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RESET C64 Magazine: Issue 4 Out Now!

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RESET_titleAugust is always a special month. Not only is it the month that my sibling was born, it is also the month that my favourite 8-bit home computer was released, the Commodore 64.

What better way to make my RESET magazine contribution debut by timing it with the 32nd anniversary of the beloved C64. Issue 4 of RESET is out now and is totally free. Get yours here!

This latest issue is bursting at the seams with all things C64 (Ed: but of course!)! So another big thank you to Kevin Tilley for putting together another great issue and for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this awesome C64-centric magazine. Till issue 5, happy reading!

 

Hipster Retro Gaming

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Hardcore Pong Action!! Dual With Your Friends!! Fun to Play!!

Now this Pong clone is a nice piece of video gaming history. Made in New Zealand by C.V.T. Industries, Videosport comes packed with four Pong variants: Solo, Tennis, Squash and Ice Hockey. You get all of this Pong goodness wrapped up in a gorgeous woodgrain veneer. Hipsters rejoice!

All you need to play Pong!
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Dial-a-game!
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C.V.T. Industries should be proud of this beauty
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Not much to the controllers
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Perfect for Pong control
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Oo’er, woodgrain veneer
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Hook me up Scotty!
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Australia’s Top 100 Video Games

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GGTV_top100_HdrAustralia, you have spoken. More to the point, Australian gamers have voted for their top 100 video games of all time.

Presented on our favourite national video games based TV show, Good Game, Steven O’Donnell (aka: Bajo) and Stephanie Bendixsen (aka: Hex), together with Gus Ronald (aka: Goose) and a ragtag of industry luminaries counted down our favourites in an hour long special that aired on August 12.

So what was the game that beat them all?  If you missed the show, don’t stress, you can stream or download the episode (episode 28) from the Good Game TV website. 

Without spoiling it too much for you, here are the highlights:

  • there were a few retro games in the top 100, mainly from the Nintendo stable (ahem, N64 represent!)
  • my all time favourite game, Super Mario Bros. anchored the list at 100 (Ed: Boo!)
  • the Irrelevant Tosser’s pick, Clowns (Commodore 64) was a nostalgic trip. Too bad it didn’t make the top 100
  • Zelda games featured better than Mario (Ed: another boo!)
  • The mayhem of Goldeneye 007 for the N64 made it into the top 20
  • There was no love for Sonic nor Shenmue (Ed: sorry for spoiling that for you!)
  • The show’s Rubber Chicken award provided some light relief from the seriousness of counting down Australia’s top 100 games of all time

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One thing was for certain, this list did spark some frantic discussion on social media (), but hey, that’s exactly what lists do – they create engagement, good and bad.

It seems that my votes counted for two out of my three games, but I must admit I was shocked not to see Super Mario World anywhere on the list. Ah well, I guess the voting demographic may have been in nappies when that game was rocking our socks. Did your favourite games make the top 100?

image source: Good Game

 

Arcade Legends Of The Golden Age

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ArcadeLegendsGrowing up during the golden age of arcade gaming, I didn’t know nor care who created them, I just wanted to have fun playing them. I was always on the lookout for titles that other gamers and friends were talking about. Who was Dave Theurer or Eugene Jarvis? These names didn’t mean a thing to me as a youngster. As long as I had coins to pump into the machines, I was happy.

With passing of time, my curiosity got the better of me. Forgetting about the Sega, Atari, Taito, Nintendo, Namco arcade brands, I was curious to know who the human beings were behind some of the industry’s most iconic arcade games.

This is my way of paying homage to the real creative legends of the arcade games I loved (still love) playing.

Welcome to the ausretrogamer ‘Arcade Legends Hall of Fame’.

YuSuzukiName: Yu Suzuki
Company: Sega Enterprises
Games: After Burner, Out Run, Space Harrier, Hang-On, Virtua Fighter
Comment: The Michaelangelo of the video games industry

 

EugeneJarvisName: Eugene Jarvis
Company: Atari, Williams Electronics
Games: Defender, Robotron:2084, Stargate, Smash TV, NARC
Comment: Arcade games and pinball designer extraordinaire

 

EdLoggName: Ed Logg
Company: Atari
Games: Asteroids, Centipede, Millipede, Gauntlet series
Comment: Quarter guzzling arcade master

 

DaveTheurerName: Dave Theurer
Company: Atari
Games: Missile Command, Tempest, I,Robot
Comment: Pioneering game designer that was inspired by Pong

 

YoshikiName: Yoshiki Okamoto
Company: Konami, Capcom
Games: Time Pilot, Gyruss, 1942, Gun.Smoke, Final Fight, Street Fighter II
Comment: The arcade games innovator

 

ShigeruMiyamotoName: Shigeru Miyamoto
Company: Nintendo
Game: Donkey Kong
Comment: Critically acclaimed influencer of the video gaming industry

 

ToruIwataniName: Toru Iwatani
Company: Namco
Game: Pac-Man
Comment: World record holder of the most installed arcade machines

 

TomohiroNishikadoName: Tomohiro Nishikado
Company: Taito
Game: Space Invaders
Comment: The granddaddy of the killer arcade game

 

YoshihisaKishimotoName: Yoshihisa Kishimoto
Company: Technos
Game: Double Dragon
Comment: The grandfather of the beat’em up genre

 

It is always difficult composing such a list as there will be other deserving arcade game creators that will miss out. Who would be your pick for your arcade legends hall of fame?

 

The Thrill Of The Chase: Pinball Dreams

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This thrill of the chase is special. Well, all of the chases and hunts are special and exciting in their own unique way, but this one, this one tops them all (Ed: for now!).

You know that one item you had been lusting after for decades, but it was always out of reach? Yeh, that one! The latest thrill fulfils a life long lust for a pinball table. I can now cross off ‘get a pinball table’ from the retro gaming bucket list. The previous owner did warn me though – you can never stop at one pinball machine! I shudder at the thought.

Once PIN•BOT was in its rightful place and switched on, it was like I had traveled back in time, a time when I was young and carefree. The sight of the flashing lights, the sounds, the metal ball – there is nothing quite like pinball. Oh yeah, that robotic speech just sends chills down my spine!

The table has been set to freeplay and I can tell you, PIN•BOT is one punishing game. I definitely need to work on my twitch skills!

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Super Mario Warfare

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Inspired by the Mario Warfare videos, the artist known as Hakashidnrc has brought these characters to life in digital art form!

It is great to see both Mario and Luigi all battle hardened. Browsing through these artworks, your eyeballs will definitely thank you.

If you would like to further overload your optic nerve, check out some more Hakashidnrc artwork over here.

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image source: Hakashidnrc

Atari: Game Over

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Atari_GameOverBack in April of this year, we reported on the impending dig of the sacred Atari burial site in Alamogordo, New Mexico. We all waited with bated breath as photos trickled in showing what the landfill was hiding all these years.

After a few months, Fuel Entertainment Studios and Xbox Entertainment Studios have now released their first official trailer of the upcoming documentary. We are definitely looking forward to this documentary, but the focus on THAT one game that Howard Scott Warshaw created that brought down the industry is misleading at the least. We hope the finished film will have a balanced perspective of what really happened over 30 years ago.


source: Xbox

Bender’s 8-Bit Brain

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Bender_6502_titleThere was a microprocessor arms race in the early seventies. Both Intel and Motorola lead the way, but that all changed in 1975. MOS Technology (MOS) introduced us to the 6502 microprocessor – the world’s first affordable 8-bit microprocessor. An interesting fact about the 6502 is that the designers were ex-Motorola employees.

The trusty 6502 became the brains of seminal computer systems like the Apple II, the Commodore PET, the BBC Micro, and the Commodore VIC-20. It was also the precursor to the Commodore 64’s 6510 microprocessor!

The 6502 microprocessor also went on to power a very famous fictional machine: Bender Bending Rodriguez, or simply just, Bender –  the belligerent robot from the sci-fi animated comedy Futurama.

Long live the 6502!

Image source: Futurama TM and © 2009 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

 

Top 5 Games Charts: July 1991

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top5gamescharts_titleAh, 1991 – what a year! I was half way through finishing high school and was knee deep in mid-year examinations. In the midst of the educational pressure (and hanging out with mates at the local arcade), I did find time to play video games. Speaking of which, these were the chart toppers for the month of July 1991. I am still shocked that there were no Konami games in the top 5 for the NES!

Do you have any fond memories of these titles?

 

  1) Golden Axe (Sega)
2) Ninja (Sega)
3) Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade (US Gold)
4) Wonder Boy III: The Dragon’s Trap (Sega)
5) World Soccer (Sega)

 

  1) Gremlins 2 (Sunsoft)
2) Super Mario Bros. 2 (Nintendo)
3) Mega Man 2 (Nintendo / Capcom)
4) Wrath of the Black Manta (Taito)
5) World Wrestling (Tecmo)

 

1) Midnight Resistance (Data East)
2) PGA Tour Golf (Electronic Arts)
3) Gynough (Sega / Masaya)
4) Lakers vs Celtics (Electronic Arts)
5) Verytex (Sega / OperaHouse)

 

1) Parasol Stars (Taito)
2) Legend of Hero Tonma (Irem)
3) Jackie Chan (Hudson)
4) Dead Moon (NEC / T.S.S.)
5) Final Match Tennis (Human)