Postal is an infamous, tongue-in-cheek, highly controversial shooter that satirises the process of “going postal” – a phenomenon whereby an individual ‘breaks’ and goes on a killing spree (called thus because “going postal” was once, in America, often associated with postal workers). It was developed by Running With Scissors and first published by Ripcord Games in 1997. The game – like every entry in the Postal series – is mindless, in poor taste, and designed to cause outrage, because outrageous things draw attention to themselves. In Postal‘s case it drew the attention of politicians who tried to ban it.
Tag Archives: 2D graphics
Flat, two-dimensional graphics, usually constructed of pixels. Not three-dimensional.
Alien 3: The Gun, Arcade
The funniest thing about this 1993 arcade game from Sega is that it is based on a film in which guns are decidedly absent. In fact: David Fincher‘s Alien 3 makes a point of removing guns from the story, because the characters exist on a prison planet where guns are not allowed. That said: I think many people would have preferred it if the film had had guns in it, so Alien 3: The Gun could be seen as something of a wish fulfilment for those who didn’t like the film.
Ristar, Megadrive/Genesis
Ristar is a cute and colourful scrolling 2D platform game developed and published by Sega in 1995. It first came out for the Megadrive/Genesis and was later ported to the Game Gear, but it was only ever initially released on Sega console hardware.
Strike Fleet, Commodore 64
Strike Fleet is a naval combat simulation developed by Lucasfilm Games and first published by Electronic Arts in 1988. It is the unofficial sequel to the game P.H.M. Pegasus* and it received rave reviews at the time of its original release. * = You can even take control of a Pegasus class craft if you want, which is a classy nod to the game’s predecessor.
P.H.M. Pegasus, Commodore 64
P.H.M. Pegasus was developed by Lucasfilm Games and first published by Electronic Arts in 1987. It is a naval combat simulation where the player uses helicopters, convoy ships and hydrofoils to patrol and survey the sea, to clear areas of enemy forces, and escort friendly ships through risky waters.
Time-Gate, ZX Spectrum
Written by John Hollis and first published by Quicksilva for the 48K ZX Spectrum in 1983, Time-Gate was the first Spectrum game I ever played and is a simple first-person space shooter – basically a Star Raiders clone with a few differences.
Thing Bounces Back, Commodore 64
Thing Bounces Back is the 1987 sequel to Thing On A Spring and it is more of the same platforming action, starring ‘Thing‘, the spring-with-a-head-and-feet, and similar mechanics to the first game.
Thing On A Spring, Commodore 64
Thing On A Spring is a fondly-remembered Commodore 64 game first published in 1985 by Gremlin Graphics. It was written by Jason Perkins and Anthony Clarke, with graphics by Mark Rogers and catchy music by Rob Hubbard.
Mindroll, Amiga
Mindroll is a 16-bit conversion of Stavros Fasoulas‘ classic Commodore 64 ball-rolling maze game, Quedex. It was converted by Silent Software and published in North America for the Amiga and PC by Epyx in 1990. As far as I know it wasn’t released in the UK or Europe, which is strange considering that the game originated there.
Dropzone, NES/Famicom
Archer MacLean‘s classic side-scrolling shooter, Dropzone, was converted to the NES/Famicom by Eurocom Developments and it is an excellent adaptation of this fast-moving Defender derivative.
The King of Grabs 