Darn you, Crash Bandicoot!

Extract from my diary
Written Thu, Jul 31 1997

People play computer games. Some people play them religiously, some just when bored. I'm firmly in the latter category, although twice now a game has been so good it's converted me to the former.

I've never been a big person for completing games. Back in the old days, when I had a Spectrum, I enjoyed many a game of Maziacs, Fred, Penetrator (don't laugh), Manic Miner, and various other things. I could list them for ages. There are two types of games though. Repetative ones, where you just do something over and over, and the idea is to amass a world-record beating high score, and ones that have a goal. Back then, in my games playing youth, most of the games were just points-a-rama games. I was an expert at Penetrator (I said stop sniggering) and could basically go back and forth getting bonuses galore, and clocking the score counter. Fred I could play with my eyes closed. But they were basically the Same Thing Over and Over.

Manic Miner, and it's sequel Jet Set Willy, were more of the goal oriented games. There were 20 levels to complete in the first, and god knows how many rooms in the second. Technically I could complete Manic Miner, 'cause I had a cheat to jump to any level, and could do each of them perfectly. Just not in the right order, and not in the same game.

Then after my Spectrum I got an Atari ST, and although having quite a few games for it, never played on it so much. About the only game I was any good at was Virus. And then after the ST there wasn't anything but a Unix workstation, which isn't exactly conducive to games playing.

So really, I'd never before finished a game. Actually finished it.

Last Christmas I bought a Sony PlayStation, a move inspired by the recent present of an Atari Jaguar games console, the world's first 64-bit console, and a massive under-seller for it's ability. Atari have never really got hold of the idea of marketing properly. I'd thought about getting a Jaguar when they first came out, around '95, because of one thing. Tempest 2000 by Jeff Minter. Tempest was always my second favourite arcade game, after Asteroids. And a version of it by Jeff Minter of all people was tempting beyond belief. But I resisted spending 250 spondoolicks on a single game. Then, last winter, David (a friend of mine) found one second-hand. And brought it back for me. Now, it didn't have T2K. Yet. But it had a Doom clone Aliens vs. Predator, which is a fabulous game, simply for the fact that you have no clue what to do (except shoot things obviously) and have to figure it out as you go.

So I've got a Jaguar. Shortly after, I get a copy of Tempest 2000. Actually, two, because both my flatmate Pete and David bought me a copy, knowing how much I wanted one. And I was right, it's a fantastic game, if another high-score oriented one.

Tempest 2000 stopped us (my flatmate, whilst deriding me for playing games, is not unknown to partake of the odd game himself) playing AvP. And I haven't really gone back to it. In a fit of shopping, whilst in Oxford of all places, I dived into a Dixons and snapped up a PlayStation. Again, the purchase really motivated by only one game. In this case, WipeOut 2097. However, it was purchased with the knowledge that many fine games were available, whereas the Jaguar it is almost impossible to get games for, unless you're in America. So I've got a PlayStation and a Jaguar. The Jaguar quickly gets ignored as WipeOut and the other bundled games get played.

There was a demo disc with the console. One of the games was called Crash Bandicoot, and was Sony's answer to Mario and Sonic. A cute platform-game character. Only the game was in 3D and had the most amazing graphics I'd seen yet on any game. They were rich, lustrous, atmospheric... all in all a top quality game. And quickly addictive. It had that gotta-see feel to it, you just have to keep playing to experience the next level. Not to get farther on in the game, but simply to see what the programmers did next!

I completed it. For the first time in my life, I'd actually got to the end of a game. On the memory card, the saved game said 100%. I'd seen the two hidden levels, and the alternative hidden ending. I'd experienced the entire game, and won. This was a few months ago.

Last night I also completed Tomb Raider. I'd bought it long before, but got bored playing it half way through, at one particularly difficult bit. It remained shelved for some time, especially whilst I was playing Crash. But I dug it out again a few weeks ago, and started playing it again. And last night, whilst on the phone to Rik, I finished it.

It's such a sense of satisfaction. But at the same time, a curious emptyness too. Crash and Lara had become fixtures in my routine. Get home, nothing on tv, play a bit of a level. But the main problem was the same feeling I get with a good book. That I was enjoying it so much I just don't want it to finish. I want to keep playing it, because it's so good. I want to keep reading it, because it was so entertaining.

Now, all I have to entertain me is attempting to finish WipeOut still.

Of course, there's always the sequels.

Last updated: Fri, Sep 26 1997 Norman McBride / norm@mono.org