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  • Bloody Roar 2 (PlayStation)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/702865359332573185/xwagnerplaguesx-bloody-roar-2-hudson

    Bloody Roar 2, which was subtitled either Bringer of the New Age or The New Breed depending on which localization you are talking about, is an arcade 3D fighting game that was also ported to the PlayStation. The arcade version was released in 1998 and the PlayStation version followed a year later in 1999. As is obvious from the title, it was the sequel to Bloody Roar.

    As far as fighting games go, I think Bloody Roar 2 would qualify as above average. It got mixed but mostly positive reviews at the time it was released. It was a modest improvement over the original, had excellent graphics and looked quite good on the PlayStation, and had a complex fighting system. Sound and music weren’t quite as good but weren’t terrible either. Above all, it had at least a modicum of originality. In terms of play style, in most closely resembles games like Tekken and Fighting Vipers.

    Bloody Roar 2: The New Breed (as it is called in the U.S.) features a total of eleven playable characters. Each character has a unique beast forms with moves and special moves that match that beast. These creatures are called “zoanthropes” and the plot of the game involves a supposed zoanthrope terrorist organization. However, things aren’t quite as they seem and the supposed Zoanthrope Liberation Front is really organized by others. Initially, you fight as a human but when a special meter fills up you are able to transform into a beast, increasing the number of moves at your disposal.

    For fighting game fans, this one is at least worth trying. However, other than the original arcade and PlayStation versions, I don’t think there have been any other releases. If you want to try it, you’ll have to track down an original PlayStation copy (or arcade machine if you prefer though that’s probably harder) or be content with using emulation.


    📂This entry was posted in PlayStation Retro Games 📎and tagged

  • Evil Dead: Hail To The King (PlayStation)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Evil Dead: Hail to the King is a single-player survival horror game that was released by THQ in 2000 for the PlayStation and Dreamcast and in 2001 for Windows. It is based on the Evil Dead movie series and is a sequel to the Army of Darkness movie which was released in 1992. Of the three, the PlayStation version is probably the best though the Dreamcast version is almost the same. The Windows version probably should have been the best but ended up being the worst of the three.

    Evil Dead is very much a clone of Resident Evil but of course with an Evil Dead theme. It has the same sort of pre-rendered backgrounds, camera angles, etc. You are armed with a shotgun and a chainsaw with limited ammo and fuel. The story is set eight years after Army of Darkness which matches the real-life timeline. Ash is back working at “S-Mart” and has a new girlfriend but has started having recurring nightmares about the Necronomicon. In a clearly stupid move that would only happen in a horror movie (or game), his girlfriend decides to take him back to the old cabin to face his fears. Ash’s severed hand gets involved and things go downhill from there.

    Despite being somewhat of a clone of Resident Evil, it really isn’t nearly as good as Resident Evil was. It just isn’t as polished. Graphics aren’t as good, controls aren’t as good, even the story is less original. The PlayStation version got mixed reviews, the Dreamcast version was no better and the PC got even worse reviews. If you are obsessed with survival horror games or the Evil Dead franchise then by all means give it a try as you will probably enjoy it. Otherwise I would say give it a pass. I don’t think it is terrible, it’s just that there are far better survival horror games out there.

    If you do want to play it, you’ll have to track down an original. Being a game with a movie license there have been no re-releases and probably never will be. I don’t believe there have been any sequels either. There have been other Evil Dead games for at least the PS2, Xbox, PS4 and PS5 but they aren’t even the same style of game. One is a hack and slash game (Evil Dead: Regeneration) and the other is more of a battle royale (Evil Dead: The Game). There is also a much older Evil Dead game that was released in 1984 for the Commodore 64, BBC Micro and ZX Spectrum (only in Europe though).

    Images above are from the PlayStation version of the game.


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  • NBA Jam Extreme (1996)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: GamePro – January 1997

    NBA Jam Extreme was first an arcade game that was released in December 1996 with home versions for the PlayStation, Saturn and Windows 95 coming about a year later. As you can probably tell from the name, this is a basketball game and it is based on the 1996-97 NBA season. This was not the first game in the NBA Jam series but it was the first created by Acclaim. Previous NBA Jam games had been developed by Midway and then ported to home systems by Acclaim. I guess this was because of legal wrangling with the name because Midway also continued releasing basketball games with NBA Hangtime. Graphically, NBA Hangtime resembled previous NBA Jam games than NBA Jam Extreme did.

    The last basketball game I spent significant time playing was One-on-One on the Commodore 64. That game featured Larry Bird and Dr. J. playing half court basketball. While the graphics were simplistic and game play a bit slow, it still managed a lot of depth and subtlety and was a blast to play. As far as the NBA Jam series, to me it seemed to peak with NBA Jam: Tournament Edition which was also an arcade game and was ported to a whole bunch of home systems.

    However, NBA Jam Extreme did add a variety of new things. The most obvious was that it was the first game in the series to feature 3D graphics. Meanwhile, NBA hangtime maintained the 2D graphics of its NBA Jam predecessor. Other changes included an expanded roster featuring a total of more than 160 NBA players, an “extreme” button which was essentially an enhanced turbo button that was found in previous iterations of the game, and other game play changes.

    NBA Jam Extreme received mixed reviews. The graphics were solid and there were a lot of new features but as an early 3D game, it had early 3D game problems. Most notably with the camera angle being something less than desirable. The game also had a slower pace and the home versions suffered from long load times. NBA Hangtime was generally considered to have better game play. However, if you are an NBA fan and someone who like video game basketball, this wasn’t a game you would want to miss. The game is of similar quality on whichever platform you choose, however the PlayStation version probably edges out the other versions as the best home conversion.

    This isn’t a game you will find a re-release for and because of licensing concerns it’s extremely unlikely you ever would. That leaves tracking down an original or using emulation if you want to give this game a try. There have been a number of sequels including NBA Jam 99 (Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color), NBA Jam 2000 (Nintendo 64), NBA Jam 2001 (Game Boy Color), NBA Jam (2003 for the PS2 and Xbox), NBA Jam (2010 for Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360) and finally NBA Jam: On Fire Edition (PS3, Xbox 360) in 2011. After that, the series seems to have died out.


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