Issue 101 Feedback Thread

[webding]

That's right, I was taking the censored.

[NorthWay]

101 done and dusted. Not one for the history books. But that's ok, not all can be issue 100.

[Garry]

can i just say, for me, issue 101 was one of the best ever, it had so much info on stuff i was interested in, a brilliant read
keep it up guys

[Rory Milne]

Just finished reading this month’s mag - another great issue in my opinion, and not at all thin on content despite the exertions of issue 100. These were the bits that I enjoyed the most:

Re-educating the masses – great to see more Beeb content, I especially liked the amount of space given over to game write-ups.

Cheap as chips, Gynoug – can you have too many shmups? I don’t think so, and since I hadn’t heard of this one I was grateful for its inclusion this month.

Making of Lucky and Wild – early ‘90s coin-ops are an area I need to read up on, and this wasn’t at all a bad start. It was great to hear so much from the developer on the game’s interesting history.

Classic game Zaxxon – this made for a really nice looking spread, and was a timely appearance given the golden age classic’s 30th anniversary is marked this year.

A life on the Ocean wave – just a fascinating read from first word to last, and the Ocean connection pages were a nice way to round things off.

Retrorevival Catcha Snatcha & Oids - love the blown-up look as always, Oids in particular looked fantastic, Catcha Snatcha looked like modern art, plus it was interesting to read about Paul and Andrew’s respective connections to the two titles.

The Unconverted – Stuart’s unconverted game choices get better and better each month in my opinion, suffice to say I now have a fresh list of coin-op titles I want to track down and play.

Making of The Hobbit – probably my favourite feature this month, and proof positive that a good Making of doesn’t have to feature a game you enjoy in order to be compulsive reading – I loved The Hobbit’s graphics, but found the constantly getting stuck frustrating rather than satisfying to overcome. That might have just been me though.

At any rate, another job well done, Retro Gamer’s future looks very bright indeed.

[NorthWay]

BTW, I thought the picture selection for Zaxxon didn't do the game justice.

[romeoteknik]

Great issue I thought, especially seeing Lofarius (Keith) in the collectors guide section!
His 1st issue of Pixel Nation was also just released, seems all the quality printed stuff comes from the UK!

http://pixel-nation.co.uk/

[DreamcastRIP]

You haven't read this thread yet have you?

[jdanddiet]

Or maybe he has?

[The Laird]

Or maybe he has?

If he has then that is a really terrible way to promote a magazine

[jdanddiet]

any publicity....

[joefish]

Just read the rest of it. I'll start by saying again how good the Ocean and Beau-Jolly pieces were. I love these where you really get a sense of the characters of people and workplaces, and the highs and lows of the business.

But the piece on Metal Gear? "Well, they wrote this game, then they wrote this game. And it was more challenging for the player, and this bit was like that earlier bit but this bit wasn't. And then we wrote another game..." sorry, but I just found this all so dull. Where was the inspiration? Where were the influences? It started out OK, describing the origin of the formula, and the box-outs were enthusiastic enough, but the main piece just read like revision for people who remember playing the games rather than offering any new insight, or offering much to inform those who hadn't played. I know Japanese developers are notoriously quiet, but was this actually based on an interview or assembled from past pieces?

[theantmeister]

But the piece on Metal Gear? "Well, they wrote this game, then they wrote this game. And it was more challenging for the player, and this bit was like that earlier bit but this bit wasn't. And then we wrote another game..." sorry, but I just found this all so dull. Where was the inspiration? Where were the influences? It started out OK, describing the origin of the formula, and the box-outs were enthusiastic enough, but the main piece just read like revision for people who remember playing the games rather than offering any new insight, or offering much to inform those who hadn't played. I know Japanese developers are notoriously quiet, but was this actually based on an interview or assembled from past pieces?

Oh, I dunno. I've never been much of a fan of the series, but I did find the bits about the MSX games quite interesting. The jokes boxout was pretty funny.

If I'm honest, I never enjoy the "From the archives" articles interesting at all. A bunch of business types going on about how much money they made doesn't really interest me at all. That's why I found the Ocean article so fascinating. It was a genuine behind-the-scenes look into the boiler room. That's the part I'm interested in. The Virgin article was probably the worst offender. Two months' worth of tedious marketers going on about how much money they made. The only interesting bit was when they touched on the stunts and parties Virgin used to throw. But then went straight back to the numbers.

I've just started reading the Beau-Jolly piece and that opening paragraph hasn't filled me with much glee. And they named the company after a wine, how censored bourgeois yuppy is that?!

[NorthWay]

The reason why we're covering the spectrum again is because we're out 3 days off its actual birthday.

I trust you are not forgetting the 35th birthday of the Apple II this year! (As I was being reminded of somewhere else today.)

[jdanddiet]

I've just started reading the Beau-Jolly piece and that opening paragraph hasn't filled me with much glee. And they named the company after a wine, how censored bourgeois yuppy is that?!

Well it was the Eighties, man

[DreamcastRIP]

Finally read this month's 'From The Archives...' on Beau-Jolly. Thought it an interesting read and enjoyed learning more of something I knew little of before, i.e. the business of games compilations in that era. Perhaps not the most exciting story for some here due to its very nature (can't please everyone all of the time™ ) but I thought it a very well written article that broadened my knowledge. Props to all concerned.