My gaming history – Part 2

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Craig M

In the early nineties, I was in possession of two more gaming systems, firstly the much famed Sega Megadrive (aka Genesis) as well as another micro-computer, the Commodore Amiga 600. Now for a long time, along with the Amstrad CPC 464 computer, I had found my gaming hobby growing, mostly down to having friends who had the same systems as me (mostly the Amstrad), and borrowing games and building a collection. However it was time to movie on and if memory serves me correct, my parents got me a Megadrive for Christmas one year. The only real issue with such a console was that compared to what I had been used to with the Amstrad, the games were much more expensive, and well let’s say the at the time bundled ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ was my only game for the system. Not that I was complaining – I’d never seen graphics like that in my life and it was a firm favourite.

I later with some saving and borrowing was able to get hold of games like Revenge of ‘Shinobi’, ‘Road Rash’ … as well as being able to rent some titles from my local video rental store. One firm memory I have of this era though was the rather guilty confession of seeking out ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’, which was a later Christmas present and I remember finding it when looking for prezzies in my parent’s bedroom, and having a cheeky play on it when they weren’t at home…then putting it back and acting all surprised Christmas morning. No, I’m not proud of myself but I was only about 14!.

I think I had the Commodore Amiga 600 a little after the Sega Megadrive and it was one of a series of computers that were all the craze at school amongst my friends. When I had the Amstrad everyone talked about the Amiga (and it’s nearest rival at the time the Atari ST) both home computer’s which were like a more user-friendly, cheaper alternative to the PC which was more an office system back then and not as widely available. The micro-computer boom fizzled out in the mid to late nineties when consoles and PCs became more popular (with the success various Sega and Nintendo systems ruling the nineties). Yet despite owning a Megadrive, to have an Amiga made me feel like I was finally a part of a bigger, more respected crowd, and it was a system I really enjoyed. I would buy, borrow and (ahem…copy) many games for the system and firm favourites were ‘Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge’, ‘The Chaos Engine’, ‘Alien Breed’, ‘Turrican’ (1 & 2), ‘Formula One Grand Prix’ and ‘Syndicate’. I formed a friendship with a friend of mine that worked in a shop and both owning an Amiga developed a friendship that still exists today. Good times.

In part 3 I’ll be taking a look at the advent of PlayStation … the console to get that was marketed quite unlike other consoles before it.

PS4 @ E3 2015

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Craig M

Well having watched what Microsoft were bringing to the table yesterday, I have recently finished watching rival Sony’s briefing at the hyped and famed convention in Los Angeles. Riding high on strong sales figures that have been way ahead of Xbox One, Sony were seeming to be getting a little too smug … with last year’s e3 offering very little beyond Destiny hype and Bloodborne. So with another twelve months since then, what have Sony delivered?

The vibe it seems this year was a lot of old, and a handful of new. Answering hard-core gamer’s wish lists for dream games was firmly on the agenda as two much desired franchises got a mention and new games being announced that we never thought we’d see. Yes namely Final Fantasy VII getting the remake treatment and finally there will be a Shenmue III. Both niche projects it may seem, but exciting none the less. Also surprisingly we got to finally see the much delayed, rumoured cancelled but highly anticipated The Last Guardian in action … and underwhelming graphics aside, looks as engrossing and as powerful as Ico and Shadow Of The Colossus that proceeded it. The only thing missing from such wish-fulfilment was Half-Life 3. Oh well, we can’t have everything it seems.

Thankfully then Sony did have a few new titles up their sleeve, most notably Killzone Creator Guerrilla’s very promising looking Horizon: Zero Dawn – which seems like a post-apocalyptic transformers, with tribes people up against mechanised dinosaurs in a somewhat Monster Hunter vein. Yet Media Molecule’s game making painting-thing Dreams looked pretty, technically interesting but well, didn’t Project Spark do all this a while back? Then we come to Street Fighter V … which looked, dare I say it a step-back from the visual cartoon beauty of SF IV… I was expecting to be blown away by a franchise that has been close to my heart for decades, and it looked old and out-dated.

Thankfully then it was down to some old faces from last year and a few multi-platform titles to liven up the show with a newly announced Hitman – always a yay from me, a very Advanced Warfare looking Black Ops III and erm, no in game footage and just a cut scene for Assassin Creed Syndicate? Bizarre. Although Star Wars: Battlefront looked amazing. So naturally Sony closed the show with what was easily their best chance for a win – Uncharted 4: A Thieves End – and despite what I’d seen over at the Xbox briefing – this was the killer game of the show for me.

Sony also had Project Morpheus which they demo’d to interesting results and an extended look at No Man’s Sky, the ambitious space travelling simulation that wowed everyone a couple of year’s back. Still no release date on that one though.

Sony did a good job but felt like beyond Uncharted and Horizon, were trapped on the promises offered up in the past and not kept. Pinning their hype on a former PS3 game that was rumoured dead (The Last Guardian) and giving us games only the hard-core care about anymore (FFVII and Shenmue) seemed a gamble.

It didn’t excite me as much as what the Xbox briefing did … no real welcome surprises and a lack of new IPs. We’ll see. Either way PS4 has little to worry about, but for me Microsoft just pipped them this year.

A xmas message

Posted on December 20, 2014 by Craig M

Well its upon us, that time of year again, and every year I am not in the mood, being a big grump, letting the things that have happened to me during the year cloud my thoughts and make me a miserable bah humbug. Then like every year, there comes a time where it just hits me. I was out doing some shopping this morning and just gathering some stuff, a birthday card here, a bag of cocktail sausages there, some drinks etc. etc.. Walking around the supermarket with Christmas music blaring in my ears and a couple of ol’ favourites come on – Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses and Fairy Tale of New York by The Pogues. Yeah I’m feeling Christmassy.

That stuff I reported on a little while back about being depressed, was referencing losing / severing ties with someone I was very fond of (… I do wonder if she ever reads this). Well … thoughts of that still linger, but I know it’s the past – she is the past, and I really have to finally accept that, even if it was simply a friendship that I had wanted a lot more from. I need to mend, move-the-fuck-on and well, get on with my life.

This blog is a portion of my life, it’s my comfort blanket and somewhere I can sometimes just bleed out my thoughts, even if more often than not I choose not to. In recent months I think it’s a good idea though and get comfort and support from likes or the occasional comment – and that’s no matter the subject. I’ll keep it mainly movies and games based, but don’t be surprised if I have a self-reflective moan occasionally along the way.

For the blog I am trying to squeeze in those last few movies before the end of the year. I keep getting recommended Angelina Jolie’s Malificent and well, I will surely see Guardians of the Galaxy this weekend. Not sure about much else, what with Christmas day on the horizon and family visiting etc., as well as work in between (sob). I also might do an impressions on Assassin’s Creed Unity, probably one of the most interesting and immediately next-gen games I have played so far.

So wishing all my readers, occasional visitors, regular commenters and anyone else a wonderful festive time. I’ll report back on how my Christmas day turns out, what prezzies I’ve had and what I’m up to on the day itself, and you can look out for a Top Ten of my movie viewing year on New Years Eve as always.

I’ll leave you with this brilliant tune:

Xbox One’s secret weapon?

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Craig M

Although as we know Microsoft’s next generation console, Xbox One is lagging behind Sony’s PlayStation 4 sales-wise, for me at least it is still the games that matter … and the exclusives, which helped me when making my decision over which machine to go for. So far Son’y machine has a personally less that appealing offering when it comes to exclusive titles (Drive Club, 1886 The Order, Uncharted 4? Meh…) compared to Microsoft wetting our appetites with promises of sequels to well established franchises like Halo and Gears Of War as well as new games like Titanfall and Quantum Break. However this past week has seen the first real in-game footage unveiled of previously announced exclusive Sunset Overdrive, by former Sony-exclusive developers Insomniac Games (Ratchet & Clank, Resistance). To say it looks amazing is an understatement … with memories of the colourful, arcady Dreamcast era coming to mind. Check out the video below:

A milestone reached

Posted on February 15, 2014 by Craig M

After starting this blog back in 2007, I never really did it to become all that popular … I wrote for my own love of writing and my love of movies, games and just getting my opinion out there. However in recent months and with the involvement of other blogs that I follow, there has been a growing interest here in what I am posting. That is such an amazing thing to me, that someone would actually want to read my stuff, let alone come back time and time again. So with a recent milestone reached of 250 followers here and that’s not including those that still visit but haven’t clicked the subscribe button, I want to express my gratitude and sheer joy of having you all on board. It makes writing this not just a hobby I love, but also something I am doing for an awaiting community – something I never thought possible. Please continue to comment, like and read my posts and I will promise to continue to post interesting, fun and informative reviews, as well as whatever else comes to mind.

Thank you so much for the support!

Craig.