Throwback Thursday: PC Ace

It's Throwback Thursday, the time so many of us love to wax nostalgic about old memories of things we love from our past. This week, I've been reminiscing with my brother about a magazine we used to subscribe to as kids - PC Ace.

Aimed at kids between the ages of 10 and 14, PC Ace was a magazine published by Eaglemoss Publications, between 1999 and 2001. This educational magazine aimed to provide tips and tricks for kids on how to operate a computer. There's not really much about this magazine online, but I did manage to track down a scanned portion of one issue, which you can see below.

My Favourite Mario Kart Courses from Each Game!

Super Mario Kart turned 25 yesterday! The now renowned and popular series paved the way for fun item-shooting racing games that we've all come to know and love. Allowing players the chance to race as one of their favourite Mario heroes or enemies, the game offered a bunch of truly fantastic tracks, as well as a multi-player Battle Mode. 

To celebrate the games anniversary, join me as I share my favourite course from each of the games so far. 

Super Mario Kart 

Rainbow Road 

There's no way I could do a list like this without mentioning Rainbow Road somewhere! The track that has no doubt made plenty of people utter profanities as they slipped to their doom, Rainbow Road provided a challenging final course in Super Mario Kart's Special Cup. Pretty simple in design, this multi-coloured road offered sharp bends, angry Thwomps, and holed-up pathways. The simplicity is deceiving, as when you're trying to traverse this with other players, there's no doubt at one point you'll find yourself being nudged off the side. 

Rainbow Road also included some truly memorable music, and has since seen several reiterations throughout the games 25-year history.

Christmas Memories: Nickelodeon's Clickamajigs

We are on the final Christmas countdown, and it got me thinking about any Christmas traditions myself and my family had. In terms of gaming, the one that immediately springs to mind is myself and my brother's Christmas Eve tradition of playing the 'Clickamajig' games on Nickelodeon's website when we were kids.

OK, so at 25 and 27 years old, that tradition died a long time ago, but I remember how much fun we found those weird but addictive mini games on Christmas Eve. Here were some of our favourites. Warning-things get a little immature from here on out.

Alien Answer Brain

Clickamajigg's were known for their bizarre and creepy games at times, and Alien Answer Brain was one. This mini-game allows kids to write in questions, which the brain will answer for you. Sometimes the brain would get a little angry at you, and that's when it all got a little weird!

Getting Nostalgic, With Help from Abe Speak

Today, I downloaded an app on my iPhone 5s called 'Abe Speak', a soundboard for the game Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee. Oh, the memories! 

I Picked Up Two New Games Today...

Club Nintendo closes in a few months, and it seems that finally, they have started adding some games to their Stars Catalogue. About time too! Whilst I have got a few goodies from there that I have been pleased with (my most recent being the Mario Kart 8 vehicles t-shirt, that you can see below), I always preferred the idea of a freebie game over a little bit of merchandise. 

A little big on me, but works well as a cosy PJ top!

Club Nintendo: The Rise, and Fall...and Rise Again

For the most part, Club Nintendo has its ups and downs. The occasional statue was available (although it took an age to even get close to the amount of points needed!), but the cleaning cloths, desktop wallpapers and stylus' didn't really cut it, at least for me anyway... 

Gaming Memories

I guess I'm feeling a little nostalgic lately, so I decided to compile a few old gaming memories running through my head from when I was growing up. How many of these do you relate to?

Watching Dad Game

Watching my dad play through a game was a family event. Me, my brother and mum would routinely sit in the living room and watch him try a level or two, offering suggestions on what to try next.

A few of the games my Dad played back when I was a kid ended up being games or series that resonated with me, and I enjoyed myself at a later date.

To name just a few:
Tomb Raider-Lara became one of my favourite characters since watching my Dad play through each game in the series. I absolutely love the reboot too!

Resident Evil-Such a great zombie horror series. It was funny watching dad jump in Resident Evil 2 in the Nemesis sections!

Links Awakening-My introduction to the Zelda series! This remains my favourite Zelda game, to this day. I credit my Dad for that one. 

Super Mario World-I admit it, I've always been a bit rubbish at Mario, even though I enjoy playing them. My dad was much better!

Taking it in Turns to Complete A Game With My Brother

Me and my brother often played through games together when we were growing up. We would take it in turns to complete each level, handing the controller over when one of us died, and vice-versa. A few games that stand out for this are as follows...

Donkey Kong Country & Donkey Kong 2-I remember us especially liking the underwater levels and the minecart races!

Super Mario World-As I said previously, I'm not amazing at Mario. But we persevered anyway!

Crash Bandicoot-I especially remember us finding the Warthog ride level hilarious. I still remember the music!

Smash Bros. Melee-We got pretty much every trophy/statue in the game. Absolutely fantastic game.

There were plenty more than this, but these are the ones that I remember the most.

Trying Out Cheat Codes

Remember those cheat books that came with Playstation Magazine, Nintendo Magazine and Games Master? I relished those! I remember trying out the Aladdin cheat codes to gain instant access to my favourite levels. As a Disney kid and a huge Aladdin fan, I loved going back through the familiar landscapes.

Talking of freebies in games magazines, this leads me to my next point...

Working Through the Demos on Demo Discs

Every time a games magazine gave away a demo disc, me and my brother would work through every available demo, good or bad. I remember this is where we first discovered Parappa the Rapper, Ridge Racer and old fighting games, like Rival Schools. 

Some demo discs were also a bit of a novelty. For instance, one time, a fighting demo disc came in a fake blood bag/drip. These demo discs were also the first time I discovered indie games, as often, especially on the Playstation demo discs, small indie titles were included. 

Sinking Hours into The Sims

I've loved The Sims since my Mum surprised me coming out of school one day with a copy of SimCity 3000 and The Sims 1. I have a lot of fond memories of spending hours designing houses and families, and of course, resorting to the typical Sims torture.

Creating 'Masterpieces' on Mario Paint

Mario Paint was one of the first games we got on the SNes. I remember finding the fly swatting game a little freaky when I was much younger (I think it was the fly swatter screaming in pain, and the creepy boss bug's face), but I also have good memories of trying to beat it.

However, what I remember most fondly is the music maker and art creator. I created so many musical pieces that probably sounded brilliant as a kid, but is probably complete nonsense now! 

I know we have Mario Maker coming, but if Mario Paint ever made it to the WiiU, I'd definitely be taking that up again.

So there you have it! Here's just a few of my old gaming memories (I have plenty more!). What are your best memories of gaming as a kid? Leave some comments, or Tweet me!