UCP: The GamesMaster Retrospective

One week after the Dave Perry controversy, we return to your normal schedule with... oh dear... the "girlie edition" of GamesMaster. As "the platform queen" takes on three platform games in Donkey Kong Country 3, Spider: The Video Game and Crash Bandicoot, while Zoe Ball drops by to get her leg over and come from behind on Manx TT Super Bike. Oh, and Dom wears a dress. There's also reviews from tw...

Well, here it is. Christmas 1996 saw GamesMaster do their first - and last - xmas quiz with a challenge on Super Mario 64 to determine the best games player of them all. What could possibly go wrong? Strap yourselves in for the deep dive on THAT GamesMaster episode. Quotes and clips taken from: Retro Hour Podcast Dave Perry interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ykNXaHSCt8 Retro Gaming Reviva...

(( BEST EXPERIENCED IN STEREO )) Luke & Ash skip back to the summer of 1996 for a spot of UFO watching with Patrick Moore and Nicky Campbell, but are we watching them or are they watching us? Covering the BBC 1 Radio Drama Independence Day UK, this episode incorporates a little look at the early history of full cast audio dramas and an hour long interview with writer, director and producer of...

On this second side quest episode while we wait for our import copies of Super Mario 64 to arrive, Luke and Ash look at GamesMaster Magazine's 50 Games To Play Before You Die! There are some audio issues in this episode as Ash's internet died about 3 minutes into the recording, and Luke was rather unwell. Sorry about that! Get next week's episode early on Patreon ! Join the GamesMaster conversatio...

The first of our little side quest episodes while we wait for the GamesMaster Oral History to arrive, as Luke and Ash look at GamesMaster Magazine's set visit to series 6 and their small preview of things. Which gets quite heated when they talk to Dominik Diamond... Get next week's episode early on Patreon ! Join the GamesMaster conversation on Discord ! Theme song by Other Chris Follow Luke on Tw...

Four little street urchins kick seven bells out of each other on Virtua Fighter Kids, while the finals of the final annual GamesMaster Footie Tournament takes place. There's reviews of FIFA '97 (PSX), NBA Jam Extreme (PSX) and Virtua On (Saturn), previews of the home console releases of Rage Racer, Soul Edge and Time Crisis, and news on Fighters Megamix, Star Wars: Special Edition and a new motion...

Ravi Chopra makes his second appearance as a challenger on GamesMaster, this time taking on the role of The Boss to take on 3 bosses from Star Gladiator, NiGHTS Into Dreams, and Resident Evil. Meanwhile the annual GamesMaster footie tournament continues, but there's some drama with one of the celebrity guests. There's news on Apline Racer 2, The X-Files Game and Acclaim, while Dom has a special lo...

Former TA member and professional dog killer Paul Ram is this week's challenger on try and finish Gunblade NY on a single credit, while the annual GamesMaster Football Tournament kicks off as Richard Rufus and Michael Dubbery face off on Sega Worldwide Soccer '97. We've got reviews of Victory Boxing 97 (PSX) and Pandemonium (PSX), as well as news on St. Andrew's Golf (N64), a Star Wars IMAX movie...

Martin Mathers makes his third (and final) appearance on GamesMaster as he plays two copies of Virtua Cop 2 at the same time, while Uri Geller drops by to bend some spoons and play the MindDrive. There's reviews of Killer Instinct Gold (N64), Star Gladiator (PSX) and Virtua Cop 2 (Saturn), plus a preview of Steven Spielberg's Director's Chair. There's also news on a new Sega driving game in the ar...

Macca from the DOOM Championships in series 5 returns to take Mad Dog's Quake mod map to win the Golden Joystick, while Hollyoaks' Paul Leyshon drives around like a mad dog himself on Die Hard Trilogy. There's reviews of Tomb Raider (PSX) and Street Racer (Saturn), while Dom visits The Human School in Japan to learn how to make video games. There's also news on Sonic The Fighters, T2-3D: Battle Ac...

Some real life athlete kings in the form of John Regis and Tony Jarrett drop by to play four rounds of Athlete Kings on the Saturn. Is it the greatest celebrity challenge ever? Could be... There's also news on Virtua Fighter 3 and the Independence Day CD-ROM, and a little feature on Privateer 2: The Darkening. Get next week's episode early on Patreon ! Join the GamesMaster conversation on Discord...

It's King of Combos 96 as Philip Cook, Mark Griffin and Roy Waterman battle to get the highest combo on Killer Instinct Gold on the N64, while Red Dwarf's Danny John-Jules drops by to race two laps of Wipeout 2097. Meanwhile, Rik and Ed review Soviet Strike (PSX) and Fighting Vipers (Saturn), Dom looks at this new fad called 'retro gaming', and finds Peter Molyneux in a toilet. There's also news o...

Luke and Ash dive into a deep sea domain along with Nathan Souch as he tackles a two-part challenge on Super Mario 64 (no, it's not *that Super Mario 64 challenge), and Samantha Fox joins Dom for a bit of water sports on the arcade game Aqua Jet. Meanwhile, Rik and new-face Ed Koskey review Wave Race 64 and Pilotwings 64 on the Nintendo64, and Dom visits the Seagaia Ocean Dome out in Japan. Get ne...

The second part of our (probably) unnecessarily long detour before hitting series 6 concludes as Luke and Ash look at the movie, TV, video game and pop culture news of June-Oct 1996. Get next week's episode early on Patreon ! Join the GamesMaster conversation on Discord ! Theme song by Other Chris Follow Luke on Twitter Follow Ash on Twitter Follow Under Consoletation on Twitter Follow Under Conso...

As we countdown to the Super Mario 64 Incident, Luke and Ash take a quick detour through the months of January-June to recap the movie, TV, video game and music news that would have been missed outside of the episode timeline. And - because 1996 is a crazy year - this has been split into TWO episodes! Get next week's episode early on Patreon ! Join the GamesMaster conversation on Discord ! Theme s...

While GamesMaster would last for another couple of years, this was the end of the road for CITV's Bad Influence with Andy Crane and Violet Berlin. This aired during the fifth series of GamesMaster, and looks at the biggest games of 1996 and the most important news coming out of 1995. Plus jugglers. Get next week's episode early on Patreon ! Join the GamesMaster conversation on Discord ! Theme song...

5 down, 2 to go of our run through of the original GamesMaster, so it's time to take a look back over the past 18 episodes in heaven, pick our favourite (and least favourite) challenges, celebrities and moments, as well as take your feedback! This was recorded live and you can watch the uncut video version here . Get next week's episode early on Patreon ! Join the GamesMaster conversation on Disco...

In a small change to the schedule, Luke and Ash look at GamesMaster Magazine's Buyer's Guide for 1996 - giving you everything you need to know about your purchase of an Amiga, MegaDrive, SNES, Saturn, PC and PlayStation - and even the Jaguar and 3DO. Get next week's episode early on Patreon ! Join the GamesMaster conversation on Discord ! Theme song by Other Chris Follow Luke on Twitter Follow Ash...

It's time to pack up your smalls for our final trip to heaven, and we've got a rock god in our midst as Janick Gers from Iron Maiden strums his way through Quest For Fame, while Cecil and Amar burn rubber on Rave Racer. Rik and Dave give their views on Assault Rigs (PSX) and X-Men: Children of the Atom (Saturn), while Dom nearly loses his lunch checking out the Desperado rollercoaster in Las Vegas...

It's an arkward episode of the show, as Richard Herring and Stewart Lee drop by to make films on Nickelodeon's Director's Lab, while Linton and Lawrence kiss the rim on Total NBA '96. We've got news on the Aerial Robotics Competition, the Toy Story game for MegaDrive, and update on Wireplay. Speaking of Toy Story, we have an extended news item on the movie, and there's reviews of D (Saturn), Time...

Mr. Motivator drops by to take on biker man Gringo in a double bike challenge type situation; first on the exercise bike simulator VR Bike, then on Namco's latest arcade smash Cyber Cycles. Dom takes us through the latest news including the Mind Drive and the first look at Resident Evil, we find out the comptition winners, there's reviews of Lone Solider (PSX), Ride Racer Revolution (PSX) and Worm...

Following on from last week's clip show, we have a clip show of our own... sort of. Luke is joined by Mortal Kombat pro player (and former GamesMaster Series 8 contestant) Ketchup to talk about the history and evolution of Mortal Kombat on GamesMaster - from its arcade roots in series 2, all the way up to a 3D age in the final series. They also dive into some bonus challenges based around some of...

Let's take a trip down memory lane with the first (and only) Christmas Clip Show! Dom and the Angels have some Xmas dinner, open some presents, and reminisce about the past few series of GamesMaster (but not really series 3). Get next week's episode early on Patreon ! Join the GamesMaster conversation on Discord ! Theme song by Other Chris Follow Luke on Twitter Follow Ash on Twitter Follow Under...

Just in time for Christmas, three lads argue about girlfriends and race to the finish on the unfinished Duke Nukem 3D! Meanwhile, Patsy Palmer and Dean Gaffney bore themselves to tears on a bizarre challenge where they build a PC. But really this is all for the launch of Windows 95, which Dom is in Seattle to find out about. Plus there's reviews of Hi-Octane (Saturn) and Criticom (PSX), and detail...

It's the iconic episode where Dominik Diamond throws off his single tie and puts on a wedding ring as he marries Europop legend Whigfield - if she can complete her challenge on Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Meanwhile three (or just two) great Virtua Fighter 2 players attempt to last the longest on the game without taking a single hit. Meanwhile Rik and Dave review the Saturn port of Virtua...