Scanlines' Monthly Scoop #1

Plans, updates and everything I played during this first month of publishing

NEWS AND UPDATES

Hello readers, I know there aren’t many of you yet (3 or 4 of my subscribers consistently open my posts on average) but let it be known that I see you and that I appreciate you and I hope there will be many more of you in future.

During the first month I’ve spent most of my time on this platform learning how everything works, what posts perform well and what other gaming-centric newsletters are doing. I wouldn’t expect any major content changes as of now; I want this publication to be a form of escapism, edutainment and community building rather than a news source or amplifier of fan sentiments but I do plan to experiment with the format of each post from here on and branch out into more topics. Once my portfolio of content here becomes varied and vast enough too I will be looking into actively marketing the publication so more readers like you can find something enjoyable to read.

With that out of the way I want to cap off each month by venturing out of the usual retro and indie confines of the publication to discuss more modern games and hardware, think of them as mini reviews, so with no further ado, here is everything I played this month:


Imperator: Rome (Paradox Development Studio, 2019, Paradox Interactive)

Genre: Grand Strategy

Status: Ongoing/Did Not Finish

9 times out of 10, when I’m not playing retro video games or consoles I’m playing one of Paradox’s highly addictive Grand Strategy games; this month it was Imperator: Rome and its (honestly required) mod pack: Invictus.

For those unfamiliar, a Grand Strategy game differs from an RTS like Creative Assembly’s Total War series by having the player control the macro-level development of an empire or nation instead; it’s a little bit like playing Civilisation but with more depth and in real time. Imperator is set in the Hellenistic Period and begins about 20 years after the death of Alexander the Great at the start of the Fourth War of the Diadochi and concludes in 27BC. A runtime of roughly 280 years. The player can choose to command any nation of the period on a map that stretches from Ireland in the West to Burma in the east and from Somalia in the south to the Southern Coast of Finland in the north.

Every single coloured blob on this map is a playable nation and much of the greyed out land can be colonised or migrated into by wandering tribes or empires with population to spare.

The gameplay mostly sees you managing internal politics, developing territory and trade goods, expanding your army while subjugating other nations and grappling with the cultural and religious implications of running nations that often become multicultural and multi-ethnic empires. You can build roads, integrate cultures, convert cultures, stamp out native faiths, adopt new ones, become a republic, destroy a republic and become a dictator, focus on trade and resource control, extort tribute from lesser nations, it’s too much to list but it makes the game highly addictive, especially if you play with a nation that has a Mission Tree: a guideline of objectives and rewards that often get your empire started and provide historical context.

Unfortunately Imperator was abandoned by Paradox a few years ago because it didn’t turn a profit and has been kept alive and updated since by a modding cooperative and a small but dedicated fanbase, so successful have their efforts been that the game has been revisited and covered by several YouTube channels and its Steam reviews have done a complete U-turn. In Spring 2024 this prompted Paradox to assign a small skeleton crew to assist the modding cooperative by fixing the game’s most annoying bugs and making it more easily moddable; they also added the ability to earn achievements on a modded save, definitely passing the torch to the cooperative.

Overall? I highly recommend Imperator, especially if you’re a big fan of Greco-Roman history; winning a battle at Thermopylae against the declining Macedonian Kingdom as Sparta was a big thrill from my current multiplayer save. Yes, it even has multiplayer.


Super Mario 64 (1995, Nintendo)

Genre: 3D Platformer

Status: Completed

A game that needs little introduction, the most iconic 3D platformer ever made. I don’t want to spend quite as long on my thoughts on Super Mario 64 because I’ll likely write a full-fat review for it in future (and I think most people have played it) but I will say that I replay it most years and it never disappoints; it’s not my favourite 3D Mario but it’s damn close.

This year, I decided to do a full 120 star run as I want to 100% each 3D Mario before the launch of the Switch 2, the game definitely has some annoying sections and the collect 8 red coins and collect 100 coins stars feel like boring, pointless filler but they take 10 minutes at the very most a lot of the time.

If you haven’t played Super Mario 64 then I recommend the N64 version above the Switch version, the controller was practically custom built for the game and whenever I see the game running on an LCD or OLED it just looks so flat and dull compared to when it’s displayed on a CRT.


Turok 2: Seeds of Evil (Iguana Entertainment, 1998, Acclaim Entertainment)

Genre: First Person Shooter

Status: Retired

I’ve been on a bit of a quest over the past few months to play all of the 17 Nintendo 64 First Person Shooters and Turok 2 was one of the 2 shooters I picked to play between December and January.

The graphics for its time are stunning, the gunplay and gore sublime, the weapons roster timeless and it improves on almost every aspect of the original but for god’s sake, play the Nightdive Studios remaster because playing this on original hardware was torture; any hint of combat or fun and the framerate dips into single digits, usually getting you disorientated and killed. I made it halfway through the game before I put it down and resolved to play the version on modern hardware someday so as not to ruin my opinion of the game.

Coincidentally, the new Turok game was announced right after I started this one, I really hope that turns out well because the Nintendo 64 trilogy unfortunately lived in Goldeneye’s shadow.


Perfect Dark (Rare, 2000, Nintendo)

Genre: First Person Shooter

Status: Retired

This will get me shot in retro circles but I have to be honest, I don’t really like Perfect Dark compared to Goldeneye. I know it has more depth, more impressive graphics, better characterisation, a better plot, better weapons etc. etc. but I don’t find it anywhere near as fun as Goldeneye to play, so I shelved it

The objectives are even more vague, the missions aren’t as replayable, the music isn’t as good, the game runs even worse, the scaled back aim assist means you have to pull off precise shots with the worst analogue stick ever and I just don’t care about the story.

All that being said, the multiplayer, especially on the Xbox 360 Arcade version is ludicrously fun.


Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury

Genre: 3D Platformer

Status: Completed

I don’t tend to buy games digitally but I was gifted an E-Shop voucher for Christmas and took the opportunity to buy the Switch version of 3D World so I could play the lauded Bowser’s Fury expansion and I have to say, it did not disappoint.

Bowser’s Fury suffers from 3D World’s stunted move set and the complete lack of anything resembling difficulty but makes up for it with a wonderful soundtrack , creativity and pure fun factor.

I think I’m part of the minority who doesn’t want to see this become the blueprint for future 3D Mario games but this was a really fun little incentive to buy a Wii U game again and I enjoyed the 4-5 days it took to 100% the game.

My revisit of 3D World was not so sweet, I found it to lack a compelling difficulty curve and to be overly reliant on stage gimmicks. I did finish the game and 100%-ed all the standard worlds but the gimmicky bonus worlds made me drop the game very soon after.


Selaco (Altered Orbit Studios, 2024)

Genre: First Person Shooter

Status: Completed

You can find my full review of Selaco here.

But to summarise? It’s a very good shooter, just in-need of some balance adjustments and a bit of prettying up in some areas. I’ll be the first to play it again when subsequent chapters are released.


Trepang2 (Trepang Studios, 2023, Team17)

Genre: First Person Shooter

Status: Retired

Trepang2 started really well but after a while felt derivative, unbalanced and kind of amateurish. The best way I can describe it is F.E.A.R but all of the good stuff besides the combat stripped out. Zero variety either, you experience the best of Trepang2’s ideas within an hour of play.

Trepang2 plays well despite its subpar graphics and is an enjoyable power fantasy but it’s marred by spongey enemies, tacked-on horror elements and the fact that almost every weapon that isn’t a pistol or a shotgun is completely useless.

I’ll probably pick this one up for some mad fun every now and then but it’s a game that doesn’t live up to its inspirations.


Pizza Tower (Tour de Pizza, 2023)

Genre: 2D Platformer

Status: Retired

I really wanted to love Pizza Tower and I still think it’s a really good game but this platformer just isn’t for me.

I loved the music, art-style and much of Peppino’s move set and the power-ups in this game are very fun to play with but the bosses were jarringly difficult, requiring you to forget the game’s mechanics and learn how to fight them on the game’s terms; I don’t think the game controls very well either and I didn’t really enjoy the levels.

I like a platformer to be about getting from point A to point B through an obstacle course but Pizza Tower is more of a speed running item hunt through maze-like levels with a mad dash to the finish at the end; nothing wrong with that, it’s just not what I enjoy.

Given the notorious toxicity of the game’s community too, I wasn’t tempted to ask further or to seek out new perspectives. Many others with my complaints were just told they were ‘trash’ or to ‘get good.’

Definitely give this one a go but I wasn’t enamoured with it like a lot of the internet seems to be.


Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut (Sucker Punch Productions, 2024, Sony Publishing)

Genre: Sony

Status: Retired

Another Sony first party title that just puts me to sleep. It’s the same thing every time, beautiful presentation and a strong opening story hook set the stage for dry as dust Far Cry-style formulaic open-world gameplay, intensely bland characters and the same Arkham Asylum combat most 3rd person action games have been providing for the past 16 years.

I hope they bring back Uncharted some day, I’m so tired of the Sony trifecta of light RPG elements, action adventure combat and bland exploration.


Hitman World of Assassination Trilogy (IO Interactive, 2016-2021, Square Enix)

Genre: Stealth

Status: Ongoing/Did Not Finish

An excellent trilogy of games. The ‘Freelancer’ mode will keep me playing for months to come though various control issues and minor bits of jank make this trilogy frequently irritating too, as a result, I think I still prefer Blood Money.

It’s hard to narrow Hitman down to a single genre given the level of player freedom but I hope you’ll understand my stealth label.

Giving IO the James Bond license was a terrific idea and I’m eager to see what they do with it as Hitman is so Bond-esque already.


CLOSING THOUGHTS

I hope you had a wonderful January and that you’ve enjoyed this publication so far! I aim to post roughly every 7 days and won’t be stopping anytime soon.