Retro Monday: Metamorphic Force (Arcade)

I know we haven't done one in a while, but for the last year, Retro Monday has been churning out the nostalgic goodnees on a weekly flex. We're now going to be slowing down a bit. Our brains have quickly dumped all the sweet and cherished game memories, so we'll be releasing Retro Mondays on a more sporadic note. When the games or inspiration hits us, we'll write about it. After all, you can't really plan memories.

But this is one such time, a time when a memory takes hold, and reminds you about how good gaming can be. This is Metamorphic Force, a Konami arcade brawler from 1993:

It's nothing special, if I'm completely honest. A standard 90's-era Konami/Capcom brawler, it's got all the standard features one would expect. The USP of this particular one being that the characters transform into beasts with the help of a power-up.

In fact, I don't expect ANYONE to have heard of this, let alone have played it. It took me about an hour of typing in various game features into Google to track it down properly. But this is one of those games that completely encapsulates everything your childhood represented, and just how gaming can take you back there. I remember this being at a campsite in the Lake District, at the first and last time I saw it. I remember pumping a shitload of money in it the weekend I was there, and I remember vividly the characters and the enemies.

I recall completely obsessing over it, the friend I was with and I running through the woods, actually acting out the game when we weren't playing it, and then begging our parents for some change so we could go and play this bombardment of flashing lights and colours. I only went to this campsite once at a young age, but this was more than enough to firmly seal this game into my sub-conscience.

Playing it today is an absolute joy. The gameplay isn't particularly brilliant, and the graphics are good (although dated), but this obviously isn't why I love this game. It's that feeling of nostalgia, and it always amazes me how much games can affect me like that. Games seem to encapsulate time, perfectly preserving a feeling and place, easily remembered when that start screen lights up.

Games do this to me more than most things. And I think that's one of the reasons I love them so much. This game is from an awesome time in my childhood, a time when I had no worries, and could pretend I was a French Swordsman called Claude, who could also transform into an Arctic Wolf. I still believe that one day that will happen to me, of course, but back then it felt a little more achievable. And by playing it again, I remember all this good stuff, and good times. Games are the closest thing I have to a time machine, and are often much cheaper than forking out for a Flux Capacitor.

Retro Monday: Super Mario All-Stars (SNES/Wii)

Within the last month, I've decided to finally succumb to my girlfriend's wishes and my inner Nintendo fanboy and purchased a Wii. I'm building up to some mega blog post filled with insightful metaphors and loads of fancy talking about it, but it's going to take me a while to summon up that kind of brainpower. In the meantime, let's talk about about Mario All-Stars. See, we CAN be topical! A Retro Monday that is both retro AND contemporary, the little Italian's plumbers greatest hits collection, or 'Now that's what I call the invention of game mechanics and industry-changing techniques and ideas'. Yeah, Mario always has been kind-of a big deal.

Released on Friday, Mario All-Stars is a compilation based on a Super Nintendo game, in which the 3 Super Mario Bros titles are put in one neat little package along with 'The Lost Levels' (Super Mario Bros 2 in Japan). All re-touched and re-done for the 16-bit era, the games were a great introduction to people who may have not played Mario before, and a great refresher course in those that did. All in a single package, I liked the game.

My main problem with the SNES game is the touching up though. As any die-hard Mario fan will attest to, the memories are what drives the series. When I switched on the SNES, the graphics overhaul was undoubtedly an improvement on the original, but it didn't feel the same. It felt a little more rounded, a bit too colourful for my personal tastes. I always thought it was a bit like eating an ice cream with extra sugar sprinkled on the top. Just a little too much.

Old Nes Super Mario Bros

New All-Stars Super Mario Bros

Nevertheless, it meant I got to play the Japanese Mario Bros 2, with it's invisible platforms and general bastardry, and got to properly get to grips with the Western Mario 2, which I never got a pop at first time round. Both were lovely additions, and the package itself was a delight. The little touch of the characters chatting before the title lights up was lovely, and it felt like real value, and a proper addition to a SNES collection.

This time round, it's a little more disappointing. Why? Because it literally hasn't changed.

In reality, it's a SNES Emulator on a disc. They haven't even bothered to fix the screen ratio properly. It's a pretty lacklustre attempt. One which, in my opinion, doesn't really celebrate the 25 years of Mario (we all know it's 27 really). What it does is more cement Nintendo's reputation for laziness when it comes to some of it's titles. Would it of killed them to add a little more to the package? The CD and booklet that came with the game was good, but the game itself could of been just that little more special.

I mean, they could of released a new package, included Super Mario World and a whole host of stuff. Put some Yoshi's Island on there? Paper Mario? All this would of EASILY fit on a Wii disc, and would have made it astonishing. I know it would of been more effort, and I know it might have taken a little longer, but come on guys, give the little plumber a bit of a celebration. He is getting on a bit, after all.

So what can I say? For a grizzled Nintendo veteran, the package was ultimately a tad on the disappointing side. I can see parents showing their kids this and getting them excited about the good old days, but for me, I just wish they'd done a bit more. I reckon you'd fare much better by getting yourself an original Nintendo Entertainment System, and blowing into a good old grey cartridge with 'Super Mario Bros 3' emblazoned up on it's plastic case. Either that or Mario Galaxy. Wahooooo.

Retro Monday: Psycho (Film)

It's been a while since I've written anything about film, but I feel there's no better excuse than with what is, in my opinion, the finest horror film ever. I studied Alfred's Hitchcock's masterpiece at high school, so my insight to the film is juvenile at best, but I still aim to stumble along, and try and make some sense out of it.

I think the best way to understand Psycho, however, is to study it. The first time I saw it was in A-Level Film Studies, and my love affair began. The film is so clever in it's approach that it deserves looking at properly, and deserves a bit of hype behind it. My babbling over the next few paragraphs is simply a few pointers of everything I love about this film. I could, and indeed have, write essays about it, but it's boring to read, and certainly not as much fun as looking into it yourself. If you've ever considered yourself a fan of Horror, then it makes for an incredible Sunday afternoon, trawling through Wiki archives, and reading about this masterpiece.

Everyone knows Psycho, whether you actually know it or not. I personally guarantee that everyone one amongst us has done the 'shower' sound effects and stabbing motion, and everyone has heard of the Bates Motel, even if they don't know where from. I think it's a testament to the impact it's had on popular culture, and how much it's affected the world at the time. In a cinema landscape where it was all about aliens from the future, or giant lizards from the past, here's a film which was a dark and brooding film, filled with tension and genuine horror.

It's when you look into the plot of Psycho really shines. Down to the combination of the original novel by Robert Bloch and Hitchcock's brilliant storytelling, this film contains within the best twist I've ever witnessed. A film that was billed as a thriller, and spends almost an hour of it's playtime as a thriller, then shifts straight into what we now know as the 'slasher' genre. It's how it should be. It still gets me now, but I can't imagine what it would of been like 50 years ago. Imagine going to a cinema to watch some sort of Denzel-esque thriller. It's all getting a bit much for Denzel who's acting his heart out. It's getting a bit psychological and tense, then from nowhere Denzel dies, and it turns into a horror film. It's so unique, and so unsettling, it's what's given the film a lasting appeal, and is the reason the film is a cut above most horror films.

EVERYTHING about this film is completely ground-breaking. From the strings-only score, to Perkins' flawless performance, Every single part of Psycho is astounding. If you haven't seen it yet, then I honestly have no idea why. You should rectify it as soon as possible, and watch one of cinema's finest moments.

Retro Monday: Blackpool Retro Games Expo (EVERYTHING!)

I've been a bit quiet recently. Mainly because of the new release schedule. I've been so buried in games upon games, I've found it hard to do little else. I've had COD-itis since it dropped, racking up some silly statistics on multiplayer and enjoying the single-player campaign. Transformers is on it's way, I've got Undead Nightmare and New Vegas waiting in the wings, and this is all before the new Assassin's Creed drops this week. But in amongst it all, I broke free.

One bleary Sunday, 3 very hungover Gainboy writers made a trip to Blackpool, to the Retro Games Expo.

I had the brilliant/stupid idea of filming it on my phone, and these are some of the best bits. Hope you enjoy it:

Youtube loves cutting off bits of our video, so to see the full version, go HERE.

Thanks for watching!

Retro Monday- Marvel vs Capcom 2 (Dreamcast/PS2)

With the character roster flowing thick and fast, Marvel vs Capcom 3 is set to be an absolute blockbuster. Everything a beat-em-up should be- Frantic, exciting and mind-blowing. The game looks like it's going to be a landmark beat-em-up, that shows off current-generation hardware to the full. 10 years ago, it's little brother was doing exactly the same, the groundbreaking Marvel vs Capcom 2.

Marvel vs Capcom 2 is a stone-cold classic, completely and utterly. It's concept is flawless. The age-old questions that have troubled mankind for decades are finally answered: Could Chun-Li beat up Rogue? Could Ryu's fireball match Cyclop's Laser Beam? The kind of schoolyard-scenarios that only teenage boys could dream up are fully realised, in a game that matches style, with outright insanity.

And it's insanity that gives this game it's brilliance, and what has secured it's place in the annals of gaming history. Never have I played a game so unashamed in it's ridiculousness, so confident in it's over-the-top bombasticness. It's this brazen confidence that makes this game truly unique.

Every.Single.Part of this game completely breaks the mould. As soon as you turn it on, you're greeted by a jazz-funk soundtrack, with some woman constantly threatening to 'take you for a ride'. Unsettling from the start, you're then confronted with a character select screen that is HUGE, and largely in darkness, with no explanation on how to unlock these characters. After that, the characters have 3 difference special moves, based on Greek letters, that offer little explanation to what they do. After this baffling selection process, the game kicks off properly, and you still have no idea really what is going on.

But do you know what? It's completely and utterly captivating. Hurtling along at a breakneck pace, the game just explodes with colours, characters bouncing all over the screens, as it erupts with flashes of light and bone-crunching sound effects. Even the crappest of players are able to pull off impressive-looking moves, some kind of witchcraft under the hood, making it not only compelling, but immense fun.

Marvel vs Capcom makes no excuses, and takes no prisoners. It's confidence is matched only by it's execution, which is utterly flawless. I think few games deliver on their promises, and here is a game that delivers on one of the greatest promises made in gaming history. If you're going to include Wolverine in a beat-em-up, you better make damn sure you get it right. Even if sometimes you're left slightly confused by the whole process, Capcom know exactly what they're doing.

If you're not already excited by the prospect of Marvel vs Capcom 3, it's because you've not played this yet. Go pick it up on the Playstation network or Xbox Live Arcade, and see why next Spring, the age-old question of 'Could Arthur from Ghouls n' Goblins beat up Thor?' will once again have the world excitedly getting the answer.

Retro Monday: Gitaroo Man (PS2)

OK, so this is an important one for me. This is one of the major games of my life, and one that well and truly blew me away, in a time when games were only just starting to get somewhere. A while ago a friend and I debated about the meaning of 'retro'. He attests that the only way something can be called retro is if it's from a console 2 generations behind. So the original Playstation would be retro, as would the N64, but not the PS2 or Gamecube. Well I say SOD THAT. Gitaroo Man was released here in 2002, and if I can't talk about something 8 years old in Retro Monday, well then there's just no point.

Anyway, onto the greatest rhythm action game of all time, shall we?

I stumbled onto this game by pure chance. My cousin found it on a demo disc sellotaped to a Playstation magazine. He'd said he played this one level about 30 times, and was eagerly awaiting the release date. I had a go, enjoyed it, and put it in my memory banks. Fast forward six months, and I was getting my own Playstation 2. Stood there at my local game store, I already had PES and GTA3 in my hands, with the choice of getting another game at a greatly discounted rate. My mum said she'd treat me, and I could have another one. At this time, I had it all. I already had 2 amazing games, and the thought of another one only cemented this as being one of the greatest birthday presents of all time. I chose Gitaroo Man, which was full price, and remained so all the times I saw it on the shelf of any game retailer I was lucky enough to see it at.

What then followed was an amazing Summer. I'm not talking about the weather, because I haven't a clue about how sunny it was. I was too busy inside playing this futuristic games machine, with 3 of the most engrossing games I've ever played. Gitaroo Man was the first one I completed, and the one that has probably stuck with me the most.

Somewhere inbetween Guitar Hero, Pokemon and Street Fighter sits Gitaroo Man. In essence a rhythm-action beat-em-up with anime and an original soundtrack, no words I say here can make it sound even approachable. The premise is terrible. It's a game that shouldn't work, and the cutscenes inbetween each battle try their hardest to make sure it doesn't work. But, for the few faults it has, this game more than makes up for in one thing: The music.

The crux of any music game. Obviously. But whereas these days Guitar Hero tries to tempt you with a roster of 'cool' artists and 'sweet' cameos by favourite rockstars, Gitaroo Man went it alone, shunning any kind of commercial music, instead writing it's own soundtrack. And this is where Gitaroo Man get it's strength. It's secret weapon. It's where it stops being U-1, and becomes Gitaroo Man.

This is not a dig at Guitar Hero, far from it. I understand the fun in it, and I'm ashamed to say that I do have a plastic drumkit sat at home, albeit buried away these days. No, the point I'm making is that Gitaroo Man did it WITHOUT any gimmicks. Without any peripherals, without any NME tracklistings. Gitaroo Man, first and foremost, is a Music game. The music is designed to help the narrative, to shape the game, to make each level unique, in both musical genre and visual appearance. This music in the game is so intrinsically linked to the game itself, that this isn't a music game, it's just a game, and it's brilliant.

But that's not a dig at the music, as I think it's better than any track in any Guitar Hero game. Every genre in Popular Music is taken onboard and given the Gitaroo Man treatment. From battling a robotic space-Reggae shark, to battling a samba skeleton gang, every single level is different, and themed accordingly. In fact, the bosses are so characteristic, I could base this whole article on Mojo King Bee. One of the best videogame characters of ALL TIME. A trumpet-playing, Saturday Night Fever-strutting humanoid Bee. With an afro. Playing Funk. The level also contains a backing band made of frogs. And it's even better than it sounds.

I've not played anything like this before, or since. The Japanese Kookiness and kitsch goes just far enough without being too much, and the graphics are beautiful. Really nice FMVs, amazingly unique character design, and of course the soundtrack. It's been re-made for the PSP, and is pretty easy to pick up on the PS2 for relatively cheap. If you've ever played Guitar Hero, and longed for more, perhaps this may just tickle your strings.

Retro Monday: Zelda: Majora's Mask (BEN Edition/N64)

Now this is an interesting one. Stuck for ideas for our frankly MARVELLOUS Retro Monday column, I stumbled across this today. Kotaku pointed me in it's direction, and it's AWESOME.

Basically a new age horror story involving a copy of Majora's Mask for the Nintendo 64, with a mind of it's own. Anyone who's ever played the classic Zelda game knows that at the best of times it always had slightly creepy undertones, this fleshes it out with a little back story, and a whole lot of well-written prose.

It's a LOT to read, so I'm not going to waffle on, but it is worth it. A really interesting tale for anyone with a penchant for the mysterious, and a taste for Zelda.

The whole article is here, and the Youtube videos of the footage also accompany the article. I strongly advise reading it first, as it makes it all the more spooky.

Retro Monday: Rock n' Roll Racing (Snes/MegaDrive)

So my Grandad asked me to sell some of his old Super Nintendo games recently. I remember him getting it off some local kid second hand, and the kid had great taste. When I used to go round after school, there was a plethora of games he'd bagged for next-to-nothing, including Secret of Mana, Killer Instinct and his favourite, Pilotwings. All these games were ace, but one stood out for me. So much so, I actually wanted my own copy. That game was Rock n' Roll Racing.

When World of Warcraft was just a twinkle in Blizzard's eye, they were busy writing quirky, good-looking Snes games that were all over the place in terms of content and design. One of their more impressive offerings was this. A racing game that combined combat, aliens and bad attitude in one 2.5D package, Rock n' Roll Racing was a bit good.

Even back then, Blizzard were toying with the idea of stats and builds, and somehow managed to shoehorn customizing into a racing game. The depth of build-your-own-car-ness in the game was really impressive, and although it really was all about the hovercraft, the choice of weaponry and the upgrades made for an addictive game, despite the repetition. The constant money-grabbing and slowly upgrading your pimped-out deathwagon was delightful. Fuck carrot and stick, this game made the stick out of a carrot.

Perhaps the greatest strength of this game though, was style. This games never, ever took itself seriously, and much the better for it. Mind you, when you're racing on a Prison Planet called New Mojave in a yellow hovercraft, it must of been pretty hard to take the serious angle. At a time when a lot of games were just an idea and no identity, this was a game that not only had a genre and theme, but also went back on it. Playing Rock n Roll Racing felt like you were in on the joke. I always expected that after blowing Rip up with a Rocket Launcher, the commentator would turn around and wink at me, coming out of the TV to high-five me and say, "This is brilliant, isn't it?".

Finally, I reckon I could of played this game with no images at all. The sound absolutely smacked this out of the park. 16-Bit renditions of Rock classics belted out of your TV, directly into my rebellious teenage brain. 'Bad to the Bone', that song off Terminator 2 as I used to know it, is a sure-fire way to grab an impressionable youngster's attention. The commentator also made the game a rawkus affair, shouting catchphrases at every occasion. The bombasity and downright balls-out apporach of every aspect of this game made it perfect for a young chap who drank Pepsi Max and ate Monster Munch. Come to think of it, I still do.

These days, Meta games are taken completely for granted. Serious Sam. Castle Crashers. Gears of War (Without knowing it). We expect it these days, and almost question things which don't acknowledge themselves in the medium of computer games. But in the days of the Super Nintendo, it was a rare and valuable thing, and Blizzard absolutely nailed it. These days they're much more bothered about the 11.5 million people running the Gnome treadmill, but back in the day, Blizzard showed us a thing or two about Heavy Metal and futuristic space alien racing.

I played this game so much, I wanted my own copy. My Grandad gave me his.

"The Stage is Set, the Green Flag DROPS!"

Retro Monday: The Twilight Zone (TV)

The other day, I was chatting with some humanoids, about what scared us as kids. I was quite smug in that I had no paranoid or irrational fears, until I remembered two things that terrified me. The first was Christopher Lloyd in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, which I still can't watch properly to this day. The other, more scary thing was The Twilight Zone. I watched it yesterday, to refresh my memory. I had to turn it off.

Released in 1959, The Twilight Zone was a television series created by sharply-dressed dude Rod Serling. Basically self-contained sci-fi 'stories', with each episode being completely different, and often containing a twist at the end.

Never mind all the remakes and all that horrible 80's shit, the originals were the real deal. Low-Budget, black-and-white and dripping with atmosphere. There's something about the greyness that adds such depth to the proceedings, such darkness. The episodes are so atmospheric, it really does suck you in. The orchestral score as well ramps up the tension no end. All the string stabs and dramatic riffs are something long-forgotten in modern thriller, and after watching some episodes again, it really stood out to me how important and brilliant it was in building tension.

Rod Serling. The coolest man in a suit. Ever.

This shit was scary. Not because of the effects, but because of the storylines. Maybe the 12 year-old me wasn't as cynical and world-weary as me now, but these stories were genuinely engaging. Yes, there was a little bit of garbage and schmaltz in there. But there was 159 episodes in the first run. 159 seperate stories and sets, every single time. I reckon I'll allow a few to slip by.

I remember getting a book when I was little off my cousin, which listed every episode in great detail. The plot, the first airtime, even the complete cast of each episode. I remember reading that book at night-times and getting scared without even seeing certain episodes. Just from reading a paragraph on the story, I was able to put the pieces together, and terrify myself.

William Shatner faces his gremlins in the now-iconic

'Terror at 20,00 feet' episode.

With most TV shows or films I come to watch retrospectively, I often end up disappointed. Nothing builds up the hype of a show like nostalgia. When I put the iconic 'Terror at 20,000 Feet' episode (The one with Shatner on the plane), I was expecting something of a corny, melancholic experience. But far from it! It was still eery, still weird, still amazing! I'm currently going through more episodes, in an attempt to re-live my childhood, and give me the frights once more.

The great thing is, a lot of these episodes are now on YouTube. And instead of doing more jabbering, I thought I'd put the episode I just mentioned on this very blog, right here. 20 minutes of terror, intrigue, and sci-fi at it's finest. Welcome to...The Twilight Zone.

Retro Monday: Xenon II Megablast (Amiga)

I'm so glad that I played a pirate copy of this game. Just look at this box art. Imagine THIS on the shelf at Gamestation:

It looks like a Fishmongers, on acid. Bad acid. I actually couldn't believe this was the box art for the game, as I had never seen it before. But it doesn't matter anymore, as what does matter, is that this was an INCREDIBLE game.

Before we start, I thought I'd tell an embarassing story, and what made me remember all about this charming game. My Uncle, the pirate king, used to hardly play any of the games he copied for me and my cousins. But when I used to go on holiday to visit them, he used to make an exception, and play Xenon with me. The game was prone to occasional crashing. My Uncle, the crafty git, capitalised on this, and claimed that if I didn't dance around the room whilst it loaded, it would definitely crash. Cue me dancing around the room, in a somewhat wild and erratic manner, desperate to get to the next level, with my family laughing.

I was 7. But to be honest, I'd still dance around the room today if I had a copy. You can't jinx these things.

Xenon was a space shooter. Gradius style, but scrolling upwards. Incredibly hard, but the cracked version had cheats. The game looked, for the time, amazing. Really crisp graphics, really sharp and really polished for the time. The game was made by Bitmap Brothers, who did a sterling job in crafting this. I even remember back then how good it looked.

The game was fantastic, if a little formulaic. But this isn't what the game is ever going to be remembered for. No, Xenon has and always will be nostalgically thought of as 'the game with the awesome music'. Even when I was 7, I had awesome taste. The intro is what EVERYONE remembers about Xenon, as it was a 8-Bit version of the track 'Megablast' by Bomb The Bass. And it sounded INCREDIBLE. I even think it sounds better than the original. Imagine, in 1989, loading up your Amiga, and hearing this:

In the time where it's closest competitor was Rainbow Islands twee version of 'Somewhere over the Rainbow', this was like nothing you'd ever heard before. I still get all giddy thinking about it, and these days I often have to restrain myself from jumping up, dancing around so that I stop people's games all over the world crashing.

And we've not even had chance to talk about the in-game money mechanic. Mid-way and at the end of every level you're confronted with Colin, the alien who bears more than a striking resemblance to Predator:

The power-ups you could buy looked fantastic, and added a real depth to the game. They were little floating satellites that attached to the sides of your ship, floating along with you and offering a variety of meaty lasers, rockets and all other manner of boy-hood sci-fi weaponry. Colin was also a cheeky scamp, being genuinely funny, and often insulting.

Once again, a great game is made even better when combined with my fond memories. The more I think about it, it's that it's purely the game that is shaping these experiences, making me remember these little silly things, as I cling on to my memories of fantastic computer games. Xenon served as a shining example of a game that can soar above it's humble parts, with a bit of style and some graphical polish.

And Peter Molyneux is a massive fan. If it's good enough for the creator of Fable and Dungeon Keeper, It'll do for me.

Retro Monday: Spaced (Tv)

OK, so not technically 'Retro', but at 11 years old I like to think that the influence that Spaced has had on comedy is very great indeed. We wouldn't have even seen a lot T.v shows or films made.
This sounds extreme but its true, if you need proof I'll be talking about that later.

Right lets start at the beginning, an unknown channel 4 sit-com first aired in 1999 starring a group of unknown comedians/actors. It's set in a south London suburb about two failing twenty-some thing's Tim Bisley and Daisy Steiner and their Zoo of odd friends. Their constant struggle to meet with life's curve balls gives them a chance to get into some colourful adventures, throw in a tonne of rapid fire pop culture references mixed with the often surreal cartoonish flashback sequences and ...dingdingding We've got a winner!
A writing team of Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes (then Stevenson) and a shit hot director Edgar Wright saw this show elevate above most standard British sit-coms. One of the reasons for this as an inclusion to my Retro Monday choice is the fact that 'it got me.' I'll explain, the characters talk about movies, they play games, get pissed/high enough to think that everyone is a zombie and they're in "Resident Evil", they give full detail backgrounds on the history of star wars and why the gunner on the star-destroyer is responsible for the whole thing, they drink, take drugs. Its pop culture at it's very finest, unbelievable amounts crowbar'd in to each lovingly crafted episode. 14 were made and 14 is enough, very much like The office did always leave them wanting more.
So lets take a (brief) look at the characters and story, I wanted to blog about spaced and talk what its done for the industry not so much a list of character and episode intricacies. Simon Pegg plays lovable loser Tim Bisley, who happens to meet the equally lovable Daisy Steiner (played by Jess Hynes) in a local cafe. On the off-chance, their both looking for somewhere to live and over a little persuasion they decide to pose as a couple to rent a local flat. Problem solved? right?
Marsha (the excellent Julia Deakin) is the landlady of said property and needs to stay convinced that Tim & Daisy are a couple or its out you go. Living below them is the artist/painter and social outcast Brian (played superbly by Mark Heap) who becomes friends with the new duo on the day they move in. Invited to a house warming party we get the first taste of Army obsessed Mike Lewatt (Nick Frost) and Twist (katy Carmicheal) a friend of Daisy's. This ragtag group of geeky, awkward, fashion obsessed army nerds somehow form a kind of family. A strange dysfunctional opposites attract kind-of family. And we loved it!


OK, my fellow bloggers will agree with me here that without this program we wouldn't have some very delicious comedy morsels to chew on. As i was mentioning at the top of this blog Spaced's knock -on effect is like a pebble in a pond. In particular Edgar wright, Simon Pegg and Nick frost's careers have gone from strength to strength.
No spaced means no Shaun of the Dead, Hotfuzz, or Scott Pilgrim (well, looking that good anyway.) All 3 of them are now in the super leagues - starring in Spielberg's TinTin bigscreen adap and writing Antman along with fellow funny man scribe Mr Joe 'Cornballs' Cornish.
Tv wise Nick Frost was in Man stroke woman, hyper drive, and the recent Money. He's also writing and starring in 'Paul' with partner Simon Pegg, can't exactly hurt one's chances can it.

For me, I can re watch Spaced over and over and never get bored with it, it's not that i see different things each time no, it's the genius of the character flaws that keep me hooked and of course its now infamous machine gun style editing. The surreal mixed with heart is at the shows centre, Tim & Daisy's will they/won't they romance is at the core of Spaced, of course their complemented with a man who once dressed his dog up in period costumes to take pictures. a man who once stole a tank and tried to invade Paris and twist, a woman so shallow that working in a laundrette is working in fashion.


So dust off that old VHS copy (yep, i had it on video) or collectors edition DVD and re-watch the 14 episode pop culture laced classic that started it all. Great soundtrack too.

Peace and love,
Dr Lucian Sanchez

Retro Monday: The Bedroom (Place)

In four days, I move house. I finally grow-up, and get a real place with my girlfriend. As well as all the exciting business of getting new furniture and putting up comic-book artwork and such, I realised the other day that my gaming habits are about to change, possibly for good. I thought this deserved to be talked about, and reminisced upon, so here we are. This Monday, I'm going to talk about a place, not a game, and why it is so special in my heart.

My set-up, in my old room about a year ago.

Notice the broken COD disc to the left,

on the Daft Punk Picture. I broke my first

copy by playing it too much. Oooh-Rahhh.

Obviously, in my new place we'll have a lounge. And this is where, amongst the comfortable sofas and coffee tables, will my new gameplaying take place. Fallout: New Vegas will be played sat on a sofa. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood will be played whilst sitting upright, and in a respectable fashion. And to be honest, it scares me a little.

If I think about it, it's been about 14 years since I last had my console in a living room. It was my NES, and it was in the front room, so me and my dad could play Super Mario Bros 3 together, and leave it on overnight, to save it. Ever since these heady days of Italian plumbing, my console has been upstairs, safe in my room, and tucked away. From the days of playing Rock n' Roll Racing on my Snes, to hastily ushering GTA 3 up to my bedroom without my parents aware of what it actually was, sitting on my bed, with my controller in hand, has been the way I've played games for almost as long as I can remember, and now all that's about to change.

What we all aspire to.

And I still do it today. In the house I currently share, my lovely TV is in my room, and I play my games like I've always done: horizontally. The mixture of extreme relaxation and gaming is one of life's finer pleasures, and in recent years, the addition of wireless controllers has meant on Winter nights the old problem of 'cold arms out of the covers holding the controller syndrome' has vanished. Truly what the technology was designed for. Countless games have been completed sitting down, and you can tell when a game truly grips you, as you're bolt upright, glaring intently at the screen. Indeed, when the game is so gripping it calls for a late-night session, it's far more acceptable to the missus to be sat in bed playing, completing that final level.

What we can all hope to achieve.

So, as things change, I'm not sure where I'll be without my trusty bedroom gaming. The place where gaming should be. I didn't write this Retro Monday today to be introspective, or self-obsessed, I wrote it because I wanted to share my thoughts on where we play our games. We always talk about amazing graphics and levels, but we seldom speak about how we enjoy them. I reckon I'm not the only bedroom gamer out there.

I'm already saving up for a second telly, to go in our new bedroom. Good job my girlfriend's got another Xbox!

Retro Monday: Califonia Games (Various)

Ok, so with Retro Mondays, it's all about nostalgia. Talking about the games and TV shows from the past that we love. And especially with games, the strongest part about any retro games is anecdotal evidence, and talking about them. I know that Streets of Rage is a fantastic brawler, and I only played it once. I know this from the kid who lived near my Grandma, who would lavish tales of the game after school. I never even used Axel's special move, but I know those Police Cars were serious shit.

When I think about mysterious, talked-about games, California Games is right up there...

This little blighter was on EVERY console at the time. I'm pretty sure that some Microwaves came with it installed. That's how widespread this shit was. Multiple iterations, multiple different skins. One simple aim: to be like the Olympics, but cool.

It's basically sunshine in a cartridge. For a kid coming from the North West of England, this game was a slice of America. Just look at the box art, look at that hot pink and blue title text. It looks cool already. At the time, this was the coolest, most foreign-looking thing I'd seen since my Chicago Bulls vest given to me by my American Cousins.

The game consisted of 6 'sports'. I use the term sports loosely, because I'm not sure if many people consider Frisbee a sport. Obviously, nobody liked the BMX, so we don't have to talk about that. Roller Skating was pretty cool but pointless. Any minigame where the excitement comes in seeing the ice cream cone on the floor isn't exactly a winner. There was a satisfying rhythm to achieve with the skating though, which was a reason to give it a shot.

The two sports we really need to look at to get to the meat and gravy of this games are Footbag and Skateboarding. The games in which the mystery was cultivated. Anyone who remembers this game, and had it circulating in their group of friends will remember these events over all others.

You know someone who claimed they did a 900 in Skateboarding on California Games. Back then, I didn't know what a 900 was. I could only just get off the pipe and turn around. A game with no tutorial, in a time of no internet, and a control system and moves list that needed both these things the most. In these spoon-fed times, we should count ourselves extremely lucky. Imagine if Skate never taught you how to Ollie, and you had to figure it out. It seems such a bizarre concept, but one that created such a mystery about the game. When you did a trick, it was a complete journey of discovery.

And the discovery was made even better by the fact this was a party game. I can't remember a time I played California games alone. There was always someone there, fighting for the control pad, chatting about how they could throw that Frisbee much further than your feeble attempt.

And then we get onto the most mythical, pointless, romantically fantastic game to grace any machine, Footbag. The most baffling thing on earth. To know absolutely nothing about what you're even supposed to do is such a rare occurence, this really was a journey of discovery. To get that blasted bag up in the air was difficult enough, but WHEN YOU HIT THE SEAGULL, OH MY LORD. Hitting that winged bitch was up there with completing God of War 3 for me. A game with such depth, and such mystery, that I reckon that in all the time I sunk into it, I only discovered about 25% of the tricks.

This was California Games' strength; The mystery. If this kind of game was released in today's environment, it would be distinctively average. It would be drowned in tutorials, spoilt by YouTube tips videos. It would have had all the suspense and clandestine secrecy removed from it. As a product of it's time, it remains fantastic, a true curio of gaming, and a fantastically off-the-wall take on sports games.

It doesn't matter that my cousin Melissa was able to use the shoulders on Footbag, or that my friend down the street used to swear he could do a Method Grab on Skateboarding but couldn't do it in front of me, what matters is that I still remember these tales today, and that's what I'll remember about California Games; the mystery.

Retro Monday: Pro Evolution Soccer (PS2)

It's World Cup fever! YES! To be honest, I have little to no interest in football, but when the World Cup comes along, that patriotic, laddish behaviour in me stirs, and I end up getting all involved, and ridiculously shouty at my television.

I haven't played many football games, I'll be honest, but there was one that peaked my interest, and for a large part of teenage years, had me completely hooked. The game was Pro Evolution Soccer, or Winning Eleven if you were from the USA or Japan. Anyways, Let's talk about Pes...

First of all, I know this isn't strictly retro. A good friend of mine once said that to qualify as 'retro', a game or console must be at 2 generations behind, with the current one included. Xbox isn't retro, PS2 isn't retro, but a PS1 is, as is a N64. But seen as though I don't play many football games, you'll have to make do and appreciate me rambling on about this.

I got my PS2 for my birthday. As is the case with most of my consoles, cost me prohibited from a release-day purchase. Instead, I got mine on my birthday. I got the console, PES, GTA 3 and Gitaroo Man, and I was chuffed to bits with such a fantastic variety. Whilst GTA 3 is the one that hooked me initially, and Gitaroo Man wowed me with the tunes and music, it was PES that would provide me with the lasting playability.

Everything about this game was fantastic. In an age where Fifa was a show-off, fiddly game of ridiculous scorelines and flash moves, this game felt real. Every single part of the game was a real test of skill. You talk to anybody who's a PES fanatic, and they'll remember the glory days, and will absolutely rush to show you their replays, of that time when they chipped the keeper, when he came out super early, and was punished by your feather touch.

Freekicks, Penalties, Corners. Every single piece of this game was designed to feel skillful. You had to earn every single goal and tackle. It didn't really feel like a game, it felt like a test of skill. All that button-pressing and pinpoint precision you learnt in other games felt like training for the moment when your mate came round, running his mouth about his skills on the pitch. the true levelling ground, never have heard anyone contest decisions made in the game, rather people complaining about their lack of manipulation and practise. It's a true testament to the game that shows it's level of playability, and it's watertight mechanics.

And let's not forget about the team names. Fifa's stranglehold on the liscensing at the time meant that the game wasn't allowed any of the team liscenses initially, and so had to produce some of the cheekiest references you'll ever see on any video game, as well as the absurd:

Manchester United became Trad Bricks.

Pele became Palm

Portsmouth became the fan's nickname Pompy

Dutch playerWim Suurbier became, quite unfortunately, Slowbear.

This kind of character, this kind of cheek is what made the game great. It felt like a real fans game, a real underdog. And one thing us British enjoy is being the underdog. I played PES until about the 5th or 6th edition, when my interest in football games ended as I left university. One thing that hasn't left me, though, is my deft touch, and my fond memories of that time I curled a free kick in from 30 yards with David Beckham, or whatever the hell Konami's mad scientists named him.