TACS Classic Collection Preserves a Lost Piece of PlayStation History
Rock It Games has launched The TACS Classic Collection for the PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam) today for $9.99. The TACS Classic Collection brings together 10 of renowned developer Thomas Hopper's most important titles, salvaging them from the abyss of lost media and preserving them for future generations with the help of noted developer, Poppy Works.
“The games in this collection represent a time of real experimentation and discovery in game development for me," commented Hopper. “It's such a pleasure to see them all collected together and playable again on modern hardware for the first time in so many years.
In 2012, Sony Interactive Entertainment launched PlayStation Mobile, a service where people could download innovative indies from promising developers to their mobile devices, PlayStation Vita, and PlayStation TV. PlayStation Mobile shut down three years later, and with it went a vital part of indie gaming history.
Hopper's creative experimentation shaped some of modern gaming's most recognizable trends. The hit Console Saga is a trippy side-scroller that rethinks what retro means by mashing platformer and shooter action together, sending you back through time to fix damaged video games from the inside. Shuttle Quest 2000 turns arcade spaceship combat on its head with roguelike elements and over 4 million possible build crafting combinations. Keen on poker games with unpredictable outcomes? Try Super Tank Poker's card-powered tank battles.
Some of Hopper's TACS games, like the candy-coated coin collector Super Skull Smash GO!, were lucky enough to get sequels but for many the TACS Classic Collection will be the first time the series originals are playable in more than 10 years.
TACS Classic Collection includes:
Console Saga - The retro-hybrid, swinging-platform Game of the Year returns! Travel through TV sets and journey into the video game lands beyond to eliminate the corrupting powers of the green moon. Shoot, jump, and swing through levels and face off against massive 3D bosses.
Out of Mind: Visit the depths of a human mind in this retro style platform game with multiple persistent power ups that allow you to revisit levels to find more collectables and unlock more of the story.
Radiant Flux - A wave-based, retro-style shooter with too many lasers and a unique color-shifting, faux-chromatic aberration effect.
Super Brain Eat 3 - Join a strange red sphere as it travels across three level packs of brain-munching fun. Devour all the brains while avoiding the traps and tricks set by devious jellies.
Shuttle Quest 2000 - Fly, shoot, and craft your way to victory in this procedural space adventure with a retro, four-color style. Outfit your battle shuttle with the weapons you prefer and blast through endless waves of enemy ships and destroy huge boss ships.
Sea Run - Visit the beach in this minimalist endless runner with a retro, four-color aesthetic. Use an umbrella to jump and descend slowly, or dodge quickly to avoid other beachgoers and menacing crabs.
Super Skull Smash GO! - Journey through a city of skulls and monsters, purifying the land by smashing every skull along the way. Collect all coins in each level for a super-secret ending.
Super Tank Poker - Place your tanks and bet high in this tactical battle of wits and war. Position well for cheaper battle buy-ins and use your best hand to blow up the enemy.
Meltdown Moon - With so many games in this collection, many are actually quite fun, so please check out the others first. This unusual puzzle game offers two modes; both are enjoyable if you understand them, though they can be hard to explain and the game doesn’t make that easy.
King Bean - Join the king of the beans in tracking down his lost beans! This platform puzzle game challenges you to collect all beans while making the fewest moves possible.