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You are here: Home / 2015 / Archives for December 2015

Archives for December 2015

Contra: 7″ Bill and Lance Action Figures

December 9, 2015 By ausretrogamer

Contra-1Oh my gawd! Just in time for Christmas, well, they aren’t available just as yet, but anyway, where were we? Oh yeh, those awesome people at NECA (creators of cool toys and collectibles!) have announced that they will release (April 2016) a special edition 2-pack action figure tribute set of fan favourite Contra video game characters, Bill ‘Mad Dog’ Rizer and Lance ‘Scorpion’ Bean!

For those of you that don’t know, Contra was also known as Gryzor and Probotector. Anyway, this Bill and Lance 2-pack action figure set will be the first appearance of non-movie-based characters in the NECA series, which will pay homage to Konami’s 8-bit glory days. Standing approximately 7” tall, the figures have all new head sculpts and “pixelated” paint deco. The set includes custom-designed weapons based on the classic game; detachable blast effects for the weapons; and that infamous power-up capsule with a clear support stand for “floating” effect.

For those collectors among you that will not open their packaging, a special window box package will be used to recreate the look of the classic game cartridge – which will look damn fine on your shelf!

April 2016 can not come fast enough! Here are a few more pics to whet your insatiable appetite:

Contra-2

Contra-3

Contra-6

Contra-4

Contra-5

Contra-7image source: NECA

 

Filed Under: Announcements, Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: Action Figures, Classic Video Game characters, Contra, Gryzor, Neca, Neca Toys, retro gaming action figures

Casio Game and Watch Time

December 7, 2015 By ausretrogamer

If you thought that Nelsonic and Nintendo were the only ones making games on digital watches, then think again! Casio wasn’t going to sit on the sidelines and watch (Ed: pun intended!) Nintendo reap the benefit of this new gaming phenomenon.

With their pedigree in making fine time pieces, it was natural for Casio to jump in on the whole games-on-watches craze in the early 1980s. These games were mainly a left-right (two button) affair, but boy, they were so cool to have (Ed: If you were lucky enough to have one). Remember, this was all before we started killing time playing games on our smartphones. Some things never change.

If you were one of the unlucky ones (Ed: just like us!) to not have experienced Casio’s game watches, then here is a sample of their finest gaming pieces:

Aero Batics (GA-7)
Casio_1

Super Slalomer (GS-2)
Casio_2

Football (GS-12)
Casio_3

Space Hero (GH-17)
Casio_4

Space Warrior (GS-16)
Casio_5

Zoomnzap (GZ-1)
Casio_6

Champion Racer (GR-15)
Casio_7

Super Windsurfing (GS-20)
Casio_8

Egg Panic (GE-6)
Casio_10

Moon Fight Robot (GR-3)
Casio_11

Scramble Fighter (GF-2)
Casio_12

Car Race (GD-8)
Casio_13

Game-10
Casio_15

Soccer (GS-11)
Casio_16

Hustle Monira (GM-5)
Casio_17

Golf (GG-9)
Casio_18image source: supplied

 

Filed Under: Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: Casio, Casio Digital Games, Casio Game and Watch, Casio Watch Game, classic gaming, Retro Gaming

Video: Why Do We Think Video Games Are Just For Boys?

December 5, 2015 By Ms. ausretrogamer

Why do we think video games are just for boys? Adam Conover from College Humor’s ‘Adam Ruins Everything‘ explains in this amusing and informative video.


Video source: CollegeHumor on YouTube

Source: via Cheezburger

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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

 

 

Filed Under: Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: Adam Conover, Adam Ruins Everything, College Humor, video, youtube

Pinball Heaven: A Tour Of The Stern Pinball Factory

December 4, 2015 By ausretrogamer

JohnsArcade_SternTour_TitleHey peeps, prepare to be absolutely gobsmacked! John’s Arcade together with Greg from Arcade Impossible, go on an exclusive access-all-areas tour of the new Stern Pinball Inc. factory in Elk Grove, IL.

This already awesome tour is made even more awesomer by having the famed pinball designer, George Gomez, as the personal tour guide – it doesn’t get any better than that! Whether you are a pinball fan or not, you will appreciate the behind-the-scenes of how pinball machines are made and distributed around the world. Grab the pop-corn as this great feature runs for 1:37:56 (to be exact), settle in and enjoy!


source: John’s Arcade Game Reviews & Tech

Filed Under: Pinball, Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: pinball, pinball factory, pinball wizard, Retro Gamers, Stern, Tour of Stern

Masters Of The Universe Affinity

December 3, 2015 By ausretrogamer

MOTU_Title_altIt is no secret that I am a huge fan of Mattel’s original Masters Of The Universe (MOTU) toy series. I have been a fan since I first encountered the MOTU action figure line at my local Treasureway store (similar to Target / Kmart) in 1983. I remember being mesmerised by the He-Man figure in a big blister pack emblazoned with the MOTU logo. However, $15.99 was a lot of money in 1983 and it was going to require a big effort to convince mum I needed this toy. I got to work (in convincing my mum) and just a few weeks later I was the proud owner of my very own He-Man, but on the back of the packaging were the other figures in the series and I knew I had to have more – and just like that, I was hooked!

My ingenious (as I thought at the time) plan to expand my MOTU collection involved the argument that I needed an even split between ‘goodies’ and ‘baddies’ to be able to play out my (imaginary) battle on Eternia (a.k.a. the couch). I continued to collect more original MOTU action figures over the years, and although I never completed the set, I was very grateful for and thoroughly enjoyed playing with the figures I had.

Fast forward three decades, and my original MOTU collection is proudly displayed in the home office. I am so glad I kept the action figures all this time – they provide an important link to my childhood, a time where my imagination took me to wondrous places in the universe, thanks to Masters of The Universe.

The most powerful toy line in the universe!
MOTU_1

Yo DJ, spin that MOTU wheel!
MOTU_8

Cel shenanigans
MOTU_2

In the most powerful club in the universe!
MOTU_3

The MOTU story books (latter ones became comics) were damn awesome!
MOTU_4

Very hot MOTU wheels
MOTU_5

Show-bag full of MOTU weapons of mass fun!
MOTU_6

Man-At-Arms vs Skeletor!
MOTU_7

The most awesomest books in the universe!
MOTU_9

Don’t get bored playing Monopoly. Play to save He-Man!
MOTU_10

Laser blasting with the man with Man-E-Faces
MOTU_11

Evil lurks in many corners. Watch out Hulk!
MOTU_12

Great pants Brutus! Oh wait……
MOTU_13

Trouble setting up Castle Grayskull? Don’t worry, this scary looking He-Man will help!
MOTU_14

Oh, so that’s how the labels are applied!
MOTU_15

The showcasing rig
MOTU_16

Giddy-up Cringer! Oops, I mean Battle Cat!
MOTU_17

 

Filed Under: Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: Castle Grayskull, He Man, Masters Of The Universe, Mattel, MOTU, retro toys, Skeletor, Teela, vintage toys

Top 5 Games Charts: December 1997

December 2, 2015 By ausretrogamer

top5gamescharts_title_Dec97Rewind the clock 18 years to December 1997 and take a gander at what the top games were on the Saturn, Playstation and PC. Surprised? Well, you shouldn’t be. The Christmas games charts were always a great barometer of the types of games that we were going to see more of in the coming new year. Suffice to say, the iterative annual sports titles (your FIFAs and Maddens), including driving games (Formula 1), were always going to play their part in the charts.

Browsing through the list of top games from 18 years ago, it is great to see that there was a mix of gaming genres, from driving formula 1 cars and flying elite helicopters, to wiping out zombies, throwing a football and to the inevitable first-person shooters. What were you playing 18 years ago?

PSX_150x150 1) Formula 1 ’97 (Psygnosis)
2) Nuclear Strike (Electronic Arts)
3) Abe’s Odyssee: Oddworld (GT)
4) Track & Field Platinum (Konami)
5) Parappa The Rapper (Sony)

 

1) Sega Worldwide Soccer ’98 (Sega)
2) Last Bronx (Sega)
3) Resident Evil (Capcom)
4) Wipeout 2097 (Psygnosis)
5) Madden NFL ’98 (Electronic Arts)

 

1) Command & Conquer: Red Alert – The Aftermath (Virgin Games)
2) Quake: Replay (GT)
3) Total Annihilation (GT)
4) Flight Sim ’98 (Microprose)
5) Hexen 2 (Activision)

 

Filed Under: History Tagged With: December 1997, PC, Retro Gamer, Retro Gaming, Sega Saturn, Sony PS1, top 5, top 5 charts, top 5 games chart, top 5 games in Dec 1997

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