Review Gremlin Collection 2 (Evercade) - We Wanna Get Loaded And Have A Good Time

The headline news with Evercade's Gremlin Collection 2 is undoubtedly the inclusion of Loaded and Re-Loaded, two top-down PS1 shooters which seem to perfectly capture the feeling of the mid-'90s gaming landscape, at least in the West.

The first Loaded launched soon after the original PlayStation arrived in Europe and was considered to be a pretty solid representation of the console's power, showcasing real-time lighting and smooth 3D action. With memorable characters created by Garth Ennis (Vertigo Comics) and Greg Staples (2000AD) and a soundtrack which included contributions from the legendary grebo band Pop Will Eat Itself, Loaded gained a positive reception back in 1995—but it would be fair to say that even at that point, its gameplay wasn't exactly next-generation stuff.

Released a year later, Re-Loaded didn't exactly reinvent the wheel, and contemporary reviews were somewhat lukewarm; that's what perhaps ended the long-term prospects of the franchise. The passage of time certainly hasn't smoothed over the cracks, but if you like the genre, it's a fun way to spend a few undemanding hours.

The surprise of this particular package has to be Hogs of War, a turn-based wargame which borrows liberally from Team17's Worms series. While the visuals have aged particularly poorly, the engaging gameplay and brilliantly British sense of humour make this a true 32-bit classic—it should be experienced for the late, great Rik Mayall's amazing voice work alone.

Finally, we have Buggy (known in North America as Team Losi RC Racer), a crushingly average 3D racing game which originally launched in 1998 (and was largely forgotten, it should be said). Considering how many fantastic driving games exist on PS1, it's incredibly hard to get excited about this middle-of-the-road effort.

If you have a strong affinity towards the pair of Loaded games, then you'll no doubt have a wonderful time with this cart, but for everyone else, it's a much harder product to recommend. The two headline titles are fun but limited, and it's Hogs of War that really steals the show.