But can it run Crysis?  This was the motto that surrounded every single PC build for literal years after the release of the game in 2007.  Crytek were not satisfied with what they had achieved with Far Cry in 2004, and decided to push graphical hardware to its absolute limits with their brand new and shiny game.  And boy, did they succeed, with a poorly optimised but breathtakingly gorgeous game.  Even better, there was an entire video game attached to this graphical showcase, promising open ended tactical engagements over massive levels, far removed from corridor brawling.

You have cool suit powers that switch between modes, on the fly weapon modification, and a wide array of guns (and vehicles) to wreak havoc on those pesky North Koreans.  And if there are aliens, well, the United States of kick ass will just have to murder them as well.  It seems like an incredible game on paper, even today when we have more open world games than you can shake a stick at.

But for all that Crysis is vaunted for its massive leap forward in graphical technology, just how good a game is it to actually play?  Are the suit powers really that interesting in the face of the many RPG systems that tend to overlap FPS games today?  And is fighting those aliens all its cracked up to be?  Is Crysis worth your time to play today, or is it better remembered?

On this episode, we discuss:

The Suit.

Crysis’s key feature is a powerful exoskeleton that lets you switch between 4 modes - Strength, Armor, Speed and Stealth.  Just how well does the game push these suit modes in terms of engaging gameplay?  Are they balanced, and more importantly, are they fun to use?

The Guns.

How fun is the gunplay in Crysis?  The game features a fairly typical roster of assault rifles, submachine guns and shotguns, but has weapon modification on the fly with a simple menu.  Does this do enough to spice up the gunplay and keep things interesting?

The level design.

Crysis features (mostly) semi-open world level design, with bespoke objectives.  Does this give you the freedom to approach them in the way you want, and does it maintain this philosophy for the entire run time of the game?

We answer these questions and many more on the 124th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!
 

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Crysis OST: Inon Zur

The original version of the game, available on GOG, will fail to start on modern operating systems (Windows 10+). 

This can be fixed using the below link, which James used for this 

https://github.com/ccomrade/c1-launcher

Do you know what the gameplay differences are between Crysis 1 and the remastered version?  Do you think that Crysis is better than the Far Cry games that came afterwards?  When are we going to play Far Cry 2?  

Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

If you would like to support the show monetarily, you can buy us a coffee here!

After their magnum opus that was Resident Evil 1, Capcom were not going to sit on their heels.  Coming out just two years after the first in 1998, Resident Evil 2 sought to have everything the original had and much, much more.  It connected its two character’s stories in far more meaningful ways, increased the size of each player's inventory (and their respectives arsenals) and had more cinematic and explosive moments to show the player.

And boy did it do well!  It received universal critical acclaim, with everything from its graphical fidelity to its voice acting considered above and beyond the original.  Many players consider this to be the best Resident Evil game to this day.

But in the wake of the 2019 remake, and a longform view of what eventually became of the franchise - is Resident Evil 2 really all that its cracked up to be?  Do more zombies and more action automatically equal a better game?  Does more inventory slots, disappearing corpses and a more linear cinematic progression bode well from a gameplay sense?  How does Resident Evil 2 compare to its other offerings, and is it worth playing today?

On this episode we discuss:

Story

Resident Evil 2 presents its story in a very interesting way - two overlapping but distinct perspectives in Leon and Claire.  Does this experimental storytelling work, and how invested were we in its fundamentally B grade plot?

Level Design

Resident Evil 2s police station brings back most of what made the mansion so incredible, with its distinct spaces and looping level design. How does it compare to the original, and how enjoyable is it when you move away from the Police Station

Survival

Resident Evil 2 takes away the need to burn corpses, gives you more ammo and gives you more inventory slots.  What impact does this have on the tension of survival, and how different is the focus on tactical exploration?

We answer these questions and many more on the 123rd episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Resident Evil 2 OST: Masami Ueda, Shusaku Uchiyama, Syun Nishigaki

Which Resident Evil game is truly the best?  What were your experiences like playing the original games back in the day?  Are there any other survival horror games that come close to this franchise?  Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

You can support the show monetarily on our Buy Me a Coffee Page.

Ensemble Studios blew the world away with Age of Empires way back in 1997.  It took a different approach to the RTS formulae than Westwood or Blizzard, and was rewarded heavily for it.  Being able to advance your entire civilization's technology level was a heady drug, and balancing the varied needs of your economy with a well rounded army was strategically engaging.  After releasing a sequel and pumping out a couple of expansions they decided to try to add something genuinely new to the formulae.

So just a few years later, in 2002, we got the spinoff Age of Mythology.  It was extremely well received on release - while the teching to later ages was still there, Age of Mythology expanded the role of heroes, added more factional diversity, had a wide range of mythical units to complement your army, and even added god powers that could make or break the tide of battle.  It seemed to just be Age of Empires++, a more fun and flavoured take on what made everything in the original great.

But does adding mythical units with no active abilities compare to the caster units in Starcraft?  Does the extreme focus on macroing an economy up with its slower pace combat make the game tedious?  Does Age of Mythology truly stand side by side with the other RTS giants, or is it fated to become a forgotten spinoff, just one game to litter the RTS graveyard?

On this episode, we discuss:

• Age of Mythology doubles down on the economic focus of Ensemble Studio games, adding faith as an additional resource alongside food, wood and gold.  Is it fun trying to optimise your economy, or does this come at the cost of more high octane battles?
• Many RTS campaigns suffer the issue of every mission boiling down to building a max population army, then attack moving into the enemy, destroying everything in your wake.  Does Age of Mythology succumb to this problem, or does it have a solution?
• How enjoyable is the combat of Age of Myhology?  Do the autocasting abilities of myth units and heroes allow for your to micro them effectively?  Does the relatively low lethality of units make fights exciting?

We answer these questions and many more on the 114th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Age of Mythology OST: Stephen Rippy, Kevin Mcmullan

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Pat guested on the Nostalgia Goggles Podcast to review and discuss Starcraft!

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Is Age of Mythology better than Age of Empires 2, or just different?  Are there modern RTS games that you have played that have eclipsed Starcraft 2 or Warcraft 3?  Which RTS game should we play next?  Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

Next episode we’re doing our annual mailbag, so if you have any questions we’d love if you’d drop by!

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If you enjoy the show and want to support us monetarily, please check out our Buy me a Coffee Page!

Over the past year, the Retro Spectives Podcast has started to see a small community of gamers join up to our discord server.  We talk old video-games, new video games, and tend to get into a lot of arguments over exactly which ARPGS suck and why.

As we end this year, we thought it would be fun to open up our mailbag for questions from these users.  And they all delivered with some fantastic questions! We got to talk in depth about games and their mechanics, both from the show and 2019.  We got to revisit old arguments and even got into entirely new ones! Thanks to everyone who submitted questions, keep ‘em coming!

On this episode, we discuss:

• What are the worst opinions of both James and Pat according to the other person?  It took hours to narrow down from the available possibilities, but we got there in the end.
• Is there anything that games of the past used to do that new games no longer feature?  Were they changed for the better, or has something been lost in the process?
• How many times can Patrick mention Dark Souls in an hour and 40 minutes?  The estimated over/under is 10.

We answer these questions from our listeners, and many more on the 26th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!  We’ll see you in a fortnight to conclude our 2019 wrap up with our GOTY episode!

If you enjoyed the episode or wanted to submit questions for future episodes, then come and hang out with us over on discord  and for everything else, checkout our website at rsPodcast.net for all sorts of articles about the games we love and hate!

From Software is amongst the most critically acclaimed software developers of all time. Since 2009’s Demon’s Souls, they’ve released nothing but incredible titles and Dark Souls 2. But long before Hidtaka Miyazaki joined the company, From was mainly known for a completely different series: Armored Core.

First released in 1997 for the Playstation 1, Armored Core was an immediate hit, letting players fly around and destroy other enormous robots in short and intense bursts. But is it still a joy to play, with the advent of better control schemes and more refined graphics? Does Armored Core do its descendants proud in being a brilliant title?

On this episode, we discuss:

• Are you the bad guy? You work for a mercenary group called the Ravens, who accept contracts from all sides. Is any of the work you accept morally...dubious in nature?
• How well implemented is the customisation? Can you construct your mech in whatever fashion you choose, or are you railroaded into certain builds?
• Who designed this control scheme, and what's the easiest way to shoot them in the head? Spoiler: It ain’t in a mech!

We answer these questions, and many more, on the 25th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Long before PlatinumGames was revolutionising the 3D brawler space with titles like Devil May Cry 3, Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, they worked on a title called Viewtiful Joe.  Taking cues from comic books, power rangers and superhero films, it's a cel shaded stylistic beat ‘em up that makes an average Joe the hero of its tale. Joe must use his movie inspired superpowers to kick ass, defeat evil and save the girl!

But how fun is it to play all these years later?  Has the 2D beat ‘em up genre been entirely eclipsed by its 3D brethren?  Is Viewtiful Joe still a Viewtiful game, or does it hide poor gameplay behind is panache?

On this episode, we discuss:

• How well does Viewtiful Joe implement its visual inspirations?  Is it a slapdash coat of paint to make it stand out, or does it go far deeper?
• Does the game have  a regular and enjoyable fighting 'rhythm’, or does the constantly replenishing power bar lead to a more stilted and unsatisfying experience?
• Does Viewtiful Joe deserve an Oscar for acting AND scriptwriting for fantastic scenes like this one?

We answer these questions, and many more, on the 24th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

On the 15th of November, 2001, the Xbox launched with a tremendous bang.  Not since Super Mario World for the SNES had a launch title been so well regarded.  Halo invented, and went on to define how console FPS games should be made - limited weapons, regenerating health, slight auto-aim - Halo made these the industry standard.  Halo was seen as a masterpiece - not just for its single player campaign, but for its fun couch co-op mode and competitive multiplayer.

But has Halo actually stood the test of time, 18 years later?  With a million sequels to its name, and the Masterchief Collection delivering a remaster of the games, is it just a nostalgic trip to visit the grandfather of console FPS?  Or does it stand up strong alongside its peers, and show the world that Halo is a true classic?  

On this episode, Patrick, James and special guest Cameron Boozarjomehri of the Sweating the Small Stuff Podcast discuss:

• How well implemented is the two-weapon system in Halo?  Is it needlessly restrictive and punishing? Or does it add to the strategic depth and tactical approaches available to you?
• How good is Halo’s level design?  Are it's inside areas just as strong as its outdoor ones?  Is its use of backtracking and reuse of assets a novel twist, or just boring and lazy?
• Will Patrick ever admit the benefits of a controller for an FPS, or will he continue to obnoxiously proclaim the superiority of mouse and keyboard?

We answer these questions, and many more, on the 23rd episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!  

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Vagrant Story is one of the dark horses of the JRPG genre.  Its exposition-light storytelling is rooted in Shakespearean dialogue rather than adolescent chosen ones.  Its RPG systems are complex, but you have essentially zero control over character customisation. A rhythm mini-game forms the heart of its combat, but you’ll spend the majority of your time playing sorting through menus.  This is Vagrant Story, a mish-mash of genres and ideas, another game that defies easy explanation.

But does this all come together into an enjoyable whole?  Are Vagrant Story’s individual parts strong, and do they complement one another?  Has Vagrant Story stood the test of time, or was it a botched experiment, best left in the dungeons of the city of Lea Monde?

On this episode, we discuss:

• Vagrant Story’s plot is confusing and poorly explained.  Its characters rarely give useful exposition dumps to the player.  But is this a bad thing? Is the story more sophisticated and interesting when told in this way, or does it just lead to plot holes?
• The gameplay on display here is enormously complex.  There are many different damage systems that require deep analysis to even begin to understand.  You spend most of your time in menus trying to figure out what the most effective way to proceed is.  But doe complexity equal depth? Is Vagrant story a deep and interesting experience, or just a hard to understand one?
• Can James trick Pat into admitting that his dislike of Vagrant Story’s box puzzles means that Stephen’s Sausage Roll (the greatest game ever made - Pat) also sucks?

Find out the answers to these questions and many more on Episode 22 of Retro Spectives!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Back in the early 2000s, World War 2 shooters were in vogue.  The broader gaming audience had moved on from the more abstract settings of Quake or Doom, and were demanding real world locations, guns and lethality.  Call of Duty wasn’t the first, nor the last of these - but at the time of release it was praised for its bombastic, cinematic action-thriller feel. Before Half Life 2 or Far Cry, Call of Duty was the king of PC FPS shooters.

But how well does it hold up, all these years later?  With a staggering 15 entries alone in the Call of Duty franchise, can the original hope to compete with over a decade of (debatable) innovation?

On this episode, we discuss

• How well does Call of Duty tell its story?  Can its narrow focus on ‘soldiers in the trenches’ stand up to the globetrotting, world-ending spectacle of later Call of Duty games?
• Are hitscan based shooters fundamentally poorly designed when compared to projectile based ones?  To what degree can a skilled player overcome the sheer lethality of enemies versus repeatedly dying to random chance?
• Should Call of Duty strive for historical accuracy in its portrayal of historical events?  Or is it fine to pay homage to cinema (in this case, Enemy At the Gates), regardless of its historical authenticity?

We answer these questions, and many more, on the 21st episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

What happens when you fuse two different genres together? Sometimes you discover something special, like action-rpgs, which go on to become a dominant force in the industry at large. But there are other combinations that have struggled to reach that kind of prominence. Way back in 1992, Blizzard tried to make a side-scrolling puzzle/platformer called The Lost Vikings, a game where the player takes control of 3 vikings in turn, all with unique strengths and weaknesses. Only by working as a team can they overcome the many challenges in their way. Does this lead to a compelling gameplay experience, or is Blizzard right to have never remade this game, giving them only cameo appearances in other more successful titles?

On this episode, we discuss:

• Are difficult platforming and light puzzle solving a match made in heaven? Or do they have competing priorities that lead to a confused experience?
• Titles like Super Meat Boy and Celeste are covered with insta-death obstacles, but are usually 1 screen challenges. Is insta-death still fun on much larger levels?
• The Lost Vikings is yet another title without a music volume slider. Who figured out that there was a music mute button, and who suffered through 11 hours of pain?

We answer these questions, and many more, on the 20th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Diablo 1 laid the groundwork for the action-RPG genre way back in 1996. We have Diablo to thank for genre staples like colour-coded loot, elite mobs and town-portal scrolls. But since then, ARPGS have evolved into incredibly complex beasts, with sprawling skill trees, crafting systems and character customisation that makes Diablo 1 look quaint in comparison.

But is high-complexity necessarily better than a game which is simple and refined? Are more realistic graphics with their anti-aliasing and 3D Graphics better than basic yet haunting hallways? Has Diablo 1 stood the test of time, or is it better left forgotten as a relic of the ARPG genre?

In this episode, we discuss:

• What creates good atmosphere? How well does Diablo 1 immerse you in its experience, and how does it compare to modern ARPGS like Diablo 3 and Path to Exile?
• The amount and types of loot available to you while playing through Diablo is quite limited - does this make loot feel more meaningful, or does it just make the game less interesting?
• Pat and James continue their classic argument about respecs. Are respecs something every game should have, or is something essential lost when you can change the nature of your character with ease?

We answer these questions, and many more, on the 19th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Back in 2004, the Indie gaming scene as we understand it today was non-existent. If you were an independent game developer you were more likely to be at home on ad-infested websites like Newgrounds than on the shelf at your local game store. Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya changed all that with Cave Story. He showed the world that a one person project (entirely free!) could stand alongside the best games out there and paved the way for countless independent studios.

But how fun is it to play today, all these years later? Modern indie titles have access to funding through kickstarter and a wealth of experience to draw upon from successful indie studios. Just how well does Cave Story compare to modern offerings?

On this episode, we discuss:

• How good is Cave Story’s story? Is a sense of charm and fun more important than plot or character logistics?
• Does the ‘weapon level up’ mechanic provide a positive experience for the player? How does it affect the pacing of the game’s platforming and shooting?
• Cave Story+ features several ways to experience the game's visuals and music, but which one is better? Pat and James strongly disagree.

We answer these questions, and many more on the 18th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Originally released for the PlayStation 2, Psychonauts achieved its status as a cult classic through bizarre Tim Burton-esque visuals and a novel approach to environmental story telling. Bursting at the seams with Double Fine's eccentric sense of humour, Psychonauts tells the story of Razputin, a young psychic who runs away from the circus in order to prove the worth of his oft-maligned abilities.
While Psychonauts may have mesmerised its audience back in 2005, does this big brained adventure still have what it takes today, or is this one circus act best left avoided?

In order to answer this, Pat and James ask themselves:

• What's in an art style? Psychonauts' presentation is certainly unique but is it effective at delivering its themes to the player or is it just bizarre for the sake of it?
• Most videogames need to put gameplay first and foremost, it is in the name after all. Psychonauts however is a game which eschews this idea in favour of novelty and wonder. Was this sacrifice worthwhile or has this left it a chore to play?
• Mental illness is a difficult subject to tackle, but this game does so with Gusto, albeit with a very silly coat of paint. Does this lack of seriousness harm the exploration of such heavy themes?

Find out in this fortnight's episode of Retro Spectives!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Blood, first released in 1997 by Monolith Studios, was the middle child of the big three Build Engine games, sandwiched in between Duke 3D and Shadow Warrior.  Its combination of gory horror-inspired visuals combined with action filled FPS gameplay was a huge hit at the time of release, but has slowly faded in many people’s memories.  Both Quake and Half Life loom larger in most people’s memories than Blood, and the question must be asked: why?

Is there a good reason that Blood has become one of the dark horses of the boomer FPS genre, known mainly to connoisseurs of the genre?  Or has the quality of 2.5D shooters been massively overstated?

On this episode, we discuss:

Weapons

• Blood has a quirky roster of weapons, including a flare gun as pistol, an aerosol can with a lighter, and a voodoo doll sniper.  Are these weapons just silly gimmicks, or do they all serve their purpose as part of your arsenal?

Level Design

• Bloods level design is, for the most part, compact and filled with secrets joining levels together.  Does this create a coherent sense of place, or does the abundance of tunnels just turn the level into an awkward mess?

Aesthetics and Presentation

• Blood’s story is very barebones, but is filled to the brim with references to 80s and early 90s horror films.  Can a reverence for a genre of film carry an aesthetic, or is this just a case of Borderlands syndrome where its all references and no substance?

We answer these questions and many more on the 113th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Blood OST: Daniel Bernstein, Guy Whitmore

Retro Hangover Duke 3D podcast featuring Pat!

Does Blood truly have the best shotgun in any video game?  
Are there any boomer shooters which you think are better than Blood?  
What modern game best captures what Blood is all about?  
Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

To support the show monetarily, check out our Buy me a Coffee Page!

Before Metal Gear Solid, there was Policenauts. A buddy-cop meets science-fiction adventure about drugs, women and the vastness of space. While it was released to critical acclaim, it only truly came to the west in 2009 when a fan translation patch was released for english speaking audiences. Even since then however, Policenauts has floundered in Metal Gear’s shadow; never truly breaking into mainstream appeal. Is this obscurity well deserved? Or has this gem been hidden for far too long?

To answer this, we ask ourselves:

• Is a hard sci-fi setting the perfect complement to a buddy-cop drama? Or does it leave a bad taste in the players mouth?
• If Metal Gear Solid 4 was a movie, then what does that make this?
• Did legendary director Hideo Kojima’s penchant for insane details serve this game well, or does the story drown amongst the details?

Find out the answers to these questions and many more on the 16th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Stealth games trade away much of the action in action games in order to achieve a much greater feeling of suspense. From hiding in the shadows to observing a patrolling guard, mastery is obtained through the art of patient planning. Back in 1998, Looking Glass Studios released Thief: The Dark Project , a game where you were terrible at killing but great at hiding and well, being a thief. Released to critical acclaim, Thief quickly rose to prominence and forever cemented the stealth genre’s place in the market. But can Thief hold up to the spotlight over two decades later, or has it been overshadowed by more modern takes on the genre?

On this episode, we discuss:

• How well put together is Thief’s level design? Does maze-like = good, or is it a lot more complicated than that?
• How does Thief approach its different difficulty levels, and what can modern stealth (or all) games learn from it?
• Is this opera singer the worst character in any game ever? Somehow, Pat and James disagree on this one...

We answer these questions, and many, many more (seriously, it's a super long episode) on the 15th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Link to the Windows 10 Thief Fix here!

Kirby’s Nightmare in Dreamland is a remake of the 1993 NES classic Kirby’s Adventure. It features updated graphics, a new set of minigames and an even easier difficulty than the original. You float around this idyllic platformer, stealing enemies abilities as you conquer the evil denizers of Kirby’s dream. But is it fun to play today, despite the almost complete lack of challenge?

On this episode, we ask:

• Is Kirby’s Nightmare a charming adventure, or does its lack of difficulty put a dampener on the fun?
• Are the pink puffball’s copy abilities a stroke of mechanical genius, or simply wasted potential?
• Can a game released in 2002 still manage to look a treat?

Listen in to find the answers to these questions and many more on the 14th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Max Payne’s story was incredibly fresh on its release in 2001. Taking its cues from neo-noir cinema, it pitted you against the real life monsters of our world instead of demons or aliens. It liberally lifted environments, dialogue and ideas from the wave of crime films that popped up in the 80’s and flourished over the next 20 years. This extends even to the gameplay - clearly inspired by John Woo action films and was the first game to feature the now commonplace bullet-time feature from the Matrix. Do the stylistic trappings and influences make Max Payne boring and forgettable, or does it’s self aware irony elevate it into something brilliant?

On this episode, we question:

• Does cheesiness and cliche ruin a story, or does Max Payne chugging down Pain Killers make for comedy gold?
• Did the adaptive difficulty give the game a smoother difficulty curve, or did it remove any hope of a good challenge?
• Are the nightmare sequences a terror for Max or the player?

Listen in to find the answers to these questions and many more on the 13th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Pokémon Snap was released at the height of pokémania in 1999. It offered to people’s imaginations a way to see Pokemon in full 3d in their natural environments, instead of poorly rendered sprites on the screen. It also offered a gentler, more exploratory experience - here, ‘capturing’ a pokémon means getting a great photograph, not enslaving it to use in pit fights. Does Pokémon Snap’s on-rails and slow paced gameplay get to the core of the Pokémon experience, or is it a boring snoozefest?

On this episode, we discuss:

• Should there always be logical underpinnings to your interactions with the world of Pokémon Snap, or is it better to have a sense of wonder and surprise?
• How enjoyable is the fundamental gameplay? Are the mechanics of photography well implemented in how well shots are graded?
• Is it animal cruelty to push pokémon into lakes of lava in the hope that something cool will happen?

Find out if Pokémon Snap is still fun to play all these years later on the 12th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater blew everyone away in 1999 with its take on skating - the environments seemed crisp, the physics were unreal and it had a wonderful trick system tying it all together. But just how good is this dinosaur of extreme sports if we play it today? Join Patrick as he soliloquises on whether Tony Hawk's has stood the test of time!

On this Episode, Patrick asks:

• How enjoyable is it to explore a level when you have a constantly ticking clock of just 2 minutes?
• Does the variety-centric trick combo system work to induce actual gameplay variety, or is it all surface level?
• Just how bad is the editing, and how badly do you want James back to fix it all for the next episode!

Join me, listen in and find out in Patricks very questionable solo debut!
(James was too sick to co-host or edit this week so be aware that this episode is of questionable quality)

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Certain games defy easy description or understanding. They unite so many disparate ideas, many of which feed into one another, that explaining it in one sentence is both a simplification and completely obtuse. And this is Megaman Battle Network 3. Its a card game - but it's also an action game. Its like pokemon - except you have no overarching goal or objective at the start of the game. Its an RPG - but you can beat the game barely touching that stuff if you’re good enough at rhythm games!

So, what exactly is Megaman Battle Network 3, and do all these elements come together into a complete package?

In this episode, we explore:

• How well do the RPG, action, and deck building parts of the gameplay work together? Do they feed into one another to create a better whole, or simply feed off one another?
• What sorts of things can you do with the customisation options available to you? Are they all damage upgrades and variants, or more diverse, allowing for creativity?
• Is the story actually decent or is James completely insane?

Find out the answers to these questions (particularly the last one) in the 10th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!  

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Quake is one of the most influential shooters ever made. While its contemporaries like Duke Nukem and Blood were dabbling in the illusion heavy 2.5D, Quake chose instead to feature fully 3D models and environments. It introduced true vertical spaces, encouraged the use of the mouse to aim and forced players to manage distance far more actively. But does its gameplay hold up all these years later, or has it been eclipsed by refinements taken by more modern shooters?

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• How does the decision to make most enemies shoot projectiles or attack in melee, instead of hitscan, affect the pace and feel of the gameplay?
• Is Episode 4 the apex of the Quake experience, with its larger spaces and more abundant power ups? Or do those very things detract from the more skill-testing, claustrophobic environs?
• Just how many shades of green and brown can you use in the creation of 23 near identical castles?

Find out if Quake has truly stood the test of time in the 9th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Silent Hill 2 holds a special place in many people’s hearts. Its held up as a poster child for both its oppressive atmosphere and the multi-layered and surreal tale it tells, of the town and the people that have been drawn to it. It tried to tell a story quite different from the conspiracy driven Resident Evil or the demon invasion of Doom 3. Is Silent Hill 2’s psychological horror as scary as ever? Does the gameplay of collecting keys and solving puzzles contribute to the atmosphere?

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• How important is the gameplay in what is primarily regarded as a narrative driven game? Can you tell a horrifying story if you’re spending most of your time solving puzzles?
• Just what is it that’s so special about the town of Silent Hill? How important is a sense of place in establishing atmosphere and immersion?
• How can we reconcile the terrible events of the game with the fact that a Shizu was controlling all of our fates from the very beginning?

Find out what we really think on the 8th, and longest so far, episode of Retro Spectives!
 

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Ape Escape was a defining platformer of the Playstation 1 era, notably being the very first to require a dualshock controller to play. It truly pushed the limits of that controller, incorporating the joysticks in a way no game has done since. You journey through each level, trying to capture apes and send them back to the zoo where they belong - no-one tell PETA about the game. Do the innovative controls and basic gameplay loop of capturing monkeys hold up to this day, or is it just plain monkey-ing around?

In this week’s episode, we discuss:

• Are the joystick controls for activating gadgets a revolutionary and unique twist, or just bloody annoying?
• How fun is it to hunt, subdue and capture the evil, escaped monkeys? Do the gadgets give us enough options to do so?
• How is it possible that James hates the music so much when he’s so in love with Banjo Kazooie’s soundtrack?

Find out the answers to these questions, and many more, in this week’s episode of Retro Spectives!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Metal Gear Solid 2 was easily the most hotly anticipated game for the Playstation 2.  The first game had blown everyone away, and the jaw-dropping graphics of previews combined with the quality of the animation in cutscenes seemed almost too good to be true.  

Luckily for fans everywhere, MGS 2 appeared to live up to its wild expectations, getting almost universally glowing reviews.  It seemed that MGS 2 had expanded upon the first game in every single way, including having an even more convoluted story.  But for all its praise, there were hints of critique and backlash around the edges if you looked hard enough.  The change of protagonist definitely pissed a lot of people off, and opinion was divided over whether the ending was brilliant or just a self indulgent mess of ideas awkwardly stapled together.

So is Metal Gear Solid 2 still a game worth playing today?  Or are there flaws in this acclaimed classic that have been long forgotten?

On this episode we discuss:

Gameplay.

In what ways has the core mechanics of sneaking around a complex changed from Metal Gear Solid 1 to 2?  Are these differences meaningful in changing how you engage with the game, or are they just surface level changes with murdering enemies at range with a silenced pistol still being the best approach?

Characterisation.

One of the most memorable parts of the original Metal Gear Solid was its wacky roster of villains, all with their own questionably fantastical super powers.  Does MGS 2 continue this proud tradition, or are the enemy bosses in the game lacklustre in comparison?

Story.

To call Metal Gear Solid 2’s story complicated is a massive understatement.  To what degree does it manage to hold together its threads of conspiracy, philosophy and free will?  Does it all come together in a cohesive whole, or is it just a load of nonsense?

We answer these questions and many more on the 112th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Metal Gear Solid 2 OST: Harry Gregson-Williams, Norihiko Hibino

What was your favourite part of Metal Gear Solid 2?  Does Fortune get as much hate as she deserves, or should she get even more?  Which stealth game should we play next?  Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

You can support the show monetarily on our Buy me a Coffee Page!

F-Zero GX is a Gamecube classic that sought to turn the challenge of the racing genre all the way to 11. It's a game where braking is actively discouraged, and if your speed ever drops below 1000km/h you’ve made a serious mistake. It combines this insane pace with gravity defying tracks that bend and twist in on themselves creatively. Does F Zero GX’s refined racing formulae stand up to modern day criticism, or is it just too difficult?

In this week’s episode, we discuss:

• Just how fast are you really going in F-Zero GX? Are these legitimate speeds, or is it all a clever illusion?
• Does the story mode of the game teach you the lessons you need to complete the grand prixs? Or is it the other way round?
• Are long straight tracks where you get to go super fast far superior (team Pat), or is it better when the track is filled with difficult, hairpin turns (team James)?

Find out the answers to these questions, and many more, in this week’s episode of Retro Spectives!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Red Alert 2 proposes a question that every military nut wants answered: What would happen if the Soviet Union invaded the United States of America? Except the Soviet Union has mind control technology and trained giant killer squids, while the United States relies on Albert Einstein to develop weapons of mass destruction for them. Does Red Alert 2 represent the apex of the genre, or is it just another boring base builder?

In today’s episode, we ask ourselves:

• Is Red Alert 2’s dual pronged story a cinematic masterpiece or just a bunch of terrible scenes stitched together?
• Can an RTS with very simple mechanics still be as enjoyable as one with a million upgrades and options?
• How much frustration do James and Patrick have to endure before we remember that alt-tabbing crashes the game 100% of the time?

Find out the answers to these questions, and many more on episode 5 of Retro Spectives!
 

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is a game that served as direct inspiration for titles like Dark Souls and Hollow Knight despite being released in 1997. Its influence can be seen not only in these games, but in the entire genre of metroidvania. Has Symphony of the Night stood the test of time or does it wallow in the shadow of those it inspired? On today’s episode, we answer this question by examining the following:

• Is having deviously hidden features a reward for the investigative
  gamer, or just cryptic nonsense?
• Can the aesthetics of a 22 year old game stand up to modern
  offerings?
• Is Castlevania’s soundtrack truly a symphony, or just nails on a
  chalkboard?

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within was a stark departure from its prequel in terms of aesthetic. What was originally a whimsical adventure turned into a dark and edgy romp. But it also gained a far more sophisticated combat system and tried to build on its inspired platforming mechanics. Does it succeed in bringing these elements together, or is it all edge with no substance?

In today’s episode, we look at:

• What exactly is so special about Prince of Persia’s platforming?
• Does the ‘free-form’ combat system deliver on its promise of being a dynamic and reactive experience?
• Just how many bugs can one game have?

All these and more, in the third episode of Retro Spectives!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation then feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

When Banjo-Kazooie came out, it bucked the trend of 3d platformers. It had no interest in really testing your platforming chops, honed from hundreds of hours of playing Super Mario 64. It didn’t want to put you through a gauntlet of combat challenges. It simply presented a series of beautiful and detailed worlds for you to explore to your hearts content.

On this week’s episode, Pat and James ask:

• Do Banjo Kazooie’s controls still hold up today? They were made in the early eras of 3d platforming, after all.
• Exactly how much fun is it to pick up hundreds of collectables?
• Is Patrick a bad guy for not listening to the music?

Join us as we figure out if Banjo-Kazooie has stood the test of time!
 

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation, feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

In this inaugural cast of Retro Spectives, Pat and James seek the truth by breaking down the following questions:

• Just how difficult is Doom? It was hard in the past, but have all our years of popping heads in call of duty made it a cakewalk?
• Are its levels a masterpiece of design or just confusing mazes?
• How many toxic pits will we go diving into for some bullets or in hope of finding a secret?

We answer these questions and more on the very first episode of Retro Spectives!

If you enjoyed the show and would like to continue the conversation then feel free to head on over to our Discord which you can  find here or on our website. Thanks for listening!

Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 was a staple of many people’s PC desktop screens back in the early 2000s.  Nestled in between the big hitters like Warcraft 3 and Diablo 2 you would find this odd game that straddled the line between simulation and video game.  Developed by Infogrames Interactive, it saw Chris Sawyer continue the work he put into the first game, with more rides and tools to tweak your park to whatever specifications you desired.

Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 features over a hundred attractions, a plethora of themes and a roller coaster physics system that is completely ludicrous in terms of detail.  But in the pursuit of building a sandbox sim, did Chris Sawyer forget to add a compelling video game to the mix?  Or is this just ultimately an empty and lifeless recreation of rides going round in circles for all eternity?

On this episode, we discuss:

• Intrinsic Rewards.
  Does Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 do enough to incentivise the player with extrinsic gameplay rewards?  Are the intrinsic rewards of seeing your park grow and come together enough to make the game a worthwhile use of your time?
• UI/UX.
  How good is the UI for managing your park and specifically for building roller coasters?  How well does the game teach the player how best to run their park?
• Visuals.
  How good does the game look?  Is there more to the low pixel graphics that meets the eye, and what’s the difference between a new untouched park and one that has grown to completion?

We answer these questions and many more on the 111lth episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 OST: Allister Brimble

Do you know how to build the mighty roller coasters that we struggled so much with?  Are there actually that many differences between the first three games, or are they all essentially identical?  What other management style games would you like to see us play?  Come let us know what you think on our community discord server

If you’d like to support the show monetarily, please check out our Buy me a Coffee Page!

It feels like Metal Gear Solid barely needs an introduction.  First released in 1998 for the playstation, it launched Hideo Kojima into the western spotlight and has been credited as a foundational game in the stealth genre.  It combined a cinematic presentation with a larger than life cast of villains that somehow never broke through how seriously the game seemed to take itself.  There was an attention to detail here that blew people’s minds upon release, not only in the level of interactivity but also the many easter eggs and secrets scattered throughout the game.

But for all its critical acclaim, and its renowned legacy, is Metal Gear Solid still a fun game to play today?  Every single entry in the series innovated in a big way, and Metal Gear Solid was the first 3D title to come out.  Were pundits at the time just wowed by what was essentially a glorified tech demo, or is Metal Gear Solid still a worthy title to play to this day?

On this episode we discuss:

Stealth

Metal Gear Solid is credited for the revitalisation and popularization of the stealth genre.  But just how good is the stealth gameplay here really?  Is it as good as the later games in the series, and how does it hold up in comparison to its contemporaries like Thief?

Story

The Metal Gear Solid series is famous for its batshit insane storytelling, wacky villains and twists and turns.  How well does the first game execute on its story, and how does it use cutscenes and codec calls to reveal character’s personalities and philosophies?

Action

Metal Gear Solid isn’t just a stealth game, and features a heavy dose of action particularly towards the end of the game.  How well realised are the action setpieces compared to the stealth?

We answer these questions and many more on the 110th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Metal Gear Solid OST: Maki Kirioka, Kazuki Muraoka, Togo Project

Which Metal Gear game is your favourite?  Are the original Metal Gear 1 and 2 worth playing today?  Do you prefer to play the game with or without the radar?  Come let us know what you think, and recommend us games to play on our community discord server!

You can support the show monetarily on our Buy me a Coffee page.

In the 90’s turn based strategy and tactics games were everywhere, but by the turn of the millennium the RTS genre was stealing its thunder.  So it was a surprise to most when in 2001 Advance Wars seemingly came out of nowhere and presented a tight and refined dose of tactics to the Western world.  Its jovial and enthusiastic tone won over a lot of people, but what really stood out was just how robust its systems seemed to be, promising deep tactical options far beyond what first met the eye.

Advance Wars seemingly ticked all the right boxes.  It appealed to newcomers and veterans alike, it had a charming presentation, and it seemed balanced enough to make its multiplayer battles something worth pursuing.  Why is it then, that we’ve seen no more Advance Wars games in over a decade?  Why did games of its ilk seemingly die out in the mainstream, relegated to indie spin offs like War Groove?  Does Advance Wars have something special about it worth playing all these years later, or does its stripped back design make it an ultimately boring and lackluster experience?

On this episode, we discuss:

Aesthetics and Presentation

• Advance Wars shies away from the horrors of war with its story and aesthetic, with beautifully drawn sprites and a narrative that is more about squabbling friends than armies clashing to the death.  Does this work in the game’s favour, or is it impossible to tell a war story without getting into the awful realities of violence?

UI and Learning Curve

• Advance Wars has a very clean UI, and gives the player a lot of information at their fingertips to make the best decisions.  Does this make the game too easy to the point where it plays itself, or does this clarity of information let the player learn the relative strengths of units at a rapid pace?

Strategy and Balance

• Just how well balanced is Advanced Wars, and does it really matter?  To what degree to you get to delve into the full strategic possibilities on show here within the playtime of Advance War’s campaign?

We answer these questions and many more on the 109th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Advance Wars OST: Taishi Senda

You can check out the competitive online Advance Wars community (AWBW) here!

Is the new game+ of Advance Wars really as brutally difficult as its reputation suggests?  In what way do the sequels change the core gameplay (if they change it at all?)  Which faction leader is the best?  Come let us know what you think, or recommend us a game to play on our community discord server!  

You can support the show monetarily on our Buy Me a Coffee Page!

Power fantasies are the norm for video games.  We play them to blow off steam, to escape into another world where we can let our worries drop away.  But Pulse Entertainment wanted to do things a little differently when they developed Bad Mojo in 1996.  They wanted to put the player in the little brown shell of a cockroach.  

 You play as Roger Samms, who, on the verge of embezzling a million dollars, gets transformed into a roach.  You crawl around the disgusting tenancy where you live, feebly pushing small objects in an attempt to get back to your real self.  Your options are limited, and the world is a very scary place with spiders, cats and deadly poison everywhere you go.

Does Bad Mojo, with its undeniably gross aesthetic and limited perspective bring it all together into a cohesive video game?  Or is this just a buggy mess?

On this episode, we discuss:

Aesthetics.

Bad Mojo has a very unique look and feel, thanks in large part to its 3D scanning of dead animals.  Has its visual design held up to this day?

Story.

This game comes from the glory days of the FMV sequence, long before professional actors had become commonplace in the gaming world.  Does the amateurish acting here hurt the immersiveness of Bad Mojo, or does it just give it a different feel?

Controls.

Bad Mojo has an extremely simple control scheme, with you only controlling the roach with the directional arrow keys.  Does this limit the possible depth of puzzle design, or is this a case of simpler being better?

We answer all these questions and many more on the 108th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Bad Mojo OST: Xorcist

Have you played any other games where you’re absolutely tiny in a regular world?  Are there any other games out there which share something similar to Bad Mojo’s aesthetic?  Is this the worst voice acting you’ve ever heard?  Let us know what you think on our community discord server!

You can support the show monetarily on our Buy Me A Coffee page!

Luigi’s Mansion was the cornerstone of the Nintendo Gamecube’s launch in 2001.  It sold more copies than any other launch title, received positive critical acclaim, and occupied prime place in every promo gaming machine in gaming and electronic shops everywhere.  The game promised a charming take on a haunted mansion, quite unlike Resident Evil that had come before it.

You take control of Luigi, searching for Mario after he goes missing when he supposedly wins a free mansion.  You don’t have much to help you in your quest to find Mario in this haunted mansion - a flashlight and a vacuum cleaner and what little wits you can gather are all Luigi has to arm himself against the many ghosts that occupy its walls.  It's a tried and true blend of action, adventure, and puzzle solving, but wrapped up in a very unique way.

But is Luigi’s Mansion still a compelling title to play all these years later?  Does the simplicity of the formulae grow stale even with its short run time?  And can we really do a G-rated take on ghosts and still find it interesting?

On this episode, we discuss:

Controls.

• Luigi’s mansion has a fixed camera in the tradition of survival horror games, but gives us a weird blend of regular and tank controls.  Does this control scheme work in a game where the action can be far more frantic than slowly shooting zombies in the head?

Puzzles.

• Luigi’s Mansion’s ghosts are not willing to be compressed into paintings without putting up a bit of resistance first.  How enjoyable is it to solve the puzzle of what these gallery ghosts require?

Atmosphere.

• Is Luigi’s Mansion, by its refusal to engage with the more horrifying elements of ghosts, shooting itself in the foot?  Was there a lack of narrative punch to the identities and personalities of the ghosts because of the G rated theme?

We answer these questions and many more on the 107th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Luigi’s Mansion OST: Kazumi Totaka

Do the later Luigi’s Mansion games build on the gameplay of the first to produce a deeper and more compelling experience?  Did you enjoy catching the 50 Boos more than we did?  Is there an R rated take on this genre, and if so, where can we play it? 
 Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

If you’d like to support the show, please check out our Buy me a Coffee page!

Unreal was the Crysis of its time.  It pushed PCs to their absolute limits, with its advanced shader effects and enormous levels.  It featured AI that was far beyond the stilted and simplistic enemies that people were used to.  It built an alien world that managed to straddle the line between the more abstract early era shooter and what the build engine games were doing.  And it was all wrapped up in a succinct 10 hour campaign, that eschewed genre staples like door keys and fodder enemies.  Unreal seemed to represent a true evolution of the FPS genre.

But unfortunately for Unreal, there was another FPS that was released in 1998.  And that was Half Life.  Half Life went on to become the dominant FPS in a way not seen since Doom, and Unreal’s legacy would lie more in its ongoing arena multiplayer than its initial single player efforts.

But does Unreal actually deserve to be forgotten?  Was there something magical and unique about its design that elevated it above its boomer shooter peers?  Or was it instead ultimately just a shallow tech showcase, with no real substance beneath all of its glitter?

On this episode, we discuss:

Aesthetics.

• On the surface, from a modern perspective, Unreal looks kind of ugly, with its low-res stretched textures.  But it combines this with a haunting OST, varied level design and a color palette that brings its scenes to life.  Is the famed atmosphere of Unreal as alien and immersive as it is claimed to be?

Level Design.

• Unreal has a curious blend of massive open ended architecture fused with ultimately linear level design.  Does getting rid of key doors in favour of switches lead to the player getting lost in the maze, or is there something deeper and more clever at work here?

Combat.

• Unreal boasts some very advanced AI for its primary enemy combatant: The Skaarj.  They dodge roll your rocket blasts, maintain distance against close range weapons, and are generally a massive nuisance to deal with.  But the number of enemies you actually fight at once is low, and the game is even lower on enemy variety.  Just how fun is the combat gameplay of Unreal?

We answer these questions and many more on the 106th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

—

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Unreal OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8hkDjVYXQY&t

—

Is there more to the combat of Unreal than we’re giving it credit for?  Are there any mods which improve the fundamental Unreal experience?  What is it about the level design that’s so special, and are there any other games that have built upon it?  Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

If you’re enjoying the show, you can support us on our Buy me a Coffee Page!

When Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers first released in 1993, it was not a crack commercial hit.  It did however instantly earn itself widespread critical acclaim, with reviewers praising its dark and disturbing story, foreboding atmosphere, and incredible voice acting.  The game brought the setting of 90’s Louisiana to life, with all the colonial baggage and real life voodoo history integrated into every little crevice of its world.

But can Gabriel Knight truly get over the ultimate sin of being a point and click adventure game?  Can voodoo be taken seriously after Monkey Island spent so much time satirising the concept?  Is this game as scary or intense all these years later?  Or has the passage of time left the narrative of Gabriel Knight without any bite?

On this episode, we discuss:

Aesthetics.

We played two different versions of Gabriel Knight - the original, and the 2014 remake.  Is one of these clearly better than the other, or do they each have their strengths and weaknesses?

Story.

How does the narrative unravel in Gabriel Knight?  Is having a slow burn story a good way to keep the player invested?  How does structuring the game into days affect how the story is told?

Gameplay.

How logical are Gabriel Knight’s puzzles?  Does having the game split into days affect the clarity of what you’re meant to accomplish each day?  Does the game avoid the fundamental issues that Pat and James have with the genre?

We answer these questions and many more on the 105th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

GK 1993 OST: Robert Holmes

GK 2014 OST: Robert Holmes

Are our critiques of the point and click adventure game puzzles valid?  What do the sequels change or improve from the original?  Is there a different adventure game out there that we should try?  Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

You can support the show on our Buy me a Coffee page!

The Legend of Zelda is perhaps the most iconic video game series of all time.  Boasting 19 mainline entries, and an endless swathe of critical acclaim and awards, it's hard to find someone who hasn’t at least heard of the action/adventure story of Link and Zelda.  

It all began back in 1986 with the release of the first game for the Famicom in Japan.  The game begins immediately with an open ended structure, giving the player multiple paths to follow, and an open world to explore.  You explore and fight, get stronger and overcome challenges, and discover secrets along the way.  It might sound inconsequential, but on release Zelda was breathtakingly audacious in its design, with its non-linearity and enormous world.

But is it still an impressive title today?  Non-linearity and open worlds are par for the course now.  And while Zelda has been massively influential, that just means there have been thousands of attempts at refining and improving over what the original game offered.  Has The Legend of Zelda truly stood the test of time, or is it simply just a historical landmark?

On this episode, we discuss:

Exploration and Secrets

• Zelda, like many games of its era, boasts a huge manual, complete with a partially filled map to get you started on uncovering its many secrets.  Is the process of exploring and finding secrets enjoyable, or is its reputation as obtuse and frustrating to figure out justified?

Progress and keys

• Zelda is stunningly non-linear, with most of the gameworld immediately accessible if you know what you’re doing.  Does the design of giving the player more utility and power through their progress instead of straight up keys lead to a more engaging open world?  Or does the metroidvania formulae do it better?

Combat

• Just how enjoyable is the moment to moment gameplay of Zelda?  Enemies can be fast and furious, and the game wil often sling a lot of projectiles at you.  Does the game give you the tools to skillfully deal with the obstacles in your way, or is it just about hit trading and tanking through damage?

We answer these questions and many more on the 122nd episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Zelda OST: Koji Kondo

The full manual can be found here

What other games have been heavily inspired by Zelda that we completely blanked on?  What were your experiences exploring the world for the first time?  What Zelda game should we play next?  Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

You can support the show monetarily on our Buy me a Coffee page!

Arkane Studios was founded with a dream: to create a sequel to the highly revered grandfather of immersive sims Ultima Underworld.  Unfortunately for them, they couldn’t quite secure the rights to the IP, and instead decided to make a game that was evocative of the original in every way.  Enter Arx Fatalis, a game that was released to widespread critical acclaim, but unfortunately for Arkane suffered commercially.  It wasn’t until the far more action orientated release of Dark Messiah of Might and Magic that Arkane started to see more widespread appeal.

But did the original Arx Fatalis deserve to go under the radar?  It features an unusual magic system where players have to inscribe runes on their screen to create spells.  Its level design is a complicated web of caverns layered on top of one another with secrets galore connecting them together.  And its quest design is almost puzzle-like in structure, requiring players to have their wits about them to actually progress through the game.  Does this all add up to a dream game for immersive sim purists, or is it just a messy and janky homage to a much greater game?

On this episode, we discuss:

Level Design.

How easy is it to navigate the labyrinthian caverns that make up most of the world of Arx Fatalis?  Is it easy to get lost in the web, or are objectives always clear despite the lack of quest markers?

Combat.

How enjoyable is the combat in Arx Fatalis?  How does melee combat stack up against other first person fantasy RPGs like Skyrim?  Does spellcasting give you a different approach to combat like in Dark Messiah?

Puzzles.

Arx Fatalis features some fairly involved puzzles in its dungeons, like the crypt or mysterious Hall of Illusions.  How well are these puzzles integrated into the regular gameplay and interface?  Does the game make full use of your utility spellcasting options to create the most interesting puzzles possible?

We answer these questions and many more on the 104th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Arx Fatalis OST: Kemal Amarasingham,  Simon Amarasingham

Arx Fatalis Libertatis Mod

Join the conversation and recommend us games to play on our community discord server!

You can support the show on our Buy me a Coffee Page!

Puzzles are like crack cocaine for their very special audience.  Whether it be a crossword, a logic problem, or even a riddle, unravelling them shoots a heavy dose of endorphins directly to the brain.  It is therefore no surprise that Professor Layton and the Curious Village was such a resounding success upon release, taking advantage of the portability of the 3DS before smartphones were a given for the general populace.

Combining a charming and relaxed atmosphere with an onslaught of different puzzle types, it was so successful that not only did it have many, many sequels, it even had a spinoff with Ace Attorney.  People fell in love with everything the game had to offer, right down to its devious trickery.

But has this formula of puzzles with a light story attached truly stood the test of time?  Is this better or worse than the point and click adventure games that defined the puzzle genre in the 90s?  Or is Professor Layton just a dull and repetitive ripoff of Sherlock Holmes?

On this episode, we discuss:

Story.

• How compelling is the story that exists in the webbing in between all of the puzzles?  Does its light and charming tone suit the seemingly dark mysteries that surround the curious village?

Puzzles.

• What did we think of the puzzles in the game?  Is there enough variety in puzzle types?  Can you logically push through most puzzles?  Are the ‘gotcha’ puzzles that require lateral thinking unfair, or an essential part of the Layton experience?

Hints.

• Is it possible to get stuck and unable to progress when things get too hard?  Are the hints that are available to the player reasonable without giving too much away?

We answer these questions and many more on the 103rd episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Professor Layton OST: Tomohito Nishiura 

Is there more to the story of Professor Layton and the Curious Village than we thought?  Is there another game in the series that is an absolute must play?  Which was your favourite puzzle?  Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting us on our Buy Me a Coffee Page!

Relic Entertainment has a long history of innovating in the RTS space.  Both Company of Heroes and Dawn of War are much beloved and respected titles that could hold their heads high even when compared to other goliaths like Warcraft, Red Alert or Age of Empires.  But in many ways it was their very first game as a company that pushed the conventions in a weirder direction than anything else.  This debut title was called Homeworld.

Homeworld is an RTS set in true three dimensional space, with fleets of ships able to attack from any direction.  It features a unique yet bizarrely suited control scheme and UI to fit this space, with orientation being determined around units rather than a fixed camera.  Its broader gameplay structure has you keep resources and ships between missions, rather than resetting to base building with each new map.  And while its story has a simple premise, it has a lot more dedicated lore around the edges than most games released at the time.

But does strange and bizarre and innovative necessarily translate to an enjoyable experience today?  RTS games are close to dead nowadays as is - does throwing all these conventions out the window even make sense?  Is Homeworld a unique and underappreciated classic, or has it been forgotten for a reason?

On this episode, we discuss:

Story.

• The Kushan fleet is a professional military force.  They speak in clipped tones, don’t disobey orders, and keep their emotions in check.  Does Homeworld suffer from its lack of characterisation and cultural identity, or are they simply acting like a sophisticated navy should?

Macro Strategy.

• Homeworld’s strategic imperatives are driven by the decision to have the campaign be a single continuous journey, with resources and ships carrying over from mission to mission.  Does this create a tense and immersive experience as you closely monitor your losses?  Does this force you down a narrower strategic path?

Fleet Composition.

• To what degree do you need to balance the various ship types in order to create a balanced and effective fleet?  Is there a meaningful difference between different ship classes?  How important is it to micromanage your forces?

We answer these questions and many more on the 102nd episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Homeworld OST: Paul Ruskay

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We played with the Homeworld Splendor Mod.  Highly recommended, since the game probably won’t even work without it!

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Is using salvage drones as much as we did truly the optimal strategy?  Did you get more use out of cloaking and mine laying?  Does Homeworld 2 do anything to address our criticisms of the first game?  Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

If you’d like to support the show, please check out our Buy Me a Coffee page!

Before Todd Howard’s promises about the climbability of mountains was Peter Molyneux and Fable, a game which promised a level of interactivity never seen before in an RPG.  Have children (that could continue your legacy when you died), plant a tree and see it grow, and dynamic rivalries with other heroes - Fable was going to have it all.

Instead we got something far simpler in scope and ambition.  There were hints or shadows of something more grandiose, properties could be bought, reputation existed, and you could fart in people’s faces.  But for all that it seemed to miss on its promises, Fable was still a widely beloved title when it released in 2004.  People loved its childlike sense of charm and wonder, and the freedom with which you could customise your character.

So where, then, does the truth lie?  Is Fable a game that’s fantastic precisely because of its limited scope, letting it focus down on the fun?  Or is it’s mish-mash of seemingly novel mechanics at odds with how shallow they are, both in and of themselves and how they interact with others?

On this episode, we discuss:

Story.

Fable’s story is a lighthearted and at times comedic retelling of a generic hero’s journey.  To what degree is this a sincere attempt to tell a story, and do its satirical elements clash with its rather menacing villains?

Systems.

Fable lets you immediately put skill points into anything from the very beginning of your journey.  Is this flat levelling structure better or worse than the far more common skill trees common to action RPGS?

Fluff.

Fable 1 has many different mechanical systems that are wrapped around the core gameplay - marriage, property ownership, reputation and gestures (to name a few).  Do these systems integrate well together and add to the depth of the worldbuilding, or are they simply funny and ultimately irrelevant novelties?

We answer these questions and many more on the 101st episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Fable OST: Russel Shaw, Danny Elfman

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Thanks once again to everyone who has taken the time to listen to us discuss these great games.

If you haven’t already, come say hi on our Discord Server’s text chat and let us know if there are any great titles you think we should play. Anything 15 years or older and under 20 Hours long is always seriously considered :)

And if you would like to support the show then you can do so on our 
Buy Me a Coffee page.

The original Pathologic has long been regarded as a cult classic.  Obtuse, frustrating, boring and unfriendly, it nonetheless captured people’s imaginations with its densely woven storytelling and mystical dialogue.  It was a game that came at the art form from a completely different direction from what everyone else was doing, but was ultimately limited by its fairly simple gameplay.

Pathologic 2 aimed to solve the gameplay problem.  Ice Pick Lodge, with a wagon full of kickstarter money, wanted to refine the spirit of the first game and realise their dream of death and suffering.  Combat, looting, infection, trading, potion making, the UI and much much more have all been expanded upon dramatically to give the player too much to do, and not enough time to do it.

But did all these radical changes to the gameplay come at the cost of the story?  Is only having the Haruspex playthrough instead of all 3 characters still a meaningful experience?  Has Pathologic 2 achieved everything that the first game was striving for?

Join us on our special 100th episode of Retro Spectives Podcast as we discuss a game that refused to bend to progress, and instead carved its own path through the gaming landscape

On this episode, we discuss:

• Story.
  How has the story of Pathologic 2 changed, and is it for the better?  
  The dialogue is more grounded and the politics de-emphasised in favour of more intimate character moments.  
  Does this make the game more immersive, or has something ephemeral been lost along the way?
• Gameplay.
  How does the gameplay of Pathologic 2 actually work?  
  We dig deep to wrap our minds around every part of this game's complex web of systems.
• Suffering.
  Is there meaning to be found in humanity's struggles for survival?
  Or does this game's portrayal of suffering  pale in comparison to the agony of looting those same park bins once again?

We answer these questions and many more on th1 100th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Pathologic 2 OST: Vasily Kashnikov, Theodor Bastard

A big thank you to everyone who has stuck with us through 100 episodes of reviewing and discussing classic games.  The whole reason doing this podcast is fun is because you’re there listening, and both Pat and James deeply appreciate you for it.  If you haven’t done so already, we’d love it if you'd swing by and say hi on our community discord server.

When we started this podcast nearly 4 years ago, we did so with a clear goal in mind.  We wanted to play, review and critique games of the past from a perspective free of nostalgia.  As the gaming industry grew, games changed, for both better and worse - and it is worthwhile to examine all those creaky and dust covered titles to see what has been forgotten.  Sometimes mechanics truly are outdated, sometimes modern games have done it better - but not always.  And discovering when an old game offers something unique because of what they supposedly lack has been an incredible experience.

Over these 4 years we have slowly gathered a community of listeners that has similar feelings, or can at least appreciate this perspective.  We are forever grateful for you listening to our show, for sending us tweets and for conversing on our discord server.  The least we can do is give back to you with an opportunity to ask questions of us once a year, not just about old games but about anything.

So welcome one and all to our reprisal of the Mailbag episode, with M4ILB4G.  Grab a beverage and settle in as we answer our discord listener’s burning questions.  And while you’re at it, make sure to drop by and join our discord server if you haven’t already.  There’s no Retro Spectives without you, and we appreciate you all deeply.

On this episode, we discuss:

• Remakes and remasters.
  Are they an exciting way to re-experience classics of the past?  Do they provide a way for new players to get into old games they wouldn’t have otherwise?  Or are they soulless cash grabs, stifling creativity and pushing the original games out of the spotlight?
• Re-living games for the first time.
  If we had the opportunity to play any game or series blind again, which one would it be?  What kind of experience is best suited to experiencing something fresh for the first time?
• Making a game of our own.
  If we could develop or write our own video game, what would we do and how would we do it?  Are there any lessons you’ve learned from doing the pod that you would be eager to integrate into the game?

We answer these questions and many, many more on the 99.5th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Medivo from Jazz Jackrabbit: 

River of Despair  from The Binding of Isaac: Jonathan Evans, Matthias Nicol Bossi, Ridiculon

The Metroid games are certified classics for a reason.  Super Metroid, in particular, is responsible for inventing an entire genre, with a shockingly tight design that puts all other games of its era to shame.  The 90s came and went without seeing a 3D metroid game, but in 2002 we finally saw the release of Metroid Prime.  Could it possibly capture the magic of what made the 2D games great?

Well, according to the reviews of the time, it did that, and more.  Metroid Prime received close to universal acclaim, with everything from its graphical presentation to its enemy design to its power ups being declared worthy of its predecessor; a resoundingly successful conversion and evolution of the concept of a Metroidvania.

But 20 years have passed since the release of Metroid Prime.  And while the genre of 3D metroidvanias remains mostly barren, there have been other fantastic games to come in its wake - Supraland, Antichamber and Outerwilds, Prey and of course, Dark Souls.  Does Metroid Prime, with its focus on exploration and platforming, still hold up today?  Or are its mechanics and world outdated, primitive and undercooked?

On this episode, we discuss:

• Metroid Prime tells its minimalist story entirely through text you read while scanning logs and objects in the environment.  Not a single line of dialogue is spoken throughout the entire game.  Does this constant breaking of action to scan and read lines of text immersion-breaking, or does it suck you into its world even deeper?
• Metroid Prime, as an “action-adventure” title, touches on many types of gameplay - combat, puzzles, platforming and exploration.  Is this a balanced package, or does it do some of these things better than others?
• What did we think of Metroid Prime’s level design, both on a micro and macro level?  How well does this level design facilitate both the moment to moment gameplay and the broader cohesive worldbuilding?

We answer these questions and many more on the 99th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

When Resident Evil first came out in 1996, it wrote the book on what 3D survival horror was meant to be.  Fixed camera angles, a creepy atmosphere, tank controls and bizarrely themed puzzles - these were now synonymous with the genre, whether you liked it or not.  And for the most part, people liked it very much indeed, with its mainline sequels (and a couple of the spinoffs) sticking to and refining what made the original so compelling.

It's no surprise then that Resident Evil 4 was released to some degree of controversy.  It takes elements of the originals that many might view as sacred and throws them out the window.  It introduced (we don’t talk about Dead Aim) the third person camera angle, adjusted the tank controls to something a lot more smooth, and was more interested in throwing 20 enemies at you at once than tightly restricting your bullet count.  The story gave up any pretence of being anything scary, and Leon Kennedy returns as a badass action hero instead of a vulnerable rookie.

But for all its radical changes, the game received astoundingly good reviews on release, and is still a fan favourite all these years later.  Does Resident Evil 4 deserve the praise of being a kickass action game that in many ways has never been topped?  Or has everyone been wowed by the move away from the classic controls and camera in favour of the new hotness?

On this episode, we discuss:

• Resident Evil 4 features many, many different kinds of cinematic set pieces as you traverse from village, to castle and finally military outpost.  Does this constant focus on setpieces get boring in favour of focusing on the more essential moment to moment combat?
• How well does Resi 4 execute on its vision of a more tactical and involved take on third person combat?  Does its control scheme, camera angles and enemy AI work in harmony, or is there tension between all three preventing it from coming together?
• Resident Evil 4 has a different take on level structure, with strictly linear macro level design and far more expansive tactical spaces on each level.  Is there a problem with linear level design, and to what degree are you encouraged to make the most of its larger spaces?

We answer all these questions and more on the 98th level of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Resident Evil 4 OST: Shusaku Uchiyama

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Our Resident Evil REmake Episode

Resident Evil 4 HD Project

Resident Evil 4 Remake Trailer

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Is there a spinoff to the main Resi games that is secretly better than the two we’ve already played?  Is there another survival horror series in its entirety that we’ve been neglecting?  What did you think of the adaptive difficulty of Resi 4?  Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

The Chronicles of Riddick, when it first released in 2004, was the definition of mediocre sci-fi schlock.  Riddick, played by Vin Diesel, came across as a generic edgelord, and it seemed to lean into special effects and spectacle over anything more substantial.  It's a direction that didn’t play well with critics, nor with the fans of the previous entry, Pitch Black. 

So it was to everyone’s surprise when a videogame set in this same world was released to widespread critical acclaim.  Vin Diesel, under his macho exterior, was secretly a bit of a geek, and was heavily involved in the development.  Critics praised just about every aspect of this short and tightly-made prison-escape, from the visuals, to the stealth, to the characterisation.

But were those critics simply wowed by the glossiness of a cinematic FPS?  Are the individual gameplay mechanics in Riddick actually fun in their own right?  Or is this just another mid-2000’s hybrid FPS game that is better off forgotten?

On this episode, we discuss:

• Structure. 
  To this day, Escape from Butcher Bay’s non-conventional structure continues to impress modern audiences. Did it impress us?
   
• Stealth, shooting and investigation. 
  Individually, these are sub-par. So what’s Riddick’s secret that brings these together into something special.
   
• Characterisation. 
  Is Vin Diesel’s beloved character simply a generic action hero, or is there more to him than meets the eye? As a prequel, does Butcher Bay limit Riddick’s potential for development? Or does it set up Pitch Black’s captivating final moments.

We answer all these questions and more on the 97th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Riddick OST: Gustaf Grefburg

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Is it worth watching the third Riddick movie, or is it just more of the same?  Are there any other obvious influences we forgot to mention outside of repeatedly calling out Half Life?  Is Dark Athena as bad as the reviews suggest?  Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

Gamefreak, on the rarest of occasions, takes a break from toiling away in the Pokemon mines.  And when they do, sometimes they strike gold.  Such was the case with Drill Dozer, first released in 2005 to mostly favourable reviews.  As time ticked on, however, many began to look back on it with increasing fondness, and it's not hard to find those who consider it one of the best games ever released for the Gameboy Advance.

You play as Jill, pilot of the Drilldozer: a short and squat mech that harnesses the power of its drill arms to destroy and unravel any and all obstacles in its path.  It's a game that commits to it’s concept to a fault, with the world and everything around it shaped by those drills and what your mech is capable of.  In a world where 2D platformers are a dime a dozen, Drill Dozer can’t help but stand out - even if its box art was doing it no favours.

But does this all come together holistically to be an enjoyable game to play today?  And can a single-concept platformer avoid the dirge of repetitiveness that curses so many titles?

On this episode, we discuss:

• Drill Dozer uses an elaborate UI to help the player time the shifting of their gears.  Does this deliver the information to the player in a helpful way, or could more have been done with a subtler implementation?
• Does Drill Dozer try to dazzle the player with new concepts and novelty, or is this more an experience about refining your understanding of its core mechanics?  Is it, impossibly, both?
• Drill Dozer features a flying level, a water level, and a stealth level.  Which of these were our favourites? (the answer may surprise you…)

We answer these questions and many more on the 96th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Drill Dozer OST: Go Ichinose Satoshi Nohara

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Thanks to Electric Maestro from our discord server for suggesting Drill Dozer!  If you have any feedback to give, recommendations for us to play, or simply want to join the conversation, don’t hesitate to drop by and join our community discord server!

Killer7 is one weird game.  Developed in tandem by Grasshopper Manufacture and Capcom and first released in 2005, its very existence as a game defies description.  Within moments of starting, you’re placed into a world with talking bondage ghosts, a TV channel that drains your blood, and abstract puzzles that would fit right into Resident Evil.  Combine this with a cinematic third person slow rail shooter and you might have just a taste of what Killer7 is all about, but the truth is that you’re just scratching the surface of this enigma of a video game.

Killer7 has a diehard cult following, not just for its presentation and aesthetic, but for its incredibly deep and confusing story.  But for all its fans, what is the experience of playing Killer7 actually like?  Is there an enjoyable game underneath all of its layers?  Or are they merely disguising something that's all flash and no sizzle?

On this episode, we discuss:

Presentation and Style

Killer7 is absolutely dripping in style.  From the broader minimalistic cell shaded environments to something as simple as the way characters reload their weapons, there’s a unique vibe to this game that is hard to describe.  Does the glamour eventually wear off, or does its presentation remain compelling for the full game runtime?

Combat and Pacing

Killer7’s combat is most reminiscent of something like House of the Dead, with zombie-like enemies and a first person static shooting style.  Does it match the frantic pace and tension of a light gun game, or does giving the player total control of the rail movement lead to something more plodding?

Story

What exactly is Killer7 trying to say?  There are layers and layers of story here, from identity issues, to geopolitics, to conspiracy and control.  Is this a compelling and understandable story?  Does it make sense?  Does it even need to make sense?

We answer these questions and many more on the 121st episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

We are joined by special guest Dave Jackson of the Tales from the Backlog Podcast!  He reviews interesting games that would otherwise sit on your shelf, with a focus on having spoiler free discussion initially for people who are on the fence.  He also hosts A Top 3 Podcast, where he and friends rank the top 3 of a given thing each episode.  Check it out!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Killer7 OST: Masafumi Takada

Did you find that Killer7 was all that it was cracked up to be?  Do you have any idea what’s going on with the story?  Are there other Suda51 games that are worth playing?  Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

You can support the show monetarily on our Buy Me a Coffee Page.