A.I. Die Part 2

That'll be part 2, then.

A.I. Die Part 1

For a change, here's the first part of a short story, made using Second Life.

Retro Games Worth Playing 3 - Sentient

Name: Sentient
Platform: Playstation, PC
Release Date: 1997
Publisher: Psygnosis
Designers: Psygnosis
Predecessors: Brataccas, Snowball,
Return to Eden, The Worm in Paradise (The Silicon Dreams Trilogy), Planetfall
Descendants: Deus Ex




Although this is yet another space-based game, it couldn’t be more different from the previous two in terms of pacing, environment and especially plot. It’s also the third British game in a row, and the second to reference 'Icarus', neither of which are intentional, honest.

Released early in the Playstation's life, Psygnosis’ ambient tour de force was years ahead of its time. Better known for the Wipeout series and various graphically sublime, but fundamentally flawed Amiga games, Sentient was an ambitious departure for Psygnosis. Featuring complex AI, branching plot threads, multiple endings and bags of atmosphere, Sentient is also an example of that still-rare genre, the first-person adventure.



Similar to Level 9’s Silicon Dreams trilogy, to which it can be considered a spiritual and thematic successor, Sentient begins by placing you in immediate peril. As medic and Moby look-alike Garrit Sherova, you’ve been sent to assist with the outbreak of a mysterious disease on the space station Icarus. So-called due to its close orbit around a sun, a solar flare causes your shuttle to crash in the station’s docking bay. Once this is explained in the opening movie, it’s immediately game on. You’re in the radiation-flooded shuttle bay, a barely-conscious engineer to your left and no means of protection. Well, what are you waiting for?


Time and timing are cruical. Events happen only once and if they're missed, the plot is sent spinning off in another direction. The main ‘action’ of the game is either participating in, or merely listening to, conversations between the Icarus’ crew and using the information gained. Exploiting the station’s politics are the key to your success, with your actions in the radioactive opening sequence affecting allegiences from the very start. Regardless of your actions in the bay, you’ll soon find yourself unconscious and trapped in a maze of lush hedges and ornate stone pillars. The maze is the first of many and adds a delicately surreal touch to Sentient, contrasting nicely with the sterile setting of the Icarus. That’s not to say that the Icarus lacks atmosphere, station announcements appear throughout the game, with warnings of solar flares and updates on damage to the Icarus. The effect of the station's oppressive heat is conveyed by frequent brow-wiping and occasional adjustment of bumcrack-bound underwear by the Icarus' personable inhabitants.


I haven’t even mentioned the political assassin, Shatterjack, the relevance of the game’s title (think 2001, but on a far grander scale) or the effect of your facial expressions on conversations. Sentient is a thoroughly deep game, but it’s not for the impatient or those looking for all-out action. Persevere with it, however, and you’ll find a Game well Worth Playing.

Retro Games Worth Playing 2 - Starglider 2

Name: Starglider 2
Platform: Amiga, Atari ST, Macintosh, PC, ZX Spectrum
Release Date: 1988
Publisher: Rainbird Software
Designers: Argonaut Software Ltd.
Predecessors: Starglider, Elite, Mercenary
Descendants: Damocles (Mercenary II), Starfox/Starwing


OK, it’s another space-based shooter, but it's probably the greatest ever.

I'll talk a little about its prequel, Starglider, but not much because I hardly played it. Starglider was one of the first games I saw on the painfully keyboarded Spectrum 128k. Not only did it see an end to the 48k’s rubber-keyed madness, the 128 had a nifty sound chip and it was used there to great effect. Visually, Starglider was also impressive, with colourful wireframe graphics, but sadly they weren't reflected in the limited depth of gameplay. My minimalist soul still preferred Elite’s heavenly monochrome and that largely sums up my feelings for the game; an inferior Elite.

In contrast, Starglider 2, is a far more rewarding trip. The game has you streaking from planet to planet across a solar system modelled on our own, collecting materials needed to construct a neutron bomb. When completed, this is used to destroy a not-the-Death-Star-honest enemy space station. The fact that the game ended when the completed station destroyed your home planet is another happy coincidence. The Star Wars similarities end there, although your ship, ICARUS does bear a vague resemblance to a Y-wing. The bomb-making materials (that’s not going to look good on Google) are mostly found deep within tunnel complexes, which lurk under the surface of many of the planets. Each planet also has an enormous variety of wildlife, from massive space whales, to the cuter and copyright-infringing pac-worms.

As adorable as Elite’s physics-based control system is, Starglider 2’s arcade-based controls are undoubtedly more fun. Think Ridge Racer as opposed to Gran Turismo, or Starfox, but with full freedom of movement. It’s this element combined with its enormous depth that makes Starglider 2 worth your time. While there have been many space sims with a far wider scope since, none have had the same instant accessibility and sheer enjoyability as Argonaut’s finest. It's definitely a Game Worth Playing.

Retro Games Worth Playing 1 - Cylon Attack

Name: Cylon Attack
Platform: BBC Micro & Acorn Electron
Release Date: 1983
Publisher: A&F
Designers:
Predecessors: Star Wars (arcade)
Descendants: Elite







Cylon Attack is a bloody noisy game. Due to the BBC Micro's unmutable (but not unmutual) internal speaker, emulation can't totally convey the full-on Cylon Attack experience. From the very start, the A&F title screen growls at you, then sends thunderclaps ricocheting around the room.




Better known for the classic-but-I-can-take-it-or-leave-it Chuckie Egg, this time around A&F took their inspiration from Battlestar Galactica, rather than the fun and frolics of the henhouse. In terms of gameplay, Cylon Attack is reminiscent of the original Star Wars arcade game; scroll around a first-person starfield shooting gits. While not featuring an equivalent of a Death Star run, Cylon Attack breaks up the action nicely with the need to refuel at your mothership. Laser temperature is also to be monitored, which may have inspired a virtually identical system in Elite.



Unusually for the era, the game offers the chance to save your high scores. Back then, saving data to tape was generally reserved for text adventures. Certainly, Cylon Attack is a game that encourages high-score shenanigans, but the changes in enemy types and scenery are the main incentives to play on. Perhaps 'scenery' is a bit of an exaggeration, but it's Cylon Attack's little white blobs of joy that push it into worth playing territory. The TARDIS, a mutant from Defender, ooh, look it's a-what is-is that an X-Wing? They're a little rudimentary, but it's the attention to detail that makes Cylon Attack a Game Worth Playing.

Retro Games Worth Playing

Played any old games lately? Played any good old games lately? Yeah, tends to be that way, doesn't it? You get a hankering for some dimly-remembered game from your youth, Gauntlet, perhaps, or Mortal Kombat. So, you download an emulator, which doesn't work too well, never mind, grab another. That works fine, then on to the laborious and legally dubious task of tracking down the particular game your nostalgia genes are craving. If you're lucky, you might not even have to give up your email address to get hold of it, but it still takes precious time. Eventually, you're all set, the emulator, the game, it's all good to go. I'll be generous and assume from then on, it all goes swimmingly and soon you're dodging bullets, eating dots or hopping across a busy road with gay abandon.

For about five minutes.

Nostalgia is a seductive, but ultimately shallow beast. Once the initial rush of recognition has faded, it's only the inherent worth of a trip down memory lane that makes it durable. That's the point of this blog; tracking down past games that still hold up today. I'll try and avoid the obvious ones, like Elite, Super Mario Bros., or Doom and remind you of, or introduce you to, barely-remembered classics, games that slipped through the cracks and ambitious titles that gave a glimpse into the future of videogaming.