Retro Gamer

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2X for me. An amazing Xbox exclusive featuring all the levels from the first two games, as well as some new ones. Expertise: Building the ultimate gaming/work-from-home room Currently playing: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Favou

You may not believe it to look at me now, but back in the day I used to do a fair bit of skateboarding. I’d regularly hang out in a little gang with some mates and we’d hit the half pipe at Slade’s Farm skate park (it’s still there) and dangerously s

Before Virtua Fighter found critical acclaim, Sega made this interesting attempt at a 3D fighting game. While the strict use of 3D means the controls are rather challenging, the distinctive cyberpunk theme (characters include a mutant and a cyberneti

Future’s video team at Barcroft Studios has been busy scouring the world for stories about the real lives of some extraordinary gamers, and the result is a new series called Totally Game. While you'll doubtless be most excited by the tour of the arca

A number of Donkey Kong and Pac-Man scores set by the famed classic gaming competitor Billy Mitchell have been reinstated by Guinness World Records, following an appeal. The scores had originally been disqualified by the record-keeping organisation T

The Netherlands began allowing doctors to issue prescriptions for cannabis on 1 September, with the aim of providing pain relief for patients suffering from cancer and other conditions. The drug, while tolerated for sale through licensed shops only,

“Sales of GameCube software fell short in NA and Europe last year, and I believe that’s due to the popularity of violent games on other consoles,” says Nintendo’s Hiroshi Yamauchi. “That’s why it’s hard to achieve success in [the west] for Japanese d

1 – Tomb Raider: The Angel Of Darkness (Eidos) 2 – EyeToy: Play (Sony) 3 – Enter The Matrix (Atari) 4 – SOCOM: US Navy Seals (Sony) 5 – Hulk (Vivendi) 1 – Hulk (Vivendi) 2 – Enter The Matrix (Atari) 3 – Tomb Raider: The Angel Of Darkness (Eidos) 4 –

APPEARS IN: THPS3 HOW TO UNLOCK: Complete the game with every character, including collecting three gold medals. APPEARS IN: THPS3 HOW TO UNLOCK: Complete all goals in the game and get all three gold medals in Career Mode seven times. APPEARS IN: THP

Sleek and speedy-looking, the Spectrum boat is big enough for three divers to sit, waiting to jump off into the big blue. Looking more like a luxury yacht than a diving boat, the Commodore 64 has this rather long and featureless ship. Meanwhile, poor

The balance between exploration and air supply is a constant battle in Scuba Dive. Dare you risk entering just one more cave in the hope of discovering that elusive treasure chest? Make sure you know how to get back, and keep an eye on those meters.

There’s an easy way to guarantee a good start to your Commodore 64 game, and that’s to get Rob Hubbard in to do the music. The title screen theme for Skate Or Die! is one of his classic rock pieces, complete with an absolutely awesome electric guitar

In chronological order, Space Harrier 3D on the Master System comes first. Harrier is shown defeating Dark Uriah, the final boss, thus freeing the friendly white dragon Uriah. You ride on Uriah’s back in the bonus stages of arcade Space Harrier, the

Sega’s Space Harrier and Fantasy Zone games share the same universe and timeline of events, so it was inevitable that a crossover title would occur at some point. Space Fantasy Zone was developed by NEC Avenue as a PC Engine CD-ROM game and was basic

Teque’s conversion of Space Harrier II was the subject of a in-depth preview in the January 1990 issue of The One magazine. In it, 21-year-old lead coder Mike Hart revealed how the lead Atari ST version came together. “I did the chequerboard floor fi

Cover star of Grandslam’s conversions, this tortoise of terror shoots a salvo of fireballs as it approaches, then briefly exposes each of its three heads before retreating. HOW TO BEAT THEM: This weak guardian is a walkover. Dodge the fireballs by mo

MEGABUCKS DEVELOPER: CAPCOM RELEASE: 1995 Being a fan of Mega Man can be a bit of a financial struggle at times, and few games illustrate that quite so well as Mega Man X3. The original Super Nintendo version made use of the CX4 enhancement chip for

Sierra On-Line’s graphic adventures are renowned among fans of the genre, but only true connoisseurs can name those lacking a ‘Quest’ in the title. That’s a shame, as there are some hidden gems in the company’s back catalogue, just waiting to be disc

This version is clearly the least visually appealing of the three, with a flatter colour scheme, though the Atari’s faster CPU had advantages for running speed. Tinny music adds to the sense of a lesser product, despite the popularity of Sierra’s adv

Let’s not kid ourselves – as far as most of the world is concerned, the humble cathode-ray tube television is obsolete. They’re heavy, they’re often as deep as they are tall and they aren’t particularly energy efficient. The vast majority of them wer

ON-LINE SYSTEMS, 1980 If you’re keen to see where it all started, check out Roberta and Ken Williams’ pioneering Mystery House. Though far less sophisticated than Sierra’s later titles, it laid the groundwork for all graphic adventures to come. Plus,

CLASS: Swordsman RACE: Human The protagonist of Shining Force is your typical self-sacrificing hero who is kind of heart but occasionally a little brash. His strong sword arm, good defence and decent number of hit points make him a solid capable lead

How do you secure licences? I deal with most of the licensing arrangements which is equal parts exciting and frustrating. Usually, we approach IP owners to show them the product and get them interested. They will either supply us a list of games they

1986, HEWSON CONSULTANTS Andrew Braybrook’s shooter tasks you with taking down vast space freighters with a one-man ship by dispatching quot as of the alien craft that defend them. Uridium’s homing mines and deadly raised structures make skilful pilo

Tony does not mince his words. Whether it’s shenanigans at Ocean Software in the Eighties or how his Special FX adventure was sabotaged, he’ll tell you how he sees things in broad, profanity-heavy Mancunian tones. And he has a lot to say, having work

Tony’s first game for Ocean was on this infamous joystick killer, which featured arguably Britain’s greatest ever Olympic athlete. It’s no Track & Field but its huge popularity when it first released back in 1984 gives it a certain nostalgic charm. E

CRUSTY STARFISH: Please can I have a refund for the joysticks broken playing Daley Thompson’s Decathlon? Believe it or not, I’ve had that said to me a million times. The joystick we were using [during development] was the Competition Pro, a very robu

It’s never easy revisiting something after a long time, and it’s been 26 years since Beneath A Steel Sky captivated adventure gamers. But there’s always been a place for a sci-fi mystery with a good sense of humour in the gaming market – the only que

System: PC Buy it from: Online Buy it for: £17.99 The pathfinding is still as frustrating as ever and the FMV doesn’t hold up, but by golly this is a tremendous remaster. From the moment the new enhanced EVA boot-up sequence starts, it’s obvious a lo

There are multiple options when buying the original PAL game. The PlayStation, Dreamcast and Game Boy Color versions go for a tenner. The N64 version is pricier, starting at £8 for a loose cart and reaching £60 complete. The N-Gage version can be fou

Future PLC Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, Somerset, BA1 1UA Editor Darran ‘The 900’ Jones darran.jones@futurenet.com 0330 3906443 Art Editor Andy ‘Kickflip’ Salter Production Editor Drew ‘No Comply’ Sleep Features Editor Nick ‘Nollie’ Thorpe Photograp

What’s your favourite Tony Hawk’s game? THPS2. The soundtrack and level design peaked at that point, back on the good old PlayStation. Tony Hawk’s 2 for me. It’s damn near perfect. Killer levels, goals, controls and a stunning soundtrack. The blister