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Game Over Yeah – and the first 100 games

Game Over, Yeah! What a rebellious yell in the face of adversity.

So what if you didn’t yet reach the top? You keep on going. Really it is the perfect marker as we reach the first major milestone on this incredible journey of playing (and documenting) the entire list of the “1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die”.

1001 No.100: Sega Rally Championship (1994)

And what is this marker? Why, of course, it is Sega Rally on that most supreme of mid-90s era consoles, the Sega Saturn. Relive with us those memories of gloomy arcades, the ear-shattering tunes blasting from those racing chairs complete with dubiously-placed handbrakes – as we play it on our Sega Saturn version. Yes, the draw distance is awful, the graphics and sound a mere shadow of the arcade original – but the spirit is still pure Sega Rally.

So that’s 100 games down, many more to go. We’ve ran the gauntlet, twice; beat it all over the Gameboy Advance; smashed the Hanger of Tony Hawk’s 2 in 2 mins flat; had some very bad times with superweapons; splattered our house all over the place; said farewell to THQ and the genius of Tom Clancy; got Mashed; been generally shit at California Games and Theme Park; lost our heads at Micro Machines 2 (and Mario Kart); and so much more that the major server meltdown of 2012 has consigned to history.

But we still will not rest; we will not desist from buying random old games, consoles, plastic accessories and other dust-magnets. As Tony Hawk himself would say – time to do the 900(+1). Game Over, Yeah!

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Gauntlet II – Time To Throw It Down

MORE COLOURS! MORE LEVELS! MORE MEN! MORE STEPHEN HAWKING VOICE!

After we took down the original Gauntlet of 1985 that we found in a café (which would be number 98 from the ongoing 1001 challenge), we just couldn’t wait for more.

That’s right, we’re throwing down for

1001 No.99: Gauntlet II (1986)

Released just one year after the original, Gauntlet II expanded on the joy of the original, with its ripoff ethic of unlimited levels vs. your limited pocket money. Yes, it’s dated, and yes, you will tire of it eventually, but 4-player simultaneous coop just makes this one of the funniest games you’ll ever play.

It’s basically as old as we are, but slightly more mature. We met many of its endless levels with countless knob jokes, much childishness ensued when a game of tag was discovered, and Ross shot so much food that going to the shops with him must be a nightmare. Will it ever end? No.

What to do with an old arcade machine board?

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The answer? The same as what Ashley Madison users do with not-their-wives. Mount it!

This board has been gathering dust for years – and finally it has been moved to a place of honour on the wall.

ST-V was supposedly named after a moon of Saturn: the Sega Titan Video game system. The Sega ST-V system was essentially the same tech that was in the Sega Saturn home console, converted for arcade – but instead of using CDs, it runs games off big chunky cartridges. Seriously, that cart is huge – about four times the size of a N64 game.

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I’ve read reports that the system was released in 2005, though this particular one is clearly marked 2004.

The cartridge pictured is an interesting one – initially released as Dynamite Deka in Japan, it was re-badged as Die Hard Arcade overseas to capitalise on the movie of the same name. However, it has absolutely nothing to do with Die Hard, other than you play a cop that beats people up.

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I have fond memories of Die Hard Arcade from my 90s childhood – but as a system derived from the sadly underwhelming Sega Saturn (which I still maintain as the fault of game developers rather than the beloved console), on the wall is probably the best place for it.

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5 games for the LAN Of Our Lives

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How do you truly celebrate a significant birthday of a UCHG member? By creating a LAN party of some of the best multiplayer games of all time, that’s how. And how to best run a LAN party in the summer? The answer is simple: you run it outside.

There’s a backstory to this. Between 2000-2007, we as a group of friends and like-minded gamers were in some kind of education system, and it was around this time that we discovered the joys of the LAN party. For the uninitiated, a LAN is essentially achieved by carting gaming machines into one location: resulting in a funnier, more personal version of online gaming. What began in internet cafés soon ventured into our own homes, but lack of space and rising heat from early Windows XP-era desktops (not to mention our teenage male selves) drove us to seek an alternative location.

Garden games

Coldness

A trip to Maplin and discovery of a 25m network cable produced an idea. After all, for years family members had been saying – “why don’t you stop sitting around indoors and go play outside?” – and, well, now was an opportunity to do just that.

The addition of a marquee provided essential protection from that old enemy sunlight, and we were good to go for many, many summers.

PC gaming, circa 2000-2005

Outside

This year, summer is not only a milestone for our valued member Ross, but marks the 10th anniversary of our very first outdoor LAN. As August 2015 comes to an end, we will be celebrating with a LAN reunion – we’ve of course been gaming together ever since, but this one is different.

Much has changed since the noughties – clunky CRT monitors now firmly a thing of the past – but will we be playing the latest installment of Call of Battlefield Honor Strike 4? Of course not. Across two days we’ll be digging out the games from the times we remember fondest – and here’s a brief rundown of what’ll be going down.

Counter Strike 1.6 (2000)

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What hasn’t been said about this beloved ruiner of friendships and keyboards? In our minds, yes CS: Source is great (and we’ll certainly be returning to that too) – but nothing speaks of hilarious LAN moments more than those earlier pre-Steam Counter Strike versions. Truly legendary level design means de_dust, de_prodigy, cs_assault, cs_militia will never be forgotten. Mods that added bots and hilarious skins make this a LAN party classic.

1001 No.97: Serious Sam: The First Encounter (2001)

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Who cares that it makes no sense? Seeing one of your friends fire a cannonball into a scorpion’s face, while another dressed as Santa Claus is thrown through the air by a bull, as a man with no head runs at you while going “aaaaahhhh” – there’s nothing else like it. Stupidly large numbers of enemies and a crazy sense of humour helped Serious Sam take the essence of Doom to another, and madder, level – and spawned many copycats that came after. 4 player coop through the whole campaign is a must.

Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (2002)

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The movie Saving Private Ryan had a massive impact on us back when we were in school, and MOHAA basically let us play it. With Spielberg as one of the writers, and an actual D-Day level, it’s just as lasting in our minds as the movie. In the early 2000s we stumbled across a coop mod – and we were pleased to discover it is still very much alive and working well to this day. Hilarity will ensue.

1001 No.95: Garry’s Mod (2004)

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Before Minecraft, there was Garry’s Mod: the ultimate in sandbox games. What started as a modification of Half Life 2 has effectively over time become a game in it’s own right. The ability to take the resources from various Valve related games (including Half Life and Counter Strike) means you can pretty much create what you like – as long as your imagination is large enough.

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The UCHG did various silly things with it, including a deadly game of cricket with an electrified rolling mine for a ball (and a shotgun of justice for cheaters); and contests to make cars, boats, and flying machines. Brad even made some particularly deadly traps for zombies…

1001 No.96: Battlefield 2 (2005)

Despite all the variants of the franchise that followed, Battlefield 2 still holds a special place in our hearts. Some of the level design is pure genius, evidenced by the fact that all these years later people are still playing Strike at Karkand and Gulf of Oman.

And while Battlefield 3 and 4 may have improved the graphics by a good mile, there’s something about the purity of the gameplay that makes BF2 so good. No unlocks, no grinding through the experience points, no being held to ransom over the best kit – strip away all the layers that have since been added, and you’re left with something much simpler, but somehow stronger.

Once you’re down to a more basic level of gameplay, it becomes like a game of paintball – the only real winners will be those taking risks. If you’ve got the guts, hell yeah you can jump in a jeep and careen it through to a position deep in enemy territory. Take that point, and you might just turn the tide.

Here’s a taste of what we used to get up to, and what we’ll be getting back to.

Happy Birthday Ross; Happy Birthday LAN; and happy 10 years of playing outside with your mates. It’ll certainly be a LAN to remember. And this won’t be the last!

Filmed myself Beat-ing it

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Back to the 1001!

And after about 2 years since actually buying this incredible (well, just incredibly weird) DS game, I’ve given it a go.

1001 No.94: Elite Beat Agents (2006)

Basically, people who are in trouble for whatever bizarre reason (including Leonardo da Vinci trying to please the woman from the Mona Lisa, go figure) call the Elite Beat Agents. They proceed to show up and Beat It, like really hard and fast. Seems to solve all life’s problems.

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It’s a rhythm-based music game of course, not a jacking-off simulator. But I filmed myself doing it anyway. The video is of course awful, because of trying to film a DS while tapping it like a mad bastard, but it’s there for the archive. And because you wouldn’t believe the content if I just told you.

It features two women trapped on a deserted island, who for some reason are so hot they can attract planes and all kinds of animals to do their bidding. It makes less sense than Nigel Farage’s next job as a judge on Poland’s Got Talent.

This below is a much better representation of how the game should be played, by someone much better. It’s the last boss level, which was one of the most frustrating experiences in gaming that I’ve EVER HAD.

So remember – if you’re having problems in your life, shout loud enough and three people in suits will show up and start beating it right in front of you. SORTED.