The Pop-Culture E-Zine
This decade may not be over but we still reckon we can run a poll to find out what is Stern Pinball Inc’s best machine since 2010!
We have to doff our collective hat to Stern, they have been prolific in releasing pinball machines year in year out. So without further ado, here is the poll – vote now for what you think has been Stern’s best pinball machine since 2010.
You better hurry as voting closes on April 16!
As Nintendo started to break into the U.S. market, they searched for a spokesperson with a true passion for gaming. They chose Howard Phillips, an employee working in the Nintendo warehouse. Little did he know that he was about to become a gaming legend!
Learn the entire origin story behind Mr. Nintendo in the Emmy® nominated series 8 Bit Legacy!
source: Great Big Story – 8 Bit Legacy
This is HUGE news! Mark spring time (fall/autumn in the north) in your diary peeps, as the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection will be released on the Nintendo Switch.
For those of you that like their tangible games, there will be a physical SNK 40th Anniversary Collection Limited Edition that can be pre-ordered now via the SNK Online Store.
Just in case you weren’t aware, SNK made heaps of awesome arcade games in the 80s before they went really big with their Neo Geo. To whet your retro gaming appetite, here are the announced SNK games you could (Ed: should!) be playing on your Switch, with more to come:
The Limited Edition comes in a Collector’s Box with all the games plus the “Nostalgic Music Collection” soundtrack and the “40th Anniversary Art Collection” hardcover art book.
Let’s celebrate SNK’s 40th anniversary by turning up the excitement level to 11!
image source: SNK Online Store
System: Nintendo Switch
Available: Switch eShop
Price: AUD $9.99 / USD $7.99
Zerodiv’s reputation to recreate awesome old school games on the Nintendo Switch is pretty much set in stone now (Ed: take that HAMSTER!). Their meticulous conversions of Psikyo’s games on the Nintendo Switch console are second to none. With a plethora of shoot’em ups under their belt, their latest Psikyo conversion is another shmup, but this time, it doesn’t involve space ships or souped up choppers – this one is refreshingly different!
Think Forgotten Worlds (to an extent) with a fantasy setting a melee and spell casting gameplay mechanic and you’d be pretty much on the money with Sol Divide – Sword of Darkness. Oh yeah, the standard graphics are also a departure with the use of CGI pre-rendered models turned into sprites and backgrounds – which actually look pretty good on the Switch.
The ever important gameplay will always be a deciding factor when playing these kind of games. Sol Divide plays like a regular horizontal scrolling shmup where you fly around the screen and using your attack button to fire and another for melee attacks. Combos are done by repeatedly hitting the melee attack button and a direction, whereas pressing both attack buttons casts a spell. Speaking of spells, there are eight of them you can learn in your quest – fire, freeze, thunder, meteor, slow, wind and fire body. There is also an extra character-exclusive spell making for a total of eleven distinct ways to unleash hell. Spells will cost mana to cast, however they can be refilled by way of melee attacks or pickups from fallen foes. Spells can quickly be cycled and selected by using the ‘L’ and ‘R’ shoulder buttons, making it a greater experience than the arcade game single button cycling.
As per the other Zerodiv Psikyo conversions, Sol Divide offers plenty of customisation such as filters and mucking around with the arcade-like DIP switches to personalise the gaming experience, like making it easy as pie or hard as hell with infinite continues!
So is Sol Divide – Sword of Darkness a worthwhile addition to your digital Switch games library? If you like horizontal-scrolling shoot’em ups with fighting and some light-on RPG elements thrown in the mix, then there is enough unique features in this game to warrant its place in your games library. Sword and vengeance starts now!
Disclaimer: Sol Divide – Sword of Darkness was kindly provided by Zerodiv for this review.
Witnessing pinball history in the making is so flipping awesome – check out the first ever Iron Maiden pinball machine being boxed for delivery at Stern Pinball’s Elk Grove Village factory (near Chicago)!
Iron Maiden machines will soon be invading the entire planet and we can’t wait to tame the beast!
Forget unboxing videos, watch the first ever Iron Maiden pinball being boxed!
What a great sight! Iron Maiden machines as far as the eye can see!
source: Stern Pinball via Facebook ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.
Steven Spielberg, the legendary director of Ready Player One, has let it be known that he is not a gamer. But what if a gamer was given the chance to adapt Ernest Cline’s science fiction bestseller?
Spielberg’s ambitious film was entertaining and visually stunning at times, but there was something about the story, especially the virtual reality scenes, that felt detached and not cohesive. Cline’s book was heavy on the 1980s nostalgia (perhaps, a little too heavy); nevertheless, you really felt like you were in a fantastical universe.
What made the novel so good was the power of escapism for our young hero, Wade Watts. The film didn’t capture that heightened sense of stepping away from the real world into a new, immersive virtual world, like the book accomplished so brilliantly.
If a gamer had made “Ready Player One,” the OASIS would’ve felt more authentic. Don’t get me wrong, “Ready Player One” captures the virtual reality experience better than any film in recent cinema history; VR is not an easy plot device to pull off on screen. I just didn’t feel totally immersed in the world Spielberg and his digital wizards created. Cline put it on the page brilliantly.
A gamer knows what it’s like to be another virtual being. That innocent escapism is one of the reasons so many people play video games; especially first-person shooter games. Maybe a gamer’s eye could’ve presented a more engrossing and cohesive virtual world. Spielberg’s virtual world, unlike Cline’s, felt banal and, at moments, enclosed.
The film was fun, although, Spielberg could’ve consulted with some seasoned gamers to create a more unreserved, virtual world experience. But, for 71, Spielberg can still direct an action sequence with more skill and precision than most directors half his age.
image source: Teaser Trailer