Let me take you through some of the highlights.

Ghostbusters (Amstrad, Commodore 64, Spectrum, others)

Fondly remembered for me as one of the first video games I ever laid eyes on, this movie tie-in was actually originally developed at the same time as the original box-office hit, albeit as a different title to begin with, named ‘Car Wars’. The version I had was for the Sinclair Spectrum, which is unfortunately inferior to the Commodore version, in particular the graphics, colours and sound. But still a fine game, for 1984.

The plot was the same as the movie, but a large majority of the game took place driving from job to job with a close top-down view, sucking up any ghosts that came across the screen. From what I remember, control responses were capable but not great, and the sections were mostly very long and quite tedious. Nonetheless, these sections were also engaging and necessary to raise cash for more equipment. It did somewhat improve with the ‘busting’ portions of the game which followed.

Upon reaching your destination you’d control two Ghostbusters attempting to catch the little bugger with your proton streams and then trap it. So it was a case of tactically placing the heroes in order to make the shots count. This was by far the most fun section of the game; quite challenging and the controls were intuitive, too. If the ghost got away, or a trap attempt was missed, the ghost would then proceed to knock over one of your heroes, which in turn triggered the soundbyte ‘He slimed me’, direct from the movie.

On the Spectrum it sounded more like someone throwing up, but hey, this was 1984, remember? Touches like this are great for fans, as was the whole game. For the faithfulness alone, this should definitely be considered a classic.

Ghostbusters II (Gameboy)

Following on from the massive success of the original movie and the cartoon and merchandise that came with it, a sequel was inevitable. As is almost obligatory, particularly these days, a licensed video game was released to coincide with the movie.

I tackled the GameBoy version myself, which was a very fun, although simple and short game, and a welcome addition to a somewhat short list of decent movie-licensed video game releases. Our four heroes were represented as tiny, miniaturised versions of their movie counterparts. 

After choosing your character, you then chose a second. However this was an NPC character who followed wherever you went, and this formed the simple but intuitive system for capturing ghosts. Your chosen character performed the proton blasts to hold the ghosts while the NPC held the ghost trap, and activated it on command by the player in order to trap ghosts and progress.

Ghostbusters fit the mould of the perfect Gameboy game with intuitive controls that suited the D-pad and buttons perfectly. With a Zelda-esque view incorporated and its dungeon-inspired levels, you couldn’t go wrong. Great fun.

Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Xbox, PS3)

I love this game. Yes, this will be a very biased view of what is critically considered a decent, but far from perfect video game, but I don’t care. I love it. I even got a copy from the US due to the publishing nightmare it endured on the Xbox 360 in the UK, as they kindly left it region-free. For a Ghostbusters fan, this game is the ultimate experience. You play the new recruit to the original team, who are voiced by the entire original movie cast also (fandom EXPLOSION!), as they teach you the “tools and the talent” to be a Ghostbuster. It doesn’t disappoint.

Using the ever-popular third person view that makes Dead Space and the latter Resident Evil games so great, you make your way through streets, buildings and spooky cemeteries, flushing out ghosts with the PKE meter. You spend your time zapping then trapping them, using the wonderfully presented Ghostbuster equipment that we all know and love. There are some excellent variations on the norm too. The slime tether is used to pull heavy objects. The stasis stream freezes ghosts in their tracks for a limited time. The zapping and trapping system is everything you could want from a Ghostbusters game; proton beams weaken the enemy enough that they are then dragged to the trap and sucked inside. This looks almost exactly like the movies and cartoon series and you also get a real sense of pulling the ghost around, whether it’s to keep them in check, or guide them to a ghost trap.

This certainly was the game created with the fans in mind the most. As mentioned above, the original movie cast have reunited to provide the voices of their respective characters. The soundtrack is taken from the original movie, which is hardly original, but it’s still excellent to this day and fits in with the game very well. Even the achievements/trophies are named with quotes from the movies.

Overall

Unlike some movie franchises, Ghostbusters has been treated pretty well over the years. Only the most recent Sanctum of Slime seemed awful, so much so I couldn’t even bring myself to upgrade from the trial version. For anyone who thinks that all the Ghostbusters games were sub-standard, the 2009 video game is the exception to the general movie licensed video game mediocrity, and an excellent game in its own right. At £14.99 from Microsoft’s Games on Demand, Ghostbusters: The Video Game is also now a bargain.

Now, 13 years later, Ocarina of Time is back, but on the 3DS. I was very curious to find out if the game that is often referred to as the “greatest game of all time” still has what it takes to be a great game in 2011 or is it a classic of a time gone by. So last week, amongst the many branches of the great Deku tree and , I got some hands-on time with the game.

21st Century Link

This new 3D version of Ocarina of Time is a bit of an eye-catcher. Boasting an updated graphics engine, Zelda impresses from the get-go. It looks exactly like the game I remember playing all those years ago, which is funny as the original N64 version now looks terrible. I checked, by playing Zelda on one of the N64s in the event’s nostalgia area. Zelda 3D was like reuniting with a long lost friend; so many things were familiar and comforting, especially the music. To see Link riding aloft his horse, Epona, who was majestically galloping across the vast Hyrulian field… it brought back waves of happy memories. It even sparked the notes to Epona’s theme back to life in my brain. The very same notes that I used to play on Link’s Ocarina whenever I wanted Epona to give me a lift.

I spent a while flicking between the 2D/3D modes to see what view I was most comfortable using. The full-on 3D view really showed off the impressive depth of field. This did bring a whole new dimension, if you forgive the pun, to the battle sequences. Those pesky PeaHats that infest Hyrule field are a perfect example of this, with their spinning blades appearing as if they pop right out of the screen.

The N64’s controls have translated fairly well to the 3DS, with the LB taking the place of the must used Z-trigger for locking onto items/enemies. The touch screen allows you to quickly navigate between your items, the world map and your weapons. After all these years, Nintendo have finally sorted out how to quickly switch between the longshot and the iron boots. This one simple change makes the whole Water Temple an infinitely nicer place to be as you need to use both items almost all the time. On the original, it was a bloody pain. Just ask anyone whose completed it.

The circle pad on the 3DS takes the place of the N64’s joystick and is a very poor replacement, to be honest. Whilst the pad is nice enough for making Link walk and run around, it’s bloody awful for aiming when using any ranged weapons – bow, catapult, longshot. It’s not sensitive enough. But using the in-built gyro and physically moving the 3DS console around to aim in first-person view is far more accurate way of doing things. However, this can get a bit tiring after a while. It’s also best to use the 2D mode as it’s very difficult to maintain the correct alignment between your eyes and the screen for the 3D effect to work properly.

Same dungeons, different puzzles

Happily, there is more to discover in this 3DS version of Ocarina of Time. For starters the Master Quest add-on is included. In this add-on, the basic game play, locations and events of Ocarina of Time are the same, but once you get into each of the dungeons things are different. Each dungeon has been comprehensively redesigned to make them much more of a challenge. For Ocarina of Time veterans like me, these new puzzles are a very welcome addition.

There is also a new boss challenge mode which allows you to refight any boss you’ve already defeated. Either on their own or as a series of continues battles. Modes like this have never been much of an interest to me. I’m usually quite happy to see the back of most boss battles. I really don’t want to have to fight them again, especially by choice.

Thankfully, Nintendo have addressed one of the major flaws of the original – what the hell to do next? We’ve all been there. You’ve just completed a dungeon with your shiny new weapon and then you have absolutely no idea where to go next. Instead you waste loads of time wandering around the world map before stumbling on the next area/event. This new version includes various Sheikah Stones dotted around Hyrule which give you hints and tips to help you with your adventure.

Nostalgia is a wonderful thing, but as I mentioned from the start, it frequently suffers at the hands of reality. The 3DS version of Ocarina of Time avoids this problem to a certain degree by updating the visuals, adding new challenges to the existing dungeons (via Master Quest) and providing help to lost adventurers. However, the tedious adventure sections in-between dungeons and painfully slow conversations between Link and the numerous NPCs still blight the game. In fact, the game would be substantially better if Nintendo just linked all the dungeons together. That maybe a blasphemous statement to legions of Ocarina of Time fans out there but the game play outside the dungeons has not aged well at all. In-game narrative and character interaction has come a long way in games since 1998. Ocarina of Time’s stilted dialogue and clumsy plot exposition match up very poorly to modern games like Heavy Rain, Mass Effect and Portal 2.

Summary:

The graphical lick of paint and the prospect of solving a whole new set of dungeon puzzles are probably just enough to tempt veteran players back to Hyrule. For new players, this is the best version of Ocarina of Time to date and is worth seeing what all the fuss is about, even with the flawed and slightly dated adventure sections.

Screenshots:

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D is released on the 17th June 2011 for the 3DS.

TIKIPODltd also gave me a brilliant Black Tiger mug as a birthday present a few years ago which I use to hold my daily cuppa. It’s a lovely looking mug :-)

Time to go and immerse yourself in a bit of gaming history and check out Black Tiger.

For those of you that are interested, you can keep track of the Black Tiger for M.A.M.E. world record highscore.

Black Tiger is available now for 800 Wii points on the Nintendo Wii.

According to the event organisers R3PLAY will feature the 3 “C’s”:

CONSOLES: Ranging from the humble Atari 2600, through the SEGA vs Nintendo console wars of the 1990s, to the all-conquering behemoths that are the PS3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. Video game consoles from all corners of the world will be showcased at R3PLAY allowing visitors to play on rare and obscure machines they may never see again!

COIN-OPS: Arcade and Pinball Machines have captured the nation’s imagination since the first mass-produced classics of the 70s and 80s. R3PLAY not only looks at the retro classics, but thanks to the support of leading arcade communities, there will be plenty on offer for the new generation of arcade gamers, too.

COMPUTERS: The UK was a world leader in 80s computing and R3PLAY will celebrate the diverse history of Acorn, Amstrad and Sinclair, as well as their international competitors such as Commodore and Atari. Furthermore, fans of PC-based gaming will be able to enjoy both the very latest releases, in addition to classics such as Commander Keen, Descent and the original network version of Doom (Deathmatch anyone?). The National Museum of Computing will also be on hand, raising awareness of computing history in the UK.

TV personality and gamer Iain Lee Gail Porter (yes, the lady that had her boobs and bum projected onto the House of Parliament by FHM) will be hosting the event.

As well as getting your hands on more classic computers, consoles and arcade machines (set to free play) than you can image, you will also get the chance to challenge the creators of IK+ (Archer Maclean) and Sensible Soccer (Sensible Software) at their own games! There will also be an Ocean Software showcase, featuring the many, many hit games Ocean created during the 80′s and 90′s. Talk about jam packed with stuff. It’s a classic gamers dream weekend!

There will be competitions, raffles and memrobellia for sale, all for £12 for a single adult day ticket or £20 for a adult weekend pass. Check out the R3PLAY website for lots more detail about the weekend and to purchase tickets.

Essential Details:

• Dates: Saturday 6th – Sunday 7th November 2010
• Opening Times: 11:00am – 8:00pm (Sat), 10:00am – 7:00pm (Sun)
• Location: Norbreck Castle Exhibition Centre, Queen’s Promenade, Blackpool. FY2 9AA

See what other gaming events are going on all over the country at Events for The Average Gamer.

Update 12th Oct 2010: Unfortunately, due to filming commitments Gail Porter has been replaced by Iain Lee, who used to present the entertaining, if short lived, computer games show Thumb Bandits with Aleks Krotoski. So he’s a pretty good replacement.

This version of R-Type includes all 8 levels from the arcade version and 3 different control methods:

• Touch (self explanatory really, control your ship with your fingers, or thumb)
• Tilt (move your ship by tilting the device)
• Coin-op (on screen virtual d-pad with 2 buttons)

There are also 2 difficulty levels, normal and insane. You unlock the insane difficulty option when you’ve completed the game on normal. Given that I’ve never got further than level 5 on R-Type, I can’t see this happening for me any time soon.

Fortunately for us mere mortals there is an unlimited mode. This grants you unlimited lives but at a cost of a 1000 points a life. Make no mistake this version of R-Type is tough, perhaps tougher than ever with the new touch screen controls, especially for those of us who have grow-up playing R-Type in the arcades back in the 80′s.

Screenshots:

When the Hunter was released in 1991 this game really was the GTA of its day. Although you didn’t really steal the vehicles, but you did kill people and bunnies! Hunter was a great, free roaming adventure game with a plot. Kill the general and escape. Simple. I loved it and so did Tikipod.

Today it looks like arse (or like a Wii game):

But it’s still a classic. Sit back, put on your nostalgia hat and enjoy:

When Perfect Dark was originally released on the N64 in 2000 it was just too ambitious a game for the hardware available at the time. Rare enhanced the GoldenEye 007 game engine (more gore, better lighting, higher screen resolution and various other enhancements) to a point arguably beyond what the N64 could cope with. This resulted in shockingly bad frame rates at frequent intervals through out the game. This tarnished what was otherwise an excellent game.

So now that Microsoft has announced that it has updated the original game with HD visuals we might now be able to see the game that Rare wanted us to play 10 years ago. Hopefully, Microsoft will have left all the hidden cheeses for us to find, just like in the original Perfect Dark.

Features:

• Remastered full HD visuals:1080p at 60 frames per second and upgraded 3D models (characters, weapons) and locations.
• Action-packed and authentic. Based on the original code. There are nine missions across 17 levels in solo, co-op and counter-op modes available.
• Multiplayer modes. Battle online with up to eight players on Xbox LIVE over six different multiplayer scenarios across 16 levels.
• Microsoft staff faces to replace the Nintendo staff faces featured in the original (e.g. Shigeru Miyamoto).

Screenshots:

Trailer (via Joystiq):

Perfect Dark will be released on the Xbox 360 (for 800 MS points) on the 17th March 2010.

So what do you get for your MS points:

• R-Type I and II
• Classic game mode – Yay. Play them just how IREM designed them to be
• 3D and 2D graphics – You can flip between the 2 modes on demand
• Single or co-op play – For the first time ever, play R-Type with a friend!
• Infinite game mode – Claims to assure game completion regardless of how useless you are
• Statistics tracking – Track your vital stats (i.e. see how many times you died – probably)
• 2 gamer pictures – Available to all, no skill necessary (according to the press release)

Time for some nice screenshots:

R-Type Dimensions will be available on the 4th Feb 09 for 1200 MS Points on XBLA only for the Xbox 360