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Archives for November 2015

2015 Australian Timezone Supanova Pinball Championship Grand Final

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Supanova_GF_TitleThis past weekend pinball players from all around Australia descended on Supanova Brisbane to compete in the grand final of the 2015 Australian Timezone Supanova Pinball Championship, with the winner walking away with a brand spanking new Stern WWE Wrestlemania Pro pinball machine! With all Australian state winners (and runners-up) in attendance, this wasn’t going to be an easy flip and tilt to become the national champion.

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With an impressive line-up of pinball machines (2 x WWE Wrestlemania Pro, 2 x Kiss Pro and 2 x Game Of Thrones tables) to compete on, it was game on! After winning the Supanova Melbourne state final, we interviewed Johnny Crabtree and predicted that he would be a sure bet to hoist the national trophy and truck back the brand new pinball machine. So, how did we go with our prediction? We were right on the money! With 34 points in the final, Johnny fought off some stiff competition from Greg Siegele (2nd on 33 points) and Richard Rhodes (3rd on 31 points) to win by one point to claim the national title and the big winner’s prize of a Stern WWE Wrestlemania Pro pinball machine. It just goes to show how close the competition is among the top tier pinball wizards. Congratulations Johnny, a very well-deserved win!

The crowd gathers to watch the pinball wizards do what they do best
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Let the flipping begin!
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Marty Robbins keeping a close eye on the competition
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Greg Siegele scores an impressive 126,523,740 on WWE Wrestlemania!
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And the 2015 Australian Timezone Supanova Pinball Champion is – Johnny Crabtree!
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Enjoying their spoils – winners are grinners!
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image source: Australian Pinball League

Congratulations and thank you to the organisers, volunteers and sponsors (AMD, Timezone Australia, Supanova Pop Culture Expo and Australian Pinball League) of the event – without them, this would not be at all possible.

Roll on 2016 and keep flippin’!

 

Awesome LEGO Tribute To Crash Bandicoot 2

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We’ve said it before: LEGO and retrogaming is a match made in heaven – and this simply awesome tribute to Crash Bandicoot 2 by LEGO artist Martin Stipkovic is no exception!

Blow up those Nitro Boxes, Crash!
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The whole amazing structure
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What’s hiding in the base?
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A mini tribute to Crash Team Racing!
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Source: via Kotaku

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msausretrogamerMs. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter

 

 

The Twelve Gifts Of Christmas

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Xmas_Gifts_HDR“On the First day of Christmas my true love sent to me”, No, no, no! There will be no ‘The Twelve Days Of Christmas’ singing here, thank you. With Christmas just around the corner, we thought we would ease the gift buying burden by giving you ‘The Twelve Gift Ideas For Christmas’ to help you get something special for your really cool geeky / nerdy partner.

Forget about going out to the local shopping centre and battling for a car park only to get frustrated when you can’t find anything suitable. We are here to make this Christmas shopping period a pleasant experience from the comfort of your own home and one where your partner will thank you for the awesome gift (Ed: don’t you mean gifts!)!

Enough chatter, as promised, here are The Twelve Gifts of Christmas!

Star Wars: The Original Topps Trading Card Series, Volume One – Just in time for the Force Awakens!
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If they are Zelda fans, then this 2.5″ 8-Bit Link Action Figure will tickle their fancy
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But if they are a Donkey Kong kinda guy or gal, then they’ll go ape over this!
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Secure their DS / 3DS with a retro NES inspired case! 
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Sega fans rejoice! Plug and play the Sega Nano on any TV (with composite connectivity)
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There should always be a Masters Of The Universe gift under the Christmas tree
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If clothing is preferred, then nothing says cool like a C64 tee
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Bookworms partners will love this Commodore book!
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Can’t afford a real Intellivision? Then the Intellivision Flashback is the next best thing!
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Or maybe they are a ColecoVision type of gamer…
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Forget forking out thousands for an arcade machine, grab them a My-Arcade mini retro machine!
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And if you really want to spoil him or her, get them the ultimate handheld emulation system, the GPD XD
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image source: supplied

The Mini Arcade By SuperGameCo

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MiniArcade_GalagaHave you always wanted to make your own mini arcade tabletop machine? Are you a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) hack just like me? If you answered yes to both questions, then the SuperGameCo Mini Arcade may be just what you are looking for.

Made from bamboo panels that snap together, the Mini Arcade is a breeze to setup – if you prefer (Ed: are too lazy), SuperGameCo also offer the Mini Arcade in fully assembled form.

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At the heart of the Mini Arcade is a very speedy Raspberry Pi 2 Model B computer, running Emulation Station. This ensures that the emulators and games run nice and smooth. We didn’t experience any slowdown during play – which was great. The 9″ LCD screen provides great resolution, but the marquee protrudes a tad too much which tends to get in the way if you are not sitting down low.

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The control deck is made up of an 8-way Sanwa/Seimitsu arcade stick and 6 concave arcade buttons. These are complimented with a single player select button and an insert coin (credit) button on the left side of the unit to provide an authentic arcade feel when playing games via MAME.

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Audio on the Mini Arcade is pumped through the front facing speakers via a stereo amplifier. We did find that the sound wasn’t as beefy as we would have liked, which took away a bit from the experience when playing shoot’em ups with booming explosions.

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We found the Mini Arcade to be a breeze to operate and play games. The assembly was nice and easy, and once you are all setup, it is pretty straight forward to select your favourite old game and get all nostalgic. If you are struggling to find a Christmas present for your retro gaming partner, then the Mini Arcade may be a viable option.

PROS:
– Clever snap-together kit (or you could opt for it to be fully assembled)
– Easy to get started playing games
– Latest Raspberry Pi 2 Model B internals
– Quality Sanwa/Seimitsu arcade joystick
– Inclusion of the Insert Coin button provides an authentic arcade feel
– Multiple interfaces (USB/RJ45) for additional connectivity

CONS:
– Marquee is obtrusive when playing on the 9″ LCD display
– Button layout felt a tad cramped
– Sound is reasonable, but it needs to be meatier
– Insert coin button stickiness (may have just been our unit)
– Power supply cord was too short
– Graphics on the bamboo panels would be nice

The Mini Arcade product variants and prices can be found at the SuperGameCo store here.

 

Tiny Arcade: A Retro Tiny Playable Game Cabinet

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‘Tiny Arcade’ is an adorable arcade cabinet that fits in the palm of your hand – this is our kind of mobile gaming!

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Made by Tiny Circuits, the Tiny Arcade has an analog joystick and two fire buttons, a built in speaker for playing audio, a Lithium battery, built in USB for charging (and programming), and a microSD expansion slot.

 

You can order your Tiny Arcade completely pre-assembled or as a DIY kit and there are plans for over twenty classic games available for free download by the start of shipping. The Kickstarter campaign has already well and truly met its target, so get your order in by 18 

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Options: black acrylic, clear acrylic, basswood or the premium realistic 3D printed case.
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Kickstarter rewards
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Source: Kickstarter via Laughing Squid
Image and video source: Kickstarter

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msausretrogamerMs. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter

 

 

Bluegrass Tetris Theme By Samuraiguitarist

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Canadian Guitarist/Songwriter/Samurai Steve Onotera (aka samuraiguitarist) performs a gorgeous bluegrass/rock multi-track cover of the classic ‘Theme A’ song from Tetris.


Video source: samuraiguitarist on YouTube

Source: samuraiguitarist via Laughing Squid

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msausretrogamerMs. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter

 

 

Fury Fingers Films

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Australian film-makers ‘Fury Fingers Films’ make funny live action films about video games with plenty of bad-ass action and visual FX.

Fury Fingers was started by film school friends Nicholas Cleary, Andrew Shanks, Daniel Vink and David Gregan. Talented stuntman and fight choreographer Anthony Rinna is the most recent addition to the team (aka the 5th Beatle).

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Making films has allowed the guys to develop and showcase their skills as visual effects artists, and become confident directing action, working with stunt / fight choreographers and parkour artists. Their next challenge is to learn about rope work and pyrotechnics (wow!). All their hard work has been worthwhile too, with big players such as Konami and Crystal Dynamics (among others) taking notice of Fury Fingers’ awesome films. Look out for their upcoming Tomb Raider fan film featuring Melbourne-based cosplayer Shiveeejam.

Watch a selection of their fantastic films below, and be sure to subscribe to their YouTube channel, like their Facebook page, and follow them on Twitter to keep up to date with their latest projects because these guys are going places!

Fury Fingers Channel Trailer

Video source: Fury Fingers Films on YouTube

Gritty Mario World

Video source: Fury Fingers Films on YouTube

Sleeping With The Enemy – Metal Gear Solid Fan Film

Video source: Fury Fingers Films on YouTube

Day Of The Living Dead Batteries

Video source: Fury Fingers Films on YouTube

The Best Of Us – The Last of Us Fan Film

Video source: Fury Fingers Films on YouTube

Boxhound – Metal Gear Solid Fan Film

Video source: Fury Fingers Films on YouTube

Looters – Elder Scrolls Fan Film

Video source: Fury Fingers Films on YouTube

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msausretrogamerMs. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter

 

 

Jon Hare’s Sociable Soccer Now Live On Kickstarter

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ss_dev_TitleIf you have been living on another planet and just returned to our blue marble, you may have missed the big news – Jon Hare, the coding genius who created Sensible Soccer, is back with a Kickstarter campaign to make Sociable Soccer, a worthy spiritual successor to one of the greatest footy (Ed: soccer) games of all time. With the pedigree of Sensi Soccer, you know this new game will be an absolute beauty.

Jon Hare’s Sociable Soccer will be kicking off on your  PC, Steam, XBox One and Playstation 4 at the end of 2016. To say we can’t wait for this game, would be a gross understatement. Kick some goals for Sociable Soccer by backing it right now on Kickstarter!

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ss_splashimage source: Tower Studios

 

Awesome Dad Re-enacts Street Fighter II Turbo Victory Poses

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Watch Los Angeles Comedian Nick Luciano’s awesome Dad re-enact all the victory poses from Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting. He has also re-enacted every taunt animation from Super Smash Bros Wii U (watch part 1 and part 2).

Source: Cheezburger

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msausretrogamerMs. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter

 

 

Press Play On Tape: C64 Back To The Future

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PPOT_eps8_HDRWhen Marty and Doc visited October 21 2015, they failed to tell us that the venerable Commodore 64 was still going strong, even after 33 years after its release. In episode 8 of Press Play on Tape, Daz and Alex welcome the time traveller, Mr. Ant Stiller, who will finally set the record straight on the very rosy future of the C64. Once we hit 88MPH, we’ll discover games, magazines, music, demos, hardware and all other shades of homebrew awesomeness that the C64 still receives, after many of its contemporaries had been left in its dust! Enjoy the ride!

PRESS PLAY ON TAPE podcasts are available on iTunes and Podbean.