 |
Again we step back in time, well, genericly speaking... to the classic arcade days. To the early 80s, when Pac-Man and Centipede ruled the arcades. And the late 80s, when remakes of older games were just becoming the rage. Sure they're clones, sure they're not the original, but hell, the originals cost money for thje rights to them. So CD-i brought us the next best, and less expensive thing. GOLDEN OLDIES II : ELECTRIC BOOGALOO (Electric Boogaloo not included... heh) |
| All kidding aside, these aren't actually that bad. Certainly not as bad as the iterations in GOLDEN OLDIES I (The Phantom Entertainment), but not really that exciting either. Unfortunatly, they seem to miss one very important point of detail. THE SCREEN IS TOO @*%#ING SHORT.Very annoying! Both of these titles original versions were played on a longer vertical base. It allowed for easier play, and more of a field to play in. Sure it might have made it a bit visually awkward, but titles like |  |
| WHACK-A-BUBBLE seem to have come to the realization that you have to have room to play too. Unfortunatly, the guys behind OLDIES 2 didn't grasp that. It lessens what could have been some very nice clones. Sigh!! Well.... on with the reviews. | |
 |
First, there's BUG HUNT, a good clone of the classic CENTIPEDE. Pretty decent graphics, moderate sounds, and great control with the rollerball or mouse. However, gameplay is a bit hampered by the tightly packed mushrooms in the shorter playfield. Invariably, this makes the centipede drop down to your level almost instantly. Something that didn't happen until later levels in the original. Also, so targets like the spider seem too large and easy to hit. So the challenge really isn't to hit the target, |
| more just to avoid the centipede. Makes this game become monontonous in a very short time. . | |
| Next we have BLOCKBUSTER,
actually a pretty decent clone of the cult arcade classic
ARKANOID. Again, this one suffers from the shorter
playfield. Unless you get the sticky or wider paddle
options quickly, you're gonna lose alot faster than you'd
probably like to. Sound on this one is pretty good, most sound pretty darn close to ARKANOIDs', and the pickups fall just like them as well. Death is |
 |
| pretty different though, your paddle morphs to a screaming skulll then explodes. Cool the first couple of times. Annoying after about 5 minutes. This game would have been a near perfect clone had it not been for the poor screen choice. Still if you're a fan of the classic, this can draw you in. | |
 |
In summary, a better attempt at cloning the classics than the first Golden Oldies, but still not quite there. I give higher marks to them for the improvement of gameplay, but not much as their poor choice of display leaves the games with less replay value and a much higher frustration level than they should have. Still if you're looking for some brief entertainment, and flashback to gaming days past. This is some brief, but good fun. |
| Number of Players : 1 Requires DV Cart : No Rec. Controler: __Blockbuster : 3-Button Controler __Bug Hunt : CD-i Mouse Graphics :  Sounds :  Control : Replay : Overall rating : |
 |