Retro Game Friday: Vigilante 8 2nd Offense

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m covering a sequel to one of a lesser known series I covered ages back. It’s Vigilante 8 2nd Offense!

Plot: This sequel has a decent plot, but it’s nothing spectacular either. That isn’t to say it’s bad, just that it’s not amazing.

Gameplay: This plays a lot like the original, which is to be expected. However the newly added two player co-op mode made this game lots of fun to play with my friend when I was younger.

Art: The game has aged poorly, but that’s to be expected from a game that was near the end of the Nintendo 64 era.

Music: I don’t remember much of it other than that it fit the game, I was too busy laughing with my friend.

Overall:  A fun game, but it has aged poorly.

For those who like: Vehicular Combat, Action, Adventure.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Retro Game Friday: Vigilante 8

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m covering a game I had a real hard time remembering the name of. It’s Vigilante 8!

Plot Synopsis: The game is set in an alternate 1975, where a global oil crisis occurs and the United States is on the verge of an economic breakdown. A rampant crime wave in the cities prompts the deployment of more security forces, leaving the hinterlands with little or no law and order. A multinational oil consortium, the Oil Monopoly Alliance Regime (OMAR), is determined to control the global petroleum market and wants the destruction of the US to ensure the success of their plan. The Vigilantes, a group of residents from various southwestern US states band together to preserve law and order in light of the chaos gripping the country.

Plot: The plot was pretty dang good, it’s not super amazing and the liberties taken as “artistic liscense” are more hilarious than serious. However it was a good time, frankly I’ve been trying to remember this game’s name for almost as long as I’ve been writing this blog. Give that a thought.

Gameplay: The gameplay has aged poorly, vehicle handling is iffy at best, with the various characters and their different vehicles handling incredibly differently from each other. That said at the time I had a blast playing the game, even with the quirks.

Art: The art also has aged incredibly poorly. But given that it is a game from 1999, that shouldn’t be a surprise.

Music: I don’t remember it, sorry.

Overall: Probably worth skipping, but I do think I remember there was a sequel.

For those who like: Vehicular Combat, Comedy, Drama, Action, Adventure, Alternative Histories, Cars.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Retro Game Friday: Battlefield 1942

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m covering the first entry in a series that is incredibly popular now. It’s Battlefield 1942!

Plot Synopsis: Look up World War II.

Gameplay: This was a pretty revolutionary game at the time, as it had a massive amount of players that could play in a single match at one time. 64 players was pretty amazing. As for the rest of the gameplay it follows the now standard Battlefield formula of capturing locations and holding the majority of them to slowly whittle away the enemies spawn tickets which let an enemy respawn upon death. 1942 also allowed players to pilot various vehicles ranging from Jeeps to bombers. This made the matches get really insane when you had all 64 players playing.

Art: The art has aged poorly, but that’s to be expect of a 3D game.

Music: I don’t remember a whit, I was having too much fun gaming with my friend online.

Overall: It’s might be worth a try if you can get a free copy, but I’m pretty sure the servers for online play are down now so it’s not really worth spending any money on this.

For those who like: FPS, Military Games, World War II, Vehicular Mayhem.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Retro Game Friday: Twisted Metal

This week for Retro Game Friday I’m covering a classic from the 90s! It’s Twisted Metal!

Plot Synopsis: Once a year the legendary Calypso, a man who dwells beneath the streets of Los Angeles, holds the “Twisted Metal” competition. The contest takes place all around the Los Angeles area and calls upon drivers in various different vehicles to battle to the death. The contestants are selected and contacted by Calypso via an e-mail message that simply reads “WILL YOU DRIVE?” in red letters. The one driver still alive at the end of the night is granted a single wish, with no limits on price, size or, according to some, even reality.

Plot: I’ll be completely honest and say I don’t remember this game even having a plot, I was just playing it to have fun with my cousin. That being said the plot doesn’t sound too bad.

Characters: I don’t remember the entire cast, and my quick search online didn’t help all that much. That being said I do remember my favorite character wasn’t the clown, he creeped me out at the time. I liked the guy who as in the Lamborghini, Agent Stone, a car with which I was fascinated with at the time, although it being a fairly fast car might have something to do with it. I’ve always preferred smaller and fasert combatants compared to larger and heavier ones.

Gameplay: The gameplay was pretty fun, and was quite a bunch of fun to play with friends in local Co-Op.

Art: The art hasn’t aged well, but considering it was one of the first 3D games on consoles I’m not too surprised at how badly it has aged.

Music: Don’t remember a whit of it, sorry.

Overall: If you get the chance to grab it really cheaply or for free, it’s worth playing for a bit if possible.

For those who like: Vehicular Madness, Vehicles, Cars, Action, Arena Battlers.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.