Back again for my 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. Before we get into those though, a related aside, because this week I saw the new Mortal Kombat II, and it’s alright! Clearly, no one’s here for the plot, which is fortunate because it’s even more of a mess than expected, but it’s also louder and bloodier than the last one, and thankfully doesn’t take itself anywhere near as seriously either! We’ve got a Johnny Cage this time too, properly upping the chaos as our heroes once again do battle against Shao Kahn and his latest evil plan to open up barriers between realms or some such nonsense, which obviously also involves a martial arts tournament! But like the games as well, all I’ve ever wanted from Mortal Kombat is bone-crunching spectacle, and that’s what I got here, so I’m happy! And on the subject of games, that’s a good place to jump to what I’ve also been up to on that front…

I’m pretty much up to date with the rest of them, but Silent Hill: Homecoming has always managed to pass me by, so as it’s one of the less expensive titles in the series to pick up (on PlayStation 3) nowadays, I decided it was time to put that right! It was originally released in 2008, and I believe was the first mainline entry developed outside Japan… And it shows, from the second you start dealing with the murky lighting, awkward navigation and pretty much awkward everything else! It goes so hard on darkness from the outset that rooms and even some standalone puzzles are often totally unreadable, and not in that deliberate and oppressive way the earlier Team Silent titles did so wonderfully, but in a turn the brightness up because you literally can’t see the exit kind of way – not that doing that helps much anyway – and it’s made worse by invisible walls that block perfectly logical routes around furniture and stuff. The controls don’t help either, with sloppy and imprecise movement, and clumsy combat even after you adapt to its timing, although you’ll never trust that dodge mechanic! The plot follows Alex Shepherd, returning to his hometown of Shepherd’s Glen to search for his missing brother, only to uncover a collapsing community, buried guilt and a nightmare that inevitably draws him back toward Silent Hill itself. It’s alright, but while voice-acting is hardly a series strong point at the best of times, here it seems to suck any life out of the psychological unease it did build its reputation on. There are flashes though, with some very cool creature designs and nice environmental ideas, and even occasions when the mandatory fog and typically atmospheric sound design do briefly click… But it’s mostly a very low point in one of my favourite gaming franchises, and that’s saying something once you get beyond the brilliance of the first four!

Last week here I covered Avalanche, a modern Atari 2600 port of an ancient Atari arcade game I received for my birthday last month. Along very similar lines, I was also given the M‑Network Collection, which got an official boxed release on the Atari 2600+ in 2024 as a four‑game (backwards- and sideways-compatible) cartridge, containing ancient ports of ancient Intellivision games including Armor Ambush, Astroblast, Frogs and Flies, and Star Strike, each selected using combinations of four physical switches on the cart itself. Armor Ambush (originally Armor Battle on Intellivision) gives you a more tactical, terrain‑driven tank battle than Atari’s own Combat, with obstacles that affect how each encounter plays out. Astroblast is a quick-fire reinterpretation of the Space Invaders meets Asteroids anti-scoring oddball formerly known as Astrosmash, that unusually plays with either joystick or paddle controller (but stick to joystick)! It’s a shame Frogs and Flies in particular got the renaming treatment at the time because Frog Bog was loads better, but it remains a minimally atmospheric and mostly perfectly formed duel of timing and positioning. It’s got some very early day-night cycles too. My dear old favourite Star Strike rounds things off with a stripped‑back, Star Wars-inspired trench‑running 3D shooter that gives the hardware as much of a workout as it does your poor fingers, as you try for a clean sequence of bombing runs against a cruelly ticking clock… I can sometimes still just about beat it though! All the games have all the usual 2600 variations and difficulty levels, and overall, it’s nice snapshot of M‑Network’s approach to reshaping Intellivision ideas for Atari hardware, with plenty of pick up and play variety, although a player two will definitely help you get the most out of it.

I also got into Glass on the ZX Spectrum here last week, having finally caught up with it after realising I’d never played it before when was putting together a Retro Rewind feature (here) last year. And just to close the loop on that feature completely before another anniversary passes, Confuzion on there is another one from that same July 1985 issue of Computer & Video Games magazine I was looking at that’s been nagging away at me ever since because I remember it sounding great at the time as well, but to this day had still never played it! Mechanically, it’s like one of those old sliding tile puzzles where you use the one “empty” tile to move the others around and unscramble a picture. However, here you’re going that to guide an electrical spark along a network of fuse wires, moving sections to create a path to a bomb somewhere on the outer screen before a timer runs down, making it explode and moving you onto the next level. There is a strange plot about destroying a terrorist factory or something but essentially it’s what Pipemania would do to greater effect a bit later, mixing puzzling with quick reactions, and it kind of works fine here too, especially when things get frantic and you find a last second route by the skin of your teeth, but it started to run out of steam for me pretty quickly despite ramping up the size, number of bombs and so on as you progress. As simple as it is on paper, the control system does take some rewiring of the brain as well, but it soon clicks, then while it lasts it’s as good as that original C&VG review hinted at. The whole thing is classic Spectrum garish too – in the best possible way – all magenta and red and bright green and yellow, and the sound and dreadful title screen music are the perfect audio equivalent! Glad to tick another one off the list and I enjoyed it for what it was, but I’m also glad my pocket money was spent elsewhere at the time!

Not sure I’m done with the game but the new Forza’s main Horizon Festival mode is also now done and then some! Bit of a grind getting to the last bit but worth it, and overall a stunning game in so many respects. I am also deep into the first of the Devil May Cry games, originally for PlayStation 2 but I’m playing on the HD Collection for PS4, which I also got for my birthday last month, so if I get a chance to finish it and at least have a go at the other two before next Sunday I’ll give a full summary then… The original is still fantastic though! Anyway, that’s all I’ve got for you this week, but do check back next Wednesday, because we’re well into June, which can only mean it’s time for the Retro Arcadia Game of the Year 2026 Halfway Hotlist! I always enjoy this one, not least because it usually gives me a chance to showcase a few games that wouldn’t make the final countdown in December otherwise. Will Mixtape (pictured above) be one of those? Well, I hope you can join me then to find out. Apart from that, I’ll wish you a good week ahead and see you next time!

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