Camera, Action... Video Game! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Super Mario Brothers 3

"Super Mario Brothers 3" was released in Japan in 1988 and in North America in 1990. It is a two-dimensional, side-scrolling platform game where players play as either Mario or Luigi. Game play was similar to the previous versions with some new additions including sliding down slopes, throwing blocks, and climbing vines. There are eight kingdoms divided into multiple levels.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619 who never played any "Mario" Brothers games but has fond memories of "Donkey Kong".

Answer: Pitfall!

Released by Activision in 1982 you, as the player, control Pitfall Harry through 255 screens of jungle layout. Along the way you need to collect 32 different treasures, which could be money, gold, silver or diamond rings. You have twenty minutes to do it all. If you remain on the surface you can only cross one screen at a time in which case, you won't have enough time to collect all the treasures. There is a tunnel that you can traverse through, below ground, and this will help you to move three screens at a time... but, beware, there are scorpions about and you could run into brick walls that will block your path.

It is no picnic on the surface either where there's quicksand, water-holes, crocodiles and tar-pits that can kill you. Also, watch out for those pesky logs which will also slow you down.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who considers himself the team's pit-bear but we all know that he's our fall-bear.

Answer: Portal

"Portal" was released in 2007 as part of a set of five games called "The Orange Box" and became the favourite of the set. It won several "Game of the Year" awards, including those of Shacknews and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It is a single player game and involves using the "Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device" to create portals between planes with the objective of reaching the exit.

Chell undertakes a series of tests at the Aperture Science Enrichment Center which is controlled by an artificial intelligence, GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System). Throughout the game GLaDOS promises that, at the end of the experiment, there will be cake, but never delivers. "The cake is a lie" is a phrase used in the game which has become a catchphrase with the meaning that a reward has been promised with no intention of it being delivered.

This question transported itself into the quiz by opening a portal with the assistance of Phoenix Rising team's lg549.

Answer: The Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate

Like earlier games in the series, "The Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate" is set in a fictional version of the prehistoric village of Skara Brae in the Scottish Orkney Islands. However, at the start of this third instalment, the town has been destroyed by forces of the Mad God Tarjan and the aim of this role-playing game is to complete a number of quests to retrieve ancient artifacts that will allow him to be vanquished. An old man - the sole survivor of the destruction - is on hand to teach the player's characters how to travel to the other worlds where these artifacts are located and provide information on where to go, what to search for and who may need to be defeated in order to retrieve them.

Phoenix Rising's Fifiona81 undertook the quest to discover more information about this game.

Answer: Zaxxon

On its release "Zaxxon" was praised for its use of axonometric projection, which is where, in part, the game got its name, giving the player a three dimensional simulation.

As the player, you are a pilot, navigating your way through two heavily guarded fortresses before confronting a boss Zaxxon robot at the end. Your aim is to gun down as many enemy targets as you can without getting shot down or running out of fuel. You are able to re-fuel during the fuel... ironically, by blowing up fuel containers.

Phoenix Rising's pollucci19, who wrote this question, was not very good at this game. He used to announce his arrival by yelling out "Zaxxon" and, when he got shot down... "Zaxx-off".

Answer: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

"A Link to the Past" was the third "Legend of Zelda" game to be released and it is a prequel to the first two games being set many years prior. The game was a critical and commercial success and is considered one of the greatest video games of all time. It was originally developed for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System but has since been ported to Game Boy Advance, Wii, Wii U, and New Nintendo 3DS among others.

This question was ported into the quiz by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.

Answer: Flower

The "Flower" video game was developed principally to promote mindfulness by immersing the player in a series of serene and beautiful landscapes. Gathering flower petals throughout the gameplay allows greater beauty to appear on the screen and covers barren paddocks with a riot of colourful flowers. With no competitive element to the game, coordinated music combines with the visuals to provide the player with a calming, positive and uplifting experience.

The game was first released on PlayStation 3, and later released for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. The Spike Video Game Awards conferred "Flower" the "Best Independent Game of 2009" award in that year. "Flower" was also inducted into The Smithsonian American Art Museum's permanent collection in 2009.

This question was planted in the quiz by Phoenix Rising member VegemiteKid.

Answer: Shadow of the Colossus

Japan Studio and Team Ico developed the original "Shadow of the Colossus" game for PlayStation 2 in 2005. It is an immersive adventure in which Wander must travel an open world to defeat sixteen Colossi in the hopes of resurrecting Mono. "Shadow of the Colossus" was conceived as the spiritual successor to the 1992 action-adventure game "Ico". The two games featured stylistically similar graphics and game-play principles with an emphasis on minimalist design. Remastered versions developed by Bluepoint Games were released together in 2003 for PlayStation 3. In 2018, a remake of "Shadow of the Colossus" was developed by Bluepoint Games for PlayStation 4.

"Shadow of the Colossus" received several awards, including for artistic achievement. Indeed, the game is held up as an exemplar of video games as art. Academy Award-winning film director Guillermo Del Toro considers the game a masterpiece and credits it with influencing his own work.

This question was explored by Phoenix Rising team member JCSon.

Answer: Rez

The concept is simple... there is an artificial intelligence system that is malfunctioning. You are the hacker who infiltrates the system and your task is to destroy the various viruses and corrupted programmes that are making the system ill. You work your way through five different levels and can adopt six different forms, though there is also a hidden seventh form.

The game, which was designed by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, drew inspiration from two sources; the shooter game "Panzer Dragoon", which was developed in the early 1990s, and European disco. Yes, you heard right... disco music. Despite this being a "shooter" game, at its core, it was developed as a non-violent game. The second feature, the music, was synchronised with the game play and every hit that the player made would send feedback by way of vibration. The aim of this was to try and provide the player with a "full body" experience during the game.

Despite not being a commercial success, and part of this was put down to a poor marketing campaign, the critics raved about it.

(Footnote) There was a clue hidden within the question; "Res" in legal terms means "a particular thing".
These good vibrations were delivered to you by Phoenix Rising's dancing bear, pollucci19.

Answer: Metal Gear Solid

"Metal Gear Solid" was first released in 1998 and is the third title in the "Metal Gear" franchise. It is generally classed as a "stealth" game where success is achieved by the characters sneaking around rather than battling enemies with all guns blazing.

The main protagonist, Solid Snake, is a now retired FOXHOUND soldier who has been tasked with secretly entering a nuclear weapons base in order to stop a rogue element of his former employer from causing a nuclear disaster. The player has to use radar information, distraction and techniques such as lurking about in tight spaces or dark corners in order to get Solid Snake to the final confrontation with the renegade leader without being spotted by the forces controlling the base.

This question was sneaked into the quiz by Phoenix Rising's Fifiona81.