Excuse Me! Can I Pass? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Pac-Man

'Pac-Man' really needs no introduction as the game, first released in 1980, is one of the most well known even amongst those who despise video games. Pac-Man has an insatiable appetite for dots and the ghosts of Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde seem to take a dislike to him stealing the dots of the maze-like world. Eating supersize dots gives Pac-Man a useful power, the power to consume the ghosts; being ghosts however, they can't exactly die, but it does take them some time to return to the centre of the maze.

The time it takes them to reenter the maze depends on the level, the further into the game you are, the quicker they return!

Answer: Nintendo DS

'New Super Mario Bros.' was the 2006 incarnation of the classic Mario franchise that humbly began in 1985, when Nintendo released 'Super Mario Bros.'. IGN (Image Games Network) named the original game the greatest of all time. The 2006 platform game for the Nintendo DS followed the adventures of Mario and Luigi as they attempt to rescue Princess Peach from the malevolent force that is Bowser Jr. The Super Mushroom power up is present in this edition as well as the bigger, better Mega Mushroom, which turns the protagonist into a giant, temporarily at least.

In the 1985 original, Princess Peach was named Princess Toadstool (not a very glamorous name for a princess, I am sure you'll agree).

Answer: Pokéflute

Snorlax is a large Pokémon that likes to sleep in the most awkward of places. In Nintendo's 'Pokémon Blue' there is a Snorlax blocking Route 11 and Route 16 but thankfully you can wake the giant up if you have a Pokéflute in hand. Once Snorlax is awoken, you have an opportunity to capture it and add it to your collection. You "gotta catch 'em all", right?

Answer: Rocket launcher

'Doom', my favourite game for the PlayStation growing up, consisted of two parts initially - 'Doom I' and 'Doom II'. The hero found himself in a maze-like world filled with belligerent monsters and radioactive waste and as a player in this first person shooter, it is your job to guide him through it. One of the riskiest weapons to use in this game is the rocket launcher but it is one of the few weapons that can realistically be used to defeat the cyberdemon on levels such as 'Towel of Babel' and 'Tricks and Traps'. That said, in 'Tricks and Traps', you can get other monsters to eliminate the cyberdemon for you if you are cunning enough! Unless you wish to take an age to kill the cyberdemon, use the rocket launcher, plasma gun and BFG9000; that said, who really gets a feeling of reward defeating the cyberdemon with the BFG9000?

Answer: Doctor Neo Cortex

This game, and its many sequels, excited me as youngster and I still return to them now and again, even to this day. Famous for spinning around frantically, smashing crates and destroying enemies, Crash Bandicoot was the thorn in the side of the mischievous Doctor Neo Cortex.

In the original PS1 game, simply named 'Crash Bandicoot', Doctor Neo Cortex tries his level best to prevent Crash from reaching Tawna. Other games featuring the famous bandicoot include 'Crash Bash' and the excellent 'Crash Team Racing'.

Answer: Soccer

The 'FIFA' franchise is a massively successful series of soccer-related games that come under the banner of 'EA Sports' (Electronic Arts Sports). It allows a gamer to play against a computer-controlled team or to play against a team controlled by a friend or anybody with an internet connection! There isn't much of a "goal" to this game other than to win a fictional football match and to win a fictional football league but the global sport seems to have translated to the video game world really rather well. 'FIFA' games are not just released on the Xbox console, but on a vast array of modern consoles.

Answer: Oddworld

The 'Oddworld' universe is most certainly a peculiar creation and many of the games released as part of the 'Oddworld' franchise are really rather challenging. One such game is 'Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee', the first 'Oddworld' game released in 1997, where the protagonist, Abe, leads Mudokons of varying characteristics through the treacherous RuptureFarms factory. Land mines and vicious dog-like creatures have been put in place by the owners in order to stop Abe and his fellow slaves from escaping. The game was mostly well-received, but there were question marks over the infrequent checkpoints and overall difficulty. 'PC Zone' said of the game, "progress does seem to rely on trial and error, which involves much replaying of levels and gnashing of teeth. All this can be frustrating at times, especially when Abe is plonked right back at the start of a level when he dies".

With respect to the PlayStation, 'Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee' is followed up by 'Oddworld: Abe's Exodus' (1998).

Answer: Dr Eggman

Sonic the Hedgehog, brought into the gaming world in the 1991 classic 'Sonic the Hedgehog', was Sega's response to the massively successful Mario who was brought into being by Nintendo in 1985. Sonic, the unmistakable blue hedgehog, had a strength and that strength was his speed.

The character caught on and captured the imagination of a generation and from 1985 to 2015, more than 35 Sonic-related games were released by Sega. Whereas Mario and Luigi rescued Princess Peach, Sonic occupied himself, at least in the original game, with freeing his compatriots from incarceration. Dr Robotnik, or "Eggman", is the boss that stands in his way; it is up to the player to ensure that Sonic accelerates to success!

Answer: Pandemonium

'Pandemonium' never really took off in the way that other PlayStation games of the 1990s did. That said, it occupied a distinct space in the fantasy world at that time. Players of this platform game could choose between the use of two characters, Nikki (with the double jump skill) and Fargus (with a long range attack ability); Fargus didn't really seem to offer all that much but Nikki's double jump proves very useful throughout the game, so I usually plumped for her.

In the short scene that establishes the plot before the game gets going, Nikki and Fargus get carried away with a set of wishes they've been granted.

In order to right their wrongs, they need to reach the Wishing Engine such that they could be granted a further wish. Standing in their way is the rather dopey Shroom Lord and funnily enough, the rather dopey Goon Honcho.

The first of the two bosses can be beaten by launching fire bombs and the second boss can be passed by jumping on his head from a great height.

Answer: Rayman

The original 'Rayman' game for PlayStation is known for its incredibly beautiful graphics; as a youngster playing this game, I had never seen anything quite like it in terms of how it looked. It is also strong when it comes to gameplay with imaginative worlds (filled with Electoons incarcerated by Mister Dark) such as Dream Forest, Band Land and Candy Chateau ('Candy Crush Saga' perhaps a little bit behind the curve?). The game is known for being incredibly hard, in fact it can be downright frustrating. Don't play this game if you are in a bad mood; you have to take your time with this game and the scarcity of in-level save points means you'll be returned to the beginning of a long, long level if you make a rash move!

'Rayman's legacy is an enviable one given its status as the all-time best selling PlayStation game in the United Kingdom. Given the emergence of more advanced PlayStation consoles, as well as rival consoles such as the Xbox, it is very unlikely that this particular record will be bettered. 'Rayman 2: The Great Escape' is, on the other hand, best forgotten.