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Stern Pinball Unveils STRANGER THINGS Pinball! It’s Bitchin’

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Stern Pinball Inc. announced today their new line of pinball machines celebrating the iconic Netflix series, Stranger Things!

Stranger Things is the comeback game for one of our favourite pinball designers of all time, Brian Eddy. Brian joined Stern Pinball in 2017 after being out of the pinball design game for a couple of decades. Brian is best known for two of the greatest machines of all time, Medieval Madness and Attack From Mars. With that kind of design pedigree, the excitement is quite high for his debut Stern title.

Well, from what we have seen of the three editions (Pro, Premium and Limited Edition), we reckon Brian has given us something magical – mind you, we haven’t played it yet, so once we do, we’ll give you our opinion.


source: Stern Pinball Inc.

Experience the terrifying forces in Hawkins, Indiana that turn this small town “upside down” with supernatural elements, strange sightings, and government secrets. Stranger Things pinball machines will immerse players in a search to unravel the extraordinary mysteries and secret government experiments taking place at the Hawkins National Laboratory. The gameplay focuses on unlocking the hidden meanings of supernatural events occurring in and around the town, including the appearance of a girl known as “Eleven” with telekinetic abilities. The ball is wild as Mike, Lucas, Dustin, Will, Joyce, and Police Chief Jim Hopper help Eleven close the dimensional gate.

The Pro, Premium, and Limited Edition models all feature distinct hand-drawn art in addition to the custom sculpted, interactive Demogorgon bash toy, guarded by drop targets and a rotating ramp. All models include two hideout ball scoops, a Demodog spinner, three custom ramps, and game rules that will transport players into the Upside Down.

The Premium and Limited Edition models feature a first ever video projector that displays images and animations directly on the playfield, creating dramatic interactions with gameplay action. The center of the playfield features a unique ramp that doubles as a screen and leads the player into a direct battle with the Demogorgon. These models also feature a new Eleven themed “telekinetic” magnetic ball lock.

As mentioned already, we’ll let you know what we think of Stranger Things pinball once we flip it – so stay tuned!

source: Stern Pinball Inc.

Oh Lordy, Gunlord X Is Coming to the PS4!

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Hey peeps, get ready to save mankind from the evil Lords of Steel in the critically acclaimed 2D action platformer Gunlord X! This awesome title from NG:DEV.TEAM will be available digitally for the PS4 this week in North America and Europe.

Gunlord X features stunning pixel art with amazing parallax scrolling and a pumping soundtrack. With 11 open-world stages filled with more than 60 unique enemy creatures, massive boss battles and lots of secrets to uncover, you’ll be blasting your way for a while!

Gunlord X will be available on December 10th in North America and December 11th in Europe for US$9.99 and €9.99.

PS: Nintendo Switch gamers can enjoy Gunlord X right now, just hit the eShop!

image source: Eastasiasoft Limited

 

LEGO Ideas: Bomberman

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Hands up who doesn’t like Bomberman – if you put your hand up, shame on you! Haha, just kidding, if you aren’t into Bomberman, but like Lego, this still may be of interest!

We’ll come out clean, Bomberman is one of a handful of video games we play a lot, especially with friends, so when we saw Indy988’s Lego Ideas Bomberman entry, we were quite chuffed and immediately pledged our support! We want these things to become a reality! Go and support this – right now!

image source: Lego Ideas


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Still Drooling Over the Commodore HX-64

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Um, just in case you missed this or want to see it again and drool some more, check out Technical Designer extraordinaire Cem Tezcan’s Commodore HX-64 – a handheld version of the greatest 8-bit computer of all time!

The level of detail is in insanely cool, from the plastic, colour, keys, screen, ports to the ever so damn cool mini cassettes used to load programs! Forget the C65 or the SX-64, this is the ultimate Commodore 64 based dream machine. WOW!

source: Cem Tezcan via ArtStation

 

Join the PAC: Celebrate PAC-MAN’s 40th Anniversary in 2020

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BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT INC. GETS SET TO CELEBRATE PAC-MAN’S 40th ANNIVERSARY WITH A MYRIAD OF PARTNERSHIPS AND EVENTS!

The Year-Long Celebration Kicks Off in 2020 as the Famous 80’s Icon Celebrates 40 Years of Entertaining Millions of Fans Around the World

BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. is inviting all PAC-MAN fans around the world to “Join the PAC” and start getting ready for a year-long celebration in 2020 to commemorate PAC-MAN’s 40th Anniversary as a pop culture and video game icon. To get a sneak peek at the activities, partnerships, and surprises to come, visit https://www.pacman.com/en-us/.

Born on May 22, 1980, PAC-MAN immediately rose to meteoric popularity, first in video game arcades, then on the pop culture stage with hit song “PAC-MAN Fever” and through an array of branding and entertainment appearances. With a brand recognition rate of 90% around the world, PAC-MAN’s image and brand is one of the most recognised on the planet and is as strong as ever as he enters his 40th year of entertaining fans of all ages.

PAC-MAN’s 40th Anniversary celebration in 2020 will include the debut of a new PAC-MAN 40th Anniversary theme song, composed by world-renowned Japanese Techno artist Ken Ishii. It will be accompanied by a music video directed by Yuichi Kodama, who has won awards at the Cannes International Advertising Festival, the Clio Awards, and the One Show Interactive. He was also the chief video director for the flag handover ceremony at the Rio Olympics Closing Ceremony. Multiple branding crossovers with Kipling®, Champion®, TIMEX®, and BAIT® will become available throughout the year. Fans will also be able to “Join the PAC” at celebratory events taking place throughout the year around the world.

To learn more and stay tuned with everything about PAC-MAN’S 40th Anniversary celebrations, bookmark this site now.


source: Bandai Namco Entertainment America

Play 2500 Classic MS-DOS Games For Free

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No need to copy, swap dodgy disks or download questionable software, because you can now play an additional 2,500 classic MS-DOS based games for free!

Yep, you read that right folks. You can now play these classics without fear of doing anything illegal. All you have to do is head to the Internet Archive and browse their many, many classic games in their catalogue – we love you Internet Archive! Which MS-DOS game will you play first? For the record, we are starting with Street Rod and will then move onto Secret Of Monkey Island 😉

story source: Kotaku Australia

 

Meet Analogue Pocket: The Game Boy, Atari Lynx, Game Gear and Neo Geo Pocket Color Killer

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Oh wow, we hope you are sitting down for this! Let us introduce you to Analogue Pocket™

If you know about or have any of Analogue’s consoles, like the Mega Sg, Nt Mini or Super Nt, you know that their Pocket handheld will be one special and amazing gaming unit.

First and foremost, the Analogue Pocket is not another handheld that will just play ROMs! No sirree, this multi-video-game-system portable handheld will be able to play over 2,700 Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance game cartridges. So don’t throw out or sell those carts, because the Pocket will be able to play them all! Oh yeah, the Analogue Pocket will also have a digital audio workstation (called Nanoloop) with a built-in synthesizer and sequencer – a tribute to portable gaming!

But wait, there is more! As if this thing wasn’t already mouthwatering enough, the Pocket will also have cartridge adaptors in the future for you to play other handheld systems’ carts, like the Sega Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket Color, Atari Lynx and others! There will also be a special dock (future release) allowing you to output your games to a TV and charge the console at the same time – you’ll also be able to use Bluetooth or wired controllers when the Pocket is docked.

Engineered with two Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), the Analogue Pocket will allow developers to create and port their own work to the handheld. Basically, once the Analogue Pocket is in the hands of users, it’s going to get even better! Wow, when we hear FPGA (no emulation!), we know this thing is going to blow everything away in the handheld market!

The Analogue Pocket is slated for a 2020 release at a cost of US$199.00. To say we want one would be the biggest understatement ever!

Analogue Pocket Tech Specs:

  • FPGA-based system (two FPGAs inside)
  • Compatible with Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance game cartridges (Using special adaptors, you’ll also be able to play Atari Lynx, Sega Game Gear and SNK Neo Geo Pocket Color titles on the machine in the future)
  • 3.5″ LTPS LCD. 1600×1440 resolution. 615ppi
  • Rechargeable lithium ion battery
  • All buttons mappable
  • Stereo Speakers
  • microSD
  • USB-C charging
  • 3.5mm headphone output
  • Original Game Boy-style link plug

image source: Analogue

 

See You at PAX Aus 2019!

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Hey guys, if you are heading to PAX Aus 2019, come on over to the Classic Gaming area to get your hit of nostalgia. For the competitive types, there will be tournaments too, so make sure you check the tournament schedule and get your waggle on.

Oh yeah, we definitely don’t bite, so please come by and say hi!

PS: We will be posting live (lots of pics!) on Twitter and Facebook from this great event. So make sure you follow along 🙂

 

Calling All Women and Non-Binary Pinball Lovers: Melbourne Silverbelles & Chimes Tournament at Flipout 2019

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We love Belles & Chimes Melbourne! It’s a women’s pinball league open to all women (cis and trans) and non-binary people. They run fun pinball comps and events in Melbourne and welcome players of all skill levels, including beginners.

In big news, Belles & Chimes Melbourne has teamed up with Melbourne Silverball to run the first ever Melbourne Silverbelles & Chimes pinball tournament during the upcoming Flipout 2019 pinball festival (October 25-27, Sandbelt Hotel, 630 South Road Moorabbin).

Like all Belles & Chimes events, the tournament is open to all women and non-binary people only. And you’ll get plenty of pinball action with all participants playing a total of 8 machines in groups of 4. Scores will be awarded for 1st to 4th place. Highest scores after 8 rounds will play the FIRST EVER women’s final at the Flipout. And the cherry on top: cash prizes for the top 3 finalists!

Tickets for the Belles & Chimes tournament are $20 and include general admission entry to Flipout which gives access to the 100+ old and new pinball machines!

Tournament details: Saturday Oct 26th 2019, qualifying from 6pm onward, followed by finals (note: Flipout Festival is open 10am to 11pm on Saturday).

For more info contact Belles and Chimes Melbourne and join the FB group to make sure you don’t miss any future B&C events.

Flyer by menteurmenteur

photo source: heather via Belles & Chimes Melbourne on Instagram

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msausretrogamerMs. ausretrogamer
Editor, Writer and Photographer at ausretrogamer – The Australian Retro Gamer E-Zine. Lover of science fiction, fashion, books, movies and TV. Player of games, old and new.

Follow Ms. ausretrogamer on Twitter

 

 

Through the Moongate – Part II: Story of Richard Garriott and Origin Systems

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Programmer, entrepreneur, astronaut, explorer. Richard Garriott is one of the most well-known personalities in the video game industry, and one of the last of its pioneers still in the business. Ultima, the revolutionary series of role-playing games he designed, and Origin Systems Inc., the company he co-founded in 1983, are inextricably linked to the history of videogames.

Over the last four decades, Garriott has worked alongside and collaborated with many influential people in the gaming industry. Origin Systems, in the years that it operated, was an incubator of sorts; many well-known game developers got their start at Origin. And as computer technology moved from punch cards to the PC, from 2D line art to 3D graphics, and from offline play to the internet, the games produced by Garriott and Origin were a driving force of innovation in an industry characterised by continuous, rapid evolution.

Through the Moongate: The Story of Richard Garriott, Origin Systems Inc. and Ultima is a comprehensive, organic work of research – the first of its kind – on the history and impact that Garriott and Origin have had on the gaming industry. Within its pages, the author Andrea Contato has retold the story of Garriott’s entire creative career, from his first games to his most recent: Shroud of the Avatar.

A painstakingly researched study of character and history, Through the Moongate recollects the memories of friends, associates, and employees of Richard Garriott and Origin Systems, giving the reader a truly privileged point of view. Many of the stories in the book are new, having never been shared before, and all serve to give the reader an intimate understanding one of the most eclectic personalities in the videogame industry.

The work, detailed and complex, is divided into two volumes: the first covered the career of Garriott from Akalabeth through Ultima VI, the second will cover the period from Wing Commander and Ultima VII to Portalarium . Through the Moongate includes dozens of interviews with notable figures in the world of videogames, such as Warren Spector, Paul Neurath, Siobban Beeman, Al Nelson, Starr Long and many others,and is illustrated with previously-unpublished images from the collections of Enrico Ricciardi and Richard Garriott.

Embellished with new artwork by Denis Loubet and Manda, Through the Moongate is a must-have book for Ultima fans, and those fascinated by the history of video games.

The production of the first book was kickstarted in 2018 and the final product was delivered during summer 2019. We were very happy of having delivered the book in the promised time. Right now Part 2 is running on Kickstarter. The crowdfunding campaign was an instant success and the funding goal was reached in 1 day and 6 minutes. That prompted us to ask our backers for some input on further stretch goals. Those that were planned, were hit in less than a week. While writing these lines, the crowdfunding campaign just started its second half, but already reached €36,000+ thanks to 328 backers.

PS: You can check out / buy part 1 of Through the Moongate here.

Press release supplied by Andrea Contato.