sense of humour.

Hurry up Arsecast - I've waiting!!

Fight! Dragon Ninja Saga

2006-12-14T09:13:00.000Z

Years ago there was a game released called Dragon Ninja Saga. I'd forgotten about it until I stumbled across it the other day by accident. It's nothing special in terms of graphics but it does have that "just one more go" playability. It's also Freeware so no excuses for not giving it a try.

Another fun game by the same developers is "Way of the Dragon Fist". It's similar to International Karate and other games from that era. It's a good 10 minute distraction.

Get both games at http://www.gamewarlords.com/

Special Agent

2006-12-11T15:40:00.000Z

Special Agent is based on Apogee Software's "Secret Agent" from 1991. I won't go into all the details about the game as the only thing I can suggest is to download and play it!

It's freeware and will keep you busy at least until the new year.

Screenshots and the game can be downloaded HERE

Knytt

2006-12-05T22:38:00.000Z

Yep, it's got a funny name.

Knytt is a platformer which from the screenshots doesn't look up to much, but download it and give it a go - it's lovely!

Exploration is the order of the day rather than jumping on enemies heads and it's a joy to run around looking for parts to fix your spaceship. I really didn't think I was going to enjoy this one, but an hour and a half later I realised that my cup of tea had gone cold!

Download and enjoy

Addictive Football

2006-12-04T13:22:00.000Z

A new version (v1.4) of Addictive Football has been released.

It's a football game similar in style to Sensible Soccer and Kick Off and is for the PC.

More information, screenshots and the free demo version can be found HERE

You can read about the development of the game and any updates on the Addictive Football Dev Blog

Retro Remakes: Big 2006 Compo

2006-12-01T09:04:00.000Z

The results of this competition are now in. Check them out HERE

Now I won't pretend that I've played every game that entered the competition but I have downloaded and played a few. The top 3 winners games look fantastic and I'll be giving them a go this weekend. Congrats to everyone who won!

The download links for every single game in the competition can be found HERE

Gibbage

2006-11-30T12:57:00.000Z

Gibbage has just been added to the main Retro 247 site. Unless you've been living on a farm in Bulgaria you'll know all about this excellent deathmatch game. If you've never heard of it or played it before then go HERE and download the demo or buy the full version.

We did a review of the game many months ago which gives a lot more detail on the finer points of the game.

Enjoy!

Repton Spectacular

2006-11-29T14:53:00.000Z

Latest news from Superior Interactive, the creators of the fantastic Repton games, is that they are soon to release Repton Spectacular.

Richard Hanson of Superior has revealed that it will be a level pack for all of the PC Repton games (Repton 1, 2 & 3).

Repton Spectacular will feature:

* 32 new Repton 1 levels.
* 20 new Repton 2 levels.
* 60 new Repton 3 levels including Greek (Mythology), Roman, Arabian (Nights), Medieval, Aztec, Nova and Rainbow scenarios
* 36 bonus Repton 3 levels called Reptology
* plus 'The Making of PC Repton' article

No release date or price information as yet, but as soon as it's available we'll let you know.

Bruce Lee

2006-11-28T22:35:00.000Z

Ok, so this has already been posted on the main Retro 247 site but I thought it deserved to be mentioned here also.

It's a remake of the classic Commodore 64 game Bruce Lee. Now, over time I've played a good few remakes of the original and none are as good as this one. You might disagree and your entitled to, but for me this is a great remake because as soon as I started the game I was teleported back to my youth, perched on the end of my friends bed playing Bruce Lee on his C64.

It's funny that even at 33 years of age I can think back so far and remember room layouts from the original game and even the timing of the moving electricity! This is a great remake which has the feel and charm of the original.

The game is for Windows and more info, screenshots and the download can be found at http://planetflibble.com/blitz/

Enjoy!

Contacting Us and stuff

2006-11-28T15:55:00.000Z

Thought I'd better make it clear how you can contact Retro 247. You can send us an email to info@retro247.co.uk

Now why would you want to contact us? Well, if you're a game developer and would like your game included on the main Retro 247 website then please let us know. You can drop us an email or fill in one of the submission forms on our Contacts Page. We accept submissions for the following: Shareware, Freeware and Retro Remakes.

Or you might want us to mention your upcoming/just released game on this blog. Again, drop us an email and let us know. Basically, anything to do with retro games or modern games with a retro style, then we want to hear about it.

Please don't contact us over a new match-3/match-4/match-5/Luxor/Diner Dash casual game - We're not interested.

Retro 247 News/Blog

2006-11-28T15:12:00.000Z

This blog is an extension of Retro 247 Games and will bring all the latest news about the retro gaming scene aswell as information on new games with old school game play.

It will cover shareware, freeware and retro remakes for Windows and the Mac. Plus a load of other useless stuff.

If you're into retro gaming or even modern gaming which lends itself to the good old days then you've come to the right place.