Jazz Jackrabbit 2: The Secret Files

Take a gander at the screenshot. Now check the date. That's right: a 2D platform game in 1999. Jazz Jackrabbitwas a shareware contemporary of Duke Nukem back in the days when VGA rather than 3Dfx was the graphical benchmark of choice. Unlike Duke though, Jazz stayed true to his roots (man), and the result is actually a rather compelling and playable platformer, updated, cheaper and now with a host of new levels.

Jazz 2 doesn't preferring instead to unashamedly 'take on' Sega's almost-as-good Sonic The Hedgehog. Nothing wrong with that though, and the tried-and-tested gameplay mechanics deliver that 'just one more go' feeling far more effectively than many MIP-mapped polygon tests available today. Sure, it's not going to displace the Half-Life (or indeed the Mario) of this world from their place in your fumbling, sweaty-palmed affections, but The Secret Files is cheap, colourful and, most of all, fun. And that's what games are all about. Aren't they?