Replay: The History of Video Games (71 page)

Best of the rest:

• Marble Madness
  (1984, Atari Games, Mark Cerny, Coin-op, USA): Trackball-enhanced zany marble steering with a uniquely odd soundtrack.
  
• Boulder Dash
  (1984, First Star Software, Peter Liepa and Chris Gray, Atari 800, USA): Excellent arcade puzzle game where players gather diamonds while figuring out how to avoid monsters and falling rocks. Superior Software delivered a just-as-good-copy with its
  Repton
  games, of which
  Repton 2
  (1985, Superior Software, Tim Tyler, BBC Micro, UK) is the best.
  
• Shanghai
  (1986, Activision, Brodie Lockard, Macintosh, USA): Based on the tile-based board game Mah-Jong Solitaire. Other Mah-Jong influenced titles include
  Ishido: The Way of Stones
  (1990, Accolade, Publishing International & Michael Feinberg, Macintosh, USA), which incorporated elements of the I Ching into its new age mix.
  
• Gobliins 2: The Prince Buffoon
  (1992, Coktel Vision, Pierre Gilhodes & Muriel Tramis, Amiga, France): Use two goblins with different abilities to solve various challenges.
  
• Zen Bound
  (2009, Chilingo, Secret Exit, iPhone, Finland): Tranquil puzzle where you wind string around wooden carvings.
  
• Scribblenauts
  (2009, Warner Bros Interactive, 5th Cell, Nintendo DS, USA): Incredibly inventive puzzle game where you solve challenges by summoning objects simply by typing in any word you feel like.
  

Platform games

Although it lacked the jumping that became a hallmark of the genre, the ladder climbing, platform action of
Space Panic
(1980, Universal, Coin-op, Japan) was the first game that could truly be described as a platform game. The genre’s forefathers:

• Maneater
  (1975, Project Support Engineering, Coin-op, USA):
  Jaws
  cash-in where you dive for treasure while avoiding sharks. The fibreglass cabinet set the TV within the jaws of a great white shark’s mouth.
  
• Frogs
  (1978, Gremlin, Coin-op, USA): Jumping game where you control a frog that must jump up to catch insects.
  
• Heiankyo Alien
  (1980, Denki Onkyo, The University of Tokyo’s Theoretical Science Group, Coin-op, Japan): A maze game where players dig holes to trap aliens that can then be knocked out. The hole digging used in
  Space Panic
  to trap monsters is similar.
  

Donkey Kong
(1981, Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto, Coin-op, Japan) ushered in the platform era. Its success was followed by numerous single-screen platform games, including:

• BurgerTime
  (1982, Data East, Coin-op, Japan): Fast-food themed platform run-around.
  
• Donkey Kong Jr.
  (1982, Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto, Coin-op, Japan): A role-reversal from the first game. Mario is now the villain and the caged Donkey Kong is the victim. You play Donkey Kong’s son. Donkey Kong reappeared in many more games, including the over-hyped eye candy of
  Donkey Kong Country
  (1994, Nintendo, Rare, Super NES, UK).
  
• Chuckie Egg
  (1983, A&F Software, Nigel Alderton, ZX Spectrum, UK): Simple but oh-so-perfect egg-collecting bliss.
  
• Congo Bongo
  (1983, Sega, Sega, Coin-op, Japan): Sega’s isometric retort to
  Donkey Kon
  g.
  
• Lode Runner
  (1983, Brøderbund, Douglas E. Smith, Apple II, USA): Excellent ladder-based action. One of the first games to feature a level editor.
  
• Bubble Bobble
  (1986, Taito, Fukio Mitsuji, Coin-op, Japan): The bubble gum visuals and soundtrack compliment one of the finest platform games ever devised. Near perfect in two-player mode.
  
• Rodland
  (1990, Jaleco, Coin-op, Japan):
  Bubble Bobble
  -apeing platfomer but no less great for that.
  

Donkey Kong
also introduced Mario. Nintendo’s extensive back catalogue of Mario games is a treasure trove of great gaming moments. Highlights:

• Mario Bros
  (1983, Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto & Gunpei Yokoi, Coin-op, Japan): Mario became a plumber and Luigi made his debut in this bouncy slice of turtle stomping. Echoed the winged ostrich riding game
  Joust
  (1982, Williams, John Newcomer, Coin-op, USA).
  
• Super Mario Bros
  (1985, Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto &mp Takashi Tezuka, NES, Japan): The game that sold the NES and made Mario a star. Simply dazzling. After that came three sequels in the same mould that packed more inventiveness into every one of their levels than some game design teams produce during their whole career. All three are magnificent:
  Super Mario Bros 3
  (1988, Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto & Takashi Tezuka, NES, Japan);
  Super Mario World
  (1990, Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto & Takashi Tezuka, Super NES, Japan);
  Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island
  (1995, Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto & Takashi Tezuka, Super NES, Japan).
  
• Super Mario 64
  (1996, Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo 64, Japan): A complete reinvention of the platform game and series for the 3D era but still as gloriously spellbinding as ever.
  
• Super Mario Galaxy
  (2007, Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto & Yoshiaki Koizumi, Wii, Japan): Gravity-defying platforming that throws up a constant stream of surprises and marvels.
  
• New Super Mario Bros Wii
  (2009, Nintendo, Shigeru Miyamoto & Shigeyuki Asuke, Wii, Japan): Proof the original 2D formula is just as compelling as it was 24 years earlier.
  

Super Mario Bros
’ scrolling platform action inspired many:

• The New Zealand Story
  (1988, Taito, Coin-op, Japan): Bright and bubbly old-school platforming.
  
• Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2
  (1987, Taito, Fukio Mitsuji, Coin-op, Japan): An excellent sequel to
  Bubble Bobble
  despite having almost nothing in common with its pre-equal.
  
• Ghouls ‘n Ghosts
  (1988, Capcom, Coin-op, Japan): Rock-hard platform game. Only for the most determined.
  
• A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia
  (1989, Imagineering, David Crane, NES, USA): Puzzle-inflected twist on the genre.
  
• Sonic the Hedgehog
  (1991, Sega, Yuji Naka, Megadrive, Japan): Platforming meets pinball. The best of the many sequels is
  Sonic Adventure
  (1998, Sega, Sonic Team, Dreamcast, Japan), the speedy hedgehog’s 3D debut.
  
• Earthworm Jim
  (1994, Playmates Interactive, Shiny Entertainment, Megadrive, USA) and
  Earthworm Jim 2
  (1995, Playmates Interactive, Shiny Entertainment, Megadrive, USA): Great lead character, distinctive levels.
  
• Rayman
  (1995, Ubisoft, Michel Ancel, Atari Jaguar [PlayStation], France): Traditional platforming in a vibrant world. Also see its crazed spin-off,
  Rabbids Go Home
  (2009, Ubisoft, Michel Ancel & Jacques Exertier, Wii, France).
  

Not every 2D platform game, however, was an exercise in the cute or cartoony:

• Infernal Runner
  (1985, Loriciels, Eric Chahi, Commodore 64, France): Gory take on the genre packed with lethal contraptions.
  
• Castlevania
  (1986, Konami, Famicom Disk System, Japan): The start of the long-running vampire hunting series that peaked with the inventive
  Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
  (1997, Konami, Toru Hagihara, PlayStation, Japan).
  
• Metroid
  (1986, Nintendo, Gunpei Yokoi & Yoshio Sakamoto, Japan): Non-linear sci-fi platform adventure. The outstanding
  Super Metroid
  (1994, Nintendo, Yoshio Sakamoto & Makoto Kanoh, Super NES, Japan) and
  Metroid Fusion
  (2002, Nintendo, Yoshio Sakamoto, Game Boy Advance, Japan) both stuck to the original’s format.
  Metroid Prime
  (2002, Nintendo, Retro Studios, Gamecube, USA) expertly reinvented the series giving it a first-person viewpoint without reducing it into a first-person shooter.
  
• Shinobi
  (1987, Sega, Noriyoshi Ohba, Coin-op, Japan): Ninja action that delivered a harmonious blend of fighting and platforming.
  
• Prince of Persia
  (1989, Brøderbund, Jordan Mechner, Apple II, USA): A excellently animated and designed platform game with a distinctive silent movie feel. Also see:
  Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
  (2003, Ubisoft, Ubisoft Montreal, PlayStation 2, Canada), a graceful parkour-influenced return.
  
• Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee
  (1997, GT Interactive, Oddworld Inhabitants, PlayStation, USA): Wonderfully original.
  

Other 3D platformers of note:

• Alpha Waves
  (1990, Infogrames, Christophe de Dinechin, Atari ST, France): Platforming’s first, and rather odd, move into 3D.
  
• Crash Bandicoot
  (1996, Sony Computer Entertainment, Naughty Dog, PlayStation, USA): Narrow paths typical of 3D platforming prior to
  Super Mario 64
  , but the game’s larger-than-life character carries it through.
  
• NiGHTS: Into Dreams
  (1996, Sega, Sonic Team, Saturn, Japan): Sega’s dreamy answer to
  Crash Bandicoot
  and
  Super Mario 64
  .
  
• Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
  (2002, Sony Computer Entertainment, Sucker Punch Productions, PlayStation 2, USA): Stealth-based platforming.
  
• Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
  (2004, Sony Computer Entertainment, Insomniac Games, PlayStation 2, USA): Wacky and idiosyncratic weaponry in this trigger-happy platformer.
  
• Psychonauts
  (2005, Majesco, Double Fine Productions, Xbox, USA): Peyote-tripping platform strangeness.
  
• LittleBigPlanet
  (2008, Sony Computer Entertainment, Media Molecule, PlayStation 3, UK): The loveable scrapbook looks signal just how different a platformer this is with its game-making tools and a vast swarm of user creations to try. A source of endless interest and novelties.
  

British surrealism

The early days of the UK games industry were filled with games that were bizarre and surreal, yet often hugely popular. Agit-prop game designer Mel Croucher was first to serve up slices of the weird and wonderful:

• Can of Worms
  (1982, Automata, Mel Croucher & Christian Penfold, ZX81, UK): Tabloid newspaper enraging bad taste mini-games.
  
• Pimania
  (1982, Automatael Croucher & Christian Penfold, ZX81, UK): Abstract puzzle adventure featuring the creepy PiMan character that became Automata’s mascot.
  
• Deus Ex Machina
  (1984, Automata, Mel Croucher, ZX Spectrum, UK): Croucher’s finest moment. A truly unique video game experience that grinds together Shakespeare, Aldous Huxley and well-known British TV personalities.