R-Type Dimensions - Xbox 360

Incredible! On the fly 2d to 3d graphics. Such a nice gimmick. Such a great way to lift that dull boring game that it has now become and given it a refreshing face lift. To be honest though. Although the lighting effects are nice, the 2d graphics update just seems like a hi res flash game. In fact, come to think of it, I much prefer the graphics of the original. It feels good. I think I'm going to give that old pc engine game another go and see if my muscle memory has improved. Nostalgia eh!

R-Type - PC Engine Arcade Perfect

R-Type, the game was so difficult and so slow paced that it's hard to see why I fell in love with it a long time ago. I guess it was the fact that I was duped by the words 'Arcade Perfect'. The PC Engine conversion was just absolutely amazing for an 8 bit machine. The graphics and the ... graphics. I guess, the words 'arcade perfect' was probably what started me on the road to being a graphic wh*re.

I kept persevering with it so I could be rewarded with the nice graphics on later scenes and levels. But what was frustrating was that until I learned the patterns, this game was punishing. One hit and your left with just a seriously basic blaster and then warped into a myriad of bullets.

It hasn't aged well. It's become a boring shooter. I blame the current generation of games with it's fabulously, jaw dropping graphics which has drained the gameplay and challenge out of me. But wait, what's this?

Shinobi - Sega Master Garbage

This was a game I so wanted to enjoy. The ninjas, the shuriken and the cool end of level bosses. But the music, the controls, the graphics, the scrolling when the ninja goes up a level are terrible. I just couldn't get into the music and where was the ninja magic? There were so many frustrating parts and the timing of the jumps are just too rigid.

However, I was pretty sure that when I first bought this, I was loving every minute of it. I guess some things change. Gears of War, 3d platform games and analog sticks have really spoilt me.

Punch Out - Nes Boxing Game

This was an exciting boxing game when I first played it. The action was fast and smooth and the punches felt right. I loved the different characters that you had to fight and I liked the way there was a strategy that was required to beat them.

I still remembered when I got all the way to Mike Tyson and beat him. What joy! What satisfaction! Boy! Was it rewarding.

Magnavox Odyssey - What a Name! What a load of...names.

Philips Videopac G7000 aka Magnavox Odyssey aka Philips Odyssey aka the console I played with my Uncle but couldn't be bothered to remember the name. Only two games were available to me when I was young and those two games I cannot for the life of me remember what their names were. One was a space invaders game, while the other one was a racing game. The powers of the internet meant I could find those games and what a surprise it was. The racing game was called Race and the space invader game was called Space Monster. There was me thinking it was going to be 2D Turbo Racer Driver or Space Fighter Universe.

Schneider 7200 - The Philips VideoPac Variant

Look at this monstrosity of a design! Wow! A built in black and white monitor with a flat keyboard and 2 detachable controllers. In fact there is a white version which looked ridiculously awful. Check out this website that has a comprehensive overview of this unique and rare computer/games machine. If only I was born many years earlier I would have bought one of these and played this to the death!

Castlevania 3 - Dracula's Curse

The music captured the right atmosphere and made me want to enter the castle and bust some skeletons. I couldn't wait to power up my whips and get some random spells that tend to run out towards the end of the level when I'm facing a boss.

The controls are stiff and the character ponders at a leisurely pace. The graphics are nice with some impressive sprite animation and the usual 8 bit finesse but with the somewhat unusual unsatisfying weird Nintendo color palette.

Chuckie Wars - Blood Revolution

Classic games like Chuckie Egg are long gone. They'll probably update or remix this game for the PSP or Xbox Live. Games like these would be called Chuckie Wars - Blood Revolution. Graphics updated from 8 colors to 16 millions colors. Frame rate improvement from 4 to 60. Stereo sound effects of the chicken squawking and a techno epic styled soundtrack. Main character would get a machine gun so he could splatter the birds. Oh, blood and entrails would be required. Instead of collecting eggs, you have to collect powerups that can do even more damage to the birds. Oh, have an end of level boss that looks frightening deformed with a science fiction background. Oh, and the birds would probably have to be replaced with humans.

Chuckie Egg - Best Game Ever

Instant playability. Great jumping compared to other platform games. No stiffy jobs or micro second timing required.

Addictive game play that makes you want to play again and again. Good for 30 seconds and realistically playable for hours.

Simple objective, collect all the eggs and avoid the birds. No bothersome cut scenes or mandatory craptacular puzzles to solve.

Great graphics in terms of simplicity and layout so you know what to do without thinking. Great sound, so basic and simple that it fits the game perfectly.

River City Ransom - River City Rubbish!

Everything from the graphics to the sounds, to the story lines, to the potential martial art power up and special items bought in shops was absolutely lifeless, bland and mind-numbingly dull.

The free roaming feature was just a feature I dreaded in this game as I kept wondering if I was going to do any backtracking.

It felt like work trying to play this game and what ever compels someone to complete this game is beyond me. Maybe it's because I have become so used to current games where beat em ups felt like I was beating something up. This game has been overrated and underrated. To me, I don't know what the fuss is.