Friday 14 March 2008

The Golden Age


Right up to the moment I started at Emap, everything I knew about gaming was learnt from the arcades. My coin-op career spanned from the 80s labor club classics like Pong and Space Invaders, right through to the 90s Soho test center tournaments involving Street Fighter and Tekken. I worked at a local arcade when I was still as school and got to play pretty much every major release on free credits once the place was locked up for the night. The king of the arcades in those days is unreservedly Capcom. They were so consistent in quality and so perfect in execution. Monster hits like Ghosts 'n Goblins, Trojan, Black Magic, Forgotten Worlds, Section Z and others sucked down so much of my time. So it was news from the recent Capcom Digital Day event that got me very excited. I knew that they had plans to reinvent some of these classics and bring them back for XBLA but just how they would turn out was still unclear. Well, general opinions from some respected journos would suggest that Capcom have done good! Commando! 1942! Bionic Commando: Rearmed! Whilst not my first choice out of Capcom's extensive library they're still all classics and the updated versions put on show are apparently awesome. Better stock up on the points for summer methinks.

4 comments:

Damien McFerran said...

The new Commando art style looks terrible though! Give me Mercs any day of the week!

That was one of the things I used to love about Mean Machines/CVG - the use of official Japanese artwork in reviews and previews. EMAP is effectively responsible for me spending more cash than is really sane on countless Capcom artwork books from Play-Asia!

Barsark said...

Hello Gary,
My first communication with you for, oohh.... must be nearing twenty years, but the 1942 piccie just compelled me to say hi.

I spent my youth at and also worked in, the Quay Amusements at Poole, you taught me many lessons there and I always remember your first words to me...."what's the point of dying with 13 potions, idiot?", I was showing off on Gauntlet, until that point :) but I can still go all day with one credit even now!

Just seeing that 1942 shot brings back many classic memories of many classic games, keep up the retro worship and all the best.
Tony Smith

Gary Harrod said...

Tony, how you doing mate! Yes, popping your clogs with all those potions was well deserved of my encouraging prose... :)

1942 was a beaut though oddly the sequels never quite captured the flavor. UN Squadron was another Cap shooter that hit the spot too. Ah, the good 'ol days!

Barsark said...

Gary always was rather succinct, as well as correct - the point hit home though.
Your right about 1943 et al, they never quite made it, Tokio, now there was another that could entertain for hours.