Game Over screens! Too bad, you lose, put some more money in. Game Over screens might have been a necessary way for arcade machines to wring a bit more money from our juvenile jeans but they didn’t end there. Their influence carried over as games entered our homes, and crushing finality of the Game Over screen, which you can do little more than gawp helplessly at, can still be seen to this very day. It might not look the same, it might not use those iconic words, but it’s there. Question is, which is the best? Happy Friday!
It’s long been a belief of mine that more video games should have their own theme tunes, and Sega Rally’s got one of the best of the lot – the absurdly titled, joyously upbeat My Dear Friend Rally. It’s another ditty from Sega’s mud-caked 1995 classic that’s stuck in the collective consciousness, though – that syrupy ‘Game Over, Yeah!’ screen that echoed out across arcades of yesteryear. It’s a weirdly upbeat way to let you know you’ve failed, but such was the sunshine goodness of Sega’s output in its 90s pomp.
Batman doesn’t just have the best outfit, the best gadgets, the best car and the best house of all superheroes. He has the best villains. This is the secret reason why the Arkham games work so well – for a lot of the time you’re up against people who are just as interesting as you are.