I think I love him

matto · Post by **matto** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 9:33 pm 0

Hi everyone,

If you don't like gushing posts then close this now...... Anyone left? No? Good then I can gush in peace.

Many years ago in my childhood I bought a game in a bright orange cassette case called Gridrunner. Then my friends showed me games like Sheep in Space, and Hovver Bovver, and we started a bit of a Jeff Minter fan club. He was our hero, and I remember buying Ancipital and staring at the case trembling with excitement. Then came Batalyx. We loved Jeff. I can still clearly remember going to a Commodore computer show (at the Novotel in Hammersmith I think - I was only about 13) - and there was Jeff playing Psychedelia - IN PERSON. I stared at him for a while - what a guy! Then I bought an Amiga.

Fast forward about 20 years and although I had heard rumours of Jeff doing Tempest etc. I hadn't really heard much about good old Llamasoft until I read about the imminent Space Giraffe. Oh how the excitement grew as I saw screenshots and it approached...

Then I played it on the Wednesday night, and was confused. It seemed difficult and I didn't immediately like it. Disappointment crushed me. But something inside me thought hmmmmm, maybe it's a grower. So I decided I owed Jeff at least 2 or 3 hours of the benefit of the doubt for old times sake.

And then I fell in love. Again.

What a game!!! Yes it's difficult. Yes at first I thought - why has he made it so difficult to see anything? What just killed me? And I nearly started sulking...

But when I got reasonably competent at it I could see everything, and it wasn't difficult. I just loved the beauty of the game, the originality, the sheer over the top in your face arcade joy of it ...

The bad reviews and people who don't like it don't get it. I don't mean they necessarily find it too difficult - but they don't understand "pure gaming". To the guy who wrote the XBox 2/10 review - go back to reviewing Ridge Racer 27, or Call of Duty 448. Ooooh was it out of your gaming experience? Not a FPS, not a driving game? Not very good at it? Would it take a little effort to get into? Stick to your clone games mate.
You can't write a review of this one can you because there's no baseline. You can't say - "like Unreal but not quite as good".

Am I biased? Only in that I was willing to invest in the game.

All works of art polarise people. Strong art produces emotions. And this game has done that because it is art. Not just another project led safe market research game.

I love bulling the baddies off the rim, my little boy loves the MOOing and implores me to make it do it again. I love the aliens that make the screen distort, I love the spinning stuff, I love the laser thing on level 65 onwards, I love the colours and the sounds, but mostly I love the feeling I get when playing this game, it's like when I first played Space Invaders - in short I love Jeff.

Ignore the criticism mate, and lap up the praise from people who think this game is one in a million and feel like it is at last a breath of fresh air from the same tired old remakes.

Thanks very much to you and all who have helped you (big up to you Giles).

I finished it the other night, and do you know what I did - I just kept playing, not for score, not to achieve anything, but just because it's like playing Psychedelia - I put on my favourite music, and it just feels like one giant interactive light synth.

Anyway i've gushed enough,

Thanks,
Matthew (Autarchy - currently ranked 33 at the best game ever...)

PS I don't really LOVE Jeff. I'm happily married - and my wife wouldn't be pleased. Well maybe just a little bit :-)

Yak · Post by **Yak** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 11:36 pm 0

Glad you are enjoying it

.

We know it's not perfect and next time we'll make more of an effort to lower the bar for basic access I guess (although as I mentioned elsewhere - go back and play some old 80s games, it's like they had no idea of playablility or accessability or good shaping of a diff curve - SG is a complete pussy compared to any arbitrary selection of old c64 or Speccy games).

But yeah, i still play it for just the pleasure of playing even if I'm not chasing a hiscore. And really that's what Super Ox mode is all about

. It's a game that I like to play to chill out, just the feeling of playing relaxes me

.

merman · Post by **merman** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 12:42 am 0

Welcome to the forum, have an unrequited love sheepie for your troubles

choddo · Post by **choddo** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 1:31 am 0

Ha, I think I was at that show at the Novotel as well, and about the same age.

But a thousand poxes on any mention of Llamasoft history that overlooks Iridis Alpha!

darkladywolf · Post by **darkladywolf** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 8:04 am 0

PVB (using dlw's login) says:

Welcome matto, to the fluffiest

forums

on the

net!

Fancy some memory-jogging?

Have a look at these:

http://www.medwaypvb.com/llamasoft.htm

http://www.medwaypvb.com/gruntingoxfile ... epies!.htm

http://www.medwaypvb.com/llamadloads.htm

http://www.medwaypvb.com/llamadloads2.html

http://www.medwaypvb.com/llamasoftarchive.htm

matto · Post by **matto** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 1:05 pm 0

Hi Choddo,

I've never played Iridis Alpha

<Ashamed>

Thanks,
Matt.

darkladywolf · Post by **darkladywolf** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 6:22 am 0

matto wrote:Hi Choddo,

I've never played Iridis Alpha <Ashamed>

Thanks,
Matt.

PVB says:

Now's your chance; look at links provided above.