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Free event: Independent Games Festival 2012

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Hands up if you like free stuff. I thought so. Well, if you are a video games player, you will be pleased to know that the Independent Games Festival 2012 is currently on at the Australian Centre of the Moving Image (ACMI), Federation Square, Melbourne. Admission is free and open daily, from 10am till 6pm. This festival will run till July 8, 2012.

Event blurb:
Hot on the heels of the 2011 exhibition and direct from the 2012 IGF in San Francisco, a fresh batch of the world’s best independent games arrives at ACMI. Come and play more brilliant new games for free.
Dubbed the ‘Sundance of the game world’, the annual Independent Games Festival encourages innovation in game development and recognises the best work of indie designers from all around the world.

Wizard of Wor: Arcade

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Who would have thought, a game released in 1981 would still be played and enjoyed in this day and age ! It just proves that quality always trumps quantity.
This game has simple graphics and even simpler sound effects. But what it does have, is oodles of gameplay, and let’s admit it, that is the most important part of any game, retro or new.

 

Wizard of Wor is a timeless classic. Game play is simple – one or two players, known as Worriors, move around a variety of line-drawn dungeons (mazes), shooting the creatures that wander within. These creatures, or Worlings (Burwors, Garwors and Thorwors), are eliminated so that the player progresses to an even harder dungeon. On each of these levels, there are bonus monsters, called Worluks, and occassionaly, the Wizard makes a special guest appearance – see The Dungeons of Wor.

Each dungeon has different maze patterns, with escape doors that your Worrior can walk through to re-appear on the opposite side of the maze – this is great for when things get tough and you need a quick exit. Be warned though, the Worlings and Worluks can also use these escape doors !

The Dungeons of Wor:
Basic Dungeons – consist of short passages and long corridors.
The Arena – appears after the first bonus Worrior is awarded. The most difficult of the basic dungeons with an open central maze area.
Worlord Dungeons – Dungeons ‘8’ (and subsequent dungeons) are more difficult where the player is likely to engage the Wizard. In these dungeons, the player is addressed as “Worlord”
The Pit – the 13th dungeon appears after the second bonus Worrior is awarded. It is an entirely open area, with no place to hide and requires the greatest skill for survival. Eliminating all Worlings, Worluks and Wizard earns continued play.

 

If you doubt how good this is game is, I urge you to give it a try. Game play is simple enough for any player to pick up in an instant. Mastering it is another story. I do warn you though, once you enter the dungeon, it is difficult to stop – you will be hooked !

 

Graphics Simplistic, but that doesn’t matter

75%
Sound The tempo of the effects and droning music picking up as you are about to clear out the last Worling, gets the heart racing !

85%
Playability Easy to get into, you just move up – down – left – right and then fire. Sounds simple enough !

92%
Lastability If you clear out the Pit dungeon, then you earn continued play. You may find this exhausting and a bit samey, but rest assured, this is the game’s magic – you will want to keep on playing.

90%
Overall If you do not have access to the arcade version of the game, then hit up the brilliant C64 conversion. WoW is a classic !

92%

 

Manufacturer:Bally Midway
Year: 1981
Genre: Labyrinth / Maze
Number of simultaneous players: 2
Maximum number of players: 2
Gameplay: Either
Joystick: 4-way
Buttons: 1 (Fire)

 

Yo Ausretrogamer, Show Us Your Collection!

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Show us your collection - Australian Retro GamerI was contacted recently by RetroGamesCollector (UK) who asked if I would like to be interviewed in his new retro gaming collections feature, ‘Show us your collection’. I didn’t need any time to think about it – I jumped at the opportunity!

If you want to take a gander at the collection and read the interview, then head on over here

 

Retro Gaming Expo: News

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If you are a Retro Gamer and are in the Seattle or Portland area, then you are in luck !
The SRGE (Seattle Retro Gaming Expo) and PRGE (Portland Retro Gaming Expo) have announced their respective event dates for 2012.

The Portland event will be at a new, larger capacity venue, the Oregon Convention Centre. The PRGE crew have also announced that 20,000 square feet of floorspace has been earmarked for an arcade area, called the Mega-Cade. This area will feature full-size video game and pinball machines. There is also an expanded exhibitor area and more speakers and panels lined up for the event. Last but not least, for the first time ever, PRGE and Ground Kontrol will host an after hours party, with free play arcade and console machines. The party is opened to all paid attendees (ages 21+).

Make sure you put these events in your diary !

Seattle Retro Gaming Expo
Date: June 16 – 17, 2012
Venue: Red Lion, Bellevue WA
Ticket information: http://www.jetcityretro.org/news/registration.html

Portland Retro Gaming Expo
Date: September 29 – 30, 2012
Venue: Oregon Convention Centre, Portland OR
Ticket information: http://retrogamingexpo.com/admission.php

 

R-Type: PC-Engine

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Platform: PC-Engine
Format: HuCard
Developer: Hudson Soft / Irem
Released: 1988 (Japan) / 1989 (US)
Genre: Shoot’em Up

 

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Irem’s legendary side scrolling shoot’em up is regarded as one of the PC-Engine’s most accomplished arcade conversions. This was (and still is) the PC-Engine’s ‘killer app’. The game-play is simple, pilot your R-9 fighter to wipe out the evil Bydo Empire.

Your R-9 fighter is equipped with a small gun which can only shoot down the smallest of enemies without firing several shots. But, if you hold down the fire button long enough, you can load up your shot so it releases a massive burst of energy, eliminating all but the strongest enemies in its path.  To assist in bringing down tougher Bydo enemies (and help you get further in this tough game), there are souped up weapons that can be collected along the way, like the diagonally firing lasers and the mega powerful circular red laser. When combined with the homing missiles and orbs that protect you, your R-9 becomes a Bydo blasting behemoth.

There aren’t enough superlatives you could use to describe how great this game is. From the music, to the graphics, the stage layouts, the enemies – they are all perfect in this coin-op conversion. Even the difficulty is spot on (it’s tough) ! This is as close to a perfect horizontally scrolling shoot’em up you can get on the PC-Engine. Do not miss it !

Graphics As close as possible to arcade perfect.

90%
Sound Your ears will thank you.

90%
Playability Easy to pick up and play, but tough to beat and master. The difficulty is just right.

93%
Lastability You will be playing this for years to come. All side-scrolling shoot’em ups are judged against this game.

94%
Overall If you have a PC-Engine, this is your killer app. Go and get it !

93%

 

ZX Spectrum: Happy 30th Birthday

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Happy 30th birthday to you, ZX Spectrum

April 23, 1982: Sir Clive Sinclair gave the world, the ZX Spectrum. This 8-bit wonder took the UK by storm. It proved so popular that it was in production till 1992. It celebrates its 30th birthday today. So, to you, the ZX Speccy, we wish you a happy 30th birthday. May you celebrate many more to come !

 

By the numbers:
Launch Date: 23 April 1982
Launch Price: £125 (16KB), £175 (48KB)
Dimensions: 232x144x30mm
Weight: 552g
Processor: Zilog Z80A (running at 3.5MHz)
RAM: 16/48KB
ROM: 16KB
Onboard Language: Sinclair BASIC
Display: 32×24 characters, 256×192 pixels
Colours: Eight available (plus seven variations)
Sound: Internal speaker (buzzing)
Interesting key technical component: The ULA (Uncommitted Logic Array) chip, aka: the ‘glue chip’, combines the functions of several chips and controls the I/O functions.

 

 

Pit-Fighter: Digitised fighting mayhem

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Back in 1990, Atari released Pit-Fighter – the first fighting game to include digitised fighting characters. This animation was created through a “bluescreen” process which was a major feat for the day. It was the precursor to Mortal Kombat..

            

Pit-Fighter has three fighters to choose from: Buzz, the ex-professional wrestler; Ty, the kick-boxing champion; and Kato, the third degree black-belt expert. Each fighter has their own fighting style, strengths, weaknesses and super moves.

The premise of the game is to take your fighter through 15 different fights, with grudge matches (bonus rounds) every three fights. You become champion once you defeat the Masked Warrior.

            

Pit-Fighter has some interesting twists amongst its gameplay. Firstly, it has sly spectators that get involved in your fights by knifing you. They lurk amongst the crowd, so watch out ! The game also has weapons and objects to use, like: barrels, crates, knives, spiked balls, oil drums, sticks, bar stools and even a motorcycle ! But, beware – these weapons and objects can also be used against you ! If things weren’t interesting enough, there are power pills in later stages that can temporarily make both your fighter and opponent more powerful and difficult to hurt and ultimately, defeat.

Pit-Fighter hasn’t really aged too well, but it does offer nostalgic value with its digitised fighters and interesting gameplay, with crowd involvement and outrageous weapons/objects to use. So, if you want to relive the daddy of digitised fighters, throw in a few coins into Pit-Fighter.

Manufacturer: Atari
Year: 1990
Genre: Fighting
Number of simultaneous players: 3
Maximum number of players: 3
Gameplay: Team
Joystick: 8-way
Buttons: 3 (Punch, Kick and Jump)
Sound: Amplified Mono (single channel)

 

 

 

 

Genealogy of the PC-Engine

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Welcome to the PC-Engine Family Tree

Have you tried to understand the NEC PC-Engine range of consoles and been totally confused or lost ? Don’t worry, you are not alone.

We have tapped our inner genealogist and have created the NEC PC-Engine Family Tree. The tree shows the lineage of native consoles, per region, and their media type.

Hopefully, this family tree makes things clearer and a tad easier to understand the NEC PC-Engine console range.

click above image to expand it to its full glory!

 

Note:

  • The PC-Engine family tree does not include any add-ons that enhance the consoles. It also excludes the UK PAL TurboGrafx console released by Telegames.
  • This NEC PC-Engine family tree only covers native NEC systems that play PC Engine/TurboGrafx-16 game formats.

 

Guerrilla War: the Guevara and Castro connection

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Ah yeh, Guerrilla War, released by SNK in 1987, was the first game I played with a rotary joystick. Unlike Ikari Warriors where you had the joystick to move side to side and shoot, Guerrilla War allowed you to move your fighter and at the same time, rotate the gun to shoot in 8 directions !  This rotary “gimmick” seemed to work, as it was used on other games, notably, Heavy Barrel and Midnight Resistance.
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