This time we’re taken back to 1993 with Sonic CD, which was released for the Sega Mega CD. Probably re-released just after Sonic Generations as the two games deal with the manipulation of time. However the remake of Sonic CD made me realise one thing, which is how far ahead of itself it is. Feel free to nod off while I bring the youngens up to date. Sonic has taken Amy to the Never Lake, where it is rumoured a planet known as the Little Planet arrives one the last month of every year. However upon arriving, it’s apparent that Dr. Eggman is up to his old tricks. Blast him! He’s covered the fabled planet in metal and chained it to our own Planet, in the hopes of turning it into his own base. Not only that, but he’s created Metal Sonic, who kidnaps Amy. It’s up to Sonic to rescue Amy, defeat Eggman, save the day, and still pass up any hints that Amy makes. Seriously. Pretty standard Sonic storyline, nothing to see here folks, move along.
Spin, Sonic, Spin!
The game starts off as any Sonic game has done; in a zone that vaguely resembles the Green Hill Zone, where Sonic travels through at super speed to reach the goal. Reach the goal of two zone areas and you get to face what Eggman has in store for you in that zone. Beat Eggman, and you continue to the next.
This is basic Sonic knowledge, right?
However CD comes with a nice twist. Throughout the game there are posts that look similar to the final goal posts marked ‘Past’ or ‘Future’. If you hit these whilst running through the level, then keep running at a high-speed for a few seconds you will travel backwards or forwards through time, depending on the one you hit. In the past, there will be a generator hidden somewhere in the level which you can find and destroy. Once you have done that, you can return to the present to continue with the level. With a destroyed generator, many of the levels threats will be gone, making the run through easier. Not only that, but complete both zones with their generators destroyed and you’ll face an easier boss. This mechanic is what makes Sonic CD interesting. Not only does it allow for more puzzle-solving fun, but the method itself is one still used in today’s games, something that means levels won’t be static. Granted, the process has developed and changed since then, but Sonic CD set the foundations for an element that was well advanced for its time. NOW
Fight the past to save the future in this enhanced recreation of Sonic CD!
In order to put an end to Dr. Eggman’s nefarious schemes, Sonic must use the power of Little Planet to travel through time; breaking Dr. Eggman’s hold over the future by destroying his machines in the past and recovering the missing Time Stones!
Disney has an interesting relationship with the games industries. Whenever a movie is made in to a game my usual reaction is; was this done for the money or to make a great game? Undoubtedly Disney wanted to cash in on their major release of 1993 which is understandable. So how did it turn out? Well, not so bad. As much as I want to not like an obvious cash camel when I see one, I did end up concluding that Aladdin really is not at all a bad game. It is aimed at the younger player so don’t expect too much in the way of challenge but there is a nice feel to the way the levels require you to pay attention to certain jumps or ropes to climb.This being a Disney game I was looking for great animation and I’m pleased to say it’s here. Aladdin looks bright and the animation fluid. The supporting cast of stereotypical bad guys also retain the look of the film. The games sound is also great. We all know about the Sega Mega Drives relatively basic sound processor but I feel that the renditions of songs were recognizable and about the limit of what you could expect of the hardware. The game itself is very much based on the film. The setting, characters etc. all make up the story. There seems to be a lot of apple stealing as well as slashing bad guys. It’s repetitive but it does look nice. I can recommend this one on the basis of a movie/game tie in that works well. In terms of retro quality the platforming is certainly there. It’s just not a patch on Sonic the Hedgehog though.
Ubisoft released what happens with the third iteration of Donald Duck: Goin’ Quackers (USA) Gamecube Iso. A title that originally debuted as a new concept on the Nintendo 64, Goin ‘Quackers’ saw a slight improvement for the PlayStation 2 and GameCube versions now. It is a platform game, to the bone – which is more geared towards a younger audience than anything else. It should give parents and eventually devote Goin ‘Quackers Disney fans an eye. You are in my webbed feet of one of the most captivating characters, Disney, Donald Duck. Only with your help, and his undying love for Daisy, you have the option to save them. Much more interesting than the plot, gameplay, of course. To say that is heavily dependent on Goin Quackers titles like Crash Bandicoot, Naughty Dog would be a huge understatement. It adheres to one of three formulas: to roll forward (top), side-scrolling, and sometimes vice versa-scrolling (in the direction of the screen). All this takes place in 3D, but it is the product of a 2D drawing in many ways. Move through the levels is self-explanatory, forcing him to jump over obstacles and enemies to avoid.
Disney's Tarzan (also known as Tarzan Action Game) is an action, platformer developed by Eurocom and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation console in 1999. Konami published the game for its Japanese release. It was also released on the PC, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy Color. The player takes control of the eponymous Tarzan who ultimately has to save his home, the jungle, from Clayton, a hunter for gorillas. Tarzan starts up as a child learning the skills of the apes. The game has 3 difficulties: easy, medium and hard. In the easy and medium difficulties, little Tarzan gets tips from his friend Turk. Tarzan's enemies are monkeys, baboons, eagles, and different animals, including some humans and Clayton.Disney's Tarzan: Untamed (known as Disney's Tarzan: FreeRide in Europe) is a 2001 action-adventure video game released by Ubisoft Montreal for the PlayStation 2 and was a launch title for the GameCube. Picking up quite a while after the defeat of Clayton, Jane and Professor Porter now speak Gorilla-language fluently and Jane is married to Tarzan. However, their lives are threatened once again by a brutal band of British explorers led by the unscrupulous OswaldGardner, who becomes fascinated with Tarzan and strives to capture the ape-man and take him back to England as a media attraction.Tarzan's home, "Deep Jungle", is a playable world in the Disney/Square Enix video game Kingdom Hearts released for PlayStation 2 in 2002. It does not appear in any subsequent games in the series, due to Square Enix's failure to acquire the required rights from the family of Edgar Rice Burroughs.
This time we’re taken back to 1993 with Sonic CD, which was released for the Sega Mega CD. Probably re-released just after Sonic Generations as the two games deal with the manipulation of time. However the remake of Sonic CD made me realise one thing, which is how far ahead of itself it is. Feel free to nod off while I bring the youngens up to date. Sonic has taken Amy to the Never Lake, where it is rumoured a planet known as the Little Planet arrives one the last month of every year. However upon arriving, it’s apparent that Dr. Eggman is up to his old tricks. Blast him! He’s covered the fabled planet in metal and chained it to our own Planet, in the hopes of turning it into his own base. Not only that, but he’s created Metal Sonic, who kidnaps Amy. It’s up to Sonic to rescue Amy, defeat Eggman, save the day, and still pass up any hints that Amy makes. Seriously. Pretty standard Sonic storyline, nothing to see here folks, move along.
