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A view on....

ARTICLE HISTORY Saturday Games Emulators Music

Saturday Games

"....I thought about all the games I liked and it dawned on me that whatever other sort of classification you can think of - Adventure, Shoot-em-up, Strategy, etc. - you could re-classify as days of the week...."

It occurred to me the other day that there is a certain type of game which may be classified as a 'Saturday Game'. You know the sort I mean - something like R-Type. It is a game which gives you that 'start-of-the-weekend' feeling in the same way that a winding-down game could be a 'Sunday Game'. In my experience that would be something like Leaderboard. And then I thought about all the games I liked and it dawned on me that whatever other sort of classification you can think of - Adventure, Shoot-em-up, Strategy, etc. - you could re-classify as days of the week. So here is a list of days and the top games for them:- Monday, start of the week so nothing too taxing. Commando (Spectrum), Rambo (C64) then maybe a demo or two (ST/Amiga/C64). Tuesday, bit of strategy to get the mind going. Carrier Command (ST/Amiga) and Sentinel (C64). Wednesday, midweek isometric mood. Spindizzy (Amstrad) or Marble Madness (Amiga) Thursday, bit of a mixture. Skooldaze (Spectrum), 1942 (C64), Wizball (Amiga). Friday, end of the working week so something to gear up for Saturday. Start with Armalyte (C64) followed by KikStart (C64), Raiden Project (PlayStation) and Renegade (Spectrum) Saturday, Hooray! Get some mates round for: Skate or Die (C64), World Games/Winter Games/California Games etc. (C64), Gauntlet (Amiga/ST), Populous (Amiga/ST), R-Type (Most formats), Age Of Empires (PC). Sunday, mellow out over: Rescue on Fractalus (C64), It Came From The Desert (Amiga), Elite (Most Formats), Beach Head I/II (C64). Well, you've got to have a system, haven't you? - Rob

Emulators

"The people who write emulators are some really switched-on guys - I should know, I've coded on many of the machines...."

I don't know who wrote the first emulator or why but hats off to them because from that first step there have been a multitude of others. Everything from humble desktop calculators to the Nintendo 64. Although they never fully convey the feel of the original machine they can come pretty close and given the fact that most of the software loads in seconds from hard disk it is usually painless too. I find I am usually too busy to devote enough time to playing on my Commodore 64, for example, so using an emulator lets me dip into that nostalgic bliss with the minimum of fuss and waiting. The people who write emulators are some really switched-on guys - I should know, I've coded on many of the machines and I know what the hardware is like. To get the level of compatibility right down to the exact bus-cycle is phenomenal and they deserve a pat on the back. Which is why when hardware companies get annoyed and try to sue the programmers it is pathetic. I don't see the emulator as the problem. Maybe pirating software is but emulating hardware, no. They would be better suited concentrating on getting out the next generation. - Rob

Music

"I know some of you would be embarassed to be heard listening to "Monty Mole" or "Outrun" but there's no excuse - use headphones!"

There's nothing like hearing a piece of music you haven't listened to in ages to bring you back to when you heard it first. I do like my music but I have quite a varied collection. I do buy current albums but I also like 80s music. If I want to forget the stress of a hard day at work I, like most, like to put on some music. To me, the most relaxing sort is the kind where you it takes you on a journey to some far off place and time. This may sound bizarre but I bet a lot more of you do the same than you let on! The difference is perhaps in the choice of music. Anything with plenty of synthesisers and 80s pop beat will do me fine. All I need to complete the mood is a suitable machine from the collection loaded up with a suitable game and I'm in retro heaven. Let us not forget that games have their own music and whether it is dire or not you associate the sound with the game and therefore a mood. So sometimes we must leave the machine to provide the tunes because, after all, there are some cracking pieces out there. One of my favourite little trinkets is SIDPLAY. Go and get it now. And when you've got it use it to play some tunes in the background while you work instead of listening to the radio or CD player. I know some of you would be embarassed to be heard listening to "Monty Mole" or "Outrun" but there's no excuse - use headphones! So go on, dig out your old albums. Go to a charity shop and look for some there. Fire up Sidplay. You never know, it might just brighten your day. - Rob

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