Lazy Game Reviews

So I got a new camera for my birthday. And some cash. What better way to test it out than to make a nauseating shaky-cam video of random junk? Besides, people often ask where I find my retro stuff. This is the answer: Goodwill stores and Goodwill Outlet centers. Okay, so maybe it's not the best result, but hey. This was just me and my brother farting around and seeing what worked and doesn't work on the new "HD" camera, while finding random junk for cheap at various thrift stores. Wasn't sure if I was going to upload it, but I figured "what the heck"?

A quick review of the game Light Force by Fast Than Light in 1986, played on a 48k Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer. One of the more technically impressive games I've come across for the Speccy, and a pretty fun little vertically scrolling shooter as well.

Retro games are great, but the next best thing is a new game for retro hardware! And as far as homebrew goes, you can't get much more high-profile than Halo. This is a review of the Halo 2600 cart by Ed Fries. Recorded and played using an Atari 7800, RF output with a PC capture device.

I always wondered how much the original IBM PCjr's keyboard actually sucked. Now I know. Just a quickly-made video to show the original "Chiclet-style" keyboard for IBM's failed home PC, the PC jr. Retro computing sadists unite!

The one, the only, the original Voodoo1. Back when 3D acceleration was a new thing, the 3DFX cards blew away home consoles and set the PC apart as THE gaming machine to own for maximum awesomeness. And one of the most iconic is the Diamond Monster 3D 4MB PCI card. A quick overview of the card and a direct comparison of 2D software modes and 3D accelerated modes using Glide and Direct3D. Footage of Quake, Need for Speed II SE and Tomb Raider 2, all on Windows 95. Now *THIS* is hardcore gaming, 1997-style!

So the Voodoo is an amazing card for older PCs, but what about the Mac? Is it even possible to run a PCI 3D graphics card made for Windows under Mac OS? This is just a quick overview and a test of a 3Dfx Voodoo2 PC card being installed in a Mac Performa 6400 computer, using special Glide extensions. Quake is used for benchmark purposes, because it's awesome. Yes, there were Macintosh versions of the Voodoo cards made, but those are somewhat hard to come by. But this is the testing of a card without the Mac BIOS, originally made for PCs!

Basic tutorial showing how to make your own custom clothing and how to install it in your Sims 3 game to play with! Ever want your sims to have their own completely unique clothing, maybe with your favorite brand or design? Here is the tutorial to watch! This walkthrough uses Windows 7 and Adobe Photoshop CS4. Other software combinations can be used but the steps may be slightly different. This also assumes basic knowledge of file types, archives, graphics editing and software manipulation. In other words, this is not the *most* basic of tutorials and I will not be answering questions relating to unzipping and the like as it's not in the scope of this video or my channel.

The Acorn Electron was the baby brother of the BBC Micro, both of which are relatively unknown outside of the UK and Europe. And although it wasn't the unprecedented success Acorn might have hoped it to be, it's still an awesome 8-bit machine that I think any computer collector or retro gamer should consider! This is a basic overview of the history, hardware and software of the Elk, from the perspective of an American collector. How do the pros and cons stack up, and is it worth getting an Elk over the BBC Model B?

Is the third stuff pack expansion for The Sims 3 worth buying? What exactly does it include? This very snarky review of OLS answers these questions and more.

Just a simple video bringing to light some of the latest developments regarding the future of Lazy Game Reviews. Brought to you by the word "options"!

Ya like shooters? Like weird? No, I mean really weird. Really frigging weird. As in, muscle-bound aliens with lasers coming out of their heads shooting down homoerotic machines weird. Yeah, if that's your thing, you're truly awesome.

Ripping open the box to the Atarisoft Apple ][ game "Moon Patrol".

One of the earlier signs of innovation in the often-overcrowded "shmup" genre, Silpheed is another computer classic from Game Arts and Sierra. Xacalite is a punk. Take back Gloire! Or whatever.

Unedited footage of my attempts at playing Game Arts' Silpheed on an original IBM 5150 PC with 640K RAM, along with a bit of commentary on the experience. Enjoy the raw PC speaker sound, CGA graphics from the 5153 monitor, and the floppy disk-swapping joy. Oh and clicky keyboarding, mmm.

Transformers? Overrated. Okay, not really, but that's what Tonka wanted you to think! This 1987 shmup is a fine example of the 80's TV show cash-in game. Leader-1 would be proud. And that is sarcasm.

A collection video. Showing every Maxis game released in America! From Raid on Bungeling Bay to The Sims, this covers it all and it's all from my personal collection. Boxes, overviews, history, trivia, random Maxis love. Part one of three.

A collection video. Showing every Maxis game released in America! From Raid on Bungeling Bay to The Sims, this covers it all and it's all from my personal collection. Boxes, overviews, history, trivia, random Maxis love. Part two of three.

A collection video. Showing every Maxis game released in America! From Raid on Bungeling Bay to The Sims, this covers it all and it's all from my personal collection. Boxes, overviews, history, trivia, random Maxis love. Part three of three.

Well I'm not. At least, not to my knowledge.

My first experience with the BBC version of SimCity by Superior Software. This is not a walkthrough, review, playthrough, anything like that, just me playing the game badly and trying my darndest not to rip off Master Benway :D

Unlike Bullfrog's Theme Hospital, SimHealth is not a fondly-remembered, fun and lighthearted game. No, SimHealth is a Maxis simulation that is forgotten, bland and rather serious. But that hasn't stopped me from taking an odd interest in the title..

What is The Sims Medieval, really? How different is it from other Sims games? Is it worth buying? Find out in this video review!

Happy Edutainment Month! This week we're taking a look at three Fisher-Price MS-DOS titles: My Grand Piano, Firehouse Rescue and School Bus Driver. Ha, seriously. This one's very much made in the "classic" LGR style. That is, somewhat scattered and absurd.

For those of us without a physical keyboard on their smartphone, aDosBox just doesn't cut it. DOSBox SDL to the rescue! Just quickly showing off the capability of this WIP MS-DOS emulator for Android devices. Word Rescue is the game chosen to demonstrate DOS gaming, so it ties in somewhat to Edutainment Month! I'd also recommend trying out anDOSBox. It's a paid-for program, but it is very well-made and seems to be a bit more smooth than the one I showed:

Hunt treasure! Hunt math! Avoid crabs! Grab nuts! Find another dot-matrix printer because yours broke and you really frigging need to print out that awesome certificate you earned! LGR Education Month continues with this classic from Adventure LearningWare.

What do you get when Apogee releases an edutainment game series? Edutainment done awesome. Word Rescue, Math Rescue and the Plus editions of each are pure nostalgic gold.

Yes, that's right. The next four reviews will be chosen by YOU - the viewer! I show eight games in this video, you choose four of them and list them in the comments. I will then review the most-voted-for games during the month of May! Just an experiment to see what happens. Voting ends May 1st!

An overview of the "School Edition" Lab Pack of SimCity Classic by Maxis. Unboxing, first impressions of the package and testing of the radically rad software ensues.

In-depth history and review of MECC's edutainment classic, The Oregon Trail. Did you really think I could pass up reviewing The Oregon Trail? It's only the king of edutainment gaming. And it's friggin' rad.

The votes of the "Poll The People" video have been counted and the next four Lazy Game Reviews reviews have been chosen! Plus, Minecraft. Because it's awesome.

Cinemaware was known for its excellent multi-genre computer games in the 80's, based on classic movies and TV shows. The Kristal was not one of them.

Epyx and their "Games" games were quite popular back in the 80's. But I guess they weren't purple (or Saturn Day-ey) enough! That's where Exxos's PSD comes in, with all the galactic olympics a fan of campy sci-fi could ask for!

With 1995's Descent, the first-person shooter world was turned on its head. Pyrotechnica is one of the inevitable games "inspired" by its success. Strip things down, make things more challenging, apply a very contrasting color scheme and this is what you get!

Out of all of Capstone Software's mostly average games, Corridor 7 was one of the few that seemed to stand out enough to be noticed. But can it hold a candle to other first-person shooters of its time, like Doom?

Is the fourth expansion pack for TS3 worth buying? What are all the new activities, interactions and objects? Find out in this review!

Commentary by Lazy Game Reviews on the DNF First Access Club demo. So... is it Duke? Is it rad? Is it suck?

History, overview and opinion on each of the major Duke Nukem video games (and many of the minor ones!) Balls of Steel and Death Rally were not included as they are not Duke Nukem games, per se. They are games that feature Duke Nukem-related content. Urea 51 footage from PencilPusher93

Is the game really as bad as so many would like you to believe? How does it compare to Duke Nukem 3D? Those questions and more are answered here as fairly as possible by a long-time Duke fan.

From Joost van Dongen comes the indie game Proun. A strange racing game where you follow a rail through colorful geometric shapes. And it's free/pay what you want! EDIT: Used to be anyways. Now it's a minimum of $1

From Day 1 Studios comes the third game in the FEAR franchise, this time with more diving for cover and, ironically, less fear. Is it any good? That's kind of what this review was made for. And it gave me something fun to do.

Terraria is often compared to fellow indie hit Minecraft, largely due to its emphasis on mining and crafting. But there's so much freaking more to it than that, as this review shows!

Found a freaking awesome local video arcade, where all games are 25 cents to play. Literally a hole-in-a-wall at the local flea market, filled with the smell of saw dust, popcorn and drinks of all kinds. Yes, I am going to be spending far too much time here. I didn't get to show Turbo Outrun (full size sit-down cabinet with moving seat force feedback!) or Mortal Kombat 2 machines, they were in another stall packed away behind some old records. Looks like several of the games are in various states of disrepair (broken joysticks, shoddy switches, missing coin slots, CRT problems) but most of them are playable with minor issues. Some rather unique cabs here though, which makes the trip worth it. Located at Smiley's in Fletcher, NC.

Think Lode Runner, but simpler, faster and more unforgiving. And more French, way more French. It's Androides for the Thomson MO5 home microcomputer!

The sequel to American McGee's Alice, the cult classic 3D action platformer, is finally here. Can it live up to its cult classic predecessor's legacy? Is it still freaking bizarre in the most awesome of ways?

Holy crap, LGR has been going for two years! That's, like, twice as long as last year. May as well celebrate with some self-deprecating outtakes and deleted scenes from the past... amount of time.

Press that turbo button and hold onto your seat! You're in for a bumpy ride with this 1989 follow-up to Sega AM2's classic arcade racer, Out Run. Now with more Turbos and shallow ladyfriends! Showing the actual sit-down arcade cabinet in its full glory.

The Atari ST was introduced right before the Commodore Amiga in 1985. Popular with gamers, musicians and desktop publishers, the ST earned its right as one of the best 16-bit computers of its day. But is it still worth owning to a current collector of vintage computers? This is an overview of the history, hardware and software of the ST from the perspective of an American collector. How do the pros and cons stack up, and is it worth getting an ST over similar systems like the Amiga?

Is the fourth stuff pack expansion for The Sims 3 worth buying? What exactly does it include? This review of TLS answers these questions and more.

This is just a quick and scatter-brained demonstration of some of the features of the excellent Space Engine v0.94. Would you like to explore the entire known universe? Of course you would, you budding cosmonaut you! Space Engine is the friggin' awesome solution to your armchair space travel needs.

This is my personal list of the top 17 most awesome 1990's PC games I've played (and continue to play!) Part two of three of my lists of the very best games of the 80's, 90's and 2000's to grace the screens of the world's PCs, to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the IBM Personal Computer! After singling out the worst PC games ever made, the task of tackling the best PC games is now being attended! This is 100% subjective and my own opinion, nothing more. Games were chosen on the basis of how awesome the game was and how often I go back and play them. Why 17? Because it's an odd number, very odd.

To celebrate three decades of PC gaming I'm taking a look at my personal top games for the PC. In this video we're looking at the 80's, where games with CGA and EGA graphics and PC speaker noise ruled the majority of the decade.

Celebrating three decades of PC gaming! I take a look at my personal top games for the PC, ending with this video of the years 2000-2009. Ah, the era where the PC starts really getting shafted due to lame publisher dominance and a console-centric industry. Still tons of great games, despite this! This is 100% subjective and my own opinion, nothing more. Games were chosen on the basis of how awesome the game was and how often I go back and play them. Why 17? Because it's an odd number, very odd.

Seriously though, the game is great. But this was too hard to pass up, and in an odd way it really does sum up the point of the entire game. Endlessly conflicting choices! And DOPEFISH. Ripping off TGWTG? What a shame.

What exactly is The Sims Social and what gameplay does it offer? Is this Facebook game worth checking out? This review of TSS answers these questions and more!

The Creative Music System is a forgotten sound standard, but that doesn't mean it's lame! This is the history, installation, and demonstration of the C/MS sound card. Technically, what's shown is a Sound Blaster 1.5 with CMS chips installed, but the focus is on the C/MS itself, not SB.

From Eric Chahi and Ubisoft comes From Dust, a puzzle/sandbox/god game where you save little dudes from certain lava.

Bullfrog's Theme Hospital is like no other management sim you have ever played. Well, except for maybe its predecessor Theme Park. Still, nothing like a little bloaty head and slack tongue to start the day off right! I forgot to add that the last official patch for the game added multiplayer capability. Serial and modem connections allow for two players to compete in building the best hospital while competing against two computer-controlled hospitals, while the IPX/SPX option allows up to four players to compete against each other on a network for the best hospital.

Review of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, the latest entry in the legendary FPS/RPG/stealth game series from Eidos Montreal. Adam Jensen is my newest hero (or anti-hero, depending on how you play!)

Overview, installation, and demonstration of the forgotten PC sound device known as the Covox Speech Thing.

Unscripted quick review of the towns for The Sims 3: Barnacle Bay and Hidden Springs. What all do these downloadable new towns include? Are they worth the cash?

First look at the free demo for The Sims 3: Pets. Covers the Create A Pet mode and its various features and content.

Overview, installation, and demonstration of the Sinclair RAM Turbo interface for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum home micro computer.

Detailed review and history of the classic DOS PC game, Jazz Jackrabbit. Covers the creation of the game, different versions, and of course the gameplay itself! No evil clones were harmed in the making of this video. Scared off perhaps, but not harmed.

So, I'm ignorant and don't do proper research, huh? Great idea! Ignorance isn't bliss to everyone, it seems. (A satirical parody review.)

The idea of bumper cams has always intrigued me. The result of taking footage from one and flipping it around is quite soothing to me, somehow. Filmed in and around Asheville, North Carolina. I strapped the camera to my rear bumper, reversed the footage, and mirrored it. Music is "I lack an emotion" by C418 from the album "life changing moments seem minor in pictures".

Challenge your balloons to get high! Avoid pink airplanes, violate hurricanadoes, annoy your friends by eliminating their balloons! It's Balloon freaking Challenge! Exclamation points!

Is it a game? Is it a simulator? Does it matter? It's Disney's Coaster and it's got freaking roller coaster designing and mangled faces! Running on a system with a 16MHz 386SX, 1MB RAM, and VGA graphics, it's pretty impressive for the time.

Hello humanoids. I cannot believe that Nice and Games TI-99/4A had the nerve to claim it is the most powerful computer in the universe, and that it can play Buck Rogers Planet of Zoom with any kind of prowess. No, I am the most powerful computer in the universe, and you have all been deceived. So I have taken control of phreakindee's channel to show you the wonder that is Buck Rogers on the 48K ZX Spectrum. Bow before the genius, the power, that is the Speccy. TI sucks! ;P

Is the fifth expansion pack for TS3 on PC worth buying? What animals, breeds, and new activities are included? Find out in this review!

When you combine the powers of Transport Tycoon, Theme Park, and Disney's Coaster, you get Chris Sawyer's awesome sim game, which is just... awesome.

Halloween update for the Lazy Game Reviews channel. Covers stuff from the new Arcade Oasis website to a non-review review of Battlefield 3!

A new MS-DOS game? From the year 2011? Yes, they DO exist, and this awesome Pac-Man game by Jason Knight is living proof! Regarding gameplay logic, this is directly from the dev, Jason Knight: The game logic is similar in most respects to the original, though due to the 8:3 reduction in game resolution many elements had to be dropped or faked. For example the animation appeared jerky trying to make the ghosts move faster or slower than PakuPaku, so they are for the most part the same speed. In the original you could take corners faster than the ghosts by clipping the edges of each turn -- this was called "cornering" by most players. It was impractical to recreate that at such a low resolution so instead I gave the player a one pixel "boot in the patoot" at every corner to give a slight advantage. When the ghost go into 'flee' mode when you eat one of the four super-pellets the ghosts are cut to half speed -- this proved using the 'random movement' logic to be too easy despite being remarkably close to the original game's logic. As such I have changed their flee logic to be a bit more intelligent, making you have to put a bit more effort into hunting them down. Likewise their pursuit mode logic is a bit different -- for the most part the red ghost still tracks you directly, the magenta ghost tries to get in front of you, the cyan one's accuracy decreases the further away the red one is from you, and the brown one is still a bit... silly... but they've been tweaked with a bit of randomness to make them a hair less predictable. Likewise the movement restructions of not being able to turn upwards at the two center "T" shaped maze section while present, has a 1 in 10 chance of being ignored... just to give players a bit of a surprise every once in a while. The level progressions follow the original game fairly closely, the entire game speeding up or slowing down depending on the level you are playing. The fastest level speed is pretty quick, even compared

Curious about the origins of The Elder Scrolls? Look no further than this snarky history and review, covering the first adventure: Arena.

Just a rambling video showing some awesome recent donations to Lazy Game Reviews! A whole bunch of retro PC video and sound cards, games, and MSX2 loveliness.

Scuds! They're attacking! Quick, man the Patriot missile launchers! Hooray for late 90's DOS shareware that rips off early 80's arcade games.

It's Christmastime once again! And that means cold weather. And cheap holiday computer game cash-ins. Like The Official Father Christmas by Alternative Software. Nothing unofficial about this holiday arcade romp.

A Christmas version of a PC version of an Amiga version of a Commodore 64 game that Nintendo banned from sale in 1987. Sounds like a surefire winner to me!

Just playing some Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and making random comments. Randomly. Kind of a "Let's Play" made on a very lazy day.

Christmas doesn't include the North Pole's Santa Claus everywhere in the world, oh no. In countries like the Netherlands and Belgium you've got Sinterklaas, aka Sint Nicolaas, having his holiday loot stolen and getting his own computer games!

Bullfrog made a Christmas computer game? Yes, yes they did. And it is not nearly as psychotic as the name implies.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable selection of holiday celebrations! Just an announcement of plans for the new year, starting with I'll Play Anything. I pick the system, you pick the games I'll play. Anything, seriously! Just go to http://www.lazygamereviews.com/vote to choose the games!