JEO 33/46
It's been racing game mania time on the N64 recently, and I also
picked up "Extreme G" and "Top Gear Rally" - the former is a
Wipeout-wannabe which I would consider excellent if I hadn't already
seen Wipeout XL. As it is, it's a nice enough game, very pretty, with
some cool undulating tracks that certainly look better than those on
Wipeout, but the gameplay just isn't quite as polished and satisfying
as that in WOXL. Fun, and worth a look if you don't have a PS as well
as a Ninty, but I am still drooling away waiting for the release of
what is now going to be called "F-Zero X" on the N64 (ironic, really,
how the trend is to call games [something] X - F-Zero X, Robotron X,
and (hehe - very ironic really) Tempest X :-))...
Top Gear Rally is fun in a totally different way - it attempts to be
more of a simulator than the others, and it requires quite a bit of
diligent practice before you get the hang of how to powerslide the car
around the corners. You have to play really carefully, because
basically, if you have a serious crash, you're buggered. You almost
always end up facing the wrong way, and by the time you've pootled
around thrashing about doing N-point turns to get your car facing the
right way again, you might as well just hit Restart, because the
chances of winning are just about zero. Especially when you get the
more powerful cars, you just can't afford to hold down the throttle
and expect to survive - you won't. I've played up to the point where
the first Snow track occurs, but I haven't finished that one yet, I'm
just all over the place and haven't had the time to put in the extra
practice I'll need to have a chance of winning that one. Not a bad
game, but definitely one you'll need to put some time and effort into
to get the most out of.
I also picked up "Diddy Kong Racing", and while I think it's a fun
game, I can't seem to build up the enthusiasm for it that many people
seem to.  Sure, it's a very fun kart game with the addition of a
couple of other vehicles - the little planes are fun - but for me,
it's nothing to rave about - the tracks are numerous but short, and
it's good fun but nothing that I haven't played before, really. Maybe
I'm just all Kart'ed out, I dunno.
On the emulator front, I have been enjoying a couple of the latest
console emulators - Genecyst is a cool Genesis/Megadrive emulator, and
SNES9X and ZSNES are rather good SNES replicators, and they all run at
full speed on this Penty. I had a visit from a mate of mine recently
who happened to have with him a couple of CD-ROMS full of game images
for the Megadrive and SNES, so, of course, as it's of dubious
legality, I definitely did not offload them onto my capacious hard
drive, thereby saving myself an awful lot of downloading time.
Trawling through them it becomes apparent how badly the 16-bit scene
got stagnated towards the end of its days - no end of mediocre
run-jump-and-collect games that are instantly forgettable and which
really haven't withstood the test of time at all well. There are some
classics that are worth playing though - original F-Zero, of course,
on the SNES, and the Mario games; and it's kind of nice to have all
your Sonics in one place for a quick go on the Megadrive, when the
urge strikes you.
There has just been a major new release of the ultimate coin-op
emulator, MAME, which is now up to version 0.30 and supports a
mind-boggling array of classic coin-ops. Indeed, I have decided to
start up a new section, Yak's Picks of MAME, where I shall be
reviewing my favourites from the giant herd of coin-op games that MAME
supports. If you don't have it, go and get it immediately. If you have
any love at all of games, MAME is a must-have, and now that original
Tempest and most of the Williams games are faithfully emulated and
free of bugs, worth the download if only so you can worship at the
shrines of Theurer and Jarvis.
... catfish@wingnet.net or http://surf.to/troy >475 hits!
--- JetMail 0.99beta22
NC> I /thought/ so, but didn't particular want to start a
NC> 'flame war', some people in here are a bit reactionary when
NC> their N64 comes under fire. :)
hehe, I know what you mean!! :) I have my own net (WulfNet) in Montreal (16
nodes.. not that bad if you ask me! ;))... Anyways.. well, I know just how
"bad" it can get...
... nfx v2.8 [C0000]  http://www.westonia.com/blueview/                      
--- Maximus/2 3.01
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