Game Highlight #4

Spider-Man

Making his debut on the Sony PlayStation, Spider-Man swings straight into action as you run across rooftops, swing across skyscrapers, kick and punch bad guys and shoot webbing to get enemies in a "tangle" with your webbing (bad joke I know).

Let's begin the review by discussing the general gameplay and unlockables...

Gameplay and unlockables...

As soon as you start a new game, you're straight onto the rooftops of NYC, battling against typical lowlife criminals wielding pistols on either hand.

Playing as Spider-Man, you can run, jump, kick, punch, shoot webbing, shield yourself (in webbing), crawl, swing (and more) with ease.

Throughout the game you will see scattered around "comic books" which you must collect,

collecting all of them reveals the "Spider-Man 2099" costume which allows you (when you wear it) to withstand double the amount of damage from enemies as you could in Spidey's original costume.

But aside from the "Spider-Man 2099" costume, there are plenty of other costumes to utilize...I mean plenty! For me to tell you how to unlock everyone would involve a lot of typing and it's easy if say...you entered "EEL NATS" into the cheat menu to unlock everything...but you didn't get that cheat code from me, understand!

Finally, if you're a lover of all things weird and wonderful, you'll appreciate the crazy little things they've included within the game.

From an appearance from the Fantastic 4, Stan Lee (yes THE Stan Lee) doing the voiceover, original comic book heroes / villains making an appearance, funny one liners, kid mode (for those that find gaming and controls etc. difficult) and even the crazy cheats such as "big headed" Spider-Man,

this is one game that delivers to true fans of the comics...and even those that just want variety in a game.

The characters... 

Without a shadow of a doubt, a vast amount of what makes this game so great is the fact that it includes so many of the comics popular heroes / villains throughout the game.

From memory, there's Spiderman, Dr Octopus, Mary-Jane, J. Jonah Jameson, Black Cat, Fantastic 4, Daredevil, Lizard, Venom, Carnage etc. and each have their own particular role and / or cameo appearance as you progress through the game.

Next, I must give credit to the cast who lent their voices for the characters...

Rino Romano (who was Spiderman in the TV show of "Spiderman Unlimited" and also Luis Sera in Resident Evil 4 which I only found out recently) does a grand job of providing the voicing of Spiderman in the game, and he also delivers some funny one liners throughout the game...

Daran Norris provides the voice of Venom (shown right) in the game, and boy, if he didn't have a sore throat after doing that...even more credit to him. Venom is portrayed as a creepy and gross character who Daran manages to voice in such a way that it makes Venom as a whole come across even more freakishly.







There are of course many others who provided voice-overs for the characters, some even reprised their roles from the Spiderman Unlimited TV show, and each do a splendid job at delivering a believable and understanding character.

The freedom...

Alright it may not be as "open world" as some later games are, but it was decent enough at the time (and still to this day leaves an impact) to be recognised as an action adventure game which allowed the player a wide expanse of freedom.

For example, take the first level where you're on the rooftops...there's nothing stopping you from swinging onto buildings in the distance (this is a requirement if you want to speak to the fantastic 4), and you as the player can quite literally spend half an hour or so exploring (as there are that many buildings around to keep you occupied).

Unfortunately you will get the continuous speeches of "This isn't the way to the bank" or "My spidey compass will help me reach the bank", but if you can put up with this for half an hour, then feel free to explore! who knows, you may find a comic book which could (if you don't use the EEL NATS cheat code...ahem) put this towards unlocking the "Spiderman 2099" costume.

But it's not just the first level which offers complete freedom. There is of course, as you progress through the game, the option to explore buildings...again as you may have heard from word of mouth, game covers or review sites etc. exploration rewards!

In conclusion, Spiderman is (in almost every kid born in the 90's opinion) one of the most memorable and adventurous games around.

To this day, it continues to impress with it's generous amounts of characters, unlockables, playability and graphics detail.

To be able to play a game where you can have action, adventure and the freedom to explore,

all complete alongside a comic-style storyline, (and again) Stan Lee voicing the narration! what is stopping you from buying this!

In my opinion...this and the sequel of Spiderman 2 - Enter Electro are "Must-Haves" for any retro PlayStation collector. (Unfortunately however,the sequel didn't live up to expectations but still worth a go for the low price it can still be picked up for).



Game Highlight #3

Altered Beast

Known widely to be a "must have" in any retro gamers collection, Altered Beast is a great example of a 2D side scrolling beat 'em up which is easily on par with other great classics such as "Streets of Rage", "Street Fighter", and "Mortal Kombat".

So why is this the Game Of The Month for July?

Well, quite simply it's fun, adventurous, colourful and above all "monstrously" playable over and over again (you see what I did there)?

Let's start again with the plot...

You are a centurion resurrected in Ancient Greece by the god "Zeus".

"Zeus" makes it your mission to rescue his daughter "Athena", but by doing so you must battle through hordes of zombies, creatures, animals and monsters.

(Not really your average "day in the office" is it)?

The colour/detail in the graphics...

From the screenshot to the left, you can see how colourful Altered Beast is.

The Megadrive does a fantastic job of rendering the graphics in Altered Beast and keeps up with the characters movements with very little issue as well.

Combine this with the animations of the enemies such as "The Eyeball Boss" (Shown to the right) who somehow manages to dispatch eyeballs out to damage you (freaky as hell!) the game at times, can really make the viewer squirm...again because of the attention to detail from the artists.

The power ups...

I tried so hard to save this until the end...but it's no good, I need to get this out of my system!

The power ups on this game are awesome! you go from average man, to strong, to Schwarzenegger, to Wolf, Dragon, Bear etc. not only that, but with each "creature / animal" you become features different moves...The following is a screenshot of when you "evolve" from Human to Creature (In this case - The Wolf)

Just as an example, the Wolf can "Jump Kick" which knocks all enemies off their feet, resulting in an instant death.

Alongside this, it can also throw fireballs (comes in handy with the boss at the end of the level believe me)!

The wolf is just 1 of 5 animals/creatures that you can turn into as your progress through the game, the exact order is:

• Level 1 - Wolf
• Level 2 - Dragon
• Level 3 - Bear
• Level 4 - Tiger
• Level 5 - Gold Wolf (Slightly more powerful than the original wolf in Level 1)

Once again, each of these characters have their own strengths, weaknesses and powers.

From flaming fireballs to surrounding yourself with electricity, to even bad breath!

Altered Beast promises fun, yet action packed side scrolling fighting fun.



The history / continued legacy...

OK so it may not be directly related to the gameplay, but one of the things that makes Altered Beast so good is it's history and continuing legacy.

Originally released for the arcade (back in 1988), it was an instant success.

Why? well mainly because of the points spoken about above...the graphics, colour, detail, story, bosses, powerups etc. they're all memorable and back in the days when Arcade gaming was still a popular pastime (sigh), this was one the newest and biggest hit games around.

Unfortunately, the ports of Altered Beast such as for the Megadrive, Master System, Amiga, Commodore etc. weren't exactly popular in the eyes of critics.

Some said the games were poorly ported, other stated that although the Megadrive was more powerful that it just didn't belong on a home console, others rated it as one of the worst ports around!

However, these do only seem to be "critic" reviews (albeit, there will be a few "non critics" that don't think the ports were good) but my advice? get it and try it for whatever system you have, nowadays you can pick Altered Beast up for between £2 and £15 (roughly $3 - $25) it's definitely worth a go to see for yourself.

And now for the continuing legacy it leaves...

Since it's initial 1988 arcade release, I've just written that it was ported to a numerous amount of consoles...but it didn't stop there.

In 2002, for the Gameboy Advance, THQ released Altered Beast - Guardian of the realms.

This was a sequel to Altered Beast and featured more creatures and animals to turn into, more powerups and destructible environments...though I haven't played it myself it seems to be rated between 3-5 stars.

Aside this was a remake of the original Altered Beast released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2.

By remake, I mean completely different to the original. You are a human that has had your DNA purposely altered so you can change into any creature (at any time - depending if you have the correct amount of serum) to fight your way through enemies.

Once again it's not something I've played and unsure whether I will or not...anyone played this? any opinions?

All in all, Altered Beast (as a recap) is a 2D side scrolling beat 'em up which promises endless fun and playability with just the right amount of difficulty, powerups and levels.

To reiterate, it IS a classic, and it IS a must have!

Do yourself a favour...grab it and own yourself a piece of gaming history!

Studying / Future of my blog...

Hi guys,

Just wanted to say a HUGE thank you for all of the views so far on my blog and that I'm seriously looking forward to getting back into the game (no pun intended!) after just 3 months I've had 500 views!

Whilst some may think that 500 odd views isn't really a huge amount in comparison to a lot of big company blogs, it's a great number and achievement for me and again I thank you...each and every one of you for viewing my blog...

Now for the question of "Where have I been?". If you're a regular viewer you'd know I post at least once a week with a review or some exciting news, but for the past month or 2 I haven't posted a single thing!

Why?

Studying...I'm currently 22 and work full time as an IT technician, I love working in IT and have a strong passion for the industry...luckily I'm also working in a fantastic place, but I also need strengthen my skills in certain areas.
Last year I passed my Comptia A+ and this year I'm taking the Network+ and for the past month or 2 have been studying rigorously!

Hopefully in 2 weeks from tomorrow, I'll be a qualified Network+ technician and as soon as the exam is over, I shall be on a "study break" and get back to the blogging.

Before I leave this post, please know I've been playing loads (in the hour of free time I get a week) and will get back to doing reviews and posts etc. before you know it!

In conclusion, thanks so much for the views...please send me some comments and follow the blog for all the latest updates...you guys are amazing for your support and I can't thank you enough.

Right now, I'm off upstairs for a short go on Altered Beast on the MegaDrive (bought for just £2.99 boxed with the manual)...let me know what bargains you've found lately :-)

All the best for now...
Ash