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ausretrogamer

Super Bread Box: Superb C64 Fun

January 22, 2015 By ausretrogamer

SBB_Title

NEWSFLASH: RGCD has announced that Super Bread Box is available for download for all you C64 fanatics (Ed: proud to be a C64 fanatic). This news is great for all retro gaming fans, as Paul Koller’s game is damn awesome. Even if you do not possess a C64, you can get in on the action via VICE on your Windows machine.

Super Bread Box is available for free, but if you can spare a few coins, please throw some over to show your support and reward the developer for their great effort. What are you waiting for? Hop to it!

Super Bread Box on RGCD.DEV

SBB_screen1

SBB_Screen2source: RGCD

Filed Under: Announcements Tagged With: C64, Retro Gaming, RGCD, RGCD.DEV, Super Bread Box

Hot Wheels Battle: Star Trek VS Star Wars

January 21, 2015 By ausretrogamer

HotWheels_SWvsSTI may have been a Matchbox fan in my younger years, but it’s all about Hot Wheels right now! Starting with the Atari Nostalgics, Hot Wheels (well, Mattel) have definitely piqued my interest in their little cars.

It seems that Hot Wheels have jumped on the pop culture bandwagon and are hurtling down to your local toy store. Not only have Hot Wheels fused their cool toy cars with one sci-fi cult classic, Star Trek, but they have given us the equivalent of a boxing one-two sucker punch by also giving us the Star Wars collection(s).

Considering it is a new year, and in the spirit of giving (thank you Ms. ausretrogamer), I wasn’t going to deny myself either of these collections. Star Trek or Star Wars – let the battle for the sci-fi universe begin!

The Star Trek collection
HotWheels_StarTrek

Star Trek Collection explained
HotWheels_StarTrek_back

Oooooo, Spock!
HotWheels_StarTrek_Spock

The Star Wars Hot Wheels gang!
HotWheels_StarWars
Looking good Mr Skywalker
HotWheels_StarWars_back

Join the dark side of the Hot Wheels force!
HotWheels_Darth
The Battle Of The Hot Wheels Universe!
HotWheels_SWvsST_2

Vader is all over Bones!
HotWheel_Darth_over_Dr

Filed Under: Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: Hot Wheels, Star Trek, Star Wars, Toys

The Thrill Of The Chase: Out and About

January 19, 2015 By ausretrogamer

An impromptu lunchtime sojourn comes up trumps! With no intention of hunting for retro or pop culture goodies, I was surprised what I found in Melbourne’s CBD (Central Business District) as I was out and about. From Sonic comics and video gaming related books, to bartop arcade machines at the most unlikeliest place, it was a lunch break I didn’t expect.

A great start to the week indeed. Oh yeh, my wallet was also worse for wear.

Green Lantern VS Zodac? *Mind completely blown*
Out_DCvsMOTU

An awesome book that is to be read by every gamer!
Out_ConsoleWars

Another awesome book. A great reference indeed!
Out_NintendoBoojk

One for the Zelda fans!
Out_Zeldatee
Wish I could flip through the pages of this book!
Out_art_book

Sonic Comic! Hey, that rhymes! 
Out_Sonic

Sega fans would love this!
Out_Sonic3

More Sonic love!
Out_Sonic2

Oh wow – Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back! I gotta get these!
Out_SilentBob

Your keys would ROCK and look MEGA on this keyring!
Out_MegaMan

Sam Fisher in his desert suit. Very cool indeed.
Out_Splinter

The dark side awaits!
Out_StarWars

An arcade machine in Myer? No way! Oh, that old school phone is cool too.
Out_Myer_arcade

Yes way – it is an arcade machine at Myer!
Out_Myer_arcade_side

The last word always goes to Ron Swanson.
Out_RonSwanson

Filed Under: Retro Exploring Tagged With: !Arcade!, Jay and Silent Bob, Myer, nintendo, Pop culture, Retro Gaming, sonic, The Thrill Of The Chase, thrill of the chase

Partying With My Retro Gaming Brethren

January 18, 2015 By ausretrogamer

Party_groupWhen I first ventured into retro gaming, little did I know that I would meet such awesome and like-minded people. Since establishing a great bond with the locally based Retro Domination and Weird and Retro guys, we have shared many a good time, not least of all, at our annual Classic Gaming extravaganza at PAX Aus.

With family priorities keeping me away for most of the 2014 PAX Aus event, the rest of the Classic Gaming crew, including the Adelaide based Retrospekt team, were hugely supportive, which was greatly appreciated.

As a thank you, Ms. ausretrogamer and I invited our Victorian based retro gaming colleagues to celebrate the grand opening of our new games room. Between the consumption of pizzas, beer, soft drinks and Ms. ausretrogamer’s famous Black Russians, there were pinball high score challenges, Frisbee action via Windjammers on the Neo Geo MVS and a lot of laughter and reminiscing. It was also great to meet Mrs. Daz Retro and their three lovely kids.

I was humbled to receive many gifts, which were totally unexpected. Matt Cawley handed me a few custom MVS boxes, Ultimate Body Blows and a number of other Amiga CD32 goodies. As per usual, Daz surprised me with a boxed (Last) Ninja 3 for the C64 and the equally awesome, Dracula – The Undead for the Atari Lynx. However, the biggest surprise came from Mr. Mark Cassar. Without any fanfare, Mark handed me an awesome custom-made ausretrogamer C64 t-shirt. To say I was rapt, would be a great understatement!

Since the new games room has now officially been opened, I hope to host many more retro gaming parties with great friends. Game on!

The calm before the retro gaming storm!
Party_Before

Pizzas, Drinks and great company = perfect ingredients for a party
Party_Pizzas_Drinks

Matt having a crack at the Pin*Bot high score!
Party_Matt_Pinbot

The great Mark Cassar taking a swing on the Neo Geo!
Party_Mark_NeoTurf

Daz showing the boys his flipper skills!
Party_Daz_Pinbot

The next generation of retro gamers
Party_Kids

The awesome gifts! I have been spoiled.
Party_Gifts

Filed Under: Pinball, Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: Amiga, C64, Neo Geo, pinball, Retro Gamers, retrogaming

A Brief History Of Graphics: Pixels, Sprites and Polygons

January 16, 2015 By ausretrogamer

Graphics_titleIf your New Year’s resolution was to learn more about video game graphics, you are in luck. For those of you with limited time to spare, I present three videos by Ahoy, providing a brief history of graphics; from pixels and sprites, to those super cool polygons! Are video games all about graphics? Of course not! Feast your eyes and ears right now, you may learn something.

Part 1: Pixels Pioneers

Part 2: Sprite Supreme

Part 3: Polygon Realm

source: Ahoy

Filed Under: History Tagged With: History, History of graphics, Pixels, Polygons, retrogaming, Sprites, video, video gaming graphics

Screen Scene: Screenshots of Awesome 80s Arcade Games

January 15, 2015 By ausretrogamer

WinnersWhen I first began playing video games in the early 80s, arcade games were the pinnacle of the gaming experience – they had huge cabinets, great graphics, booming sound, and if you were good enough (or had lots of 20 cent coins), gameplay that would keep you coming back.

Being a nostalgist, I was recently reminiscing about arcade games I played at the local darkened arcade parlour, the corner milk bar and also the fish and chips shop near my school. With a smile on my face, I compiled a number of screenshots of arcade games that kept me mesmerised in the 1980s. I hope these bring back great memories for you, as they have for me. Enjoy and remember, “Winners Don’t Use Drugs!”.

My favourite beat’em up of all time. Nothing beats the kneeing to the head and wrapping a baseball bat around a the Black Warriors head!
screens_DD

Save Ronnie and grab some burgers and coke! We are bad dudes fighting the dragon ninja!
screens_DN_badDudes
Still my go-to vertical shoot’em up! Plenty of 20c coins were spent on Galaga!
screens_Galaga

The little yellow dot muncher never let me down
screens_Pacman



The droning sound of this most awesomest of  dungeon-maze crawlers is still sublime
screens_WoW

Wrestling was huge in the mid 80s, and Wrestle War was a laugh!
Wrestling

Saving the kidnapped Madonna, one kick at a time!
screens_vigilante
Who could forget this aerial dogfighting classic from Yu Suzuki!
screens_afterburner
Another Yu Suzuki classic!
screens_space
The game that ushered in the Golden Age of Arcades
screens_space-invaders
The helicopter cockpit version of Thunder Blade was simply awesome!
screens_thunder



The ninja craze was huge in the 80s. Everyone wanted to throw shurikens like Joe!
screens_shinobi
My beat’em up love began with Kung Fu Master
screens_kungfu
It was either Salamander or R-Type. I chose Irem’s blaster!
screens_rtype

Yu Suzuki’s Out Run will always be associated with coolness!
screens_outrun

Ikari Warriors – guerrilla warfare with a mate
screens_ikari

Heavy Barrel – just like Ikari Warriors, but with a rotary stick to shoot baddies in 8-directions!
screens_heavy
Another Sega classic. This was as close as I got to riding a motocross bike in the 80s
screens_enduro

The seminal Nintendo classic will always be on my favourites list
screens_donkey
The timeless Taito platform beauty – I love you Bub and Bob
screens_bub_bob
A bomb disposal hero in leotards = perfect!
screens_bombjack
4P dungeon exploring never got any better than this!
screens_gauntlet
Tempest – the vector splendour!
screens_tempest
Going to Flashbacks on Swanston Street was always about Discs of Tron
screens_discoftron

Special agent action via Elevator Action
screens_Elevator

I wasn’t much of a skateboarder, but I was pretty good on 720 Degrees!
screens_720

The ultimate single-screen blaster!
screens_Robotron

There was something about Moon Patrol that I can’t even explain now!
screens_Moon

What would any 80s arcade list be without TMNT. Cowabunga!
screen_TMNT

Double Dragon started the 2P co-op beat’em up genre, Final Fight took it to another level!
screens_finalfight

 source: various – supplied on request



Filed Under: Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: 1980s, 80s, 80s arcade, retrogaming, screenshots

Nintendo Quest: The Unofficial And Unauthorised Nintendo Documentary

January 13, 2015 By ausretrogamer

NintendoQuest_titleDon’t you just love good news stories – I know I do! With 25 days to go, the Nintendo Quest – An Unofficial Nintendo and NES Documentary has already smashed its pledge target of $1,000! With alluring stretch goals, this Kickstarter project is bound to break all kinds of records! Let’s see how high it can go.

Jay_Nintendo_QuestFor those of you that want to know more about this documentary – it is a fun film that follows Jay Bartlett, a fanatic video game collector, who, on a dare, tries to collect all 678 original NES games – a long-time dream of his. The kicker is, Jay must achieve this tall order in 30 days without using the Internet in any way. While following Jay on his adventure, the film also examines Nintendo’s cultural history, their on-going legacy, and specifically, the endurance of the NES. I can’t wait to watch the finished product of this most unofficial and unauthorised Nintendo documentary ever!

Hit Kickstarter now!


source: Robert McCallum

Filed Under: Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: Kickstarter, NES, Nintendo Documentary, Nintendo Quest

The Thrill Of The Chase: First Blood 2015

January 11, 2015 By ausretrogamer

There is nothing like getting that first hunt under your belt for the new year. For our first retro hunt of 2015, Ms. ausretrogamer and I set our sights on the Camberwell Sunday Market – an open-air (car boot) style market near the Camberwell Junction in Melbourne.

The crowd gathers on a perfect summer’s day in Melbourne
thrill_market_crowd

Upon arrival, we searched for a good coffee place to get our all important caffeine fix. Once we were well caffeinated we hit the market stalls to look for loot of the retro and vintage kind. There were E.T. and Alf board games straight from the 1980s, sequined handbags with Pac-Man ghosts, Masters Of The Universe action figures with twisted legs and of course, lots of vinyl!

Board games of 80s aliens!
thrill_market_1

A Pac-Man handbag? Now I have seen it all!
thrill_market_pacmanbag

Mmmmmm, doughnuts!
thrill_market_food

Amongst the smell of hot dogs and delicious jam doughnuts, Ms. ausretrogamer finally caught the scent of some retro gaming items. We followed the scent to a nearby stall and found a PlayStation and Sega Master System console and gaming bundle. With the spurring of Ms. ausretrogamer to get the Master System bundle, I haggled on price and a deal was soon struck. Even though we have a few Master System consoles, it was the seven games that we were after in the deal. First blood had been struck for 2015. Till the next thrill of the chase…….

The prey has been found!
thrill_market_bundle

Can you hear me? These hipster speakers should help.thrill_market_speakers

5c per bowl? Damn games were cheap back in the old days.
thrill_market_bowling5c

The Master System loot is finally home! Time to play!
thrill_market_loot

Filed Under: Retro Exploring Tagged With: Camberwell Market, Master System, The Thrill Of The Chase, thrill of the chase

ABC Radio National – A Short History of Video Games

January 7, 2015 By ausretrogamer

ABCRN_ShortHistory_titleIt is always great to find video games based articles and programs published by major media outlets. This time around, our beloved Aunty (ABC Radio National) has got in on the video gaming action with an interesting piece on ‘A history of video games in five anecdotes’ by Dan Golding. The article is part of the A Short History Of Video Games program.

So what do the Australian Human Rights Commission, Alan Turing’s chess game, Toru Iwatani’s Pac Man and Australia’s first hit video game have in common? You’ll have to read Dan’s story here to find out.

While you are exploring the ABC Radio National’s ‘A Short History Of Video Games’ program, you may also want to listen to the accompanying podcasts. Listen to them, as you may learn something. Hit play and immerse yourself in a bit of video gaming history. Thank you Aunty.

ABCRN_ShortHistory_podcasts

source: ABC Radio National

Filed Under: History Tagged With: ABC Radio National, Aunty, retrogaming, video gaming history

Smells Like Christmas 1992/1993

January 5, 2015 By ausretrogamer

Ah yeah, I remember the festive season of 1992/93 quite well. Shane Warne was mesmerising the opposition with his leggies and Sharon Stone was uncrossing her legs in Basic Instinct.

On the gaming front, it was all about the 16-bit beasts from Sega and Nintendo, but there was still some fighting spirit left in the 8-bit consoles. The Australian gaming charts for December/January 1992/93 show that it was Sonic 2 kicking ten shades out of the opposition on the Sega consoles, while the usual suspects were doing their thing on the Nintendo systems.

XmasSpirit_chartsWho could forget the Sega Powerline – the guys on the hotline were there to help you beat Robotnik with a ‘Super Dash Attack’ – they did warn kids to seek their parents permission to call, as the 70c per minute was highway robbery.

XmasSpirit_SegaHotlineOh yeah, there was also the Sega Club. The Club was created to entice you to become a member and get your hands on some tasty exclusive Sega gear! With an annual membership cost of $20, it was well worth sending in your credit card details.

XmasSpirit_SegaClubAs per usual, Ocean was peddling their latest videogame film tie-in, Lethal Weapon. Slated for all 8 and 16-bit computers and consoles, the Master System version mysteriously didn’t make it due to unknown reasons – perhaps a blessing!

XmasSpirit_LethalWeapon_vgStill on the Ocean bandwagon, their wares were still going strong in the early 90s. The Dream Team consisted of games that transcended popular culture, from The Simpsons and wrestling, to the T800 Arnie becoming a good guy. I won’t be back to play!

XmasSpirit_DreamBeing the festive season, Sega was eager to cash in on the Christmas rush and wrestle you away from the Game Boy and buy their newfangled handheld, the Game Gear – the ultimate escape kit. Who could resist a bit of Streets Of Rage on the go!

XmasSpirit_GearWith grunge popularity at its peak and the video gaming industry pumping out awesome games to keep us entertained, it definitely smelled like a great Christmas in 1992/93.

 

Filed Under: History Tagged With: 1992, 1993, Christmas 92/93, December/January 92-93, MegaZone, Retro Gaming, Smells Like Teen Spirit

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