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Archives for April 2020

Nintendo Ball – The Game and Watch That Started The Iconic Series

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Nintendo Ball holds a dear place in our heart as it was their very first (Silver) Game & Watch product, released on this day [April 28] in 1980! This was the game that kicked off the iconic electronic handheld series.

Being the company’s first Game & Watch title, Ball is celebrated among the gaming community and within Nintendo itself, as evident from their many re-releases and remakes.

In case you never played Ball, the user controls a character who must juggle a few balls at once, ensuring that none of them are dropped. The control to keep juggling the ball is pretty straight forward – by pressing the left and right face button. It is this simplicity that made Nintendo’s Game & Watch series so memorable with its fans.

Do you have still have your Game & Watch(es)? Which one(s) is/are your fave?

source: Wikimedia Commons

 

IKARUGA Appreciate DVD

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During a private chat with Alex Reynolds (aka: Alexpletives on Twitter) he shared something that we weren’t aware till today – Treasure’s IKARUGA Appreciate DVD!

Alex told us that he loved Treasure’s game so much (Ed: who doesn’t?!) but like most mere mortals, found it extremely difficult to play and progress deep into the game, so when he saw the Appreciate DVD on a Japanese site, he grabbed it as it would be the means to see the rest of this brilliant game.

Wish we knew how to read in Japanese! Anyone else have this DVD? Hit us up on our socials.

 

Podcast: Vertical Hold – Retro Gaming In Self Isolation

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I can’t believe that we (myself and Ms. ausretrogamer) have never appeared together on a podcast! Well, I am here to tell you that we finally made our debut together in guest speaking on episode 275 of the Vertical Hold podcast!

The topic of discussion was how we were passing the time and keeping our sanity in this worldwide pandemic. We delve into the midst of nostalgia and discuss all things gaming, from retro and modern, pinball, arcade, board games to the Commodore 64, SNES, RetroPie and Nintendo’s Wii! Oh yeah, Double Dragon and Zelda came up in conversation too 😉

Thank you to Alex Kidman and Adam Turner for having us on their brilliant weekly Vertical Hold podcast, we had a blast!

 

Kickstart A Hit Of AMIGA Nostalgia

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We recently delved into some of our forgotten boxes, hidden deep in our vault (aka: the garage) which were choc-full of classic video games.

What we found totally blew our mind – a treasure trove of Amiga gems! We are still shaking our head in disbelief in how we could have forgotten about these games – it is sacrilege.

Let’s get one thing straight, as much as we still love our Atari ST, the Amiga, with its various models we’ve had the pleasure of playing on, from the 500, CDTV, 2000 to the 1200 and CD32, it still holds a dear place in our bitmap heart.

So come on an intoxicating nostalgic journey with us by scrolling through the below games, but don’t rush through the photos, as you may miss an old favourite!

PS: Hit us up on Twitter or Facebook to let us know which game(s) gave you a warm and fuzzy feeling 🙂

 

Get Your Mugshot in Chase H.Q. and Help NHS Charities

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The talented Bill Harbison, veteran Ocean/Imagine Software pixel artist, who worked on titles like, Chase HQ, Batman The Movie and Jurassic Park is doing something really cool for charity!

Bill is supporting the NHS Charities COVID-19 Urgent Appeal via his Fiverr page where you supply him an image of yourself that he then takes to create a mugshot to be added to his old ZX Spectrum game, Chase H.Q. How awesomely cool is that? If you are keen to be featured in the ZX Speccy Chase H.Q. game and also help out a great charity, then hit Bill’s Fiverr page now!

We’ll update this post and share our screenshot once Bill weaves his magic and sends through the finished image. We can’t wait!

UPDATE: Guess what peeps?! Bill was super quick with his pixel wizardry and delivered our screenshot waaaay ahead of the due date! So here it is, our Ed, Alex Boz, in full pixel art (Chase H.Q. mugshot) glory! 🙂

 

 

The Strange Vitriol Toward GTA V

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By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

The “Grand Theft Auto” franchise has always been beloved by most gamers. I’ve played every installment since “Vice City.”

In 2012, I remember on the day “Grand Theft Auto V” sold $800 million dollars’ worth of units, the Fed Chairman said that the American economy was weak. I thought, gamers seem to have money.

“Grand Theft Auto V” was set in Southern California, where gamers could explore the fictional city of Los Santo, plan and carry out heists, and take part in a range of activities, from golf to arms trafficking.

“Fortnite” is a violent game. The “Call of Duty” games are violent as well. But those games were never criticised as much as “GTA V.” Why did “GTA V” get so much condemnation for its violence, and other popular games, just as violent, were ignored by the media? Was it the success that brought on so much criticism? The game was violent, but so were all the other games in the franchise. I agree with the critics who panned the depiction of woman in “GTA V.”

With great success there is always some backlash. After the announcement of the first day grosses, I recall commentators on ABC’s “The View” and on CNBC having strong, negative reactions to the game’s success.

Upon hearing about the game’ sales record, CNBC commentator, Jim Cramer said, “Are there any parents left? You want your kids to watch… I would never let my kids have this. This is unbelievable.” In that same segment, another CNBC analyst reported that “GTA V” was the largest single day take of an entertainment title of all-time, “in the history of man.”

A parent can’t shelter their kids from entertainment like the “Grand Theft Auto” franchise. If you decide not to buy it for them, they’ll probably just end up playing it over at their friend’s house who bought it.

Not everyone was so critical of the Take-Two Interactive Software game’s success. A friend, a GameStop manager in Dallas, Texas, at the time of the game’s release, told me, “I’ve never seen anything move from our store like this. People were waiting for this one… I thought gamers went nuts when “Call of Duty: Black Ops II” was released.”

Critics hated the brutal interrogation scene, in which a character tortures another by methods of pulling out the victim’s teeth and electrocuting them. They seemed to know a lot about the details of the scene; it made me wonder if they had bought a copy of the game themselves.

 

Same Same But Different Name

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Why, oh why do publishers change names of games for different regions of the world?

That is the million dollar question. They will give you all sorts of reasons and excuses, but it all boils down to the marketing teams and what they think will work in their segment.

We think these games would have an identity crisis if they were human. Actually, some games are known by more than two different names ! C’mon, that is absurd, no matter where you are from.

Here is a list of well known classic video games that are known by various names around the world. You be the judge of which region names you prefer. If you know of others that aren’t on the list, hit us up on Twitter or Facebook:

Game Name Also Known As (AKA)
Bare Knuckle Streets of Rage
Life Force  Salamander
Contra Gryzor, Probotector
Bad Dudes  DragonNinja, Bad Dudes vs DragonNinja
PC Kid Bonk
Jet Set Radio  Jet Grind Radio
Devil Crash Devil’s Crush, Dragon’s Fury, Devil Crash MD
Another World  Out of this World, Other World
Ninja Gaiden Shadow Warriors
Two Crude Dudes Crude Buster
Buggy Boy Speed Buggy
Green Beret  Rush’n Attack
International Karate  World Karate Championship
Stunt Car Racer Stunt Track Racer
Winter Olympiad 88  Winter Challenge
Slap Fight Alcon
International Karate +  Chop ‘n Drop Karate
Microprose Soccer  Keith van Eron’s Pro Soccer
Driller  Space Station Oblivion
The Sentinel  The Sentry
Nebulus  Tower Toppler
Pipemania  Pipe Dream
Rock ‘n Wrestle  Bop ‘n Wrestle

 

 

TY the Tasmanian Tiger HD – Krome Studios Launches Classic Platformer

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The Aussie hero loved by millions worldwide and everyone’s favourite boomerang chucking (not quite extinct) Thylacine is back. The creators of TY the Tasmanian Tiger and Blade Kitten are proud to present their award-winning game TY the Tasmanian Tiger HD – a charming platformer remastered for the Nintendo SwitchTM.

Explore the wilds of Australia with your favourite Aussie mate, TY the Tasmanian Tiger. By utilising the Nintendo Switch system’s many capabilities, Krome Studios has created a memorable experience that players are nostalgic for. Now, you can flick the Nintendo Switch Joy-ConTM controllers to throw your boomerangs and tilt to glide, too.

TY the Tasmanian Tiger HD’s 3D environments, characters, particle effects and audio have been enriched, along with new graphical effects like screen-space ambient occlusion, fully dynamic shadows, color correction, and bloom. You’ll be immersed in its Aussie-ness.

A new addition to the original, TY the Tasmanian Tiger HD will challenge you with Hardcore Mode; be awesome you only have one life. And thanks to dedicated fans – via a successful Kickstarter campaign – TY has new TY character skins for everyone to play. Added to the game credits are over 2000+ backers, including 44 custom drawings by the creator, Steve Stamatiadis.

“For 20 years now TY the Tasmanian Tiger has been at the heart of our game making-philosophy here at Krome Studios,” says Robert Walsh, CEO Krome Studios. “We thank our loyal fans who have joined us in continuing this family-friendly tradition on the Nintendo Switch. Without you, we could not have made this happen.”

TY the Tasmanian Tiger HD immerses you in 17 levels of iconic Australian Outback. Collect opals, golden cogs, thundereggs, 13 different boomerangs and the all-important mystical talismans. The first game is available March 31st in the Nintendo eShop for North America as a digital download, April 3rd in the Nintendo eShop for Europe, and April 4th for Australia and New Zealand.

Press release source: Krome Studios