Grumpy Old Git Gaming

Chopper Attack, or Wild Choppers in Japan, is a helicopter-based action-shooter developed for the N64 by SETA Corporation and published by Midway Games. This game is very simple and allows the player to take control of one of a roster of pilots and guide them and their helicopter through a series of missions and modes. The game features numerous mission types in a variety of locations, such as bombing enemy bases, escorting Air Force One, and rescuing prisoners of war. This is one of those games for me that just wasn't quite long enough for me to really get into. I liked what I played and thought that it was a pretty fun little shooter with some strong mechanics, but there just wasn't enough of a game to really enjoy. The play was nicely simplistic but also repetitive, and after a while, it felt like you were just playing the same scenarios over and over. The meat and potatoes of this game were pretty average, I found, but it had moments where you could honestly have some good ...

**THIS POST IS ABOUT AN ADULT GAME, PLEASE BE WARNED** Chill is an endless maze puzzle game developed and published by ZELENIUK for Windows and sold via the Steam online store. The game allows players to use their mouse to move a small dot through a series of mazes with progressive difficulty. Each level completed adds to the player's high score and can also unlock a new pose from the CGI girl in the background at every fifth level. This game is the first in the series and seems to have met with a rather mixed response from gamers. This is one of the many, many games that I have played that doesn't really have a whole lot of anything to talk about. It is literally just a game that allows the player to guide a dot through a series of mazes in an endless cycle. In fact, there is so little to really talk about that I'll probably just copy and paste this series of games' reviews and just update and add something here and there for each one. There seems to be no end goal in ...

Chicago 90 is a racing game developed and published by Microids for the Amstrad PC, Atari ST, Amiga, and MS-DOS computer systems. In this racing game, the player can choose to drive a red sports car similar in appearance to a Ferrari Testarossa and outrun the police searching for them. Or you can assume the role of a police officer and drive a pursuit vehicle in an attempt to catch the fleeing red sports car. When I first loaded this game up, I thought that it was a lot longer than it actually is. I honestly spent several hours researching this game, looking for a content pack or patch. I thought that I had only managed to find a demo version, but no, this game is that short. I mean, it is ridiculously short and can be completed in four hours at the very most, and that includes time to dink around and get good. I think that I put it best in my original 'Final Thoughts' for this game. It is literally a digital version of cops and robbers or tag, but with cars. There are no extra...

Chameleon Twist II is an action-adventure platformer developed by Japan System Supply and published by Sunsoft for the Nintendo 64. Mostly unchanged from the formula of the first game, this time around the player must lead one of the four heroes from last time, Davy, Jack, Fred, or Linda, in their search for carrots. Which they then give to the white rabbit, a character that looks very similar to the white rabbit in the Alice in Wonderland books. What I said when I reviewed the first game mostly applies to this one as well. Aside from some slightly improved controls and a longer range for your Chameleon's tongue, there really isn't much changed from the first game. I also found that the plot this time around was much more flimsy and didn't seem to gel at all well with the gameplay. It can also be said that the same issues that the first game had are copied over to this game. The camera is still pure ass and gets in the way, if it works at all, and I had the same problems ju...

Chameleon Twist is an action-adventure game with puzzle and combat elements developed by Japan System Supply and published by Sunsoft for the Nintendo 64. A rather oddball game featuring some novel and, at times, plain disturbing content. Chameleon Twist puts the player in the role of one of the four chameleons, Davy, Jack, Fred, or Linda, as they follow a white rabbit similar to the character from Alice in Wonderland through a series of portals into other worlds. Completing various tasks as they search for the correct portal to their own home world. Play is very typical of the platformer genre, with many levels being broken up into a series of stages, boardways, and jumping sections. Hrmm, I didn't honestly think that this game was all that bad, to be fair. Yes, it was a ridiculously short game for what it was, but there was a charm to it. It was fun, but not in a quantifiable way; it was just fun. I really can't think of a better way to describe it; the right words seem to es...

Castlevania: The Legacy of Darkness is an action-adventure game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Kobe and published by Konami. Although it was released after Castlevania 64, this game is set as a prequel to that game. Putting the player in the role of Cornell as he attempts to find and rescue his kidnapped adoptive sister Ada, this game also comes with a playable remake of the first game with improved graphics, added villains, and alternate versions of some levels. I liked this game but felt that it wasn't up to the standard of the first. While the new mechanics and features were a nice addition, I felt that this game was just an improved or refined version of the first. Yes, there were new characters and a whole new plot, but it sort of made the existence of the first game almost pointless. I found myself agreeing with some of the old reviews, in that Konami should have held back the first game and then released this one instead. Also, something that I did note is that t...

Castlevania 64, or simply Castlevania, is an action-adventure game developed for the Nintendo 64 by Konami Computer Entertainment Kobe and published by Konami. Castlevania is the first 3D game in the series and one of the first to feature multiple character campaigns. Play consists of taking control of either Carrie or Reinhardt and battling your way through hordes of the evil undead in service of Count Dracula. All in an attempt to stop the evil vampire from returning to power after one hundred years in dormancy. Personally, I loved this game and found it to be one of the best titles that I have played on the N64 to date. I loved the smooth gameplay and control responses and found that I had hardly any issues while I played through this game. The atmosphere and ambience were amazing and really set you up as one of the last remaining things to stand against the forces of darkness. The levels were deep and varied, and they featured some amazing mechanics for a game from the late 90'...

California Speed is an arcade-style racer developed for the N64 by Atari Games and published by Midway Games in 1998. The game was first released as an arcade-only title for the Atari/Midway Seattle Arcade Systems in 1997 before it was later ported. Play consists of choosing a car and then completing a series of races and championships, with stunts and time trials included. I didn't enjoy this game as much as I was hoping and found that it was yet another one of those arcade ports that simply shouldn't have been made. As a sit-in arcade game, I could see this doing fairly well and making a steady profit as kids all bumbled into it for some quick, cheap thrills, but that's about it. As a home console game, it just doesn't have enough meat to make it worth playing. The gameplay doesn't feel as smooth and clean as I thought it should, with the controls being just like an arcade system—an all-or-nothing affair. Either you have to give max inputs and get almost no respon...

 **** FAIR WARNING, THIS IS ABOUT AN ADULT GAME****     Cage of the Succubi is an adult RPG using the RPG Maker kit and was developed by Ason and published by Kagura Games. One of the very common game types that is popular in Japan, this game plays much like an old RPG from the SNES or early SEGA era of gaming. Putting the player into the role of a young human man as he is kidnapped by a demon to serve as a toy for the succubi of the castle he is imprisoned in. The player must then guide the young hero in his attempts to escape and return to his home. I didn't like this game so much and found many, many issues that spoiled my experience. I had fairly low expectations coming into this one, but even still, I was left annoyed and disappointed. The player really is punished for failure, with losing a 'sex battle' costing you points from various stats. That in turn makes the game harder and your character weaker, which then leads to a failure spiral before you just give in and...

Bust-A-Move 3DX (also known simply as Bust-A-Move 3) is an action puzzle game developed by Taito and published by Acclaim Entertainment for the Nintendo 64. This is the third game in the series and the sequel to Bust-A-Move 2. It was first released in 1996 for stand-up arcade cabinets before being ported to the N64, Playstation One, Sega Saturn, Game Boy, and Windows PC's. The play is mostly the same as in the previous games, with the player matching three balls repeatedly to complete a series of stages in various modes. In 2023, a modern port was released for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Again, and something that I have felt with all of the games in this series that I have played, Bust-A-Move 3DX was a fun and addictive little game. There isn't much that I can say that I haven't already said before. I do recognise that this game is more refined and somewhat more polished than the other games though. The menus are cleaner and require less navigation bef...

Bust-A-Move 2: Arcade Edition is a match-3 tile puzzle game developed by Probe Entertainment and published by Acclaim for the Nintendo 64. The first sequel to the game Puzzle Bobble, this game was also known in North America as Bust-A-Move Again. In 1998, this game was ported onto the Playstation One, Sega Saturn, and Windows versions of home PCs. In 2023, this game was re-released for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Play is mostly unchanged from the other games and allows the player to take control of one of a lineup of characters and complete a series of matching tile puzzles. However, this time around, there are some new features, such as the tournament mode and a competitive multiplayer.   I liked this game and enjoyed playing it for the most part. Spending my hours trying to ace the tournament mode was a lot of fun. I found gameplay to be addictive, engaging, and challenging, but not so much that it spoilt my experiences. The tournament mode was well implemen...

Bust-A-Move '99 is an action-puzzle game developed by Distinctive Developments LTD and published by Acclaim for the Nintendo 64. Several other versions were released for the Sega Saturn, PlayStation One, Game Boy, and Microsoft Windows. Originally an arcade-only game, the popularity of this title in Japan sparked several developers to create a home console version for the worldwide market. Play consists of taking control of a small 'Bubble Dragon' named Bub and completing various levels of puzzles with a focus on the match-3 mechanic. I found this to be a fun little gem of a game and one that I happily spent many hours just messing around with. It excelled at being fun and addictive to the point that I would lose hours and just simply not even realize it. I loved the simple, easy-to-master controls and found the little avatar of Bub to be adorable. His little reactions as I progressed, for better or for worse, really helped tie this game together for me. I liked the endless...

Buck Bumble is an action-adventure game developed for the Nintendo 64 by Argonaut Software and published by Ubisoft. In this game, the player assumes the role of Buck Bumble, a cybernetically enhanced volunteer bumblebee, as he goes up against a group of super mutant insects known as the 'Herd', who are trying to take over the world. This game was originally released with its own special rumble pack in the U.K. that had colours matching those of Buck. There were high hopes for this title, as it was worked on by the same company that worked on the NES Starfox game. Hrmmmmm, I'm not sure about this game, to be honest; it wasn't something that I would have normally played, and I felt that it lacked a strong direction. However, I still did enjoy playing through this one for the most part, and at times I did find myself having much more fun than I would have expected at the start. The plot was pretty good; I will freely admit that, and I liked the simple mission layouts and ...

Bomberman 64: The Second Attack is an action-adventure game and the direct sequel to Bomberman 64. A game that was never released in Europe, the only way to play this game is to download a ROM and play through an emulator. This is due to a combination of factors, such as releasing late in the N64's life cycle, minimal advertising, and medicore reviews. Thus making this game one of the rarest titles ever for the Nintendo 64. The play is much the same as the first game and sees the player once again taking on the role of Bomberman. This time around, though, the story is set after the events of the battles with Altair and Sirius and takes on a much more platformer-like style. I felt that this game fell horribly flat on its face and with a sickening thud. It seemed that there was some sort of identity crisis going on with The Second Attack; it wanted to be so many different things but couldn't seem to do any of them particularly well. There were platformer elements that were more o...

Bomberman Hero is a platformer developed for the N64 by A.I. Co., Ltd. and published by Nintendo. This game has a much heavier focus on the platformer genre and features abilities never before seen in a Bomberman game, such as the ability to jump and a health meter. Set between Bomberman 64 and The Second Attack, this game has a plot that is very reminiscent of Star Wars. Despite being a Bomberman game, Hero takes a step away from the multiplayer component and instead focuses on the single-player element. I wasn't so sure of this game when I was playing it, and I still feel that way now that I have completed it. Something feels off with this game that is hard to explain—a missing feel or vibe, something like that. I suspect that it is because this game completely did away with the standard Hudson Soft formula and went in more of an action-adventure direction. Even the platformer elements feel stripped away and more basic. The limited, linear world and environmental designs also hel...

Bomberman 64 is an action-adventure game for the Nintendo 64, developed by Hudson Soft and published by Nintendo. A game with fully 3D graphics, it was the first game in the Bomberman series to use a 3D rendering engine. The game also received improved AI, updated controls, and a brand new 'Adventure Mode'. While this game never saw a release on the Wii's virtual console service, it was eventually released for the WiiU virtual console in 2017. Play is from the 3rd perspective and puts the player in the role of Bomberman as his planet comes under attack from the evil Altair and his space pirates. The player must then guide Bomberman through a series of worlds to stop his home planet from being turned into a zombie-like wasteland. I enjoyed this game for the most part and would happily wile away lazy afternoons by booting this game up and messing around on one of the various worlds. It was only when I became an adult that I put some serious hours into beating it and I can hon...

Blast Corps is a driving/action game developed by the British company Rare and published by Nintendo exclusively for the N64. In the game, you play as a young recruit for the company Blast Corps and must protect a transport vehicle carrying two defective nuclear missiles. Just one single jolt is enough for these missiles to explode, so the player must destroy everything in their path to save the world from a nuclear fallout. The gameplay is from a 3rd-person perspective and allows you to commandeer a series of different vehicles, from trains and bulldozers all the way up to huge walking battle mechs.    This game was one of the first titles that Rare ever produced for Nintendo, and it saw a relationship begin that would spawn many more games in the years to come. During development, Blast Corps only had a team of seven people working on it and at times would only have four, many of whom were recent university graduates. The overall concept for this game was inspired by ideas f...

Bio F.R.E.A.K.S. is a 3D fighting/beat 'em up game developed by Saffire Corporation and published by Midway Games for the N64 and Playstation One. It was originally planned to be an arcade-only game, but after testing, the prototype was cancelled, and it was ported onto home consoles. Play consists of choosing your Biological Flying Robotic Enhanced Armoured Killing Synthoids (Bio F.R.E.A.K.S.) and battling others in a championship to decide which represented corporation gets control over a post-apocalyptic Neo-Amerika. There is little changed from the standard beat 'em up formula, but the inclusion of weapons and special attacks was something fairly interesting. I haven't really got a lot to say about this game; it was terribly short, even for a fighting game, and had little to no replayability value. Yet I thought that it had its own charm and liked it enough to complete a playthrough. The characters that were on offer all had their own fairly unique attacks and weapons g...

Beneath a Steel Sky, or BaSS, is a point-and-click adventure game developed by the British company Revolution Software and published by Virgin Interactive in 1994 for both MS-DOS and Amiga home computers. It was made freeware, and its code was open-sourced in 2003. It still maintains a loyal fan base today. Set in a dystopian cyberpunk future, the player must guide Robert Foster through a society he knows nothing about in an attempt to avenge the killing of the Aboriginal group who had taken him in as a boy. Gradually, the player reveals a deep and intricate plot being orchestrated by society's rich and powerful and must find a way to stop them. The game was originally titled Underworld and had a fairly different plot before Charles Cecil, the games development director, decided to involve comic-book artist Dave Gibbons.   I found this game on an abandonware website listed as an action adventure, and based purely on the screenshots, I decided to give it a go, and boy, oh boy, ...

***** THIS REVIEW IS FOR AN ADULT GAME *****   Behind The Dune is a porn/adult parody of the Dune series of books by Frank Herbert. The developer, David Lynch, has the player assume the role of Paul Atreides and go through the plot of the first book, but with an adult twist. Allowing the player to seduce and have his way with many of the female characters in the Dune world. This game lets the player choose how to behave and has a wide range of kinks and adult content available, with a series of endings, the outcomes of which are dependent upon the player's choices throughout the game.   Hrrmmm, HRNURRMMMMMMM!  This game had me feeling a certain way, and I'm not sure that I liked it at all. The core gameplay is a literal copy-paste of the 1992 game by Cryo Interactive, and so is the appearance of this game, all the way down to the characters and how they look. Literally, apart from the new art direction and some new dialogue choices, the gameplay and looks are exactly the ...

Beetle Adventure Racing is a racing game developed by Paradigm Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts in 1999. With gameplay similar to the Need For Speed series, the player takes a Volkswagen Beetle and competes in a series of races and championships. The gameplay involves racing on unlocked tracks, finding and destroying crates, and collecting coloured ladybirds while battling the CPU opponents. In addition to the original release, this game was released in Australia as HSV Adventure Racing, with the Volkswagen Beetle replaced by the Australian Holden Special Vehicle VT models. Being a fan of the Need For Speed series and Top Gear games, I was expecting something similar with this one but instead found it to be somewhat lacking. It was like someone had taken a Need For Speed game and stripped it down to the most basic components, then ported it to the N64. There just wasn't enough of this game for me, and I found the single-player to be a disappointment too. I felt that t...

Battlezone: Rise of the Black Dogs is a first-person shooter/real-time strategy game developed by Climax Group and published by Crave Entertainment. The player takes charge of a tank from a first-person perspective and is able to command everything on the map in an RTS style. Allowing the player to obtain victory over the enemy faction in their relentless search for 'bio-metal'. With a different campaign available depending on which side is chosen, either the U.S. or the Soviets, there is some replayability to this game. Two expansion packs were released for the PC version, and in 2016, a remastered version titled Battlezone 98 Redux was developed by Big Boat Interactive and published by Rebellion Developments. This game was a mixed bag for me; I liked what was attempted but also recognised that there was a lot of cut content to make it fit onto the N64's game cartridge. As such, the gameplay was something of a shell of itself when compared to the PC version. I can totally ...

BattleTanx 64 is a vehicular combat action game developed and released by the 3DO Company for the Nintendo 64 and Gameboy Colour. It was followed by a sequel in 1998, named BattleTanx: Global Assault. The game is centred around the character of Griffin Spade, a man whose fiancee has been kidnapped by a roaming tank gang after a virus has killed all but a tiny percentage of women. Turning the last remaining women into Queenlords, rulers of the post-apocalyptic world. Play is in the 3rd person and gives the player control over a tank with various weapons and clearly defined goals and missions. This was a game that I enjoyed for the most part and can't really complain too much about. I thought that the game was a little short, being that I completed it in about 7 hours, but it wasn't terrible. It was fairly fun and packed with action, with a 'man vs. the world' feel that hit well with me. I liked the themes and found the story to be fairly well written and depicted. Play w...

BattleTanx: Global Assault is the second game in the series and a direct sequel to BattleTanx 64. It was made available on Playstation One too. This time around, the story focuses on an evil Queenlord, as she spies on Griffin and his family in order to kill them and kidnap his son, Brandon. The player is then tasked with rescuing Brandon and stopping the evil Cassandra in her plot. The game ends on something of a cliffhanger with a sequel planned, but sadly, The 3DO Company went bankrupt not long after releasing BattleTanx: Global Assault, and so no sequel ever came. The gameplay is a little changed from the first game, but it sees the addition of new tanks and weapons for the player to wield. I liked this game more than I did the first title and found it to be an enjoyable experience to play through. I did find that the pacing was broken up a little too much, and I thought that some more story dialogue or maybe some different missions would have helped with that. It just felt like the...

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker is a side-scrolling beat-up developed for the N64 by Kemco and published by Ubisoft. A Playstation One and Gameboy colour version were also developed and released around the same time. The game is based on the direct-to-video film of the same name and puts the player in the role of Terry McGinnis, the new Batman, taking over from the retired Bruce Wayne. He battles through waves of crooks and genetically engineered henchmen in an attempt to stop the recently resurrected Joker from completing his evil plans. Play is very much the standard for a beat 'em up, which consists of lots of button mashing and swearing and doesn't really offer anything new or fresh for the genre. Contrary to the critics and reviewers of the time, I actually had fun playing this game and thought that it was okay if you looked past the obvious flaws. Yes, the AI was about as smart as a strip of bark and can be dispatched with insulting ease. Yes, the camera angles were fi...

Banjo-Tooie is a platforming game developed by Rare and originally released for the Nintendo 64 console in 2000. It is the second game in the Banjo-Kazooie series and the sequel to Banjo-Kazooie. The game follows the returning protagonists Banjo and Kazooie as they attempt to stop the plans of the witch Gruntilda and two of her sisters, who intend to vaporise the inhabitants of the game's island setting. The game features worlds significantly larger than those of its predecessor, requiring the player to complete challenges such as solving puzzles, jumping over obstacles, collecting items, and defeating opponents. It also includes a multiplayer mode in which up to four players can compete in several minigames repurposed from the main campaign. For me, this game was a marked improvement over the first title and one that I very much enjoyed chipping away at over the course of a few weeks. The whole experience, for me, was much better than the first game and seemed more geared towards ...