MEETING JOLLYGOOD
GAMES
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ten years ago I had the great opportunity to spend two months in Finland to
achieve a training period as translator for HOUSEMAQUE, a game company. This
resulted from me translating one of my favourite Ste games, namely UTOPOS.
This was when I first met Jani Penttinen aka Creator/AGGRESSION and his cool
fellows (most of whom attended the first OUTLINE party).
Several months ago I happily opened a mail coming from my hairy friend Jani.
Our friendship was still the same and since then we've been in touch on an
almost daily basis thanks to the internet.
I'm seizing this opportunity to write for ALIVE about what Jani is currently
doing, something that may hopefully entertain some of you :) Let me introduce
Jani's company named JOLLYGOOD GAMES.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A little history to start with :
Somewhere after 1995, Jani moved to the USA as he was hired by world famous
company Westwood Studios. A couple of years later, some changes gave him the
idea of creating his own game company, far away from big moguls like EA.
He joined forces with the maker of PROJECTYLE (remember that cool futuristic
sport game on the ST ?) and gave birth to JOLLYGOOD GAMES. Tho they mostly
offer peecee games (as well as mobile phones and others), they truly enjoy a
wide range of cool games, all shareware sold from 10 to 20 euros. Nice games
for everyone, with real gfx, no soulless rendered shit and a strong old
school feeling. In other words, if you own a peecee and want to play cool
games reminding of the ST/Amiga days, this is the right place to be !
At http://jollygoodgames.com you'll be greeted by a colorful page showing the
latest games released. All of them can freely be donwloaded as limited demos
fully playable and enjoyable though. All kinds can be found, be it shooters,
puzzlers, word games or arcade.
Note to our French readers : the whole website has been translated (by me)
some months ago, so please do not back up :)
Shareware games, high quality stuff at nice prices ? Well tho it's on peecee,
gotta say that I truly like this old school way of doing things :) Most games
don't even require a standard peecee configuration (except for Doctor's Blob
Organism that won't run here because I don't have a 3D card that's all).
I surely don't want to add some nasty pop-ups here, just show you that some
former Atarians are still living the way they used to a decade ago. It's
always a nice and comforting feeling to see them remembering the good old
days. Who knows then, maybe Utopos will finally make it to the peecee ?
Anyway, let's try to focus on a few games I've tried, tho not so many due to
lack of time :( All of them can be downloaded in a couple of minutes and
right away enjoyed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
P L A S M A W O R M
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remember the good old worm game of the 80's ? Trapped in a blocky maze, the
poor ling couldn't stop going forward and while it would gulp up bonus, its
body would keep growing. The longer, the harder (no stupid pun to be seen :).
Basically the game hasn't changed a lot : first thing is the nice graphics,
surely painted in 256 colors and not more. Then the soundtrack reminds of STe
or Amiga games, you will feel at home right from the start ! Also the game
doesn't even require a joypad as only two keys, namely left and right arrows,
are needed to get started. The demo only offers 5 levels but you can get the
20 level version for only 10 dollars (about 7 euros).
No need to tangle with boring stuff live video or audio settings, just press
the START option and get ready ! The first arena looks really neat and above
all the background is made of a typical plasma as seen in sooo many demos,
groovy baby ! Then it's time for you to play : just move our worm onto the
zooming items scattered all over the level and don't get too close walls ! As
you eat bonuses, your worm will grow longer and you need to collect 10 items
to complete a level, not so easy :) First level only shows a couple of regular
walls but other levels will add to the difficulty and ask you to be able to
manoeuver between obstacles and your own tail... or extended body, whatever :)
This game truly proves fun and after losing like a lamer you're going to start
playing again and again ! Not a lame online rpg, just an enjoyable game you'll
play here and there, for the fun of it. Nice graphics strengthened by the
plasma background, added to a translucent worm and atmospherical music will
give gooseflesh to the many old time gamers all over the world. I even suspect
more buyers to be people like you and me who played games on a basic console
and wanna feel the good old vibe again :) to put it in a nutshell : it's a
MUST TRY !
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
D R . B L O B ' S O R G A N I S M
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gotta say here that I couldn't play the game at home since my "old" peecee
doesn't have a 3D card, what should not stop most gamers out there. This time
we come up with a "rotating" shooter. As with every demo this game is limited
to some levels, enough to have fun and see if you wanna spend a dozen euros on
the full version.
Once again with cool games, you don't need a 10 minute reading, just make sure
your rusty fingers are ready for some action ! Storyline is set in some crazy
lab and you are actually having a close look at some bacterias thru googles
when the invasion starts ! Be quick or be dead as the song says : at first you
only enjoy a single laser and have to rotate the dish to kill all attempts
from the bacteria to grow and reach the dish borders. Damn simple and sooooo
addictive indeed ! The game enjoys really gorgeous gfx, nice sound and kidlike
commands. Soon enough you will turn into a bacteria killer and wait for next
level because then you'll be granted more powerups like twin lasers and more !
the game strongly reminds me of some rotating shooters (gotta admit mostly on
Amiga) or call it reversed asteroids since this time you're on the outside and
try to prevent an awful germ invasion.
Addiction is a true keyword here since gfx are truly awesome and the game can
be played instantly, once again no need for some dumb peecee joypad, all you
need is some keys and fast thinking ! You won't play it for 4 hours in a row
(erm not so sure :) but this game also proves to be a great entertainment
given away for more than a decent price. But I'll stop here before you get to
think I receive money for advertising :)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
T U R B O S L I D E R S
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
When loading this game, you'll instantly feel your throat go dry as this is
nothing more than the online version of Super Sprint or Supercars here ! Tiny
cars driving like mad on a big track instantly remembers of endless games with
friends. Well it has not changed a lot : nice and plain gfx, same with music
and sfx. You won't get lost with the options offered either : create player,
training, cup and so on. Then, what ?
The big difference - and main interest in - Turbo Sliders lies in the online
gaming ! Train as long as you want, but you'll need to buy the game for about
17 euros and then you can play online with a dozen other competitors, set your
own rules/cups, upload the track you created or download more tracks done by
others. The good old recipe with online spice :)
I don't think a lot needs be added here : neat gfx, cool overall design and as
always only keys are needed to enjoy the game in a couple of minutes. Becoming
the best pilot's going to be another challenge tho. Get your modem warmed up !
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last words : I was very happy to get news from an old friend and have a chance
to work with him again since I've been translating a couple of games to French
and also the whole website. Btw French version of Turbo Sliders will soon be
available. Tho it's on peecee, it's truly a home feeling you get when seeing
the many games offered. Not to forget that nostalgic gamers will be happy to
play the classics revamped for another millenium !
Well, that's it. I hope you found some interest in this humble article and
will pay a visit to http://jollygoodgames.com at least out of curiosity :)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
STS signing off
|
