There is one single burning question which has plagued the industry, ever since the release and subsequent popularity of Doom and Mortal Kombat: are violent videogames to blame for society’s inherent evil? Thinking about it a couple of seconds, the answer should be obvious: society has been evil since the days before Christ. Videogames are,…
Everyone had a favorite videogame shop as a kid, where plenty of happy – or perhaps, not-so-happy – memories took place. Maybe it was EG or a Game, if one is UK based, or perhaps a Gamestop, Blockbuster or a mom-and-pop shop even. As for me, well, most of my games, as a child, I…
What do Zeus and Zombies have in common? Well, beside the letter Z, not very much one would say, but Lucasarts would beg to differ, especially Mike Ebert and Dean Sharpe. The two designers worked on two Lucasarts console releases, Zombies Ate my Neighbors and Herc’s Adventures. The two titles stand apart from the usual…
Created by Stan Sakai as an homage to japanese culture and cinema, Usagi Yojimbo sits among the cult comic books of the 80s. Still being published today, the episodic comics revolve around the adventures of an antromoporphic samurai rabbit, with a mature and serious approach to japanese folk legends and classic Kurosawa movies. Because of…
How does on go about making a sequel to one of the most famous arcade maze games, basically the defining maze game, fourteen years later? But, weren’t there already sequels to the original game? Well, apparently not as such. Ms. Pac-man was considered a spin-off, Pac-mania was a “reimagining”, Pac-land seemed to be another spin-off,…
Since I’ve recently talked about Will Wright’s crazy helicopter sim that managed to save Maxis from bankruptcy, I’d say it makes sense to take a look at another of his helicopter titles. Apparently, Will took a trip on an helicopter when he was a kid and had been totally fascinated with them since. Raid on…
While the overall narrative on the importance of the release of SimCity 2000 might be a bit less impactful nowadays, it was a gamechanger, perhaps even more so than the original title. After its resounding success, Maxis seemed to be struggling to find a market for the remainder of their software library. Their line of…
Combining elements from different genres is – arguably – the basis for many modern indie gaming titles, especially ones with a message that consistently accompanies the gameplay. In the early eighties, there was no strict definition of genre, except for broad strokes like “arcade” or “adventure”. Innovation heavily relied on the game designer’s tastes and…
As a kid I hated Japanese RPGs with a passion. I remember saying to myself over and over how much I couldn’t stand the genre and reinforcing my intention of never playing a Final Fantasy title or anything remotely close to it. This was mainly because of my prejudice and of my upbringing with Western…
Tony Tough and the Night of Roasted Moths is a 1999 2D adventure game, one of the few non-racing games developed in Italy that managed to find an audience even outside of its original homemarket. A point’n’click wearing its influences on its sleeves: Day of the Tentacle, Monkey Island and the classic Lucasarts titles. Set…