Retro Spectives

Ensemble Studios blew the world away with Age of Empires way back in 1997. It took a different approach to the RTS formulae than Westwood or Blizzard, and was rewarded heavily for it. Being able to advance your entire civilization's technology level was a heady drug, and balancing the varied needs of your economy with a well rounded army was strategically engaging. After releasing a sequel and pumping out a couple of expansions they decided to try to add something genuinely new to the formulae.

So just a few years later, in 2002, we got the spinoff Age of Mythology. It was extremely well received on release - while the teching to later ages was still there, Age of Mythology expanded the role of heroes, added more factional diversity, had a wide range of mythical units to complement your army, and even added god powers that could make or break the tide of battle. It seemed to just be Age of Empires++, a more fun and flavoured take on what made everything in the original great.

But does adding mythical units with no active abilities compare to the caster units in Starcraft? Does the extreme focus on macroing an economy up with its slower pace combat make the game tedious? Does Age of Mythology truly stand side by side with the other RTS giants, or is it fated to become a forgotten spinoff, just one game to litter the RTS graveyard?

On this episode, we discuss:

• Age of Mythology doubles down on the economic focus of Ensemble Studio games, adding faith as an additional resource alongside food, wood and gold. Is it fun trying to optimise your economy, or does this come at the cost of more high octane battles?
• Many RTS campaigns suffer the issue of every mission boiling down to building a max population army, then attack moving into the enemy, destroying everything in your wake. Does Age of Mythology succumb to this problem, or does it have a solution?
• How enjoyable is the combat of Age of Myhology? Do the autocasting abilities of myth units and heroes allow for your to micro them effectively? Does the relatively low lethality of units make fights exciting?

We answer these questions and many more on the 114th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Age of Mythology OST: Stephen Rippy, Kevin Mcmullan

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Pat guested on the Nostalgia Goggles Podcast to review and discuss Starcraft!

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Is Age of Mythology better than Age of Empires 2, or just different? Are there modern RTS games that you have played that have eclipsed Starcraft 2 or Warcraft 3? Which RTS game should we play next? Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

Next episode we’re doing our annual mailbag, so if you have any questions we’d love if you’d drop by!

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If you enjoy the show and want to support us monetarily, please check out our Buy me a Coffee Page!

When we started this podcast nearly 4 years ago, we did so with a clear goal in mind. We wanted to play, review and critique games of the past from a perspective free of nostalgia. As the gaming industry grew, games changed, for both better and worse - and it is worthwhile to examine all those creaky and dust covered titles to see what has been forgotten. Sometimes mechanics truly are outdated, sometimes modern games have done it better - but not always. And discovering when an old game offers something unique because of what they supposedly lack has been an incredible experience.

Over these 4 years we have slowly gathered a community of listeners that has similar feelings, or can at least appreciate this perspective. We are forever grateful for you listening to our show, for sending us tweets and for conversing on our discord server. The least we can do is give back to you with an opportunity to ask questions of us once a year, not just about old games but about anything.

So welcome one and all to our reprisal of the Mailbag episode, with M4ILB4G. Grab a beverage and settle in as we answer our discord listener’s burning questions. And while you’re at it, make sure to drop by and join our discord server if you haven’t already. There’s no Retro Spectives without you, and we appreciate you all deeply.

On this episode, we discuss:

• Remakes and remasters.
  Are they an exciting way to re-experience classics of the past? Do they provide a way for new players to get into old games they wouldn’t have otherwise? Or are they soulless cash grabs, stifling creativity and pushing the original games out of the spotlight?
• Re-living games for the first time.
  If we had the opportunity to play any game or series blind again, which one would it be? What kind of experience is best suited to experiencing something fresh for the first time?
• Making a game of our own.
  If we could develop or write our own video game, what would we do and how would we do it? Are there any lessons you’ve learned from doing the pod that you would be eager to integrate into the game?

We answer these questions and many, many more on the 99.5th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Medivo from Jazz Jackrabbit:

River of Despair from The Binding of Isaac: Jonathan Evans, Matthias Nicol Bossi, Ridiculon

Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 was a staple of many people’s PC desktop screens back in the early 2000s. Nestled in between the big hitters like Warcraft 3 and Diablo 2 you would find this odd game that straddled the line between simulation and video game. Developed by Infogrames Interactive, it saw Chris Sawyer continue the work he put into the first game, with more rides and tools to tweak your park to whatever specifications you desired.

Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 features over a hundred attractions, a plethora of themes and a roller coaster physics system that is completely ludicrous in terms of detail. But in the pursuit of building a sandbox sim, did Chris Sawyer forget to add a compelling video game to the mix? Or is this just ultimately an empty and lifeless recreation of rides going round in circles for all eternity?

On this episode, we discuss:

• Intrinsic Rewards.
  Does Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 do enough to incentivise the player with extrinsic gameplay rewards? Are the intrinsic rewards of seeing your park grow and come together enough to make the game a worthwhile use of your time?
• UI/UX.
  How good is the UI for managing your park and specifically for building roller coasters? How well does the game teach the player how best to run their park?
• Visuals.
  How good does the game look? Is there more to the low pixel graphics that meets the eye, and what’s the difference between a new untouched park and one that has grown to completion?

We answer these questions and many more on the 111lth episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 OST: Allister Brimble

Do you know how to build the mighty roller coasters that we struggled so much with? Are there actually that many differences between the first three games, or are they all essentially identical? What other management style games would you like to see us play? Come let us know what you think on our community discord server

If you’d like to support the show monetarily, please check out our Buy me a Coffee Page!

Unreal was the Crysis of its time. It pushed PCs to their absolute limits, with its advanced shader effects and enormous levels. It featured AI that was far beyond the stilted and simplistic enemies that people were used to. It built an alien world that managed to straddle the line between the more abstract early era shooter and what the build engine games were doing. And it was all wrapped up in a succinct 10 hour campaign, that eschewed genre staples like door keys and fodder enemies. Unreal seemed to represent a true evolution of the FPS genre.

But unfortunately for Unreal, there was another FPS that was released in 1998. And that was Half Life. Half Life went on to become the dominant FPS in a way not seen since Doom, and Unreal’s legacy would lie more in its ongoing arena multiplayer than its initial single player efforts.

But does Unreal actually deserve to be forgotten? Was there something magical and unique about its design that elevated it above its boomer shooter peers? Or was it instead ultimately just a shallow tech showcase, with no real substance beneath all of its glitter?

On this episode, we discuss:

Aesthetics.

• On the surface, from a modern perspective, Unreal looks kind of ugly, with its low-res stretched textures. But it combines this with a haunting OST, varied level design and a color palette that brings its scenes to life. Is the famed atmosphere of Unreal as alien and immersive as it is claimed to be?

Level Design.

• Unreal has a curious blend of massive open ended architecture fused with ultimately linear level design. Does getting rid of key doors in favour of switches lead to the player getting lost in the maze, or is there something deeper and more clever at work here?

Combat.

• Unreal boasts some very advanced AI for its primary enemy combatant: The Skaarj. They dodge roll your rocket blasts, maintain distance against close range weapons, and are generally a massive nuisance to deal with. But the number of enemies you actually fight at once is low, and the game is even lower on enemy variety. Just how fun is the combat gameplay of Unreal?

We answer these questions and many more on the 106th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Unreal OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8hkDjVYXQY&t

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Is there more to the combat of Unreal than we’re giving it credit for? Are there any mods which improve the fundamental Unreal experience? What is it about the level design that’s so special, and are there any other games that have built upon it? Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

If you’re enjoying the show, you can support us on our Buy me a Coffee Page!

When Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers first released in 1993, it was not a crack commercial hit. It did however instantly earn itself widespread critical acclaim, with reviewers praising its dark and disturbing story, foreboding atmosphere, and incredible voice acting. The game brought the setting of 90’s Louisiana to life, with all the colonial baggage and real life voodoo history integrated into every little crevice of its world.

But can Gabriel Knight truly get over the ultimate sin of being a point and click adventure game? Can voodoo be taken seriously after Monkey Island spent so much time satirising the concept? Is this game as scary or intense all these years later? Or has the passage of time left the narrative of Gabriel Knight without any bite?

On this episode, we discuss:

Aesthetics.

We played two different versions of Gabriel Knight - the original, and the 2014 remake. Is one of these clearly better than the other, or do they each have their strengths and weaknesses?

Story.

How does the narrative unravel in Gabriel Knight? Is having a slow burn story a good way to keep the player invested? How does structuring the game into days affect how the story is told?

Gameplay.

How logical are Gabriel Knight’s puzzles? Does having the game split into days affect the clarity of what you’re meant to accomplish each day? Does the game avoid the fundamental issues that Pat and James have with the genre?

We answer these questions and many more on the 105th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

GK 1993 OST: Robert Holmes

GK 2014 OST: Robert Holmes

Are our critiques of the point and click adventure game puzzles valid? What do the sequels change or improve from the original? Is there a different adventure game out there that we should try? Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

You can support the show on our Buy me a Coffee page!