Version tested: Wii
Like the callous husband who ignores his wife for weeks, but then comes home early on her birthday with a bouquet of roses and tickets to Paris, so this week's Virtual Console update reminds us why we married the bastard in the first place. Three new games in one day - something that hasn't happened since last year, shockingly - and a whole new platform to play with as well!
Yes, the Commodore 64 joins the Euro VC line up as of today, and it's an event that leaves me torn. As the sort of old git who still sometimes says "computer games" instead of "videogames", the addition of an 8-bit home computer to the line up makes me feel very warm and fuzzy and nostalgic. It also leaves me conflicted, because - like all sensible people - I was a proud Speccy owner, and wanted nothing to do with Commodore's fudge-coloured monstrosity. I've since learned to abandon my partisan ways, of course, but what will it take to get Sir Clive's rubbery wonder on the VC?
But, hey, look at me, waffling on like the Werther's Originals Grandad. There's games to be played.
International Karate
- Platform: C64
- Wii Points: 500
- In Real Money: GBP 3.50 / EUR 5 (approx)
Let's tackle Archer MacLean's seminal fighting game first, since it helps to explain how the C64 works on a console. To start the game, you need to press the 1 button. This brings up a virtual C64 keyboard, which in itself will probably be enough to send fans into spasms of glee. You then need to prod the pretend F1/F2 button to start a one-player or two-player game. Then you press 1 again to remove the keyboard.
There's no getting around the fact that it feels clunky - especially since the round begins as soon as you press the F1 button, meaning you have to race to clear the screen and turn the Wiimote around for normal play before you get clobbered. Making it even more intrusive, you need to go through this awkward process every time you start another round. Quite why it couldn't have the start function mapped to some of the other buttons is beyond me, especially since Uridium needs no such faffing.
Anyway, the game. It's a fighting game, but one completely unlike the Capcom, Midway and SNK games already filling the VC vault. This really is a karate game, where you can be knocked down with one hit, and victory comes from a referee deciding who got the most hits in the time limit. Both fighters are identical, moves are limited to directions modified with the solitary fire button, and success comes from timing and learning the best positions to strike from. You can advance through the different coloured belts, or take on a friend. And that's pretty much it.
It's basic, that's for sure. It's also clever, instantly enjoyable regardless of your skill level, and even at twenty-something years old it still feels fresh and different to almost all the other fighting games before and since. Is it worth 500 Points? It's better value than many of the NES games that have commanded that price, but frugal gamers will already have twigged that it might be best to hang on and see if the phenomenal IK+ is on the way first.
7/10
Uridium
- Platform: C64
- Wii Points: 500
- In Real Money: GBP 3.50 / EUR 5 (approx)
Kristan already exploded all over this classic shoot-'em-up in our retro channel, giving it top marks, declaring it "effortlessly innovative and visually slick". I wouldn't go all the way up to a 10/10, but there's no denying that Uridium represents the best of C64 shooters in the same way the International Karate demonstrates how original thinking flourished away from the American and Japanese arcade/console axis of power.
It's a horizontal shooter, but play it like R-Type and expect to get creamed. You're piloting a Manta fighter over the surface of fifteen alien Dreadnoughts, sent to steal precious minerals. Free to fly left or right, dictate your speed and even flip your ship on its side, your aim is to keep destroying the Dreadnought defences until you're able to land on its surface. You then play a quick mini-game to earn some bonus points, before zipping off as it exploderises to bits.
As well as the lateral freedom of movement, another change from formula is that it's impossible to collide with the smaller alien ships. You simply fly above or below them. Their shots, however, are instantly fatal - as are the homing missiles that launch should you linger in one place too long, and the elevated structures that must be flown around.
It's hard but it's also fair and, by avoiding the linear progression of the shmup genre, places the onus for success firmly in your hands. There are elements of Defender, Xevious and Gradius all thrown into the mix, but the end result is something unique and a testament to developer Andrew Braybrook's ingenuity. Quibble all you like about the VC's inflated prices - I'll probably agree with you - but if you genuinely resent paying a few quid (or Euros) for Uridium, you may very well be insane.
9/10
Cruis'n USA
- Platform: N64
- Wii Points: 1000
- In Real Money: GBP 7.00 / EUR 10.00 (approx)
And so to the final game of the trio and, oh, the sweet irony that the game that appeared on the mightier of the two 64-suffixed platforms is also the weakest.
Already a fairly shameless OutRun knock-off in the arcades - even the titles for the music tracks are derivative - it's not hard to see why SEGA-hating Nintendo wanted this on their platform. And, to begin with, it looks the part - a trans-American racing game with reasonably realistic car models, undulating courses and civilian traffic.
It doesn't take long for the initial sheen to wear thin, though. For one thing, the game is horribly easy. You can clear all fifteen stages of the Cruise mode in less than half an hour, by which time you'll have seen all you need. Collision detection is haphazard, with trucks and cars often landing right on top of you, forcing you to crash again. Smashes caused by blind corners are common but, perversely, your car is quite capable of driving through tree trunks, lampposts and pretty much everything else in the game.
You can get into first place within ten seconds of starting a race and, assuming you don't crash into every car you see, you should stay in pole position all the way to the finish line. You can crank up the difficulty, but all that does is make the rival AI even more skewed than it already is. Other racers become glued to your rear bumper, or zoom past at unmatchable speeds, only to slow down again so you can catch them.
A classic example of graphics over gameplay, so don't be fooled by the slick appearance - there's very little game beneath the glossy paint job.
5/10
