ELITE

Elite needs no introduction. It was the title that introduced the space-sim genre and cemented it in the minds of eager players worldwide. Like many other classics from the 80s, it was a college project that ran on pure imagination , limited only by the hardware limitations of the day.This space-faring , space-trading marvel that also introduced an open-world concept outside a text-adventure  was a bit too much for a 6-year old with a poor command of English trying to make sense of what he saw on the screen playing it on his C64. 14 years and two sequels later, I revisited the original Elite game  and realised how incredibly important it was. Ships travelling at sublight speeds, alien pirates, space trading, following or disregarding missions altogether, finding trade runs in various star systems and trading -just so many things that were introduced in a single pioneering game.Granted that the layouts do get repetitive, with just a tiny bit of imagination you can explore an open world that takes up less than 400kb. This is a feat in itself, and not even a poor plot or some clunkiness in controlling you spaceship can take away from what the game represents. Oh, did I mention it's really addictive?

BULLY: SCHOLARSHIP EDITION

The game is unique and skillfully made,I'll give them that. The story is cleverly built, the characters are well-outlined , though quite archetypal, and the narrative needs them to properly unfold. I understand trying new thing in games is a thing to aspire to, but I've never understood this kind of morally reprobate titles that some software houses simply excel at making. BULLY attracted a lot of attention for its concept and playability and its several re-released versions proved its grasp over players. But the question remains: who benefits from playing such a game? Whether you were bullied or a bully at school or a lone wolf who silently observed what was going on around them you feel pain upon playing  this game- very few people like reliving their high school days. If you're in high school and have already taken up a specific role at either side of this spectrum and you aspire to up the social ranks at school, this game can hardly be a training simulation for you. I guess it could  only be an interesting experience for girls who would like to try being a boy bullying and fighting other boys , making out with girls or boys, and doing what they want. Otherwise , no excuse can be made for fighting violence with violence.

I'll go and play some Mikie  on my good ole c64 right now for comparison.