When Ram Man was asked by his friend He-Man to go to the local arcade centre, little did he know that the most powerful man in the universe was going to show him up at Galaga.
Their friendship is now frosty.
Did You Know Gaming: Donkey Kong
The DYKG crew have done it again! This time around, Nintendo’s Donkey Kong gets the Did You Know Gaming treatment. I confess, I am a huge fan of their site and love finding out stuff I had forgotten about or did not know at all. Press play and enjoy the history.
source: DYKGaming
The 80’s Arcade
The year is 1985. You walk into a smoky arcade parlour and the sounds of Galaga, Robotron:2084, Pac Man and Asteroids fill your ears. Dire Straits is blaring from the crackling sound system singing something about “Money For Nothing”.
You make a beeline to your favourite arcade machine. Coins are lined up on the screen as you eagerly await your turn. Once you get hold of the joystick and your fingers are poised on the fire button, excitement and joy fills your heart as you dash towards the last remaining aliens, pew pew, pew. The machine rocks and vibrates as you attempt to beat the high score. Just one more level, one more ghost, one more kick, one more blast and you will be the star of the arcade and immortalised forever on the high score table.
Those were the days before game-saves and redemption machines, when every game cost 20 cents and every life was important – an era that required true skill and nerves of steel to play.
Sony unveils the new PS Vita handheld and PS Vita TV
Sony has unveiled their latest PS Vita model and the new addition to their hardware family, the PS Vita TV. I think i just heard Microsoft quaking in their boots.
Sony PS Vita
Features:
- The new model replaces the original’s OLED screen with a 5 inch LCD screen
- It is 1.5cm thick (20% thinner) and weighs 219 grams (15% lighter)
- Has a built-in 1GB memory
- Comes in a range of six colours
Sony PS Vita TV
Features:
- Inexpensive version of Sony’s latest PS Vita that plays games on your TV rather than the palm of your hand
- It has a card slot for playing your physical PS Vita games; but can also download PS Vita, PSOne classics, and PSP games from the PlayStation Store
- Can stream content from popular services such as Hulu or Netflix
- Will have a remote play function allowing you to stream PlayStation 4 games to another television (Ed: Yes!)
- Connects to your tv through HDMI and plays games in 720p and 1080i
Does this Sony announcement excite you? I am not much of a PS Vita fan (I still use my Nintendo DS and Sony PSP), but the PS Vita TV does get me quite excited!
Arcade in Paradise
I don’t know about you, but I still get that ‘butterflies in the stomach’ feeling whenever I stumble upon an amusement parlour (Ed: It is called an entertainment centre!).
During our recent trip to Queensland, not only did we stumble upon an amusement parlour, but we hit the jackpot – we found the largest Timezone in the world! A gaming paradise spanning over 5,000 square metres. This multi ‘Gold Coast Business Excellence Award’ winning entertainment centre knows how to cater for all gamers – young and old.
Timezone Funtasia has been part of the Surfers Paradise fabric for many moons. No visit to Cavill Mall is complete without going up the escalators and entering this great funhouse. There are the usual redemption machines, arcade machines based on smarthphone games (Ed: Doodle Jump!), lots of shooting and driving games, fighting games (Ed: I love a bit of Tekken), sports games (Virtua Tennis 4 is pure bliss), pool tables, slot car racing, miniature bowling alleys, air hockey and pinball tables, laser skirmish, merry-go-rounds, and even a dodgem (bumper) cars rink.
I know what you are thinking – were there any old arcade machines from the late 80s and early 90s? Sadly, there wasn’t. The oldest machines were Sega’s 8-player Daytona USA and Namco’s Point Blank. However, there were enough machines and tables to keep you occupied for hours, literally!
The two videos below give you a glimpse of this Timezone. Nothing will beat being there in person and immersing yourself in a game; savouring the game play, hearing the sound effects, music and most importantly, the feel of playing on a machine. If you do find yourself on the Gold Coast, give Timezone a visit, you will not regret it!
If you would like to feast your eyes on more arcade machines from TimeZone, check out our album.
Mario Paint Composer: Daft Punk – Get Lucky
If you thought the 8-bit rendition of Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’ was cool, wait till you hear jeonghoon95’s arrangement of the song using Mario Paint Composer! Let your ears enjoy the tune.
source: jeonghoon95
Stop Motion: Donkey Kong and Final Fantasy
Mash’em Up: Super Mario Bros. 3 vs Contra
On the back of Guizdp’s awesome Duck Hunt + Mega Man 2 amalgamation comes the heavyweight mashup; Super Mario Bros. 3 + Contra! There is something endearing seeing Mario blasting away with a gun.
source: guizdp
Nintendo Glory: 2DS
Well, well, well, what do we have here then – a slab of Nintendo with quite the clever moniker, the 2DS! There seems to be a lot of buzz surrounding Nintendo’s imminent handheld system; it’s either love it or hate it.
I must admit, my first impressions were quite negative. However, being aware that Nintendo is a brand I have trusted for over 30 years, I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Once released, I’ll have a play in-store and see if it suits me or not. At the end of the day, if I don’t like it, I won’t buy it. For those that already have a 3DS/XL, just turn off the 3D and you have yourself a 2DS (Ed: drawing a long bow there!).
If you are interested to know, the Australian release date will be on the same day as the US, October 12. Be prepared to pay a little more than our US cousins; the suggested retail price will be $149.95.
image and video source: Nintendo
Secret Agent Showdown: 4125 vs Albatross
The retro gaming secret agent showdown to end all showdowns! Impossible Mission’s Agent 4125 takes on Rolling Thunder’s Agent Albatross. There is no room for Mr. Bond in this battle.
 |
 |
|
| Game: | Impossible Mission | Rolling Thunder |
| Agent ID: | 4125 | Albatross |
| Organisation: | Unknown | World Crime Police Organization |
| Skills: | – Riding Elevators – Somersaulting over deadly robots – Finding password pieces |
– Espionage – Opening lots of doors – Eliminating “Maskers” |
| Weapons: | None | Pistol or Assault Rifle |
| Mission: | Stop the evil Professor Elvin Atombender |
Save agent Leila Blitz from Geldra |
For your next mission, should you choose to accept it, which secret agent would you rather be?
