Alien Breed (Amiga)

Developer:

Team17

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Release Date:

1991

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Systems:

Amiga, CD32, MS-DOS, Android, PS3, PSVita

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This week on Super Adventures, I'm finally taking a look at classic Amiga run and gun survival horror Gauntlet 'em up Alien Breed! I've put it off for ten years, because it's bastard hard and I suck at it, but it had to happen eventually.

It was made by developer/publisher Team17, currently better known for the dozens of Worms sequels they've made, and for keeping Epic's game store stocked with free games. Alien Breed was their second game (after Full Contact) and their first to be a full-price release. Though it did get a budget re-release, named Alien Breed Special Edition 92. Or maybe Alien Breed '92: Special Edition. It's something like that. Either way it's an interesting choice of title, considering that the movie Aliens: Special Edition was released just a little earlier...

Alien Breed 92 isn't really a special edition however, more like a remix. In fact it's basically a stand-alone expansion pack, with twice the levels of the original and tweaks made in response to feedback, and I expect that if anyone were to ask if you'd played Alien Breed, it's the special edition they'd actually be thinking of. Or maybe they'd be thinking of that Alien Breed: Evolution game from ten years back, I dunno.

I'm going to check out both the Amiga games, original and special edition, to see how different they actually are, and I'll be giving them about an hour each. Though by 'an hour' I really mean '20 minutes', because time works differently when you're being hounded by a relentless murderous swarm of unfriendly extra-terrestrials.

Micro Machines (Amiga)

Developer:

Codemasters

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Release Date:

1993 (Amiga)

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Systems:

Amiga, NES, SNES, SMS, SMD, GG, CD-i, GB, GBC, DOS

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This week on Super Adventures, I'm playing classic overhead racing game Micro Machines! It looks like it's called MicroMachines, but there is apparently a tiny imperceptible space between the words.

It seems a bit redundant to tell you it's a racing game seeing as I've already written up there that it's by Codemasters, but this was from way back in their early days when they were still allowed to dream of other genres. The title Micro Machines also seems like a bit of a giveaway, but I bet they could've found a way to turn it into a platformer if they'd wanted to. It wouldn't have been the first car platformer I've played.

Though hang on, is this actually the first Codemasters developed game I've played for Super Adventures? It doesn't seem likely, but the only other Codemasters game I can think of is Fantasy World Dizzy and that was developed by the Oliver Twins. Wow, 10 years and there's still veteran AAA developers I haven't played anything by. Though they were more of a B game dev before this came out.

My gimmick this year is that I'm only playing games that I've found on top ten lists, and Micro Machines was #6 in 1995s Amiga Power All-Time Top 100 list. Weirdly it started off down at #17 the year before but I guess it grew on them. The game started life on the NES a couple of years earlier, in 1991, but Codemasters didn't exactly have a licence from Nintendo, so they teamed up with Camerica to come up with sneaky ways to get around the lock out chip with their unlicensed cartridges. My favourite is the pass-through cart that comes with a handle to get it back out of your NES, because it's so distinctive looking. No handles on the Amiga disks though, sadly.

The NES game didn't go through quality assurance either, which made things a bit awkward when they found a bug after they'd started producing ROM chips. I don't know how many console games got a hardware patch, but this is apparently one of them as they stuck a device inside to correct the code. No chips soldered onto the Amiga disks though, sadly.

In fact the Amiga game's been a real let down so far and I haven't even turned it on yet.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (C64)

Developer:

Off the Wall

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Release Date:

1989

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Systems:

C64, Amiga, DOS

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Today on Super Adventures, to celebrate Cyberpunk 2077 eventually coming out at some point hopefully, I'm kicking off Keanu Reeves week! I'll be playing three games this week, each of which is based on a movie starring Keanu Reeves, starting with the computer version of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Which works out pretty well I reckon, seeing as the third Bill & Ted film just came out.

I've already played a Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure game, on the Lynx, but I'm pretty sure this one's something completely different. Maybe even something better! This version came out on three systems, Amiga, MS-DOS and Commodore 64, and I'll be playing all three of them, because I'm hardcore like that. But I'm mostly focusing on the C64 game, because the poor system doesn't get much love here and it'll be a change.

There may be SPOILERS below for the first Bill & Ted movie... but I doubt it somehow.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (PS2)

Developer:

Konami

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Release Date:

Snake Eater - NA/JP 2004, EU 2005 Subsistence - JP 2005, EU/NA 2006

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Systems:

PS2, PS3, PSVita, Xbox 360, 3DS

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This week on Super Adventures, I'm playing the first canon Metal Gear game to never come out on a computer! Even to this day it hasn't had a Steam release, despite getting a HD remaster a decade or so back on consoles. Because Konami are strange.

The title screen up there claims that this is something called Subsistence, but really it's just Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater with a new camera mode and a few extra features. In fact it's a bit like the Substance release for Metal Gear Solid 2 (funny how similar those subtitles are). But there's no VR missions this time! That's possibly because the game's a prequel set 40 years earlier, in the 60s, and VR was less of a thing back then. The story starts on 24 August 1964 in fact, which also happened to be creator Hideo Kojima's first birthday.

Here's a non-trivial bit of trivia about this title screen: you can change the background camo style and colour by clicking the analogue sticks. There's nothing you can press to stop Snake beating up this poor guard over and over though. Here's some more trivia: that's not actually Snake. Well, it is a Snake, but it's not series protagonist Solid Snake (because he was born in the 70s).

I'm not going to assume you've played the other Metal Gears or know anything about the convoluted continuity, but there are going to be SPOILERS below for the series so far, so try not to read anything you don't want to know.

Zool 2 (Amiga)

Developer:

The Warp Factory

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Release Date:

1994 (A500 1993)

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Systems:

Amiga, DOS, CD32, Jaguar

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Today Super Adventures has been struck by extreme serendipity. I've been playing Amiga games this month to celebrate the Amiga 500's 30th anniversary, but today is also the Amiga 1200's 25th anniversary! Also, and I didn't even realise this until someone else pointed it out to me the other day, this is my 1200th post on the site.

Seems like this is the perfect time for me to go back and replay one of the very first A1200 games I ever owned: Zool 2: AGA Version. I found it packed inside the same box as the machine itself, as it was one of the three games included in the 'Computer Combat' bundle. Shame I couldn't find the bloody code wheel that came with it ever again, after I took it out and left it somewhere. I had to play Brian the Lion instead, which kind of took some of the shine off my brand new computer.

Well that, and the fact that the A1200 turned out to only be a slight upgrade from the A500, with games that were typically the same except with obnoxious backgrounds added. It wasn't exactly the leap from NES to SNES. But I'm writing this to celebrate my beloved computer, the first I ever owned, not point out its numerous flaws, so I should get to pointing out Zool 2's flaws already.

James Pond 3: Operation Starfish (SNES)

Developer:

Vectordean & Millennium Interactive

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Release Date:

1993

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Systems:

Mega Drive, SNES, Amiga, CD32, Game Gear

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Today's the 25th anniversary of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System! Except it isn't, because the Super Nintendo came out in North America on August 23rd 1991 and the Super Famicom was released in Japan a year earlier on November 21st 1990. But in the UK we got the system in April 1992, so I'm playing a SNES game to celebrate.

This week on Super Adventures I'm taking a quick look at James Pond³: Operation Starfish! Because what better game is there to celebrate the Super Nintendo than a port of a Mega Drive game that's a sequel to a series strongly associated with the Amiga? There is sense behind my selection though: it's one of the few PAL exclusive titles for the SNES.

James Pond 3 is the third of the James Pond games, obviously. Except it isn't, because The Aquatic Games came out before it, which had the aquatic agent competing in various sports. It is the third game developed by creator Chris Sorrell though, and the last, as crappy iPhone game James Pond in the Deathly Shallows was allegedly crafted by a finite number of evil monkeys.

Alright I'm going to play it for a few hours without reading the manual, quit when it gets difficult, and then write a review at the end like my brief experience with the game makes me an expert. Same deal as usual.

Robotrek (SNES)

Developer:

Quintet/ANCIENT

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Release Date:

1994

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Systems:

Super Nintendo

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Today on Super Adventures I'm still celebrating Star Trek's 50th anniversary by playing games with some tiny tiny link to the franchise. In this case it's just one word and I think you know which.

Well, half a word to be precise. There's just enough of a gap in the middle of that logo for doubt but I assure you that it's called Robotrek, and it's another JRPG! So this is going to take me a little longer to write about than Ice Trek a few days back, but I'm willing to make this sacrifice for you. In fact the game was requested a while back, but I never write down the dates so I don't know when. I've narrowed it down to some time between last week and 2011 though.

Of course the only way to fairly judge an RPG is to play it all the way through, learn how combat evolves and see if the story progresses through to a satisfying ending. So it's lucky for me I don't fairly judge games, because I've got other things to do this week! But I'll give it until the end of the first proper boss at least, to get a good idea about how it plays and show it off.

The Secret of Monkey Island (MS-DOS)

Developer:

Lucasfilm

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Release Date:

1990 (1992 CD)

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Systems:

DOS, Amiga, Atari ST, FM Towns, Mac, Sega CD

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Today on Super Adventures... I'm sitting here listening to the Monkey Island theme. It's one of the all time greatest video game themes in my opinion and the internet agrees with me on this one. Here now that I've hyped it up, have a YouTube link: Secret of Monkey Island CD - Opening Themes.

By the way, it's The Secret of Monkey Island's 25th birthday this month! Or maybe next month, even creator Ron Gilbert says he doesn't know for sure on his blog. Either way it definitely came out in late 1990, just at the point where Lucasfilm Games was being renamed to LucasArts (it has both logos on the box). I actually only found out today which makes this the second time my site's benefited from anniversary serendipity this year, after I accidentally celebrated the Amiga's 30th birthday a few months back. Fate's not often on my side but it does seem to like my website at least.

The Secret of Monkey Island is about as famous as adventure games get, designed by famous developers Ron Gilbert, Tim Schafer and Dave Grossman, who also gave the world the famous Day of the Tentacle along with the also famous Monkey Island 2. It's so famous in fact that there's nothing I can tell you about it you don't already know, and nothing about it I don't already know, so me showing it off right now is utterly pointless on every level! But stick around anyway, it'll be nostalgic. Plus I made GIFs!

Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City (SNES)

Developer:

EA

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Release Date:

1995 (EU)

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Systems:

Super Nintendo

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Today on Super Adventures, I've found you something from the first half of the 90s and I didn't even need to glance at the copyright year to know that.

Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City has been on my list forever and I've no idea why it's taken me this long to get around to it. I mean look at that title screen; even if the game's bad it'll be good. I'm not sure you're even technically allowed to bring two elementally charged balls onto the court, but I wouldn't want be the one to tell him that.

I haven't looked too deep into how the game was reviewed so for all I know this is actually a well regarded piece of quality entertainment. But I have discovered that it was the first game designed by artist Amy Hennig, who ended up in the role after the first designer quit. She then transformed into 'head writer and creative director Amy Hennig', and went on to develop the Soul Reaver and Uncharted games. Still no sign of Chaos in the Windy City 2 though.

Mario Bros. (Arcade)

Super Adventures is four years old today, and yet somehow in all that time I never did play a proper Super Mario Bros. platformer for the site. I looked at the Game Boy version of Donkey Kong a while back and that had a bit of jumping in it if I recall, but otherwise I've stayed well clear of the classics. I figured that I'd have nothing to say about the games that hadn't been analysed and argued about a thousand times by now, making my trivia trite and all my observations entirely pointless. But that excuse is four years old now as well and I've grown bored of it, so I decided to kick off Super Adventures Year Five with a month-long MARIO MARATHON, showing off the top titles from the iconic plumber's first 10 years in the hero business! I'll also throw a few non-Nintendo requested games in there as well, because too much undiluted Mario could drive anyone crazy.

Also, if you scroll up you'll see that I've made the site a brand new, slightly more dynamic hand-pixelled logo for its birthday! Kinda starting to wish now that I'd baked a cake instead though.

Developer:

Nintendo

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Release Date:

1983

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Systems:

Arcade, plus a couple of others.

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Wario Bros? Ohhhhh...

Today on Super Adventures I'm having a quick go of the original Mario Bros. This was Mario's third role I believe, after Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr, but the first to feature his name in the title. Nintendo were still exclusively an arcade developer at the time this was released (if Wikipedia is to be believed, and I trust them implicitly), but this only lasted about... say a day or two longer before the Famicom was launched on 15 July 1983. Only a lunatic would decide to launch their début console right in the middle of the great American video game crash of '83 though, and that's why Sega launched their first console on the same day!

Mario Bros. didn't quite make it onto the new console as a launch title in Japan, but I suppose they had to get some money out of the arcade machines before letting people play it at home. Two months later Mario Bros. though was able to join the rest of the Mario Trilogy as the sixth ever Famicom game.

Zool: Ninja of the Nth Dimension (Amiga)

Developer:

Gremlin

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Release Date:

1992

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Systems:

Amiga, plus everything else besides the NES

Today on Super Adventures, I have finally reached the 'Z' titles! This is the endgame for my year-long alphabetical order gimmick, well not literally the end game as I've still a couple of 'Z' games to go, but I'm in the final stretch now.

This time I'm playing Zool: Ninja of the "Nth" Dimension, which was originally developed for the Commodore Amiga in 1992, but soon spread out across the systems. The guy was actually kind of considered to be the machine's very own mascot platformer hero, a rival to Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog and Nintendo's Mario, and Zool or Zool 2 were often bundled in with new Amigas. Not bad really for a character who wasn't even slightly exclusive to the computer. Though he did end up going down the ship, failing to make the leap to the PlayStation or N64 when the 16-bit era ended and Commodore fell. Still, better that than going out the way Bubsy did I suppose.

You know I'm sure there's something else about the game that I should be mentioning here, but I can't quite remember...

Alan Wake (PC)

Alright, Alan Wake is the last game beginning with 'A' that I'll be playing this ENTIRE year. I had a few ideas of other games I wanted to check out, plus a couple of requests, but then a friend pointed out that I'd played Max Payne recently and that I should probably play the first game in Remedy's follow up franchise while the memory is still fresh. Better than leaving it sitting in my Steam library for another twelve months anyway.

I'll be playing it on Easy Mode by the way. I usually go with the default or medium difficulty for a game, but for the PC version Easy Mode is the same as the Xbox 360 version's Normal Mode, and I've heard that it's not a game that improves as it gets more challenging.

(Click the images to view them at a slightly less horrifying resolution.)

Mr. Pibb: The 3D Interactive Game (MS-DOS)

I've never tried Mr. Pibb before, but my extensive research has revealed that it's a type of drink, it has its own 3D Interactive Game, and that I'm playing it right now! I'm cautiously optimistic as interactive games tend to be my favourite type of videogame.

According to this screenshot you're looking at right now, a mad scientist has taken over the school and turned all our friends and teachers into zombies! Probably not a coincidence this was made around the same time that Buffy was starting to get popular. Another thing that was popular in '98 was Half-Life, to give this some historical context. But can a cheap fizzy drink tie-in running in DOS compete with Valve's masterpiece? The answer may shock you! Or maybe it won't. I have no idea, I haven't even played it yet.

Wish me luck... 'cause I'll need it.

Bubba 'n' Stix (Amiga)

Today, because YOU demanded it, I'm taking a look at mid 90s puzzle platformer Bubba 'n' Stix by British developer Core Design. This was released on the Amiga, Genesis/Mega Drive and CD32, but I'll be mostly playing the Amiga version because I'm guessing it came first. I'll let you know if the Sega version's any different.

Pepsiman (PSX)

Hey it's an advertising mascot game, I don't think I've played one of these since Cool Spot last May. I doubt this one's going to be a platformer though.

Pepsiman was the star of a series of Japanese Pepsi commercials (youtube link) aired back in the latter half of the 90s. He's basically some kind of CGI Pepsi can avatar superhero who races across the world to save people suffering from cola withdrawal... by breathing cans of Pepsi into their hands. Or something. Poor Pepsiman never made an appearance outside of Japan though, and neither did this game.

Somehow I get the feeling this post is going to be wall to wall product placement, so enter with caution. If you find yourself getting a sudden urge to empty out your fridge and fill it with Pepsi cans, you should probably take a ten minute break. The screenshots will still be here when you come back.

Superfrog (Amiga)

Today I'm taking a look at classic Amiga platformer Superfrog, made by classic Amiga developer Team17. You may remember them from such games as Worms, Worms United, Worms 2, Worms Armageddon, Worms World Party, Worms 3D, Worms Blast, Worms Forts, Worms 4: Mayhem, Worms: Open Warfare, Worms: Open Warfare 2, Worms: A Space Oddity, Worms 2: Armageddon, Worms Reloaded, Worms: Battle Islands, Worms: Ultimate Mayhem, Worms: Revolution...

I have to admit, this isn't my first attempt at the game, as I used to play this when I was young. But I was even worse at games back then than I am now, so I probably didn't even make it past the first world.

Biker Mice From Mars (SNES)

Today I'm going to find out what this Biker Mice from Mars Super Nintendo game is. Seems more like 'Insect Robot Teddybears From Mars' looking at the logo.

I'm sure I must have seen an episode of the cartoon this is based on at some point, but I remember next to nothing about it. And anything I do remember probably actually came from that Avenger Penguins cartoon. But I'm sure all the crucial info I need to know is included in the game's title.

Cool Spot (Genesis/Mega Drive)

Today I'm playing Cool Spot, by the people who brought you the environmentalist McDonald's platformer Global Gladiators. Though you'll have to take my word for it because the Sega version doesn't have a title screen. Well, unless you count the tiny line of text at the start that calls it "Spot and the Quest for Cool".

The game came out on the Genesis/Mega Drive, SNES, Game Boy, Game Gear, Master System, Amiga and PC, and every version starts with an anthropomorphic red circle (with attitude) surfing on a bottle to the tune 'Wipe Out'.

Sneak King (Xbox) - Guest Post

Old Man Hardgrit thinks he's got Shameless Fast Food Advertising Week all sewn up. He's wrong.

Bam!

Ronald in The Magical World (Game Gear)

Super Adventures in McDonaldland the Magical World - Game 6

Okay this is the last McDonald's game that I'm aware of. It's definitely going to be the last one I'm playing.

Hey I recognise this music... this is from McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure. Don't tell me this is just a Game Gear port.