ausretrogamer

Sharp Metal Blades

August 13, 2013 By ausretrogamer

TB_flyer BoS_Flyer

‘Thunder Blade’ or ‘Blades of Steel’ – what’s in a name? Hang on; are we talking about helicopter gunships, ice hockey or a samurai sword fighting game here? Don’t you just love mysterious titles?

Of course you know these games have nothing more in common than the reference to ‘Blade’ in their titles.

TB_gameplay

‘Thunder Blade’, possibly borrowing from the movie, Blue Thunder (Ed: not confirmed!), is about a high-tech attack helicopter trying to save mankind from some evil-doers. Sega’s 1987 arcade shooter was housed in two arcade guises: a stand-up cabinet with a force feedback joystick; and the awesomely cool sit-down cockpit version with the seat moving in tandem with joystick movements. The conversions sadly lacked this aspect. On the other hand, Konami’s 1987 ice-hockey game, ‘Blades of Steel’ is about dudes trying to play a game of ice hockey while breaking out into a bare-knuckle interlude (or should that be the other way around?). The arcade controls were unique for this game – a back-lit optical trackball to control players and three buttons, one dedicated for punching! Apart from both games being released in 1987, they could not be any more different from one another.

BoS_gameplay

So there you have it, confusion clarified (Ed: really?) – Two very different games with very similar titles. You are more than welcome. Now go and play some video games!

Retro Gaming: The Next Generation

August 11, 2013 By ausretrogamer

I had the best surprise from my nine-year-old nephew – he recited the Super Mario Bros. tune one-handed on his piano! I was proud as punch and blown away when he told me that he had only been practising that morning. Being a shy kid, I promised him that I would only film his hands during the recital. It is great to see that the retro gaming baton is in great hands with our next generation.

source: ausretrogamer

C64: Ode To Thee

August 9, 2013 By ausretrogamer

“Are you keeping up with the Commodore? Because the Commodore is keeping up with you.” – the famous jingle from the 1980’s TV advertisements for the C64 is still stuck in my head. As it turned out, millions of computer gamers were keeping up with the jewel in Commodore’s crown.

The affinity we have with the C64 spans more than three decades. It has seen us grow from that awkward shy kid to a charismatic adult (well, for most of us!).

The trusty 8-bit from Commodore was released on this day (August 9, 1982) at a cost of $595 (almost $1500 in today’s money!). What you got for this price was “A computer that’s light years ahead of its competition”. At the time, the C64 was pitched as an office computer, which threw it up against the likes of the Apple II+ ($1530), IBM PC ($1565), Tandy TRS-80 III ($999) and Atari 800 ($899) computers. With hindsight, we know that the C64’s success came from those budding kids coding and playing the latest video games in their bedroom – I should know, I was one of those kids.

The C64 went through a number of hardware and cosmetic revisions, with the original breadbox being our sentimental favourite. The C64 enjoyed a fruitful existance, but with the emergence of the 16-bit era, the end was nigh for the brown/beige Commodore – the C64 was officially discontinued in 1994.

Everyone’s memory of the C64 is filled with fondness. The C64 had the power to lure you to it and use it – especially for gaming! It also kickstarted a lot of coding and music / chiptune maestro careers. The C64’s rivalry with Amstrad and Spectrum were (still are) legendary, with school-yards becoming the arguing battlegrounds. Just for the record, the C64 was and still is the king!

The C64 will forever be remembered for the joy and fun it brought to the masses, myself included. The C64 still remains in use in our household with the view to passing it on to the next generation to enjoy and appreciate. Long live the C64!

For those of you keen to know what was under the hood of the C64, read on:

Microprocessor: MOS 6510 – a beefed up 6502 with additional input/output lines

Memory:

RAM: 64K
ROM: 20K (containing the OS and Commodore BASIC language)

Keyboard: Full size typewriter style with 66 keys

Display: VIC-II chip

40 columns x 25 lines;
16 colours;
320 x 200 pixels;
TV out (RF)

Sound: 6581 Sound Interface Device (SID) chip

3 independent voice
9 octaves
4 waveforms (sawtooth, triangle, variable pulse and noise)
Programmable ADSR (attack, decay, sustain, release) generator

Connectivity:

2 x Joystick ports
Power
Cartridge (ROM) port
TV Out (RF)
Printer
Digitial Tape
GPIO/RS-232 (Serial)

Retro Gaming Themed Music Video: Avicii & Sebastien Drums

August 8, 2013 By ausretrogamer

How many video game titles can you spot in Avicii & Sebastien Drums’ My Feelings For You (Original Mix) – The Annual 2011 music video?

source: mySuperstar.TV

Review A Bad Game Day: Street Fighter

August 5, 2013 By ausretrogamer

Welcome aboard the Crapsville Express. Last year, Hard Drivin’ was served up as a turd for Review A Bad Game Day – this year the gong goes to another coin-op conversion.

Game: Street Fighter
Genre: Fighting
Format: C64
Year: 1988
Publisher: GO!
Developer: Tiertex

Prior to the sublime ‘Street Fighter II: The World Warrior’ SNES home conversion, there was the abhorrent C64 fighting game’ Street Fighter’.

Where does one even start with this game? For those of you not familiar with the series, ‘Street Fighter’ made its debut in the arcades in 1987. On the back of its success, the home version quickly followed on all conceivable platforms of the time, including the C64.

Tiertex brought this foul stench of a fighting game to our trusty and much loved 8-bit home computer. I suspect the coding was done by a drunk programmer or their pet monkey. How this passed any quality assurance testing is beyond my comprehension. Anyway, on with the review…

‘Street Fighter’, as you may have guessed, is based on Capcom’s 1987 arcade game. You enter the worldwide martial arts tournament as Ryu and fight opponents from across the globe in order to become the street fighting champion. Ryu’s fighting arsenal is made up of various punches and kicks – that’s it (no special attacks!). Each battle has timed rounds; the winner being the last fighter standing. After each battle, Ryu competes in bonus rounds, smashing bricks to earn extra points.

If you manage to bribe a friend to play ‘Street Fighter’, you could have yourself a two-player grudge match – Ryu vs Ken. The winner proceeds to take on the computer-controlled fighters, while the loser is subjected to watching this dreadful game being played – even the CIA plays by fairer rules of torture!

The graphics are childish and messy – they do nothing to show off the C64’s abilities. The fighters tend to clash with the background. I reckon I could have drawn better sprites and backgrounds with crayons! ‘How about the sound?’ you may ask – let’s not even go there if you like your hearing the way it is. The effects and tunes are better suited for an Atari 2600 game, not a game that should be taking advantage of the C64’s SID chip. The clincher of this turdfest is the control – before there was button mashing, there was joystick and wrist breaking. The control is absolutely abysmal, by the time you attempt to pull off an attack; it is already too late, game over (which is probably a good thing!).

The C64 had quite a few poor arcade conversions in its time, and sadly ‘Street Fighter’ makes this list. Had it not been for the stinker Hard Drivin’, this would have been number 1 in Crapsville. Play it at your peril!

Graphics	Crappy sprites with even crappier backgrounds.	15%
Sound	Turn down the volume on your TV, I am warning you!	10%
Playability	Laughable. Apart from the terrible look and sound of this game, the controls let it down big time.	5%
Lastability	It will last as fast as you can turn off your C64.	2%
Overall	Stay away! This is another poor C64 arcade conversion. If you want to play a great fighting game on your C64, try International Karate!	9%

First Person Sonic The Hedgehog

August 2, 2013 By ausretrogamer

Do you wonder what Sonic The Hedgehog would look like if you played it in first person? Wonder no more – the cool and talented lot at Machinima have turned Sega’s 2D platformer into a first person delight.

Source: Machinima

Book Review: Atari Inc. – Business Is Fun

July 30, 2013 By ausretrogamer

‘Atari Inc. – Business Is Fun’ documents Atari’s history from its humble beginnings in the early 70s, to its meteoric rise and then, its downward spiral in the 80s. Atari had a big hand in bringing video gaming to the masses, and then almost bringing the same industry to its knees. These events are all retold in exquisite detail.

From its very beginnings, Atari lacked (business) discipline and clear market direction. It is evident from this book, that Atari just wanted to be part of the video games action, no matter what. Co-founder Nolan Bushnell aggressively advanced the company and Atari’s market and popularity grew rapidly. It seemed that Atari could not put a foot wrong – everything they created, from coin operated machines to the Video Computer System (2600) console, turned to gold.

There was a culture of ‘anything goes’ inside Atari, from their weekly staff parties to casual drug taking – it was all about having fun while creating video gaming hardware and software!

Stripping back the myths and misconceptions, this book sets the record straight in what went on behind the scenes at Atari. It wasn’t all glamour and high-fives. The authors spoke to the ‘real’ people at Atari who gave first person accounts of their experiences in the once titan of the video games industry.

The content grips you like a vice and does not let go until you have read every page. There are a few dry chapters where the authors cover the technical details of Atari’s home computer range, but these could be deemed optional for the non-technical reader.

You will be in awe of the people behind Atari and their many creations – which have withstood the test of time (even outlasting the company!). You will also be shocked to read about the back-stabbings, the parties, the drugs, and the backroom wheeling and dealing. I would not be surprised if Hollywood comes knocking on Martin Goldberg and Curt Vendel’s door.

Verdict: With never before seen photos and content exclusively obtained from the people at Atari, this book is a must read for any video games fan, not just Atarians. Buy it now!

Atari Inc. – Business is Fun [by: Goldberg & Vendel] is available in Paperback and Kindle.

Cosplay at PAX Aus 2013

July 26, 2013 By ausretrogamer

Here are some of the best cosplay outfits spotted by Mrs. ausretrogamer in the Classic Console Freeplay area at PAX Aus 2013:

Itsa Mario & Luigi

and Luigi & Mario

But watch out for Wario

Raccoon Mario playing on the Atari Jaguar!

Princess Daisy & Toad, yay!

Typing of the Dead – this guy had his Dreamcast keyboard around his neck, ready for action!

Awesome Link-Ironman mash-up

The whole Team (Fortress)

Vashta Nerada Astronaut

Jango Fett – Star Wars represent

Stormtrooper – more Star Wars shenanigans

GLaDOS (where’s the cake?)

Sonic takes a break

PAX AUS 2013: It’s A Wrap

July 23, 2013 By ausretrogamer

Wow! What a great three days we just had at the inaugural Penny Arcade eXpo Australia (PAX Aus) 2013. To say the event was a success would be a gross understatement (even CNET loved it!). Ignore the trolls’ comments on forums, the event was a blast.

As for any new event of this magnitude, of course there were some teething problems, but these really were minor and just leave room for PAX Aus 2014 to be bigger and better!

It was an honour and privilege to exhibit in the ‘Classic Consoles Freeplay’ area along with my Australian retro gaming friends: Retrospekt, Retro Domination and Retro Gaming Australia (what an awesome bunch of guys).

Thousands of people visited the classic consoles area; it was great to see them smile with nostalgic joy. There were teenagers “wowing” at the Amstrad CPC464, parents showing their children the datasette on the C64 and explaining that you had to wait tens of minutes to load one game! There were four player battles on the N64 and lots of fighting action on the Dreamcast, Neo Geo AES, 3DO and Saturn. The serious retro gamers were most impressed by seeing the Nintendo Famicom and Sharp Twin Famicom ‘in the flesh’. There were popular high-score competitions on the Amstrad GX4000 (Robocop 2) and the Atari Jaguar (Tempest 2000).

The crowds were constant, from the start of day 1 to the end of day 3. Some came, looked around and played a game or two; some picked their favourite game or console and played to their heart’s content; and others worked their way around and played each console. But most pleasing were the repeat visitors who came back again and again to get their hit of nostalgia.

The Classic Console Freeplay area was a roaring success at PAX Aus 2013. Roll on PAX Aus 2014!

To view the PAX Australia 2013 photo album go to our facebook page.

PAX Australia 2013: Ready For Action!

July 17, 2013 By ausretrogamer

If you have been living under a rock you may have missed our announcement earlier this year: Australian Retro Gamer (ausretrogamer), together with our retro gaming friends, will be bringing you the Classic Console area at the inaugural PAX Australia – Melbourne event, July 19 to 21.