Berlin Wall

I know, I know. It's been a long time since my last post. I've been busy elsewhere (writing, drinking, DIY, that kind of thing), but I've promised myself that I'll now update this here blog more often. At its peak, these humble pages received over 7000 visitors a month. I can only assume those people were lost.

Anyway, the above image is from the week's gaming playlist - the impossibly obscure Berlin no Kabe (or Berlin Wall) for the Sega Game Gear (if you're under about twenty-five, the Game Gear's a bulky, steam-powered handheld console from the upper cretacious period).

There's a mildly diverting story behind this game: when I was fourteen, I entered a Christmas competition printed in the long since defunct Sega Pro magazine, where all kinds of random prizes were up for grabs. A month or two later I received a phone call saying I'd won the Sega Master System version of Populous, which left me feeling rather hollow as I didn't actually own a Master System. When I explained this, the chap on the phone was surprisingly accommodating, and said I could pick any Game Gear title reviewed in that month's Sega Pro and they'd send me that instead.

Leafing through the mag, two games immediately caught my eye, and they were both imports - one was the above title (Berlin Wall - keep up at the back), while the other was a vertical shooter by the name of GG Aleste.

Now I don't know how familiar you are with your collectible shoot-em-ups, gentle reader, but Compile's GG Aleste is one rare game these days - boxed copies can fetch a hundred quid (give or take) on eBay - and with hindsight I almost wish I'd chosen it.

But, my febrile naive brain being as it is, I chose Berlin Wall instead. While it isn't half as sought after as GG Aleste, I'm proud to give it a home - and you try finding a copy. I've only seen one or two for sale in the past decade and they've never been available for less than about thirty pounds.

From the graphics above, you'd probably think BW wasn't worth much more than thirty pence, but it's actually really enjoyable (which is just as well, since I've played through the thing twice this week for something I've been scribbling away at).

If you've played the absolutely ancient Space Panic, or maybe Lode Runner, this is very similar - dig holes, trap baddies, hit trapped baddies and collect points. It's simplistic, surreal (in that typical Japanese nineties way, all angry veg and aggressive penguins) and features a catchy rinky-dink theme tune that I find myself hearing in the dead of night.

Is it a classic? Possibly a minor one. Do I wish I'd asked for GG Aleste instead? Maybe.

Do I love Berlin Wall anyway, with its quirky style and Japanese box art covered in squids and veg? Absolutely.

PS. Interested parties may wish to know I've joined the nineteenth century, and can now be found on Twitter, Facebook, and I even have my own official, corporate, please-take-me-seriously website (currently under construction). Follow me! Add me! Send me abuse! Actually, don't send me abuse. I'm very sensitive.