100 Retro Videogames You Must Play Before You Die (eBook)

Tom Crossland (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2024 | 1. Auflage
184 Seiten
epubli (Verlag)
978-3-7598-3107-1 (ISBN)

Infos

Taking in everything from Another World to X-COM: UFO Defense, here are 100 classic retro games you must play before you die. The book includes, among many others, Doom, Half-Life, Sensible Soccer, Tomb Raider, Super Mario 64, Cannon Fodder, Space Invaders, Star Wars, Metal Gear Solid, Quake, Resident Evil, and Tetris. Prepare for a nostalgic trip through the vintage years of arcade and home gaming!

I enjoy writing about popular culture.

Textauszug

As you might expect, Pac-Man was also ported to home systems gazillions of times in various forms. The game's influence can be seen in popular culture, with Pac-Man appearing in movies, TV shows, and even as a character in the hit animated film Wreck-It Ralph. Pac-Man's legacy extends beyond the world of video games, with the character becoming a symbol of 1980s nostalgia and retro gaming. The game's timeless appeal continues to attract new fans, with modern versions and adaptations keeping the legacy of Pac-Man alive.


PARADROID (1985)

Paradroid is a top down shoot em up/puzzle game designed by Andrew Braybrook for Hewson Consultants. This is considered to be one of the best games made for the Commodore 64. In the game enemy forces have taken over robots on spaceships and turned them against the crew. The player controls a robot that can take control of the other robots. There are 24 robots of 10 classes which have numbers on them: the higher the numbers the more powerful the droid is. Different droids have different power - such as speed and weaponry. 

Robots can be killed with a weapon and can be taken over by linking with them. This takes place in a mini-game where power must be supplied to different circuits. If the player takes over a droid, he can only use it for a certain level of time before the droid self destructs and the player reverts back to his original basic droid. The spaceship has 16 decks with numerous rooms and 400 screens. The decks and rooms are connected by elevators and doors. Computer terminals can be accessed to provide maps and information on the droids. When one ship is cleared the player is beamed onto another. On beating the eight ship the player starts that ship again with tougher droids to face.

Paradroid is a classic game. It may look relatively simply graphically (sort of like Pac-Man) but it is a very addictive game. The scrolling is extremely smooth, with very good controls and it is great fun to control the different droids with their different weapons, speed etc. The effects - such as electricity flashes look very good. There is variety in the decks with different colours. The sound effects add to the atmosphere too.

Programmer Andrew Braybrook also created the classic shoot 'em up Uridium. Though this is not the most amazing looking game you've ever seen it does have bags of atmosphere and there is just something compelling about the aura of this game with its electronic buzz sonic backdrop and addictive gameplay. Paradroid is an example of how a game doesn't necessarily need fancy graphics or obtuse concepts to be great. There is a clarity of purpose in Paradroid that makes it all come together incredibly well.

You get the happy sense here that Andrew Braybrook not only knew exactly what he was going for and wanted to do but actually achieved this with flying colours. Paradroid is one of those games that still features near the top of lists concerning the best C64 games. It is more that worthy of that lofty reputation. Paradroid is one of those games where gameplay and concept is the most important thing and the graphics are secondary. That said though I like the simple graphics in Paradroid and the game has plenty of atmosphere.

There were later some updated versions of this game which improved the speed of the gameplay. The updated versions are worth a look but 'vanilla' Paradroid is still fine too if you ask me.


PITFALL! (1982)

Pitfall! is a classic video game originally released by Activision in 1982 for the Atari 2600 console. In the game, players control a treasure hunter named Pitfall Harry as he navigates through a dangerous jungle filled with hazards such as quicksand, scorpions, and rolling logs. The goal is to collect all the treasures scattered throughout the jungle while avoiding obstacles and enemies. Players can also collect treasures like gold bars, silver ingots, and diamond rings for bonus points. The game features 255 screens of gameplay and becomes progressively more difficult as players advance through the levels.

Pitfall! was one of the biggest selling games of its time and an important game too because it gave early home gamers something that wasn't a million miles away from the experience they got at the local arcade. In the early 1980s home gamers had to sift through a lot of dross to find a good game so Pitfall! was something of an oasis in a gaming desert that could often be empty and barren. This game looks downright primitive to modern eyes with electronic beep sound effects but you have to view Pitfall! through the prism of a kid in 1982.

What kids of that era got was an addictive game where you have to jump over obstacles and use ropes to swing (Tarzan style) over the pitfalls promised by the game's title. This can be a frustrating game and the controls are a bit fiddly but that was the style of early games. Because games in those days did not have epic 26 hour campaigns like games today they were deliberately made challenging so that the player (hopefully) felt like they were getting value for money. There wouldn't be much point putting out a game that you could beat in five minutes without breaking a sweat.

Pitfall!'s gameplay is not as timeless as things like Pac-Man and we've had about ten million similar games since 1982 but Pitfall! does deserve a mention when it comes to influential and popular games from the earliest era of home computing. If you've never given Pitfall! a whirl then you haven't quite experienced that full retro gaming trip down sprite avenue. The legacy of Pitfall! includes numerous sequels and reboots on various platforms over the years, including Pitfall II: Lost Caverns, Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure, and Pitfall: The Lost Expedition. The game's success also helped launch the side-scrolling platformer genre and influenced many other games that followed.


PONG (1972)

Pong is a classic video game released in 1972 by Atari. The game was created by Allan Alcorn and is one of the earliest examples of an arcade game. In Pong, two players control paddles on either side of the screen. The objective of the game is to use the paddles to hit a ball back and forth between each other. Players can move their paddles up and down to hit the ball and prevent it from getting past them. Each time a player misses the ball and it goes past their paddle, the opposing player scores a point.

Pong is basically like playing a video game version of tennis. Suffice to say, Pong is a simple game but it is fun and for historical reasons an important and hallowed game in gaming history. In the late 1970s this would have been one of the first games that people played on home consoles. Now, in an age today where people play things like Doom Eternal, Pong might look primitive but it was a very big deal in the 1970s to play a game like this. Pong was like the first tentative step into what would become the video game industry. You might say that Pong was that monkey in 2001: A Space Odyssey flinging a bone up into the air.

The success of Pong also played a significant role in establishing Atari as a leading player in the gaming industry. The game's popularity helped to solidify the company's position as a major player in the burgeoning video game market. Pong had a long shelf life beyond 1972 with home ports, sequels, updates, and inclusion on compilations. Its place in video game history is assured. If you ever play this game just try and picture for a moment how it must have felt playing it in the 1970s when video games were still a completely new medium. Pong is a simple game by today's standards but it is a very historic and important game.


POPULOUS (1989)

The Electronic Arts game Populous is sometimes felt to be the grandfather of the 'playing God' genre of gaming. That may or may not be true but it is clearly a hugely influential game which left a lasting legacy. Those familiar with these sorts of games will have a good idea of what happens in Populous. In this isometric game you are a deity who has to build up followers and become more successful than rival deities. Yes, even the old deity racket can be a tough old business.

These games are always fascinating because who wouldn't want to be a deity for a while? You certainly wouldn't have to worry about mundane things like the gas bill and getting up in the morning anymore. This game is amazingly huge with many levels. You'll have endless little tasks to do to keep your followers in check and there is a two-player option. The landscapes in this game are oddly entrancing and it does become an immersive and absorbing experience if you fall for the lure of the game.

Not everyone was entranced by this game. Some felt it was like a landscape building simulation. That seems a bit on the harsh side if you ask me. Populous has a lot of depth once you get into it and there is an interesting mechanic in that you are not entirely in control of what is going on. That's the whole point of the game. You have to learn how to exert influence and get the people to believe in you. In a sense this game is a bit like Little Computer people in spirit in that that you are presiding over these little sprite figures who seem to have a mind of their own.

There were a range of additions in this series but if you like the first game then Populous II: Trials of the Olympian Gods is definitely the best place to start. This is more of the same on the surface but you get a lot of new powers in the game and these make it a slightly different experience (while still obviously retaining the nuts and bolts of the original). The Populous games are probably not for everyone but if you do like the sound of this...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 23.6.2024
• Verlagsort: Berlin
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Freizeit / Hobby ► Spielen / Raten
• Schlagworte: classic videogames • famous computer games trivia • old games • retro computers • retro consoles • Retro Gaming • retro videogames
• ISBN-10: 3-7598-3107-9 / 3759831079
• ISBN-13: 978-3-7598-3107-1 / 9783759831071