Empire Interactive apparently still cares both for its loyal audience, and for them retro loving yet obviously disturbed individuals like myself that really enjoy the (elegant) revival of retro titles on current-gen platforms. The forthcoming remake of the classic Pipemania frenetic puzzle game for the Nintendo DS is all the proof I need. Hopefully, it will also turn out to be another reason for owning said console, though all we have for now are some screenshots like the ones posted above. They do look lovely, mind. Pretty faithful to the original too.

In case you were not one of the millions that bought the original or weren’t old enough to play games back in 1989, know that Pipemania was -and quite arguably still is- a brilliant action/puzzle game. Players have to lay down a pre-set… uhh.. set of pipes on a tiled grid in order to keep the constantly flowing… uhh… fluid moving for as long as possible. Simple and taxing as that, especially when considering the strict time limits imposed.

Now, as Pipemania DS will be hitting stores later this year, you could try and satisfy your retro obsessed inner self with the brilliantly remade Tetris DS, the very faithful Myst DS or even the not particularly inspired handheld version of Bomberman.

Penumbra: Black Plague, the second game in the highly innovative Penumbra series, has apparently just (well, ok, just-ish) made itself available for purchase, which, admittedly, seems such a very sweet gesture. Really. Black Plague, you see, might be a properly frightening horror game with a properly dark theme, but it’s so brilliantly put together you’ll just want to buy it a beer and admit it was love at first sight. Oh, and you don’t need to have played the original Penumbra Overture to enjoy it either.

Instead, all you have to do is prepare yourselves for the horrors of a dark, supposedly vacant, horror-infested and definitely ominous underground complex. There, you’ll have to keep sane, combat psychological horrors, discover a brilliant plot, be stealthy, be brave, be smart and solve some pretty impressive physics based puzzles, in what is one of the best and more refreshing adventure games of the last few years. As for the graphics, well, they are spooky, highly atmospheric, beautiful and almost high-tech. The all-important physics engine, on the other hand, is nigh-on impressive and as high-tech as they get, easily rivaling the likes of Half Life 2 and probably the forthcoming Alone in the Dark 5. The sound is appropriately chilling too.

Unfortunately though, all is not perfect. Black Plague is far too short, and even though I don’t really think that quality has anything to do with length, you should know you’ll probably beat the game in less than 3 hours. Might run into a few problems with the controls too, but this really is nitpicking. Penumbra: Black Plague really is too good a game to miss for such trivial little issues.

Despite being the most advanced handheld console ever and a beast easily comparable to the PS2, the PSP has more to it than -say- the excellent, jaw-dropping and brand new God of War: Chains of Olympus. It’s a brilliant home for retro games of the highest quality too. No, really. Read on, read on and find out why.

EA Replay

From Wing Commander, to Road Rash, to Syndicate, to Desert Strike and Ultima, EA Replay is a great retro collection spanning over 10 years of EA history, that frankly could have been better. I’m pretty sure the UMD could have coped with the extra 4 or 5 Mbytes necessary for the inclusion of a few more classic games and I’m quite sure that EA could have spent a few more hours better adjusting some of the controls to the PSP. Still, a worthy purchase for retro lovers with a thing for the 16-bit era.

Lemmings - Platinum

An updated version of the classic puzzle game with shiny new cartoon graphics , tons of levels, some impressive audio enhancements over the Amiga original and a few tweaks here and there. If you haven’t played Lemmings, buy it. If you ever loved Lemmings, buy it. If you enjoy being entertained, buy it. If you have Lemmings on the Atari Lynx, ignore it. Heh.

Sega Mega Drive Collection

A stunning offering featuring 28 (mostly) excellent 16-bit Sega Mega Drive games, that come complete with interviews, tons of info, artwork and even some unlockable games and trailers. The emulation is perfect, the controls simply work and you get to play through Sonic the Hedgehog, Golden Axe, Comix Zone, Ecco the Dolphin, Phantasy Star IV and Shinobi 3.

Activision Hits Remixed

Another collection, this time sporting over 40 Activision games that were released over 20 years ago for the Atari 2600. The emulation is obviously silky smooth, the front end and extras are brilliant and among the included games you’ll find such amazing games as Pitfall, H.E.R.O., River Raid 2, Keystone Kapers and Frostbite. It’s quite impressive how well suited these simple classics for on the go gaming are.

Metal Slug Anthology

Perfectly emulated versions of Metal Slug, Metal Slug 2, Metal Slug X, Metal Slug 3, Metal Slug 4, Metal Slug 5 and Metal Slug 6. And you get wireless support for two players too. ’nuff said.

Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition

I don’t really hold the original Final Fantasy II in the highest of esteems, but I can definitely see its appeal. And obviously understand the fact that many feel nostalgic about its retro RPG charms. This all-new Anniversary Edition of the game features new character art, updated graphics, a few new dungeons, full 16:9 widescreen support and an updated camera view. Surely fans of the original will love it.

Ultimate Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins

One of the best and truest to form retro updates ever. Beautiful, tough as nails, addictive and utterly brilliant. Then again, you could read this older ButtonSmasher article on the thing by clicking here.

Care for more retro offerings? Oh dear, you’re insatiable, aren’t you? Anyway, here are a few more humble suggestions that will hopefully keep you off the streets:

- Bomberman
- Worms PSP
- Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars
- Space Invaders Evolution
- Gradius Collection
- Impossible Mission
- Dracula X Chronicles

Outside the happy place that is the world of indie, homebrew and even PC games, in the rather bland deserts of mainstream gaming, that is, things can get pretty boring, pretty fast. Publishers churn out samey game after samey game while only paying attention to current trends, holiday deadlines and ad budgets. Innovation is feared, games are considered as franchises, sequels are a constant plat du jour and pushing graphics is still considered the way forward. Gaming really isn’t the wildly interesting beast it used to be. It’s mainstream, safe and unoriginal. Heck, even whole genres (niche or less so) are periodically wiped out.

Enter Nintendo and the Wii, a console so underpowered, so (relatively) cheap to develop for, so ridiculously popular and with such a uniquely versatile controller, that, not only allowed, but actually encouraged developers and publishers to innovate and even revisit them so-called dying genres previously only available for the PC gaming crowds or us retro gaming maniacs. A breath of fresh air really, even when taking all those shoddy Wii-ports and mini-game collections into account.

In what practically is less than a year the Wii has already been graced with a variety of puzzle games, strategy games, pinball games, 2D games and retro remakes, though the most impressive trend has been the revival of the rather forgotten and sadly unpopular genres of the light-gun and the traditional adventure game. The Wii Remote, you see, is perfectly suited for both point-and-click and point-and-shoot action, whereas the console does indeed prove itself as a welcoming home for the unususal. To realize the fact we already got such great additions to those genres as Ghost Squad, Zack & Wicki, The Umbrella Chronicles, CSI Hard Evidence and Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None, is to realize that something is finally changing. What’s more, there is… ah… well, more to come.

It’s been ages since Lucasarts has managed to impress me -or anyone else- with their games. Or with their humour. Not only have they dumped adventures and all but forgotten anything related to Monkey Island, you see, they also seem to have rejected any kind of creativity and/or originality by producing a torrent of mediocre and/or lackluster Star Wars action and(/or) strategy games. The original Star Wars Battlefront was a prime example of this trend. It was nothing more than a desperate clone of Battlefield 1942 with Star Wars models and textures tacked on, that also managed to impressively screw up quite a few gameplay bits.

Enter Star Wars Battlefront II, a shockingly fun game released a couple of years ago, that now comes with a very modest price tag and is an addictive offering I still occasionally dip into.

Now, truth be said, SWBFII is not an original concept either. It still is a Lucasarts product. And a Star Wars game. And quite obviously not an adventure, but more of a first person shooter with a strong multiplayer aspect. Yet, I honestly enjoyed playing through the thing and quite frankly still do. I don’t even mind the rather depopulated servers either.

SWBFII is such an improvement over its predecessor it totally surprised me and reminded me how fond of Star Wars games (TIE Fighter is what I am actually referring to) I once used to be. There are lots of excellent maps, vastly improved game mechanics, four different factions, many weapons and classes to choose from, playable characters (Darth Vader and co.) that can be used in multiplayer battles, a decent single player campaign, driveable vehicles and even a small but interesting strategic mode called Galactic Conquest (unfortunately only for the single player mode). By far though, the most interesting new feature is the inclusion of space battles. X-Wings, B-Wings, Y-Wings, TIE Fighters and the rest are all there in a highly enjoyable space flight sim in the style of X-Wing versus TIE Fighter. You can even land inside enemy motherships and fight for tyranny or freedom on foot. You can even play capture the flag in space! Joy. Lots and lots of hours of joy actually, since this is a game that really has dozens of hours worth of gameplay to offer.

Obviously and unfortunately all is not perfect though. The 3d engine seems a bit dated, a lack of overall polish is at points evident, minor bot A.I. problems do exist, in-mission save points in the campaign don’t and you get to play as Princess Leia. Oh, and it definitely isn’t the most original or artistic game I have ever seen… Still, Star Wars: Battlefront II should probably keep Star Wars fans off the streets till the release of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.