Right at
the start we’re greeted by this rather amusing plot:
“Greetings pilot. You are Commander Armstrong
and you must destroy the evil empire of Mandarax. Actually let’s be honest. There is no evil
alien empire. You are not a hero. Probably. You are not the last hope of
mankind. You enjoy blasting space aliens. These aliens are specially bred to
feel no pain.”
Dave Hughes’
team, Stonechat Productions, released, last week, Stormfinch, a shoot-em-up
where the player has nine lives to battle through 10 levels and defeat 9 bosses
and, as well, the entire galaxy!! Let’s face it, in real life we only live
once.. I think! So, why not only one life and an energy bar along with some
scattered power ups for us to pick up?
Our ship
provides two types of weapons: lasers and plasma rays, but, just like in
R-Type, there’s also an extra capsule that can be oriented around our ship and
do multiple shooting, highly useful as the enemies pop up from all directions!
Enemy
detection could be better, but the game is so highly enjoyable for its smooth scrolling
only, that I can live with that!
Stormfinch
is an awesome accomplishment on the ZED X Spectrum. It brilliantly uses Einar
Saukas’ NIRVANA engine that, since it was released in late 2013, was only being
used to create beautifully colored puzzle and reflection type of games. These
two are a good example of this.
Never
crossed Spectrum users’ minds, like myself, the possibility of multicolor tiled
display, like the one shown on this screenshot. This is a new frontier for
homebrew developers and a beginning of a new Era for Sinclair’s machine 33
years since the very first ZED X Spectrum model arrived and it’s now proven
that this brand new engine can produce amazing games like the one we’re looking
at!
As said
before, the engine is capable of multicolor tiled display across 30 columns and
22 rows and it is capable of changing color attributes every two scanlines delivering
an 8by2 “almost full screen” pixel display.
So, we’re
looking at a multicolor shoot-em-up, something unthinkable to ever get to see
on a Spectrum. A lot of people believed that the NIRVANA engine wasn’t capable
of showing lots of action onscreen at the same time. Here’s the proof that they
were wrong!
Stormfinch
isn’t better than Electric Dreams’ extreme quality conversion of the original
R-Type, or the awesome Zynaps from Hewson Consultants, or even 2010’s Genesis:
Dawn of a New Day from RetroWorks. But this one will surely beat those three on
its visual beauty of these multicolor animated sprites that the NIRVANA engine
can provide.
This
nonstop shoot-em-up also offers the player this awesome tune that fits
perfectly into the action, even if it loops after a couple of minutes.
Nonetheless, after I’m through with the game, I just kept on whistling it!
We’re on
the right path to a ZED X revolution where developers have, now, these awesome
tools to create a brand new world for 8bit gaming awesomeness!
I’m so
thrilled and I can’t wait to see what’s coming in the future!
Finally I
got my hands on one of these beauties! The IBM
Model M mechanical keyboard is the forefather of modern keyboard design and the
most enjoyable typing experience ever!
The
Model M is considered the best keyboard ever manufactured. This particular one that I’ve
managed to grab is from 1989 and features those awesome key caps and PS/2
detachable cable, not mentioning that amazing key stroke sounds produced by the
buckling-spring mechanisms so particular to the Model M keyboard.
This beast
weighs around 2 kilos, and, as you can see, it’s really dirty and was most
likely been on a dark storage room in the past 15 years or so.. Poor thing!
Disassembly
and cleaning the Model M is quite easy and a task not to be done under pressure.
Just take your time and enjoy while you’re doing it!
So, let’s get to work!
....
(a couple hours later)
What a
beauty! It feels like new and I can’t wait to try it out with my IBM PS/1 486
DX2!
The Model M
was bundled with 8086 and 80286 IBM PS/2 computers from around 1987, but was originally
introduced in 1985 as part of the IBM 3161 terminal, and it’s so durable and
well-made that it will most likely be usable today, even after 30 years and
probably half of that of use and abuse.
Tell me: do
you know the exact date of manufacture of your actual keyboard? Well, this one
was put together on the 12th of August of 1989! It can’t be more accurate than
this! Every Model M keyboard comes with an ID and production date printed on a
sticker on its back case and also on the inside.
The Model M
is able to transmit that tactile feeling of the user-keyboard connection; it’s like
driving a car and be able to feel the road surface all through the steering wheel.
You know, that kind of feeling!
Just look
at that proper full-sized space bar and long backspace key! Everything looks
just right, with no windows or shut down keys that can accidently be pressed
and ruin something that you’re working on.
This exact
Model M was manufactured by IBM UK and I believe that these ones are the best
Model Ms. Later, from 1993 onwards, Lexmark got the license to manufacture the
Model M which features a blue IBM logo and fixed keyboard lead.
This is
simply one of those pieces of hardware that are really “hard” to break and will
certainly live longer than all of us! The only item that I think will be
necessary to grab in the future is a Model M’s PS/2 to USB converter so that I
can continue to play this awesome music!
So, guys,
have you tried one of these? Do you own one? Just post below your thoughts and
typing experiences you’ve had, or have, with IBM’s Model M mechanical keyboards.
If you
thought that all great 8-bit home computer games of the 80s came from England,
well, think again!
This week
we’ll be traveling back to 1985, year where it all began for one of the greatest
Spanish video game developing companies: Topo Soft.
It all
started in 1985, when the Golden Age of Spanish software development for 8bit
home computers was flourishing. ERBE Software was, in the eighties, the biggest
and most important Spanish video game publisher that became famous not for Paco
Pastor, its founder, being the ex-vocalist of Fórmula V, but for their
anti-piracy battle attaining the rights to publish video games from renowned
companies, like Ocean, U.S.Gold, Gremlin, etc, with much lower prices and sold
all throughout the Iberian Peninsula. Back then, when I saw ERBE’s logo stamped
on the cover, I knew that I was buying quality controlled and tested stuff for
my ZX Spectrum, Amiga and, later, for my IBM PC. This caused a huge revolution;
full priced video games of around 12 euros each started to be sold at about 5
euros under ERBE’s label and distribution. Surprisingly for some, it triggered
a gigantic boom in sales! From this moment on, piracy was practically a thing
from the past. I remember to buy great original games for my PC at my favorite
magazine store. Every month, along with Micro Hobby, the most famous Spanish ZX
Spectrum magazine, I also used to buy a monthly ERBE publication dedicated to a
specific game bundled with its own physical copy. The first number brought
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, The Graphic Adventure, for IBM PCs. ERBE’s
marketing & merchandising system was extremely powerful and converted Spain
and Portugal, in late eighties, into almost “piracy free” countries.
Besides spawning
this low price revolution, ERBE also made possible for the small Spanish
developers to prosper and publish their games abroad. One of those developers was Topo Soft that was
established at the basement of ERBE’s building. In Spanish, “topo” means “low”,
“the lowest point or position” or even a mole.
It all
started when Emilio Martínez thought about creating an educational software for
his nephew based on the Spanish geography. He asked his fellow programmer
friend Javier Cano to do the graphics and, thus, MapGame was born. Curiously
the title was developed in a black & white TV, not knowing what the game
looked like when they’ve finished it. One day the two friends took the game at
a ZX Spectrum reseller and ask permission to test the game on a color monitor.
Emilio and Javier were amazed by the beauty of the graphics and the owner of
the shop was blown away! Quickly he handed over to the young programmers an
ERBE business card.
So, both
created their own brand – Action – and, seeing a probable commercial profit,
they made copies of the game and started selling it at the “Rastro de Madrid”, a
kind of used and second hand stuff local fair.
Then, both
agreed on contacting ERBE and their future was, at this point, assured. The publishing
rights for the game were sold to ERBE and both programmers were hired to work
on an Amstrad CPC version of MapGame and, later, for the MSX.
The game
was a sales success and, at this point, they met José Manuel Muñoz, also known
as RAMBO, a very talented programmer specialized on working with sprites with
masks, a hugely important aspect when working with moving objects on screen.
José Muñoz
had this script for an action and fighting type of game and he was so thrilled
about it that he managed to convince his two new friends to embark with him in
his quest. So, ERBE Software hired José and the trio designed, in 1986, “Las
Tres Luces de Glaurung” that was extremely well received by Spanish gamers which
led to an English translated version for distribution in the UK by Melbourne
House and under the name “Conquestador”.
Feeling the
need of separating the distribution business from the development of new
products, ERBE created, at this point, Topo Soft.
Still under
ERBE’s label were developed two more games: “Ramón Rodríguez”, in 1986, that
wasn’t as successful, but highly entertaining, fun and extremely difficult; and
“Whopper Chase”, in 1987, a promotional title that was ordered by Burger King
to be offered to customers, in which the tape contained all four 8bit versions
of the game: Spectrum, Amstrad, MSX and Commodore.
Topo Soft’s
première was with the game “Spirits”, in 1987, which led, till 1991, to a
gigantic wave of awesome games that catapulted Topo Soft to the very
"topo" of Spanish video game development rivaling with the giant and
well established Dinamic.
Let’s now
take a quick look at the essential games from Topo Soft:
“Survivor”
– 1987 – An awesome arcade-action game where you control an extra-terrestrial
character somewhat based – off the record – in the movie Alien;
“Stardust”
– 1987 – An amazing shoot-em-up that didn’t grab all the attention it deserved;
“Desperado”
– 1987 – based in the Capcom Arcade hit GunSmoke and kind of “Red Dead
Redemption” of that Era! J A huge
hit in Spain and in the UK!
“Silent
Shadow” – 1988 – Action game with two players simultaneously! WoW! Awesome
stuff! Was considered one of the best games from Topo Soft. Curiously, the C64
version was totally different from all the others. As you can see, the
scrolling is made in the horizontal, from left to right.
“Mad Mix
Game” – 1988 – A new vision and, again, “off the record” version of the classic
Pac Man. For the English release, they even had to remove the first level,
‘cause it was so identical to the original Pac Man that Topo could run into
trouble.
“Black Beard”
– 1988 – A pirate’s game where we need to infiltrate a ship and grab a treasure
map hidden inside a fiercely guarded safe.
“Chicago
30’s” – 1988 – Something related to the Untouchables or The Godfather movies is
purely coincidence! An extremely difficult, but very well made title!
“Tuareg” –
1988 – One of the best Spanish action-adventure games ever made.
“Titanic” –
1988 – Probably the best game Topo Soft made for IBM PCs.
“Colosseum”
– 1988 – Another movie inspired game, this time around its Ben Hur complete
with chariot races. Was released in the UK under the KIXX label, the budget
range of the mighty US Gold.
“Score
3020” – 1988 – Topo’s Pinball game! And I love pinball games! But this one
didn’t have what it needed to be a good pinball game. The ball was completely
uncontrollable! What a shame..
“Wells
& Fargo” – 1988 – The game’s beautifully detailed graphics can, somewhat,
attenuate its extreme difficulty trying to control the carriage and, at the
same time, blow the enemies away.
“Rock ‘n’
Roller” – 1988 – One hell of a game that I’ve played so many freaking times
back then! Simple concept and highly addictive! It practically passed unnoticed.
A funny thing about the cover of Rock ’n’ Roller is that in the Spectrum and
MSX versions it was inverted! The letters on the “STOP” sign are inverted! Why
did they made this? Someone was really wasted or in a bad mood!
“Emilio
Butragueño Futbol” – 1988 – This title sold more than one hundred thousand
copies! It became the bestselling Spanish video game of all time! But, by then
and as for soccer games, Match Day II was still the best.
“Perico
Delgado” – 1989 – It was the very time I’ve ever saw something like this: a
cycling simulator! What an achievement for 1989 and all fans of “La Vuelta”
were amazed by it!
“Viage Al
Centro de La Tierra” – 1989 – One of the best Spanish video games of all time! And,
as a huge fan of adventure and exploration, I couldn’t simply stop playing it!
Sadly, the C64 owners never had the change to try it. Its development was
canceled.
“Emilio
Butragueño 2” – 1989 – The Spanish localization of Gremlin’s “Gary Lineker”
games, “Superskills” and “Hot-Shot”, to compete with Dinamic’s “Mítchel Futbol
Master” that was hugely popular in Spain by that time. Sadly, it was a failed
attempt.
“Mad Mix 2
– En El Castillo de los Fantasmas” – 1990 – The sequel to Mad Mix Game and, if
the first one was based on Pac Man, this one is on Pac Mania! Curiously, they’ve
published the game with a black & white cover for fans to develop their own
painting skills. Later was announced the winner and the cover would be used in
a Special Edition of the game, that I believe never happened..
“La Espada
Sagrada” – 1990 – Another awesome adventure game that had its best version on
IBM PCs with some amazing and colorful EGA graphics.
“Lorna” –
1990 – This title was based on a comic book character by Alfonso Azpiri, a
Spanish artist that also made the cover for the game, and, as well, many others
for practically every Spanish software house! And, when the game had a cover by
Azpiri, I would certainly buy it! You couldn’t miss! Games with covers made by
this great artist were always good games! Take “Viage al Centro de la
Tierra” as an example! About
the game, it’s a pretty good arcade action title with some differences between
the 8 and 16 bit versions. So, you need to try them all!
“Ice
Breaker” – 1990 – This one is just to keep the releases coming! Nothing
special, just a “shoot all things on screen” type of game.
“R.A.M.” –
1990 – A kind of hard to control game, but, when you get the hang of it, it’s
quite fun! Another “kill all enemies and stay alive” game.
“Gremlins
2” – 1990 – The first and, I believe, only official movie adaptation which had
such a huge media coverage never seen from a Spanish game. The hype was so
enormous that they had to ask the UK based ELITE Systems to make the 16 bit
versions! The game was ok, spite the amount of time they spent making it. Many
players ended up losing interest and just bought another games.
“Zona 0” –
1991 – One of my favorite Spectrum games ever and, obviously, inspired by
Disney’s movie Tron. Super-fast, super addictive and with awesome music!
“Desperado
2” – 1991 – I was wrong when I said that all games with covers by Azpiri were
good. Well, Desperado 2 is a decent game, but was released in a time that
LucasArts was around with their amazing point’n’click adventure games and
Wolfenstein 3D was, as well, around the corner. This was the point where it all
started to collapse for the Spanish video game industry.
“Tour 91” –
1991 – The follow up to “Perico Delgado” and one last breath for Topo Soft.
It’s a brilliant Professional Cycling Simulator that, again, attained high
scores on specialized magazines and was, I think, the first Topo Soft game with
support for VGA graphics on the PC.
Topo Soft
made one last effort to conquer the IBM PCs market with 6 more games: “Black
Crown” (1991), “Luigi & Spaghetti” (1992), “Olimpiadas 92: Gimnasia
Deportiva” (1992) and “Olimpiadas 92: Atletismo” (1992), “Luigi in Circusland”
(1994) and, finally, “Super Scrylis” (1994).
The Spanish
video game crisis arrived around 1989, year when companies had to canalize and
adapt their efforts towards the 16 bit machines that were already flourishing.
The 8 bit Era was practically over and Topo Soft tried really hard to make it
work.
“Viage al
Centro de la Tierra” was probably the biggest bet in the area ever made in
Spanish territory. It was one of the few games that had all three most
important 16 bit home computer versions - Amiga, Atari ST and DOS - and also distributed
in the US without any tangible success.
Every time
I saw a Topo Soft game on one of my favorite video game resellers, I was always
impressed by their extremely well drawn covers. Back then I was a huge
super-hero comic book fan and collector and, as well, created my own universe
along with a couple of friends. We even developed our own brand and presented
our work at a couple of magazine publishers here in Portugal. Needless to say
that they’ve revealed some interest, but that was all. So, we started making
and selling our own fanzine on a few specialized shops.
The box art
and loading screens from Topo’s games were a sight to behold! Definitely one of
the best, in my opinion and taste, obviously!
Have you played any of these amazing
titles? Obviously there were other great Spanish video game developers around
like, for instance, Dinamic, Opera Soft and Zigurat/Made in Spain. But Topo
Soft, being part of the ERBE group, needed a special treatment; it was part of
one of the greatest and most successful anti-piracy campaigns ever. If you're into retro - or not so retro - stuff, please subscribe at http://www.youtube.com/user/ThePixelTHING and visit http://www.facebook.com/PixelThing & http://twitter.com/Pixel_THING Support the show on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/PixelTHING
It’s 2015
and, only now, I’m discovering the huge PS2 library and it’s pretty cool to buy
games and have, once again, that same feeling from the eighties in which the
only source for video game reviews, and related stuff, were expensive
magazines. So, back then, I bought games just by its title or by reading its
back cover. If I wanted to know more about a specific title, I eventually had
to buy a magazine even knowing that, for the rest of the month, I wouldn’t be
able to get a brand new game.
So, with
that in mind and applying that same principle, let’s take a peek to these
awesome six Playstation 2 video games that I’ve discovered and learned to
enjoy!
Gran Turismo 4:
So, let’s
just not waste any time and jump right into one of the most successful games on
the PlayStation 2: Gran Turismo 4. For starters, it has one of the most
beautiful box arts ever on a video game, with its white case combined with the
also white background of the cover.
Developed
by Polyphony Digital and released firstly in Japan, in December of 2004, by
Sony Computer Entertainment, it had a few minor issues before launch that
resulted in a year and a half delay and the programmed and highly anticipated
online mode was completely removed.
Nonetheless,
there’s plenty to do, more than 700 cars to test and 51 tracks do explore.
The sad
side is that there’s no changing in weather, night and day transitions - even
in 24 hour races - and damage to the player or the vehicles.
Gran
Turismo 4 is one of the few PS2 games on a Dual layer DVD requiring that the
console’s laser lens needs to be clean and in extremely good operating
condition.
It’s also
one of the four Playstation 2 titles to have a 1080i resolution, but, sadly,
only on NTSC territories, spite the PAL version being the most lucrative practically
doubling its own sales on the other regions altogether.
In total,
it is estimated to have sold about 12 million copies all around the world.
Ghosthunter:
Developed
indoors by Sony Computer Entertainment and released firstly in Europe in late
2003, Ghosthunter has a kind of simple but effective plot, where we control a
Detroit detective who releases, by accident, a bunch of ghosts. So, who we’re
gonna call? No one! It’s all up to us, ‘cause they even kidnaped Anna, our
lovely partner!
This
third-person shooter with, also, a first-person mode only useful for more
accurate shooting, allows us to also control, in certain places, a spirit named
Astral that can attract other ghosts and even possess them.
The game’s
amazing ambiance and storyline is what makes Ghosthunter a winner, even if it
was criticized for being too easy. I’ve enjoyed it so much and there’s even a
surprise at the end that you must find out for yourselves!
The game
was released in the States by Namco only in august of 2004 and it included over
a thousand tweaks and fixes mostly on the combat and targeting systems making
it a bit harder but with simpler puzzles to solve.
Downhill Domination:
As mentioned
on episode 12 about mountain biking video games, Downhill Domination is the
best you can get based in this extreme sport.
For years
Codemasters have been trying to publish a MTB game that really stood out from
the crowd, but, unfortunately, even Downhill Domination passed practically unnoticed.
The
incredibly huge multi-path courses are so amazingly detailed and designed and
filled with wild life. There’s also hikers to avoid, or not, and the other
opponents that tries to push us against the obstacles.
With an
amazing soundtrack, were invited to roam through a series of challenges in
freeride, mountain cross and technical downhill.
The
environment is constantly changing, from forests with narrow passages between
trees to stony sections, river crossings, weather effects, you name it! There’s
so much stuff going on that you just can’t appreciate all of it! You can play
the same open track a dozen of times and do it differently on every single try!
Amazing!
Primal:
Sony
Computer Entertainment developed and released in March of 2003 this
action-adventure game that transport us to these demonic realms in search of
the main character’s boyfriend. In Primal we play as Jennifer or as Scree, the
Gargoyle, and we can change to one of them at any time for a completely
different set of powers and abilities.
Jennifer
can also change into a demon form, allowing us to do some attack and defense
moves unavailable in a human form. As for Scree, he can climb walls and cannot
suffer damage, so the most obvious choice is to send him - or it - in front,
scouting the terrain!
Jennifer,
Primal’s main character, was considered an underrated video game chick that
could even surpass Lara Croft herself if the game was available on other gaming
platforms!
Tourist Trophy – The Real Riding Simulator:
Another
Polyphony Digital astonishing accomplishment released in 2006 and, again, with
1080i support in NTSC regions.
Considered
the best PS2 simulation of that same year, Tourist Trophy utilizes Gran Turismo
4’s game engine, the graphical user interface and almost all tracks and
circuits.
There’s 135
bikes to take out for a ride from the 1960s up to 2005 and the game also
features 186 different riding accessories for the player, like helmets, boots,
pants, gloves, jackets, etc, from officially licensed manufacturers.
Tourist
Trophy really nails it, transmitting that real feeling of driving a motorcycle,
natural and fluid.
The
learning curve is right there, but if you’ve played Gran Turismo or other serious
racing game, you’re ready!
R-Type Final:
Originally
planned to be the last game of the series, R-Type Final, originally released in
2003 in Japan, is simply Irem’s best title of the franchise.
Already
mentioned on Pixel THING’s “10 must have PS2 games” episode, R-type Final
provides more than 100 ships to choose that, obviously, needs to be unlocked.
The
graphical power of the Playstation 2 is extremely well used and abused with
lighting effects, explosions, animations, you name it, but, unfortunately, with
all this going on at the same time, slowdowns can really occur.
However, if
you’ve grown up alongside with the R-Type video games, you’ll certainly enjoy
this one! It spawned innumerous other video game franchises that we all must be
grateful to.
So, excluding
HD remastered titles, what other Playstation 2 exclusives would you recommend?
I’m curious to hear from you, ‘cause, and as I said in the beginning of this
video, I’m just now beginning to enjoy PS2’s amazing library of games.
