Developed by Probe Software and published by Acclaim Entertainment in 1992 Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Al82_Retro Add me on Google+: http://bit.ly/1tPwL1u Here's a game that should need absolutely no introduction. Released in the arcades back in 1992, Mortal Kombat caused a huge stir upon release. With it's high resolution graphics featuring live actors, a cast of iconic fighters and copious amounts of gore, I fail to see how the game could could have not been a massive hit. Conversions for most of the home computers and consoles of the day would soon follow with varying levels of success. For today's video, I'm checking out the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive version of the game with play-throughs using two of my favourite characters, rival ninjas Scorpion and Sub-Zero. Mortal Kombat is a tournament fighting game following closely in the footsteps of Capcom's Street Fighter II. Combatants face off against one another in a (literal) fight to the death with the victor progressing to the next round. Survive long enough and you'll have to fight through a series of 'endurance' matches, defeating two opponents instead of just one. Overcome these trials and you'll face the ultimate challenge in the form of Goro, a quad-armed behemoth who just so happens to be the tournament's reigning champion. Once the fighting begins it doesn't take long before the claret begins to fly. Punching opponents in the face results in unpleasant, misty clouds of blood, whilst kicks and the uppercut (everyone's favourite move) unleashes huge globules of the stuff. Whilst it looks laughably simplistic today, the level of gore and violence was considered to be such a big deal at the time that it would lead to the formation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) rating system for video/computer games. In fact, such was the uproar that the MD version of the game has the blood and violence disabled by default. The only way to enable the features is to enter a code at the title screen to enable the cheat options and to go and switch the blood back on! If you think this is inconvenient then consider the fact that Nintendo made the developers remove the blood altogether for the SNES version with no way to enable it. Trying to shoehorn the comparatively high resolution sprites, artwork and sound into a package that would run on Sega's hardware was no easy feat, but Probe managed to do an excellent job. All of the characters from the arcade game are included and are rendered at a decent resolution - not as clear as the arcade, but still manage to look pretty good all the same. As for the audio, Matt Furniss is on top form as usual. The background music features some excellent drum samples, backed up by some suitably oriental-sounding synth effects (check out the i ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iJznjsX_Nw

Game Info --------------------------------------------------- Developer: Leland Interactive Publisher: Tradewest Year of Release: 1994 Game Review & Impressions --------------------------------------------------- The Double Dragon franchise is no stranger to spin-offs, but The Shadow Falls is definitely "out there" as sequels go. Side-scrolling brawling is replaced in favour of one-on-one competition, with a cast of characters that look nothing like the previous titles duking it out with swords, axes and other weird weapons. At its most basic level, this is a Street Fighter II clone masquerading as a Double Dragon game, but it feels distinctly pantomime-esque. The fighters look ridiculous, the special moves in effective, and the quest mode storyline just plain silly. Being generous, there is the faintest of hints that there's a playable game in here somewhere. The counter-attack system is somewhat intuitive, once you figure it out, but it's just so cheesy and haphazard an experience to truly recommend. Video Notes --------------------------------------------------- Related Longplays & Videos --------------------------------------------------- Chapters --------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Intro 00:34 Gameplay Contact Me --------------------------------------------------- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Al82_Retro ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ8fHieWNXA

Developed and published by Konami in 1990 Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Al82_Retro Add me on Google+: http://bit.ly/1tPwL1u It's fair to say that, when the original Alien film hit the silver screen, it was a revolution for the sci-fi genre. A nail-biting game of cat-and-mouse against a terrifying alien horror set in the darkness of space, it would kickstart one of the most memorable film franchises to ever come out of Hollywood. The 1986 sequel, Aliens, was equally brilliant as it placed less emphasis on horror and more on action. The film was certainly no less tense for the change in direction and remains my personal favourite in all of the Alien films to date. A smash hit, the film spawned a whole host of associated merchandise including several video games and even a line of action figures for kids (bearing in mind this was 18-rated film which children would not have been able to watch!). Having secured a licence to develop a game based on the franchise, Konami released Aliens into the arcades in 1990. The game is a horizontally scrolling shoot 'em up, putting the player in the combat boots of Ellen Ripley (and Corporal Hicks if playing with a friend) as she dares to take the fight to the xenomorph horde currently infesting the colonist base of Hadley's Hope. The game features an extensive arsenal of weapons with which Ripley can obliterate the xenomorph foe. These new items can be acquired by collecting weapon tokens, which can be found out in the open, or inside weapon canisters. The player gets to choose the exact weapon they would like by waiting for the token to display the respective gun before collecting it, which is a nice touch. Whilst the range of weapons is admirable, for some unfathomable reason, Konami chose not to include the most iconic of all the weapons in the Aliens universe, the M41A pulse rifle! Instead, Ripley starts the game with M56 smart gun - sure, it's synonymous with the Aliens universe, but it will always play second fiddle to the pulse rifle. Having tooled themselves up appropriately, the game is an uncomplicated affair of progressing to the right, annihilating anything that moves. From aliens to strange, zombie-like humanoids, everything must be terminated with extreme prejudice. Entering ducts and crawl-spaces results in Ripley making use of the iconic motion tracker to keep tabs on encroaching enemies. This is particularly useful for anticipating enemies popping out of air vents and shooting them before they have chance to turn you into lunch. Certain levels are interspersed with on-rails shooting sections where Ripley rides atop the marine APC as it travels to it's next destination. The objective here is to shoot approaching aliens before they get too close, whilst also dodging out of the way o ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJvHLf2esZg

Game Info --------------------------------------------------- Developer: NMK Publisher: NMK Year of Release: 1993 Game Review & Impressions --------------------------------------------------- I already covered the original Thunder Dragon on the channel, and found it to be a decent-enough shoot 'em up with an interesting weapon power-up system. The sequel doesn't stray too much from the formula of the original, although the decision to replace the various weapon systems from the first game with a single upgradeable spread-shot means it's not the most innovative of sequels. Even so, it's a decent looking game with enough shooting action to satisfy most arcade fans - not ground-breaking, but still worth a shot. Related Longplays & Videos --------------------------------------------------- Thunder Dragon (Arcade): https://youtu.be/bD_ikTxPdRM Chapters --------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Attract mode 00:11 Stage 1 02:14 Stage 2 05:18 Stage 3 08:27 Stage 4 11:34 Stage 5 14:47 Stage 6 17:44 Stage 7 21:02 Stage 8 25:39 Ending ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC3_fXXjQG0