Retrogaming Review of The Year 2021

Retrogaming Review of The Year 2021

In the second Year of The Virus I was resolved to have a little more fun and make time for games when in other years I might have been working on things, so certain titles became regular entries into my Wii's drive - and that was the whole idea of the Wii, I believe, to get gamers playing little and often, picking things up and putting them down, though I also got the chance to delve into deeper games, too. A shame the Amiga didn't play a prominent part as I hoped it would, but at least I kept the gaming going overall and never lost the enjoyment with generally good choices.

Awards:
Surprise of The Year: WSC Real '08
Disappointment of The Year: Animal Crossing

[Ratings reflect total, historical experience, not just the enjoyment level I got out of them this time.]


January: The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (2005, GameCube) - Took a while to get into, and could be frustrating getting used to controlling four Links, but eventually I came to enjoy it. The music was sometimes repeated too much for different levels, making it seem a little rushed or lazy, but in spite of any flaws it still leaves you slightly moved by the end where you fly around Hyrule revisiting the different places you battled through, thanks to the owl or the fairies that we follow during the credits. Even then, the series had become far too derivative of itself, but it's hard to criticise traditionalism in a game that very much broke the mould. With four players I expect it would have been more fun. ***

January - December: WSC Real 08 (2008, Wii) - I'd played this before, but hadn't got very far, not even winning a single match against the computer. Until this year when I picked up the gauntlet and chose to get into it - I did, more than I could've ever imagined! It became easily my most played game of the year, an involving, engaging revelation that was about as close to a real match as I can imagine, the Wiimote coming into its own as an intuitive and natural cue that worked like no gimmicky operation in other games. I battled up to 2nd in the world (still to overcome Ronnie O'Sullivan's lead and take the top spot so I'll be back on it this year!). It's not quite five-star material, there were some minor annoyances, such as the audience looking like civilians from 'Body Harvest' (the characters that ran around with about three frames of animation and no texture), and the players all seemed to be on an extreme diet! The match length keeps resetting to 25% at the start of each season, and I prefer the full-length version; there's no score on screen when the opposition's at table (unless you pause and go into stats in the options screen), no ability to see a ball from any angle, it's always from the cue ball and you need to be able to look around the table freely; and at first I found the positional aids sometimes disappeared for no apparent reason until I realised it was all to do with whether you were putting enough power in the meter. The positional aids themselves were essential and aren't cheating, they're actually part of the game, encouraging improvement to your stats so you can trade points for a better quality of aids, in an RPG style. There's great immersion, too, where you really get into matches (fortunate that you don't have to complete all frames in one sitting), the commentary from the brilliant John Virgo, with support from Steve Davis and John Parrott, helping that end of things immensely - it can be jarring and misplaced sometimes, but they do converse on occasion and though repetitive it adds to the realism. Realism doesn't go too far, either, with no kicks or miscues like the real game, so it's not complete simulation. It may be inaccessible until you dedicate to it, but it rewards patience. Disappointingly, it doesn't keep records of your career, so once a season's done it's gone, no record of how much money you earned (no way to spend it either), the head-to-heads only appear for players when you play them, you can't go over the details of an event to track your progress; who played; frames won; century breaks; etc, so room for improvement. It would also have been nice to be able to see what happened on replay before you commit to taking a shot or forcing a continue on your opponent, but it's a full, deep game that a year of play hasn't exhausted, and that's without even going into the Pool side of things (and Billiards), two-player, and incentives, and comes as close as I can imagine to naturally reaching a level where you can compete with the top players, at least virtually. ****

January - November: Wii Sports (2006, Wii) - Like the snooker, I wanted something that I could do regularly, and this was specifically used for supplementary exercise, the boxing especially requiring effort. Most of the games had their merits and it continues to be a good source of regular, almost weekly, attempts to better high scores in certain disciplines while also getting the exercise. ***

January - November: UFO: Enemy Unknown (1993, Amiga 1200) - With 2022 to mark twenty years of continuous play, 2021 wasn't anything special, other than keeping the tradition alive, and in a year when I failed to get back into Amiga games as I'd planned, this was my only example of that great machine. One day I'll wrap up this file… *****

May - July: Body Harvest (1998, N64) - I'd looked forward to revisiting this, and associated as it had been with the summer of 2001, returning to it almost exactly twenty years later was a real joy and probably the best gaming experience I had all year, tied in with watching the Euros and reading the 'N64 Anthology,' all three representing the summer for me. There aren't many games left that I haven't returned to, to wring a full measure of nostalgia from it on the N64, but this was one rare example that I'd never replayed and it didn't disappoint. The quality of the front end and graphics of a game have never been of highest importance in my estimation, and though this game looked a bit shabby (even when it came out!), its freedom and storytelling was far more telling, controlling so many varied vehicles from motorbikes to tanks, boats to chinooks, it was well worth the time I spent with it. Maybe it'll be back in the slot for the year 2041…? ****

August - September: Animal Crossing: Let's Go To The City (2008, Wii) - The one that didn't impress, and I'd had a similar experience with 'Harvest Moon' on the GameCube, the last full-priced game I ever bought I think, I still went into this hoping it would be the typical wondrous Nintendo extravaganza. It was the first in the series I'd played, never having been able to find the 'Cube version for a reasonable price, and I paid the most I had for any game this year, but it was a real disappointment. It was a little more interactive than 'Harvest Moon,' I'll give it that, but not much more involving, so after trying for a while to get some kind of purpose to it, it soon degenerated into a hunt for bugs that could be sold to get money… for no good reason. It struck me as quite a girly game, something that was less about doing and more about living within, gossiping with the neighbours, trying on different clothes, arranging furniture, going shopping… All things that don't appeal, and with no real progress or delights I finally found myself heading off for something more worth my time. **

October - December: Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (2007, Wii) - It took a little time to get into, and the controls were finicky and far from the precision needed to have confidence in this type of game, but I've got over irritating controls before (such as in 'Hitman 2'), and though it could still be uncomfortable after prolonged play I was glad to be able to experience the next title in the series after I'd enjoyed the first two on 'Cube - it made me want to go back to the beginning and I will definitely return to 'Metroid Prime' in the next year or so. ****

December: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006, GameCube) - I never felt this was one of the best in its series, it felt too much like a reaction to 'Wind Waker,' a desperate attempt to return to what made the N64 classics work. It looked good, but also like a slightly higher-res 'Ocarina of Time,' with a larger game world, but the gameplay was very familiar, perhaps too much so. There was too much busywork to artificially inflate the playing time (88 hours on my original run back in 2006-2007!). It's such a tough line to walk in crafting a new gaming experience within the confines of a much-loved existing franchise and few have succeeded. It is marginally better than its predecessor, partly because of the return to 'realistic' style, but also for horse-riding being more fun than sailing across empty oceans. I went in without high expectations since I remembered being disappointed that it didn't quite live up to its billing as the last big game of the 'Cube era (much like the 'Cube itself ended up as slightly underwhelming compared to the experiences I'd had on the N64, the king of consoles), and I can't say I've enjoyed it more, but have taken it for what it was: a continuation of the 'Ocarina' style that brought the series into 3D, and a fairly enjoyable return to puzzles and exploration. ***

December: Mario Kart Wii (2008, Wii) - I'd been given it a year or so ago and had never got the interest up to taking it out of the plastic wrapping, but multiplayer at Christmas finally encouraged me to have a go after my original experience (back in 2008 when my cousin brought it round and thrashed me every time since I couldn't get the hang of the imprecise physical steering), had left me unenthused. But finally giving in and using the 'Cube Controller made it typically great fun, and as well as multiplayer I worked to unlock the other tracks and options so spent plenty of time with this - one thing you notice, apart from the fact that there's a lot more to do than the average Mario Kart instalment, is its love of its own heritage. I could point out the cynical direction of that at a time when the Wii's Virtual Console was encouraging players to buy old versions of games like this, but it was a good marketing strategy. I wonder if subsequent iterations have continued that trend as I did feel as if there weren't enough really strong new tracks, but the leafy one stuck out and it was lovely to return to some older ones, though my favourites like Koopa Troopa Beach and Sherbert Land were omitted. A game I'll likely dip back into this year to finish unlocking everything, though I'll never get used to Wiimote handling and will always stick to classic 'Cube control! ****

Honourable mentions: In July I played 'ExciteBike 64' (***), which was quite a short experience before I'd won all the championships. Good physics, and some great extras, but I didn't warm to the single-player and didn't have the impetus to win first place on every track (***), whereas I really got into some multiplayer gaming over Christmas, with 'WSC Real' (****), 'Mario Kart Wii' (****), 'Mario Kart: Double Dash!!' (*****), 'Burnout 2' (*****), 'Wii Play' (***), 'Shaun White Snowboarding' (**), and 'Colin McRae's Dirt 2' (**), all featuring and most working well (though the last game not allowing 'Cube Controller was a real loss).


Next Year - I'd really wanted to get back into the Amiga by bringing the 1500 down from the loft, but it never happened, and while I've done most of the big Wii games now and revisited some 'Cube (fulfilling my goals of 'Metroid' and 'Zelda'), I'm not finished yet, so in 2022 I'd like to:

- Get the Amiga 1500 down, specifically for 'Flashback,' my favourite 2D platformer ever

- DOSBox didn't get a look in and I do have titles I want to try ('Command & Conquer;' 'Mega-lo-mania;' 'Space Hulk')

- A dark game for Winter on the 'Cube, either 'Splinter Cell' or 'The Lord of The Rings: The Third Age,' but there's also 'Lego Star Wars,' 'Starsky & Hutch,' and of course 'Metroid Prime'

- N64: 'Top Gear Overdrive' for racing, 'Goldeneye 007' and possibly 'TWINE' in preparation for 2023 and the return to 'Perfect Dark'

- To continue my Christmas 'Zelda' tradition with the Wii's entry, 'Skyward Sword'

- Maybe 'Age of Empires 3: The War Chiefs' as it's been a while?

Happy New Year!