New DOOM map by John Romero - the original creator of the game - released!

Wow, talk about coincidences. No sooner have I published an article recounting my love for Doom when suddenly a new user made level appears online. Not just any old user level, oh no! This map has been created by none other than John Romero himself.. To quote Wayne's World “We're not worthy! We're not worthy!”. Sure, there are hundreds of thousands of home made maps for Doom and Doom 2 on this here interweb, but it's not every day that one of the original creators of the game steps up to the plate and offers us a brand new stage! This is the first Doom map from Mr. Romero in two decades, and if that's not a reason to celebrate then I don't know what is!

Coin-Op Classics - Blood Bros.

'We going straight to the Wild Wild West'

Sometimes the most old fashioned plotlines are the best. Blood Bros puts you in the dusty boots of a cowboy and indian.. sorry, Native American, duo on the hunt for the baddest outlaw in the West - the, rather blandly monikered, Big Bad John. To track him down and bring him to justice, our heroes are seemingly required to mow down an entire country's population of cowboys, bandits, gunslingers, india.. Native Americans (sorry) and anyone else who is keen to be killed for no good reason.

Retro Review - Bounder (C64)

Rubber Ball, Come Bouncing Back To Me...

Back in the days of the 8-bit home micro computers, a game could be made based on absolutely anything - regardless of how mundane. There were games about a dustbin man (sorry, "refuse collector"), someone mowing their lawn, collecting shopping in the supermarket, and even a simple tennis ball bouncing along. That last one is, of course, Bounder, a successful top-down bounce-em-up from Gremlin Interactive - the same fellows that brought us the excellent Monty Mole series. 

Coin-Op Classics Special - Mr. Do (Arcade)

Get down with the clown!

Forget Digger, put aside your love of Dig Dug and wipe away those memories of The Pit, for Mr Do is where it's at for all your retro subterranean arcade maze adventures. Mr Do on Super Nintendo is a port of the classic coin-op by Universal that was released way back in 1982 - the time of early character based arcade games like Donkey Kong, Pac Man, and Dig Dug. 

Retro Classic - Lunar Rescue (Arcade)

One small step for man...

Lunar Rescue holds the honour of being the oldest game I have reviewed on Retro Spirit Games. It is also one of the few games I can stomach playing that was created before I was even born. Coming from the era of Space Invaders, where graphics were in their infancy, Lunar Rescue is another 'space' game - the go-to genre of choice back in those days, probably due to the fact the background could comprise of a little more than a black screen with a few white dots. Indeed, the visuals on offer here are incredibly basic but at least colourful, with a garish selection of colours for the games sprites. It actually resembles a ZX Spectrum game, due mainly to the fact that your ship changes to the colour of whatever enemy sprite inhabits the same horizontal area - this is the first arcade game I have seen with colour clash! With such crappy visuals you would hope that the game is fun, right? Well, thankfully your hopes are rewarded, as Lunar Rescue is extremely enjoyable and rewarding to play. It certainly must be doing something right when it can still be played and enjoyed some 34 years after its initial release!

Retro Classic - Buggy Boy (Commodore 64)

Let's Offroad!


As everybody with at least half a working brain knows, gameplay is more important than graphics. If there is anyone out there who still needs convincing of this, then I would submit to them this absolute gem on the Commodore 64. Over the years racing games such as Gran Turismo, Forza, Grid, Dirt and others have come and gone - leaving behind nothing but rapidly fading memories (if any at all), but this simple title remains one I can return to, over a quarter of a decade later, and still enjoy.

REVIEW - Shadow Warrior Classic Redux (PC - Steam)

Who Wanta Some Wang?

Juvenile, and racially dubious humour aside, I am extremely excited to tell you that the classic PC FPS game Shadow Warrior, has been given the update treatment by 3D Realms and released on Steam. Duke Nukem 3D recently received this honour, and was a must-purchase for anyone who enjoys the frantic and exhilarating action of old school first person shooters. Shadow Warrior is a very similar game to Duke Nukem 3d, replacing the blonde, gun-toting meathead with a wise-cracking oriental man wielding a sword and shurikens.

Obscure Retro Gem - FRAMED (PC, DOS)

The great escape!

Framed is an obscure DOS platform game from 1995 that not many people have heard of, let alone played. Essentially a clone of the famous Dizzy games, made famous on the 8-bit home computers of the 1980's, Framed puts you in the shoes of a Joe Everyman, who has been locked up for a crime he did not commit. Having no confidence in the legal system that put him away to begin with, he decides he must escape, and find the real perpetrator of the crime so he can clear his name.

Classic Game - System Shock 2 (PC)

Shock, Horror! It's another fantastic 1990's PC FPS!


Amazingly, considering that first person shooters were my genre of choice throughout the 1990's, I have never played System Shock 2. Shocking (excuse the pun) I know, but true. I am not sure how I managed to miss this classic game, but I can only assume it was because I was too busy with university, drinking and girls to have noticed it. That, or maybe I was hooked on my new Sega Dreamcast. Anyway, regardless of my shameful negligence, I have finally gotten around to experiencing this ground breaking title, and boy, am I glad I did.

Classic Retro Game - Starfox (Super Nintendo) a Super-FX masterpiece

As Starfox is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, I thought it was high time I went back to this classic title and give it the thorough playthrough it deserves.

I am now writing this mere moments after launching my last remaining smart bomb deep into Andross' smug face and putting an end to his reign of terror once and for all. Destroying Andross, and beating Starfox, is something I have shamefully failed to do in the 20 years since I first set eyes on its mind-blowing faux-3D worlds. But after releasing my sweaty grip from the controller and watching the end credits, I can finally tick another classic SNES game off of my 'To-beat' list. A list that has recently seen Super Castlevania 4, Zelda : A Link To The Past, Pilotwings, and now Starfox struck off it.

Classic Game - Henry's House (Atari 800)

Honey, I Shrunk The Kid

Being tiny must be difficult for anyone, but especially for the Prince's son. For Henry, heir to the throne (at some point down the line) has foolishly being drinking strange potions found in the palace laboratory and now finds himself a mere 6 inches tall. There is a lesson to be learnt here kids! So, Henry sets off to find the antidote - which would surely be kept with the shrinking potion itself, but that is just nitpicking. We all know that story-lines are utterly irrelevant for any 8-bit platform game involves jumping over teapots, kettles and the the like. 

Obscure Retro Gems - Kuru Kuru Kururin (Gameboy Advance)

You spin me right round

I must admit, I am having an absolute ball with casual games these days. Whether on my Android phone, or via the excellent emulation on offer on the PSP, I have been blissfully immersing myself in quick fire games that are easy to pick up and and play, yet extremely hard to put down. Old school arcade games and action puzzlers are my current genres of choice, and I have been loving such addictive titles as Amazing Penguin (Game Boy), Klax and Doki Doki Penguin Land (Mega Drive), Cameltry (Arcade), and now Kuru Kuru Kururin on the Gameboy Advance.

Obscure Retro Gems - Wani Wani World (Mega Drive / Genesis)

Stop! Hammer Time!

Apart from the wonderful Bubble Bobble, single screen platformers have never really been my thing - I have always preferred my 2D running and jumping antics to be of the scrolling variety. Bubble Bobble is one of the first arcade games I ever played, so will be forever etched into my memories as a stone cold classic. The imitators that followed, namely titles such as; Parasol Stars, Snow Bros, Rodland, Don Doko Don, Joe & Mac Returns, Tumble Pop and even the ludicrous Super Methane Bros didn't really do anything for me as they failed to improve on the bubble blowing dragons' adventures. But occasionally one will come along that I really enjoy, Penguin Brothers, an arcade game from 2000 was one, and Wani Wani World on the Mega Drive is another.

Classic Game - Flicky (Mega Drive / Genesis)

Come with me if you want to live!

Flicky is a Sega Mega Drive game that often receives a lot of flack from gamers. People moan about it appearing on multiple Mega Drive compilations, as if it doesn't deserve its position on the roster, which is a little unfair. Maybe it's because these compilations are often missing many favoured titles – mostly due to licensing issues – or maybe it is because the game looks so dated when viewed alongside games such as Commix Zone or Ristar. But underneath the dated visuals and simplistic arcade gameplay lies an exciting and addictive game that deserves far more praise than it generally receives.

Classic Coin-Op - Rastan (Taito) 1987

Another day, another fantastic Taito Arcade Classic

Ever since Arnie donned a set of over sized wristbands, fluffy boots and an animal hide codpiece for the 1982 movie Conan The Barbarian, the muscle-bound, sword wielding warrior has been a staple hero for videogames. Barbarian 1 and 2 on the 8 and 16-bit home micros pitted you against other foes in a 2d gladiatorial battle to the death, while titles such as Myth, Black Tiger and the PC Engine series, Legendary Axe were side scrolling affairs that pitted you against a legion of mystical monsters. Arcade classic Gauntlet, as well as pretty much every RPG game every made, has a class of character (often dubbed Warrior or Fighter) that adheres to the barbarian stereotype. More recently, the Xbox 360 and PS3 title Conan, brought the Barbarian protagonist back into fashion, but it is Taito's 1987 coin-op Rastan Saga (or simply Rastan on Western shores), that is the best game involving a broadsword swinging gym-freak in a thong.

REVIEW (REVISED) - Capcom Arcade Cabinet (XBLA / PS3)

** Capcom Arcade Cabinet is now 2000 points for the entire selection of 17 games. I have heavily revised my original review to ignore the poor pricing policies up until this point - as well as the smack in the face to loyal fans who wanted to support Capcom and play these games from day one. I have also spent more time with each game to re-write my analysis of each.

You can still read the original review here **

After the unfortunate failure of the underrated Game Room service, the release of half hearted compilations such as Midway Arcade Origins and the total lack of anything from Taito (boo!), retro arcade games have had a bad run this generation. The exception to this might be the excellent Namco Museum - Virtual Arcade compilation, but even this had flaws. So, while still excited about the prospect of playing old Capcom arcade games on my 360 or PS3, I remained sceptical about what would actually be delivered. While there is disappointment to be had in the lack of certain titles, what's here is a pretty decent selection of Capcom's 1980's library.

Classic Game - Bubble Ghost (Gameboy)

Nintendo's original monochrome Gameboy was a huge success for many reasons; A long battery life, diminutive (for the time) size, and a huge collection of great games to play on it. It managed to see off the competition, even though many of these competitors boasted colour screens and even double the 'bits' (Atari's Lynx was a 16-bit powerhouse). Of course, Tetris helped. The puzzle phenomenon was a true pioneer of the casual games market that appealed to gamers of all sexes, ages and nationalities. Nowadays, handheld consoles have titles that are cut down versions of triple-A titles; the PS Vita has Uncharted, Assassins Creed and Call of Duty on it for God's sake. These new machines have forgotten what most gamers want from a handheld console – simple games that can be picked up and played by anyone and don't take 30+ hours to complete. This is why the mobile devices are such a hugely popular choice for gamers today - but the Gameboy got it right first time (way back in 1989) and, to this day, remains my favourite handheld console (well, the Gameboy colour would win, but only due to being backwards compatible with original GB titles).

Classic Game - Quackshot (Mega Drive / Genesis)

The 16-bit consoles introduced some of the best 2D platformers the world had ever seen, many of which, over 20 years later, are still the greatest examples the genre has to offer. Many of the most fondly remembered titles were based on popular Disney characters and movies, and Sega's Mega Drive console fared especially well in this respect. While the SNES had many of the same titles (Jungle Book, The Lion King, Mickey Mania), and even its own excellent exclusives (Mickey's Magical Quest), Sega's machine won by a narrow margin by having a far superior version of Aladdin (by the creators of Earthworm Jim), and the trio of jewels in the crown; Castle of Illusion, Quackshot, and World of Illusion. While I adore the squeaky rodent's adventures (despite having a dislike for Mickey himself), for me, Donald's globe-trotting quest is the best of the bunch.

Coin-Op Classics - Cameltry (Taito - 1989)

The oddly monikered Cameltry is an arcade puzzler from Taito. Released at the tail end of the 1980's, the game tasks you with simply guiding a ball to the end of each of its scrolling, maze-like stages. This is achieved, not by controlling the ball itself, but by rotating the world around the ball and letting gravity do the work. It is an incredibly simple concept that is executed very well, resulting in an addictive and enjoyable title. It can also be viewed as an early example of the casual game genre that is incredibly popular on today’s mobile platforms.

Obscure Retro Gems - Ninja Warriors Again (Super Nintendo)

Ninja Warriors Again (or just Ninja Warriors, as it was known in the West) is a fantastic side-scrolling 2D beat-em-up game for the Super Nintendo. Released in 1994, it is a re-imagining of the original 1988 Arcade game, The Ninja Warriors. While published by Taito – who made the first game in the series – the SNES version was developed by Natsume, known for other brilliant SNES games such as Wild Guns, Pocky & Rocky 2 and Harvest Moon.

This time around the game is set is a bleak version of the future (aren't they all?) where the people are oppressed and ruled by the military, under the control of a maniac named Banglar. Thankfully, a small underground resistance formulate the genius plan to send in 3 ninja androids to kick ass and assassinate the tyrant. Unfortunately, they were pressed for time and deployed the trio of biomechanical ninjas in an untested state. What could possibly go wrong?