Search found 18 matches

by Iain[Ian]Ianson
January 11th, 2023, 11:02 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Replies: 10
Views: 42720

Re: 592: Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

I devoured this game on release. Having loved the first Prime so much, and having loads of free time on my hands, I was able to dive in fully, not rush a single moment, and in-so-doing had a brilliant time, with none of the friction that I hear many people talk about when discussing this sequel. I’v...
by Iain[Ian]Ianson
January 11th, 2023, 10:47 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Replies: 11
Views: 3923

Re: 556: Animal Crossing: New Horizons

An amazingly well-made game no doubt. But they definitely ramped up the busy-work since the original and Wild World (the last ones I played). while seemingly removing a lot of dialogue options from the previous game. Or at least it feels that way. Also speaking personally, there’s something a little...
by Iain[Ian]Ianson
January 11th, 2023, 10:31 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Halo Infinite
Replies: 11
Views: 28838

Re: 593: Halo Infinite

Some of the best shooting I’ve ever felt in a game. But the vehicle physics being too twitchy, the world only having a single biome, no scarabs, and a slightly too formulaic open-world structure prevents this from reaching the heights of Halo 1 and 3 for me. So close to greatness. I hope they get an...
by Iain[Ian]Ianson
January 11th, 2023, 10:19 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: OutRun 2
Replies: 9
Views: 31581

Re: 594: OutRun 2 series

For my very particular tastes, this is the last truly great racing game ever made. Virtua Racing, Daytona, Ridge Racer, Sega Rally being the others that came before. I’m probably overstating it, but descending into, and drifting through just the right corner in this game, gives me about as much joy ...
by Iain[Ian]Ianson
January 11th, 2023, 10:04 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Ridge Racer series
Replies: 6
Views: 6232

Re: 587: Ridge Racer series

The first Ridge Racer is still the one for me. Revolution is okay, but looks a bit like modded content. I find the track geometry strangely messy looking, and various corner sequences lacking in ‘flow’ for lack of a better word. Maybe I’m just rubbish. Rage is where a bit of bloat came in, with an u...
by Iain[Ian]Ianson
January 11th, 2023, 9:45 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: F-Zero series
Replies: 5
Views: 25788

Re: 591: F-Zero series

Have only given any meaningful time to the original SNES game, and Maximum Velocity on the GBA. They’re both excellent. The vibe in the first one is so delightfully garish and colourful. The amount of face-button tapping that’s needed (especially on Maximum Velocity) I think has caused me some genui...
by Iain[Ian]Ianson
January 11th, 2023, 9:38 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Metroid: Zero Mission
Replies: 7
Views: 2641

Re: 566: Metroid: Zero Mission

Don’t like this one having played it again recently. I did enjoy it on original release, but now find the movement, graphics and sound too arcadey when compared to the game that inspired it. For Fusion, a similar presentation seemed to fit okay, but when put against 1 or 3, this gives me almost MGS:...
by Iain[Ian]Ianson
July 11th, 2022, 9:25 am
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Virtua Racing (V.R.)
Replies: 6
Views: 3042

Re: 536: Virtua Racing

Having played a lot of the Switch version, and then returning to the Mega Drive version I played so much back in the day, it’s impressive to confirm how much of the original Arcade DNA they squeezed into that old port. Even the very minor speed boosts you get from drafting are there. Almost exactly ...
by Iain[Ian]Ianson
February 16th, 2022, 9:20 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Metroid Prime
Replies: 18
Views: 10762

Re: 539: Metroid Prime

This just pips Super Metroid to the Metroid top-spot for me. It shares the same broad strokes of Super Metroid, but almost everything it did technically (60fps, detail through geometry in favour of textures, ultra-polished camera transitions, incredible looking scan visors, brilliantly smooth inputs...
by Iain[Ian]Ianson
April 15th, 2021, 6:03 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: SEGA Rally Championship series
Replies: 7
Views: 5893

Re: 477 - SEGA Rally Championship 1995

Sega Rally is lightning in a bottle. From the first day I played the game on Christmas day 1996 on my brand new Sega Saturn, to this very day, it just plays perfectly. I would change nothing. I don't want more cars. I don't want more tracks. I don't wish the handling was any heavier or any lighter....
by Iain[Ian]Ianson
April 3rd, 2021, 4:55 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Quake
Replies: 18
Views: 11214

Re: 475 - Quake

The grime, the stone, the rusted metal, the toxic clouds, the shambling monsters. Sublime. I had a PC given to me by my cousin, which could barely run the game at 320x240, but it still felt so advanced. Yeah Terminator Future Shock did mouse control first, and Duke3D had more intricate levels. But t...
by Iain[Ian]Ianson
April 3rd, 2021, 2:45 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: SEGA Rally Championship series
Replies: 7
Views: 5893

Re: 477 - SEGA Rally Championship 1995

This game is special. I played hours and hours of the Saturn version with my best friend. We did the championship over and over, seemingly endless time attack sessions, and a boat-load of split-screen too. I remember how amazed we were that when randomly racing in opposite directions on the desert t...
by Iain[Ian]Ianson
April 3rd, 2021, 2:27 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Wave Race 64 and Wave Race: Blue Storm
Replies: 4
Views: 4031

Wave Race 64 and Wave Race: Blue Storm

Wave Race 64 felt like pure magic when it released and is still impressive today. The way the player reacts to the movement of the waves just feels incredible and looks great. There are still very few games that bother to create such a believable relationship between a character and a body of water....
by Iain[Ian]Ianson
April 3rd, 2021, 2:07 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Tomb Raider (1996)
Replies: 12
Views: 10466

Re: 491 - Tomb Raider (1996)

I completed this on PS1 for the first time in 2020, having previously only played various demos on the Saturn, PS1 and PC over the years. The push for more and more action, story and set pieces as the sequels released seems poorly judged in retrospect. This original game is so easy to parse and be i...
by Iain[Ian]Ianson
April 2nd, 2021, 3:29 pm
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Nintendo 64
Replies: 22
Views: 14845

Re: Our next Console Special podcast recording (3.4.21) - Nintendo 64

As a 13 year old, the run up to the Nintendo 64 launch was the most excited I have ever been a gaming console launch.

 I remember painstakingly creating a 1:1 scale papier-mâché model of the console, from all the various graphics and photos in Edge and other magazines. A similarly enthusiastic new ...
by Iain[Ian]Ianson
June 26th, 2019, 12:39 am
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Pilotwings 64
Replies: 5
Views: 4325

Re: 380: Pilotwings 64

I couldn’t believe how good this game looked when it was first revealed. There was a VHS included in an issue of N64 magazine, containing a short snippet of bird-man gameplay on the snowy level. I watched it over and over as a young teenager, while I desperately tried to save for the console I would...
by Iain[Ian]Ianson
June 26th, 2019, 12:23 am
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: INSIDE
Replies: 12
Views: 11804

Re: 378: INSIDE

One of the most polished games ever made. There’s so much bespoke animation. Every opening you squeeze through or door you wrestle open is a unique set of assets. It’s a small thing, but it really helps to demonstrate the care and attention lavished on this game. The feel of character movement is ri...
by Iain[Ian]Ianson
June 2nd, 2019, 8:57 am
Forum: Videogame Discussion
Topic: Donkey Kong 64
Replies: 6
Views: 6831

Re: 395: Donkey Kong 64

Have tried playing this game a few times and have never got more than a few hours in. The controls are extremely sluggish. Try flicking the stick in the opposite direction to change orientation on the spot, it just doesn’t work. Criminal. The animation outside of the main character walk/run cycles a...