Visual Memory #4 – ‘The Secret of Monkey Island’

Welcome, ye scurvy landlubbers, to a rum-fuelled edition of Visual Memory!  The grog isn’t strictly necessary, but it’s rather fitting for the game Christopher Bell has loaded into the cannons this month.  Prepare to set sail for The Secret of Monkey Island!

This classic point-and-click adventure was created by a triumvirate of designers and writers, Ron Gilbert, Dave Grossman and Tim Schaffer, as an alternative to heavy-handed adventure games where one slip meant instant death or inability to complete the game.  This was meant to be a more forgiving (there’s only one place you can die, and that’s by drowning), and thus more enjoyable experience.

Players take on the mantle of Guybrush Threepwood, a young scallywag out to prove himself as a mighty pirate on Mêlée Island. To do this he needs to complete three tasks to impress a trio of pirate lords. Along the way, he will meet the love of his life (the governess of Mêlée Island, Elaine Marley), as well as battling the ghost of LeChuck, an infamous pirate out to marry Elaine by any means necessary.

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Random Encounter #3 – Don’t Stop Believing

Journey video game title card

Can video games be good for the soul? In her ongoing examination of the state of gaming, Olivia Cottrell wonders if we couldn’t all do with a bit more soul…

Video games and religion are not what you might call natural bedfellows. Even as games have grown up in the last few years and started to explore questions of race, sexuality and the more basic issues of morality (good vs evil, the needs of the many or the needs of the few and so on) religion has been a topic that most games try to avoid. As a gamer with a vested interest in religion (being a Christian), I find it frustrating that so many titles still shy away from a frank look at this fundamental aspect of the human condition. And that, when they do attempt it, they often fall very short of the mark.

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Visual Memory #3 – ‘Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors’

Its cult following may be more famous than the game that spawned it but, as evidence of a Darkstalkers reboot continues to mount, Christopher Bell looks back to 1994 and the birth of Capcom’s original monster mash.

As franchises go, Darkstalkers is one of the few to have flourished beyond its video game origins. It’s been turned into a popular manga comic, a couple of animated series (avoid the Saturday morning American TV version at all costs!) and a 15th anniversary coffee-table tribute book, packed with gorgeous artwork. Its most popular characters, meanwhile, have gone on to star in a host of other high-profile titles including the Marvel vs Capcom series and a Magic: The Gathering-style card game. Most noticeably, they’ve become a mainstay of the cosplay circuit, with (mostly female) characters drawing eyes and camera lenses at conventions across the globe.

Not bad for a series that hasn’t seen a new release since 1998.
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Visual Memory #2 – ‘God Hand’

Welcome to the latest Visual Memory, the monthly column exploring classic video games on extinct systems. This month, Christopher Bell thinks it’s time to re-assess a stone cold turkey…

In a market saturated by cookie-cutter first person shooters and awful movie tie-ins, it’s great to see a games company try something different. And while God Hand is remembered as the game that killed Clover Studios (the people behind the rather beautiful Okami), it did at least turn heads. Poisonous chihuahuas, a demonic Elvis, the ability to spank your female opponents…  I couldn’t make any of this up if I tried!

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Random Encounter #1 – Girls, Guns ‘n’ Games

Welcome to the very first edition of Random Encounter. Running as a counterpoint to our retro games column Visual Memory, this new monthly feature tackles the issues facing gamers in the here-and-now. Podcaster, reviewer and hardcore gamer Olivia Cottrell kicks things off with a matter very close to her heart…

All the Mass Effect news lately – especially the trailer featuring the female version of Commander Shepard – has gotten me thinking about the first game in the series. Mass Effect introduced me to gaming as a hobby (some might say an obsession), but why did I latch on to that particular game when I had played others before it and have enjoyed others since? What made Bioware’s space opera so special? Which buttons did it press that others didn’t?

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Visual Memory #1 – ‘The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap’

The Legend of Zelda celebrates its 26th anniversary next week but Christopher Bell is looking back, not forward, in the first edition of Visual Memory – a brand new monthly column exploring classic games on extinct systems…

Legend has it that the kingdom of Hyrule is protected from an ancient darkness by the Picori Blade, a sacred sword entrusted to the royal family by the Minish – a race of Borrower-sized folk who can only be seen by children. Every century, the people of Hyrule celebrate their victory over the forces of evil by holding a royal tournament, at which the winner is allowed to touch the sacred blade. It just so happens that this year’s winner is an evil sorcerer by the name of Vaati, who shatters the sword, unleashing a tide of monsters on the land. To make matters worse, he turns the young princess Zelda to stone. It’s up to her young friend Link to track down the mysterious Minish, re-forge the Picori Blade and restore the princess…

 

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