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Pinball Heaven: A Tour Of The Stern Pinball Factory

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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

Masters Of The Universe Affinity

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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!
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Yo DJ, spin that MOTU wheel!
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Cel shenanigans
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In the most powerful club in the universe!
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The MOTU story books (latter ones became comics) were damn awesome!
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Very hot MOTU wheels
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Show-bag full of MOTU weapons of mass fun!
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Man-At-Arms vs Skeletor!
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The most awesomest books in the universe!
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Don’t get bored playing Monopoly. Play to save He-Man!
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Laser blasting with the man with Man-E-Faces
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Evil lurks in many corners. Watch out Hulk!
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Great pants Brutus! Oh wait……
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Trouble setting up Castle Grayskull? Don’t worry, this scary looking He-Man will help!
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Oh, so that’s how the labels are applied!
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The showcasing rig
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Giddy-up Cringer! Oops, I mean Battle Cat!
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Top 5 Games Charts: December 1997

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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)

 

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’!

 

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.

MiniArcade_SideView

MiniArcade_Control_topdown

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.

MiniArcade_Emulators

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.

MiniArcade_SuperMario

MiniArcade_NeoGeo

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

Britsoft: An Oral History

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BritSoft_1It is no secret that I am a huge fan of the From Bedrooms To Billions documentary film – I called it the video gaming film of the year for 2014. It is also no secret that I am a fan of Read-Only Memory’s sublime Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works book. When these two worlds of film and publishing collide, you get Britsoft: An Oral History.

The Britsoft: An Oral History book is a companion piece to the 2014 documentary, From Bedrooms to Billions – it uses exclusive cuts from the hundreds of hours of interview footage to carve its original story. Through the voices of programmers, musicians, journalists and business people, it traces the making of games such as Dizzy, Elite, Paradroid and Kick Off; and the birth of publishers, magazines and software houses, from Codemasters to Zzap!64. Edited by former Edge magazine editor, Alex Wiltshire, and its striking page layouts designed by London-based studio Julia, Britsoft: An Oral History oozes premium quality.

With its rarely-seen archive images, such as candid period photographs and magazine ads, its high attention to detail, premium paper and design layout, this book will not disappoint. If you want a great companion publication to go with one of the best documentary films of 2014, then look no further, Britsoft: An Oral History should be at the top of your shopping list.

Vital Stats:
Title: Britsoft: An Oral History
Price: £30.00 (plus shipping)
Size: 160mm x 230mm
Binding: Hardback
Pages: 422
Specials: Lay-flat binding and multiple paper stocks

Rarely seen archive images – Work hard, play even harder!
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Original illustrations of cult hardware of the era
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Oh man, the colours, they are so vivid!
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I spot Space Harrier!
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Interviews with 35 people who shaped the modern videogames industry
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Multiple paper stock is strikingly beautiful
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A cup of tea? How British
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Oo’er, 16-bits of awesomeness!
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image source: Read-Only Memory

 

Cinemaware Retro: Defender of the Crown – Extended Collectors Cut

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DoFTC_TitleOh how I miss the days of big boxed games. I remember walking into our local entertainment store and making a beeline to the games section to check out what was new. I loved picking up boxed games off the shelf and checking out their beautiful cover art. I would then turn the box over to check out the graphics and read the blurb. Ah, those were the days.

Alas, the good folks at Cinemaware Retro must have heard me! I had to rub my eyes to ensure this wasn’t a figment of my imagination – check out their classic big box Defender of the Crown – Extended Collectors Cut game! The different versions of the game will run on your PC and MAC, but best of all, the game will also run on your Amiga and CD32 (Ed: C64 folks don’t fret, there are disk-files of the classic game to create your own C64 disks!)! To say I am excited about all this would be a gross understatement. If you are (or were) a fan of Cinemaware’s games (Ed: there will be lots of you out there!), then this game would be right up your alley – better be quick, as there will only be a limited run of 500 units!

Cinemaware should be applauded for taking this initiative (check out their remastered Wings Amiga edition too!). If this succeeds, then hopefully Cinemaware will make other classic big box games from their awesome back catalogue! If this doesn’t tickle your nostalgic senses, then nothing will.

DoFTC_1image source: Cinemaware Retro