tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20681123066420791902024-03-18T09:47:56.727+00:00Super Adventures in GamingPlaying everything, finishing nothing, posting screenshots.Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.comBlogger1366125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-22886152770283755162024-03-11T20:06:00.003+00:002024-03-12T09:33:17.985+00:00TimeSplitters (PS2)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYMsZMz-ouUxty5NWHJjeQ4njNCXpUzsgx-Wj3h79RTmkwAmHeQCFo9jl7qzDtg9A9-5leWybf7XJKCyjNlMt0a_u3f8kUD7dCYnmWLhSCeBjwiRGohJFTaTi5NU4U1Y2vcRyGBU6OcfuyyeHFSOPyA0p1wp4j2lgGQNsiQPkg4xG4rLmCWbVEVSRs/s636/TimeSplitters_(PS2)_Title.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="TimeSplitters title logo" border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="636" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYMsZMz-ouUxty5NWHJjeQ4njNCXpUzsgx-Wj3h79RTmkwAmHeQCFo9jl7qzDtg9A9-5leWybf7XJKCyjNlMt0a_u3f8kUD7dCYnmWLhSCeBjwiRGohJFTaTi5NU4U1Y2vcRyGBU6OcfuyyeHFSOPyA0p1wp4j2lgGQNsiQPkg4xG4rLmCWbVEVSRs/s16000/TimeSplitters_(PS2)_Title.jpg" title="TimeSplitters title logo"></a></div><table align="center" class="infotable1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px; color: #bbbbbb; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Developer:</td><td style="padding: 4px;">Free Radical<br></td><td style="padding: 4px;">|</td><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Release Date:</td><td style="padding: 4px;">2000</td><td style="padding: 4px;">|</td><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Systems:</td><td style="padding: 4px;">PS2</td></tr></tbody></table>
<hr style="border-style: solid; color: #333333;" width="60%">This week on <b>Super Adventures</b>, I'm checking out a game I haven't really played before: the original <i>TimeSplitters</i> for the PlayStation 2! Not <i>Time Stalkers</i> for the Dreamcast, that's something very different. (Just to make it more confusing, in the EU the two games came out less than two weeks apart.)<br><br><i>TimeSplitters</i> was created by Free Radical Design, a company that has had a bit of a rough time of things over the years, as it's been killed off at least twice. The first time was in 2014, after they'd spent some time in disguise as Crytek UK, the second was last year after the Embracer group decided it would be better for their shareholders if we didn't get a fourth <i>TimeSplitters</i> game made by the original founders.<br><br> Free Radical was originally formed in early 1999 by staff that left Rare during the production of N64 FPS <i><a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/04/perfect-dark-xbox-360.html">Perfect Dark</a></i>. So it's pretty impressive that they got this out in late 2000, just a few months after <i>Perfect Dark </i>came out, especially as it was for a brand-new system. Rare had been focused on N64 and Game Boy games during the latter half of the 90s, but this was a launch title for the PlayStation 2. So I guess I'm going to see what Dr Doak and the <i><a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2012/11/007-games-part-7-goldeneye-007-james.html">GoldenEye</a></i> team could do in 16 months on unfamiliar hardware.<br><br>I won't be seeing it on any other machines though, as to this day the game remains a PlayStation 2 exclusive. It's a product of that horrifying period of history where first-person shooters sometimes never got a version with mouse controls, and unlike its sequels it never made it to a system supported by backwards compatibility like the Xbox.<br><br>Alright, I'm going to check out the single-player for a bit and see if it's still fun in 2024. Assuming it was ever fun. And assuming it even <i>has</i> a single-player mode. It's going to really screw up my plans if it doesn't!<br><br>
<a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2024/03/timesplitters-ps2.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-62826634974371056392024-02-24T23:55:00.119+00:002024-02-26T03:48:29.834+00:00Sonic 3 & Knuckles (Genesis/Mega Drive)<div><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="320" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS1LjOohxEhz0uaPLyWfhfLeWOK1lYai88vRCj0gVGJGGS7xe6gPFrR-vd7V-DO30GAGdbjpZk1vyuyeDjiKDJO49Ibat5Ej9WpPaYVrI0MP6wHt6aceYsX9dbpopSHkUlegYYRsZNfRBnWxvHGlPjxFgKSCuZ-0yri_GLUT1AJfOecGqQWXbyUb4l15Y/w640-h448/Sonic_3_and_Knuckles_(Mega_Drive)_01.png" style="display: none;" width="640">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuHEdTOizrGGq5qqY23pacEeNgiBpecQQTH_9dZtgwlt4-8FjuEB9f4QyC10feRuBQBMAeVtE_A9jJBQdR87Ki7ab2ZegB5ozFZHjCoLyphxcheRGfPab-69M8h9CZlffpiZvBfAdeLPIp0aYrMh9CFueIb0S4QwVYvKTERZ9LwYP5tcsCfwQoAfFqkDee/s320/Sonic_3_and_Knuckles_(Mega_Drive)_01_title_2.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="320" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuHEdTOizrGGq5qqY23pacEeNgiBpecQQTH_9dZtgwlt4-8FjuEB9f4QyC10feRuBQBMAeVtE_A9jJBQdR87Ki7ab2ZegB5ozFZHjCoLyphxcheRGfPab-69M8h9CZlffpiZvBfAdeLPIp0aYrMh9CFueIb0S4QwVYvKTERZ9LwYP5tcsCfwQoAfFqkDee/w640-h448/Sonic_3_and_Knuckles_(Mega_Drive)_01_title_2.gif" width="640"></a></div>
<table align="center" class="infotable1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px; color: #bbbbbb; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Developer:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">Sega Technical Institute</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">|</td>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Release Date:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">1994</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">|</td>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Systems:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn, PC<br></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<hr style="border-style: solid; color: #333333;" width="60%">
This week on <b>Super Adventures</b>, I'm wondering why <i>Sonic 3 & Knuckles</i> has you selecting menu options with a shoe. That's not normal.<br><br>You might be wondering why this beautiful looping GIF is missing the horrifying slowdown when the 3D Sonic swoops in. The answer is: it bothered me and I wanted it gone. I did my best to make it true to what the designers <i>intended</i> it to look like though. The game's later releases on more powerful consoles tend to come with authentic emulated slowdown, but the Saturn version included with with <i>Sonic Jam</i> is a proper port, so I used that as a reference to fix the timing. Now the only thing wrong with my GIF is that it's not a video, so I can't hear it say "SEGA!"<br><br>Anyway, I'm playing <i>Sonic 3 & Knuckles</i>, the fourth (and fifth) of the 16-bit Mega Drive/Genesis<i> Sonic </i>platformers! I already covered the first <i><a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2011/06/sonic-hedgehog-genesis-mega-drive.html">Sonic the Hedgehog</a></i> back in 2011, but I decided to skip <i>Sonic 2</i> because it's too similar, and <i>Sonic CD</i> frightens and confuses me. Also, it's <i>Sonic 3's</i> 30th birthday today... in the EU (it came out a few weeks earlier in the US).<br><br><i>Sonic 3 & Knuckles</i> came in two parts released 8 months apart, with <i>Sonic the Hedgehog 3</i> featuring the first set of levels and the save RAM, and <i>Sonic & Knuckles</i> featuring the second half of the levels and a connector to (optionally) join the two cartridges together. It's like plugging in a Game Genie, except instead of getting cheats you get an expansion pack. It's not the first time two standalone games could be combined like this, DOS game <i>Might and Magic: World of Xeen</i> got there first, but this did it with <i>hardware</i>. And then basically nothing copied it. It remains pretty much unique as far as I'm aware.<br><br>The reason it was released in such a weird way is because they had a
Happy Meal promotion and TV ad campaign deadline and they were only going to get
half the game finished in time. They still charged full price for it though! Personally, I think the lock-on feature was a genius move, as it gave the game some novelty, especially when people learned that it could be combined with<i> Sonic the Hedgehog 2 </i>as well! Plus it turned out to be a crucial part of any serious collector's Tower of Power, along with the 32X... another piece of add-on hardware that didn't catch on.<br><br>Right, I'm going to give the game an hour or so and write about it. I have played it before, but honestly I think an hour is going to take me well further than anything I've seen before.<br>
<br></div><a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2024/02/sonic-3-knuckles-genesismega-drive.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-31383767039496248522024-02-15T23:14:00.004+00:002024-02-17T16:09:40.188+00:00Loadstar: The Legend of Tully Bodine (MS-DOS)<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjraSRevxQEhrK0P5CLUdG5nJnfMwGDkuWtO5lDZ_0x1pe3kD69FeOk8XEDg2GdgAB0zpesJ68zxlXCVIdeEexsbTr3oePmmWCXzjelEMtwHx1UpPci0zj-of8SHt3M_twdTGh8l77qVaOVLsWYUK8IhwtAqjyTE4DCJI8iG8PiJlBR0m2pRSsko_FATzk/s288/Loadstar_(MS-DOS)_01.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="288" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjraSRevxQEhrK0P5CLUdG5nJnfMwGDkuWtO5lDZ_0x1pe3kD69FeOk8XEDg2GdgAB0zpesJ68zxlXCVIdeEexsbTr3oePmmWCXzjelEMtwHx1UpPci0zj-of8SHt3M_twdTGh8l77qVaOVLsWYUK8IhwtAqjyTE4DCJI8iG8PiJlBR0m2pRSsko_FATzk/s1600/Loadstar_(MS-DOS)_01.png" width="576"></a>
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<table align="center" class="infotable1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px; color: #bbbbbb; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Developer:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">Rocket Science Games</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">|</td>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Release Date:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">1995 (Sega CD 1994)</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">|</td>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Systems:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">DOS, Sega Mega CD<br></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<hr style="border-style: solid; color: #333333;" width="60%">Today on <b>Super Adventures</b>, I'm checking out <i>Loadstar: The Legend of Tully Bodine</i>, by the infamous Rocket Science Games.<br><br>Rocket Science was founded in 1993 with the goal to bring together some of the most talented people in the fields of video games and films to make some video games that are also films. With actors and everything. They were all-in on the idea of making FMV-based games and they thought that theirs could be the most visually impressive on the market. Not just because of the content, but because of the codec; their compression was among the best in the business, meaning more production value survived the process.<br><br>People took notice of how many high-profile designers and engineers were being hired, and investors began lining up to throw money at them. Interactive movies were sure to be the next big thing and Rocket Science had the talent and the funding to bring digital entertainment to the next level. But then all six of their games bombed, leading to them going out of business after just four years. And I mean <i>really</i> bombed, not just 'failed to meet sales expectations'. <i>Loadstar </i>released around the same time as their second game<i>, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs: The Second Cataclysm</i>, and it seems like by 1996 the two games still hadn't reached 8000 copies. With their sales combined. On all systems.<br><br>How is even possible that they made a dinosaur game in 1994 and failed to get anyone to buy it? That was the peak of <i>Jurassic Park</i> hype! Even <i><a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2011/05/jurassic-park-trespasser-pc.html">Trespasser</a></i> shifted 50,000 copies and that was straight-up broken!<br><br>Anyway, I'm playing the spaceship game, not the dinosaur game, and I'm curious now about why it didn't appeal to people at the time. Is it really <i>that bad </i>or were people just not into FMV? Am <i>I </i>going to be into the FMV? Will I be able to endure the amount of cheese I'm about to be exposed to?<br><br><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">WARNING</span></b>: There will be a surprisingly graphic death sequence at some point. Also, I'm going to spoil the game's entire story.<br>
<br>
</div><a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2024/02/loadstar-legend-of-tully-bodine-ms-dos.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-87251867099566505732024-02-09T14:17:00.007+00:002024-02-10T13:24:14.247+00:00Super Adventures 'Next Game' Challenge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrNZS6r8tQchqjfpI4Zj-K7gFMsW2J_Civ_4S4u5mAyzpqYWiZtvffm5PnPWl_94FkIWNDw5pY0pQaJZTS13TdPI-KEjH9R_9mawS70fhyTLSX1WoxMoGgRnUxi2fnzc7OCKqMUOEqpcwl5sAX514cxDKcdjx8RlOCNk0PqrNGbSxIM_sje8uWsMQ_/s174/Super_Adventures_Next_Game_Challenge.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="126" data-original-width="174" height="378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrNZS6r8tQchqjfpI4Zj-K7gFMsW2J_Civ_4S4u5mAyzpqYWiZtvffm5PnPWl_94FkIWNDw5pY0pQaJZTS13TdPI-KEjH9R_9mawS70fhyTLSX1WoxMoGgRnUxi2fnzc7OCKqMUOEqpcwl5sAX514cxDKcdjx8RlOCNk0PqrNGbSxIM_sje8uWsMQ_/s16000/Super_Adventures_Next_Game_Challenge.png" width="522"></a>
</div>
This week on <b>Super Adventures</b>, no one was able to identify what game's coming up next from the tiny cropped clue at the bottom of the last article, and that almost never happens. Someone always seems to figure out what it is and I don't know how you do
it.<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIAZp-IP0bEZ0vgd530ni41FTqclONdqUNWsVlIXSKVKrJC_F3Y_pJfKUFxzoP5ESnFcyvFM25rZNIvSyTKZE7NE_JY6a70V0yxY5KPL0y95FolBlQCu-B15fZOsfRw_zF9IhhobDwxLHk/s1600/Legacy_of_Kain_next_time.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img data-original-height="80" data-original-width="80" height="80" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIAZp-IP0bEZ0vgd530ni41FTqclONdqUNWsVlIXSKVKrJC_F3Y_pJfKUFxzoP5ESnFcyvFM25rZNIvSyTKZE7NE_JY6a70V0yxY5KPL0y95FolBlQCu-B15fZOsfRw_zF9IhhobDwxLHk/s1600/Legacy_of_Kain_next_time.png" width="80"></a>
</div>
I mean look at this microscopic image. How did anyone identify the game from
this? I mean <i>I </i>know what it is, it's from <i><a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2014/07/mortal-kombat-arcade.html">Mortal Kombat</a></i>, but I
have a massive unfair advantage seeing as I'm the one who played the games, took
the screenshots and made the clues. Then again, there are about 1300 games on the
site right now and it's been ten years since I played some of them, so maybe it won't be quite so easy for me to go back to the older clues and work out what game they're hinting at.<br><br>You know what? I'm going to put the next game on hold for a bit, seeing as no one even knows what it is, and I'm going to see how many of these tiny pictures I can get myself. Just to make it trickier I'm replacing the
filenames with random numbers so there will be no clues for me there. In fact,
it's probably going to take me a bit of work to look up what the games are after I'm done guessing. But I once I find the correct answers I'll go back through and hide them underneath each clue, to be revealed with a click. I'll also hide my guesses in spoiler text, so you can play along
yourself and see how well you do.<br>
<br>
<a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2024/02/super-adventures-next-game-challenge.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-5029468897447558422024-01-31T00:04:00.008+00:002024-02-06T14:20:57.614+00:00Donkey Kong Country (SNES)<div style="background-image: url('https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinslgInGn3Z9fWCN6IxRxX_l3GsISZNbOFkvdPkxqu_j-5o_jSB-YPaAKY4TH9bWNdn6bECyeaWlA6kEuMn4T2srAKbwkCFAIqLv1zML6ngRVbXqOxSGHZ8o2d64o6PjUECL2poyWO55rU_i4Aj8jVaxu8LcUSK7DFqnWP9M1KRLeGARNkK9E_fZYAo3YZ/s692/SuperAdventures_13th_anniversary.png'); height: 74px; line-height: 0px; width: 692px;"></div>
Hello, welcome back! It's <b>Super Adventures</b>' 13th birthday
today and I've got some good news for you. Four years ago I replaced around
14,000 screenshots across 1000 articles to improve their quality,
and everything was great... until I started getting complaints that images weren't loading. It didn't happen to everyone, just
some people some of the time. Eventually all the images stopped working for
me entirely, which was a<i> good thing </i>because it meant I could see what needed fixing and sort it out.<br><br>Long story short, I've replaced all those screenshots
across all those articles <i>again</i>, so everything should be fine now and you can go browse the archives. Even the really old posts where you'd be lucky to get one sentence under each picture. In fact, if you're nostalgic for the classic <i>Super Adventures</i> style, I've retconned in a mysterious never-before-seen authentic guest post from 2013 that originally didn't get published for whatever reason. Go look for frogs, that's your clue.<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxPVmfKQMcNMhLivQjaQcWiQsacfuSsplcX025Td4OMlen54BX_4ZqrgpnAn5R_UGwYyiX7_bgLAtgEzGjUR8JvSZCMCP2DRpl-LODgaXlLUCcVHP5B5kBUKiPiifOinASRwrrcnNFi41Kz2Zfi8HJkeehCPYrVjuFsf1BjvE0lTSfJ9RSpCP-kj-A46e/s256/Donkey_Kong_Country_(SNES)_01.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="256" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxPVmfKQMcNMhLivQjaQcWiQsacfuSsplcX025Td4OMlen54BX_4ZqrgpnAn5R_UGwYyiX7_bgLAtgEzGjUR8JvSZCMCP2DRpl-LODgaXlLUCcVHP5B5kBUKiPiifOinASRwrrcnNFi41Kz2Zfi8HJkeehCPYrVjuFsf1BjvE0lTSfJ9RSpCP-kj-A46e/s1600/Donkey_Kong_Country_(SNES)_01.png" width="512"></a>
</div>
<table align="center" class="infotable1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px; color: #bbbbbb; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Developer:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">Rare</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">|</td>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Release Date:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">1994</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">|</td>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Systems:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">SNES, GBC, GBA<br></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<hr style="border-style: solid; color: #333333;" width="60%">
This week on <b>Super Adventures</b>, I'm writing about something else that's
celebrating an anniversary this year: the legendary <i>Donkey Kong Country!<br><br></i>It's known as <i>Super Donkey Kong</i> in Japan, because putting the word 'Super' in front of names is awesome, especially if the name of a game for the Super Nintendo... a console I have really neglected these past few years. I don't even know how that happened, it's not like I want to avoid showing off 16-bit game art.<br><br>I'm really trying to make up for it here, as<i> Donkey Kong Country</i> was one of
the biggest releases of the 16-bit era. In fact, it was <i>the</i> best-selling game of
1994, almost doubling the sales of its nearest rival
<i>Street Fighter II</i> and selling over <i>seven times</i> as well as
<i><a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2012/01/super-metroid-snes.html">Super Metroid</a></i>. Though in Japan it got utterly thrashed by <i><a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2013/05/final-fantasy-vi-snes.html">Final Fantasy VI</a></i> and
Americans spent more money on <i>NBA Jam</i>. Actually, I'm not sure
that second fact is true. Sure <i>NBA Jam</i> sold more<i> copies</i> in the US in '94,
but <i>DKC</i> was an unusually pricey game if I recall. Around £60 in the UK
(£120 today, or $150 USD). <br><br>The game was able to get away with its exorbitant price tag due to the sheer force of hype around it. Not because it was the first
<i>Donkey Kong</i> game in like a decade (aside from the
<a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2012/04/donkey-kong-gb.html">Game Boy game</a>
that came out a few months earlier), but because of its incredible
visuals. It featured fully ray-traced graphics that players could enjoy without buying a CD drive, or a 32X add-on, or a shiny new 3DO console. The cartridge didn't even include a Super FX chip!<br>
<br>Alright, my plan is to play the game for about an hour and hope that I can think of something to write. I mean, it's been like 3 years since I've covered a SNES platformer, so I've probably forgotten all the things I used to whine about.<br>
<br>
<a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2024/01/donkey-kong-country-snes.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-61914517056147274042024-01-24T11:30:00.002+00:002024-01-24T11:30:30.422+00:00Model Builder (PC)<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrRPeX2wqFvtyQareEutBcHvvDQLWwHjpX9cdr4SWUDRN2lo0EbPu-2Rd2qqViLGjVH5h4a_rGjhN3gDhQdzKzfOQbpkIVplo4Oqz2U9uF-DfK1G6NK_wvV8xlAItFbQRSCdKMitaNpwcUCwDYN0MV2nKsCtsuc7Iv_UrE9CuwCM4YrgfVypRoKGUyEUg/s1280/Model_Builder_(PC)_01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrRPeX2wqFvtyQareEutBcHvvDQLWwHjpX9cdr4SWUDRN2lo0EbPu-2Rd2qqViLGjVH5h4a_rGjhN3gDhQdzKzfOQbpkIVplo4Oqz2U9uF-DfK1G6NK_wvV8xlAItFbQRSCdKMitaNpwcUCwDYN0MV2nKsCtsuc7Iv_UrE9CuwCM4YrgfVypRoKGUyEUg/s640/Model_Builder_(PC)_01.jpg" width="640"></a></div><table align="center" class="infotable1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px; color: #bbbbbb; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Developer:</td><td style="padding: 4px;">Moonlit<br></td><td style="padding: 4px;">|</td><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Release Date:</td><td style="padding: 4px;">2022</td><td style="padding: 4px;">|</td><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Systems:</td><td style="padding: 4px;">Win<br></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<hr style="border-style: solid; color: #333333;" width="60%">
This week on <b>Super Adventures</b>, I'm playing <i>Model Builder!</i> Well I'll be building stuff in it at least, I don't know if it really counts as gameplay. This is another simulator along the lines of <i>Car Mechanic Simulator</i> or <i>PC Building Simulator</i>, except with a bit more room for creativity... with any luck.<br><br>Most of the games I cover on <i>Super Adventures</i> are about shooting things or punching things or crushing creatures underneath the hero's mighty boots, so this is unfamiliar territory for me. Wait a second, no it's not. I've never actually raced a Lotus Esprit, or travelled across the universe to defeat an alien despot, but I <i>have</i> put a model kit or two together, so I can compare this to my actual real-life experience! I hope I get to build a Spitfire, I liked making them.<br><br>I'm going to be spoiling a lot of the models you can make in the game, so if you want to be surprised when you play it yourself I suggest not reading too much. I mean, it's possible that you could play this right now and don't realise it. The game was given away on Epic a while back, so if you've gotten into the habit of claiming the free gift each week it may be sitting in your game library, forgotten.<br><br></div><a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2024/01/model-builder-pc.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-24623463700323308612024-01-03T01:19:00.016+00:002024-01-05T20:11:20.574+00:00Super Adventures: Game Awards 20X3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvCBpDsD9-pvLZitKP9Us87kpbAjlZAba5fegJlGdgx7j6GWyYZS7hshDi4qCFVR5WESIPF2inQv-3h7PwR70zMYH5znj2xsYBqO66NMkJOYNJcXt_7XGSjKsUAuNGDDiz6JmY-ggrXfAATz4pnrqyu64i2hr4b_W3yAhZSvJMDv9kMSYFTNyBkBUqLvc/s640/Super_Adventures_Game_Awards_1993-2003-2013.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvCBpDsD9-pvLZitKP9Us87kpbAjlZAba5fegJlGdgx7j6GWyYZS7hshDi4qCFVR5WESIPF2inQv-3h7PwR70zMYH5znj2xsYBqO66NMkJOYNJcXt_7XGSjKsUAuNGDDiz6JmY-ggrXfAATz4pnrqyu64i2hr4b_W3yAhZSvJMDv9kMSYFTNyBkBUqLvc/w640-h360/Super_Adventures_Game_Awards_1993-2003-2013.jpg" width="640"></a>
</div>
This week on <b>Super Adventures</b>, it's the start of 2024, so it seems like
the right time for me to look back at 2023 and hand out some awards to the games
that stood out and impressed me the most. Unfortunately I've barely played
anything released last year and I can't just give all my awards to
<a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/03/octopath-traveler-ii-pc-part-1.html"><i>Octopath Traveler II</i></a>
and a bunch of boomer shooter demos. Well I suppose I <i>could</i>, but I'm not
going to.<br><br>My second idea was to do the
<i>Super Adventure Game Awards 1993</i>, because you can't go wrong with the
90s, but then I thought about all the poor 2003 and 2013 games that I'd be
missing out and decided to give those years awards as well. Not 1983 though,
because no one loves it. So I'll be giving out 8 awards each year, but they'll
be repeated 3 times, for a total of 24 awards. I hope that helps you form a
mental image of how long this is going to be.<br><br>I <i>won't</i> be
limiting myself to games I've played for <i>Super Adventures</i>, as to be
honest I forgotten most of the games I've written about.
<a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2011/04/power-piggs-of-dark-age-snes.html"><i>Power Piggs of the Dark Age</i></a>
and
<a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2015/05/faussete-amour-turbografx-cd.html"><i>Fausseté Amour</i></a>
might be worthy of all kinds of awards, but I haven't got the faintest idea. I
<i>will </i>be using the earliest release date in any region, so<i>
Seiken Densetsu 3</i>
would be from 1995 not 2019, for example.<br><br>Also, I only know about
games that I know about, and I only like the games I like, so if you're
wondering why an incredibly deserving game didn't even make my shortlist, its
because I'm leaving that one for you to mention in the comments.<br>
<br>
<a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2024/01/super-adventures-game-awards-20x3.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-35232836933121695662023-12-31T20:17:00.006+00:002024-01-03T05:26:27.003+00:00Super AiG Screenshots of the Year: 2023<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZ5ZmQGAgVqy-E743criaWn22A9ytyvJ2A_0OKAPU6zp4abBUxypv-2Py75h3ui5kAs6tHi7s4jSmwkSRzteteiy-KSirfUfjO7D1yxsmixrh-R0CarPWiZqd5b-rg_JDmO7yDEdiwoCq82bBeA5VzlJ6_Ovfrm_NAd14sfe-cc_BCGbugAXPpDkZtQY/s174/Screenshots%20of%20the%20Year%20banner%202023a.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="150" data-original-width="174" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEZ5ZmQGAgVqy-E743criaWn22A9ytyvJ2A_0OKAPU6zp4abBUxypv-2Py75h3ui5kAs6tHi7s4jSmwkSRzteteiy-KSirfUfjO7D1yxsmixrh-R0CarPWiZqd5b-rg_JDmO7yDEdiwoCq82bBeA5VzlJ6_Ovfrm_NAd14sfe-cc_BCGbugAXPpDkZtQY/s174/Screenshots%20of%20the%20Year%20banner%202023a.png" width="522"></a>
</div>
It's that time of year again when I have to update that picture up there to
change the number. You've reached my annual
<b>Super Adventures Screenshots of the Year 2023</b> article, where I look back
through the hundreds and hundreds of screenshots I've taken over the past year
to find the absolute best. Or the least rubbish, depending on your point of
view.<br><br>I have to be honest, this isn't the best selection I've put
together as I just didn't cover many games this year. It was easy to find
something worth showing off back in 2011 when I had 500+ games to draw from, but
it's been a lot more challenging for me in a year with only 500+ screenshots on
the site.<br><br>Uh, what I mean is that this is going to be an awesome
article full of amazing pictures and they'll even have writing underneath. Plus
some of them will be GIFs!<br><br>
<a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/12/super-aig-screenshots-of-year-2023.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-40989373657153586372023-12-30T04:37:00.003+00:002024-01-16T09:50:15.856+00:00Super Adventures: Game Over - Continued<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRaKhTwAo3idTTnDP2gJ9H9iepxwyB5cXVmQ0Biv1zN26mGWZB-OzcGikN6BtRQrTWIxWSuK-M20AHtI51tE1g2Qy-kgyvEOYTK_cyBgsLjGv4J8P6za2ckC3_wxV7gKzvgx0_uMpu7lDOU8XScSGEkC2gBiasS32ZocBs4R1ukd_h-VrtynFvf1fE/s174/Super_Adventures_Game_Over_Continued.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="136" data-original-width="174" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRaKhTwAo3idTTnDP2gJ9H9iepxwyB5cXVmQ0Biv1zN26mGWZB-OzcGikN6BtRQrTWIxWSuK-M20AHtI51tE1g2Qy-kgyvEOYTK_cyBgsLjGv4J8P6za2ckC3_wxV7gKzvgx0_uMpu7lDOU8XScSGEkC2gBiasS32ZocBs4R1ukd_h-VrtynFvf1fE/s1600/Super_Adventures_Game_Over_Continued.png" width="522"></a>
</div>
This week on <b>Super Adventures</b>, I'm back with another set of game over
pictures that weren't quite good enough to make the cut when I wrote my first
Game Over article!<br><br>Yeah, I know it seems like filler, and it
kind of is. But I worked really hard getting all the pictures! You think it's
easy to lose in this many games? I had to train for years to be this bad. Also it's
been three years since the last Game Over article and like three months since my last post on the site, so I feel like I've left you waiting long enough for this.<br><br>
<a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/12/super-adventures-game-over-continued.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-34052548622762661362023-09-30T01:07:00.014+01:002023-10-01T18:07:33.112+01:00Marvel's Avengers: The Definitive Edition (PC)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwzVqVNpTPSaELHKMta3H0YfE8WdpJPXwVKNI4mTTwPAJXfVFDHjlkRAv2cKwqT7tGU4_9VZmSCHfrNS1R11b9bsbVeUkYUoLdNvMG_Ls1G-2KHKwt179UwTBch1TKTbffgk_isnXUjYOo5VuhW5KNzomK51yv2CCSgEZG2qGJxjsK5E0xtbVfX-PiH4U/s1280/Marvel's_Avengers_(PC)_01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwzVqVNpTPSaELHKMta3H0YfE8WdpJPXwVKNI4mTTwPAJXfVFDHjlkRAv2cKwqT7tGU4_9VZmSCHfrNS1R11b9bsbVeUkYUoLdNvMG_Ls1G-2KHKwt179UwTBch1TKTbffgk_isnXUjYOo5VuhW5KNzomK51yv2CCSgEZG2qGJxjsK5E0xtbVfX-PiH4U/w640-h360/Marvel's_Avengers_(PC)_01.jpg" width="640"></a>
</div>
<table align="center" class="infotable1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px; color: #bbbbbb; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Developer:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">Crystal Dynamics<br></td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">|</td>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Release Date:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">2020</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">|</td>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Systems:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">
Win, XBOne, Series S/X, PS4, PS5, Stadia<br>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<hr style="border-style: solid; color: #333333;" width="60%">
This week on <b>Super Adventures</b>, I'm writing about
<i>Marvel's Avengers</i>, because it's about to be delisted on Steam and is
super cheap right now. Honestly, this fell off my radar the moment I learned
they were going the games as a service route with it, so I was very surprised to
find myself handing over actual money for it and now I own it I guess!<br>
<br>My curiosity got the better of me when I learned that they'd given players
the entire shop's worth of content and freed it from its microtransactions. Plus I had to buy it now or I'd <i>never get another chance</i>, as they've gone and delisted it from online shops. I hate it when they do that.<br>
<br>I was only intending to put the game on for a few minutes and see how it plays, I wasn't expecting to use my screenshots/video to write about it for the internet. In fact, I wasn't even expecting it to run. So the graphics have been left at their <i>absolute lowest</i> to squeeze the maximum FPS out of it. This is as bad
as the game can possibly look, at least without some extra effort messing with
INI files or whatever. I know people work horrifying miracles sometimes.<br><br><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">SPOILER WARNING</span></b>: I'm going to be playing the first few hours, so you may learn a lot of stuff
here you might not want to know about the story.<br><br>
<a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/09/marvels-avengers-definitive-edition-pc.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-24190720008242668952023-09-26T23:12:00.010+01:002023-09-27T11:50:21.411+01:00Universe (Amiga CD32) - Part 2<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyA5QkJdPtQmIJ7phtty9W7N68oWds3P-PWHqiyWYVJmjZ8gcuN4b5SX8k40mie7j27AEeALlvMcO-oEz9OGvJ8AwDPTo4KQIWGPuOS6BwF-2WXtIroKzhCOYyXMiuheKGn25Wawu_liAB-U0kMYpSTlh1NbSnoAzrtGgTPEl-G1L7_IagVMn5VzsrhPI/s640/Universe_(CD32)_01.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Universe Amiga title screen" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyA5QkJdPtQmIJ7phtty9W7N68oWds3P-PWHqiyWYVJmjZ8gcuN4b5SX8k40mie7j27AEeALlvMcO-oEz9OGvJ8AwDPTo4KQIWGPuOS6BwF-2WXtIroKzhCOYyXMiuheKGn25Wawu_liAB-U0kMYpSTlh1NbSnoAzrtGgTPEl-G1L7_IagVMn5VzsrhPI/w640-h400/Universe_(CD32)_01.png" title="Universe Amiga title screen" width="640"></a>
</div>
This week on <b>Super Adventures</b>, I'm still playing 90s point-and-click adventure <i>Universe</i>, because I want to be done with it. I played the demo years ago, when I was young enough for it to be imprinted into my brain and stick there. But I never played through the full game so I have no idea how the story ends and I'm just as clueless about the middle.<br><br>I mentioned in <b><a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/09/universe-amiga-cd32-part-1.html">PART ONE</a></b> that I wasn't going to spoil the ending, but I've changed my mind. Because we all deserve closure on this. That means I should give you a <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>SPOILER WARNING</b></span>. Oh, you should also know that despite what it says in the title, most of these screenshots are from the MS-DOS version of the game, as I switched systems. Not that it makes much difference.<br><br>
</div><a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/09/universe-amiga-cd32-part-2.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-4581625263126426492023-09-25T22:55:00.003+01:002023-09-26T06:47:26.393+01:00Universe (Amiga CD32) - Part 1<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyA5QkJdPtQmIJ7phtty9W7N68oWds3P-PWHqiyWYVJmjZ8gcuN4b5SX8k40mie7j27AEeALlvMcO-oEz9OGvJ8AwDPTo4KQIWGPuOS6BwF-2WXtIroKzhCOYyXMiuheKGn25Wawu_liAB-U0kMYpSTlh1NbSnoAzrtGgTPEl-G1L7_IagVMn5VzsrhPI/s640/Universe_(CD32)_01.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Universe Amiga title screen" border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyA5QkJdPtQmIJ7phtty9W7N68oWds3P-PWHqiyWYVJmjZ8gcuN4b5SX8k40mie7j27AEeALlvMcO-oEz9OGvJ8AwDPTo4KQIWGPuOS6BwF-2WXtIroKzhCOYyXMiuheKGn25Wawu_liAB-U0kMYpSTlh1NbSnoAzrtGgTPEl-G1L7_IagVMn5VzsrhPI/w640-h400/Universe_(CD32)_01.png" title="Universe Amiga title screen" width="640"></a>
</div>
<table align="center" class="infotable1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px; color: #bbbbbb; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Developer:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">Core Design<br></td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">|</td>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Release Date:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">1994</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">|</td>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Systems:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">Amiga, CD32, MS-DOS</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<hr style="border-style: solid; color: #333333;" width="60%">
This week on <b>Super Adventures</b>, I'm playing <i>Universe</i>, by the makers of
<i><a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2013/03/rick-dangerous-atari-st.html">Rick Dangerous</a></i>, <i><a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2012/10/curse-of-enchantia-ms-dos.html">Curse of Enchantia</a></i> and later <i><a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2014/11/tomb-raider-ms-dos-part-1.html">Tomb Raider</a></i>. But <i>Curse of
Enchantia</i> is the most relevant, seeing as this is a point-and-click adventure game.<br><br>Universe got fantastic scores from magazines back in the day, lots of 90s and high 80s... well, except for Amiga Power and Amiga Format, they both totally trashed it. Amiga Power gave it 21%! I've played the demo before so I have an idea of what my opinion's going to be, but I'll see if it changes as I get further into the story.<br><br>I should give you a <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>SPOILER WARNING</b></span>, as I'm going to be playing through a lot of the game. In fact, I'm going to try to <i>finish it</i>, though I'll try not to give the whole thing away. I'd suggest YouTube if you want to see the ending, I'm just showing off things that catch my interest and whining about the things that annoy me.<br><br>
</div><a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/09/universe-amiga-cd32-part-1.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-25695716522819569362023-08-23T19:44:00.005+01:002023-08-23T21:56:23.534+01:00Crysis 2 (PC)<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwyPCMr9t3ibnQb_OFETSURwc_iGeKYmLAKslr4j46HQUeMZIXd8JKKJHj4BsUwdGdbvDnW05AOMlS66W9QJ7lRLRwsLAGNJuuFCxnZqNvU79nynIqfKcqia0Zl6FdNQMc5KLsJg2G6UvKoH9xw-cSpoTPHgnxmkAwNk_ffDjANL7frKGCQ7CKEdtf/s1274/Crysis_2_(PC)_01b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Crysis 2 title screen logo" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1274" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwyPCMr9t3ibnQb_OFETSURwc_iGeKYmLAKslr4j46HQUeMZIXd8JKKJHj4BsUwdGdbvDnW05AOMlS66W9QJ7lRLRwsLAGNJuuFCxnZqNvU79nynIqfKcqia0Zl6FdNQMc5KLsJg2G6UvKoH9xw-cSpoTPHgnxmkAwNk_ffDjANL7frKGCQ7CKEdtf/w640-h362/Crysis_2_(PC)_01b.jpg" title="Crysis 2 title screen logo" width="640"></a></div>
<table align="center" class="infotable1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px; color: #bbbbbb; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Developer:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">Crytek</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">|</td>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Release Date:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">2011</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">|</td>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Systems:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">Windows, PS3, Xbox 360</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<hr style="border-style: solid; color: #333333;" width="60%">
This week on <b>Super Adventures</b>, I'm playing <i>Crysis 2,</i> the second game in the<i> Crysis </i>trilogy. (<i>Warhead's</i> a stand-alone expansion so it doesn't count.)<br><br>I also played the original <i><a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/08/crysis-pc.html">Crysis</a></i> this week so you might be wondering 'Why the rush?' Well, the game starts on the 23rd of August 2023, so it actually takes place <i>today</i>. So I should really get on with writing about the game and stop wasting time with this intro.<br><br>Actually, there are a couple of things I should mention here. First, the game's story was written by Richard K. Morgan, author of the novel <i>Altered Carbon</i>. He also wrote the <i>Syndicate</i> shooter that came out the following year. Second, I want to mention how the game's theme is kind of one note. Well, two notes I suppose. It's like an alarm. It's one of a handful of songs on the soundtrack by Hollywood composers Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe, and honestly I prefer Lorne Balfe's theme to that new <i>Dungeons & Dragons</i> movie, <i>Honor Among Thieves</i>.<br><br>Alright, I'm not going to be able to get away with just playing an hour or two of this like I usually do, so expect <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">SPOILERS</span></b> for the entire first half of the game.<br><br>
</div><a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/08/crysis-2-pc.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-32558396395892214822023-08-22T16:07:00.005+01:002023-08-22T17:14:22.053+01:00Crysis (PC)<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xZqFsRzlHeXQTDBrqpmtbqzjqXtriD49fRgiSLkK_ywOY8OdU2F9lQ-hyX0owjjnc5bSy0V_LzI9NSgCep5buckToa_UDzNEmWUZT5dapIgpvUekDZ5iu_g7vW9kuRrF-lN-9b9UB-1HGtBL2dHUfvegoTALWOTC_kFSZE8iyelcLg7ERwXBElCd/s1280/Crysis_(PC)_01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xZqFsRzlHeXQTDBrqpmtbqzjqXtriD49fRgiSLkK_ywOY8OdU2F9lQ-hyX0owjjnc5bSy0V_LzI9NSgCep5buckToa_UDzNEmWUZT5dapIgpvUekDZ5iu_g7vW9kuRrF-lN-9b9UB-1HGtBL2dHUfvegoTALWOTC_kFSZE8iyelcLg7ERwXBElCd/s640/Crysis_(PC)_01.jpg" width="640"></a>
</div>
<table align="center" class="infotable1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px; color: #bbbbbb; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Developer:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">Crytek</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">|</td>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Release Date:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">2007</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">|</td>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Systems:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">PC, PS3, Xbox 360</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<hr style="border-style: solid; color: #333333;" width="60%">
This week on <b>Super Adventures</b>, I'm finally getting around to the
notorious <i>Crysis!</i><br> <br>I thought about buying the game a while back, but I
was put off by its pain-in-the-ass DRM and I just didn't think about it again until now. These days though it's a non-issue, with the DRM-free GOG release and the
Steam version getting patched. Also, there's that Remastered edition... that I won't be playing. I want to play the legit original
experience! Though just getting it to run at all would be nice.<i> <br><br>Crysis</i> is infamous for two reasons and the main one is its system
requirements. Back in 2007 it was supposed to be the prettiest game ever made, and I can believe that. The catch was that people had to wait until PC hardware had caught up to it before they could put the graphics settings up.<br><br>There will be <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">SPOILERS</span></b> here for a significant amount of the game's story and they start <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">right now</span></b>. That's because the second thing that the game's infamous for is the twist that the
gameplay takes in the second half. I'm usually happy to show off the first hour or so of a game and then quit, but it doesn't seem right for me to write about <i>Crisis</i> and not bitch about the alien levels.<br><br>
</div><a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/08/crysis-pc.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-52235881277759181772023-07-29T08:05:00.006+01:002023-08-02T07:52:18.400+01:00Lotus Turbo Challenge Games<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy6RznMycGwRxG8Ew9MNTgGEFByq_fKgMGkgKk6A6n6Lk4PFk7JZk_aNbdavJ63i5DigHd8npqT6n_0WJYxUWb9hluey20ECmbEDsTtIc9Zy7C-eeoMwAGSDQE2U1-emsLnyPDhRmRrXcoSXOr3J09U5iEIWjGNbouBEl4Z4D6za6O4p1BIKHXbSdI9eo/s320/Lotus_(Amiga)_00.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Lotus Trilogy title logo CD32" border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="320" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy6RznMycGwRxG8Ew9MNTgGEFByq_fKgMGkgKk6A6n6Lk4PFk7JZk_aNbdavJ63i5DigHd8npqT6n_0WJYxUWb9hluey20ECmbEDsTtIc9Zy7C-eeoMwAGSDQE2U1-emsLnyPDhRmRrXcoSXOr3J09U5iEIWjGNbouBEl4Z4D6za6O4p1BIKHXbSdI9eo/w640-h400/Lotus_(Amiga)_00.png" title="Lotus Trilogy title logo CD32" width="640"></a>
</div>
This week on <b>Super Adventures</b>, I'm taking a trip back to the past... back to the early days of <i>Super Adventures</i>, when I thought it was acceptable to cover a bunch of old-school arcade-style sprite-based racing games in one article. I'd give them each three screenshots and write things like "Dodging cars is hard!" and "Hey, I got first place!" underneath.<br><br>I eventually learned my lesson and realised that these kinds of games weren't going to give me much to work with. You have a sprite of a car and you slide it left and right to get around
the other cars and obstacles, while also trying to avoid flying off the
track on the turns. There, I just described all of them. <br><br>But I could never resist showing off screenshots full of art, and it occurs to me that I never got around to covering the biggest stars in the genre. No <i>Out Run</i>, no <i>Road Rash</i>, not even <i>Lotus 1-2-3</i>. Uh, I mean Magnetic Fields' legendary racing trilogy, not the legendary spreadsheet software. Speaking of spreadsheets, did you know Lotus made a car called the Excel?<br><br>Anyway, I'm going to play some <i>Lotus</i> games and I'm going to show off all the artwork, and if I can find anything to write about them, well that's a bonus. Screenshots will be from the Amiga 500 versions unless specified otherwise, though I will have a look at some of the ports as well. These games made their way onto all kinds of systems, like the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, C64, PC... though not the NES or SNES for some reason. I've no idea why Nintendo got left out. <br><br>There was another game called <i>Lotus Challenge</i> released on the PS2 in 2001, but that's entirely unrelated so I won't be playing that one.<br><br>
<a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/07/lotus-turbo-challenge-games.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-64765848850336150932023-07-13T21:46:00.002+01:002023-07-14T12:48:55.580+01:00Jade Empire (Xbox) - Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYIZ78e7OvbG4Avxx9ZUiklXWlM8NcrUhBkbx-ZcHpUjE_JFMgjK_oOuwOcahoADGG9ko3U9t8j9zg1VYHhVf9aLHJr9_GRWdSzi3aEe2TdgGqNvKk8XYNNqf_5YSrheMwjKAsVgVsa69tBCUmg23EJQirWrubDZzDUIkLb7k8Q-CTMGesk7-mEMt8JOI/s954/Jade_Empire_(Xbox)_97.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="954" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYIZ78e7OvbG4Avxx9ZUiklXWlM8NcrUhBkbx-ZcHpUjE_JFMgjK_oOuwOcahoADGG9ko3U9t8j9zg1VYHhVf9aLHJr9_GRWdSzi3aEe2TdgGqNvKk8XYNNqf_5YSrheMwjKAsVgVsa69tBCUmg23EJQirWrubDZzDUIkLb7k8Q-CTMGesk7-mEMt8JOI/w640-h484/Jade_Empire_(Xbox)_97.jpg" width="640"></a></div>Today on <b>Super Adventures</b>, I'm getting back to <i>Jade Empire</i> for the second and final time. If you want to read part 1 <b><a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/07/jade-empire-xbox-part-1.html">CLICK HERE</a></b>.<br><br>I'm still looking for a town with sidequests and a big problem I can solve, so I can get a good impression of what the game's actually like before I turn it off. Something like <a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2014/07/star-wars-knights-of-old-republic-pc.html"><i>Knights of the Old Republic</i></a><i>'s</i> Taris, or<i> </i><a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/mass-effect-pc-part-1.html"><i>Mass Effect</i></a>'s Citadel... except smaller hopefully.<br><br>This means there will be some <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">SPOILERS</span></b> here for the first few hours of the game, but nothing too serious I expect.<br><br>
<a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/07/jade-empire-xbox-part-2.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-53869991745774369012023-07-13T21:45:00.005+01:002023-08-12T16:45:22.902+01:00Jade Empire (Xbox) - Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2eld1DYDvaKwJ-lfKaWhiW3Yc1HoUrnt6uCrVjsc8yH9npj8V11OdIgXDnAXFl-TRXJbUtMk9hscz0ozBuECQFre7LCLHXiP6tiz38ZnC4uo18udVWXn6WFaYiR01oj1q8lczBJSnfQTsDuQOvuMBjAYs7YUdAwdFMPjWDGpVw6paJ7yFHXMOKKFi/s955/Jade_Empire_(Xbox)_01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Jade Empire title menu screen xbox" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="955" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2eld1DYDvaKwJ-lfKaWhiW3Yc1HoUrnt6uCrVjsc8yH9npj8V11OdIgXDnAXFl-TRXJbUtMk9hscz0ozBuECQFre7LCLHXiP6tiz38ZnC4uo18udVWXn6WFaYiR01oj1q8lczBJSnfQTsDuQOvuMBjAYs7YUdAwdFMPjWDGpVw6paJ7yFHXMOKKFi/w640-h482/Jade_Empire_(Xbox)_01.jpg" title="Jade Empire title menu screen xbox" width="640"></a>
</div>
<table align="center" class="infotable1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px; color: #bbbbbb; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Developer:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">BioWare</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">|</td>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Release Date:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">2005</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">|</td>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Systems:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">Xbox, PC, Mac, Android, iOS<br></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<hr style="border-style: solid; color: #333333;" width="60%">
This week on <b>Super Adventures</b>, I'm checking out a game that I'm absolutely sure I've probably played before. I just can't remember doing it, or even how it plays exactly. I feel like I must have gotten past the tutorial and then ran around the starting area for a bit before turning it off.<br><br>I have to wonder what <i>Jade Empire</i> did to lose my interest so quickly as I can usually sink hours into a BioWare RPG. This was their 7th game, by the way, coming between <a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2014/07/star-wars-knights-of-old-republic-pc.html"><i>Knights of the Old Republic</i></a> and <a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/mass-effect-pc-part-1.html"><i>Mass Effect</i></a>. It's what they were working on while Obsidian was making the considerably higher-rated <i>KOTOR 2</i>. Wait, is that actually true or am I just making a huge assumption there?<br><br>Okay, I've done the research and according to Metacritic, <i>Jade Empire</i> actually scored just a little bit <i>better</i> than <i>KOTOR 2</i>, on Xbox anyway. <i>Jade Empire</i> falls a bit behind on PC for some reason. I'd check their scores on PlayStation 2 and GameCube but they appear to have neglected to port the games to either system. Possibly because it came out in 2005, near the end of that console generation... or possibly because it was published by Microsoft.<br><br>
Anyway, I know what BioWare games are like, so my plan is to keep playing long enough to find the first proper quest hub town and sort out their big crisis. Assuming that it even has towns. I'll be playing the original Xbox version, but I'll be running it on an Xbox One through the magic of backwards compatibility because it'll be easier to get video out of it that way. Plus it might even boost the framerate and resolution a bit.<br> <br>
<a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/07/jade-empire-xbox-part-1.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-70585193380179426972023-06-12T21:41:00.003+01:002023-06-24T08:34:50.777+01:00Dusk (PC)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiClf-fOYtn1OGYoGceZS4pkP8QeC7jqFyHLCJgRz2HvTuxijThy9P0FQF_E34sehW2BBQfWcom0MG4nEh13D3-MG3Q_vCxYirXVQOFtWe1lEaJDUn4ncCeUlggihuzOGdIf-VogNePyFhDSbXrESPXxntfa4ApkfTIw4c1K6C7H_OJCLCBgEhTirk_/s1280/Dusk_(PC)_01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Dusk game title logo" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiClf-fOYtn1OGYoGceZS4pkP8QeC7jqFyHLCJgRz2HvTuxijThy9P0FQF_E34sehW2BBQfWcom0MG4nEh13D3-MG3Q_vCxYirXVQOFtWe1lEaJDUn4ncCeUlggihuzOGdIf-VogNePyFhDSbXrESPXxntfa4ApkfTIw4c1K6C7H_OJCLCBgEhTirk_/w640-h360/Dusk_(PC)_01.jpg" title="Dusk game title logo" width="640"></a></div><table align="center" class="infotable1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px none; color: #bbbbbb; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Developer:</td><td style="padding: 4px;">David Szymanski</td><td style="padding: 4px;">|</td><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Release Date:</td><td style="padding: 4px;">2018</td><td style="padding: 4px;">|</td><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Systems:</td><td style="padding: 4px;">Win, macOS, Linux, Switch<br></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<hr style="border-style: solid; color: #333333;" width="60%">
This week on <b>Super Adventures</b>, I'm taking a look at indie first-person boomer shooter <i>Dusk!</i> I've been meaning to get around to this for a while now. Partly because it's a critically acclaimed, highly recommended game in a genre I love, partly because it was a present and I should probably play the games I've been gifted!<br><br>I've been avoiding learning anything about the game so I'm going in fairly blind. I didn't even know it had a multiplayer mode called 'Duskworld'. Though it doesn't feature co-op or bots and I think I'm going to stick with the single-player mode. The regular one I mean, not 'Endless' mode, which seems like it'd take a while.<br><div><br></div>Not that I'm planning to finish the whole game. I'm just going to stick with it for an hour or so to see if I'm satisfied with its shooting.<br><br>
<a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/06/dusk-pc.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-22518174502806956462023-05-10T22:38:00.001+01:002023-05-10T22:38:44.782+01:00Grand Theft Auto III (PS2)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg54OnARun_CJ1_lR9kfCOtYkDrzzQJEpwNpcLvC_dx_T-SmAPc_rwRA7NeivrV-dH3kReh1AFUL-IDfFMqR1TRAmZ2PZviADdhLCfUIcPfc-gOCMdgHwQ7ZbpTymPOoofpiqAuYviZyCTCeq0-82gaPg3qhmzmRJGJheLaLsjS624rg2_D_wL8P3BI/s640/Grand_Theft_Auto_(PS2)_01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Grand Theft Auto III title playstation 2" border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg54OnARun_CJ1_lR9kfCOtYkDrzzQJEpwNpcLvC_dx_T-SmAPc_rwRA7NeivrV-dH3kReh1AFUL-IDfFMqR1TRAmZ2PZviADdhLCfUIcPfc-gOCMdgHwQ7ZbpTymPOoofpiqAuYviZyCTCeq0-82gaPg3qhmzmRJGJheLaLsjS624rg2_D_wL8P3BI/w640-h480/Grand_Theft_Auto_(PS2)_01.jpg" title="Grand Theft Auto III title playstation 2" width="640"></a>
</div>
<table align="center" class="infotable1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px none; color: #bbbbbb; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Developer:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">DMA Design<br></td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">|</td>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Release Date:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">2001</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">|</td>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Systems:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">
PS2, Xbox, PC, Mac, Android, iOS, Fire OS<br>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<hr style="border-style: solid; color: #333333;" width="60%">
This week on <b>Super Adventures</b>, I'm finally getting around to legendary sandbox crime simulator <i>Grand Theft Auto III!</i> I wrote about
<a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2014/05/grand-theft-auto-pc.html"><i>GTA 1</i></a>
in 2014 and
<a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2016/10/grand-theft-auto-iv-pc.html"><i>GTA 4</i></a>
in 2016, but since then the site has suffered 7 long years of <i>GTA</i>lessness.<br>
<br>A few things have happened during that time, like <i>GTA 3</i>
getting reverse engineered by fans so they could enhance it for modern hardware! Take-Two weren't keen on this though and
shut the RE3 project down. Then they delisted the game from online stores and replaced it with the
<i>Definitive Edition</i> Unreal Engine remake, which was hilariously half-assed
and broken. At this point you can't buy either version in Steam, as they're selling it for
the Rockstar Games Launcher instead.<br><br>I've played <i>GTA 3 </i>before, but I've never actually finished the game and it wasn't for a lack of trying. I beat <i>Vice City</i>,
<i>San Andreas</i>, <i>GTA 4</i>,
<i><a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-saboteur-pc.html">The Saboteur</a></i>,
<i><a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2014/11/sleeping-dogs-pc.html">Sleeping Dogs</a></i>
and all the old
<i><a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2016/06/saints-row-xbox-360.html">Saints Rows</a></i>, but this was just a little too tough for me. Back then anyway. Can I actually
manage to reach the ending this time and finally get some closure on the
<i>GTA</i> that got away? The answer is... no, because I'm only going to play it
for an hour or two. Sorry!<br><br>Also, I'm going to be playing the classic
PlayStation 2 version of the game, so if you were hoping to see some hilarious
<i>Definitive Edition</i> screenshots I'm going to have to disappoint you. I
ain't paying that much for a bad version of a game I already own. But is the PS2
game the <i>good</i> version? Is <i>any</i> version of the game still worth playing in
2023? I'm probably the wrong person to answer that last question as I'm
obviously unstuck in time, but I'll see what it's like and share some
screenshots as I go.<br><br>
<a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/05/grand-theft-auto-iii-ps2.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-1820293869897327152023-04-11T01:46:00.004+01:002023-04-15T15:25:30.914+01:00Perfect Dark (Xbox 360)<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0yMWS7y99EoP3D_u_Ye05Pf-dVqqwMf-T3V_i7OSWxkL3db5nhxgbB1OpXwWjYMzAj9hsNJojG02FQGvTZ9gLcpEu8-G1rWf0w6pFtldVp4Iky-s3NnzkSXygVahbVL-U53ykXBKTVkeviQ-urbccn7G-vPRV2EHhnw2AjB-qkHmZ8Ww-LfE6_UnX/s1280/Perfect_Dark_(Xbox_360)_01.jpg"><img alt="Perfect Dark title screen logo Xbox 360" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0yMWS7y99EoP3D_u_Ye05Pf-dVqqwMf-T3V_i7OSWxkL3db5nhxgbB1OpXwWjYMzAj9hsNJojG02FQGvTZ9gLcpEu8-G1rWf0w6pFtldVp4Iky-s3NnzkSXygVahbVL-U53ykXBKTVkeviQ-urbccn7G-vPRV2EHhnw2AjB-qkHmZ8Ww-LfE6_UnX/w640-h360/Perfect_Dark_(Xbox_360)_01.jpg" title="Perfect Dark title screen logo Xbox 360" width="640"></a></div><table align="center" class="infotable1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px none; color: #bbbbbb; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Developer:</td><td style="padding: 4px;">Rare</td><td style="padding: 4px;">|</td><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Release Date:</td><td style="padding: 4px;">2000</td><td style="padding: 4px;">|</td><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Systems:</td><td style="padding: 4px;">N64, Xbox 360</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<hr style="border-style: solid; color: #333333;" width="60%">
This week on <b>Super Adventures</b>, I'm playing the spiritual successor to Rare's legendary N64 FPS <i><a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2012/11/007-games-part-7-goldeneye-007-james.html">GoldenEye 007</a></i>: the slightly less legendary <i>Perfect Dark゙!<br><br></i>It came out three years later for the same console, runs on the same engine, and was developed by a lot of the same people, so it's basically <i>GoldenEye 2</i> (or <i>GoldenEye 008?</i>) There were proper sequels to <i>GoldenEye</i>, but Rare had been outbid by EA and decided they'd rather do their own thing anyway, so Black Ops gave us third person shooter <i><a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2012/11/007-games-part-8-tomorrow-never-dies.html">Tomorrow Never Dies</a></i> on the PlayStation and Eurocom got to make the next first person N64 Bond shooter, <i><a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/007-games-part-9-world-is-not-enough.html#game21">The World is Not Enough</a></i>. Both considerably less legendary.<br><br><div><i>Perfect Dark</i> was was released late in the N64's life and was so ambitious that it required the Expansion Pak installed in order to access 65% of its content. Though even with double the RAM under the hood, the game <i>still </i>suffers from framerate issues. Fortunately I'm mostly going to be playing the remastered Xbox 360 version on the Xbox One, which has about 2000 times the RAM. I would've played the PC version and used a mouse but to this day the game still hasn't got a PC port.</div><br>If you're wondering why there's an N behind the title despite the letter not appearing in either word, that's so that the Nintendo logo can spin around and morph into the logo! It's a little different in the Xbox Live Arcade version, as 4J Studio's logo takes Nintendo's place. Not a lot of Nintendo logos on Microsoft games I've noticed. If you're wondering why there's a dakuten (゙) after the K... I've got no idea. They thought it'd look cool I guess. Like how <i>Street Fighter II′</i> has a dash.<br><br>Alright I'll put this on and give it an hour or two then. I used to love the game but I can't remember if there's anything notable I should be playing up to (mostly because it's the multiplayer I was obsessed with), so I'm just going to play the first few levels and document my findings.<br><br>
<a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/04/perfect-dark-xbox-360.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-19242967957670211892023-03-10T18:35:00.012+00:002023-03-12T02:46:25.437+00:00Octopath Traveler II (PC) - Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBNYrmBJ5Kp8oQYPh-SM7bxzB9AH4qQgkce-YEfPT60t3vQ5RhXXsfeAUDpYySwn1SR5_2HV2s66EqmIBc96RXZKUESfXWbSHsvW3kun85oAXqjnBKIV8gWRS40YrN54PHSVWhOGDCNgdsImIfD3Nlhm7HS33ULuoUS19ftjW9Zve9vRoDhNhpO3jK/s1280/Octopath_Traveler_II_(PC)_001b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBNYrmBJ5Kp8oQYPh-SM7bxzB9AH4qQgkce-YEfPT60t3vQ5RhXXsfeAUDpYySwn1SR5_2HV2s66EqmIBc96RXZKUESfXWbSHsvW3kun85oAXqjnBKIV8gWRS40YrN54PHSVWhOGDCNgdsImIfD3Nlhm7HS33ULuoUS19ftjW9Zve9vRoDhNhpO3jK/w640-h360/Octopath_Traveler_II_(PC)_001b.jpg" width="640"></a>
</div>
This week on <b>Super Adventures</b>, I'm writing some more about
<i>Octopath Traveler II!</i><br><br>Like here's a fun fact: did you know that if you
press that button it tells you to press on the title screen it turns the
background clips from day to night? It's like how you can change the background of the <i><a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2020/08/metal-gear-solid-3-subsistence-ps2.html">Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater</a></i> title screen, it's great. It also replaces the ridiculously upbeat and adventurous main theme with a mellow piano version.<br><br>I'll be playing to the end of Temenos the Cleric's second chapter, but I'm going there the long way. It'll be a bit of a struggle to get through it alone so I'll have to travel the world and assemble a crew first. I'll be vague about events though as it'd be a shame to spoil such a story-heavy game.<br><br>This is the second half of this article. If you want to go back to <b><a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/03/octopath-traveler-ii-pc-part-1.html">PART ONE</a></b> instead, click the text.<br><br>
<a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/03/octopath-traveler-ii-pc-part-2.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-57482200656490116742023-03-10T18:35:00.009+00:002023-03-11T16:42:15.589+00:00Octopath Traveler II (PC) - Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWRnzuhRwhwWViuJd1ZR2HAJR59FfaET436b1r2LNbOFbrNb58_MYYYO2N_EvnELa0dntPasrrEl8SbG6TPW2rTOsozMMjzWQWhb-3fpyfmh7dcpIdLnb8P38gw89pfKunndH1DWbJftSekk4Bl5olbaymE_Roo84-UPxZL6m6D516V55n9PKgdqR0/s1280/Octopath_Traveler_II_(PC)_001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWRnzuhRwhwWViuJd1ZR2HAJR59FfaET436b1r2LNbOFbrNb58_MYYYO2N_EvnELa0dntPasrrEl8SbG6TPW2rTOsozMMjzWQWhb-3fpyfmh7dcpIdLnb8P38gw89pfKunndH1DWbJftSekk4Bl5olbaymE_Roo84-UPxZL6m6D516V55n9PKgdqR0/w640-h360/Octopath_Traveler_II_(PC)_001.jpg" width="640"></a></div><table align="center" class="infotable1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px none; color: #bbbbbb; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Developer:</td><td style="padding: 4px;">Square Enix and Acquire<br></td><td style="padding: 4px;">|</td><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Release Date:</td><td style="padding: 4px;">2023</td><td style="padding: 4px;">|</td><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Systems:</td><td style="padding: 4px;">Windows, PS4, PS5, Switch<br></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<hr style="border-style: solid; color: #333333;" width="60%">
This week on <b>Super Adventures</b>, I'm playing something that's relatively new for a change. In fact it came out only a couple of weeks ago. It's retro JRPG sequel <i>Octopath Traveler II!</i><br><br>I typically like to write about the first game in a series before covering the sequels, but I've jumped straight to game #2 this time and there are two very good reasons for that. The first reason is, I've already played <i>Octopath 1</i> and I couldn't get into it to be honest. I tried a few of the characters, hoping to find one that caught my interest, but I found myself skipping their cutscenes just to get on with it and once you start doing that in a story-driven RPG you might as well quit.<br><br>The second reason is that this was a surprise gift from an absurdly generous friend! I intend to be entirely honest about what I think about it, but if I say anything negative you should yell at me for being rude and ungrateful.<br><br>I usually play games for about an hour, but that wouldn't even get me out of the game's demo, so I decided to give it about <i>30 hours</i> instead. If you're wondering why this article's so late, that's your answer. I've split it into two parts, with part 1 covering one character's first chapter, and part 2 jumping around some other stuff I thought was worth talking about. So you'll see some stuff from later on but I shouldn't end up really spoiling anything that isn't in the demo.<br>
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<a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/03/octopath-traveler-ii-pc-part-1.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-9907992657119016912023-02-13T20:16:00.010+00:002023-02-16T18:23:19.769+00:00Kid Chaos (Amiga) - Part 2 - Guest Post<div class="separator" style="display:none;clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiztHKZwKsBauLYhbzb8lxbyqSDnvVPpLiHtlGx5jQm_aGncebqIBNxF9LkWfQTlbPS1yc6olblThx7Qub88hzUHH6ytqvtQoKNn_ZbclFnJdHDSM_ASFqqA-LqxaH8LGzFfnKMNTBHaWmjjOaLzNdDLOF7NqYHCtg3RlnoutDOb7Sb-fAF8Ja43985/s1600/wakelinpreview.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="Kid Chaos Alternate Cover Preview Bob Wakelin" title="Kid Chaos Alternate Cover Preview Bob Wakelin" border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="405" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiztHKZwKsBauLYhbzb8lxbyqSDnvVPpLiHtlGx5jQm_aGncebqIBNxF9LkWfQTlbPS1yc6olblThx7Qub88hzUHH6ytqvtQoKNn_ZbclFnJdHDSM_ASFqqA-LqxaH8LGzFfnKMNTBHaWmjjOaLzNdDLOF7NqYHCtg3RlnoutDOb7Sb-fAF8Ja43985/s1600/wakelinpreview.jpg"></a></div>
<div style="background-image: url("https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2qH86_sAQz0TCVYOHgpD8uPZsSgWUMai2_W4xeWwB3HTz5M4YTGonFHhiuDZfxXFiZlLyBWWigy2iGrAu848oA1HaP_bXj5cROV6-u70fgrz4LuTjaabE6ohpku7Ben6NHrlGsfs8JjA/s1600/mecha-neko_monday_256.png"); height: 74px; line-height: 0px; width: 692px;"></div>
<a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/02/kid-chaos-amiga-part-1-guest-post.html">Previously</a> on <i>Kid Chaos</i>, danger was lurking around every turn as the displaced caveman fought off rats, bats, bunnies and bees in his frantic escape from <b>THE SECRET -GARDEN-</b>. Will mecha-neko ever live to see world 2-1? Read on!<br>
<br>
<a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/02/kid-chaos-amiga-part-2-guest-post.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-33529188006224711542023-02-13T20:16:00.009+00:002023-02-15T02:42:33.528+00:00Kid Chaos (Amiga) - Part 1 - Guest PostThis week on <b>Super Adventures</b>, I've captured guest poster mecha-neko and teleported him to the distant past of 1994 to play a game about a caveman in the future. It's classic Amiga platformer <i>Kid Chaos</i>.<br>
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<div style="background-image: url("https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2qH86_sAQz0TCVYOHgpD8uPZsSgWUMai2_W4xeWwB3HTz5M4YTGonFHhiuDZfxXFiZlLyBWWigy2iGrAu848oA1HaP_bXj5cROV6-u70fgrz4LuTjaabE6ohpku7Ben6NHrlGsfs8JjA/s1600/mecha-neko_monday_256.png"); height: 74px; line-height: 0px; width: 692px;"></div>
Hello everyone! It's time to dig up something really prehistoric!<br><br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLOFSHfLOp9D5ydSkdQHQQAetKbjioBj2vnv0dQlx8rmAOLvA17kMbX7EtSezWOlJCOK8NJ60eIL7OZ73tcjxVlQpTtKJCfiKUS98djBfwq1BBKPP8lRRY09bEmcmBPpjCyGUlG0grAjARaud1BtQ3Z7mgxD5wF0VRTSK4R4fvQx6B5dVtGDt1I45N/s1600/KidChaos_Amiga_title.gif" style="display: block; padding: 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Kid Chaos Amiga title screen" border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLOFSHfLOp9D5ydSkdQHQQAetKbjioBj2vnv0dQlx8rmAOLvA17kMbX7EtSezWOlJCOK8NJ60eIL7OZ73tcjxVlQpTtKJCfiKUS98djBfwq1BBKPP8lRRY09bEmcmBPpjCyGUlG0grAjARaud1BtQ3Z7mgxD5wF0VRTSK4R4fvQx6B5dVtGDt1I45N/s1600/KidChaos_Amiga_title.gif" title="Kid Chaos Amiga title screen"></a></div>
<table align="center" class="infotable1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px none; color: #bbbbbb; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Developer:</td><td style="padding: 4px;">Magnetic Fields<br></td><td style="padding: 4px;">|</td><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Release Date:</td><td style="padding: 4px;">1994</td><td style="padding: 4px;">|</td><td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Systems:</td><td style="padding: 4px;">Amiga 500, Amiga CD32</td></tr></tbody></table><hr style="border-style: solid; color: #333333;" width="60%">
This is <i>Kid Chaos</i>. The apex of Amiga platform action. The one where it all comes together. Years of technological experimentation, observation and innovation have led to this moment.<br>
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The title screen alone is lush as heck. The Amiga hardware can select 32 colours at once and this image displays 110 of them. The clouds all drift past at different speeds and everything, but you'll have to take my word for that as the .gif would be huge! It's like something you'd see on an AGA machine, but this is an A500 game.<br>
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If you want to see what all the fuss is about, read on!<br>
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<div style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); display: block; padding: 4px; text-align: center;"><span style="display: block; font-size: 0.9em; text-align: center;"><i>Kid Chaos</i> (Amiga) - Guest Post</span><span><a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/02/kid-chaos-amiga-part-1-guest-post.html" style="font-size: 1.4em; font-weight: bold;">Part 1</a> - <a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/02/kid-chaos-amiga-part-2-guest-post.html" style="font-size: 1.4em; font-weight: bold;">Part 2</a></span></div>
<a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/02/kid-chaos-amiga-part-1-guest-post.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068112306642079190.post-73053961563998482092023-01-31T00:18:00.042+00:002024-01-16T09:54:57.208+00:00Body Harvest (N64)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2EWwt1T65QE9A8ADIsJirlFzi5yuHEUg3m-osCz6UVli5TxnLw1ujLwx0Vc6oYYpgRXxvE7PrfIrSmh2oyJcSmYzTI5BKrCoykdSOnZww2US4n5ZLvSTstB1x_RVbUbob9CkKVmKZFslFe23V7KbE_pesXHmo7oYdmn0xC2J_IlwQsrdJOkSCgYGD/s625/Body_Harvest_(N64)_01.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Body Harvest N64 title screen PAL" border="0" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2EWwt1T65QE9A8ADIsJirlFzi5yuHEUg3m-osCz6UVli5TxnLw1ujLwx0Vc6oYYpgRXxvE7PrfIrSmh2oyJcSmYzTI5BKrCoykdSOnZww2US4n5ZLvSTstB1x_RVbUbob9CkKVmKZFslFe23V7KbE_pesXHmo7oYdmn0xC2J_IlwQsrdJOkSCgYGD/s16000/Body_Harvest_(N64)_01.jpg" title="Body Harvest N64 title screen PAL"></a>
</div>
<table align="center" class="infotable1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 0px; color: #bbbbbb; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Developer:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">DMA Design</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">|</td>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Release Date:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">1998</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">|</td>
<td style="font-weight: bold; padding: 2px;">Systems:</td>
<td style="padding: 4px;">N64</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<hr style="border-style: solid; color: #333333;" width="60%">I've always wondered why this space station has a skull painted on it. Up there at the top, next to the dish.<br><br>Anyway it's<b> Super Adventures'</b> 12th birthday <strike>today</strike> yesterday, so I figured I should write about a video game or something to celebrate.<b> </b>It has to be something a little bit special though, so I'm checking out DMA Design's notorious time-travelling
alien-slaying action-adventure<i> Body Harvest</i>, on the Nintendo 64.<br>
<br>One thing I like about this era is that console designers were all making the leap to full 3D using different approaches, so you can tell an N64 game from a PlayStation game instantly just by looking at a screenshot. Even multiplatform games look different on each system. <i>Body Harvest</i> is a true N64 exclusive though. In fact it was supposed to be a launch
title for the console, but original publisher Nintendo wasn't impressed with what DMA were coming up with. It didn't make it onto the system until two years later, when Gremlin Interactive bought DMA and published it themselves in the EU. <br><br>In fact it ended up getting
released a month or so before DMA Design's other N64 game
<i><a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2019/03/space-station-silicon-valley-n64.html">Space Station Silicon Valley</a></i>. Except in America, where the two games were released a day apart! This was a bit of a problem as it meant they both came out right before <i><a href="https://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-legend-of-zelda-ocarina-of-time-n64.html">The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time</a></i>, and Nintendo fans were saving their pennies for what was certainly going to be the safer bet. Then a year
later DMA released <i>Grand Theft Auto 2,</i> which was the beginning of
the company's 'making nothing but <i>GTA</i> games for the rest of all eternity'
era. Well okay they released <i>Manhunt</i> in 2003 shortly after becoming Rockstar North, but aside from that it's
been all <i>GTA</i> as far as the eye can see.<br><br>Okay I'm going to do what I always do: try the game for an hour or so, type my reactions under screenshots, and then write a long review at the end with an unearned tone of authority, as if experiencing an hour of gameplay is enough to really get what a game is like.<br>
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<a href="http://superadventuresingaming.blogspot.com/2023/01/body-harvest-n64.html#more">Read on »</a>Ray Hardgrithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436491500347661133noreply@blogger.com12