Tag: Oregon! »

Sequels seem to be all the rage these days with Gangstar this and Halo that... heck, three of the games in the App Store top 10 are sequels, and if you count Tiger Woods you have four. As much as people like sequels, there's nothing that is quite like snuggling up to a nice, cozy retro game. Well, nothing except for the hell-spawn of the retro games themselves.

They aren't quite sequels, but they are definitely retro inspired - and that makes them awesome in a deranged slasher film kind of way.

Be2: Escape From Pongland - People have been playing the simple game of Pong for almost 40 years without caring too much for the well-being of the little dot that gets knocked around by the paddles. As any prisoner, the dot wanted freedom, and Be2 is the game about its escape.

You start out the game in a normal Pong screen and then break out into the Alice in Wonderland-esque world of Pongland. The game is filled with creepy rooms, stages inspired by numerous retro games, and a witty, but slightly creepy inner monologue to guide you through.

Speaking of creepy, the New Orleans jazz track that starts the game is about as creepy as it gets. Nothing about the song itself is creepy, but the whole thing feels like the start (or the end) of a creepy Kubrick movie.

Space Invaders: Infinity Gene - Space Invaders was long my dads favorite game on Atari. For some reason or another, an entire generation of gamers were drawn into a zombie-like trance by a little space ship that would destroy wave after wave of enemy ships.

Infinity Gene steps way outside the box and creates an unforgettably sexed up techno remix. The game resembles the original in that you have to kill the invading aliens, but the graphics and colors added to the original are striking. Also striking is the fact that the music (either the built in stuff or whatever you decide to play) actually jives with the action on screen.

This is the one retro game remix that actually outshines the original. It's fantastic.

Super Mega Worm - Is it a stretch to call Super Mega Worm a rethinking of the retro game, Snake? Yes, but the games do resemble each other in the fact that you have to eat something. Fine, maybe it's a stretch, but the game is extremely fun and undoubtedly retro.

In full retro graphics glory, your worm must survive by eating all the humans, vehicles, and wildlife that inhabit the above ground world. The first few levels are quite simple because nobody is savvy to your worm attacks, but after a few levels you'll have all sorts of troops and worm haters to deal with.

Super Mega Worm isn't the most involved game, nor does it have the best graphics, but it does offer a serious dose of fun. There's just nothing quite like bouncing off of trucks to munch on airplanes flying overhead.

So Long. Oregon! - As I wrote in the original review, "So Long, Oregon is the techno destruction of my Oregon Trail playing childhood." The game takes the typical game of Oregon Trail and blows it up, turning the whole game into a physics racer with a bit of bizarre hunting. The graphics are all dark and neon, buffalo are flying around the sky, and people get hurt and die at a pace that is probably far more accurate to the actual event.

To be honest, the game really isn't that good. It's a big, messy disaster... but it's my big messy disaster. I'd definitely recommend the game to just about anyone, but there is a very distinct chance that the vast majority of gamers will just stare in horror.