The Nomad Soul (PC) - Part 2

Click to jump back to Omikron: The Nomad Soul part one.

The Nomad Soul (PC) - Part 1

And the final 'N' game I'll be playing this year is late 90s possess 'em up The Nomad Soul. Or maybe this is actually the first 'O' game, seeing as it's labelled Omikron: The Nomad Soul outside of Europe (plus Omicron is the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet, represented by an 'O' and I'll shut up now).

Whatever you call it, this is Quantic Dream's debut game, released long before creator David Cage's obsession with QTEs and PlayStation 3s. It apparently was originally intended to make an appearance on one or both of the earlier PlayStations, but in the end only the PC and Dreamcast were graced with its presence.

Like always my plan is to play it for an hour or two, or however long I need to get a good idea of what kind of game it is, and show a whole lot of screenshots along the way.

Mortal Kombat (Arcade)

Today's 'M' game is the original MORTAL KOMBAT!

Yeah I realise that I'm crap at fighting games and only understand them at the most basic level, but the game was requested, so the game's getting played. I actually know a tiny bit more about this one than most though as I played the first few Mortal Kombat games a bit when I was younger. I bet I can even remember a couple of the special moves.

Evil Zone (PSX)

Hi, I'm Ray Hardgrit, and I'm currently making it my mission in life to play games beginning with the letter E for an hour or two each to figure out what they are and if they're any good.

Today I'm playing late 90s Japanese PlayStation game Eretzvaju, known in English as Evil Z♀ne (who knew there was an italic version of the Venus symbol?) It's just plain Evil Zone in the US though, and as far as I can tell the only reason it's been given a female gender symbol for the European title is because the main villain is a woman.

The game is by Japanese developer Yuke's Media Creations, known for games like Power Move Pro Wrestling, WWF SmackDown!, WWF Royal Rumble, WWE WrestleMania, WWE Day of Reckoning, Rumble Roses, Wrestle Kingdom, WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw, and Finding Nemo, so you probably won't be too shocked when I reveal that this is... a fighting game.

An ANIME fighting game!

BCV: Battle Construction Vehicles (PS2)

Today's B game is... BCV: Battle Construction Vehicles! AKA. Kensetsu Juuki Kenka Batoru: Buchigire Kongou!! Man I wish I could've made this title screen animated, it'd look so pretty with the cherry blossom blowing in the breeze.

This was one of the PlayStation 2's earliest games, out in Japan before the console had even launched in North America or Europe, though it took three whole years before it got an English release. Sadly the game never did make it over to the US, but it did make it over onto my shelf somehow; which is weird because I definitely didn't buy it. It just sort of appeared there one day out of nowhere. I'm hoping that if I play it for a bit and discover its dark secrets it might disappear again and become someone else's problem.

I do know that it was developed by Artdink, makers of A-Train, No One Can Stop Mr Domino, and a whole bunch of anime tie-in games. Though it's been published by Midas, which is kind of a big warning sign to me as... well it seems harsh to say that everything they touch turns to shit, but I haven't had a lot of luck with their games so far.

Moonstone: A Hard Days Knight (Amiga)

Here's another title I can finally cross off my game requests list: Moonstone, released for Amiga and PC way back at the dawn of the 90s. I'm positive I must have played this one before, I remember people pestering me to give it a try as it's a bit of a cult classic, but I can't remember a thing about it. I'd even forgotten about the dumb Beatles pun in the title.

Timeslaughter (MS-DOS)

Uh, this one was a request. I don't know much about it, except that it's a fighting game, and I'm guessing it ain't by Capcom.

WARNING, the following screenshots contain horrific scenes of extreme gore and bad art that some readers may consider to be 'a bit gross'.

Dangerous Streets (Amiga CD32)

It'd be cool if the game really did take place in an Enter the Dragon style hall of mirrors, but I imagine they've just taken the box art (exotica.org.uk), and mirrored it on the sides to make it fit the wider aspect ratio.

I did actually press the yellow button for instructions, but they turned out to be less than helpful. They didn't even tell me the basic controls. I think I'll be keeping my expectations low for this one.

Virtua Fighter (32X)

It's Virtua Fighter, the first 3d fighting game to ever hit arcades! Though I'll be playing the 32X port that came out two years later. Not really as impressive.

I'm sure I've played this one before, I just don't remember... well, anything about it. It's really my not my genre but I'll give it shot. I already like the music. "Get get down, get down, get get down, get down."

Karateka (Apple II)

Today's game is... Karateka, by legendary Prince of Persia developer Jordan Mechner. I've seen the game mentioned a lot, but I know next to nothing about it. So I thought I should probably check it out.

Toughman Contest (32X)

Wrestling, maybe?

Kishin Douji Zenki FX: Vajura Fight (PC-FX)

This is the first time I've played a PC-FX game, and I'm curious to see what this system can do.

Blood Warrior (Arcade)

This is the sequel to another arcade game called Shogun Warrior, which took a little inspiration from Street Fighter II. I wonder what fighting game this one was inspired by...

Justice League Task Force (SNES vs Genesis/Mega Drive)

VS.

The Justice League faces their greatest challenge yet, the Justice League... on another console!

One Must Fall 2097 (MS-DOS)

No relation to WipEout 2097 and X-Kaliber 2097 I assume.

Like Xenophage, the similarly PC exclusive mid-90s fighter I played earlier, One Must Fall 2097 is now free to download! The official site's long dead but you can find downloads at fan sites like X-Bot's OMF Universe, or www.omf2097.com.

Resurrection: Rise 2 (MS-DOS)

Also known as Rise 2: Resurrection... or Rise of the Robots 2. This could be interesting.

Ultraman (SNES)

This is going to be about walking right and punching people isn't it?

Tuff E Nuff (SNES)

I'm guessing either a side scrolling beat 'em up or a platformer about a woodland creature with attitude. In the forest.

Xenophage: Alien BloodSport (MS-DOS)

This one is actually freeware now, you can grab it from this download page. If you feel that's something you really want to do.

Cosmic Carnage (32X)

Spiky.