The Pop-Culture E-Zine
We got excited with today being Friday (Ed: TGIF!), but we got even more excited when we realised it was the fourth day of May, Star Wars Day! So, May the 4th Be With You all!
To celebrate the day, we thought we’d curate a few awesome Star Wars stories we’ve published (just click on each pic!) which should get your lightsabers glowing!
Just when you thought that you have all the best old school shoot’em ups in your Switch games library, Zerodiv swoop in with their fire-breathing beauty, Dragon Blaze!
With Dragon Blaze, we may have found the perfect vertical shmup (Ed: Sorry Sonic Wings 2!). Zerodiv have yet again reminded us that Psikyo’s long forgotten library of games is full of treasured titles. We are just glad that Zerodiv are bringing these awesome games to a new (and old) generation of gamers.
There is a story-line in Dragon Blaze but it’s your usual paper thin good versus evil, where the evil doers are seeking revenge and it is up to you to stop them. Who cares about the backstory when you have an awesome game, right? Of course we are right, turn your Switch in TATE orientation, pick your knight with their accompanying winged steed and get blasting some demonic baddies!
This game is a bit of a departure from the regular Psikyo TATE shmups which is due to the introduction of a third button – the ‘Dragon Shoot’. The ‘Dragon Shoot’ enables you to dismount your fearsome dragon, lunging it forward delivering punishment until you press the button again so the winged steed returns to its master. Since your knights have wings (thus can still fly around solo), and your dragons are utterly invincible, this is your best strategy to deal not only with bosses but also some of the regular foes. This game definitely encroaches bullet-hell territory but just stops short, which is a good thing in our books.
Both graphics and music are awesome and in keeping with the medieval-fantasy setting. Every stage offers distinct and memorable backgrounds, with enemies that are distinct to the stage you are on and of course, challenging bosses. As this game is full on, you won’t have time to stop and admire the lovely graphical details.
So why does Dragon Blaze belong in your Nintendo Switch games library? Well let us tell you, it is simply brilliant, unique with its Dragon play mechanic and super addictive. This is another must-have shmup for your every growing digital arcade collection on the Switch.
Disclosure: Dragon Blaze was kindly provided by Zerodiv for this review.
There is something about lo-tech chiptune music that gets the old aural nostalgic nerve tingling. Listening to 8 Bit Weapon’s self titled album of chipmusic certainly took us back to the heyday of computer generated music that we loved to listen to, even if the associated game was absolute crap. Music has a way of speaking to us, no matter the times we are in.
8 Bit Weapon’s album is the culmination of sound experiments that started in 2015 and ending in 2017. Created via the original Game Boy and Commodore 64 (Ed: SID forever!), the artists sought to explore the outer reaches of the Game Boy’s 8-bit CPU/4-bit sound chip, especially it’s dynamic wave channel sound manipulation capacity with the addition of the Commodore 64 SID synth bass and other sounds to round out the albums sound.
Please don’t ask us to pick a favourite track, as it is like asking to pick our favourite child – impossible! OK, if push came to shove, then we’d say Dungeon Crawler Baller is our fave track, but only just – seriously, all the tracks are ace and unique in their own way.
What Seth and Michelle (8 Bit Weapon) have created is pure awesome original and unique chiptunes that your ears will want you to play over and over. If you are into chiptunes, then this album is for you. Get it now!
Artists: 8 Bit Weapon
Album: 8 Bit Weapon (available via Bandcamp)
Cost: USD $5.00 (or more)
Michelle and Seth are 8 Bit Weapon
image source: 8 Bit Weapon
Disclosure: 8 Bit Weapon kindly provided us with the download of their album for this article.
Ah, if only eSports was around when we were first playing video games! We competed for big scores just to have our three letter names up on the high score table – those were the days.
Just in case you have never heard of eSports, it means Electronic Sports – a form of organised, competitive gaming between professional gamers. eSports competitions are organised by several local and international organisations around the world, and the sport is rapidly growing in popularity. Check out some of these eye popping stats:
MonEy by Moneypod.
Like the phoenix rising from ashes, the Argonauts Pinball Club is back with new pinball machines and new tournament format with the same awesome group of pinball fanatics!
Come along to the Golden Fleece Hotel this Thursday (May 3rd) for the Argonauts Monthly Pinball Quest – The Horrid Hydra tournament. Bring your friends, bring your family, play pinball and soak up the fantastic atmosphere as Melbourne’s pinball community gather to battle it out for great prizes and IFPA points. Oh yeah, everyone is welcome, so you have no excuse!
The tournament format has changed to an 8 game limited qualifier, meaning that there is more time to socialise and hang out!
Tournament Details:
The competition consists of limited qualifying and head-to-head final rounds. During qualifying, each player will play ONE game only on each machine and a SECOND game on one machine of their choosing. A point system will be used to rank each player’s best score on each machine. Those who rank highest at the end of qualifying will participate in the head-to-head final rounds.
This tournament will be managed through the rules and regulations of the IFPA.
Current Pinball Machine Lineup:
For more information visit the Argonauts Pinball Club on PinballScore.
image source: Argonauts Pinball Score
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*** POLL CLOSED on May 9, 2018 ***
OK, it is time to head to Utopia where everything you want is there, including every pinball machine that doesn’t exist!
Having said that, in an ideal world like Utopia, which one of these pinball themes would you like to see made?
For the record, we would love an original Masters Of The Universe based pinball theme, with the player assuming the role of Prince Adam who has to become He-Man to free Eternia from the evil clutches of Skeletor! The playfield would be complete with Snake Mountain and Castle Grayskull interactive toys, left and right orbits and a couple of ramps to get the pinball juices flowing. Oh yeah, the artwork would have to be done by Alex Ross, with the below masterpiece as the backglass art!
source: sideshowtoy
This time around we will give you all more time to cast your very important vote – the poll will close on Wednesday, May 9! Spread the word and vote now or forever hold your peace.
We just hope Stern Pinball and/or Jersey Jack Pinball are reading this 😉
Holy cow! These SEGA Space Harrier MODEL runners (sneakers if you are from the North) have totally blown our minds!
Just take a good hard look at these sweet-as-f* runners! To say we love the Sega Space Harrier MODEL runners would be a huge understatement! Even if you are not a Space Harrier fan (Ed: say what?), you have to admit that these are pretty damn cool. We wonder if Yu Suzuki has a pair *pondering*?
image source: Anippon
This is an old one, but we thought it was still worth repeating, in case you missed it the first time around.
If you were lucky enough to have had a meal at Burger King in 2000, you may have been handed a plastic replica of the Game Boy Color which had analogue games built in.
Fast forward a decade and a half and that cute little Burger King Game Boy Colour toy with its analogue games has been DIY hacked with a Raspberry Pi Zero stuffed inside, morphing it into an awesomely cool and working Game Boy Colour emulator! Wish we were this clever.
[original story and images via Technobob]
Darn it, we must have missed the memo on this one! As kids growing up in the 80s we absolutely loved crosswords and word search puzzles! You could imagine our delight when we saw that our beloved Nintendo Switch now has such a game, thanks to Lightwood Games!
Word Search by POWGI is a classic word game featuring 300 puzzles, which can be solved alone or with friends. This game will definitely keep your brain occupied for a while. The game follows Lightwood’s usual streamlined, no-nonsense approach. As a portable game, it’s a pocket puzzler that’s always ready to play when you are. Puzzles are expertly hand-crafted by POWGI and stuffed to the brim with words to find. Best part is that all the content is suitable for the whole family.
You can get your gray matter ticking with the playable demo with 4 sample puzzles, or you can go straight to the full version of the game which available to download, priced at £6.99 / €7.99 / USD$7.99 / AUD$11.99
Available now from the UK/Euro eShop and US/CAN eShop.
image source: Lightwood Games
First of all, thank you all that voted in our Best Stern Pinball Machine Since 2010 poll!
We won’t keep you waiting any longer in announcing the winner, so here we go – the Best Stern Pinball Machine Since 2010 is [drum roll please] The Walking Dead!
This comes as no surprise, as The Walking Dead (32% of the vote) is an absolute beauty to play – it has a great balance of being easy enough to play casually and challenging to the max with its great modes if you want to become grand champion and the last man standing. Star Trek (12% of the vote) took out second place, as it should, as this machine is Steve Ritchie at his best – fast and flowing! The biggest surprise for us was third – TRON Legacy, which garnered 11% of the vote. The two machines that we thought would feature in the top 3 ended up being tied for fourth, Metallica and Ghostbusters (both 9% of the vote).
The brand new Stern machine Iron Maiden got votes too (3%), which was surprising, as it’s just rolling off the production line as we speak, so we can only imagine that this machine will climb up the votes in the months and years ahead – so look out The Walking Dead! For now, we reckon John Borg should be commended for having two of his games in the top 3 Best Stern Pinball Machines Since 2010.
There you have it peeps. This was a public vote open to all, so the pinball gamers around the world have spoken. What do you think? Hit us up on Twitter or Facebook and join in the conversation.
image source: Stern Pinball Inc.