October, 1996. I was working at a video rental shop in Manchester, one of those video rental shops that only existed during video rental’s cool years. My boss Steve (named Steve for reasons he likely regretted later given his propensity for getting tattoos up and down his legs) kept catching me staring at Resident Evil’s cover while I was stocking shelves. “Take it home Friday,” he told me over the counter when we closed. “Don’t…
Standing in my local game shop last Tuesday, holding a pristine Sega Genesis 2 in its original box, I couldn't help but smile at how wrong we all got it back in '94. There I was, thirteen years old, absolutely livid that Sega had "ruined" my beloved Mega Drive by making it smaller and—horror of horrors—removing the headphone jack. The audacity! How was I supposed to sneak midnight sessions of Sonic & Knuckles while mum…
As soon as we released this ranking, we knew there would be total chaos. Over three weeks of heated Zoom calls; seventeen dropped connections when things got too personal; and Joe threatening to leave the group chat after we suggested that maybe LucasArts made some better games than Sierra. We argued about whether Marcus’ obsession with the technological innovations of adventure games should count against him; Elena fighting tooth and nail for UK developers to…
Marcus here. While the rest of the crew argues about whether FIFA 98 or FIFA 99 was the peak of EA’s early PlayStation efforts, I’m over here marvelling at the engineering achievement that was ISS Pro Evolution. Released on May 11, 1999 (Brainly Infogalactic) in Europe, this was the game that made Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo (Brainly Infogalactic) a genuine threat to EA’s football dominance. Before PES became a household name, before Winning Eleven conquered…
The sound still gets me. You know that metallic *click* when you slot a cartridge into the N64? Four of us hunched around a 21-inch CRT, controllers tangled like headphone cables in a pocket, and someone—always someone—arguing about who gets the good controller with the tight stick. "This one drifts left!" "Well, mine doesn't rumble!" The negotiations could take longer than the actual matches.I was probably sixteen when GoldenEye landed in our local Blockbuster. The…
Right, let’s get this sorted. Tim’s been going on about Metal Gear Solid being the first game to introduce stealth gaming for months now, completely overlooking the fact that Tenchu got there first by a matter of weeks. Not by much, but first is first. Here’s why this ninja game deserves proper recognition for pulling off PlayStation stealth mechanics before Kojima did. Released in August 1998 (Metacritic), just a few weeks before Metal Gear Solid…
Look, if you grew up in the early 90s and owned an Amiga or Genesis, you already know why Speedball 2 matters. It’s one of those games that absolutely everybody had an opinion on, whether they loved the brutal future sports concept or thought it was too violent for its own good. Tim keeps insisting modern Rocket League captures the same energy, but he’s missing the point entirely. Speedball 2 wasn’t just about futuristic sports,…
Elena here, and I want to address an issue that has bothered me for years. Anytime someone discusses the golden age of real-time strategy games, they immediately reference StarCraft or Age of Empires II. StarCraft and Age of Empires II are both outstanding games, but there is an omission in discussions about the golden age of RTS that is very significant: Command & Conquer: Red Alert did not simply exist during the golden age; it…
There's something about that chunky, dimensional "N64" that still makes me stop and stare when I spot it on a shelf or boot screen. You know the one—that three-dimensional block logo that sits there like a tiny piece of architecture, all beveled edges and mathematical precision. It's been nearly three decades since Nintendo unveiled it, and honestly? It looks more modern than half the flat, minimalist logos companies are churning out today.I remember the exact…
The plastic case cracked when I dropped it getting off the bus. Not badly—just a hairline split along the spine of Sonic Mega Collection Plus for GameCube, but enough to make my heart skip. This was 2004, maybe 2005, and finding Sega compilations felt like archaeological digs back then. You'd spot one wedged between FIFA copies in a second-hand shop, blow the dust off, and wonder if today was the day you'd finally own legitimate…