Nostalgic Video Games

Title: Pokémon Trading Card Game
Developed By: Hudson Soft
Published By: Nintendo
Console: Game Boy Colour
Year Released: 1998 (Japan), 2000 (Everywhere else)

Background: Part two of my super-amazing Pokémon nostalgia trip of ultimate happiness...and it's a game based off the popular trading card game...based on the popular video game Pokémon. Surely it has all the ingredients for INSTANT CLASSIC! But, as much as I mock the concept, it really does not seem that bad of an idea. I mean, as a kid there was nothing like the trading card game. Over a period of two years we probably spent well over £100 on these pieces of card, yet most of us never had battles...because we did not read the rules. We just wanted to collect and look at the pretty pictures. When we did battle...it was usually pathetic because of previously mentioned failure to read instructions. Yet despite this we loved the Pokémon Trading Card game...yet strangely none of us owned this game. In fact, whenever I bring it up in any Pokémon related conversations, it is usually replied with "wait...they made a trading card game...for the Game Boy?". I always had a curiousity about it, so when I sat down last week and decided to play this game I was hyped. Is it a good game, worthy of my self-hype of it, or is it like all ad spin off games...bad! Here is our answer...

Story: The story uses the Pokémon formula...you are a kid who wants to be the best at Pokémon (in this case, Pokémon trading cards). You're quest is to defeat the elite four and then a champion in order to obtain the legendary cards. You go through eight different gym's (or clubs, as they are called here) and then face the four Grand Masters.

Gameplay: Outside of battle, the gameplay is almost virtually identical to Pokémon Red, except in Trading Card Game there is a world map instead of each location being separated by routes. In battle, however, is entirely different. You start off with a deck of 60 cards, which is then shuffled. You then pick out seven cards for your hand, then you pick out the basic Pokémon (i.e. Pikachu, Charmander...the Pokémon that have not evolved at all). You play one of these Pokémon as your starter while any others are placed on the bench. Depending on the match you will then have to place a number of prizes (the average is four). You will pick up one of these prizes if you defeat one of your opponents Pokémon. A coin is tosses to decide who starts. Then the two players take turns, with each turn beginning with the player picking up a card from their deck and ending when they choose to end it, or when the Pokémon attacks it's opponent. Some moves will require a coin toss in order to do extra damage or to inflict a status such as poison, paralysis and confusion. The winner is the first one to either pick up all the prizes or to defeat all of your opponent's Pokémon in their bench. Although this sounds slightly complicated, it's really easy to understand and the more you play, the more you will be able to win. Some moves will deal extra damage to Pokémon that is weak to that move (i.e. a fire move will deal double damage on a grass Pokémon). The problem with the gameplay lies in the fact that battles are slooooow. Some regular battles can last just over ten minutes. It is not exactly an action-packed thrill ride of heart attack proportions. However, the game does make you think and thus for any fans of strategic battles, will probably like it.

Graphics/Sound: The graphics are improved from Pokémon Red/Blue as there is colour to it and thus everything looks nicer. Other than that, not much else has been improved, the images of the cards are identical to the real life cards. Sound, on the other hand, is inconsistent. One minute I'm listening to a funky, catchy song...the next I am having to put it on mute so my ears can recover. The first sound you hear after the Game Boy screen is a screeching-type noise while the opening intro plays, which is not nice. One of the worst things about this game is the sound I'm afraid. Battle music is okay, but I still prefer it on mute.

Conclusion: So, the game itself is not bad. The problem is, it is not that good either. The good parts are that the battles require thinking and a strategic mind. Also, you can win every battle if you are good and lucky enough. One of the bad parts...you can lose any battle if you are unlucky enough. Even if you spent ages working on your deck for the next opponent, you could find that due to the shuffling of the deck, you will not be guaranteed that your Pokémon will be strong against your opponent's, which means you cannot properly plan a match before hand. Now, that's no problem, it is the same in real life Trading Card Game, but the thing is...the game has not translated well into a video game. It is infinitely funner to play it in real life (of course, hardly anyone plays it now-a-days, but I'm talking back in the day...when we decided to learn how to play it). So, while it did have potential to be a good game, it unfortunately did not live up to it.

Final Score: 5 Charizard Cards out of 10.

Two Weeks From Now: It may have been created in order to cash in on the popularity of the Anime series of Pokémon, but most of us bought it and liked it better than the original. Is that still true? Or can I just copy and paste the Pokémon Red/Blue review? I am, of course, talking about Pokémon Yellow!

Title: Metal Gear Solid
Developed/Published By: Konami
Released: 1998
Consoles: Playstation

Background: One of the most successful games for the Playstation, Metal Gear Solid was regarded as one of the most innovative games of its time, with it popularising stealth in video games while featuring many lengthy cinematic cut-scenes, which was rare for a game at that time, causing many people to claim it was more of an interactive movie than a game. However, the game was a critical and commercial success, selling over 6 million copies worldwide. It has been eleven years since the game was released and since then we have had three sequels plus many spin-offs and a remake of this very game for the Gamecube. So, is it still a masterpiece of a game that many claimed it to be, or has it aged quicker than Solid Snake himself (see: Metal Gear Solid 4)?

Note: I'm going to try and minimalise spoilers in the story, BUT, there are some cases where I might mention something that is quite spoilerish.

Story: The game is a sequel to Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. The main character of those games, Solid Snake, is forced out of retirement for a mission into a nuclear weapons disposal facility on an island called Shadow Moses in Alaska. His mission is stop Foxhound, his former unit, from launching a nuclear missile. They are demanding the remains of Big Boss, Solid Snake's former mentor and enemy of the first two games, within 24 hours or they will launch it. However, things are not as they seem, but I won't ruin it for people who have not played this game yet. Snake also has to save two important hostages, DARPA chief Donald Anderson and ArmsTech President Kenneth Baker. You are helped in your mission by several people over the codec, a radio-type device that allows people to speak to you without people around you being able to hear it. Colonel Campbell, who was the one who brought you into the mission, returns from the second Metal Gear game. His niece, Meryl, is on Shadow Moses as she was training as a soldier there before FOXHOUND led a revolt. She was one of the only ones who did not join the revolt. You arrive at the facility and you eventually find Donald Anderson, who *MINOR SPOILER* dies suddenly via what looks like a heart attack *END SPOILER* and not long after that you find Baker who *MINOR SPOILER* read previous spoiler *END SPOILER*. I won't go on about the story much further, if you have not played it then I do not really want to spoil much of it. FOXHOUND is made up of the leader Liquid Snake (who looks exactly like Solid Snake, but is not an evil twin, as you'll find out near the end of the game), Vulcan Raven, a shaman who is very physically powerful, Sniper Wolf, a *MINOR SPOILER* sniper *END SPOILER* who can wait for days for a chance to hit her target, Psycho Mantis, a psychic who can read minds and perform telekinesis, Decoy Octopus, a master of disguise and Revolver Ocelot, who loves to torture  people and also loves a good old fashioned gun fight. Each of the main characters, from allies to villains, are well developed and the story is complex, epic and really good.

Gameplay: The gameplay is stealth orientated and it is wise to keep out of sight if you can. If you get caught you will have an endless amount of guards after you within seconds (which I will speak more of later). The controls are easy enough to understand and the gameplay itself is pretty strong. If you have played MGS 2 or 3 (can't talk about 4, since I haven't played it) then you might find it a little hard to get used to the fighting, as there is no first person view (which I always use for fighting in the later games, which made it hard to adjust). The lack of first person view also meant that I had to be careful and not run about everywhere. I found myself being stealthy in places where there were no enemies and no camera's, just in case there is one off-screen. Most of the boss battles are unique and epic, with each one requiring a different strategy or technique to defeat (again, not saying how to defeat them, not making it easy for those who haven't played it yet, but will eventually). Overall, pretty good, but it is was hard for me to get used to since I had played the PS2 MGS games before this one, but that is not anything against the game.

Graphics/Sound: Like all PlayStation games, the graphics are dated. However, at the time they were really good and not many games had anything better in 1998. The music is also pretty good, although I think future games have stronger soundtracks, but it's definitely not bad. However, it is the voice acting which really impressed me. While many games during this time struggled to have a great voice cast (some even struggling to find good actors for some of the live-action games that were around in the mid 90s), Metal Gear Solid has some great voices. David Hayter, who voices Solid Snake, is my personal favourite out of the cast, but Liquid Snake, Ocelot and Otacon all have great voices that match with their characters perfectly.

Criticisms: I mentioned earlier about how if you get caught, you get a mini-army on your ass in a matter of seconds, well although that is an exaggeration, it is still pretty annoying. Unlike future games, if you get caught you usually have to run, or else you will end up wasting bullets which are needed for boss battles on soldiers who are quickly replaced by another soldier. Luckily this is sorted out in the future games. Another criticism would be that there is a message in the story, WAR IS BAD! Problem is that at points in the game that message was as subtle as an elephant doing the Macarena. I do like the story and most of the dialogue, but I was not a fan of the WAR IS BAD AND EVIL AND ETC sections of the game. Also, early in the game your given a few codec calls that can annoy you (especially if you have read the instruction booklet, then you already know what they are telling you) .Luckily the rest of the game is strong enough that these flaws are very minor annoyances and do not take away much from the rest of the game.

Conclusion: Great game, age has not done anything to help it, but it still plays pretty well. If you are looking to get into the Metal Gear series, this would probably be the best game to start with(there is brief summaries of the previous games on the game to give you more of a background on the story). I am not really saying anything that has not already been said before, but there may still be that one person who has never played this game before. If you haven't...DO IT!

Final Score: 9.3 Cardboard Boxes out of 10.

Note: If you own a GameCube, but not a PS2 or PS1, you can play the remake, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes. I have not played it myself, so I can't tell you if it's any good, but it's the same game as MGS1, but with gameplay elements and graphics as MGS 2.

In two weeks time, the Apocalypse will come. A Mutant Apocalypse that is, MUAHAHAHAHAHA...and by that I mean the review of X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse for the SNES...!

Title: Pokémon Red/Blue
Developed By: Game Freak
Published By: Nintendo
Released: 1996 (Japan), 1998 (North America), 1999 (Europe)
Console: Game Boy

Background: If you actually need a background to this game series, then you are either too old to know it or have serious brain issues and thus should not be allowed outside without supervision. The late-90s and early 00s saw Pokémon become pretty much the biggest thing in the universe to kids. Children during this era had little interest in jumping on Goombas or running around a fantasy land dressed like Disney's version of Peter Pan. No, when it came to games, catching monsters in balls and training them to become fighting machines was our cup of tea. Anyone my age who did not like Pokémon is a liar or did not have the chance to play these games. These games started it all. Sometime a couple of weeks ago I had a nostalgia attack and decided to go on a mission to review as much Pokémon games as possible. Why am I cursed to be so stupid? However, I will try to uphold my promise, although I will try to review other games after each Pokémon game reviewed. So, the first Pokémon review of TWENTY-FOUR (however, depending on availability, it could be only twenty), and here it is: Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue.

Story: Pokémon Red and Blue, both are the same game, but the differences will be talked about later, take place in the fictional land of Kanto. In this land are creatures called Pokémon, which vary from little birds to sea dragons. There are 151 species of Pokémon in this game (a number which would grow hugely in future generations of Pokémon). You control a boy from the little town called Pallet Town. Here you meet a Pokémon scientist called Professor Oak, who gives you and your rival their very first Pokémon. You can choose from Bulbasaur, who is a plant-type Pokémon, Charmander, a fire lizard and Squirtle, a turtle-like water Pokémon. Whatever one you choose, your rival will choose the type that opposes the type of your starter Pokémon. You are then given a Pokédex and told to go out and collect as much Pokémon as possible. After this there is not much of a story, you go around the cities, fighting for badges in Pokémon gyms in order to be able to use special abilities out of battle (these abilities are Cut, Fly, Surf, Strength and Flash). You will occasionally run into your rival while also running into the evil team of the game, Team Rocket. They get up to some evil doings like stealing a machine that allows a Pokémon to learn a move (in this case, the move Dig). Rebels. They are led by Giovanni, who the player has to defeat three times, the third to earn the final badge and to disband Team Rocket. You then take on the Elite Four and win and are crowned League Champion, except your rival beat them first (what a dick!) and you have to face him. You beat him Professor Oak shows up and offically crowns your character as the Pokémon Champion. Then you can go out and attempt to complete your Pokédex (which is only possible with the help of friends, as some Pokémon are exclusive to one of the versions).

Gameplay: The gameplay is basic turned based RPG stuff. You choose your move, the opponent chooses theirs, the Pokémon use the moves on each other and then repeat. There is, however, a lot of strategy involved with this game. Each Pokémon belongs to a type, such as Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Flying etc. Some types are weak against others, while some types are strong against others, for example, Water is strong against Fire, which is strong against Grass, which is strong against Water. In most cases it is common sense what is strong against what. After a while you should have a balanced party which allows you to be strong against nearly any Pokémon that you encounter. Outside of battle there is not much to say, you can walk or, after a certain part of the game, ride a bicycle everywhere. However, walking is slow so bike-riding is sometimes the most logical choice. After obtaining one of the HM (Hidden Machine), a re-useable version of a TM (Technical Machine) which allows you to teach a Pokémon a move. The gameplay is pretty decent, it is easy enough for children to understand it, but at the same time, has enough strategy for older players to appreciate.

Graphics/Sound: This is the part of the game that has aged so much. Graphics are not good, everything is either red or blue depending on which version you are using (and if you are using a Game Boy Colour or above). The Pokémon don't really look like they do in the animated series, which I remember complaining about back when I was seven. Each move has a little animation to go with it, but a lot of the time they are not very good. The music is occasionally good, but I have heard better on the Game Boy. Still, it is not that bad and can be quite catchy at times. But if you spent too long in an area then the repetitiveness of it will start to grate at your soul.

Other: Although I was really excited it do this, for nostalgia value for me personally, only one other game series can even contest with Pokémon in the memories it brings back. And in the end Pokémon wins by a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong shot. However, four hours into my new game my happiness slowly turned into fustration. Why? It's all because of a fictional caterpillar called Caterpie. I was using the Red version and Caterpie's are rarer in this version then they are in Blue. However, they are the most useful Pokémon in defeating the first Gym boss, who uses Rock Pokémon, as it's third stage of evolution, a butterfly called Butterfree, learned a Phychic move called Confusion, which was the only move any of my Pokémon knew that actually had normal effect on the Rock Pokémon, instead of being weak. TWO HOURS of pain followed, but as I was on the brink of giving up, up came a Caterpie, the first one to show up, and I managed to catch it. However, after that it was a struggle to bring back the glory period near the beginning of the game when I was simply having fun.

Overall:  It is a decent enough game that has, sadly, not aged well at all. It is very hard to go back to this game after playing all the other versions (from Gold/Silver to Diamond/Pearl), thus highlighting the flaws of this game, a majority of which are now sorted out. However, it is quite a fun game and it is playable, but it is vastly inferior to the games that followed them.

Final Score: 7 Poké Balls out of 10.

Next Pokémon Review: It is a game, based off a card game...based off a game. I am talking about the Trading Card Game for the Game Boy, a game I have never played (yet used to pay the actual card game a fair amount).
Next Game Review: This is one of the games that made Sony a big player in the video game business, and continues to be praised as one of the best games ever released for the PS1. Tactical Espionage Action - no one does it better. This is, of course, Metal Gear Solid.

Title: Hogs of War
Developed/Published By: Infogrammes
Released: 2000
Consoles: Playstation/PC

Background: Now, I can't tell which idea is more over the top, worms killing each other...or pigs killing each other while set in a piggy version of theFirst World War...actually Worms almost sounds normal in comparision. This game is up there in nostalgic memories. Originally, one of my friends had this game and we had a great amount of fun. Then he stopped being cool. So a couple of years went by and I had no pigs to fry. That is until that fateful day I walked into my local ASDA with £10 and came out with a double pack of games, Worms and Hogs of War. Hours was spent on this game as I sat there realising that...it is not as good as I remembered it to be. But that is for another section of the review. So, shall we proceed?

Story: Unlike Worms there is a story. You take one team of stereotypes, Tommy's Trotters (Britian), Sow-A-Krauts (Germany), Sushi Swine (Japan, obviously), Uncle Ham's Hogs (United States), Garlic Grunts (France) and Piggystroika (Russia). You may have noticed that these teams have subtle piggy references, oh those witty and clever guys! Each team has unique characters with unique voices (although I can only really remember the depressed Russian dude...I played this less than a couple of hours ago and I've already forgotten most of the characters. Well done me, well done. You take your team and you take over sections of the continent of...sigh...Saustralasia in the...for crying out loud...Pigsific ocean. Yeah...there are many pig puns in this game. Saustralasia is made up of five different lands, brace yourself folks, Hogshead, Bellyopolis, Trottsville, Arstria and the Isle of Swill. The pig in charge is Commander IP Grimly...ha ha ha. Maybe this is why I failed to capture the magic of it, maybe I just grew up? However, surely the gameplay has some delights?

Gameplay: The game is essentially the same as Worms, one pig from a team gets a turn, moves to a spot and attacks within a time limit, then the other team's pig has a turn. In fact the gameplay is IDENTICAL to Worms, the only difference is that it is in 3D, which seems to make it feel a little slow. However, this does not mean it is not fun, because by golly it is fun. Just like Worms it can be addicitive if you let it take over you. Other changes are that water is no longer SUPER-UBER LETHAL, you can swim out of it (but you lose a lot of health if you go into the water). Also, you can throw grenades across the water if you aim it right (there is an optional tutorial level which teaches you how to do this. First time players should do this as it can be very useful). There are now shelters you can hide in which have it's own lifebar. However, there's nothing radically new except it is in 3D. Worms fans should find themselves in familiar territory playing this game.

Graphics/Sound: Like most PS1 games in 3D, the graphics are dated, but nothing too serious. Like Worms, graphics take back seat to the gameplay. Being in 3D does give it some advantages, being able to add a lot more detail to the locations and to help give each of the characters some unique features. However there is not much else to say about the graphics. They were not extraordinary for the time and neither were they terrible for the time. They were the normal graphics you would find in a 3D PS1 game. The sound is generally pretty good. The song that plays in the menu can get a little annoying if you are ever forced to listen to it long enough. The sound effects are also decent enough, while the voices do the job. Comedian Rik Mayall lends his voice to the game, but he was slightly before my time, so it does not affect me that much.

Criticisms: It can get quite repetitive, and although they managed to get a decent single player campaign in, it's still better with friends. However, I'm starting to get a little repetitive with my criticisms. Basically, the same flaws are present here that were present for Worms, but some issues are sorted out a little.

Overall: While this will always be in my top ten nostaligic games for me, I can not help but feel a little bit deflated everytime I play it. Not literally, although I could use with some deflating, but I digress. In conclusion, this game is good, but is slightly ruined for me due to those pesky rose tinted glasses I seem to wear while looking back at this game. It cannot live up to my hype of the game. Still, there is apparently a sequel in the making and you can be sure I will be trying out that game to see if they have made any improvements.

Final Score: 7.5 pork sausages out of 10.

NEXT TIME: They were nightmares to the pockets of all parents in the late 90s to the early 00s, yet these pocket monsters were quite possibly the greatest thing in the minds of many kids my age. The fact that at just 16, a group of four guys (me included) still knew just about every one of the original 150 of them. I am of course talking about Pokémon. Hate 'em or love 'em, they still make Nintendo a load of cash and thus won't dissapear competely for a loooooooong time. I plan on reviewing MOST of the Pokémon games, the Wii games are the only ones I can't possibly play. Hopefully I'll go back to a fortnightly schedule in the future, so expect Pokémon Red/Blue Review to be finished sometime 2010.

Note: Thanks for telling me about that game. I promise I'll get to it, maybe in the middle of the Pokémon specials. I've never played a game as old as that, but god dammit, I cannot help but be intrigued by it (and I've yet to even play it!).