Known as Gradius in Japan – but Nemesis everywhere else – Konami‘s classic 1985 shoot ’em up is one of the earliest progressive weapons blasters, with distinct levels and boss battles.
The game is somewhat reminiscent of the classic side-scrolling Scramble (also by Konami), but in Nemesis you fly a ship called the “Vic Viper”, and which has a variety of different weapons which can be powered-up by collecting capsules left by destroyed enemies.
Scramble was the first ever side-scrolling shoot ’em up, coming out in arcades in 1981.
It was certainly one of the earliest colour video games, and was a big hit for developer Konami and distributor Stern Electronics.
Developer Gottlieb released Mad Planets into video game arcades in 1982.
Created by Pete Harrap and published by Gremlin Graphics in 1985, Monty On The Run is the sequel to Wanted: Monty Mole, and a real step up in quality from the first game, in terms of satisfying platform action.
Irem‘s Kung-Fu Master is a brilliant side-scrolling beat ’em up from the video game arcades of 1984. And it has lost little of its appeal over the years, because Kung-Fu Master is precise, violent and fun. Not to mention a huge challenge.
The high-def Windows version of Resident Evil 4 looks a bit sharper than the GameCube original, but is essentially still the same great game.
Resident Evil 4 – THE standout survival horror game of the Noughties – was released exclusively by Capcom on the Nintendo GameCube in 2005, and it immediately became a critical and commercial smash hit. For all the right reasons.
Capcom‘s Resident Evil 2 really elevated the survival horror genre to great heights, way back in 1998 when it was first released.
Mostly because it was more gritty and serious than the first game, but also because it was a much more complex storyline in this one: with two different characters playing the same scenario, but from different perspectives (and provided on two different CD-ROMs). Effectively giving you two games in one. So you play one character on a ‘A’ game, and the other on a ‘B’ game, by loading your save in from having completed one half of the game.
And the actions of one character in the game have an effect on what the second character experiences in their game later.
This – in itself – is a dazzling feature, but there is so much more to Resident Evil 2 than that.
Still my favourite tennis game of all time. On any system.
Super Tennis on the SNES is so good; so much fun to bend shots around the net; such a good balance between cartoony-ness and realism, that it is always a joy to revisit.
Mario games may be looked down upon by some gamers as “for kids”, but this game proves otherwise.
Super Mario World (1990) may look and sound like a kid’s game on the surface, but – underneath the hood – the gameplay is for pros…
The King of Grabs 