Thousands plan exodus to Event City

Gamer
Free newspaper
The
Huge gaming
Expo Invades
Manchester!
Thousands plan exodus to Event City
Wii U Is Coming!
Be among the first to try Nintendo’s
new console at Play Expo.
7
Need For Speed
We look at the history of the series
and preview the latest game.
14
WIN WIN WIN
Win yourself a full retro gaming
set up with our caption
competition
27
Cloud Consoles
What does the future hold
for this emerging technology?
29
Birthday
Celebration?
After 30 years, the battle still rages
on between the Commodore 64
and ZX Spectrum.
10
Expo Guide
After years of playing second fiddle to the likes of
London and Birmingham, thousands of videogames
fans will flock to Manchester in October for the
largest gaming Expo the city has ever seen.
Spread over a mammoth space at EventCity opposite
the Trafford Centre, the Play Expo is essentially four
shows in one, covering all aspects of gaming and
will appeal to hard core gamers, families and even
those with just a casual interest.
The Expo follows a successful run in Blackpool and
it is once again being developed by Replay Events.
now.play will feature previews of Christmas
releases, including a fantastic early look at
Nintendo’s next generation console, Wii U.
re.play will showcase classic gaming with over
300 consoles and computers and 150 arcade and
pinball machines.
cos.play is focused on costume roleplay, anime and
Japanese culture. Look out for fun and
colourful masquerades, skits and talks.
Find out everything you need to
know about the UK’s most
diverse gaming show.
pro.play focuses on competitive gaming and
eSports, including cash prize tournaments on the
latest FPS, sports and fighting games .
Hidden Treasures
The Expo runs on October 13 and 14.
Printed in association with Staffordshire University - www.staffs.ac.uk/opendays
Take your gaming to the next level
Which of your old games
could be worth a fortune?
18
30
Play Expo
Specialists in video gaming events and equipment hire
Replay Events are the team
behind the hit UK gaming Event
Replay Expo and our
corporate clients include The
Gadget Show, The Museum of
Science and Industry, GAME,
Eurogamer, The National Media
Museum and many more.
We have an extensive stock of
classic and modern video games,
computers, consoles, matched
CRT TVs, AV equipment,
projectors and flat screen TVs everything you need to give your
event that truly unique touch.
We can cater for private parties
such as birthdays and weddings
as well as corporate product
launches and even team
building exercises. - with any
size or budget catered for. We
can even provide experienced
technicians to set up and staff
your event.
Your safety and peace of mind is
our priority. Our technicians hold
up-to-date CRB disclosures and
all of our kit is fully PAT tested,
RoHS compliant and regularly
maintained.
www.replayevents.com
Play Expo
3
Welcome to The Gamer, a unique newspaper that supports an even more unique show.
Replay Events have been putting on video game events for the last four years and their
vision for Play Expo is to deliver the first UK event to celebrate all aspects of gaming.
Play will showcase everything from the first origins of classic gaming in the re.play zone to
previews of Christmas releases in now.play. You want pinball, arcade, cosplay, esports? We
have that too. You can find more information on the show in the centre pages, but for now
enjoy the newspaper and please let us have some feedback at [email protected].
I really hope to see you at the show.
Gordon Sinclair
Editor-in-chief
© 2012 Replay Events Ltd.
Cromwell House
Elland Road
Brighouse
West Yorkshire
HD6 2RG
01484 817718
[email protected]
Editorial Team
Gordon Sinclair, David Crookes,
Mat Corne.
Printed at The Guardian Print Centre,
Longbridge Road, Manchester M17 1SN
Layout
Hayley Hammond
Contributors
Mat Corne, David Crookes, Gordon Sinclair, Steve Lycett, Anthony Caulfield, James Hare,
Steve Rich, Simon Burton, Dave Cox, Bojan Puschner, Martyn Carroll, Lauren Bradley,
Gareth Kavanagh, Fardad Izadi, Adam Buchanan, Chris Marsh, The Gaming Widow.
OPINION
Boldly going forward is the best way
Gaming can be an eye opener in more ways than one
which is why The Gamer Editor David Crookes is
always excited about the future.
Looking back at the 8-bit games of yesteryear is always
fun. They set the standards upon which gaming has
subsequently been built and it is impossible to play
titles from the likes of Gremlin, Ocean and US Gold
without there being pangs of nostalgia.
What I also remember from those days is that there was
always a yearning for something more. Whether I was
marvelling at the splendour of a friend’s Amiga and its
4,096 colour graphics or wishing, hoping and praying
for a 3D spectacular that would make me feel as if I
was in the game rather than a bystander watching
pixellated monochrome sprites do their thing, what
excited me most about gaming was the possibilities.
The videogame industry is an exciting one. It’s fresh
and it continues to push the boundaries. What we think
of as cutting edge today is so last century by tomorrow.
Take LA Noire and its amazing motion capture, for
example. You can surely bet your bottom dollar that we
haven’t seen the last of the incredible advances when it
comes to attempts at photorealism.
LA Noire was a startling technological accomplishment
that used cutting-edge facial animation. Developed by
McNamara’s Sydney-based company Depth Analysis
over six years, 32 cameras were calibrated and aligned
to record 360 degrees of the actor at a rate of 1,000
frames per second in order to capture the expressions
of real-life people.
A 3D model of each actor’s head and, more
importantly, every facial movement and twitch, was
built so that what was seen within the game was almost
indistinguishable from reality. Unlike motion capture,
which many developers still use, there were no dots or
markers on the actors’ faces, nor any uncomfortable
camera headsets tracking their delivery. The result was
far more impressive. What we were seeing was the
progression of motion capture to something altogether
more advanced.
But even when this tech was unveiled, it wasn’t the
finished article. So far the technology extends only to
the heads of actors, but given time full-body capture using MotionScan will further evolve the possibilities for
both games and film. The future is not quite here yet.
Gaming’s quest for visual realism has become something of a Holy Grail for some developers and it has
been since the early days of video games, when a title’s
worth was often based on its graphics. Consider for
example how the lush-looking yet unplayable Rise of
the Robots in 1994 managed to earn itself a 90% score
in CVG magazine.
Today there remains an insatiable appetite for goodlooking titles, and games are increasingly becoming
films that we control. While a stylistic approach to
graphics is favoured by many, some feel there is merit
in producing titles that appear as true to real
life as possible.
Certainly, boundaries continue to be pushed. Gran
Turismo 5 cost £60m to develop and it holds the record
for the number of polygons per car (400,000, a hundred
times more than in GT4). The makers of Uncharted
3 spent a year performance-capturing actors for this
cinematic adventure offering, and the leading football
games FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer faithfully
recreate the action.
Yet one of the biggest problems in attempting to create
photorealistic faces is the threat of falling prey to the
‘uncanny valley’. The term has its roots in robotics
and was coined by Masahiro Mori in 1970. He said the
more human-like a robot becomes, the more people
are attracted to them – but only to a point. When they
appear too lifelike, people begin to see them as creepy.
Much of it is due to the eyes appearing rather cold but a
deal also rests on facial movement and lip-syncing.
Such problems remain an issue for many games
developers and film-makers, who have to make a
choice between working backwards from humans using
techniques such as MotionScan and motion capture or
else employ a cartoon look, often exaggerated, in order
to sidestep the problem.
This is precisely why videogaming is so exciting. These
people care. Developers spend millions of pounds and
thousands upon thousands of man hours to perfect their
art. They are dedicated people who know that hard
work reaps success. Possibilities become realised but
no-one rests. It’s all about the next best thing and we
can only imagine what that will be. For me, that’s the
most fun aspect of gaming and long may it continue.
4
Play Expo
It’s not every UK games developer that acts as custodian of some of the most recognised characters in gaming history, but
when Sheffield-based SUMO Digital began working with SEGA, that’s exactly what happened! We caught up with SUMO
executive producer Steve Lycett for the low-down on their latest offering…
So between the Transformation aspect and the
new engine, it has really allowed us to go to
town creatively. Want to race on Lava? Why not!
Water tech doesn’t just mean water exclusively.
Likewise with the flight, there is nothing to stop
us flying through space either, so we do! It’s a
really fresh experience when compared with
other character based racing games out there
and it all feels very typically SEGA arcade. Or
at least I hope that’s what everyone thinks when
they get their hands on it.
You have already released Sega Superstars
Tennis and Sonic & SEGA All-Stars
Racing. Now you are raiding the archives of
the Japanese giant for the upcoming game
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. For
the uninitiated, can you tell us a little about
your relationship with SEGA?
We’ve been working with SEGA now since
2003, our first collaboration being OutRun2 on
the original XBOX. Since then we’ve done a
number of the Virtua Tennis games, a couple of
OutRun games, and more recently we’ve been
on point for the SuperStars and All-Stars series.
What’s lovely about the All-Stars games is that
they’re a festival of all things SEGA, both
modern and classic. So the main benefit to us is
we get to work with many of the classic games
we grew up playing and enjoying!
How much freedom do SEGA allow you when
using their famous characters?
As we’ve worked together so closely on many
of their games, we’re now at a position where
we have built up plenty of trust and confidence
that we’ll take care of any IP we request. We still
spend a lot of time picking the right characters
and source games to make sure we’ve got
elements for long time fans, but we also have to
balance this with a desire to engage people who
are new to all things SEGA. Hopefully we’ve
got something for everyone, whether you’ve
played SEGA games all your life, or this is the
first time you’ve tried one.
How much time and effort does it take to
produce a game like Sonic & All-Stars Racing
Transformed? How big is the team working
on it?
Wow, tough question! If we said purely SUMO
staff, we’ve probably had about 200 different
people involved both in our main office, plus
our SUMO India office. If we opened that out,
we’ve a lot of support from SEGA, especially
from the original creators of many of the games
involved, and we’re easily heading towards 400
people or more. It really is an epic challenge!
What new innovations does the upcoming
game have?
What new characters or stages can we expect
to see in the game?
Well first, it’s best to explain the major element
of this game is Transformation. We have tracks
that have land, air and water elements in them,
and during the race the vehicles will transform
to race on all three of these surfaces. So it’s sort
of like three games in one!
One of the nice things about this game is that the
water and flight open doors to IP we’ve
previously avoided. So for example Panzer
Dragoon didn’t really make sense for a ground
based racer, as you’d want to get up in the air
with the dragons. This time, it was clear we had
to do it. Likewise, we’ve been after including
Vyse and Skies of Arcadia for a while, so now
we’ve got flight, we’ve got a really exciting
level where we do just that, fly you through a
huge aerial naval battle!
Racing on land draws on SEGA games like
OutRun2, so it’s all about high speeds,
drifting sideways with style through bends,
and of course we’ve got weapons so you can
use these to your advantage.
Water is a fully dynamic surface - we’ve got
waves, flow, rapids and more. Here it’s about
using this to your advantage, picking the right
lines, pulling stunts off waves and splashing
your opponents!
Then we have Air. Again we’ve referenced
AfterBurner here, so it’s all about speed,
avoiding obstacles, stunts and yet more
weapons play.
All these are worked into a single track, which
also transforms through a race. That’s meant
we’ve needed to build a whole new engine that
can meet our ambitions. This is geared not only
for this generation of hardware, but scalable for
the next. In the meantime it gives us some fancy
deferred lighting, SSAO, FXAA and all manner
of other techy abbreviations. In laymans’ terms,
it looks much better than the previous games!
5
Play Expo
Lycett’s
favourite SEGA
character Gilius
Thunderhead
appears in the
upcoming
game
Any character-based
racing game is always going
to be compared to Mario
Kart. How much pressure
does this put on you to deliver
a quality product and what
does the game offer that
Nintendo’s franchise doesn’t?
If you pre-order the game you
can get a Limited Edition
version. Apart from coming
with Metal Sonic – which is
cool in itself – we also include
an exclusive OutRun2 based
track. Anyone who’s wanted
to drive out over that narrow
sandy beach and take to the
ocean to race can now do so. It
doesn’t stop there of course,
but I do want to leave
some surprises!
Are there any secrets you can
reveal to us exclusively?
I have to be very careful here as
SEGA check we don’t leak anything before we should. Let’s
just say that the final character
unlock has some real, proper
fan service, combining a couple
of very respected SEGA IP’s
with something unique I think
the fans will be left open jawed
at when they see it!
The first game was very
favourably compared, but we
felt we could really push the
envelope with Transformed.
We’d actually been working on
the game for about a year when
we saw Mario Kart 7 revealed
with its gliding and driving
underwater. I can tell you, we
painted the air pretty blue
that afternoon!
However, I think when
people get to play the
different surfaces, they’ll see
we’ve dramatically pushed
this much further, it really is
about flying and racing on top
of really dynamic water. Plus,
we’re not confined to just one
universe. We’ve pulled in all
manner of SEGA IP’s from
their back catalogue, so every
new track and character is a real
even I also think we’re much
more of a racing game in the
traditional SEGA style too; it’s
very much about high speed
Character Origins
and skill. Once you combine all
these, you’re left with a game
which is very, very different.
I’d personally love it if I saw
the next Mario Kart steal some
ideas off us too!
Who is your personal
favourite Sega character?
Everyone always asks me this
and it’s a real tough one to
answer. For me SEGA was
always about the arcade games
and my holy SEGA trinity has
always been OutRun,
AfterBurner and Space Harrier.
Since they’re technically not
characters though, I guess I’ll
have to go with Gilius
Thunderhead from Golden Axe.
Every time we include him in a
game, I try and convince SEGA
we should get Brian Blessed
to voice him. It’s not happened
yet, but I’m not about to
give up!
What games will SUMO be
working on next?
Right now, our focus is getting
this one out of the door! We’re
thinking about what the next
one could be, but I’m sadly
going to have to keep that one a
secret for now.
Sonic & All-Stars Racing
Transformed is scheduled for
release in Europe on 16th
November and Steve Lycett
will be revealing more about
the making of the game
during a Q&A at Play Expo.
Golden Axe
Alongside Double Dragon and Final Fight,
Sega’s 1989 arcade brawler is one of the
shining lights of the genre. Axe-wielding dwarf
Gilius Thunderhead is already confirmed for
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, but
will Ax Battler and Tyris Flare be joining him?
Samba De Amigo
To date the only game to ever be controlled
by a pair of maracas, Samba De Amigo
began life in the arcades before making its
way to the Dreamcast and Wii. Amigo the
monkey returns, having also featured in the
first All-Stars Racing game.
Shinobi
Another late 80’s arcade offering, Shinobi
mixes platforming, shooting and swordplay.
It also features some rock-hard end of level
bosses! Console-only sequels saw hero Joe
Musashi riding horses and surfboards, so
who knows what we’ll see him driving!
NiGHTS Into Dreams
Sonic Team’s whimsical collect-em-up was
one of the highlights on the ill-fated Sega
Saturn, and was also one of the first games
to use an analogue controller. In an unusual
twist, key characters Nights and Reala will
appear in Sega’s new game as vehicles!
Skies of Arcadia
This highly-rated Dreamcast RPG, later
ported to the Gamecube, allowed you to
traverse the landscape in an airship. Expect
main character Vyse to continue using this
method of transport in the sky-based courses
of Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed.
6
A Year in eSports
Play Expo
Million dollar contracts, seemingly limitless reach and players from all corners of the planet. What was once a quiet bedroom activity has expanded into a worldwide
phenomenon enjoyed by a rapidly expanding international audience. The competitive gaming community continues to expand, as Chris Marsh from the European
Gaming League explains.
Competitive gaming – or eSports –
continues to make its mark and with
new titles such as Starcraft II and
League of Legends further expanding the portfolio of credible titles, the
future looks bright for what is still a
very infant industry.
In recent times, League of Legends
has seen the most marked rise to
prominence, with Bungie’s Halo franchise going in the opposite direction.
What was once the poster boy for
American eSports is now circling the
drain while its players hope that the
next instalment in the series will offer
them a much needed lifeline.
For Halo players out there, 2012 has
been a somewhat gloomy year. After
an extended period of North American dominance, culminating in huge
salaries, celebrity supporters and a Dr
Pepper marketing campaign which
spanned much of the continent, 2012
instead offered an end to the support for their series by Major League
Gaming (MLG).
No longer would the title feature on
North America’s biggest circuit. This
meant an end for players who had
turned their favourite hobby into an
occupation, forging a brand out of
their name.
Ironically, the last event to feature
Halo served up possibly the best
action we had seen on the circuit for a
number of years. A fitting send off for
a game that helped capture the hearts
and minds of many North American
and international players during the
franchise’s eight year stay on the
MLG circuit.
League of Legends on the other hand
has helped take eSports to another
level. The Warcraft III derivative
sees players control one unit in a
RTS style gameplay known as a
multiplayer online battle arena
game, or MOBA.
League of Legends has taken
eSports to new levels in the USA.
Riot Games’ extremely shrewd
marketing strategy saw the game
outdo its close rivals and earn a place
on the global eSports circuit. Now the
game is widely considered to be the
largest eSports title in the world,
surpassing the massive Starcraft:
Brood War and Starcraft II titles.
Even small matches can attract
viewership in the tens of thousands.
Starcraft II had huge boots to fill,
replacing its hugely popular
predecessor Brood War that had
taken Korea by storm and become
one of their national pastimes.
Backed by big name players and even
bigger name personalities, the game
has reached an audience that even its
older brother had failed to capture.
Starcraft II enjoyed continued growth
on the eSports circuit in 2012 and has
reached dizzy new heights in the
western world, even seeing Barcraft
taking off in popularity. Pubs around
the world now show Starcraft like any
other sporting event while fans and
punters sit back and enjoy a drink.
While RTS and MOBA games have
grown in prominence, the FPS scene
has suffered a bit of a lull over the
last 12 months and with the eSports
audience losing interest in Halo,
Call of Duty has filled the gap where
possible. Unfortunately the general
public are still quite alien to the idea
of competitive Call of Duty, with fans
preferring to watch more casual game
modes like Zombies.
of Duty is also looking to stake a
genuine claim for eSports dominance.
Treyarch’s imminent release of Black
Ops 2 could see a complete change in
how titles are developed, with eSports
in mind.
Game design director David
Vonderhaar has been a huge fan of
competitive gaming for a number
of years now and in a move to help
bring the competitive scene and his
development team closer together, he
employed long standing Call of Duty
pro, Mike ‘Hastr0’ Ruffail as the
team’s eSports advisor.
For the first time however we may
see a united Counter Strike front,
with players around the world coming
together for the first time under the
Global Offensive banner. The title is
looking to breathe much needed life
into two increasingly tired titles and
fans of the series will no doubt be
hoping to see Counter Strike back on
the global circuit in a big way.
After dominating the sales market for
a number of years now, Call
Here in Europe, competitive gaming
has continued to grow in prominence
during this year. The European
Gaming League has enjoyed much
growth, and in 2012 recorded a number of landmark achievements. EGL5
in Blackpool offered up the biggest
ever European console eSports event,
smashing all previous records.
The event also featured the largest
ever Call of Duty tournament, both in
Europe and Internationally. 113 teams
converged upon Blackpool before
Optic Gaming of America and the
defending champions, SK Gaming
of the UK, battled it out for the first
Modern Warfare 3 title. In the end
Optic Gaming were deserving
champions and scooped their first
EGL title of 2012.
September has marked a potential
turning point in the FPS landscape in
what could be the largest title launch
– particularly for PC players – for the
foreseeable future. Counter Strike:
Global Offensive has finally been
released by Valve and has been met
with a largely positive response.
For years now the Counter Strike
scene has been polarised with
players preferring to play either the
original, now on the 1.6 version, or
its sequel, Counter Strike: Source,
shunned by many hardcore players
around the world.
that they can really look forward to
and given the franchise’s huge
existing fan base, the sky is the limit
for eSports and Call of Duty. 2012
has been the year of the RTS and
the MOBA, but with CS:GO and
Black Ops 2, perhaps 2013 could
see a shift of power back to the First
Person Shooter.
Last month Call of Duty fans around
the world were treated to their first
taste of how the game was going to
look and the first batch of changes
are so far living up to the hype. New
features, including a greatly enhanced
spectator mode and the ability to
stream directly from the game, were
introduced to the world and have
now put the power in the hands of
the player.
The game puts a much greater focus
on the players themselves creating
their own brand and producing their
own content – something we’ve never
seen before from a mainstream title.
Now Call of Duty fans have a game
The European Gaming League also
held its first event outside of the
UK, choosing to work alongside the
European Esports Event (EEE). Much
to the surprise of many fans, the EGL
headed to Sweden for EGL6. The
event saw the top Scandinavian
players compete for the EGL6 crown
and experience a taste of the EGL
tournament experience.
The action soon returned to British
shores however, and once again to
Blackpool. This time Call of Duty
experienced a rather humble turn out
comparatively, with only 76 teams
competing. The tournament however
was probably the most competitive
to date and once again Optic Gaming
emerged triumphant amidst the
fiercest pack yet.
…with the
eSports
audience
losing interest
in Halo, Call of
Duty has filled
the gap…
The European Gaming League now
heads to a brand new city in what is
the most widely anticipated event
to date, with up to £10,000 in prize
money up for grabs on four titles.
EGL8 under its new name of pro.
play at Play Expo in Manchester
promises to be an event to
remember and a key date in the
international eSports calendar.
Play Expo
Nintendo Wants U
David Crookes looks at Nintendo’s new
console launch and why you should
get your hands on this machine at the
Play Expo.
When the Wii was released at
the tail-end of 2006, it turned
heads. The bundled Wii Sports
not only got people off the
sofa, it persuaded those who
would never have classified
themselves as a gamer to
venture into a shop and buy a
console. For many it was their
first ever gaming machine.
Others will not have owned
or played on a console since
being a child. It opened up a
fresh entertainment pastime for
millions of people.
The Wii has sold close to 100
million units in the six years
since launch and now we see
the imminent release of the Wii
U, a brand new console from
Nintendo that you can try for
yourself at the Play Expo (only
the third time it has been put on
public display in the UK).
Always keen to innovate,
Nintendo has again taken a different approach to its rivals, as
Shigeru Miyamoto explained
when unveiling the Wii U at E3
in June. He explained that the
gamepad is more than just an
interactive tool for the playing of the games. Rather than
offer a non-controller interface
as with Microsoft’s Kinect,
Nintendo has again brought
something new to the table in
the form of the Wii U GamePad. This tablet style game
controller has the standard
D-pad and thumbsticks, but
also incorporates a 6.2” touch
sensitive screen.
With the new console, the
Japanese videogame designer
said he wanted the controller
to be the focal point of the system, and the first thing people
saw and picked up when they
entered the room. Far from being secondary to the television,
he wants to break gaming’s
over-reliance on a large screen
set by having a system which
compliments the more open
nature of gameplay.
In breaking that firm bond between home console, television
and controller, the Wii U also
attempts to make great strides
in another area too. The Wii
made gaming more social than
it has ever been, getting people
together in the same room and
jumping around so that there
was much being played out on
the screen, but more happening
in the environment
surrounding it.
This allows one gamer to exert
a greater control over what is
happening on screen while the
others compete against him.
This could be laying down
obstacles for the others to beat,
or helping them to achieve a
better route through a game.
It now wants them to engage
with Nintendo again, and is doing this by extending the reach
of gameplay and ensuring
that, with the Wii U controller,
people can continue to pick up
and familiarise themselves with
what is on offer.
Of course, the games are the
hook around which Nintendo
tend their social lives in much
the same way that Facebook
wants people to forge and
exhas hooked people into a
community that is now very
difficult to break free from.
The Miiverse will be browserbased, so it will be available on
all Nintendo platforms eventually and will also be accessible
from smartphones, PCs, Macs,
tablets and so on. With the
Miiverse, users can talk, video
chat, leave messages, hang
around, draw and even show
their emotional state. The main
menu of the Wii U is plastered
with icons around which Miis
congregate.
All of this makes the Wii U a
very different beast. Less about
it; more about you. And it
works so incredibly well.
When people get together with
a Wii, the focus of attention is
as much on the people playing as on the actual pixellated
game. The Wii U goes one
better. It is system that can be
fixed or be portable. It can be
played in the living room with
physical friends or over
a network with virtual ones.
It’s about U. And Wii. All
played out in the Miiverse,
a set of built-in social
networking features.
Nintendo will be showcasing
the Wii U 6 weeks before it’s
public release at Play Expo.
Try out games like New
Super Mario U and
Nintendoland as well as
upcoming releases for the
amazing 3DS XL.
The social functions of the Wii
U - both online and in the living room – are what make the
system tick. This is especially
true when you consider that
the Wii U’s reliance on the
Wii Remote, Nunchuck and
Balance Board will be not be
impacted by the arrival of the
new controller. Sure, you will
able to use two Wii U controllers together, but the toy box of
other peripherals can stay out
of the cupboard for they will
also be needed.
Friends, family and other
players can connect within
the game and as Nintendo Of
America president Reggie
Fils-Aime said, “[They] might
be talking about the overall
game experience, about specific levels, about hidden areas
or difficult jumps, and you can
probably expect one of your
buddies will be bragging about
their high score.”
Nintendo has also addressed
the potential problem of one
player having a Wii U controller and others using standard
Wii remotes. It has come up
with a buzz phrase that it refers
to as asymmetrical gameplay.
Ultimately, Nintendo knows
it has a user base installed
which enjoys getting together
for games of Wii Sports and
Singstar. It understands that
there are people who like to
keep fit while using the Wii.
7
8
Iron Fists of Fury
Play Expo
The History of Tekken
If you’re old enough to remember the original Tekken Tag Tournament,
you’ll probably wince a little to be reminded that was released 12 years ago.
With its sequel Tekken Tag Tournament 2 newly released on Playstation 3
and XBOX 360, Play looks back at the games that make up the biggest
selling fighting franchise of all time...
Tekken
The one that started it all. As is tradition, the
game hit the arcades first then eventually
arrived on the Playstation in 1995. Often hailed
as the original and best 3D fighter, its success (a
record breaking million+ units) was attributed
to the fact it never tried to imitate the successful
Street Fighter series. This was not only because
of the third axis, but also due to its intuitive
controls – buttons were assigned to limbs rather
than the strength of attacks. This meant that
what played out on screen could be directly
interpreted by the player and combos were
easier to learn.
and were beaten. This title was released on the
PS1 in 1996 and also included a practice mode,
something that has remained a key part of the
game ever since.
Tekken 3 also introduced the much-loved
Tekken Force, a side-scrolling challenge where
players were pitted against a series of enemies.
Tekken Ball, a volleyball-inspired mini-game,
was also included.
Tekken Tag Tournament
Tekken 3
Often the most fondly remembered classic era
game, Tekken 3 was hugely successful,
registering an incredible 96/100 score on
Metacritic. IGN raved about the game, saying
“The only gripe that we’d have with it is that
Namco has set the bar so high that we
shudder with anticipation and dread over what
the designers will have to do to top this.”
As a bonus mini-game, Namco’s classic shooter
Galaga appeared when users first booted the
game up. If all ships were shot down a secret
character, Devil Kazuya, would be unlocked
Tekken 2
focus brought an increased reliance on
side-stepping to avoid attacks. Consequently
characters were grounded more than before
with less aerial ability, again creating a wider
point of difference to competitive games in
the franchise.
The third iteration of the series introduced a
number of new characters that are now
staples in modern Tekken games including
Jin Kazama, Ling Xiaoyu, Hwoarang, Forrest
Law and Eddy Gordo. This was the third title
released on the Playstation system and appeared
in Europe in 1998. Tekken 3’s main update was
a new emphasis on 3D and the character’s
ability to manoeuvre on the third axis. This
The sequel refined the system established in the
original game with new additions such as team
battle mode (two players with multiple
characters), time attack mode and survival
mode, which challenged the player to compete
in an infinite number of matches to see how they
could last. New moves were introduced,
including attack reversals, back throws and
chain throws. New characters became
unlockable when they appeared as sub-bosses
The first game in the franchise to appear on
Playstation 2, Tekken Tag Tournament hit
consoles in 2000. More of a spin-off in terms of
storyline, the game introduced the tag system.
The essence of this new style of gameplay was
that at any point you could hit the tag button
and a new character will enter the stage. Each
player had two characters with their own
health bars, but if either character’s health ran
out the round was lost. There was also a
1vs1 mode for people that preferred the
traditional style of gameplay but wanted to
enjoy the updated graphics.
What does it all mean?
Tekken directly translates as ‘Iron
Fist’, and the common storyline
that runs throughout the series is
the battle for control of the
company Mishima Zaibatsu as
part of the Iron Fist Tournament.
The franchise dates back to 1994,
a time when the genre was riding
high on the release of Street
Fighter II. Releases have covered
most major consoles with the only
noticeable gap being Nintendo’s
non-handheld platforms. This is
something that is soon to change
with the release of Tekken Tag
Tournament 2 on Wii U.
Tekken 4
Next up, Tekken 4 arrived on the PS2 in 2002
with hugely improved graphics. An interesting
addition was environmental hazards – walls
created a more significant threat when your
opponent initiated a launch move and could
juggle you to KO. This game saw the
introduction of Combot, a boss that will be
seen within Fight Lab in Tekken Tag
Tournament 2. Due to its popularity, Tekken 4
also included the Tekken Force mode.
Following on from the new modes introduced
in Tekken 3, Tekken Tag also included a new
mini-game, Tekken Bowl – a fan favourite that
has recently been re-released on iOS.
focus on the players
Some of Tekken’s UK community explain why they love the series...
Tekken 5
“I started playing Tekken competitively during
the early Tag Tournament days. I was attracted to
the game because at the time I was a big wrestling
fan, and seeing King’s multi-throws was enough to
make anybody do a double-take.
There was nothing in any of the other games like
this, then when I learnt the complexity of how to
do it... it was so different to everything I had seen
before. So curiosity got the better of me, and I
began to learn the game. The more I played, the
more I won, the bigger my head got. That is until
I was beaten in an arcade by more or less
everyone. I was to later learn that this was the UK
Tekken scene. My pride was damaged. I think it
still is, hence why I continue to play; in a futile attempt to erase the beatings I got way back when!”
Eze Izundu (a.k.a. Starscream)
“I first started playing Tekken back in the days of
the Playstation 1. At that time I played Tekken 3
on a really casual level. I never played fighting
games seriously back then. But I remember
playing that game and picking characters like Eddy
Gordo and Law and having a blast, because it was
cool, the characters had interesting personalities
that matched their fighting styles and the game
wasn’t trying to be a simulation of the real world.
What’s interesting about Tekken is that the game
can be really simple and easy to learn, but at the
same time it is challenging and rewarding when
you master the really difficult combos. As a
character specialist (I mainly use Anna Williams)
this is something that makes me compelled to play
Tekken every day. “
Jamar Jaja (a.k.a. Zero Ex)
“I started playing Tekken 5 when it arrived in the
arcades. It just had so much appeal. The beautifully
designed stages, the variety of characters and the
incredible soundtrack.
Tekken 6 built on it, adding new characters and
enhancing existing ones by improving their
skillsets and adding fight dynamics. Now
Tekken Tag 2 is coming out and again we see
more characters and new, and revisited, stages
with those unmistakable Tekken beats.
Tekken also has the most expansive
customisation of any fighting game series and
continues to do so - it’s a guilty pleasure of mine
to play dress-up Barbie rather than battling
people online!”
Cem Yatak (a.k.a. Imperial)
As part of the series 10th anniversary, Tekken
5 came to the Playstation 2 in 2005 featuring
an anthology of the previous arcade releases.
Taking fan feedback heavily on board, the
development team took a step back to
really consider what worked and what didn’t.
Whilst Tekken 5 did introduce a number of
new features and modes (namely the crush
system and Tekken Force’s replacement
mode, Devil Within) the main focus was the
balancing and perfecting of the now well
established mechanics. Tekken 5 was a huge
commercial success and sold six million
copies worldwide.
9
Play Expo
Tekken Tag Tournament 2: Brawling mayhem for up to four players at once.
Tekken 6
The first game to appear on a Microsoft
platform, Tekken 6 hit shelves in Europe in
October 2009 on Playstation 3, XBOX 360
and later on PSP.
The first current gen title brought incredible
60fps graphics, the popular new rage system,
bound hits and a scenario campaign similar to
Tekken Force and Devil Within. Most
significantly, it bought the series up to date
with what was the most important change to
the industry – the emergence of online gaming.
Using XBOX Live or Playstation Network,
fans could now play in various casual and
ranked online modes.
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
In its eighth major instalment, the Tekken
franchise has returned in sequel form with the
tag system. With many of the original
fighting game fans now in their 30’s and 40’s,
one important consideration has been to
introduce new players to the genre. Everyone
has picked a character and button bashed their
way to victory - it’s fun, but it really takes
dedication to become a skilled fighter.
The introduction of Fight Lab brings arguably
the most comprehensive training mode ever
seen in a fighting game, a breakthrough in
helping people reach that next level and keep
them playing. More importantly, the way it is
presented within mini-games means it’s not at
all daunting but really fun and can genuinely
help anyone improve.
This latest game boasts the largest character
roster in Tekken history, with characters
speaking their native languages. The game also
gives 1vs1, 1vs2 and 2vs2 options as well as
pair play which allows four players at once!
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 will also come to
Wii U when the console is released, with modes
classically inspired by Nintendo.
Play Fight @ Play Expo
To complement the new game, social online
offering World Tekken Federation is a premium
free service that allows teams to register and
arrange online battles, watch matches, track
stats and interact with players worldwide.
Spin offs
There have been many spin-off titles in
Tekken’s history including games on handheld
devices (Gameboy Advance, PSP, Nintendo
3DS and iOS) as well as comic books, anime
films, live action films and the recent cross over
game Street Fighter x Tekken.
The pro.play area of Play Expo will be home to a
host of brawling tournaments thanks to European
Gaming League, Armshouse and Electronic Dojo.
The Community and
Tournament Scene
There will be several cash prize tournaments run
throughout the weekend:
One of the most interesting elements of the
fighting game genre is its community. The
games were born out of the arcades and are
intended to be played in a social environment.
If you’ve never been to a live tournament, I
implore you to, even if it’s just to spectate
at first.
Saturday
Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 - Solo
Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 - 3v3
Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 - North vs South
exhibition Tekken Tag Tournament 2 - Solo
In the UK the tournament scene is still small
when compared with countries like the US or
Korea, although this is growing. Tournaments
are usually set up by publishers for the release
of new games as part of the search for a UK
representative at official worldwide
tournaments, or they are run by the community.
For Tekken there are many groups out there that
put on their own events – Manchester Battle
Arena, Electronic Dojo (Midlands) and Tekken
Force (London) to name but a few.
Sunday
Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition 2012 - Solo
Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition 2012 - 2v2
King of Fighters XIII - Solo
Entry fees for solo tournaments will be £10 per
player; team tournaments will be £5 per player.
All tournaments will be run on the XBOX 360. A
Play Expo general admission ticket is also required
for the appropriate day(s).
Free to enter fighting game tournaments will take
place in our now.play and re.play areas:
Saturday:
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition 2012
Persona 4 Arena (unreleased)
Sunday:
Tekken Tag Tournament II (Official Namco
championship Qualifier)
But that isn’t all. There are even more Fighting
Tournaments on the way, including Street Fighter
Third Strike and ST and a host of ‘retro’ fighting
tourneys too.
Tekken Cosplay Competition
Thanks to the generosity of Namco Bandai, there will also be a themed
Tekken Cosplay competition, which will take place on Sunday 14th - the
day of the official Namco Tekken Tag Tournament 2 qualifier.
The Winner will receive the following exclusive prizes:
For the release of Tekken Tag Tournament
2, Namco will be holding a qualifier at the
Play Expo in Manchester, the winner of
which will be rewarded with a place in the
UK final. For more information please visit
the Namco or Play Expo website.
* We Are Tekken Gamershirt (limited edition of 100)
* Alisa Kotobukiya figurine
* Copy of Tekken 6 signed by producer Harada-san on PS3 or X360
If you see yourself as a Jun Kazama, Eddy Gordo or maybe even Armor
King, then get over to the cos.play stage and shows us your costume and
your best moves.
The 30
Year War
Play Expo
10
When it comes to 8-bit computing, there is a system that sold
more than any other, which had
the sound capabilities and power to literally blow the competition out of the sweet shop. The
fact it looked like a gigantic
piece of fudge was the icing on
a very tasty cake...
They saw the potential of the
microcomputer. The brand new
C64 was unveiled in January
1982 at the Consumer Electronics show, to enormous fanfare. What stood out were its,
for the time, powerful graphics
and sound capabilities for what
was a very competitive $595.
Back in 1981, Commodore
charged their circuit design
subsidiary, MOS Technology,
with designing the next generation of sound and graphics chips. The plan was to use
these chips in a brand new
games console. That console
was eventually cancelled, but
new chips and looked to incorporate them in a powerful
the baton was taken up by a
group of engineers who had
worked on the C64’s successful
predecessor, the VIC-20.
Commodore’s aggressive marketing pitched the new machine towards the business
user, but due to the graphics
and sound capabilities, it was
soon established as a serious
gaming platform.
The quantity and variety of
games available was astounding, with every genre covered.
A multitude of amazing, musthave games were produced on
both sides of the Atlantic.
Games such as Impossible Mission really showed what was
achievable with the new hardware, and with every month
that passed there seemed to be
a new program released that
pushed the limits of the machine further and further.
An area where the C64 excelled
was scrolling shoot em ups. A
plethora of these released over
the lifetime of the computer,
including such notable games
as Thalamus’ Delta and it’s
sequel Armalyte, Hewson’s
Uridium, and a particular
favourite of mine, US
Gold’s Dropzone.
In the fledgling personal computer market, the C64 had to
compete against other 8-bit
machines such as Atari’s 400
and 800, and the Apple IIe.
Simon’s C64 ‘Killer Apps’
Dropzone (US Gold, 1984)
Probably my favourite C64 game
ever, a Defender style shoot em
up par excellence. Silky smooth
scrolling, varied enemies, subtle
strategy elements and full-on
blasting action.
Wizball (Ocean, 1987)
Sensible Software’s finest hour on
the C64. A shooter with so many
extra twists and turns, and featuring one of my all time gaming
moments - the Filth Raid. Magical!
Paradroid (Hewson, 1985)
No ‘greatest games’ list would be
complete without this. The
concept of Andrew Braybrook’s
masterpiece is revolutionary, as
you control the influence device
to take control of mad robots
on a stranded spaceship.
Impossible Mission (Epyx, 1984)
One of the C64’s early ‘Killer
apps.’ Infiltrate an evil maniac’s
lair, collecting pieces of code by
searching the furniture and
avoiding hordes of evil robots.
Also famous for the in-game
speech: “Another visitor, stay a
while.. Stay Forever!”
The Last Ninja (System 3, 1987)
This landmark game was lavished
with praise from the start. The
graphics were astounding, the
gameplay endearing, though
tricky in places, and the package
as a whole was a masterpiece.
Here in the UK, however, the
C64 was up against a smaller,
cheaper but no less capable machine, the Sinclair Spectrum.
The two machines went head
to head and were the cause of
many arguments up and down
the country, kids fiercely loyal
to their respective machine.
The Speccy was the best seller;
it was customisable, cheaper
by a fair margin and boasted
a vast library of great games.
Commodore had their work cut
out in the UK.
The pros and cons of both systems were many. The Spectrum
had a pathetic rubber keyboard
compared to the C64’s full size,
proper one. Its poor sound capability compared to the C64’s
legendary SID chip was another bone of contention. The colour clash on Spectrum games
was also quite laughable, compared to the colourful, albeit
chunky, sprites of the C64.
“the
Spectrum
had a
pathetic
rubber
keyboard…”
On the other hand, the Spectrum could handle high-resolution graphics with ease and
The Beige Corner
also ran isometric games and
vector graphics very well. Each
camp had very valid arguments
for their machine, but once you
plumped for one or the other
you were then embroiled in the
battle, whether you liked it or
not!
From a personal perspective
I was always going to get a
Spectrum, from the time my
mate showed me his 48k and
some of the great games that
could be played. Everything
was in place as Christmas 1984
approached, until one evening
my dad came in from work,
threw the newspaper down in
front of me and said, “Have
you seen that? What about getting one of them, it looks better
than that other thing.”
On Boxing Day I went out and
bought Commodore’s International Soccer and Activision’s
Ghostbusters. I just could not
comprehend how amazing this
beige breadbin really was, but
the fact I’m writing this article
proves that great things never
die, they just become retro.
The legacy of systems such as
the C64 and Spectrum lives
on. Many programmers at the
time were just guys sitting in
their bedrooms writing amazing games, just hoping to get
them published. Many of these
coders would go on to publish games themselves, form
software houses and shape the
games industry.
On the page was an advert for
the Commodore 64. I was gobsmacked - it was so much more
expensive than the Spectrum,
and I had thought I had little
chance of getting one. I just
looked at him and nodded, that
was that.
Without the success of these
early systems, the current
gaming scene would be very
different. The influence they
had on kids in the 80s, who are
today’s parents, has
undoubtedly led to gaming
becoming part of the fabric of
modern society.
I got up at about 3am on Christmas morning, ran into the front
room, and there under the
tree was a big square box. I
ripped open the wrapping paper and there, staring back at
me was the Commodore logo!
I couldn’t really believe that I
owned this amazing piece of
technology. I set it up, loaded
the welcome tape that came
with the system, and the rest
is history…
The vibrant retro gaming
scene, that has flourished in
the last ten years, proves how
important a machine like the
C64 was, and I would say still
is. Even at 30 years old the C64
is still very much in the hearts
and minds of a generation of
gamers. They continue to enjoy
the products of many talented
individuals who made, and
continue to make, the C64 the
best home computer of all time.
Keeping The Fire Burning
Jason Kelk from Oldschool Gaming lifts
the lid on the community of developers
that are still producing new games for
classic systems…
For some, the 8-bit era that the Commodore 64,
Spectrum and other classic machines belong to
wasn’t just about playing games. These people
get misty-eyed at memories of poring over thousands of lines of program code in the same way
others would whilst remembering Jet Set
Willy or Uridium. And those memories are
sometimes enough to bring programmers out of
retirement to actually start writing brand new
programs for their beloved 8-bit machines!
Sometimes these games are conversions of titles
that were never ported to the programmer’s
chosen machine; Space Harrier on the Atari
8-bit, the C64 version of Prince of Persia and
Horace in the Mystic Woods for the Spectrum
are all titles that have been recently released to
fill gaps in their respective platforms’ software
catalogues and in a few cases like R-Type on
the Amstrad CPC, a significantly improved
version of an existing title is released to right
what the developers see as a wrong.
Also popular are ‘demakes’, which see a relatively recent game pared down until it can be
Play Expo
11
In 1982, two systems were launched that would become
the UK’s most popular home computers and the basis for
playground arguments across the country: the Commodore 64
and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. To celebrate their 30th birthdays,
we look at these two iconic machines with the help of C64
lover Simon Burton and Spectrum fanatic Martyn Carroll.
Let battle commence!
The Black Corner
If Sinclair Research was still
around today, making home
computers, then I’d almost
certainly own one. Some may
mock, but it’s only like longtime Apple fans remaining
faithful to the Mac and iOS
products. The ZX Spectrum was
the first computer I owned and
I was fiercely loyal throughout
– and beyond – its decade-long
commercial life. No other computer, be it from Commodore,
Amstrad or Acorn, could lure
me away.
That devotion began at an early
age. The first Spectrum I used
was a 16Kb rubber-keyed model which my dad bought for my
older brother in 1983, around
12 months after the computer
launched. I was seven and my
brother kept it locked in his
bedroom. That made it even
more alluring, and my earliest
gaming memory involved me
sneaking into his fortified lair
and snatching a few minutes
of Ultimate’s Jetpac. Despite
me being kept at arm’s length,
it was actually my brother who
blew up the Speccy by spilling
a glass of red wine on it. Bordeaux KO.
A few months later my parents
decided to buy me my own
computer. By this point my
best mate Rob, who lived three
doors up, had a shiny new Commodore 64. I was impressed,
particularly with the music, but
it was a Spectrum I wanted and
I asked for the new Plus model,
which was essentially a 48Kb
Spectrum with a semiproper keyboard.
“the C64
was like you
were wading
through
treacle with
two broken
legs”
The fact that the Spectrum was
the cheaper option compared
to the C64 didn’t come into it
– it was purely about the great
games I’d played on the 16Kb
Spectrum and the tantalising
proposition of all those blockbuster titles that were only
available for the 48Kb machine.
And what games they were! Sabre Wulf, Jet Set Willy, Skool
Daze, Avalon, Ant Attack, The
Lords of Midnight. My mind
was blown.
The 48Kb Speccy was seemingly built for gaming, with
the extra memory allowing for
deeper, more elaborate titles.
Platformers expanded, action
games intensified, strategy titles
sprawled, and text adventures
pulled you right in. Brilliant
software was in plentiful supply
and throughout the latter half of
the 80s I acquired lots of classic
titles and coveted many more.
I wasn’t completely blinded
by the Spectrum’s Technicolor
glare however. My mate Rob
also amassed a decent collection of C64 games, and we
spent many hours on each other’s computers. I could clearly
see where the C64 triumphed
and the Spectrum lacked.
Sound was an obvious issue.
The Spectrum’s internal buzzer would beep and fart while
the C64’s SID chip positively
sang in comparison. The lack
of any dedicated graphics hardware to support the CPU meant
that movement wasn’t always
so smooth on the Spectrum.
Scrolling shooters didn’t fare
particularly well, and 3D-style
driving games often struggled
to convey the impression of
speed. And of course there was
the ugly colour clash problem.
Yet clever developers would
innovate to compensate for
the Spectrum’s shortcomings.
Tricks were used to minimise
colour clash as much as possible, and top-notch conversions
like R-Type, Rainbow Islands,
Super Hang-on and Chase HQ
showed that the Spectrum could
do justice to the latest coin-ops
hits. The Speccy really was
a good all rounder, and unlike the C64, it didn’t struggle
with games featuring vector or
polygonal graphics. Remem-
ber the Freescape games like
Driller and Total Eclipse? They
weren’t exactly speedy on the
Spectrum, yet on the C64 it was
like you were wading through
treacle with two broken legs
and the Honey Monster on
your back.
Around 1988 I upgraded my
Plus for – you guessed it – another Spectrum. This time I opted for the Amstrad-developed
Plus 3 model, which included
more memory (128Kb RAM),
a dedicated sound chip and a
built-in floppy disk drive. It was
a very nice machine, but I was
always a little sad that the anticipated ‘Super Spectrum’ never
materialised. If it had then I’m
fairly certain I wouldn’t have
traipsed down the Amiga route
when commercial support for
the Speccy dried up in the early
90s. I guess Commodore got
me in the end.
So while I’m not typing this up
on the latest computer in the ZX
line, I’ll always have a genuine,
indelible soft spot for the Spectrum. The C64 had the technical
edge, but the Spectrum was
less expensive and I feel offered
better value for money. I also
believe that its software library
was richer, boasting a multitude
of very British games that were
quirky, original and brilliant.
For me the Spectrum was the
best 8-bit computer of them all.
It was the diminutive underdog
that won.
Reach and developed by one of the people
involved in the original. Popular Flash games
have similarly been converted, like Line
Runner for the Atari 8-bit or Canabalt on
the C64.
But just as many of the recently written games
are based on original, fun and quite often
quirky ideas from the developers themselves,
sometimes borrowing elements from existing
franchises and occasionally spawning an entire
series of games which are ported to multiple
platforms like the close-to-ubiquitous Uwol:
Quest For Money. And the most important
thing of all for the people writing these games
is that people play them.
Play Expo 2012 will feature an extensive
showcase of UK and European homebrew
projects in the re.play area. For more
information on the homebrew gaming scene
you can visit websites such as www.rgcd.
co.uk and www.oldschool-gaming.com.
At Play Expo we will be showcasing not
only the great systems and games that
both the ZX Spectrum and Commodore
64 had to offer, but along with our friends
from Amibay (www.amibay.com) we will
be giving you the opportunity to experience many of the lesser know systems.
So come along and enjoy the rich history
that has laid the foundations for the mega-consoles and all conquering games
franchises that we known and love today.
Martyn’s Spectrum ‘Killer Apps’
Jetpac (Ultimate, 1983)
The first title to truly show that
the Spectrum could handle fast,
frantic, arcade-style shooters. A
landmark release that made
people sit up and take note.
Back to Skool
(Microsphere, 1985)
Skool Daze was a quintessential
Speccy classic, and this sequel
improved things by providing
more things to do and places to
explore. First class.
Turbo Esprit (Durell, 1986)
A 3D driving game that was both
technically amazing and
amazingly playable. Gamers were
encouraged to explore living,
breathing cities at their leisure
persuaded to fit into a classic platform. A
prominent example of this process is Halo for
the Atari 2600 which was released around the
same time as Halo:
Whichever side of the playground you
side with, it is hard to deny that both
systems were ground-breaking in their
own way and brought out the best in
programmers the world over. Home
computers in the 1980s gave the average man on the street an opportunity to
express their creativity on a bourgeoning
new entertainment industry and gave
rise to the legendary bedroom coders.
As gaming on mobile systems such as
mobile phones and tablets continues to
grow, the spirit of the 1980s is starting to
return. For every Angry Birds and Draw
Something that is created by multi-million
pound games factories, there is a New
Star Soccer built from the ground up by
a single visionary coder.
Renegade (Imagine, 1987)
Featuring lovely graphics,
fantastic 128K sound and
highly-polished gameplay, this
conversion was even better than
the coin-op on which it was
based. Smashing stuff.
Where Time Stood Still
(Ocean, 1988)
One of the first games to really
make use of the Spectrum 128’s
extra memory. An vast, isometric
adventure that could genuinely be
described as ‘epic’.
12
Play Expo
Whipping Castlevania Into Shape
For more than 25 years, and across countless systems, Konami’s
Castlevania series has enchanted gamers with a combination of
platform action and monster fighting. The franchise was rebooted
in 2010 with the acclaimed Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, and
with two sequels in development we caught up with Producer
Dave Cox to see where the saga of the Belmonts goes next…
How did you come to be involved
in the Castlevania franchise?
Castlevania was one of the reasons
I wanted to work for Konami in the
first place. It’s a series I have always
loved and was the first game I bought
and played on the NES back in the
80s. I was lucky enough to get a job
at Konami in the 90s and worked on
Symphony of the Night as a brand
manager, and subsequent Castlevania
releases after that too. It’s a series
very much close to my heart.
When the opportunity came to pitch
a new Castlevania title, I really felt I
had come full circle. We and developers Mercury Steam had a very clear
idea of where we wanted to take the
series and that was to take inspiration
from the classic games that I grew
up with and reinvent it as a modern
gothic action adventure game.
What do you think Lords of
Shadow brought to the franchise?
I think we have modernised it and
made it more relevant and exciting to
a whole new generation of gamers.
We always tip our hat to the original
classic games, but we felt we needed
to build something new too. I think
we have taken that first step in bringing a modern twist to the Castlevania
mythos that can reach new people
who enjoy epic adventures, yet still
appeal to the existing fanbase.
I always saw the series as an epic
battle between good and evil and we
wanted to tell the other side of the
story and delve into the mythology of
the series - who is Dracula and what
is his relationship with the Belmonts?
That has been the driving force
behind this alternate universe
approach to the series.
Our basic premise for all the Lords
of Shadow games is pretty much
that of the original series - man fights
supernatural creatures with a whip.
There are echoes of the past games in
the Lords of Shadow series, but we
are confident enough to tread
new ground as opposed to reworking
old ideas.
I grew up with Castlevania and
everyone on the team is a huge fan.
I think it’s easy to try to stick to
the tried and tested but we feel we
shouldn’t be afraid to take the series
in new directions as long as they fit
the mythology.
What can you tell us about the
new games?
We’re currently working on two
new Lords of Shadow titles. Mirror
of Fate for 3DS acts as a prequel to
Lords of Shadow 2, which will be on
Playstation 3, XBOX 360 and PC.
Both offer very different takes than
before. Mirror of Fate is a mix
between Lords of Shadow and past
Castlevania titles, as Trevor and
Simon Belmont explore a series of
beautifully-realised locations within
a mix of 2D and 3D areas. Lords of
Shadow 2 is bigger and more
expansive than its predecessor, and
will pick up from the end of the
first game.
I can’t reveal too much about Lords
of Shadow 2 yet, but Mirror of Fate
What was once Gabriel Belmont now
stands Dracula, a powerful vampire.
Dracula has declared war upon the
Brotherhood and thus the scene is set
for a cataclysmic showdown between
father and son. Both characters have
very different abilities, and the mix
between combat and platforming
elements works incredibly well.
By leaving the established history, we
have given ourselves more freedom to
define new ideas and run with them.
It was key to our goals that new
players could easily get into the game
without any knowledge of the
previous games and enjoy a rich
world full of visual appeal, epic
scale, and this huge backdrop of the
Belmonts vs Dracula.
Do you feel the Lords of Shadow
reboot stays true to the spirit of the
earlier Castlevania games?
reveals the story of Gabriel Belmont’s
descendants, Simon and Trevor
Belmont, as they battle their own
destiny only to discover their true,
shocking fate. Trevor Belmont, a
knight of the Brotherhood of Light,
sets out to avenge the death of his
mother by his father, who has
returned from years of exile to take
up residence in a mysterious castle.
Hideo Kojima was involved with
the first game. What did he bring
to the project, and is he working on
the sequel?
Mirror of Fate, a 3DS exclusive,
bridges the gap between the two
Lords of Shadow games
He’s not working on the sequel. It
was Mr Kojima who recognised the
potential in what we were planning
and helped us get the game green lit
and for that we owe him a debt of
gratitude, but his involvement was
minimal in the actual development,
taking a very hands-off approach.
It has been announced that Lords
of Shadow 2 will be released on the
PC, a rarity for a Castlevania game.
Why do this now after all these
years of console-only releases?
It’s a great gaming platform and
perfectly suited for the more
expansive game we have planned.
I’ve wanted to produce a PC version
since we started work on the series,
so it is great that we can now do so.
Our new multi-platform game engine
called Mercury Engine 2 is PC based
and allows us to develop across the
three platforms very easily using
the latest graphical techniques and
technologies. It’s built for next gen
systems in mind too. It’s very
powerful and we can’t wait to show
what it can do!
How much pressure is there
working on such an established
and popular series?
It is a pressure, but one we put on
ourselves. We love the Castlevania
games, and only the best will do.
With Lords of Shadow being so well
received, we are well aware that the
bar has been raised for the two
new titles!
To a certain extent we took a big risk
doing what we did with the franchise
but we feel vindicated that so many
people bought and enjoyed the game.
It is the most successful Castlevania
game in the series’ history, so this
time around we want to exceed what
people’s expectations are in every
way and deliver something very
special for our fans.
To round up, what’s your all-time
favourite Castlevania game?
Super Castlevania IV for the SNES,
no question.
And how about the worst?
The Playstation 2 games weren’t that
great, nor the Wii fighting game.
For updates on the Lords of
Shadow series, follow Dave Cox’s
Twitter feed @CastlevaniaLOS
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow Mirror of Fate for the Nintendo
3DS, and Castlevania: Lords of
Shadow 2 for the PS3, XBOX 360
and PC will be released in 2013.
Konami will be exhibiting at Play
Expo 2012, showcasing a selection
of upcoming releases.
Conceptual art from the upcoming Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2.
13
Play Expo
Manchester Nights
To Drink, Perchance to Play
If you’re looking for a location that uniquely combines food, drink and gaming, then Manchester is surely it. Epitomising this are The Lass O’Gowrie and Kyoto Lounge,
two very different venues with a common attraction. Their respective proprietors, Gareth Kavanagh and Fardad Izadi, give us an insight into their innovative approach
to socialising…
The Lass O’Gowrie
Kyoto Lounge
The Lass O’Gowrie has always been
welcoming and quirky place to duck in out of
the rain. During the week we provide a home
and virtual office to local workers at the
University of Manchester and nearby
businesses. We also look after a great deal of
students drawn to our sensibly priced events,
food and drink, not to mention local and visiting
football fans through our well selected
programme of live sport. At weekends our
customers are a mix of local city dwellers,
tourists, sports fans and people on a good night
out in the vibrant student quarter.
Kyoto Lounge is the first licensed cocktail bar
and gaming lounge in the United Kingdom.
Gaming lounges are not a new concept - they
have been established for many years worldwide. In Britain, however, Kyoto Lounge finds
itself breaking through the rigid social barriers
that see gaming is a ‘geek’ thing. The Kyoto
philosophy is to associate gaming with the
more refined end of England’s socially accepted
drinking culture. Not only does this unique
theme work well, it actually serves to enhance
the whole social experience.
We provide a home for both the local
community and groups of likeminded people
who often travel to be part of the micro
communities we bring together, be it for retro
video gaming, watching Formula One, listening
to albums, watching Doctor Who, experiencing
new writing or meeting the stars of Coronation
Street. As such, The Lass serves a diverse,
eclectic community drawn by our warm
welcoming atmosphere as a relaxing pub where
you can meet up with friends, or sit alone and
ponder over an ale.
However, it’s in retro gaming that the Lass
O’Gowrie can be said to have national
significance. Our regular Computer Club
retro gaming night has been going since 2007.
Scarily, that’s five years in November! In the
aftermath of the smoking ban we turned on to
entertainment in a major way and settled on a
retro console night to complement our classic
arcade machines in and around the pub. The
idea was simply to attract new customers to the
pub, tapping into a small but unique niche.
Simply put, Computer Club is an ever
expanding collection of retro consoles and
games, curated by Mike Dix and set up in one
area and available for anyone to play. We have
classic consoles and computers stretching from
Pong and the Sinclair Spectrum all the way to
the Playstation 2 and XBOX (but no newer), via
Commodore 64, SNES, Megadrive, Sega Saturn
and occasional rarities.
We hold occasional tournaments on our arcade
machines and have held several weekend events
celebrating 80’s gaming, arcade cabs, homebrew
gaming and more. It was a proud moment to
find out one of our regulars would have been
in the top 20 players globally on the Japanese
version of Donkey Kong as measured by the
legendary Twin Galaxies scoreboard. It’s fun,
social and unashamedly nerdy.
We’ve also begun to develop unique dramas
based around key events in gaming history, the
first of which – Together in Electric Dreams charts a key, little known dinner date between
Sir Clive Sinclair and Lord Sugar in 1986
which saw the Sinclair line of computers sold
to Amstrad.
We’re also big fans of original arcade cabinets
and pinball machines. Not MAME cabinets,
but the original thing, all available for 50p a
go. Currently, our rotating stock of original
machines includes Donkey Kong, Pac-Man,
Track & Field, Paperboy, Indiana Jones and
the Temple of Doom, Gauntlet, Bomb Jack,
Quartet, NARC and R-Type. We also have a
single pinball that changes every few months –
currently it’s the excellent Midway Doctor Who
from 1992.
So if you’re in Manchester and fancy a trip
down memory lane, pop in. We’re here to look
after you!
Our cocktail bar adds a new twist to the concept
that’s refreshing in more ways than one. The
highly experienced staff are trained in a wide
range of cocktails from the ever popular Mojito
to the legendary Zombie. The entertainment
starts at the bar with the bartender dazzling
your eyes as the different elements are skilfully
mixed and blended together to make an ice-cold
cocktail of your choice. Choose the right type
of cocktail and you are treated to the Street
Fighter-inspired ‘Yoga Flame’ as they singe
several drinks in a row with a mini
flame thrower!
“Drink. Eat.
Play.”
The prices are reasonable without cutting
back on the overall quality, as they are made
with fresh ingredients bought in daily. Having a
cocktail bar alongside a gaming lounge makes
perfect sense as it caters directly to the
demographic that the vast majority of gamers
are aged 18 to 40.
If you feel like you want something
non-alcoholic, there are always ‘virgin’ versions
of many of the cocktails. Should you wish to try
something completely different, there are a wide
variety of flavours for the legendary
Kyoto Lounge Milkshakes, made with various
ingredients from banana and strawberry to the
more unusual Ferrero Roche and Skittles.
As a perfect complement to the fantastic drinks
on offer there’s is a variety of food available for
those with a serious case of the munchies. The
Kyoto Lounge Burger is a megabyte of tasty
beef with optional dreamy cheese, crispy bacon
and fresh salad. For groups of friends there are
platters of succulent chicken wings or generous
portions of delicious nachos with a tangy
salsa dip.
What sets us apart from the vast majority of
bars, though, is our gaming facilities. Kyoto
Lounge is at the forefront of an evolution in
contemporary social activities. It is a
much-needed social hub for the gaming
community. During regular periods you can
rent pads for the consoles or a high-spec PC
on an hourly basis. You’re then allowed to
select as many games as you wish, from the
latest releases to timeless classics, at no
extra charge.
Entry to Kyoto Lounge is always free, even on
weekends. Every month there are free to enter
events run by our specialist Kyoto Lounge
Gamer team.
Kyoto Lounge is a treat for the senses and
heralds a new era in social interaction that is
long overdue. So for your next evening out with
mates, visit a place that values you and become
part of the Kyoto Lounge Community. DRINK.
EAT. PLAY.
If you’re interested in visiting either of these
great venues, both are just a short walk from
Oxford Road:
The Lass O’Gowrie, 36 Charles Street, M1
7DB. Website: www.thelass.co.uk
Kyoto Lounge, 131 Grosvenor Street, M1 7HE.
Website: www.kyotolounge.com
14
Do You Feel the Need?
Play Expo
With more than 100 million copies sold over 18 years, Need for Speed is one of the most successful series ever made. With this year’s successor Need for Speed Most
Wanted coming out in November, Bojan Puschner from NFS Unlimited looks back on the history of the series and previews the upcoming installment.
American muscle cars were introduced in ProStreet, with stunning smoke effects.
It all began back in 1994 with the release of
Road and Track Presents: The Need for
Speed on 3DO by developer EA Canada.
This genre-redefining game featured eight cars
(a mix of tuners, exotics and supercars) and
seven tracks, three of them being point-to-point
with three stages each.
What made the game stand out from the rest
was a relatively accurate handling model and
video showcases of the cars featured in
the game.
While the first game focused on realism, the
sequel had an emphasis on incredible speeds
and exotic locations, ranging from the
Himalayas to Australian outback and the
Mediterranean islands.
The last title of the so-called classic era was
released in 2002 and titled Need for Speed Hot
Pursuit 2. The game itself was a successor to
1998’s Hot Pursuit with exotic locations, fast
cars and police chases.
The car list became larger with popular models
such as that time’s fastest production car, the
McLaren F1, which would go head to head with
the Ferrari F50 and others.
A new era began in the series with 2003’s Need
for Speed Underground, released on all the
major last-generation consoles. It’s important to
note that after the release of the movie The Fast
and The Furious, car tuning became popular in
mainstream culture and as a result the game’s
selection of vehicles was purely street cars
affordable to the general public.
The arcade approach to racing continued with
1998’s Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit. More
tracks, bigger car selection and the return of
police chases made the game another instant hit.
Multiplayer modes allowed players to play as
cops, trying to stop the other players from
finishing the race.
For the first time in the series downloadable
content was introduced, with cars like the
British-made Lister Storm and Spectre R42
available for free on the official website.
The openness of the game to user modification
spawned a lively online community which
exploded in 1999 after release of Need for
Speed: Road Challenge.
The original game focused on track racing.
Openess to modding in NFS Road Challenge
resulted in countless cars being made by fans,
like this Audi R8
A year later a PC version was released, while
Playstation and Sega Saturn versions followed
in 1996. Great critical and consumer reception
ensured a sequel, which was titled Need for
Speed II and released in 1997 for the PC
and Playstation.
Built on the same foundations as its predecessor,
Road Challenge brought wider selection of cars
and tracks, along with two big new features to
the series: visual damage and a career mode.
Official DLC was available again on the PC
version and the online modding communities
made thousands of new cars and even tracks,
keeping the game alive among fans for years
to come.
In the year 2000 the series turned back to its
roots with Need for Speed: Porsche 2000. The
realistic physics model and the return of
point-to-point tracks and car showcases brought
to mind the original game.
The car selection was limited to one
manufacturer, but with that being Porsche there
were plenty available, ranging from the 1950s
Porsche 356, to the racing 911 GT3. The game
also had two career modes where players either
assumed the role of a factory test driver and
performed various stunts and deliveries, or
explored Porsche’s history while racing with
their cars.
A shift back to track racing happened with
2007’s Need for Speed ProStreet as the
underground tuning culture was moving more
towards organised races.
Performance and visual customisation was
back, the driving model became more
realistic and game modes like drag and drift
were reintroduced.
To make them fast enough for a game, car
customisation was introduced.
Players had the ability to buy regular Honda
Civics and turn them into racing cars with top
speeds over 200 mph.
The game also had an extensive visual
customisation engine, where players could not
only paint their cars and apply different types of
vinyls and decals on them, but also change the
rims, body kits, spoilers and even head and
tail lights.
Night races, neon lights and big body kits
were trademarks of Need for
Speed Underground
A career mode with a now typical illegal street
racing storyline with cutscenes, cross platform
multiplayer and new game modes like drift and
drag added even more appeal to the game which
in the end sold over 15 million copies.
2004’s Need for Speed Underground 2 built on
the formula and introduced even more visual and
performance customisation and also brought an
important change to the series: the open world.
A whole fictional city was modelled in the game
and players could free roam the streets freely
and initiate races with other AI controlled racers.
As the open world concept proved popular with
gamers, the following year’s Need for Speed
Most Wanted had an even bigger world and
brought back police chases and exotic cars.
It was so popular at retail that 2006’s Need for
Speed Carbon and 2008’s Need for Speed
Undercover had the same design, with the latter
game even employing Hollywood talent Maggie
Q for the cutscenes.
2010’s Hot Pursuit remake had the fastest
police cars.
Then a real surprise came in 2009 with the
release of Need for Speed Shift on the
Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.
This was a hardcore sim track racer with
detailed in-car view, damage model and real
world tracks, developed by UK based Slightly
Mad Studios.
The same studio also made 2011’s SHIFT 2
Unleashed, but the game’s lack of Need for
Speed branding and close release to a very
successful NFS title made it a huge flop at retail.
That successful title was 2010’s Need for Speed
Hot Pursuit from another UK based studio,
Criterion Games.
15
Play Expo
Not only did the game share the title with the
original from 1998, it also had a very arcade
driving model, a large car list comprised mostly
of exotics and supercars and a large open world
with coastal, desert and mountain regions. 2010
also saw the release of Need for Speed World,
a free-to-play massive multiplayer online
racing game. Fans of Most Wanted or Carbon
will feel familiar with this game, as they fused
both games to make one giant open world. That
world is still alive today, with over 10 million
subscribers. The last game to date in the series is
2011’s Need for Speed The Run, which featured
a coast to coast race across the United States.
Built atop the Frostbite 2 game engine also used
in the shooter Battlefield, the game didn’t satisfy
sales expectations, which in the end resulted in
closure of Black Box studios, responsible for
most of the titles in the series.
mix the best of both worlds and create an open
world sandbox game where players can pretty
much do whatever they want with their fast
exotic supercars.
The idea is that you begin in an open world
where everything is available from the start.
It’s up to you to find the cars hidden throughout
the map, as they’re all available if you can get
to them.
Every car will have a different set of races
attached to it and winning those will give you
upgrades, making cars even faster.
There’s also billboards to break, jumps to
perform and fences to destroy, all building up
your Speed Points which you can use to
compare yourself with your friends.
Destroying cops, increasing your heat level and
even playing the game on different platforms,
like Playstation Vita or iOS will also count
towards your rating.
That brings us to 2012 and the next game in
the series. It has been two years since Criterion
made Need for Speed Hot Pursuit, and this year
they’re at it again with Need for Speed Most
Wanted, a remake of a game released only
seven years ago. Before Hot Pursuit, Criterion
was known for their Burnout series, where the
goal was not racing, but performing dangerous
stunts and causing mayhem.
The original Most Wanted on the other hand was
a racing game with cop chases, but the goal was
ultimately to win the race.
For this year’s title however, they decided to
About NFS Unlimited
NFS Unlimited was formed in 2000
as a meeting place for fans of the
series. Whether you want to keep
up to date on what’s happening with
Need for Speed, see how you fare
against other racers in NFS World or
just pop in for a quick chat on
just about anything, please pay a
visit at www.nfsu.net
The real competition starts however when you
switch to multiplayer mode. The best thing about
it is that the transition is seamless - you remain
in the open world with up to seven others joining
(11 on the PC).
There is no lobby and even when waiting for
events, you can take down other racers to
earn points.
The events are not limited to races, but range
from racing through checkpoints in an open
world, speeding to the next meeting point, to
performing the longest drifts or jumps.
Some events might be individual while others
will divide players into teams with common
goals. Whenever an event ends, there’s no
loading - you simply drive your car and wait
for the next event to appear on screen.
The focus is not
really on racing,
but having
general fun in
your car.
Performing well in events will earn you points,
as will taking down other players, meaning
there’s plenty of strategies to win a set of events
and being the fastest in races will not always
guarantee you a win in the end.
In the end we’re getting an atypical
representative of the Need for Speed series,
where the focus is not really on racing, but
having general fun in your car in an open world.
The game could accurately be described as a
sequel to Burnout Paradise featuring licensed
cars, and while the traditional fans of the series
might disapprove, a fresh approach has been a
long time coming.
EA will be showcasing Need for Speed Most
Wanted and other upcoming releases at Play
Expo on 13-14th October.
16
Play Expo
Play Expo
Reflecting on Success
Very few developers founded in the
8-bit era still exist today, but
Reflections have weathered the storms
caused by ever-evolving technology
and publisher takeovers to
continually produce high quality
games. Mat Corne takes a look into
their mirror and likes what he sees…
In the early days, there was no Reflections;
there was just Martin Edmondson and Nicholas
Chamberlain. These budding programmers
started in 1984, developing games for the BBC
Micro. Their first commercial release was
Ravenskull in 1986, a maze-based adventure
game that bore similarities to the
classic Gauntlet.
This was followed up a year later by
Codename: Droid – Stryker’s Run Part 2,
also published by Superior Software. This
challenging mixture of platform, puzzle and
‘run and gun’ gameplay was one of the most
polished games on the then-aging Beeb.
Inevitably several sequels to Destruction Derby
were produced, adding more tracks and
improved graphics, but Reflections was soon
to become famous for a very different driving
game franchise.
resulted in a lawsuit against Atari, but six years
on he returned to the fold as consultant on
Driver: San Francisco, the first HD entry in
the franchise.As part of the Ubisoft group,
Reflections now collaborate on other popular
games like the Just Dance series and Far Cry 3.
The company is undoubtedly very different to
those early days of BBC Micro coding, yet
still retains its base in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
With Edmondson involved once more, there
is still a link to the studio’s origins and
considering all the UK developers that have
fallen by the wayside over the years, that is
a comforting thought.
Codename: Droid
As the 8-bit computers gave way to 16-bit
successors, Edmondson switched allegiance
from Acorn to Commodore and founded
Reflections Interactive. The first game this new
company produced was Shadow of the Beast
for the Amiga, published by Psygnosis in 1989.
Reviewers of the time were wowed by the
detailed sprites, extensive use of the Amiga’s
4,096 colours and an incredible 12 layers of
parallax scrolling. The game became a ‘poster
child’ for the Amiga, used to showcase the
technical prowess of Commodore’s machine in
comparison to its rivals of the time.
Destruction Derby
The Driver series took ideas from traditional
racing games, combined them with themes from
TV cop shows and crime movies and
contributed to a new direction in gaming. The
original game, released on the PS1 and PC in
1999, featured several large city environments
such as New York and San Francisco.
Martin Edmondson gets hands on…
Play Expo Special Guests
Shadow of the Beast
Two sequels to Shadow of the Beast followed,
along with several other polished titles,
including futuristic sports game Ballistix and
Sci-Fi actioner Awesome. Whilst they originated on the Amiga, many of these were ported
to other systems, from the obvious Atari ST to
the less predictable PC-Engine.
Driver
With the 16-bit era coming to an end, many
developers struggled to keep up with emerging
technology. However, Reflections kept ahead of
the game and embraced the rise of 3D gaming,
focusing on a genre that they have since become
synonymous with – driving games.
Your character, an undercover cop, was tasked
with completing a series of missions to gain
the trust of a crime syndicate. These vehiclebased tasks ranged from following another car,
transporting people or merchandise, to smashing
up a designated building. Between missions you
were free to drive around the city wherever you
liked.At the time very few games offered this
open world flexibility and even less did it in 3D,
and given the themes of driving and criminal
activity, there’s little doubt the game heavily
influenced the later Grand Theft Auto games.
Released on the PC and Playstation in 1995,
Destruction Derby was a fun-packed, chaotic
driving game with a selection of game modes.
Classic racing action was catered for, but the
game really came into its own with ‘The Bowl’,
an arena where there was no escape from your
competitors and the only way to win was to
smash them before they smashed you!
Over the next 12 years, numerous episodes have
been added to the Driver series across multiple
hardware platforms. Some were good, while
others were not (Driv3r, we’re looking at you!)
but the series has stayed in the hands of
Reflections, even as the studio’s ownership
transferred from Atari to Ubisoft, a move that
saw them rechristened as Ubisoft Reflections.
The game was praised for its realistic damage
and handling models, where the more of a
pounding your vehicle took, the harder it
was to control.
During that period other games were produced,
such as PS2 favourite Stuntman, but the most
significant event was the departure of Martin
Edmondson in 2004. This acrimonious exit
‘The Yak himself, Jeff Minter’
A whole host of industry figures and
celebrities will be appearing at
Play Expo to share stories about
their careers in the greatest industry
on earth.
Jeff ‘Yak’ Minter and Ivan ‘Giles’
Zorzin will be showcasing the very
best of Llamasoft old and new.
With more to be added, we can
confirm that…
Martin Edmondson of Reflections
Software and Thumbstar Games will
be talking about his past and present
projects.
Sumo Digital Executive Producer
Steve Lycett will be talking about the
making of Sonic & All-Stars Racing
Transformed and will hold a Q&A
session afterwards
We will be showing an exclusive sneak
preview of upcoming videogames
documentary ‘From Bedroom to Billions’
followed by a Q&A session from Film
Makers Anthony and Nicola Caulfield.
17
18
Play Expo
‘4 amazing events, 1 incredible expo!’
Over the past two years, Replay Events have delivered their annual Replay Expo to over 7,000 eager gamers. The show is the only
UK video games expo which caters for every aspect of video games – from console, PC and mobile, to classic gaming including
arcade and pinball, right through to pro gaming/eSports and even cosplay.
But Replay Expo has outgrown its old
home and this year it is moving to a brand
new location: EventCity in Manchester.
Returning visitors can expect to see
everything they loved about our previous
events in Blackpool, except there will be
much more of everything!
pionship and a host of other tournaments
and competitions.
Rebranded as Play Expo, the 2012 show
will feature four distinct events: re.play,
now.play, pro.play and cos.play.
The pro.play area will be run by eSports
specialists the European Gaming League
(EGL) and will include the biggest series
of LAN gaming tournaments ever to take
place in Manchester! With cash prize*
tournaments on the latest console
games, you can expect to see the best
of the best battling it out.
The familiar re.play event will feature
freeplay arcade & pinball machines, retro
consoles and vintage computers. now.
play will have a large emphasis on the
preview of
Christmas gaming, hardware and accessory releases for the latest consoles and
PC. pro.play is an eSports event featuring big-money competitive gaming tournaments, whilst cos.play will include costume competitions, masquerades, talks,
DDR and other cool features.
So let us have a closer look at the four
shows:
re.play is the UK’s biggest ever classic
gaming event, with over 300 consoles and
computers, 75 arcade machines and 75
pinball tables. With a mix of rare and unusual systems and all the hits of yesteryear,
re.play will create an air of nostalgia no
matter what your age. Re.play is also the
home to the UK Classic Gaming Cham-
re.play is supported by some of the UKs
biggest and best classic gaming
communities: Amibay, RetroCollect,
Jamma+ and Northern Lights Pinball.
With tournaments on games such as
Halo Reach, Ultimate Marvel vs
Capcom 3, Call of Duty Modern Warfare
3, Gears of War 3, Super Street Fighter
IV and FIFA 13, what better opportunity to
show your skills?
*cash prize tournaments carry an
additional fee
now.play will feature the very latest
games and hardware, giving you an
opportunity to try out Nintendo’s Wii U
console ahead of its release. With
Nintendo favourites like New Super
Mario U, Wii U exclusives including
Nintendo Land and Ubisoft’s ZombiU as
well as upcoming 3DS XL games there will
be plenty to keep you entertained.
Namco Bandai and Konami will be
joining in the fun and EA will be bringing
their impressive EA Sports Hub as well as
showcasing Medal of Honour: Warfighter
and Need for Speed Most Wanted.
In cos.play you will find the best of
costume role-play, anime and Japanese
culture. DDR:UK will also be bringing their
unique blend of Bemani, Rhythm Action
games and DDR arcade machines,
ensuring that cos.play will be as loud as it
is colourful!
In association with Namco Bandai there
will also be an opportunity to win some
great prizes in the Tekken themed Cos
Play competition. So get you costumes
ready and show us your best Nina
Williams or Heihachi Mishama!
It’s Play Time!
Play Expo
19
20
Play Expo
The steel ball keeps rolling
Just two years ago, Stern Pinball was the last remaining company
designing and manufacturing pinball machines. It looked like an
industry that began in the 19th century was finally about to die
out. But now, in 2012, there are at least seven pinball companies
out there, all bringing new ideas to the table! Steve Rich looks
how some old and new faces have turned things around…
Pinball @ Play Expo
Stern has undergone something
of a renaissance. It has hired
some of the world’s best pinball designers (including Steve
Ritchie, George Gomez and
Gregg Freres) and is now producing ‘Pro’ and ‘LE’ models
of each of their new machines.
Generally, the ‘Pro’ has fewer
bells and whistles and is aimed
at the pinball operator, who
places them out and about to
earn money. The ‘LE’ model
takes advantage of the increasing home use collector market,
appealing to potential owners
with a nicer finish, extra toys
and new modes to justify the
increased cost. Stern’s latest
table is the popular Marvel
Comics licence, X-Men. The
‘Pro’ model costs around
£4,300 to buy new, whilst the
‘LE’ is about £6,500.
Choosing to include an LCD
screen in the back box, rather
than the old dot matrix display,
Jersey Jack Pinball are just
about to release their first ever
machine, Wizard of Oz. The
table will also have Wi-Fi connectivity so that high scores
can be registered online and
game software easily updated.
Quetzal Pinball is a group of
Spanish enthusiasts who are
releasing a Captain Nemo
table. This machine will have
an LCD display embedded into
the playfield to display animations and information as you
play the game.
Skit*B have already produced
a whitewood (test) version of
their first game, based on the
Predator license. Featuring a
standard dot matrix display,
this machine will stand out
from the crowd because of the
ultraviolet reactive ink used
in the playfield production.
As certain targets are hit and
modes are progressed, UV
LEDs will light, causing the
ink to react and change colour
as you play.
and animations anywhere on
the playfield. Animations
can be played to guide you
through the shots to advance
your mode, virtual targets can
be displayed to hit, or whole
sections of the playfield can be
blacked out, perhaps as a
Another two new manufacturers are really pushing the
technological boundaries.
Multimorphic plan to release
their P3 pinball platform in
late 2013 and are taking orders
from December. Like Captain
Nemo, P3 will also have an
LCD display embedded into
the playfield, but this will go
one stage further. Ball tracking
technology will be put to use,
so as the ball travels over the
screen, the game and screen
will be able to interact with it,
opening up countless opportunities. Multimorphic are also
using an interchangeable upper
playfield. The appeal of this is
that by changing the software
and upper playfield, you have a
new, different game to play for
a much lower cost than buying
a whole new machine.
penalty. The possibilities really
are endless. Heighway also
plan to make their tables appeal
to operators looking to reduce
costs by selling kits to turn old
tables into new.
Heighway Pinball plan to
design and release two versions
of the first ever British pinball machine Cirque’s Animal
House, in 2013. The standard
model will feature an LCD
screen embedded in the playfield, but the deluxe cabinet
will feature a transparent LCD
screen in place of the glass,
so you can actually display
computer-generated images
Then their is John Popudiuk,
creator of tables such as the
well-loved Theatre of Magic
and Circus Voltaire, who has
been hard at work on two
small projects. The first, Magic
Girl, is a deluxe machine
featuring hand-drawn artwork,
modular hardware and social
connectivity. Only thirteen
units are expected to be
produced, which goes some
way to explaining the $16,000
price tag!
His second project is in
conjunction with Benjamin
Heckendorn and is called
Zombie Adventureland. Retro
computer game fans should
be well aware of ‘Ben Heck’s
exploits with video game
hardware (if not then check
out his website benheck.com),
but recently he’s turned his
attention to pinball by creating
his own machine from scratch.
It should be interesting to see
how this machine turns out
with the help of John.
Northern Lights Pinball will be out in force at this year’s Play Expo where they will be
showcasing around 75 machines! There will be many different machines from through the
ages and all will set to free-play, so there is no need to bring a bag full of loose change!
NLP will also be running a fantastic NBA Fastbreak tournament. NBA Fastbreak, a
machine by Bally from 1997, is the only pinball machine ever produced that allows two
machines to be connected together for exciting head-to-head knockout play. So make
sure you head over to the re.play pinball zone to see some frantic flipping!
21
Play Expo
Play in the USA
British arcades may not be the buzzing gaming meccas they once were but, Mat Corne says, much can be learned from the retro game offerings at America’s famous
Funspot centre.
It was 2008 when I first saw
Seth Gordon’s documentary
The King of Kong – A Fistful
of Quarters.
For the uninitiated, the film
tells the story of everyman
Steve Wiebe and his attempts
to wrest the world record high
score on the arcade game
Donkey Kong from legendary
gamer Billy Mitchell.
to stop off in Boston and take
a four day detour to the banks
of Lake Winnepesauke, New
Hampshire’s largest lake and
by no coincidence the location
of Weirs Beach.
We would arrive at Funspot on
the second day of the annual
Classic Gaming Tournament
and I’d get three days of
arcade nirvana.
houses a bowling alley, two
mini golf courses, a bar and
a bingo hall. It truly is a
place that the whole family
can enjoy.
The best way to experience
Funspot for the first time is
to enter through the doors of
the ground floor level. On this
floor you’ll find redemption
games like skeeball, coin
pushers and basketball hoops.
You’ll also see a selection of
more recent arcade driving
games like Daytona USA, and
a brief hint of what’s to come
in the form of Sega Outrun
and Afterburner deluxe
sit-in machines.
While the film is edited for
dramatic effect, portraying
Wiebe as the hero and Mitchell
and his cronies as the villains,
it is nevertheless a fascinating
and compelling insight into the
minds of some of the world’s
greatest players.
There is one particular part of
the film that had a
tremendous impact on me.
Mid-way through the
documentary, Wiebe takes his
family to the annual
tournament at the Funspot
Family Fun Center in Weirs
Beach, New Hampshire.
What happens there is pivotal
to the story, but what it did to
me was introduce me to what is
officially the world’s
largest amusement arcade. I
had discovered my Mecca, and
a pilgrimage was inevitable.
Fast forward two years and that
time had arrived. My girlfriend
and I had decided to go on a
two week holiday to Alaska,
but on the way we were going
It didn’t start well. Our flight
from the UK was delayed some
eleven hours, and after missing
our connecting flight we finally
arrived in Boston nearly a day
later than expected, and having
only slept a few hours.
With no time to waste, we
picked up our hire car and
headed straight to New
Hampshire. The journey is a
relatively easy hour and a half
and once we’d checked into
our motel we were finally on
the way to Funspot. Any
tiredness I had evaporated
when I stepped through
those doors!
At this point I’ll dispense with
the holiday anecdotes and
move on to a bit of history.
Funspot was founded by Bob
Lawton in 1952. Originally
called Weirs Sports Center and
located near the boardwalk on
the lake itself, Lawton
relocated his venture to the
land where it stands to this day.
Whilst it is best known for the
arcade, the complex also
Moving up to the second floor
and you’ll see a few modern
pinball machines, a selection of
late 80’s videogames such as
Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles, a children’s play area
and the aforementioned
bowling alley and bar. So far so
good, but taking a trip upstairs
to the third floor for the very
first time will take your
breath away…
…it’s fair to
say that
almost every
great arcade
game you
ever played
is there…
The third and final floor of
Funspot is like stepping back
in time 25 years. It’s dark, the
walls are covered with 80’s
posters and memorabilia, and
classic 80’s tunes come out of
the sound system.
This floor is home to the
American Classic Arcade
Museum, a shrine to the golden
age of arcades. Established by
Gary Vincent, the museum is a
living, breathing, beeping
history of classic videogames
and pinball from the late 70’s
to the mid-80’s.
More than 250 machines are on
display and it’s fair to say that
almost every great arcade game
you ever played is there, along
with many more classics you
may never have heard of.
The main part of this floor is
divided into sections
covering the major arcade
machine manufacturers.
The Atari section is
unsurprisingly one of the
biggest, featuring vector
classics like Star Wars,
Asteroids and Major Havoc
alongside trackball
favourites such as Crystal
Castles and Centipede, not
forgetting formative games like
Pong and Breakout and
vintage driving cabinets
including Night Driver and
several variations of Sprint.
Smaller but no less important
areas are dedicated to
companies like Williams,
Universal and Midway.
Japanese giants like Nintendo,
Taito and Sega are also
well represented.
The visually impressive
Laserdisc games such as
Dragon’s Lair have their own
spot, as does a whole section
dedicated to the variations of
Pac-Man! Giant sit-in cabinets
including Space Harrier, Pole
Position and STUN Runner
share floor space with
long-forgotten pioneers of the
arcade scene like Fire Truck
and Triple Hunt.
You can try out games with
unique controllers that you’ll
never see on a MAME cab,
such as Tapper with its beer
pump, Forgotten Worlds with
its rotary controls and the
peculiar dual-joystick setups of
rarities like Krull and Rescue.
Undoubtedly you’ll be drawn
towards the classic games you
played as a kid, and dropping a
token into the likes of Frogger,
Space Invaders or Defender
will always be satisfying. The
real thrill of Funspot however
is falling in love with games
you’ve never played before,
and this is where entering the
annual tournament comes
into play.
Faced with having to record
a score on at least 15 games
you’re inevitably going to find
something new, and in 2010
I discovered fantastic offerings
like Bank Panic, Vanguard,
Stocker and the infuriatingly addictive Cheeky Mouse.
These games are now regulars
on my home arcade setup.
Of course Funspot is home to
the history of arcade gaming,
but history is still being made
there too. The top players
regularly head to Weirs Beach
and try to break world records
on classic games.
This is after all the place that
Billy Mitchell played the
first-ever perfect game of
Pac-Man, and the arcade has
its own Wall of Fame
showcasing the many
achievements recorded there
over the years. History is also
being archived there, as more
classic machines are donated to
the museum as the years pass.
If you grew up playing arcade
games and have any kind of
interest in the history of the
industry, you owe it to yourself
to make your way over to
Funspot at the
earliest opportunity.
But for those that can’t afford
the trip, what options are there
in the UK? Sadly the classic
videogame arcade has all but
died, replaced by fruit
machines and coin pushers,
but machines are still out there.
Many have been destroyed, but
some are now in the hands of
dedicated collectors such as the
JAMMA+ community. They,
along with the equally
passionate Northern Lights
Pinball crew, will be putting
together the biggest classic
arcade seen for many a year at
Play Expo 2012.
So for one weekend you can
forget the last 20 years ever
happened, make your way to
Manchester and see the UK’s
answer to Funspot, with all
machines free to play!
22
Play Expo
“Re-issue, re-package, re-package…
…re-evaluate the songs, double-pack with a photograph, extra track and a tacky badge.”
When Morrissey wrote those lyrics he was of
course talking about evil music corporations
exploiting their slave stars, but gaming has not
been immune to the re-release model.Big games
companies have never been shy about repackaging and reissuing their products to bleed the very
last penny of worth out of their aging characters.
Gordon Sinclair takes a look at the world of HD
remakes bringing retro gaming and nostalgia to
the masses once more.
It was the launch of the Nintendo Wii that truly
kick-started the trend of publishers looking
backwards as well as forwards for their next big
thing and fans have lapped up the games. When
Nintendo launched the Virtual Console in 2006,
this online marketplace was initially greeted
joyously as nostalgic gamers rushed to download past classics on machines such as the NES,
SNES, N64, Megadrive, Neo Geo and
Commodore 64.
One of the most cynical examples of lazy
re-selling of an olg game was seen way back
in 1986, when Anco re-skinned their poorly
received football game from the previous year as
World Cup Carnival. But is re-releasing a game
in new clothes necessarily a bad thing?
Many seasoned retro gamers would bemoan that
these games were all readily available for free
using easily accessible emulators, but for the
general public the Virtual Console opened up a
whole new (old?) world of classic gaming.
Other consoles offered their own perspectives.
Until later model PS3’s Sony had always offered
a level of hardware backwards compatibility and
with PSN they were able to continue this, offering classic PS1 and PS2 games for download.
Microsoft on the other hand had a bigger vision.
Not only would they make some classic Xbox
games available, they would also encourage
companies to upgrade their older games and
release them through Xbox Live.
These games received brand new graphics,
music and in some cases even new level designs.
This upgrading and up-scaling of old content
soon became referred to collectively as HD
remakes and its success in the download space
was only the start.
HD remakes would soon hit the retail stores
and whilst some may see this as cynical
multi-nationals bleeding their fans dry, the truth
is that many of the games have been lovingly
restored and re-mastered in the same way as a
classic music album or movie.
Microsoft on the
other hand had a
bigger vision
So which of the myriad of remakes should you
waste your hard earned time and money on?
Read on for Play’s top 10 greatest HD
remakes…
Jetpac (ZX Spectrum) - Jetpac Refueled (Xbox 360)
Originally released on the ZX Spectrum in 1983 by Ultimate Play The Game, Jetpac
was a gloriously simple game full of bleeping sounds and clashing colours. Written in
just 16k of RAM (for comparison, the word document containing this article is more
than 300k) the game marked the start of a glittering career for the Stamper brothers,
who would later rename the company Rare and create many hits under Nintendo and
then Microsoft stables. The Xbox 360 Live Arcade remake Jetpac Refuelled improved
the graphics and sound and added cooperative play, achievements and leaderboards.
However the greatest gift was that you could also play the game in its original format,
colour clash and all.
Ratchet and Clank 1, 2 & 3 (PS2) – Ratchet & Clank Trilogy (PS3)
For the PS3 exclusive Ratchet & Clank Trilogy HD Collection, makers Insomniac went
with the ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ mentality. The three PS2 Ratchet & Clank games
stand head and shoulders above almost every other platformer on the system (with
possibly only Jak & Daxter, who have their own HD collection, as competition). The
joyous blend of varied (and often hilarious) weapons, the wonderful script, excellent
voice acting and great level design really didn’t need tinkering with. So Insomniac
simply added optional 3d stereoscopic visuals, 1080p visuals and stuck all three games
on a single Blu-Ray.
ICO/Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) – Ico & Shadow of the Colossus
Classics HD (PS3)
As soon as Team Ico announced their new game Shadow of the Guardian would be
a continuation of themes within its earlier games Ico and Shadow of the Colossus,
fans were vocally demanding updated versions of their PS2 classics. Both games were
gloriously re-rendered for the PS3, but most notable was Ico which featured additional
content not originally included in the North America release of the game, as well as
some altered puzzles and end game features. In addition a number of other bonuses
(such as desktop themes and making of videos) were included.
23
Play Expo
Super Street Fighter II Turbo (Arcade) - Super Street Fighter II Turbo
HD Remix (PS3, Xbox 360)
With the 1994 original still so highly revered, you could have been forgiven for thinking
Capcom were milking an already stretch franchise with their 2009 SSFII Turbo HD Remix.
But when gamers and critics got their hands on the super smooth 1080p revision they were
very pleasantly surprised. Featuring both Classic and HD Remix versions the game pleased
purists and newcomers alike and delivered one of the best Street Fighter experiences around.
Another masterstroke was the inclusion of the original soundtrack, remixed by the highly respected team at OverClocked Remix and a 66 track free remix album was revealed on their
website with the snappy title OC ReMix: Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix Official
Soundtrack.
Resident Evil (Playstation) - Resident Evil Rebirth (Gamecube)
Whilst not technically HD and being one of only two games on our list that are not on
a current-gen console, The Gamecube re-imagining of the original Resident Evil was
quite ground-breaking at a time before many of Capcom’s rivals had realised the value
of their old IP. 6 years had passed since the original Playstation version and that time had
not been particularly kind to the game. So when Resident Evil REbirth (as it was often
known) was released, featuring brand new graphics and sound and featuring game
elements from some of the series’ sequels, it was an instant hit. Often classed as the
scariest game of all time, it reintroduced areas cut from the original game (such as the
graveyard) and changed the many of the puzzles.
God of War 1 & 2 (PS2) – God of War Collection (PS3)
Debuting in 2005 on the PS2, this Playstation exclusive took gamers by storm with its
ultra-violent take on Greek mythology. The character of Kratos even became something of a
‘face of Playstation’ for those more mature gamers not so enamoured with the likes of Crash
Bandicoot and Spyro. Launched as the first game on Sony’s Classics HD label, God of War
Collection included both PS2 games in the series and was a neat intro to the PS3 prior to the
release of God of War 3. A further release, God of War Origins Collection, brought the PSP
games Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta to PS3 and were equally as well received.
Bionic Commando (NES) – Bionic Commando Rearmed (PS3,
Xbox 360, PC)
Released to garner interest for a brand new Bionic Commando game, Rearmed took
its inspiration not from the arcade original, but from the 1988 Nintendo Entertainment
System port. Released for PSN, XBL and PC 20 years after its inspiration its immediate
popularity has even led to a sequel of its own (Rearmed 2). As well as shiny new graphics
and updated sound (including remixed versions of the original soundtrack), BCR adds a
2 player cooperative mode to the mix allowing two super soldiers with bionic arm-grafts
(what are the chances of that happening?) to team up and stop Project Albatross.
Metal Gear and Metal Gear Solid games (MSX2, PS2, PS3) – Metal Gear
Solid HD Collection (PS3, Xbox 360)
The sheer amount on offer in the PS3 and Xbox 360 Metal Gear Solid HD Collections
makes up for the disappointment of Konami not including the original Metal Gear Solid in
this HD collection. What you do get are three MGS games (Sons of Liberty, Snake Eater
and Peace Walker) as well as ports of the original two Metal Gear games from the MSX2
computer (Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake). The majority of the gameplay is left
intact for the remakes, however the Peace Walker controls have been updated to take advantage of the now standard dual-analogue control sticks.
Conkers Bad Fur Day (N64) – Conker: Live & Reloaded (Xbox)
Another non-HD entry, but Rare’s remake of their 2001 adult themed N64 action-platformer still delivered a unique and lovingly updated experience. Unfortunately, despite
the 15 certificate, much of the heavy drinking and foul mouthed squirrel’s antics were
toned down for the Xbox update, with even the more tame swear words removed. Whilst
this did slightly lower the games impact, the upgraded graphics and brand new multiplayer mode made up for this is spades. We still hold out hope for an uncut ultimate edition to
hit current-gen consoles, so find out who you local MP is
and lets get lobbying now!
Oddworld Strangers Wrath (Xbox) – Oddworld Strangers Wrath
HD (PS3)
Released for the Xbox in 2005, Strangers Wrath is the 4th game in the Oddworld series.
Upon its initial release it was garnered with praise awards and high review scores, but that
didn’t translate to sales, making it high on the list of best games you have never played.
When Just Add Water began working on the 2011 PS3 remake they were not only hoping
to bring an under-appreciated game to a wider audience, but to reignite the whole franchise.
The love and attention they poured in is evident through the beautifully up-scaled graphics,
new cinematics and removal of bugs and dodgy control issues. Here’s hoping that JAW can
do a similarly fine job with other games in the series.
24
Land of Gaming Glory
Play Expo
The Best of British
Since the dawn of the industry, the UK has been renowned for its innovative and high-quality approach to
video games. Here, the Play editorial each team each pick three games they feel have made British games
development amongst the best in the world, plus one overall winner...
David Crookes (Editor)
Manic Miner (ZX Spectrum, 1983)
Although the last few years have seen some amazing
games, the golden age of the early 80s was
mind-blowing. It’s rather fitting then that Matthew
Smith was, quite simply, bonkers. He produced Manic
Miner and a year later Jet Set Willy, and both helped
to define the platform game genre.
Born in London but having grown up in Wallasey,
Smith became known for creating quirky titles that
oozed charm. Indeed, Manic Miner had players
dodging killer toilets and psychotic penguins. Little
wonder it became a cult classic.
Sensible World of Soccer (Amiga, 1994)
It was later given a lick of paint and opened up to a whole
new audience on XBOX Live Arcade, but the original
Sensible World of Soccer on the Amiga remains the best,
not least for its impact and the use of a simple joystick.
Creators Jon Hare and Chris Yates went for a deliberately
lo-fi feel to the game, using the same small-scale sprites
that became a hallmark of Sensible Software’s other games
such as Cannon Fodder. Hare is a Norwich City fan so he’s
not used to great success, but if his team played such
wonderful football as the players in Sensi, they would
surely win the Champions League.
Tomb Raider (Playstation, 1996)
How many people didn’t get this game for Christmas? And how many didn’t
play open-mouthed? And no, that had nothing to do with having to stare at
Lara Croft’s bottom for the entire duration of the game.
When Tomb Raider was made available on the Playstation in 1996, it was an
instant sensation. Within a year, Lara was everywhere and she was being used
to sell a host of products. Lucozade even became Larazade for a spell, and her
pixellated visage was even used on the cover of The Face magazine.
That wouldn’t have happened, however, had the game not been good. The
cutting edge visuals that assaulted the eyes as Lara tackled the sprawling 3D
worlds pushed gaming to another level. A good level. And we loved Lara for it.
Mat Corne (Deputy Editor)
Wizball (Commodore 64, 1987)
For me, no game embodies a truly British approach to gaming
than this C64 classic. The premise of an initially uncontrollable bouncing ball, tasked with restoring colour to a drab
landscape by shooting lethal blobs of paint, should never have
worked. Can you imagine an idea like this being green lit in
today’s mostly sterile industry?
In the hands of Sensible Software, however, the game was a
tremendous success. The combination of frenetic gameplay, a
unique control scheme, gorgeous graphics and Martin Galway’s psychedelic SID tunes resulted in a game that remains
unique and playable some 25 years later.
Lemmings (Amiga, 1991)
Quite how DMA Design managed to imbue such
personality into the tiny 8x8 pixel characters of this
legendary puzzle game is a mystery. It was satisfying to
guide those cute little green-haired guys home, but the
devil within loved to blow them all up too!
Of course, the charm of those critters would have been
nothing without decent gameplay, and Lemmings had it
in spades. Challenging puzzles were complemented by
memorable tunes and some beautifully-drawn scenery,
resulting in an amazingly polished and playable title.
Championship Manager: Season 00/01 (PC, 2000)
I could have chosen one of any number of Football management games,
but this one took over my life for longer than I dare remember. I still talk of
those heady days, taking lowly Nuneaton Borough from the Conference to
the European Cup, to anyone that will listen!
For a game to be released in the 21st century and feature an almost purely
text-based interface, it has to be something special. Championship Manager
sucks you into a fictional world where you can spend hours scouring the
transfer market or tinkering with your formation, making all the decisions
you wish your favourite team’s manager would make in real life. It is inexplicably one of the most addictive games ever made, and one of the best.
Gordon Sinclair (Editor-in-chief)
Deathchase (ZX Spectrum, 1983)
By far my favourite game of all time, Mervyn Estcourt’s classic game was written in just 16k. For those not familiar with
sizes less than megabytes should just take a moment to realise
that the average text only email will be more than double that!
The game is pretty simple rendition of the Speederbike
scenes from Return of the Jedi, but it is such simplicity that
brings such joy. Hypnotically weaving through a dense forest,
chasing bikers and shooting down tanks and helicopters, you
quickly forget the crude graphics and are transported to the
Ewok planet of Endor in the best ever non-Star Wars Star
Wars game.
Kick Off II (Atari ST/Amiga, 1990)
We debated allowing two football games to be on this list, but
despite the same subject matter, Kick Off and Sensible Soccer
are worlds apart. Whilst Sensi went for the glitz and glamour
of colourful cartoony graphics, Kick Off went for the realistic
approach.
Batman Arkham Asylum (XBOX 360/PS3, 2009)
Batman may come from Gotham, but he is unquestionably a Brit. For a
start Christian Bale, the current custodian of the cape, is British. More
importantly, every good Batman video game was developed in Britain,
from the first ever Batman game by Jon Ritman in 1986, to the movie
adaptations by Ocean Software, and then this brutally dark reimagining.
There was nothing fancy about the presentation, no animated
ambulances driving on the pitch and no soundtrack. Kick Off
was just pure football. Kick Off 2 took all the basics from its
predecessor and tweaked them to perfection, so if you can get
past the basic aesthetics (particularly on the ST version) then
you get a wonderful view of the beautiful game, only uglier.
The clever puzzles, varied gameplay and bone-crunchingly
choreographed fighting allowed Arkham Asylum to reinvent superhero
games, and things haven’t been the same since. Its sequel Arkham City
gave us an open world Gotham, but despite its linearity, the impact of
such a ground-breaking game will always make Arkham Asylum my
favourite.
25
Play Expo
Grand Champion
Many people may have expected to see Elite sitting pretty as the best of British videogames, and to be fair,
it almost was. However, when we compared the solitary experience of trading goods in deep space to the
vibrant and fully realised world of Vice City, our choice was made. We are therefore proud to announce
our choice for Greatest Ever British Videogame…
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (XBOX/PS2/PC, 2002)
David
What can be said about GTA that hasn’t already been said
before? Controversial? You betcha. Visually awesome? It
goes without saying. Fun? Without a shadow of doubt.
I began my love affair with GTA when the first game arrived
on the Playstation. I was later blown away as Rockstar
made the transition from 2D to 3D and, in the process,
created a game that I had always wanted to play.
Vice City was set in 1986 in a city emerged in a violent
power struggle in a lucrative drugs trade. The depth of play
and the intuitive method of control was striking enough, but
the feeling that you could play forever and a day and still be
driving these mean streets while barely pausing for breath is
what made it for me. It looked lush. It played incredibly well.
The missions were spot on. It pushed the PS2 to the limits.
And that is why it is number one.
Mat
If the original Grand Theft Auto introduced us to sandbox
gaming, and the first 3D instalment made it look real, then
GTA:Vice City made it fun! For those of a certain age, the
chance to walk around a living, breathing homage to the
80s was something too good to miss. Whether you simply
played through all the wonderful missions, went on a
killing rampage or just decided to be a taxi driver for the
day, the world created by Rockstar North was like no other
at that time.
Gordon
Playing like a whole season of Miami Vice, Vice City was
more than just a re-skinning of Grand Theft Auto III. It
brought to life a whole new world where we could live out
our fantasies to a fantastic 80s soundtrack. Listening to a
commercial on the radio for a clothing store, you could then
put your pedal to the metal and drive over there to check
out the bargains. Gameplay was very similar to its predecessor, but the theme and the humour were on another
level and for me this is the absolute highlight of the series.
That a British company could produce such a game,
which was unrivalled on both a technological and
gameplay level, is testament to the creativity that exists in
our industry. The fact that every open-world game released
since is judged against it, and few match it, shows exactly
why this is the very best of British.
Who can forget the radio and billboard adverts for the
‘Degenetron’ console? Like a dumbed down version of the
Atari VCS, Rockstar even went as far as to fake a fansite
for the console and allow users to play emulated games!
Play Expo will feature a special ‘Best of British’ section in the re.play area, showcasing some of the UK’s greatest games and companies of the last 30 years.
From Bedrooms to Billions
Filmmakers Anthony Caulfield and Nicola Caulfield have been trying for more
than a decade to produce a documentary about the UK games industry. As Anthony
reveals here, the road has been long, but finally they are realising their dream…
Why would you want to make a film on the UK
Games Industry? Gaming is far too niche, no
one would watch it!
Nicola and I had been saying since 1997 that it
was about time there was a professionally-made
documentary account of the story of the UK
videogames sector. It had to be something that
featured interviews with all the main players of
the time and it had to be a reflection of how
bedroom programmers helped forge a
multi-million pound industry.
Television channels were putting out shows that
celebrated music, books, film and many other
forms of art, but never gaming. Whenever we
pitched ideas to broadcasters, among them was
always an unnamed documentary title simply
marked ‘Three part series on the history of UK
games industry.’ But we were always
disappointed at how little interest we got.
The common answer was always that gaming
was too niche a hobby and no-one would watch
it. What surprised us was the complete lack of
interest or understanding for such an important
story in the history of British invention
and industry.
Why no broadcaster in the UK would allow us
to tell the UK’s side of this story was baffling.
We would go in with several ideas. We’d get
one or two projects off the list but never the
one on the UK games industry…
The Oliver Twins
The co-founders of Blitz Entertainment, Philip and Andrew
are still working in the industry today. They were responsible
for the popular 8-bit Dizzy series.
Matthew Smith
The talented creator of Manic Miner is notoriously publicity
shy, so his inclusion will be a real coup for the film.
David Braben
Braben, along with Ian Bell created the seminal Elite before
going on to form Frontier Developments.
David Braben
Rob Hubbard
We thought we had achieved funding in 2010
but the UK Film Council was shut down. Then
after a couple more financiers proved to be
time wasters we decided in 2012 to try our
hand at ‘crowd funding.’ And it turns out that
people would like to see a film on the story of
the UK games industry, and it is something
they care enough about to put their hands in
their pockets and help us make it happen.
Surely it was something that must be
documented? We were passionate about this.
For us, the UK videogame industry was not
a fad that suddenly appeared then fizzled out.
Born out of enthusiastic interest and not
necessarily commercial enterprise, gaming in
the UK became a true business and went on
to help videogames become the biggest
entertainment industry on the planet.
Heroes of the Revolution Meet some of the stars of the upcoming documentary…
The Oliver Twins
Unfortunately, getting any movie funded in the
UK is a whole different affair from TV,
especially when you have a financially
contracting British film industry with most
striving to find the next money spinning King’s
Speech. The financiers we saw just could not
see why anyone would want to watch a film
on the UK games industry.
Archer Maclean
Maclean was behind 8-bit games including the excellent
Dropzone and IK+, and continues to work in the games industry.
Rob Hubbard
Rob’s Commodore 64 music made a massive impact on the
UK gaming scene and is still talked about to this day!
So making it happen is exactly what
we’re doing!
Then, in 2009, we nearly got it commissioned.
The BBC suddenly showed real interest in us
making the documentary. It wanted to screen
part one right after Micro Men, its drama film
about the Sinclair/Acorn battle for the BBC
computer contract. Then after they made all the
right noises they finally declined, saying that a
story on the UK videogames industry was way
too niche. Considering some of the obscure
subject matter on BBC4, it raised our eyebrows
at the time!
We parked the idea for a while, working on
several other projects including a movie called
Burlesque Undressed. Then one day we saw
The King of Kong - A Fist Full Of Quarters and
knew that our untitled idea needed to be a
motion picture: a British independent movie,
with its own identity, feel and soundtrack. It
would be out there, a permanent record of the
UK story, and as a movie we can go as far as
we want!
That was when the name and film, From
Bedrooms to Billions, was born.
“For us, the UK
videogame
industry was not
a fad that
suddenly
appeared then
fizzled out.”
From Bedrooms to Billions is due for release in
Spring 2013 and a sneak preview will be shown
at Play Expo 2012. The filmmakers will also be
taking part in a Q&A about the development of
the documentary. For more information about
the film, visit
www.frombedroomstobillions.com
26
Play Expo
Brothers in Arms
In the 80s and 90s The Bitmap Brothers was a name synonymous
with quality gameplay, graphics and sound. Here we take a look
at what made this British software house so unique.
They are the “brothers” whose roadmap to success was secured from the start. After all, once you have produced a game as excellent as Xenon, a scrolling shoot em up released on the Amiga, ST and Commodore 64 in 1988, there is little doubt that you are destined for excellence.
And so it was that The Bitmap Brothers carved out a legacy as impressive as any of their peers. They were the darlings of the Megadrive,
SNES, Atari ST and PC. But many will argue that their Amiga versions were the best as they pushed the 16-bit powerhouse computer to
its limit.
Formed in Wapping, East London in 1987, the Bitmap Brothers weren’t actually siblings (although it would be a lovely surname to have).
The company’s MD was Mike Montgomery who had founded the company together with Eric Matthews and Steve Kelly, but would later
take sole control of the business.
Following the massive success of Xenon, they quickly followed it by Speedball, released for the Amiga and ST in the same year. Both
games were a commercial success and from here on they began to develop some of the most popular titles on the Amiga, forging
themselves a place in gaming history.
The Bitmap Brothers, circa 1990
But few of those games were as amazing as the ones that we have chosen for our personal Top 3.
Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe
Originally developed in 1990 and released
across many platforms, including the Atari ST,
Amiga and Sega Megadrive, Speedball 2 is a
fast spaced futuristic sports brawler.
To succeed you must train your team and work
your way up the league, beating your opponents
to a pulp in the process. With team management
options, one and two player games and league,
knock out and cup competitions, Speedball 2
was the perfect ultra-violent antidote to many
of the sterile sporting games of the time.
Magic Pockets
The Chaos Engine
During 1991 Magic Pockets could be seen on
Saturday morning TV show Motormouth.
During the show contestants called in and hurled
instructions down the phone in order to play the
game. Many instantly fell in love with the little
character (Bitmap Kid) and its cool animated
intro sequence.
The Bitmap Brothers were one of the best
developers for 16-bit platforms and they really
used the Amiga to the full. Possibly the greatest
example of this was released in 1993.
The Bitmap Kid certainly had an interesting way
of taking out the bad guys, though it was never
made clear why a snail would change into a
candy cane after being engulfed by a whirlwind
which came out of someone’s pocket.
The Chaos Engine was a top down shooter that
offered multiple ways of going through each
level, with a small chance of getting lost or
ambushed by enemies along the way to a hidden
item or passageway. Its killer feature was the
two player mode, allowing friends to team up
and enter the World of Chaos. For single player,
a computer-controlled character was there to
help you out.
BITMAP BROTHERS TRIVIA
Other games produced by the developer
were Xenon 2: Megablast (1989), Cadaver
(1990), Cadaver: The Pay Off (1991),Gods
(1991), The Chaos Engine 2 (1996), Z:
Steel Soldiers (1996), Speedball 2100
(2000) and World War II: Frontline
Command (2003).
The development team was voted 16-bit
Programmers of the Year (1989) at the
Golden Joystick Awards, with Speedball
also taking the 16-bit Game of the Year
gong.
Graphics designer Mark John Coleman
frequently worked with the Bitmap
Brothers, and along with Dan Malone
was responsible for the visual style that
became a trademark of a Bitmap
Brothers game.
The Chaos Engine came with six collectable cards of characters in the game.
Following the closure of the Bitmap
Brothers in 2004, Mike Montgomery
worked alongside the legendary Jon
Hare (co-founder of Sensible Software)
at Tower Studios.
The gameplay is frantic and the action
impressive, while the sound effects give S
peedball 2 a real sense of being there, not only
as a player but even as part of the crowd –
“Ice-cream anyone?”
Speedball 2 is a game that brings a nostalgic
tear to the eye of many gamers and its legacy
continues with a number of updates over the
years, including Tower Studios iOS release
in 2011.
The level designs are brilliant, spreading over
several worlds, with secret passages adding
an extra puzzle element to the gameplay. An
impressive variety of bad guys are included and
extra levels will keep you reaching into to those
magic pockets for quite some time.
“ice cream,
ice cream...”
With superb graphics and fast paced music and
sound effects, the gameplay had a real sense of
urgency. The range of enemies, huge amount of
puzzles, secret passages, and enough weaponry
to start a small war really made the game
stand out.
Former Bitmap Brothers MD Mike
Montgomery will be appearing at Play
Expo, discussing his work with the
famous 16-bit developers, along with
ongoing projects.
Xenon 2: Megablast boasted music from
Bomb the Bass, while Magic Pockets
took its funky title music from Betty Boo’s
“Doin’ the Do”.
The Bitmap Brothers launched their own
Publishing label in 1991. They would
publish their own games as well as hits
for other developers, such as Sensible
Soccer. Renegade Software became one
of the most successful independent
publishers of its time.
One FREE listing on wherehasthatgone.com
& broadcast to multiple networks
wherehasthatgone.com is a FREE online Lost & Found site for missing pets, people & mislaid items.
One free listing on wherehasthatgone.com and we broadcast to multiple social networking and third party websites.
This means your ad will be seen by a large community, both in your local area and worldwide.
facebook.com/wherehasthatgone
email: [email protected]
twitter.com/whtgcouk
www.wherehasthatgone.com
Play Expo
Win a complete
retro gaming setup
For your chance to win not
one, but three classic
video game consoles
and a collection of great
games, simple come up
with the best caption for
this photograph of legendary game creators Jon
Hare and Ste Pickford.
Email your entry to [email protected] and we will announce
the winner through our Facebook and Twitter pages on 30th October 2012.
27
28
Play Expo
Revolution Software is
proud to support Play
Expo 2012
Play Expo
Cloudy with a chance of…
success?
It was heralded as the future but when OnLive ran into trouble, doubts were expressed over the viability of
cloud gaming. Yet with Sony having bought rival cloud gaming company Gaikai, we haven’t heard the last
of this concept just yet, as David Crookes discovers.
Cloud gaming aims for truly system-agnostic gaming
It was Mark Twain who said
“The reports of my death are
greatly exaggerated” but that
has never prevented people
from predicting and reporting the demise of people and
objects in the 115 years which
have since passed - just check
the Wikipedia entry on premature obituaries for proof of that.
It has been said a thousand
times - cloud gaming will prove
to be the killer of consoles.
Whether or not that comes true
depends on how you interpret
recent events. On the one hand,
cloud gaming pioneer OnLive
had to be saved from the brink
of bankruptcy but not before
it signed a deal with the new
Android-based Ouya console
that is set to launch next March
following a successful crowdfunded Kickstarter campaign.
On the other, Gaikai, run by
developer David Perry – he
who created Earthworm Jim was bought by Sony in a deal
worth £242m. That deal will
see games streamed to the Playstation and, most likely, direct
to televisions too.
Before we continue, let’s look
at what cloud gaming actually
is. Primarily, it is the new kid
on the block, having been made
possible by faster broadband
speeds and more than a dollop of hard graft getting the
infrastructure in place. Rather
than download a title to a hard
drive or buy a physical copy
on DVD or Bluray, games are
stored in the cloud. Players
choose which game they want
to play and they start instantly.
When a gamer presses a button
on their controller, keyboard or
mouse, that information is sent
to the cloud servers on which
the game is running. It will tell
the game what needs to happen,
be it moving left or right, firing
and so on, and that action will
be performed.
altogether different proposition
and it has its supporters. “I am
a big fan of cloud gaming if the
price is right,” says 69-yearold Nolan Bushnell, who, in
creating Atari became one of
the industry’s founding fathers.
Having been heavily involved
‘New kid on the block’
What the gamer sees – and
this is the crucial bit – is a
video of their game streamed
to whatever device they are using. It could be a PC or Mac, a
small media-less device which
fits into the television, a phone
or a tablet. Because it is a
video, there is no need to have
a super-powerful computer in
order to play the latest blockbuster releases.
It is that final little fact which
prompted speculation of the
death of consoles. Could it be
true? Ben Cousins certainly
thought so, even before the
Sony buyout emerged. Back
in March, the head of development studio Ngmomo and
former EA, DICE and Sony
employee, believed mobile
technology would be the
catalyst for consoles becoming
obsolete, but streaming is an
in the woodgrained Atari 2600
console of 1977, he feels the
time is right for a new approach to what is, in effect,
the distribution of games, as
long as broadband speeds are
fast enough to ensure that
when a player presses a button, the action comes back
within milliseconds. “There
are many games that can be
served in the web though there
are some latency issues as you
move from the server or play
someone on another continent,”
he says. “After all, we still have
trouble exceeding the speed of
light. But things get better and
cheaper all the time. Perhaps
Sony with its deep pockets
can provide the subsidy for
the scale needed to make this
work.”
Consoles are expensive both to
buy and make. When the
Playstation 3 was launched
in the UK in 2007, following
a delay and at a cost to the
consumer of £425, Sony made
a big loss on each one it sold. It
was suggested that the company was losing around £200 on
each one, with the idea being
that it would profit from the
games that run on them.
Streaming could free console
manufacturers from having to
develop major replacements of
aging consoles, each of which
rely on customers to invest
large sums of money in order
to keep playing. Enhancements
would be made on the servers and they would be more
gradual and less expensive,
freeing up cash. It would allow
companies to put their efforts
into boosting the capabilities
of the servers and connection
speeds, the latter being
particularly crucial.
“consoles are
expensive
both to buy
and make”
“For streaming to work
properly in the long term,
broadband speeds have to be
faster than they are today,” says
BT’s futurologist Ian Pearson.
“The government is making investments in this area but we’re
looking at 2015 or 2016 at the
earliest. For me streaming will
open up the rental market and
shared play but it will only be
one of a number of business
models.”
And yet, in a Twain-esque
manner, consoles are still being
made and are not dead yet.
Nintendo’s new Wii U console
is on its way and Microsoft is
believed – although there has
yet to be an announcement – to
be ready to release a successor
to the XBOX 360 before 2015.
However, interest in cloud
gaming by a major manufacturer such as Sony shows that
it is something that cannot be
dismissed.
“Streaming may, in fact, be
Sony’s best bet for recouping
the losses that they’ve suffered
over the last years,” says stalwart console developer Robert
Troughton who currently heads
up Pitbull Studio. “Apple
killed the Walkman with the
iPod, they’re hurting consoles
with the iPhone, iPad and iPod
touch and if it’s about to come
out with a TV then they’ll be
winning there too. Sony have to
pull something out of the bag.”
Sony could stream games direct
to its televisions, for example,
cutting out the need for a
console. The rush to produce
more advanced machines
would become obsolete since
machines would only need to
be powerful enough to handle
video. There would be no need
to have a physical copy of a
game either, thereby impacting
on a retail landscape already
battered by downloads.
Yet Sony and Microsoft are not
solely interested in games. Both
companies have been turning their consoles into media
hubs combining film, music
and photographs among a host
of other features. They allow
movies to be streamed and it
is possible to get a live feed
from Sky or view previously
aired programmes on the BBC
iPlayer and 4oD.
Far from seeing the death of
consoles, perhaps we are simply witnessing the firm demise
of physical media, which began
when digital downloads became popular. Why buy a box
set when you can stream from
Netflix? What’s the point of a
DVD or Bluray movie when
LoveFilm exists?
The iPlayer may only account
for less than one per cent of all
TV viewed in the UK, but the
take-up will surely grow over
the coming years.
“The success of Sky Go and
Sky Anytime+ demonstrates
how internet-delivered television continues to grow in
popularity,” says Luke Bradley Jones, Sky’s director of
TV products. “It means our
customers can enjoy even more
choice and control over when
and where they watch their
favourite programmes.”
Whatever happens next will be
analysed in great detail. Maybe
consoles will go the same way
as the Video Cassette Recorder.
Or maybe not. “My other prediction for the console market
is subsidised consoles in exchange for contracted subscriptions, like mobile phones,” says
Mr Troughton, offering another
possibility for the next generation of games machines.
29
30
Play Expo
Cash in
the Attic?
For those unfamiliar with the wonderful world of retro gaming, there’s so
much more than just fuzzy memories and outdated hardware. While you
may believe that these classics have depreciated in value, it’s far from the
case. With several video game auctions online breaking into the five figure
mark earlier this year, there is plenty of reason to brave that dusty loft to
see if it is hiding a small fortune.
Adam Buchanan of RetroCollect takes a look at some releases from the
last few decades that retro gamers can often be found fighting over…
Sega Megadrive
Super Nintendo
Fatal Fury 2
X Zone
Nearly two decades ago Blockbuster was a formidable
ally to the video game world. Before the days of demo
discs and digital download trials, gamers could easily
walk into their local video rental store and take home a
game for the weekend. Needless to say the rental giant
struck several deals with the likes of Sega and Nintendo
to gain exclusive rights to certain titles. Fatal Fury 2 is
one of these, a title which could not be bought on the
high street, and one that remained an Australian rental
only option, at least until the few remaining ex-rental
copies made their way into collector’s hands
If there is anything clear about Nintendo’s distribution methods in the 90s, it is that they’re simply confusing! Countless titles were being shipped to one
country, but not the next, leaving incredible classics
out of reach for British gamers. X-Zone is one of
these incredibly rare exclusives, which could only be
located in Scandinavia upon its release. Whilst this
frantic Super Scope shooter could have quite easily
sold in large quantities around Europe and Australia,
this game remains an exquisite import from the colder regions up north, on the rare occasions it surfaces.
Mega Man: The Wily Wars
The Firemen
In the dying days of Sega’s 16-bit console, the Japanese
juggernaut began exploring various options to keep their
system above water in a now 32-bit world. One of their
boldest efforts was the introduction of the Sega Channel, an adaptor which connected to any cable television
connection to provide entertainment on demand. This
primitive attempt at an XBOX Live or Playstation Network equivalent served video game action through the
airwaves including the notable remake compilation of
the first three Nintendo NES Mega Man games - Mega
Man: The Wily Wars. As PAL regions missed out on the
Sega Channel, this in demand title hit European stores as
a physical release in small quantities, making amends for
the regional heartbreak we’d all grown used to over here.
While Police officers may have been immortalised in
video games throughout the years, the rest of our public services have been somewhat ignored. Game developers Human Entertainment aimed to resolve this
in 1995, with their addictive take on the daily struggles endured by our Fire servicemen. On paper the
thought of watering down burning buildings might
not sound too enthralling, but you’d be wrong to presume what this Super Nintendo hit has to offer. The
pixellated dramatisation of a crisis combined with
anthropomorphic flames halting your heroic efforts
makes this a burning desire amongst retro gamers.
Daze Before Christmas
With a shelf life of mere weeks, you’d think video game
publishers would avoid going to the effort to release a
festive themed video game. Sunsoft, however, had faith
in Funcom’s creation and decided to release a pixelated adventure starring Santa just in time for the Christmas of 1994. This daring release must have rung a few
alarm bells amongst the Sunsoft executives though, as
the Megadrive release of Daze Before Christmas ended
up being limited to just Australia. Needless to say the
incredibly small print run combined with its regional exclusivity makes this seasonal rarity both expensive and
difficult to locate.
Alien Soldier
The Japanese developers Treasure, comprised of
ex-Konami employees, were an unstoppable force in the
16-bit era. Every single title created by this gifted team
was an instant hit and an everlasting classic. Their 1995
release Alien Soldier was no different - a title which not
only pushed Sega’s console to its limits but also your
own gaming abilities. Unfortunately the unforgiving yet
incredibly enjoyable ‘boss-rush’ gameplay sadly became
overshadowed by the other 32-bit gaming options made
available that year, leaving Alien Solider to become quite
the obscurity. While its price tag today may be off
putting, you’ll be thankful for every penny spent on
Alien Solider.
Mega Man X3
For such a prolific series, a Mega Man title is not
one you’d expect to see on a list of hard to find video
games. Funnily enough both the second and third outing of Mega Man’s upgraded ‘X’ appearances are difficult to pin down, due to both rarity and current market value. Several complete-in-box copies of Mega
Man X3 have been seen bordering on the one thousand mark on online auction sites, leaving only the
most daring and wealthiest video gamers to indulge.
Sadly for the rest of us, emulation is the only answer
to enjoying one of Mega Man’s finest outings.
Space Invaders
While many will fondly remember their time with
the arcade classic Space Invaders, very few are aware
that it was later released on the Super Nintendo. This
is understandable due to the 1978 coin-gobbler’s 16bit outing being an Australian exclusive. To be fair
though, by the time the Super Nintendo had surfaced
gamers had long since moved on from Taito’s classic - one that failed to offer much more on the SNES
than it did a good decade and a half earlier. Given
that gamers could be exploring Super Mario World’s
Dinosaur Land or Super Metroid’s Zebes for the same
price, Space Invaders was left to gather dust at retail.
31
Play Expo
Several years ago it had become apparent that there was very little information online
for retro gamers in the PAL teritorries. While the Americans have long had detailed
information repositories dedicated to their gaming past, the team behind RetroCollect
decided to collectively build European and Australian gamers their very own equivalent.
After years of ongoing hard work, RetroCollect launched in 2010 with not only a wealth
of information for game collectors, but also a source for the latest retro gaming news
and a flourishing setting for collectors to call home. The site also now offers a place for
the classic game aficionados to digitally catalogue their collections, share photographs
of their wares and discuss anything that rocks their pixels on the messageboards.
So if you’re a huge retro gamer or you’re yet to dive into the world of classic gaming,
you best head on over to www.retrocollect.com - where retro gamers... collect!
Extremely RareVery RareRareUncommon
Sony Playstation
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Often classed as the pinnacle of the Castlevania series,
Symphony of the Night is, and always will be, very
much in demand. With constant competition to secure
the game driving prices way beyond that of a new release, you’d hope that such an investment has plenty to
offer - which it does. Not only does this Dracula slaying
adventure offer a solid 15 hours of 2D action, but also
the addition of a gorgeous 32 page artbook and an audio
CD containing music from every Castlevania game released prior to Symphony of the Night.
Clock Tower
In 1996 Resident Evil’s debut on the Playstation infected the entire nation. Gamers soon became bloodthirsty for more survival horror action. While Resident
Evil was far from the first to introduce the spine chilling
formula to video games, it capitalised on a gap in the
market created by Human Entertainment’s Clock Tower series. The Playstation sequel to the Japanese only
SNES horror title Clock Tower took two whole years
to be localised for European audiences, by which time
the dated title was looking pale in comparison to the upcoming Resident Evil sequel. While it’s still a timeless
classic, poor sales coupled with an overshadowing rival
left Clock Tower to tick away into obscurity.
Sega Saturn
Deep Fear
Despite enjoying a healthy helping of Capcom’s survival-horror-pie with the Saturn port of Resident Evil,
Sega wanted much more than just a single slice. Diving into their resources, they created their own take
on the survival horror genre with Deep Fear. Taking
place beneath the ocean in an underwater facility,
Deep Fear made Resident Evil stay further afloat for
all the wrong reasons. If you thought the nonsensical
voice acting in Resident Evil was bad, you’ve heard
nothing yet! To add insult to injury, Deep Fear was
the final PAL release for the Saturn before it sunk underneath the Playstation’s tidal wave.
Panzer Dragoon Saga
The 1998 RPG by Sega’s Team Andromeda had everything going for it. Stunning visuals, a gorgeous
soundtrack, an engaging storyline, yet for whatever
reason English speaking audiences failed to notice
this title in time. While games of this calibre are often
remade or re-released on modern consoles, Team Andromeda has since stepped forward and admitted that
the source code for Panzer Dragoon Saga has been
lost. This means the only chance you have of enjoying this once in a lifetime adventure is by surrendering your wallet and dusting off your Saturn. Trust us,
it’s worth it.
Keio Flying Squadron 2
Herc’s Adventures
Better known for their iconic point ‘n’ click adventures
and Star Wars games, Lucasarts took a stab at creating
a Zelda-flavoured action-adventure in 1997. Herc’s Adventures became one of their lesser known titles that
truly deserved widespread recognition, especially given
it was a spiritual successor to their 16-bit hit Zombies
Ate my Neighbours. Like most sprite based adventures
released in the late 90s, Herc’s Adventures was unfairly
cast aside by its polygon packed rivals despite having
more than enough strength to fight back.
Regarded as the best title released in the series, Keio
Flying Squadron 2 is simply platforming perfection.
Despite being critically acclaimed, Victor Entertainment’s sprite heavy adventure suffered at the hands of
an audience failing to see past the allure of advanced
3D gaming on offer elsewhere. What makes this title
more elusive than others though is that as the game
missed out on a US release. European gamers are
finding themselves fending off the frequent cherry
picking from American gamers hoping to make a run
with the few remaining copies of the game.
Mr Bones
Time Bokan Yattaman
Yattaman is a Japanese anime from the Time Bokan series which saw its first broadcast in 1977. Many years
later the series was immortalised in video game form,
seeing releases on various Japanese consoles including
the SNES, Sega Saturn, Sony Playstation and Bandai
Wonderswan. Despite being somewhat unknown outside of Japan, the series gained enough traction in Italy
to justify a PAL release of this Playstation title. Being
a colourful scrolling shooter with humorous elements,
this title is everything you’d expect from an anime
themed video game as well as being a highly sought
after 32-bit treat.
Mr Bones is quite possibly the only platform adventure featuring a resurrected 19th century rural southerner who is attempting to save the world from destruction. This quirky yet amusing side scroller sees
our bony protagonist tackling the evil DaGoulian, a
mad philosopher who is using a special set of skeletal
magnetism drums to raise the deceased for his undead
army. This 1996 release was wrongly considered lifeless compared to other releases that year, and was
prematurely laid to rest shortly after. Mr Bones, however, has since become part of a retro gaming resurrection. Those who wrongly dismissed this skeleton’s
outing all those years ago are now scouring Ebay in
the hope of being thrown one of Mr Bones’... bones.
32
Play Expo
Confessions of a Gaming Widow
If you can’t beat ‘em...
“How did it get to this?!” A thought
that at some point occurs to everybody,
I am sure. Over the last couple of
years however, it has found its way
into my head on a more and more
frequent basis.
Usually it is a Sunday. Usually it is 5 or 6pm,
sometimes later. Usually I am sitting
cross-legged on a cold concrete floor in a
faraway exhibition centre surrounded by games
and their not necessarily matching boxes.
So how did it get to this? How did it get to the
point where I break into cold sweats at the very
thought of an original Xbox disc being filed
away with the 360s? Well, as with all good
stories, it starts when boy meets girl…
Boy meets girl. Boy has an upright arcade
machine in his house. Girl thinks, “well at least
it isn’t the decomposing body of his Mother”
and so things progress...
Fast forward a couple of years and at the point
of house hunting, the luxury of a spare room
becomes essential. Only now it won’t be
Smug grin removed!
‘spare’ at all; it will be required to house the
ever increasing games collection. No longer
is there one solitary arcade machine, there are
two MAME cabinets, and there are uncountable
consoles, many purchased purely because they
could be. The gaming and associated interests
have developed from a quirk, to a hobby, to an
addiction and what is the next logical step for
any addict? Find a support group!
were made that it was nice to have a familiar
face around... I got to know people, my
Facebook friends list grew, and I was slowly but
surely being welcomed into a community where
I was sure I had absolutely nothing in common
with 90% of the members.
Not only was I good at it, I was better than The
Boy! As much as I loved beating him at his own
game, The Boy hated it. There is nothing quite
like wiping a smug grin off the face of the
person that you love, and if you can take a photo
of the high score table with your name above
theirs all the better!
So The Boy decided to hold a retro gaming
event to find some like-minded/afflicted
individuals. Inspired by a smaller event he
had attended he decided things could be made
bigger and (as all ladies know) therefore better.
This was a turning point - The Girl met other
addicts! Some were at earlier stages of their
addiction, while others were way beyond help.
I staffed the door for almost two days straight
for this event, sat reading books in quiet times
and repeated “I don’t like games” more times
than I care to guess.
Some months later another event was arranged
ended up on the door again. A few comments by
one of The Boy’s new friends and I somehow
What changed here, you might ask? Was it the
15 hour delay in Manchester airport that sent me
stir crazy? Was there a loss of cabin pressure on
the flight? Did a lumberjack accidentally clout
me with an axe upon arrival in New England?
No, it appears that I found a game I was good at.
“the gaming and
associated interests
have developed
from a quirk, to a
hobby, to an
addiction...”
As a result of my softening approach to these
events, The Boy decided it was time to see if I
would travel to the annual gaming tournament at
Funspot. Now Funspot is not local; Funspot is
not in this country; Funspot is not even
European. This was a real test! Would I,
fledgling gamer groupie, travel to the USA to
compete in a tournament with the world’s best?
Obviously I could have said no. I could have
stayed at home. I could have spent all day in the
local chocolate shop (which is magnificent by
the way) but no, I went and I entered
the tournament.
Upon our return to England I began to play
my favoured game on the MAME cab. Then
I diversified and found other games to enjoy,
all of which I was capable of beating The Boy
at. So my affection for the gaming community
grows - I help out at various events, where there
are wonderful people and the odd decent game.
There is some genuine love for my homemade
sausage rolls as well, to those in the know, and
so the story continues...
I can’t wait for Play Expo. I will play games
that I can beat The Boy (and many others)
at and I will welcome new people into the
fold. Gaming widows and widowers alike are
welcome.I will personally assist you in finding
something at which you can beat your
significant other!
So, how did it get to this? I am really still not
sure, but what I do know is that I am glad it did.
If you need to talk about your partner’s
gaming obsession and how best to deal
with it, the Gaming Widow will be
available at Play Expo - please visit the
Event Information Booth.
31
Play Expo