ROCK STAR ATE MY HAMSTER

The first proper band manager simulation to have appeared and this alone makes it a significant point in gaming history.The reason behind its success was that it had so many  clever aspects  combined into a single enjoyable title. The two  protagonists assemble a band  from some stars on offer ( the pseudonyms sound strangely familiar) and formation of the band depends on the amount at hand. You perform many tasks as you go: you assemble a band, make them rehearse and make new material, see to their touring and gig arrangements, etc. The humour adds to simple and cute graphics with simple menus and options, making it strangely addictive , even by today's standards.Music is beautifully done ,at least in the versions I played (zx,c64).
I'd definitely say it deserves a remake, but with the remakes being done today (Giana Sisters, Bionic Commando etc) maybe it's better off without one.

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CHO ANIKI- Kyuukyoku Muteki Ginga Saikyou Otoko

The Japanese call such games "idiot games" and "s++t games", and this series is so utterly nonsensical and original  in its content and visual identity  that you quickly realize there is no other game (series) like it.It is the bizarre combination of many elements that make this classic horizontal scrolling shooter a unique gaming experience. There's  homoeroticism everywhere, the media-perfect oiled male physique that  you were bombarded with as a kid during the 80s and that confused you greatly during the 90s ("wait , I loved He-Man, does that make me gay?", that type of stuff ).There's the surrealism that transcends kitsch to become so ugly that kitsch becomes its own antithesis. Fetishism is here as well -male feet and male noses,  Barbarian-style clothes to cover the scantily-clad lads pirouetting around, phallic secret weapons coming out of crotches or nipple areas etc.The bizarreness of imagery between levels leave you even more confused, even more so when you don't happen to know any Japanese,and can't explain the presence of a male-female pair, two kid angels, and two ripped bodybuilders simultaneously appearing on the screen. The downright-ugly 16-bit music abounds in different genres and styles and is aided by voice samples from many sources, making bizarre audio collages make the visual aspect even more bizarre.
I guess your background, upbringing and cultural values, taboos and tastes play a role in appreciating or hating the game, but at least it challenges the notion of what a computer games is and what it should address.

140

Another rhythm game that perfectly illustrates  the point I was trying to make in my previous post. 140 is a simple platformer that could have been made on any early 8bit system , but could only make sense today, in the age where electronic music and its culture of minimalism has completely infiltrated our lives and minds. Each movement of the triangle, each platform landing, each  fall,each life lost, every single arrival at a half-circular platform that announces a new level, the imaginary city skyline that rises and drops to music is built around an electronic tune of an idm/acid tech-like structure that you mix and alter by playing the game. Even the techno sequences in the space-shooter-like or the puzzle-like part of the game are musically embellished  by what you do.And all of this is possible due to masterful programming by Jeppe Carlsen's highly musical, synesthetic mind. When you move you're a black circle, when you jump you're a black triangle, and when you stop you're a rectangle. So idiotically simple , yet so brilliant!

I can totally see myself being a guest dj somewhere and banging a sweet , classy acid-tech tune just by playing this masterpiece.

SUPER HEXAGON

Colours are swapped as the game goes on and as the setting changes and the hexagon maze  closes its walls on you in perfect sync with rhythms of fine tunes done by the contemporary 8-bit scene hero Chipzel. You're a simple triangle that looks simply infinitesimally small  in the spiraling maze system.

I find this game fascinating as it addresses some issues that today's games have in common- they lack clear, simple fun!I miss the old era of 8-bit games where you had one life ,-and once you're dead you're dead.And it's not about nostalgia , it's about a single game designer being pressed for time and coming up with a legendary game- I want those people at the forefront of todays gaming universe. Sure, this game could have been made on earlier machines and in earlier eras, but the speed and the sheer simplicity look  way better now and highlight the above mentioned issue. In this day and age we've forgotten about bringing table-like games to a world outside of hand-held devices, and games like these will always win the hearts of new generations.

TOKYO JUNGLE

Another non-classifiable game that managed to break the mould of the stale action game genre. It's incredible how justifiable animal aggression combined with quirkiness and comical aspects of the game makes this an extremely enjoyable gaming experience.The food chain and everything it dictates in animals entertains us and we readily take up the role of an animal fighting for its survival  You can choose one of the  species left in the streets of a post-apocalyptic Tokyo where humans are no more, be it a dog, cat, a herbivore or carnivore that escaped from the zoo etc. There are many things to take into account and master as you go along- attack, evading and hiding moves and manoeuvres against other animals , mating and  securing the area for your offspring while your computer years swoosh past you, adapting, looking for food, herbs etc. Naturally, each animal  has its weaknesses and strengths , and restarting the game  you had no high expectations for to begin with  with another animal is what gives you a different perspective that makes this game definitely worth your while

GOAT SIMULATOR

A true ode to absurdity of today's gaming industry and a fine example of sheer brilliance this is ! Aren't we tired of playing GTAs, inflicting  pain on other human beings in our digital surroundings and having a vast terrain to indulge ourselves in some well-earned anti-social behavour , and while we're at it, playing a franchise that's almost 20 years old? The GOAT SIMULATOR laughs at the staleness of the current gaming industry that hides behind proven titles ,being too afraid to try anything new. So be a goat and do damage and hurt people , you won't feel the same as IF you lead a human protagonist. Strangely enough,  it does look like the goat is either on drugs (ragdoll physics) or being seriously affected by some airborne agents -how do we fail to perceive the same rabies in humans while we play out GTAs? It only takes a "joke prototype from an internal one-month game jam"(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goat_Simulator )  to show how boring and repetetive the gaming mainstream is.

HUMAN: FALL FLAT

Now this is what  I call gaming entertainment! This may easily be the most successful attempt at putting one's dream into a computer game.No gory details, no beheaded beasts, no visits from spectres or ancestors, just your own inadequacies, the fear of failure , loneliness and curiosity that you get punished for on a daily basis.The landscape is simplistic and stripped of  any detail that could be inconsequential  to such a dream.  Bob is naked, wearing only a protective helmet , and fears heights. Accordingly, he solves puzzles by moving different objects around and pushing buttons while walking across floating islands so that he could address his fear by jumping off the platform and falling flat onto another level.To spice the feeling of inability to run things and limited physical movement while we dream , Bob is innately clumsy. In order to get Bob through all the 12 levels you have to master the awkward mechamics (OCTODAD  comes to mind)  that's integral to the game's value and charm. Failure is awarded by laughter in the proud tradition of slapstick humour and  narration borders on misanthropy. This is the kind of dream you can easily see yourself waking up from in a pearl of sweat.
And if you want to introduce your friend to this nightmarish world, there's always the split-screen cooperative multiplayer mode. Enjoy!

YEAR WALK

Year Walk was a divination folk ritual in Sweden performed at Christmas or New Year's.The year walker locks himself in a dark room for a day with no food or drink or company. At midnight he circles the local parish church 3 times and blows through its keyhole. He temporarily turns non-Christian and is challeged by supernatural beings and if he passes the test he's given  fragments of what is to come in the year to follow.

The game was originally designed  as a movie script and that is the most unique aspect that sets it apart from other games in the genre. The authors retained the stillness of  native landscapes and stripped the game of everything that would lead us away from storytelling that uncovers beauty in death and terror; their timing and suspense building is impeccable  and we get the impression that we are slowly unravelling a mystery filmscript more than playing  a game.

Daniel  the protagonist is asked by his lover Stina not to go through the ritual . He also finds out she is about to be engaged to somebody else and decides to year walk despite her plea. We're given no insight into what goes on  and nothing prepares us for encounters with mythical creatures of nordic folklore and the meaning of puzzles they present us with. The sounds and music are fantastic , the atmosphere is unreal, and the horror draws upon the collective unconscious where macrocosm meets individual madness...all of this is partially explained in the end when we see the words "it is too late" and Stina lying dead in the field. The journal post-game component of a  modern-day man named Theodore explains what happened in detail.

It is as if we are magically drawn to the darkness behind the ritual that  erroneously justifies the coming of Daniel's madness. The neo-paganism is strong with this one, but I also see the intensity found in early modernist literature of Sweden and Norway (Lagerkvist) present here.

I hate horror and suspense stories, but this game will keep you glued to your seat until its very end whether you like such stories or not.

Another piece of art in the gaming world.

BLOCK OUT

Tetris was a success with every kid I knew, and so was Duotris on the c64 , but when I saw this game in the amusement park that came to my hometown  I was completely blown away by it!Having spent a few days playing this title for hours on end, I decided to buy a Commodore64 version of it, and although it was quite a decent conversion I got back to playing the arcade version. The elegance behind the original Tetris game was so simply unique that the only way to upgrade it in a way was to make a 3d version of it, and the results were impressive.There's a decent colour palette that doesn't get in the way of  playing the game, and a firm sense of depth while moving your tertominoes about.The giant head that challenges you and decides whether you live on or die gives you an impression you are actually solving your packing problems on a holodeck of some kind.
Though nothing beats its original predecessor, this title is highly addictive and rewarding. Whether this game helped me with my geometry lessons and indeed enhanced my spatial intelligence or not is completely irrelevant. It was and still is unique and fun to play.