PS1 at 20: rehearsing the rock hard light gun game Die Hard 2 Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. PS1 at 20: rehearsing the rock hard light gun game Die Hard 2 Yippee ki-yay? Feature by Robert Purchese Senior Staff Writer Updated on 19 May 2021 42 comments I'm a trained violinist, not that I've scraped the old strings properly for well over a decade now. Gave that up when I got a job at B&Q and bought myself a PC and Dark Age of Camelot, whoops. But learning violin instilled in me a kind of fervour for rigorous repetition. I would play passages of music over and over, memorising sets of finger patterns until they added up to a whole piece. I would drill and drill and want to smash the violin to pieces, but mostly I would prevail, and the eventual performance felt good. The Logic Predator, my old instrument, swoon. That desire to hone a process over and over bled into other things, like games. Perhaps it's why I like MMOs and their finger-dance of hotkey pressing. God knows you do the same thing a lot. It's why I'm invincible at Quake 3 map DM17, because it's the only map I ever play, over and over again, and it's why I love Guitar Hero, all those finger patterns put to music. And it's why one summer many moons ago I fell in love with the Die Hard Trilogy on PlayStation 1. I didn't own a PlayStation 1 but borrowed one from my brother's mate Ben. Thanks Ben! It came to our house in a tatty old Sainsbury's carrier like a toy long forgotten, and it came with a bag of other games I can't remember because I didn't really care. As soon as I clack-clack-clacked that Logic Predator (probably) light gun in Die Hard 2: Die Harder, I was rapt, a teenager possessed. It was an on-rails shooter a bit like Time Crisis if you need a reference. You aimed at baddies while trying to avoid innocents, and died if you mismanaged ammo or simply didn't kill fast enough. And I died a lot: it was rock hard. I tried cheating; I tried stuffing the nose of the light gun right up against my tiny CRT TV, but it didn't help. I knew that to beat it I would have to learn it - I would need to memorise the patterns. And I had to beat it. So I got the ironing board out and set the console up about a foot or two away from the ledge where the TV was, and stood behind that, my shooting range. And I drilled: I rehearsed that airport full of terrorists over and over, baking in exaggerated heat of a conservatory in summer, holding our family's washing machine hostage in the process. Quite how I deciphered those ropey graphics on such a tiny screen, and in such bright light, I don't know, but slowly, fighting the temptation to smash that gun, I made progress. I memorised the enemy's choreography and my own, so that with each waltzing swoosh of the camera I was able to have my sights trained on spaces where I knew enemies would appear. I mean, I'm not Rain Man, but through drills and repetition I gradually began to prevail, and soon I heard that glorious cry of "Yippe Ki-Yay" - level cleared. I had my performance, the culmination of a lot of sweaty hard work. No one saw it, no one was impressed by it, but I finished that game (Die Hard 2). And it felt good. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More Features Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Feature What games get wrong about horses And what they could do about it. 28 Feature Shout out to all the Overwatch supports - where would we be without you? Merci. 55 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 3 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Genshin Impact Path of Gleaming Jade dates, login event rewards Including other anniversary rewards and how to claim them. Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store