Game Info --------------------------------------------------- Developer: Digital Developments Publisher: Psygnosis Year of Release: 1994 Game Review & Impressions --------------------------------------------------- Iconic for its brilliant animated intro sequence, this Amiga classic was ported to the Sega Genesis and, latterly, the Sega CD. I wasn't even aware this version existed until I listened to an episode of the RGDS podcast, and so I was really curious to see what changes Digital Developments had made. The core game design, levels and locations are unchanged, but the CD version does include a full audio CD soundtrack, additional cutscenes, updated graphics, plus voice narration for most of the dialogue. These are not unwelcome additions, but Beast II was still far from exemplary in terms of gameplay, so this feels like an odd choice to give a CD overhaul. Something which felt like an instant downgrade over the Amiga version was the combat, chiefly because the animation system prevents you from cancelling an attack. The additional number of frames in the attack animation mean you have no way of avoiding damage unless your timing was absolutely impeccable. True, this may have been the same in the standard Genesis version, but it makes the game really frustrating in places, more so than the Amiga version. Interestingly, the developer's included a couple of additional NPCs in the Karamoon Oasis who you can interact with, probably because they had to remove the Amiga version's chat parser and needed something to replace it with. If I'm honest, these chats are pretty perfunctory and don't add much to the proceedings. I don't think it's possible to ever collect enough gold to buy the throwing axes or potion from the vendor, chiefly because you still need the cash to pay the snail to transport you back to Karamoon. Ultimately, what Shadow of the Beast II on Sega CD gains in presentation and production values, it loses in the gameplay department. Some of the quirks from the Amiga original are made worse, resulting in a game which, despite looking quite attractive, isn't much fun. Even then, this still feels like an old game to be rehashing in 1994, when there plenty of stock Genesis games better than this. Information & Trivia --------------------------------------------------- - Voice narration provided by Tim Bentinck, better known as David Archer from long-running BBC radio drama, The Archers Video Notes --------------------------------------------------- Related Longplays & Videos --------------------------------------------------- Chapters --------------------------------------------------- ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYe68QYpuls

Developed by Greg Duddle and published by Mr Micro in 1984. Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Al82_Retro Add me on Google+: http://bit.ly/1tPwL1u This is where it all began; one of the first games I ever played on my first ever computer, the Commodore Plus 4! Take control of Jim Hawkins as he scours the island for the buried treasure. The game map is one big maze and guarded by blood-thirsty pirates (yarrrr!) who will throw their cutlasses at you if you get too close. Most of the challenge involves getting the pirates to throw their weapon, run away until it eventually stops moving and picking it up. The only enemies that don't do this are the blue coloured pirates, which adds an extra challenge to the game. Once you find the treasure, Long John Silver comes to get you and you have to run back to the ship whilst remembering how to get there. Although this game was released on the C64, I feel this is the better version. The C16/Plus 4 TED chip had an improved colour palette (even though it had no hardware sprite support), so the characters look a lot better than the C64 version. The TED chip didn't sound anywhere near as good as the C64, but the sound in this game is so basic that you don't notice it. What's more, this longplay isn't tool-assisted (WinVice save state/history recording doesn't work yet for the plus 4 emulator). The sound lag was present in the emulator; it's not a problem with the video. Happy memories! #retrogaming ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE9ZZK6ISPk