Back again for our regular Sunday roundup of quick-fire reviews and impressions of everything under the spotlight at Retro Arcadia this week, old and new and a bit of both…

When I started putting together a shopping list of games I wanted to add to my PSP collection a while back, there was an arcade-like take on American football in NFL Street 2, as well as a more nerdy one in Blood Bowl, but not so much a “proper” game, so I decided to put that right with Madden NFL 08, which arrived this week! I’m not sure if it’s the best on the system but I had a quick go with emulation before I committed and it seemed like what I wanted, which was something sim-lite, with all the features but also casual enough and without too much faff. Nice presentation too, right at the tail-end of being “video game realistic” shall we say, rather than like watching on TV, with decent commentary, environmental sound and well-chosen rock and hip-hop interludes, then loads of player and pitch detail, bone-crunching animation and super-smooth movement that translates to similarly smooth gameplay (although I understand that if you’d been playing online when it first released back in 2007 that wouldn’t have been the case)! Both offense and defence controls are extensive but intuitive, as is play-calling, and this edition also introduced a read and react system, where you can scan the field for specific strengths and weaknesses before each play to try and find an upper-hand. All the players, teams and modes too – jump into a game, do the full Franchise Mode thing, then there are some very extensive training and situational challenges, and a Superstar Challenge where you can take part in the biggest moments from the 2006 season. I am playing entirely solo but perfectly happily, and I’m not sure how dynamic the difficulty is but it’s feeling good so far. I picked a good ‘un!  

I recently answered “Silent Hill” to a question on social media about the most valuable game you own because, despite collecting them for well over four decades now, I really don’t have much that’s very exciting to show for it! Anyway, I took a picture of the box to make my reply stand out, and once that was in my hand there was no way I could just put it back on the shelf without playing through it again! Its sequel might be one of my top five games of all time but this first one from 1999 is really special too, not just for redefining the survival horror genre, but it’s just so gloriously, nostalgically original PlayStation too! You’re playing a guy looking for his lost daughter in the mysterious, fog-enshrouded, dread-filled titular town, searching for clues to progress an impressively engaging (and downright nasty!) narrative, solving often-cryptic puzzles and fending off terrifying creatures you’re alerted to by the even more terrifying crackle on your radio that generally precedes their appearance! Actually, running away is usually your best bet, in part due to your very limited ammo, but mostly due to the old-school tank controls and not massively refined combat mechanics! You soon adjust again though, and the rest is still outstanding – a masterclass in tension and panic, famously turning the limitations of the system into this uniquely atmospheric and oppressive environment, and all accompanied by equally atmospheric sound design and a wonderful soundtrack, even if the voice acting is exactly what you’d grow to expect of the series! All part of the charm though, and it’s got that high asking price today for very good reason!  

When Mr. Run and Jump first arrived in 2023, it was Atari’s first 2600 cartridge release since 1990, which was wild in itself when you think about how long it had already been around by that point! I’ve actually only just picked it up but it hasn’t aged a day, as you travel left to right through six colour coordinated worlds, jumping over obstacles, climbing ladders and dodging deadly enemies to rescue your dog, Leap, who’s run off in the direction of the Dark Realm! Presentation is simple but full of character, with smooth movement and super-precise controls – think blocky Meat Boy! Come a cropper and you’ll be sent back to the start of the level, which isn’t so bad, but while there’s no lives, your score is a depleting timer, so every death is still costing you, although you’ll be doing well to reach the end when whatever’s left becomes your score! I haven’t even got half way yet but that’s all on me because while the game is tough, it’s also perfectly balanced, with each level and its own flavour of fiendish obstacles quickly becoming as much a puzzle to solve as a test of timing and reflexes. The different monsters each present their own challenge too, especially when they gang up on you, which can be proper cruel, but I don’t think it ever frustrates much. Again, any frustration is on you! As good as it is, I’m not sure there’s the original $30 of value here, but I’ve already had my money’s worth out of the less than a tenner (sealed!) I just spent on it, and I’m nowhere near done yet! By the way, credit to Atari for the pics here – way better than me trying to get them off a TV screen (especially after the PSP one I’ve already subjected you to)!

I have actually been playing more Atomfall on Xbox than anything else this week but I covered that last time, so I’ll just say that now it’s over, I like it even more than I did then – definitely my game of the year so far, although admittedly there’s not a huge amount of competition yet! Hopefully that changes before we get to my annual Halfway Hotlist feature at the end of June but in the meantime, I think that will do us for this week. In case you missed it last Wednesday though, it was the start of the month, so as always, we headed back exactly 40 years for the very latest in video gaming with Retro Rewind: April 1985 in Computer & Video Games, straight from the pages of the original magazine! Then next Wednesday, check back again for something really special, when we’ll be mixing depth and strategy with accessibility and fun like never before as we discover the frankly unbelievable Star Raiders on Atari 400/800, all the way from 1979! See you then! 

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