Rogue Invader....

A game I first saw in 2015, it peeked my interest with it's gameplay and visuals. It's development had a slow bumpy ride. I tried to keep up with it's details; But in 2016 it was sadly cancelled. At the time I said it could have been great; And the demo was still available. However it seems it was still alive in the aether and in 2021 I saw it listed on Steam! As I said in the post when I saw it, I was surprised. 

Squishy Games

A game I bought pottered away with ever since it's release on Steam. Not in any great gaming sessions but every now and again for as long as luck lasts.

It's not a perfect game. It's mechanics are meant to be punishing but not so much as to be fully frustrating(imho). Even in the worst most unlucky of runs you can still end up gaining something. Which is why I tend to do a lot of expendable no frills basic no gear cannon fodder runs; Beaming up all the loot and materials I can get.

A difficult roguelite with a retro aesthetic in the vein of older shooters(c64 Turrican etc), with game mechanics to match(chunky sounds) and an enemy from an 80's B movie. With more than a hint of Starship Troopers. Whats not to like!

The RNG isn't bad but in trying to learn the paths to victory it's the player's luck rather than randomness that's killer. A wasteful reload, the choice of armour or the wrong pickup can all get you killed faster. All the while being taunted. It's the taunts that get to me in a one more try kind of way, to show the aliens who who.

A game I thought would have had more interest from gamers but it's steam stats/reviews are thin on the ground. It deserves better recognition.

An upcoming (soonTM) update is going to really shake-up the game. A difficulty setting!

While I can appreciate the games current 'Hard' mode default; I'll get more from the game by turning it to Casual. Casual is casual after all. I look forward to it!

Defender of the Crown....

Growing up I was late to the C64 scene. Getting my T2 C64(c) pack in the early 90's. In some ways it was good as I could pick up cheaper hardware and software; But it really was the last burst of populism for the system. In retrospect it was a decent cross between a gaming console and PC functionality in the form of a 'reasonably priced car'.

Consoles of the time aside friends a few years later and my age group in general split into two factions. Amiga or Atari ST. I never got into either(or consoles), instead getting my first Windows PC in '95(first console was the OG Xbox(more on that here, here and here).

Bear with my waffling context.

One of my favourite game genres is strategy. 3 C64 games stand out for me from back then, Supremacy(Overlord), Johnny Reb II and Defender of the Crown. C64 games were very 'in the moment' as they had no saves. An action replay cartridge and a disk drive sorted that problem for me. Granted games on the C64 could last hours with retrying things. Artificially saving memory states only prolonged that to do and retry more. Like a form of what would be called save scumming today.

Waffle aside I spotted Defender of the Crown on sale on gog.com. I'd never tried the PC version but at €1.09 it seemed like I'd find out.

So I got it, and I've found out that the C64 version is indeed better than the PC version(imho). Nostalgia and rose tinted glasses aside. The only saving grace for my one euro purchase is that the superior Amiga original version also comes with the GOG software. GoG does use the Amiga version for the promotional screenshots. Better Amiga graphics and sound saved the day if not my true nostalgia. That's not to say that GoG tried to blindside buyers with trickery; They did a great Dos/Amiga comparison video:

GOG.com

The Amiga version may have been the first version that came out in '86 but the PC and C64 ports a year later were not identical. The PC Dos version does not stand the test of time well. Especially in the sound department. There are elements in the PC graphics that are slightly better than the C64(like 'some' animations) but the PC sound.... like finder nails on a chalkboard; The C64 is an 8bit wonder in comparison(All hail SID).

This era of 80's gaming really showed the difference in home systems and the more industrial office PC workhorses of the day. No wonder the 90's birthed waves of consoles (90's eh....).

Amiga map:

C64 map:

PC/Dos map

Amiga Tournament splash:

C64 Tournament splash:

PC/Dos Tournament splash:

Granted today it's down to perspectives, a gamer is going to love the game they played on the system they played it on. I'm C64 biased but not so much so that when I see the Amiga version I can't admit that it's better.
If your buying this GoG pack don't do so for the PC version. Unless that version is 'your' version for nostalgia. It's not worth it today otherwise. If your do, like me you'll be glad the Amiga version comes with it. I'm really glad it only cost me just over 1 euro; Any more and I'd have be peeved.

I'm waffling away here but I'm glad to have gotten this process/nostalgia/experience/comparison. It's also gotten me back to emulation of the C64(for a little bit of super nostalgia).

I'm not tempted to get the original hardware out of storage. Last time I looked and tried to set it up there were so many problems. Deteriorating cables and hardware wasn't fun. Kind of glad that I sold off the bulk of my original setup in the 90's. Kind of sad I don't have my old setup working these day's. For now, what I do have is in a form of Schrodinger's C64; It's in the box and potentially working..... The nostalgia lives and all my old saved disks are there.

Kind of tempted for the C64 Maxi. If only I had a way of getting my old 5¼ inch disks imaged and on usb.....

The 8-Bit Guy

C64 Mini....

I wasn't expecting this news, I'd heard nothing about the previous years of campaigning for it. A Commodore 64 Mini!

PCGamer and Gizmodo gave their take on it and it all sounds good.

I'm optimistic that the mini (and later a full size?!?! version) will be worthy of the nostalgia. The fact they are also doing a handheld version (very far in the pipeline) is very interesting.

Of the games listed there are a few that brought back memories. Cosmic Causeway, Herobotix  & Nebulus were games I put time into, to name a few.

As the hardware is still a work in progress I hope they allow for an SD card so that user roms can be loaded. It's a long shot but if that were to happen I'd pre order the pre orders, pre order. 

So many games, so much nostalgia.

Blast from the past.... Commodore Format

I have a thing for old retro systems. I still have my original Atari 2600, C64 etc. not to mention old pc's, guess I'm a tech hoarder.

I was late to the C64 scene. While others were well into their Amiga and Atari ST phases, the C64 still held me in good stead.

An internet search later and I saw that Commodore Format issues in software form are free online.