May2018

  • Review Stakes Winner (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)

    A horse with no name

    Unlike most home versions of horse racing games, Stakes Winner doesn't weigh you down with horse breeding or gambling, which makes sense considering this is first and foremost an arcade game. Unsurprisingly, you play as a jockey, choosing your horse from a varied lot with three different skills (speed, strength and...

August2017

March2017

  • Review Shock Troopers (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)

    Run and gun for fun

    Capcom's top-down shooter Commando was something of a trendsetter when it arrived in the '80s, and was quickly imitated by a host of clones. The appeal of the concept isn't hard to grasp; you're one guy against many, shooting your way through a series of levels and generally causing as much destruction as possible along the way...

January2013

  • Review Shock Troopers 2nd Squad (Wii Virtual Console / Neo Geo)

    Trigger happy

    Much like the original Shock Troopers game, 2nd Squad is very much inspired by the early days of arcade gaming, when overhead run-and-gun titles like Capcom's Commando were in vogue. While the game has a very Metal Slug feel to it, the multi-directional scrolling and 360 degree movement and firing make for quite an intense and engaging...

November2012

  • Review Shock Troopers (Wii Virtual Console / Neo Geo)

    Don't think, just shoot!

    While the run-and-gun genre generally evolved into the side-scrolling blast-a-thons we all know and love, there were a few titles during the early arcade days that took a more overhead perspective like Capcom's popular Commando arcade release. It was this direction that developer Saurus took when it came time to put together...

December2009

  • Review Ironclad (Virtual Console / Neo Geo)

    A rare Neo Geo CD gem comes to the Japanese Virtual Console

    You can be forgiven for not having heard of Chotetsu Brikin'ger (often referred to as Ironclad Brikin'ger on the web) as it's one of a handful of Neo Geo CD titles that was never released in MVS cartridge form for arcades or outside of Japan (though according to message boards this VC...