One last turf war before the plug is pulled on my favourite era of videogames since the PS1.

Well, a few games, and several games which disconnected due to server instability. An all time classic. Memories of hot summer evenings in 2015 playing Squid Jump while waiting in the lobby. The lobby music sending me right back to the time.

My friend actually bought me this. I got home from work to find a parcel with my name changed to an ink related pun. I couldn't believe my luck. Iffy servers be damned, I spent hours upon hours on this game, and for a while it was never bettered. It took a lot of updates for the sequel to rival this one.

It may have been superseded and eventually bettered, but this will always be my favourite.

Stay fresh 🥲

The first two THPS games were as much a culture as they were a videogame. Although I was a wee sk8r boy in my teens, these games coming along at the height of that was perfect timing. Giving me accessible content to this culture that up until then was only really seen in magazines or the odd TV show and niche sky TV channel. And it was a culture embraced by those around me too.

And the games were awesome. The only thing is, I could never beat them. I don't recall unlocking Roswell on the first game (though I might have done, as once 2 came out, 1 was more of a novelty to revisit for a few minutes from time to time). I definitely unlocked the chopper drop level on 2, but only ever saw skate heaven thanks to a cheat code.

20 odd years later, I'm no longer an edgy teen rocking baggy jeans and listening to most of the bands off the soundtrack. However I have been enjoying the remake of these landmark, formative videogames. And for the first time I've 100% completed all of the challenges. And I put this down to the addition of the revert. I remember getting up a fair amount of combo points in the original THPS2 thanks to the addition of the manual function, but as the revert wasn't introduced until 3, I never got too many big combos, and I could never get the sick scores in the later levels. Nor did I get gold on the skate parks. The revert changed everything and I'm stringing together 100,000+ point combos at a time, making those goals much more achievable.

Much like Crash and Spyro before this, its good to see that not too many liberties have been taken in the updating of the ps1 classics. It feels like the originals. It adds a feature that makes it even more fun and I had a great time again.

I haven't played any of the fancy new sims that are around today, but I don't think that skateboard games have been bettered.

Lovely platforming puzzle game that is reminiscent of the great Rare platformers of the N64 era and more obviously, Pikmin. I'm a sucker for games where you are a tiny person in a regular house. There's always a sense of adventure despite the objectively banal setting.

The game plays great and there's always loads to explore with each level and it's quite amusing as well. The art style is lovely and I simply could not stop playing.

It gives me Micro Machines/Toy Story 2 vibes as well. A really good time. It's on game pass so give it a go!

Having previously played the Wii version of this, I had a good idea what to expect, but didn't expect to enjoy it quite as much as did here. Firstly, the remaster is cracking. Despite it being pretty unremarkable playing handheld, it looked absolutely incredible playing on the TV. Every time I went from handheld to docked, the difference had me in awe at just how great this looked (between this and Super Mario Sunshine, Nintendo have proved that the GameCube is another potential for some fantastic ports/remasters).

Gameplay wise, once you get used to the fact that this is a standard Metroid game in a 3D environment, it really clicks. I've a seen a few complaints about having to go back and forth through the same areas several times. This is a Metroid game, that's part of the experience. I don't think there was a time I felt cheated by having to go back to previous areas I couldn't access until I got certain weapons or power ups. Only when I haven't saved it for a while and then die because I'm doing something stupid and then have to reload the last save point as the game doesn't auto save and there could be a whole section you've got to replay again because you didn't notice the save point through the other door and were playing silly buggers.

That's probably my only gripe about this to be fair. Sometimes there too much distance between save points.

I had a fantastic time playing this. When I wasn't playing it, I was thinking about playing it or I was playing Fusion because it was fun jumping between the two. It's probably only the second Metroid after Dread where I'm considering going straight back in on hard mode.

And I probably would were it not for the fact I've got the sequels ready and waiting so I probably gonna crack on with Echoes instead.
How good would it be if they remaster the other two as well? Or even just port them over to switch? They'd still look brilliant.

Metroid Prime is ace, and I'm glad this remaster eventually arrived.

After reading the Retro Gamer Super Metroid 30th anniversary feature, funnily enough, I fancied playing it. And play it I did. Absolutely soaked in unsettling atmosphere, and some great action platforming, it's a game that is not only brilliant in its own right, but actually made better by sequels like Prime and Dread.

I did have a few moments where I found it to be a little laborious. Some of the backtracking was a chore, and the wall jump and space jump were inconsistent, but I can overlook those as minor gripes in a game that I had a lot of fun with.

I don't really need to go over what's been said a zillion times already. Game good.

Entertaining survival horror throw back to the likes of 90s Resident Evil and Silent Hill, complete with terrible character dialogue and even worse acting. A decent balance of combat and puzzles, despite the former being a little on the iffy side, and the latter being inconsistent in terms of difficulty.

Sometimes the puzzles made me feel like a genius, other times made me feel thick. But for the most part it was good stuff. The fixed perspectives and creepy music add to the atmosphere and the aesthetic really added to it as well. Finding diaries and journals was as fun as the games it was influenced by and just as goofy, too.

It's a budget game and by no means perfect,but it has an endearing quality that kept me coming back. I had a great time overall and it was nice to play a new game in the old survival horror format from back in the good old days.

What a great time I've had with this. I've just finished the first game which means I've now beaten all three. The first is most definitely the hardest, with a lot of patience required but learning patterns and platforms etc pays off eventually. The first two islands are really good, but the difficulty spike on the 2nd does get a bit ridiculous.

But nevertheless I persevered and had a really good time. As an overall package, it's fantastic. Part nostalgia, part great platformer, this has been exactly what the doctor ordered over the last couple of weeks. I've not long got over covid and moved house so it's been a really tough time for me and this has been pure comfort gaming from start to finish.

Thank you Crash Bandicoot. I hope your depth perception improves in the latest one.

Magic, eh? It's really something playing the first three Mario games back to back. Seeing how they progress over the years. Obviously, 2 has a bit of an exception, but it still fits in perfectly.

But playing through each level, you really appreciate the meticulous effort put into to building the game. The stages, locations, level types, all fit perfectly. And while it does get frustrating in the later levels, it never stops being fun. It's definitely the pinnacle of platforming games on the NES, and a game I've played to death on the All Stars cart, but like 2, I'd never beaten the original until now. I remember getting up to Dark World as kid when playing it at my cousins house, but getting absolutely railed on those first couple of levels on world 8. Well I'm not a stupid kid any more. I'm a stupid adult, who just beat Super Mario Bros 3 on the NES.

Next up is Super Mario World, I suppose. I can only wonder if its any better than this (I'm lying, it's one of my all time favourite videogames).

I'm fairly certain the last time I played this through to the end that it glitched out and skipped some levels. I know I finished it as I remember pondering the orb at the end. Yet half of the levels leading up to it I have zero recollection of and I only got the achievements for finishing them on this play through. Which is weird.

As much as enjoyed the 2nd half of this campaign, it took a lot of warming too. I didn't like playing as Spartan Locke. I play these to Master Chef, dammit. But once the story progresses I found myself warming to the characters a bit more and come the finale, I was INTO IT.

I feel like we're thrown in halfway through what the full story should be as there's just blanks between the end of 4 and the start of this one. I know they're filled in through conversation and cut scenes, but a bit more of that at the beginning would've helped me warm to the characters more, even the chief who comes across as annoyingly stubborn at times.

I know the split story lines and new characters add something a bit fresh to proceedings, but you know what else might? Getting rid of the sterile grey and white buildings that make you feel like you're in a Hannah-Barbera corridor animation. The greeneries and cities look great, but the constant reliance on drab grey structures for the finale outstayed its welcome in the first game.

Still, great gameplay, lovely graphics and top sound design give that great AAA blockbuster game you just got for Xmas vibe, and once it bedded in, I had a great time. I've now finished all the Halo games over the course of the last 12 months. I'm ready for Infinite.

Luckily for you, I'm not that articulate, so you're not getting an essay on how this improves on every single shortcoming of the previous game and how this is probably one of my favourite games on the Switch now. But what I will say is, I enjoyed this from beginning to end.

The characters and voice actors were great, the nopon were bearable, and the music, whilst not as memorable as the original, was just as lovely. The orchestral variations of the off seer flute music were rousing and reminded me of Joe Hishashi.

The locations were great, and true to video game stereotype. Green, sand, snow, technojunk.

The story and cutscenes, while daft, and often far too fucking long, were great and I was quite moved at times. I wasn't expecting this to be worse than two, but I wasn't expecting it to be better than the first game. I loved it so much more.

I'm gonna have to get the dlc.

As far as comebacks go, this has gotta be up there with one of the best. After years waiting for a new Metroid, this is a massive treat. A huge adventure, where achievement and progression is almost like a high. Finding new power ups and defeating tough bosses is a great feeling and just when you think you've been everywhere and got everything, you realise you've missed one little bit that opens up to even more.

The action is fast paced and slick. Once you get to grips with the controls, it's an absolute pleasure to play. I say that because I'd come straight from playing Super Metroid with a different control layout and it took some getting used to.

My only criticism is that some of the speed blocks are absolute arseholes, some of the items are so well hidden I'm finding it near impossible to get 100% in some of the areas and some of the boss fights take the piss with how many different patterns etc you've got to get used to. The last one in particular took a fair few attempts.

But overall I've enjoyed pretty much everything about it and have done nothing but want to play it when I've had to other things (thanks, work). It's got me hyped for more Metroid. Might have to rig up the Wii U again and get the Prime Trilogy on the go.

I purchased Gear.Club Unlimited on the Nintendo Switch at the weekend. It was definitely worth the 89 gold points I spent to get it, although something about its structure feels very mobile game. I've been on bit of racing thing recently and playing it made me realise something I normally say in jest but genuinely mean this time around. They don't make them like they used to.

OutRun C2C is a game I've wanted for years but I just never got round to it. A couple of months ago I finally bit the bullet and bought it off eBay. I'm absolutely glad I did because it turns out it's one of the most exhilarating racing games I've ever played, and goes to further prove, the genre peaked with the PS2. Yes, there's a lot of very good racing games on contemporary systems, but nothing can compare to the sheer fun and arcade style on offer here (see also Ridge Racer V).

From the fantastic visuals, excellent track design and awesome music arrangement, this game is just 100% fun. Incorporating the original aspects of OutRun, as well as building on the game modes, play style and overall presentation. It's not hyperbole when it's said this is one of the best arcade racing games ever made. This is sheer joy on a disc.

I almost marked it down for the game making you have the psp version to unlock everything that's on offer, but I can't be mad when it's already this good before you get to in game unlockable items. And heck, I'm tempted to buy a psp with this on it anyway, just to get even more of a fix. If only I didn't sell mine 15 years ago. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I had played this back in the day, and whilst I found entertaining enough, I never really made much progress. From the opening level of playing this via the Switch, I was hooked.

It's a great pick up and play cover shooter which you can't go wrong with for a half hour to an hour of thrilling videogame action. It's a bit of a generalisation to say it's somewhere in between Time Crisis and Metal Gear Solid, yet that's exactly what it feels like.

I had a very good time with this and despite some spammy bosses, I would go as far to say it's one of the best games I've played this year. I'm thrilled it was included with the first batch of N64 games on Switch. An underrated gem.