MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat

What is my situation?

Oh boy, Mechs! I like mechs. I like some styles of mechs more than others, and I probably have the BattleTech series of books to blame. I say series because I only remember having one or two and finishing neither. I must have liked the cover art. Anyway, mechs are great, and MechWarror 2: 31st Century Combat is a video game set in the BattleTech world, so it's like I've come full circle or something.

Now, just because I like mechs, doesn't mean I have a clue what MechWarrior is. Never played it - can't say I've even heard of it. It's about time we change that by jumping into our gracefully lumbering hulks of metal armed to the teeth with rockets and lasers and setting off for... the mission objective, I guess. Whatever that is.

BioForge

An Interactive Movie

Imagine a world where Alone in the Dark didn't look like a cartoon, was set in space and starred a cyborg with so little human flesh remaining that even Darth Vader or a Dalek would seem more of a human. That's BioForge. A mysterious adventure game that tasks you with regaining your memory, escaping evil and struggling with tank controls. What fun!

It looks really rather good, and I've got no knowledge of what it is beyond what's written about it in the 1001 book. So, let's tell you the story of how I've come to be holding a severed arm...

Full Throttle

I'm not putting my lips on that.

Full Throttle. That's got something to do with a guy on a bike, right? That's about all I know of Full Throttle, other than that it is a point and click - my speciality...

I can't say I was looking forward to playing it if I'm honest, but the more I read about it before doing so, the more interested in it I was. It stars the vocal talents of Mark Hamill, for example, whom I think I've heard of before, but also the likes of Maurice LaMarche and Kath Soucie and other names you don't necessarily know but whose voices you definitely do.

Set in an alternate near future version of America, Full Throttle has you point Ben, leader of the Polecats motorcycle gang, around the desolate countryside on a mission to clear his name after being framed for murder.

How soon will I need to search for 'Full Throttle walkthrough'?

Alien Soldier

In whitch we fight terrolists and dodge typos.

There's only one thing I know about Alien Soldier, and that's that it's super hard. It doesn't mess around, demanding mastery of the controls to even begin to think about getting through what is actually a pretty short game.

Basically, I know that I'll be judging this game on the first five minutes, and whatever I then watch on YouTube, so let's hope those first five minutes are pretty damn good.

Command & Conquer

Dunnanah nunnanah nunnanah (Stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp)...

Ah, Command & Conquer. How long has it been, I wonder? I played the hell out of it on the PlayStation, and Red Alert too, but beyond those few titles I've just not been interested in what was on offer from the C&C series.

Why is that? Why are the early games so much better than the later ones? It couldn't just be because of Kane, could it? It's probably because of Kane. Damn, Kane. Why you so good?

Get those bases up and running and get prepared for an almost inevitable tank rush toward the enemy, as we real-time strategy the shit out of an alternate reality war between the Global Defensive Initiative and the Brotherhood of Nod, complete with lovingly created live-action cutscenes.

At least pretend to look interested, Seth

Worms

Bye bye

When we weren't playing on their SNES, I had the odd game or two of Worms on my cousins' computer, which could well have been my first introduction to the idea that video games can be serious and silly. Serious in that there is strategy and skill required to master this game, and silly in that you're hurling grenades at a bunch of worms with high pitched voices.

Whether it is or isn't a seriously silly game, Worms is the kind of title that you've probably played at some point just because someone else introduced you to it and there was just no reason not to. It's Worms - sit tight and wait for your turn.

Star Wars: TIE Fighter

I've been waiting for you...

I've played some air combat games in my time, from, well, Air Combat on the PlayStation 1 to Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter on the PlayStation 2 to... uhm... does Battlefield 4's Air Superiority mode count? The point is, I'm familiar enough with these kinds of games to know I like them - some more than others, of course - but I'm not a massive fan of them.

Enter the wonderful world of PC gaming, a cheap flight stick and the special edition of Star Wars: TIE Fighter and that opinion might just change.

Instead of playing as the Rebel scum from the first title, Star Wars: X-Wing, you are a proud rookie pilot for the Imperial Navy, serving the Emperor on his quest for peace in a galaxy full of chaotic dissidents.

Not only was I never in the position to get this game for a long time, I wasn't even a Star Wars fan when it was released back in the mid-1990s, but TIE Fighter is now firmly on my radar and those X-Wings will soon be falling from the skies.

King of Fighters '94

High Punch. Jumping kick. Big Bang Tackle. (I'm the King of Fighters)

There are enough fighting games for every gamer to have their own series, let alone favourite individual title, but keeping track of them or even being aware of them in the first place can be quite the challenge. Case in point is the first in the King of Fighters series, King of Fighters '94.

I knew the series existed - that King of Fighters was a thing - but could not for the life of me tell you what made it stand out from the competition, or how many titles were made, or what it even looks like.

That's about to change...

Theme Park

You must be this tall to play

As soon as I saw Theme Park, whenever and wherever it was in my youth, I knew I wanted to play it. You make and manage a theme park of your own creation - why wouldn't that make for a great game? It's like city building on a smaller scale, and yet just as complex.

Nearly twenty years later and I'm finally able to see what all of my fuss was about...

Killer Instinct

Which I clearly lac-uh, I mean, C-C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!

Source // Wikipedia

Ohhh... so this is where all those announcer phrases come from. The ones that aren't "Fatality", or "Killing Spree" or "We have lost objective Butter" or whatever. Killer Instinct. I know of Killer Instinct. I know its remake drew a lot of hype, at least. I basically know nothing of Killer Instinct.

What could possibly go wrong as we button mash our way into fluked combos as a skeleton fighting a werewolf? Let's find out!

Beneath a Steel Sky

It's WHEEZING and BANGING... Like an asthmatic DINOSAUR in the MATING season.

I don't remember when or why I started watching other people playing games on YouTube, but I do remember that many, many years ago, Beneath a Steel Sky was among the first titles I watched, and not because I knew of the game or had played it before.

There I was, enjoying a game from a distance, knowing I would likely never be in a position to play such an old title. Here I am now, though, with a proper PC to watch YouTube on, and a game that is free for everyone to play. Free as in free, as in nought monies, as in no real excuse to see what it's about first hand.

Our adopted home has been destroyed and we're on the run from who knows what. We need to find answers, both as to what's going on, and to how to get through this point and click adventure in one piece.

No prizes for guessing the outcome to this entry.

Super Metroid

That's how I roll...

My name's Frank, and I've never played Super Metroid.

I think I might have dabbled with one of the many games in the genre, but even then, it's best to assume I haven't touched the series, largely due to the fact that, besides the Game Boy, I just haven't owned Nintendo consoles, and that's where all those Metroids are.

It is the future, I guess, and Samus was just about to do something, when - what do you know - a distress call! We better get on it right away.