ausretrogamer

Celebrating the Atari Lynx

October 3, 2014 By ausretrogamer

It may have started life on a napkin back in 1986, but it wasn’t officially released to the gaming public as the world’s first 16-bit colour handheld till October 1989 (Ed: the Atari Lynx was officially released on September 1 1989, but it wasn’t available for retail till October of that year). The Epyx Handy, which would eventually become the Atari Lynx, celebrates a significant milestone – it’s another year older and it is still kicking nostalgic goals!

The Atari Lynx may have been decimated in market share by the Game Boy juggernaut, but it’s place in history is undeniable. It didn’t bask in the same glory as Nintendo’s little pocket rocket, let’s face it, no other handhelds did, but with 16-bit colour graphics, support for hardware scaling, great arcade conversions and the ability to link up with friends, the Lynx was still a force to be reckoned with. With two system variants, the Lynx provided many hours of fun – as long as you were stocked to the teeth with AA batteries.

We wrote about the Lynx’s history (Ed: you can read that here), which in typical Atari fashion was quite colourful, with lots of twists and turns. This feature celebrates everything about the mighty 16-bit colour handheld – its hardware revisions, its awesomest games and some very interesting facts.

The Lynx was truly ahead of its time. Long live the Atari Lynx!

Hardware Comparison:

Game Cards – Curled vs Flat:

Awesomest Atari Lynx Games:

Interesting Atari Lynx Facts:

It was initially going to be the Atari Portable Entertainment System. But once it was pointed out that the acronym would be APES, the name change was swift;
The Lynx was christened many names before Atari settled with the name we now know and love – it went from being the Epyx Handy, APES, Nuclear Toaster to finally, the Lynx;
The model name was chosen due to the system’s ability to link up with multiple machines. It wasn’t in reference to the big cat of the same name;
It was the first home system to support hardware scaling, just like After Burner and Pit Fighter in the arcades;
Mikey was the first sound chip in any console to provide specialist sampled sound support on all four channels;
Game cards could store up to a maximum of two megabytes;
The 8-bit CPU was paired with a 16-bit math co-processor – this took a lot of the cycle load off the CPU and allowed the Lynx to provide super fast game play;
It was the first colour LCD with a 16-bit graphics chip (Suzy) – providing 4,096 colours to choose from with a maximum of 16 per scanline.

Classic Gaming at PAX Aus 2014

October 1, 2014 By ausretrogamer

Hey PAX Aus peeps! Maps are now available for the 2014 event! Make sure you come around to our Classic Gaming area for a nostalgic hit.

For those of you that like panels, you can catch a few of us from Retrospekt, Retro Domination and yours truly at the Best [retro] video games you’ve [probably] never played panel on Saturday, November 1st at 11:00am in the Kookaburra Theatre. Oh yeah, Weird And Retro has a couple of awesome panels too, so be there or be a pixelated square!

PAX Aus 2014: October 31 – November 2, 2014 at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Click map to enlarge

Activision: Happy 35th Birthday

October 1, 2014 By ausretrogamer

What do you do when the company you make video games for does not want to recognise nor pay you royalties for your efforts? You become disgruntled and leave that company with a few of your programmer co-workers and form your own company. Well, that is pretty much how Activision was created – to break the shackles from Atari and recognise the programming geniuses behind some of the most beloved video games of all time.

In creating Activision; David Crane, Larry Kaplan, Alan Miller, and Bob Whitehead became the world’s first third-party video games developers. So thank you to the courage of these men, we can only speculate (Ed: shudder to think!) what would have happened if we didn’t have a third-party video games developer community.

Activision has changed over the last three and a half decades, as has the video games market, but its legacy will not be forgotten. We still love playing their creations from all those years ago, from Pitfall! and River Raid on the Atari 2600, to breaking joysticks with Decathlon on the C64. Ah, those were the days. Happy 35th birthday Activision!

Retro Games with Modern Themes: Retro Games and Movies Mashup

September 29, 2014 By ausretrogamer

As featured in the French art book, Geek-Art: An Anthology: Art, Design, Illustration & Pop Culture, we have found these very cool illustrations of fictional classic video game boxes adapted for films and TV shows.

We love the hand-written notes on the packaging – a very nice touch. With so much awesomeness to look at, we can’t pick a favourite. Can you?

source: Penney Design

Retro Gaming: Solid State Media

September 25, 2014 By ausretrogamer

There is no point in pretending that I am a fan of downloadable content (DLC) – just for the record, I am not a fan! However, I can’t deny that it is the way of the future, unfortunately.

There is a sense of gratification when holding something precious like old school video games in your hands. That tactile pleasure is not the same as hitting the ‘Download Now‘ button. As solid state media becomes extinct, the pleasure of holding games in your hands and looking at the back to “check out the graphics” will become a thing of the past – something to tell your grandchildren.

Just like books adorning your personal library, there is an intoxicating atmosphere of nostalgia when you are able to view and touch your retro gaming collection. There is a sense of cultural importance in preserving these collections. Be proud of your gaming cartridges, diskettes, tapes, CDs, cards, DVDs and Blu-Rays. They may be going the same way as the dodo bird, but our passion for preserving these artefacts will ensure that they are enjoyed for generations to come.

Jason Paul’s Arcade Run: Free Running In 8-Bit

September 23, 2014 By ausretrogamer

You got to hand it to Red Bull, they know how to excite, and I am not talking about the Taurine in their drinks!

Red Bull is synonymous with adrenaline rush and death-defying events, from freestyle motocross to base jumping. You want excitement, Red Bull delivers it in spades.

It was about time Red Bull incorporated their hardcore sporting elements with video games. The product that they have come up with is some very cool free running (parkour style) in the form of an 8-bit platformer. Take a bow Jason Paul and Team Farang!

Warning: Do not attempt this at home!

source: Red Bull

If you want to know how this Arcade Run was done, check it out here.

The Roast Of Super Mario

September 22, 2014 By ausretrogamer

The superstar of video games, that plucky little Italian plumber gets roasted hard! This is one hilarious roast! Even Mario’s brother gets in on the action, which goes horribly wrong (Ed: poor Luigi). You got to love a good old fashion roasting. With friends like these, who needs enemies aye?

source: College Humor

Retro Supercuts: Arcades In Movies

September 16, 2014 By ausretrogamer

When watching a movie, do you get excited when you see a scene with a video gaming reference? I know I definitely do! I get even more excited when I see arcade machines in movies. Speaking of which, Ben Craw, a video editor at The Huffington Post, has created a four-minute retro supercut video of arcades in movies (1975 to 1994).

Watch the video first and see how many movies you can list. Did you pick them all? If you want to cheat, scroll down (Ed: damn cheats!).

source: Huffington Post

Here it is, the complete list of arcade games that appear in movies:

“Rancho Deluxe” (1975)
“Jaws” (1975)
“Jaws 2” (1978)
“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (1978)
“Dawn of the Dead” (1978)
“Midnight Madness” (1980)
“Bustin’ Loose” (1981)
“Death Wish II” (1982)
“Rocky III” (1982)
“Tron” (1982)
“Fast Times at Ridgemont High” (1982)
“Jekyll and Hyde… Together Again” (1982)
“The Toy” (1982)
“Joysticks” (1983)
“WarGames” (1983)
“Twilight Zone: The Movie” (1983)
“Strange Brew” (1983)
“Nightmares” [segment ‘Bishop of Battle’] (1983)
“Never Say Never Again” (1983)
“High School U.S.A.” (1983)
“Rumble Fish” (1983)
“Footloose” (1984)
“Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” (1984)
“Ghostbusters” (1984)
“Gremlins” (1984)
“The Karate Kid” (1984)
“The Last Starfighter” (1984)
“The Philadelphia Experiment” (1984)
“The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension” (1984)
“Ninja III: The Domination” (1984)
“Night of the Comet” (1984)
“The Last Dragon” (1985)
“Code of Silence” (1985)
“The Goonies” (1985)
“Real Genius” (1985)
“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” (1986)
“Maximum Overdrive” (1986)
“The Color of Money” (1986)
“Something Wild” (1986)
“Over the Top” (1987)
“Can’t Buy Me Love” (1987)
“Best Seller” (1987)
“Death Wish 4: The Crackdown” (1987)
“Bloodsport” (1988)
“Big” (1988)
“Parenthood” (1989)
“Back to the Future Part II” (1989)
“The Wizard” (1989)
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (1990)
“RoboCop 2” (1990)
“Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (1991)
“Suburban Commando” (1991)
“Juice” (1992)
“Encino Man” (1992)
“Honeymoon in Vegas” (1992)
“Roadside Prophets” (1992)
“Toys” (1992)
“Double Dragon” (1994)

The Players’ Score – A Videogame Music Documentary

September 12, 2014 By ausretrogamer

Despite the growing popularity of game music and chiptunes, there hasn’t been a comprehensive effort to chronicle their contributions to modern music and gaming culture. The Players’ Score: A Videogame Music Documentary aims to explore the relationships, developments and communities videogame music has fostered through live interviews with prominent videogame cover bands, chiptune artists, and the composers who inspire them in order to demonstrate the cultural and personal impact of videogame music.

Spanning the globe, participants have come from North America, Europe, and even Japan, with more artists being confirmed daily. Here is a brief selection of the artists who will be featured in The Players’ Score – A Videogame Music Documentary:

– Austin Wintory (Journey, The Banner Saga)
– Bit Brigade
– Danimal Cannon
– Danny Barranowsky (Super Meat Boy, The Binding of Isaac)
– Grant Kirkhope (Banjo-Kazooie, Kingdoms of Amalur)
– Grant “Stemage” Henry (Metroid Metal, LonelyRollingStars)
– Hiroki Kikuta (Secret of Mana, Koudelka, Shining Hearts)
– Jake “virt” Kaufman
– Jeremy Soule (The Elder Scrolls series, Guild Wars series)
– Manami Matsumae (Mega Man, Shovel Knight)
– Mega Ran
– Morgan “Crashfaster” Tucker
– Norihiko Hibino (Metal Gear Solid series, Bayonetta)
– Starbomb
– The Megas
– The Minibosses
– The Triforce Quartet

Many more artists have already been filmed, and more will be announced as they are confirmed.

Show your support by spreading the word and pledge towards The Players’ Score – A Videogame Music Documentary.

Mega Drive Megatron and Optimus Prime Playstation

September 10, 2014 By ausretrogamer

Let’s all start with a collective sigh of disappointment. Why the disappointment? Well, after getting quite excited over the announcement that Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. would release special console Transformers to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the robots in disguise, there has been another delay in their availability.

The Mega Drive Megatron was originally slated for a September release, but that has now been pushed out to October. Optimus Prime (featuring original Playstation) won’t see the light of day till 2015 (no exact date known). On the positive side, the delay should give you extra time to save – these Transformers won’t be cheap (~$103AUD).

For now, you can drool over the photos of these awesome console Transformers!

The sleek Megatron!