Is it possible to play every Amiga game releases? A project to do just that!

[gimbal]

Originally Posted by Weasel Fierce

I downloaded Strider and Strider 2, plus I promised Akira.

Wow. Well, it's been nice knowing you.

[Weasel Fierce]

I couldnt find my CF card so no Strider.

Instead we got:

Advanced Fruit Machine Simulator
Booting this up, I thought this might be like a collection of casino games which I wouldn't be interested in, but at least there'd be some enjoyment. No, it's just a computer slot machine. This is easily the most pointless thing I've ever played on the Amiga. It also doesn't sound very good at all and the visuals are extremely flat and dull.

I suppose its one saving grace is that its not scamming grandmas out of their pension money, but come on. Was this a commercial release? Who would pay money for this? And a 91 release at that?
Only play this if you are filled with despair.

1/5

Alien Bash 2
I had first played this a month or two ago and was sort of amused. It is basically a Chaos Engine clone but a bit worse in every way: The levels are bland, the shooting feels weak and the enemies feel generic. It also lacks the kickass music. All that being said, it feels technically accomplished and doesn't have the jank that usually accompanies PD-style games on the Amiga.
I'm a little torn because nothing here is all that great, but I still ended up playing it for quite a while.
Give it a try?

2/5 but a high 2?


I also watched a long play of Running Man, confirming that the game never gets any better and is indeed a complete waste of time.
And while working I watched a long play of Rick Dangerous. I have managed to reach the Egypt stages but not the German ones. There are definitely some moon logic parts to some of the screens.
This brings the completion score to 57.

[gimbal]

I always played Fruit Machine by Byte Back. Possibly the only fun game they made.

https://hol.abime.net/4894

It doesn't give the (false) hope of winning money, but it does give the hope of scoring big. And I managed to do just that numerous times. It serves a purpose, one that does not involve a whole lot of thinking or reflexes

[Weasel Fierce]

Originally Posted by gimbal

I always played Fruit Machine by Byte Back. Possibly the only fun game they made.

https://hol.abime.net/4894

It doesn't give the (false) hope of winning money, but it does give the hope of scoring big. And I managed to do just that numerous times. It serves a purpose, one that does not involve a whole lot of thinking or reflexes

I sort of get that, though I guess I'd prefer minesweeper for that

[gimbal]

I didn't have that on my Miggy...

[Weasel Fierce]

Originally Posted by gimbal

I didn't have that on my Miggy...

There's one included as a "workbench game" in the Classic Workbench distro. Not sure off the top of my head what it's called though. Back in the day the "I feel braindead" game was always Transplant.

[kremiso]

Originally Posted by Weasel Fierce

Alien Bash 2
I had first played this a month or two ago and was sort of amused. It is basically a Chaos Engine clone but a bit worse in every way: The levels are bland, the shooting feels weak and the enemies feel generic. It also lacks the kickass music. All that being said, it feels technically accomplished and doesn't have the jank that usually accompanies PD-style games on the Amiga.
I'm a little torn because nothing here is all that great, but I still ended up playing it for quite a while.
Give it a try?

2/5 but a high 2?

agree
technically it's very good, but it lacks of deep;
i have completed this a couple of months ago, all the further levels are just similar to the first one, no variety

maybe 3/5 judged as a pd game

[Anubis]

Speaking of brain and use of it, is it time for some strategy games??

[Weasel Fierce]

I've been eyeing Global Effect as one that I always wanted to try but I think I definitely need to read the manual first for that one. There's a couple I want to replay (K240 chief among them) too.


Last night was

Strider
No prior experience with the arcade. Okay, so you all knew this was a dog. I loaded it up and was ready to say "eh, it looks nice and it feels kinda cool" and then I jumped and the character floated through the air in slow motion. The controls feel incredibly slippery. Just weak overall.
I guess the tune is pretty cool but it also feels like it is too short.

I will say the vibe of the game is cool. A sword anime man is fighting cyber-Russians? Cool! Just too bad that the game plays like garbage. Play Assassin instead.

As a bonus, I checked out a video of the game and it is extremely short and does not even have a proper ending.

1/5


Completions:
Well, I watched through Strider on the World of Long Plays channel.
Brings the completion score to 58.

[Weasel Fierce]

Originally Posted by kremiso

agree
technically it's very good, but it lacks of deep;
i have completed this a couple of months ago, all the further levels are just similar to the first one, no variety

maybe 3/5 judged as a pd game

Very fair. As a PD game, I'd judge it more positively since it doesn't have the janky feel and there was clearly a lot of attention and work put into it.
I did enjoy it, Its just not a lot there.

[gimbal]

Regarding Strider: I've never actually played a version that I enjoy. The arcade version is fast and furious, has a lot of cool events in each level and looks really good too. But just so not enjoyable to play. Maybe on actual hardware I'd dig it, I don't know.

[kremiso]

as a teenager, i have completed that S-turd-trider a lot of times bitd;
dunno why, i thought it was decent

thank god, with the sequel Tiertex reached finally to fix all the issues...

[Megalomaniac]

Having got an Amiga much later, I sometimes wonder if history is a bit harsh on some late-80s arcade conversions such as Strider, Forgotten Worlds, Ghouls N Ghosts and others. They were generally reviewed well, and generally recreate the basic gameplay of the arcade originals, usually with graphics and sound which are 'very good' for the time period - almost all home-designed games were still ST ports at that time, most didn't let you have sound effects and music together, and most didn't have full-screen action areas. As for comparisons, the Megadrive hadn't launched outside Japan, and how many Amiga owners had even heard of, let alone seen, the X68000 (which was actually far more powerful, and expensive, than an Amiga, so it's not a fair comparison). Do they really compare badly with most contemporary action games?

Strider 2 was inexcusable though. Not only is it technically no improvement, but Time Travel was never a good plot point to introduce into a sequel where the original didn't have it

[Weasel Fierce]

I've mentioned earlier that I think Amiga Street Fighter 2 was perfectly okay, though for Strider I don't think it plays very well at all.

It did review decently at the time though.

[gimbal]

Originally Posted by Megalomaniac

Strider 2 was inexcusable though. Not only is it technically no improvement

It moved a little faster. Which was immediately rendered pointless by the sheer barrage of respawning enemies the game throws at you. You move fast, you die. Ah Capstone. Uh I mean, Tiertex.

[Anubis]

I second opinion on Strider. While it looks OK, it plays really bad.

[Weasel Fierce]

I decided last night to just sit down and play Shadow of the Beast. Like most, Ive played these on and off so this was a replay but I figure getting a trilogy off the list would be cool.

So...


Shadow of the Beast
My first experience with this was in a shop window on an Amiga 500 and then playing it a little bit at a friends house where the weird fantasy/tech atmosphere was burned into my brain as basically the coolest thing ever.
Having multiple locations to visit potentially out of order is frustrating but its also something games rarely had at the time. Having to collect items gives it a tiny bit of adventure feel and the enemy sprites are fun and interesting, often vaguely horror themed.
The gameplay itself is pretty weak. Punch 10.000 dudes. At least you eventually get a laser gun.
This game is infernally difficult (and even with an invincibility cheat I believe you can get yourself stuck) and Ive never made it very fair legit.

2/5 as an actual game but the music and visuals of this game looms so large in Amiga history that you almost can't score it.

Shadow of the Beast 2
I did not play this one back in the day but much later. There's a lot more actual game here, the world is even cooler and the dark fantasy vibe is thicker. It always reminds of a Fighting Fantasy book.
One of the things that makes it so awesome is that different areas have different enemies making it feel like a real place.

The difficulty is absolutely relentless. In fact even with a cheat or trainer, you probably still won't be able to beat it (miss a single coin and you are boned).

3/5 but you have to be hardcore.

Shadow of the Beast 3
The fact that your character gets more human each game always felt really cool. This tones down the action difficulty and includes tons of puzzles, most of which I am far too prosaic to solve. There is something beautiful to much of the art and level layout.
This is often held as the most playable of the three but I find that the atmosphere of the prior two draw me to a greater degree.

3/5. You still have to be hardcore.

[TCD]

Originally Posted by Weasel Fierce

Shadow of the Beast 2
I did not play this one back in the day but much later. There's a lot more actual game here, the world is even cooler and the dark fantasy vibe is thicker. It always reminds of a Fighting Fantasy book.
One of the things that makes it so awesome is that different areas have different enemies making it feel like a real place.

The difficulty is absolutely relentless. In fact even with a cheat or trainer, you probably still won't be able to beat it (miss a single coin and you are boned).

3/5 but you have to be hardcore.

The game is really tough. Like you said even with the 'ten pints' cheat you still need to figure out what to do and some of the puzzles are just bonkers. I played the game so many times back in the day and I maybe saw 15-20% of the game.

[Weasel Fierce]

Originally Posted by TCD

The game is really tough. Like you said even with the 'ten pints' cheat you still need to figure out what to do and some of the puzzles are just bonkers. I played the game so many times back in the day and I maybe saw 15-20% of the game.

Yeah, it is legit difficult to complete even if you cheat and without it, woof, you are toast.

[jotd]

I gave up the 1 & 2 (specially SOTB2 which is unplayable with text interpreter and all... WTF), but used save states (and maybe a walkthrough at times ) to complete the third one and it's pretty good. A bit linear but the best of the 3. And with training I think it's beatable without commiting suicide beforehand.