Thursday, May 31, 2018

My Top 50 Favourite Playstation 1 Games: #44

If you missed #45 click here.

#44 - Tekken
Released: 1995
Genre: Fighting
Rating: ***3/4 stars
Best Moment: Unlocking new characters, creating a roster of 17 in the end. Also, Devil Kazuya!
Tekken 1 for me... wasn't great. And controversially perhaps, I feel the same about Tekken 2. We'll get to Tekken 2 further in the listing. But Tekken 1, for a game back in 1995 was good but it wasn't amazing, not by a long shot. It felt clunky more than anything. I suppose when you play Tekken 3 as your first Tekken, and you play backwards, the earlier games don't feel as good. Same applies with Tekken 2, I know people who think Tekken 2 is the best in the series, probably because it was the first one they played. But Tekken 1, was good but not great. I think back in 1995 the graphical limitations certainly hindered it, but also the movesets weren't up to scratch either. It was certainly a game series that was just finding its feet, and would only get better. The characters were well designed though, and moved on from there, so there's that!

For #43 in my list click here!


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Wednesday, May 30, 2018

My Top 50 Favourite Playstation 1 Games: #45

If you missed #46 click here.

#45 - Hogs of War
Released: 2000
Genre: Strategy
Rating: ***3/4 stars
Best Moment: Just Rik Mayall and his hilarious commentary, it's wonderful stuff. RIP Rik.
It's crazy how little people know this game exists. Legendary English comedian Rik Mayall commentating over pigs fighting each other in a World War inspired world. Think Worms but in 3D. It was a great game that never did get the attention it deserved and ended up being a cult classic. Tactically it played well, and, comparing it with 3D Worms games I personally think it is better than them. Rik Mayall as I said before, and his brilliant lines is what makes this game stand out the most. They did nearly make a sequel to this but for reasons unknown it never did happen. Ah well.

Want to know what game in at #44? Click here!


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Tuesday, May 29, 2018

My Top 50 Favourite Playstation 1 Games: #46

If you missed #47 click here.

#46 - Destruction Derby
Released: 1995
Genre: Action
Rating: ***3/4 stars
Best Moment: The pit! Just seeing around 20 cars all driving into a pit and smashing themselves to pieces!
I never did play a lot of Destruction Derby unfortunately. I never owned a game in the series, but friends of mine did and I may have borrowed one at one time from a game renting shop (oh those were the days). It was always one of those games I really wanted to buy but never ever did.

Destruction Derby was just BONKERS. Looking back on it now it doesn't look that great, but back in those games I couldn't think of anything more exciting than seeing a good 20 cars smashing eachother to pieces to get points and be the last car standing. Or of course, racing dirty against other cars, hopefully winning the race and leaving the other cars, literally in the dirt. It was a fun concept that unfortunately did die out rather quickly, as the series only produced four games. The novelty wore off rather quickly, which was a shame.

To find out what #45 in my list of favourite PS1 games click here!


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Monday, May 28, 2018

My Top 50 Favourite Playstation 1 Games: #47

If you missed #48 click here.

#47 - Kula World

Released: 1998
Genre: Puzzle
Rating: ***1/2 stars
Best Moment: Just enjoying the simplicity of the game and its soothing soundtrack.
Americans may know this game as Roll Away, but here in Europe i was called Kula World. I'm surprised it was released in 1998, because this was one of the first games I ever played on the PS1 and I thought it was more of a demo to show the 3D physics of the PS1, which were at the time incredibly innovative. But, nope, that's just me, being late in terms of seeing a PS1 and its games for the first time back at the end of the millennium or the start of this current one!

Kula World is a simple puzzle game. You're a beach ball and you need to collect coins, keys and fruit to get from one level to the next level. You need to avoid spikes and other hazards, and you're only allowed to travel in certain directions at certain corners. It's the type of game you could see PopCap making, but this was before PopCap even existed. It's a good puzzle game, it's a shame it didn't get more attention than it got to be honest!

Check out what came in at #46 by clicking here!


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Saturday, May 26, 2018

My Top 50 Favourite Playstation 1 Games: #48

If you missed #49 click here.

#48 - Brunswick Circuit Pro Bowling 2


Released: 2000
Genre: Sports
Rating: ***1/2 stars
Best Moment: Creating your own pro bowler probably!
Mock me all you want for this awful looking bowling game being in my Top 50 PS1 games list but this game holds a strong sentimental value for me. It was my grandad's favourite game, and he passed away a few years after getting it. Not funny now is it??

It's actually a very good bowling game. If you don't like bowling then move on from this entry into my listing. But I do like a bit of bowling, even if I suck at it in real life, and in terms of bowling video games, this is probably one of the best ones ever made. The physics engine is pretty much spot on, so in that respect it's a top game. The graphics, yep, they're incredibly bad it's laughable. But hey, at least you can create your own bowler right??

I actually really enjoyed this game, it was fun playing it with my grandad, and it made him very happy. He didn't really like video games much, but at the time he had a lot of grandkids (myself included) that enjoyed playing video games, so decided to get a PSOne in his kitchen to play some games with us. I ended up buying this game myself I enjoyed it that much, although I have no idea where my copy is now.

Check out what came in at #47 here!


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My Top 50 Favourite Playstation 1 Games: #49

If you missed #50 click here.

#49 - Sled Storm

Released: 1999
Genre: Racing
Rating: ***1/2 stars
Best Moment: Call me biased but, the fact that Rob Zombie's song is the signature song of the game makes me very very happy!
Do you like sled and snow based racing games? Do you like Rob Zombie? If so, we've found your perfect game! I always remember that this is one of the first Playstation games I ever played. I can't remember how or why, but I know it to be the case. It was probably the fourth or fifth game I played.

This game has a strong significance with me because it was the first time I ever heard Rob Zombie. I played this game, heard the remix of Dragula, then years later, heard it again and was like, "where on earth have I heard this song before?" And it took a while longer again to realise it was from this game!

It's not the best snow based EA game to come out, after a while the game gets very repetitive. But, I truly believe, if it wasn't for this game, the SSX series probably wouldn't have existed. You could argue that this game was the original SSX game, just no where near as good as SSX became, particularly of course SSX Tricky. But it's still a good play, and it personally brings back lots of memories.



For #48 in my countdown click here.


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Friday, May 25, 2018

My Top 50 Favourite Playstation 1 Games: #50



Hey there and welcome to my newest website listing. It's been a while 11 months since I did a daily listing. This also isn't the first time I've counted down my favourite games on a console. Six years ago I revealed my Top 50 Favourite Mega Drive Games. That was a fun listing, if you're interested in checking it out click here.

I've considered doing a Top 50 Favourite Playstation 1 Games list for many years now. Not long after finishing my Mega Drive one six years ago was probably the first time I thought about this listing. Last year I even set out to write this piece, but never got round to it. It's been on the backburner for a while. So why now? I don't really have a straight answer for that, but it just felt right to write it now.

So why Playstation 1? Well, six years ago I explained that the Mega Drive was my first proper console. But the Playstation 1 console is my all time favourite console. This console really changed my life, the games on it, the stories, the characters, the graphics, everything. I loved this era. It helped me grow from a boy to a teenager. I don't care if it sounds cliche or cheesy, but it did change my life.

So, for the next fifty days I'll be revealing one by one, my favourite games on this console. I emphasise, MY favourites. Not the best. There are going to be games that are considered to be amazing that are not on this list. Such as Metal Gear Solid? Tony Hawk? Tomb Raider? They won't be anywhere near this list. It's not because they're bad games, I just have either never played them or when I did, I just didn't enjoy them. They're just not for me. So remember that, when I countdown this list - these are my 50 favourites.

Anyway, let's start with #50!

#50 - Spider-man

Released: 2000
Genre: Action
Rating: ***1/2 stars
Best Moment: Simply using your webs to climb from building to building - it was never properly done before in a Spiderman game up until this game.
Some people may think this game deserves a higher placing on this list and if you're one of those people I do understand. This game is very nostalgic. As I said before it was the first proper Spiderman game where you can go from building to building using your webs, and that alone was just an incredible moment for all Spiderman fans. They were dreaming for a Spiderman game that allowed them to do that. Thing is though, this game was tough. The first few levels aren't that bad but the difficulty amps up very quickly. The reason I suppose it isn't higher on the list is because I didn't play it very much and I did get stuck playing it a few times.

One other thing - this game is probably one of the best on the PS1 for all the costumes you can wear. There were SO many, and they all had different abilities. In that respect this game was great. Can you imagine it coming out now though? All that would have been DLC you'd have to pay for!


For #49 in my list, click here!
Or go straight to #1 in the list by clicking here!


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Saturday, May 12, 2018

Mixtape: Best Cover Versions Vol. 2

Hi everyone, it's been a while since I posted on this site, and it's been even longer since I did an official Mixtape! I haven't done a Mixtape in five and a half years, crazy! Anyway, in case you're not sure what a Mixtape is, here's an explanation...

A Mixtape is a playlist of a certain genre, band or era. The list is generally 80 minutes long, the same length of a blank CD, with further recommendations if some of the songs aren't to your taste. Remember kids, downloading is wrong! 

Back in 2011 I did a Mixtape of my favourite cover versions, and, looking back on it, it's a very good list and I agree with most of my suggestions on the list. But, in the past 7 years there have been some belters that have come out, and, also, looking back on the list from 2011, I did miss out on some amazing cover versions. So I decided to do a Volume 2 of my favourite cover versions! Now, this list is probably just as good as Volume 1 so check them both out if you get time - to find the first list simply click here.

Before I begin I'd just like to rule out artists that do cover versions predominantly as an artist, like Weird Al Yankovic, who does parodies of songs, and Richard Cheese, who does amazing jazz versions of songs. If you've never heard the work of Richard Cheese, seriously, give the guy a listen, he's absolutely phenomenal and funny, let this song get you started. One more thing, linked below are the songs and if you click on the original artists (which are bracketed) you can listen to the originals, if I can find them. Anyway, onto the Mixtape!
  1. Band on the Run - Foo Fighters (Paul McCartney and Wings)
  2. My Girl - Jesus and Mary Chain (The Temptations)
  3. Those Were the Days - Mary Hopkin (Tamara Tsereteli)
  4. Hurt - Johnny Cash (Nine Inch Nails)
  5. Danger Zone - Psychostick (Kenny Loggins)
  6. Jack the Ripper - The Horrors (Screaming Lord Sutch)
  7. Rawhide - The Meteors (Frankie Laine)
  8. I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - Toy Dolls (The Proclaimers)
  9. How I Could Just Kill a Man - Rage Against the Machine (Cypress Hill)
  10. Rise of the Eagles - The Prodigy (The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster)
  11. Memorabilia - Nine Inch Nails (Soft Cell)
  12. Black Betty - Spiderbait (Ram Jam)
  13. The Sound of Silence - Disturbed (Simon and Garfunkel)
  14. Thieves - Limp Bizkit (Ministry)
  15. Five to One - Marilyn Manson (The Doors)
  16. United Forces - Ministry (Stormtroopers of Death)
  17. Rise - Jerk (Public Image Limited)
  18. Loverman - Metallica (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds)
Some of these not to your taste? Here's five alternatives...
  1. Zombie - Breed 77 (The Cranberries)
  2. Kidnap the Sandy Claws - KoRn (Danny Elfman)
  3. Love Buzz - Nirvana (Shocking Blue)
  4. Golden Ticket - Primus (Jack Albertson and Peter Ostrum)
  5. Baby, I Love You - Ramones (The Ronettes)
To listen to the playlist on YouTube click here!

Well I hope you enjoyed this list. I tried to pick different songs that people may not have heard, or have considered before. Who knows, I might make Vol. 3 in another seven years time! Until next time, take care.


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