Developed and published by Team 17 in 1992. Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Al82_Retro Add me on Google+: http://bit.ly/1tPwL1u Note: I found a duplicate segment of video during the first bonus level. This is a new encode with the segment removed. Link to Project-X Special Edition 93 Longplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tih1QIUG2WE I remember seeing the first preview images of Project-X in Amiga Action magazine and thinking that they looked insanely good. I still remember the image in particular; it was one of the large missile-firing craft that was basically a windscreen and a massive set of rocket tubes underneath, resembling something out of Warhammer 40k. There were high expectations and a fair degree of hype for the game as it was billed as the premier shoot 'em up on the Amiga, understandably so because the visuals were better than most of the dedicated arcade machines out there at the time. I won't waste time on the game's story since it's covered in the video, so let's get straight on with talking about the actual gameplay. Before play begins, the player has the choice of three different craft; each differs in speed and the maximum number of weapons that can be carried. The most heavily armed ship is also the slowest as you might expect, but there is a problem with this approach that we'll address later. Unsurprisingly, Project-X is a horizontal shoot 'em up that pays homage to R-Type and similar arcade games, requiring the player to blast through wave upon wave of alien craft before doing battle with a boss at the end of the stage. Speaking of stages, there five in total (not including the bonus levels and the final trench run), each fairly lengthy in duration and packed full of enemies to destroy. The game has an extensive power-up system where tokens can be collected from enemies and saved up until the desired item is highlighted at the bottom of the screen. A whole range of front cannons, missiles and goodies is available but the the most useful is undoubtedly the plasma. Unfortunately, the developers implemented a control scheme that purchased an item when the joystick is waggled from left to right; considering this is a fast paced shooter where the player is moving all the time and there is a huge amount of frustration caused by inadvertently purchasing unwanted items (I used a WHDLOAD version that allowed this to be disabled). Another complete faux pas (in my opinion) is the fact that adding weapons to the ship decreases it's speed and also adds horrid inertia so you don't stop moving immediately. I can see logic behind making the craft more unwieldy as a result of attaching extra bulk, but this is an arcade shooter and not a simulator. The default craft ends up handling like a complete barge and avoiding enem ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsDsZOn4CTE

Game Info --------------------------------------------------- Developer: Peter Adams Music: David Whittaker Publisher: Mastertronic Year of Release: 1986 Game Review & Impressions --------------------------------------------------- I recorded this 3 years ago and just never got around to publishing it, Panther is a combination of Zaxxon, Defender and Choplifter. The objective is rescue as many scientists stranded in each level as possible, flying them to safety at one of the various command bunkers located on each level. Your rescue attempt won't go unchallenged, however. You need to shoot down enemy attack craft before they can blow you out of the sky, which is far more difficult than it should be. The inclusion of Z-axis for height elevation means you have to adjust your craft's height to the correct level in order to actually hit anything, and it's a constant annoyance in an otherwise nifty budget game. It doesn't help that you can only shoot one set of projectiles at a time; you're totally exposed if you actually miss. The game has no ending and stages loop once you've seen all of them. Chapters --------------------------------------------------- TBC ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaKOZWllBMg

Game Info --------------------------------------------------- Developer: Neon Studios Publisher: JoWooD Productions Year of Release: 2002 Game Review & Impressions --------------------------------------------------- I was looking for inspiration for a suitable festive game to cover this holiday period, when I stumbled across this particular title. I remembered JoWooD created the Industry Giant games on PC back in the early 2000s, so I was curious to see what Santa Claus Jr. was like - was it be any good, or would it be mediocre gaming fodder left to lingering at the bottom of the Game Boy bargain bin? As a matter of fact, I was very pleasantly surprised. Santa Claus Jr. Advance is a no-nonsense, simple platform game that's ideal for kids; it looks stunning, and the fact it contains so many levels means this would have made a great accompaniment for anyone receiving a Game Boy Advance in their Christmas stockings. The game is actually a sequel of sorts to Santa Claus Jr., which launched on the Game Boy Color only a year prior - the two games are similar conceptually, the Advance version is a massive step up in terms of graphics. Story-wise, a wicked witch has turned Santa's toys into viscious monsters and it's up to young Nick to aid Santa in delivering presents to children scattered around each of the game's 36 levels. Each stage contains a set number of presents to deliver, and whilst I don't think it's mandatory to find all the children, completionists will probably enjoy scoring 100% in each area. It's great to see the designers include a series of tutorial levels to help explain the mechanics and controls to the player, and I'd recommend plaything through these before embarking on the main adventure. Speaking of controls, the only real gripe I have is with the game is the double-jump mechanic. Because you need to release and depress the jump button to bounce higher on balloons and certain platforms, it's too easy to trigger the double-jump and waste star power used to power your abilities. It's just a little bit fiddly, which becomes more problematic in later levels where levels feature more hazards and are generally more maze-like. This isn't a Mario-beater, but I enjoyed my time with the game. The graphics, colour palette and general gameplay reminded me of James Pond II: RoboCod, and I don't consider that a bad thing. If you're looking for family-frieldly platformer this Yuletide, Santa Claus Jr. Advance is worth a look. Merry Christmas! Chapters --------------------------------------------------- 00:00:00 Title screen 00:00:30 Tutorials 00:03:46 Main game 01:19:03 Final boss & ending ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb2U3WK5sJg

Follow me on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/Al82_Retro Get Great Retro Scene News @ http://www.vintageisthenewold.com Developed and published by Duintronic in 1989 I'd never heard of this game before, but a picture was enough to pique my interest. It turns out Buccaneers is just a total rip-off of Kung-Fu Master and Vigilante, but there's a definite charm to this swashbuckling side-scroller. It's VERY short, and apart from the inclusion of a musket for ranged combat, there's little to recommend the game. Even so, it's still pretty cool! #buccaneers #arcade #retrogames ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19hYcxlb8Y4