Mashed

Violent Micro Machines? Go on then...

Sometimes you just need to play a simple little game. No plot, minimal controls, straightforward premise. They can be found everywhere, I suppose, especially on mobile, but perhaps you're looking for a specific simple little game.

Maybe you want to race. But you don't want a lot of racing. Some racing. And perhaps you like silly action. Things blowing up. Fireballs. And your attention span is short, so you want a pick-up and play title.

It looks like you want Mashed, which will scratch all your peculiar itches as it combines Micro Machines style racing with a little bit of Carmageddon. Surely a winning combination.

Steel Battalion

Ejeeeeeect!

Source // MobyGames

Some of the games on the 1001 list were always going to be hard to play. Arcade exclusives, obscure consoles, digital games lost to the world, that sort of thing. And then there's Steel Battalion, the Xbox Mech piloting simulator that requires a 44 button, two joystick, three-pedal controller set up.

I could drop a hundred-odd pounds on getting a secondhand set, but then I'd be short of an Xbox and a copy of Steel Battalion itself, which are definitely required to play. This one will definitely be a game to watch at this moment in time, and not a game to play.

So what's the fuss all about?

Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now

Rated T for Teen?

Vehicular combat is not a new concept in gaming, and I know that because Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now has the name of a sequel of some sort...

I haven't seen much of the Carmageddon series. I know it exists and I know it's not Twisted Metal, but that's about it. The idea didn't grab my attention - not because I'm a prude that demands pedestrians to be replaced by zombies or aliens, but just because I was into games that made more sense, I suppose, in the late 1990s.

Obviously, as soon as I wrote that, Crash Bandicoot popped into my head, so not all the games I played were sensible. Anyway, the point is, I haven't played Carmageddon II until now, so let's plough on in.

Interstate '76

Funky Single-Player Unmitigated Vengeance Quest

Some games live long in the memory, and some stay a while on the shelves. Some appear out of nowhere, flying under the radar, and then disappear before you know what happened. I think that's how Interstate '76 can be described because I had never heard of it in my life until this 1001 list brought it up.

Now, no gamer is expected to know of every game there is, of course, but we ought to know some of the more unusual or unexpected titles if only to broaden our knowledge. This time, I'm catching up on my awareness of vehicular combat simulators set in the 1970s of an alternate American history - a genre that began and most likely ended with Interstate '76.

Let's get our groove on and see what this is about.