Reader Reviews Retro Special

Gods (SNES/Mega Drive)

by Kami

Ahh. Retro. Sometimes, retro games suck. But there are games out there which have been forgotten about, cast aside by the gamers of today, never to see the light again. The most overlooked - even for its time - was "Gods", by the Bitmap Brothers.

You see, this is where I got into greek mythology. You take the role of a hero trying to become immortal... but to prove yourself, you have to sort out a rather sticky monster issue in some small town. It's a rather simple job - clean up the monsters. The controls were also simple and easy to latch onto. There were four levels, each with three stages and a boss at the end of the third stage.

This is where simplicity ends however.

Gods was no mere platformer - Gods was also a cerebrally challenging puzzler as well. From messing with levers to returning objects to their rightful place - these puzzles would unlock various shortcuts, keys, and treasure rooms. The shopkeeper was always a pleasure to see so you could stock up on some cool new stuff as well. While the shopkeeper may have been a mere sideshow to the rest of the game, it helped to break up the frenzy of battle.

And what a frenzy! The monsters were beautiful. No, really, they were. They were split into four main categories: Walkers would just walk around, Launchers would throw stuff at you, Bombers would drop stuff from above you, and Suicide Monsters would fly into you in clusters to drain your health. The sheer variety of the monsters in each category was inspiring though - thieves would pick stuff up, either bringing it towards you or taking it away from you. Spearers would make sure that crumbly sections of the level were decimated in a short space of time to prevent you reaching a secret. Wind Flyers would fly in a circle, and then home straight in to do maximum damage... Learning which enemies did what, how fast and where they were coming from was an integral part of surviving.

And the bosses... Well. Big bosses. Huge bosses. Each boss had a weakness and it was up to you to find it and exploit it - this is the true beauty of the boss battles. You could lose two lives taking on a boss head-on, or take your time, learn how the enemy moved and exploit that - taking minor damage and with very little fuss. The dual nature of full-frontal assault and exploiting weaknesses was key to how beautiful it looked watching someone play this game right. It was awe-inspiring at times to see this game being played - knowing where to position yourself, knowing where the secrets are, and racking up stupidly insane high scores. Getting speed bonuses for reaching areas within an allotted time, and bonuses for points and lives.

But playing it was something else. The beautiful level design - coupled with stunning backdrops, huge play areas, detailed sprites and great, atmospheric music - made this an unreal game to play. It's weird to say it was convincing, but it was - it was everything that Greek mythology was about - war, monsters, lone hero wanting immortality - made into an enjoyable game. It was a game at a point in time when platformers were all too samey [Aye, they were the dual analogue-control third-person games of their day -Ed]. Gods was a breath of fresh air in a stale genre. But surprisingly, people didn't buy it and went for other less brilliant platformers. (When you think about it, the market hasn't changed much at all really, has it?)

So, to sum up Gods? To say it's a classic understates it. It is one of those very rare games where, for a while, you are totally entranced and sucked into the game. And it spits you back out - dazed, confused, but better off for the experience. And even today, despite the sheer number of games you could play, Gods still feels as fresh as the day it was released. It has aged like a fine wine - great young, but probably, in the saturated market today, a rare vintage that should be savoured.

Not that it doesn't have its downers. It's not the easiest of games. Don't walk in expecting a cakewalk - it's brutal. It mercilessly punishes the slow the inexperienced and the plain dumb. But you learn. Also, the jumping seems at times sluggish - then, considering the bulk of the hero, that's not a huge surprise. And the familiar... well... you always died far too easily for my liking...