Urbanix (Nordcurrent)
Arcade giant Taito have a lot to answer for. Over the years they introduced us to some incredible franchises and names that became household names including the classic Space Invaders. One of my favourite that saw countless unofficial home clones over the years was the arcade action game Qix from 1981. Fast forward a few decades and Nordcurrent have brought the game up-to-date with modern 3D visuals, given it a contemporary setting an storyline a cute makeover. You might be in control of a tractor now instead of a pulsating spark of energy and you may have powerups at your disposal, but the original gameplay remains intact for what is a great remake.
Impossible Mission (System 3)
The 8-bit and 16-bit era have a lot to answer for. It was certainly a golden era when it comes to gaming and while being honest a lot of titles haven’t stood the test of time particularly well, as you have already seen from this list a number have not only thrived but have proven worth of remakes or modern adaptations and Impossible Mission is no exception. Regarded as being one of the finest platform games to grace the Commodore 64, System 3 took the Epyx classic and modernised it to bring the game to the Minis range. In fact, this release comprises of not one but three games. The original Commodore 64 recreated in all its glory, a re-skinned remastered version, and an updated version. Personally I always go for the original version of the platform puzzler but whichever you choose it’s a game you can’t go wrong with.
Let’s Golf! (Gameloft)
Golf is a strange sport – it’s one that people either love or hate but even people who find it monotonous in real life seem to love playing home versions of it. There has been a rich tradition of great golfing games on the market, whether it’s been the Leaderboard series from the 8-bit era, the PGA range from Electronic Arts or Sony’s own Everybody’s Golf series. Now this one isn’t quite up to the standards of the PlayStation stalwart but this certainly manages to deliver a great looking, playable game. With 4 characters and 63 holes to choose from, single and multiplayer modes, quick games and a tournament option, this is a fantastic arcade golf game and can easily hold its own against its full price rivals.
3, 2, 1… SuperCrash! (StormBasic)
Endless runners can be bland, repetitive (by their very nature) and somewhat non-descript and it takes a lot for any of them to stand out from the crowd. Even more for any of them to make it into a Top 20 list but this one has managed to do just that. The idea of the game is absurd and I think that’s just why it works so well… You’re a muscle-bound unicycle rider (yeah, you couldn’t make this up!) riding along a road. At random intervals you encounter solid walls with body-shaped figures cut out from them. Just position your arms into the same pattern using the square and circle buttons and you can ride safely through the gap. Collect stars along the way for bonus points, jump over the odd roadside obstacle for more bonus points and that’s pretty much it.
Absurd? Absolutely! Fun? Definitely and a game that works so well because it so different to other endless runners and makes you think while you play.
One Epic Game (Grip Games)
When I first heard about this I wondered if it could actually live up to the bold claims made by its name. Well, to be honest, it’s not far off. It’s a superb, seamless blend of two popular genres – endless runners and a side-scrolling run and gun shoot-em-up. It’s a curious amalgamation but the tongue-in-cheek humour in the storyline, great visuals and sound and the non-stop action add up to make for a fantastically addictive game.
Facebook Comments