Like many others out there, I’m quite fond of digging out an old classic to see how it has aged.  I was over the moon when Lucasarts announced that they were re-releasing The Secret of Monkey Island and despite Dragons Lair being a game that is pretty much one long quick time event, I have bought the game on several formats over the past few years.

It’s important to remember games from your childhood, in the same way it is important to listen to some classic songs you liked as a teenager. Hearing those songs can take you back to how you felt when you first heard them.

And in the same way, playing Another World on the iPad I was instantly transported back 1991 as it brought back memories of when I first played the game on my old Atari ST.

Taking control Professor Lester Knight Chaykin, the stories protagonist who does an experiment and finds himself transported to a strange and hazardous world, the game is essentially a platform action adventure.

At the time, the graphics and cinematic animation during the cutscenes were somewhat innovative and the game was seen as a benchmark both in terms of gameplay and visual presentation.

In this day and age, the game looks somewhat quaint.  However, bizarrely the minimalistic approach of the game means it has actually dated quite well and it retains a surprising amount of charm.

Needless to say, the touch screen controls don’t do the original game justice.  However, with a bit of perseverance you can slowly get the hang of it.

Overall, I’d recommend this to any retroheads out there who are looking for a slice of gaming history.  First timers might find themselves a little lost on first impressions, but this faithful adaptation should do fans of the original proud.

Verdict: 7 out of 10

One of my earliest gaming memories is of the Strike series – isometric helicopter shooters that were both challenging and fun, and tied together with a large helping of cheesy plot. Man, do I love a good cheesy plot.

The three titles, Desert Strike, Jungle Strike and Urban Strike (I’m ignoring Nuclear Strike, as it A: wasn’t on the Megadrive, and B: was rubbish), were great fun. They were simple shooters combined with a decent amount of objectives, be it rescuing stranded troopers or destroying nuclear missile silos, and the controls were easy enough for my 7-year-old mind to grasp.
Good thing too, these games were tough!

Of the three titles Jungle Strike was my favourite, so I’m going to focus on that one. Here’s the intro, which has a bit of plot too.

I love this game, it kept me amused for hours. The basic plot revolved around two rent-a-bad-guys who want to blow up America because… well… because. Ibn Kilbaba, son of predecessor game Desert Strike’s antagonist, and Carlos Ortega, a “notorious South American drug lord” have nukes and are prepared to use them, and it’s up to the player to track them down and finish the fight.

Starting off in Washington DC, the game takes in jungles and deserts as you hunt the wily pair down, eventually coming full circle and leaving the player holding off wave after wave of suicide bombers in the ‘burbs of DC. Also, the person who uploaded this is rubbish and keeps bouncing off buildings… I was way better, even at seven.

The gameplay is deceptively simple – fly around and shoot stuff – but there was also a fair amount of strategy in there too, as your Comanche chopper only has a certain amount of armour, fuel and ammo and you need to keep picking up supplies, or find yourself out of lives pretty damn quick. Also, you sometimes got to take the controls of other vehicles, like this nifty stealth fighter!

Sure, the graphics and gameplay seem amazingly low-tech these days, but back in the 90s, in the golden age of 16-bit action, they kicked arse – and still do, if the copy I’m running on my PC’s emulator is anything to go by.

In some ways, it would be good to see gaming go back to this – simple, fun shooting, with no ulterior motives.

I used to love this game. With it’s winning combination of survival horror and a twisted plot, I couldn’t get enough of it.

Set in the quiet, freaky and fog ridden American town Silent Hill, you control Harry – a desperate father searching for his daughter after a road accident.

Stranded in Silent Hill, it becomes apparent that everything is not what it seems and pretty soon monsters and freaks break through the fog and attack you.

Initially armed with just a torch light and a handgun, Harry travels the width of the town visiting various locations, meeting various characters and solving puzzles in abandoned hospitals, schools and empty shops.

Now, if the abandoned, downbeat and foggy setting were not enough to unsettle you, then the alternative universe that gradually takes over Silent Hill ought to do the trick. A process that is started by the sound of a distant siren, the world around Harry transforms into a blood drenched hell hole where your standard interior design is replaced by rusty metal cages. It’s an unnerving experience that still freaks me out a little bit 12 years later.

This is ultimately where Silent Hill succeeded – it did a terrific job in creating a tense atmosphere. From the unusual and enigmatic characters to the disturbing environments and the grotesque monsters, you never knew what was going to happen next.

The game would even throw the odd red herring your way. I remember when exploring the school and finding the locker room, then opening an locker and jumping out of my seat when a cat leaped out and ran off. It was tense and somewhat comical at the same time – that kind of thing is rarely seen in games these days.

The developers, Team Silent, also did a great job in employing this growing tension as a mechanic in the game. At the start of the game, Harry finds a radio that transmits a crackling noise whenever a monster is near by. When it goes off, it immediately put you on edge as literally had no idea where the attack was going to come from.

As I mentioned earlier, Harry is armed with a torch and a good percentage of the time, this was the only light you’d have. So you could only see a couple of meters in front of him. This was also the case during the day, since the fog gives the environment a very claustrophobic feeling.

A special mention has to go to the soundtrack. Scored impeccably by Akira Yamaoka, the soundtrack really does help put the finishing touches to the world of Silent Hill and gives the proceedings a sorrowful and haunting edge.

Drawing it’s influences from the likes of Stephen King, Resident Evil and Jacobs Ladder, Silent Hill in my opinion was a great game and a thrilling experience to play.

12 years on and it still haunts me.

Shadows of the Empire - Nintendo 64

Released back in the days before Jar Jar, before midichlorians and before Han shot first, the release of Shadows of the Empire on the Nintendo 64 represented an exciting time for Star Wars fans.

With the special editions around the corner and George Lucas announcing his intention to film the prequels, it was a time when it was exciting to like Star Wars.

The game starts off with the battle of Hoth and from there, tells the story of the events that take place between the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, the game explores the story of Dash Rendar, a smuggler that helps the rebels in their search for Han Solo.

Along the way, Dash has to face off against a bunch of familiar faces, including a scout walker, IG88 and everyone’s favourite bad ass bounty hunter, Boba Fett.

Looking back the game hasn’t dated too well. The graphics are foggy and the controls are as clunky as the various plot holes in the prequel trilogy.

The fact that the Nintendo 64 controller only had the one analog stick didn’t do the game any favours, this is really noticeable during the 3rd person shooter segments, especially when the camera decides to put itself in the most difficult angle possible.

The game does give you the option to change the angle, but rarely does this bring any benefit to the overall experience. In fact, most of the time, it just comes off as another chore to do.

Despite the clunky controls and the dated visuals, there is a good story in the game and it’s variety of levels is to be commended.

The final space battle, in which Dash and the rebels are taking out Xizors Skyhook is suitably epic stuff and very entertaining, however, the less said about the speeder level on Tatooine the better.

I have to admit, I’m a big fan of the Star Wars series, however, even I would find it hard to recommend digging this one out. Having said, if Lucasarts were to announce a HD makeover of Shadows of the Empire, I would lap it up, as there is clearly the potential for a great game here.

Retro verdict: 6 out of 10.

One for the fans and completists only.