Comments 447

Re: "I Wish This Was On Console" - Infinity Bullets Is Like A Long-Lost '90s Capcom Game, And You Should Check It Out

Deuteros

I played this as really liked the art style, but don't like touch phone controls at all, on your recommendation.

I was expecting a scroller like Forgotten Worlds, but its more Bangai-O and looks heavily skewed to monetization.

To the point I completed the tutorial then Detroit first stage and was playing a Sortie bonus mission and somehow got taken to a completely new game when I died and pressed continue.

There was an ad timer in bottom left counting down and I thought I could skip this magician smash tv advert game thing I was locked into but could not and had to close it to start over and reload...

Plus I was paranoid I was going to get charged for the zillionth weapons upgrade...

This is why I hate mobile gaming.

Plus the movement controls need tightened and have large drift, it's that unmistakable sense of not being precise enough on a touch screen...

Just give me a SNES pad for Smash TV controls instead and some real scrolling levels.

There's a great game hidden in here somewhere, if you strip out all the annoying modern tomfoolery plus the art style is excellent.

Re: CeX Is Revisiting Its 'Retro-Only' Store Concept And Returning To The World Of Imports, According To New Rumour

Deuteros

@Jimgamer8

Oh Shekana were awesome, bought all my import games SNES games from that place post summer of 92.

I always thought they upgraded to a real store though by then...I did not know they were originally part of Advance Console Entertainment.

Or wait did they in fact become ACE?

They replaced my Secret of Mana that had a faulty battery backup in 93/94. I nearly cried that Autumn, November or Christmas when the saved state at 60% completion gave out!

Raven Games and Skill were two other retailers and go to favourites from the 16 bit era.

Somebody really needs to do a full book about the British Grey Import scene and the memories yesterday

Re: CeX Is Revisiting Its 'Retro-Only' Store Concept And Returning To The World Of Imports, According To New Rumour

Deuteros

Retro Ghetto is a really fun channel, dude that runs it is super positive and his videos generally bring a smile to my face, definitely worth checking out.

Especially his never ending pursuit of boxed Nintendo cardboard, and a full PAL Super Nintendo collection... argh 17.5% slower and borders!

One video, an individual liquidated an entire PAL SNES collection in one shop, and he had too many to buy, it was hilarious...

That is another great point, learned more about the remaining indie retro shops in UK watching his vlogs than any other site as he has visited them all nearly, and others abroad.

Re: "I'd Rather Disappoint Some People" - Dev Behind Tool That "Ports" Game Boy Games To GBA Pivots To AI

Deuteros

From the GI Biz Article on EA buyout...

"We're proud to join with PIF and Affinity Partners to invest heavily in EA's growth, including what AI can do to enhance game development and player experience, and excited to partner with Andrew and the EA team as they raise the bar for fans everywhere.”

Not just retro gaming that will be investing in AI obviously.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/electronic-arts-completes-55bn-acquisition-ceo-announces-senior-leadership-changes

Re: Zelda: Link To The Past Gets A Dual-Screen Port On 3DS, With Help From AI

Deuteros

I quite enjoyed Link Between Worlds with the LTTP sequel elements must say. Definitely had some of that 16 bit nostalgia when I played it last summer...

Then Metroid, Pilotwings, Resident Evil, 3D Mario World, and Castlevania on 3DS.

These were the big hitters for me, but once I rinsed them I was left with Mario Tennis/Golf that were not fully playable, and some extra ones, so I sold everything after having my fun along with about 20 games.

Never did get around to playing Pikmin 3D sadly as well or Chibo Robo!

Re: "We Didn't Want To Simply Revisit The Past For Nostalgia's Sake" - Gremlin Graphics Is Being Revived As A Heritage Label

Deuteros

@SuperRobotGuy

Back when games were more quirky, innovative and fun.

I played so much of the sequel with my brother it was one of our favourite games on the Amiga due to the split screen two player mode and massive assortment of weapons...argh a mine!

I always wanted a third one, but I think there was "Supercars International" maybe on PC.

Oh now I want to give it a whirl on emulation after reading this...

"Although I've played Super Cars I & II in Amiga many times over the years, I only quite recently learned about the existence of Supercars International. And I have to say, it beats the earlier Amiga games. This is one of the best top-down racers from the past. Like Paramania said, Supercars International doesn't look as good as its Amiga predecessors, but boy does the car handle so much smoother and better than before! Also, if played via emulator, graphics can be polished with filters to look nice. And I love how those funny interviews and character discussions feature prominently in Supercars International without being too overbearing."

https://www.myabandonware.com/game/supercars-international-c83

Re: "We Didn't Want To Simply Revisit The Past For Nostalgia's Sake" - Gremlin Graphics Is Being Revived As A Heritage Label

Deuteros

@slider1983...Yes I know all that, was hoping for an all encompassing 30 years later article about basically the gutting/selling off the UK industry and ramifications...plus thoughts on what was lost...and if it was in fact even wise.

For example I see Ninja Theory is up for sale/looking for new owners after the Microsoft announcement lately, plus lesser teams like Bitmap, Graftgold, Magnetic Fields, Probe, Travellers Tales, check in with these/interview some people that sort of thing...

I think it would be a nice article, given how barren the UK Publisher/Developer wide industry is now compared to the past...or are they all hiding on smartphones now?

I mean here is what is notably left now...

https://www.icaew.com/library/industry-profiles/video-games

Scroll down to "Notable Players UK"

Only 7 of the 20 are old school and only 4 were primarily functional/operating in the 90s.

Codemasters
Frontier
Rebellion
Team 17
Jagex
Rockstar North
Sports Interactive

Not much at all from the previous century sadly.

Plus, just read this...

"This week, we speak to Nick Poole, CEO of British trade body UKIE, about its latest survey, which reveals that the UK appears to be in decline as a location game developers would recommend, with 38 per cent of respondents considering it "great", down from 66 per cent in 2021."

Source: EDGE KNOWLEDGE

Re: "We Didn't Want To Simply Revisit The Past For Nostalgia's Sake" - Gremlin Graphics Is Being Revived As A Heritage Label

Deuteros

Request:

Could Time Extension do a collective Article on all the British Software Houses and Teams like Gremlin, Ocean, US Gold , Domark, Rare, Eidos, DMA, Core, Codemasters, Free Radical, Criterion, Frontier, Argonaut, Bullfrog, Lionhead, Creative Assembly, Revolution, SCE, Rebellion, Palace, Virgin, Graftgold, Bitmap Bros, Pysgnosis who were bought out by foreign companies through the decades of the 80s, 90s, 00s and others.

List when they were taken over, and by who and how long they lasted afterwards, then what handful are still going under new owners?

4 years for Gremlin after the Infogrames takeover for decades of a company is a tragedy...

Sort of like a where are we now in terms of software houses still left in the UK since the golden era of the past, plus some considered thoughts/reflections on state of development in UK as a whole.

Re: I'm Really Not Sure How I Feel About Sony Killing Physical Media

Deuteros

Great, I will just stick with the past and jump in and finally get an OLED original SWITCH and start amassing a physical collection for that next at long last, starting a decade late...

Most of Sony and Microsoft's content plus interactive movie games or FPS shooters do not interest me, and I have felt that way since the end of the Wii/360/PS3 generation...

One of my PS5 owning friends is not happy, and will sell his PS5 as he states he will own his entertainment not rent it digitally to a corporation. He is going PC, especially with PS6 likely costing at least a grand to purchase with component pricing when you could create a much higher spec PC machine...

I hope this plan comes back to bite SONY as the games industry could really do with a serious shakeup hardware wise.

That SNK Neo Geo console re-release looks even more appealling now...

Re: "You Can't Rule Out The Possibility That Executives Are Idiots" - John Carmack On Microsoft's Gutting Of id Software

Deuteros

There is a very good write up over at GI Biz by long time contributor and ex editor Rob Fahey about the whole Microsoft strategy this last decade.

"Can a top-down, focused software strategy save Xbox? | Opinion"

"The reality, though, is that slashing 3,200 jobs doesn't make much of a dent in the financial troubles of a department that's burned through $20 billion with nothing to show for it in the space of a few years. It's not nothing – direct employee costs and ancillary costs racked up on the projects they were working on probably amounts to about half a billion dollars a year – but on the scale of Microsoft's accounting, that's at least living right next door to nothing."

Worth a read, for wider perspective as is his weekly Friday column each seven days.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/can-a-top-down-focused-software-strategy-save-xbox-opinion

Re: "You Can't Rule Out The Possibility That Executives Are Idiots" - John Carmack On Microsoft's Gutting Of id Software

Deuteros

I stumbled across a comedy instagram account with videos called "The Warp Zone" yesterday. It's a bit like Saturday Night Live but dedicated to geek culture and videogames.

The funniest stuff was easily/definitely the series called "1 Gamer v 20 CEOs"

Kind of hit the nail on the head with these developers being gutted by Billion Dollar companies regularly and still posting record profits year on year...

Soon they'll be nobody left to make new games!

Re: "Probably The Best Puzzle In The World" - When The Man Who Made Tetris Met The Creator Of The Rubik's Cube

Deuteros

I just bought a Rubiks Cube Magic Star Puzzle that interlocks into 2 pieces and can produce a novelty array of different shapes. Not as complex as the Rubiks Cube but easier to get into. When I was very young, I was obsessed with this simpler interconnecting and shape making puzzle. I found one in Tesco yesterday for a 50th birthday goody bag of fun things with Rubiks colours for extra novelty. You have no idea how pleased I was they still make them!

https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/activity-toys/rubiks-magic-star-gift-set-pack-of-2/5055967333840.html

Re: Game Changer: Sonic The Hedgehog - 35 Years Ago, A Short-But-Sweet Love Affair Was Born

Deuteros

Game sold the Megadrive/Genesis as a sparkly fresh speedy antithesis to Super Mario during the 16 bit era, plus I am sure this is where the "blue sky in games" ethos/meme/philosophy originates from...

I always associate it with the early days of the 16 bit industry, the battle with Nintendo, Sonic 2- Tuesday 90s-early 93 having missed Sonic CD, Sonic 3 and Sonic and Knuckles as well!

Then eventually jumping back in with Sonic Adventure on Dreamcast which was a bit of a mess, Sonic Adventure 2 was better, and then SEGA goes third party and the mascot starts appearing everywhere!

Sonic Rush games on DS I enjoyed, and Advance titles as more true to 16 bit origins.

New films appear pretty popular for sure.

Re: Interview: "It's Been Quite A Ride" - Xeno Crisis, Terminator And He-Man Studio Bitmap Bureau On 10 Years At The Apex Of 2D Indie Gaming

Deuteros

He Man game inspired by Golden Axe looks impressive and very true to cartoon.

I would highly recommend going to see the new film in the cinema it was a 09/10 in my book, Skeletor was Oscar worthy nearly. It was also pitched just at the right seriousness/comedy level, plus really captured spirit of 80s toyline while being different from Dolph Lundgren 1987 version...

Was above my expectations by a long way and directed by same chap that did Transformers Bumblebee.

Shame it seemed to have bombed at box office. Maybe 20 years too late for the nostalgia wave.

Re: Review: Super Pocket Rare Edition - Banjo-Kazooie Alone Makes This A Must-Buy At £50

Deuteros

@murty

So I watched the 5 min film here directed by John Lasseter

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=96xGUa1a_zs

I am suprised Pixar won this case, it's as if nobody in history will now be allowed to create a character from a unicycle and there is only so many ways you can make it move having one wheel and a saddle!

I bet it was because the cover boxart had a red coloured unicycle on it.

Disney v Nintendo early 1990s and Lawyers though!

Re: Review: Super Pocket Rare Edition - Banjo-Kazooie Alone Makes This A Must-Buy At £50

Deuteros

@murty

Only played on emulation but it is pretty fun and addictive.

That is an interesting fact/legal story, I am amazed there is in all purposes perhaps a blanket ban on little fun unicycles appearing in games just because of one short Pixar film and court victory...

The boxart appears very standard and in game the characters have not too much anthropromophism going on...how this design is a specific trademark/copyright amazes me.

I'd need to go and watch the film.

Plus Nintendo rarely lose legal cases.

Re: "Not Touched For Nearly 40 Years" - Rare Copy Of Super Mario Bros. Sells For $3 Million

Deuteros

@Oyaji_Music

Is it not a clear plastic polythene seal and the glossy is on the outside cardboard so can be seen/evaluated?

  • looks at screenshot of Super Mario game

This story does read like the $2million Mario 64, marketing/promotional piece sale that started this entire market during the early pandemic years to generate word of mouth/interest and to spike prices.

If you read into it the history of WATA it was initially setup and created by the same people that engineered the bubble in the rare coin market in the 80s.

Plus they were going around for years prior and buying up sealed games.