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Oz Comic-Con Melbourne 2018 Ticket Giveaway!

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*** THIS TICKET GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED **

Hey peeps, Oz Comic-Con is coming to Melbourne on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, June 9 and 10!

Thanks to the awesome folks at Oz Comic-Con, we are thrilled to be giving away two double passes to the Melbourne event. So what do you need to do to win this fantastic giveaway?

Simply subscribe to our newsletter, then email us at [email protected] to confirm your entry. We’ll be choosing the two lucky winners at random on Monday, May 21 (entries close at midday on that day)! Oh yeah, one final bit of info, you will need to find your own way (and accommodation) to Melbourne.

CLAIMING TICKETS
At the conclusion of the giveaway, the winners details will be provided to Oz Comic-Con. The winners names will then be placed on the door list at the Media Check-In Desk where they will be able to collect their wristbands for entry. If the winners are outside of Melbourne, then they are responsible for their own transport and accommodation.

If you need any convincing of how awesome this event is, check out the highlights from Oz Comic-Con Melbourne 2017.

image source: Oz Comic-Con

 

Rising From The Ashes: Argonauts Pinball Club Tournaments Are Back!

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Like the phoenix rising from ashes, the Argonauts Pinball Club is back with new pinball machines and new tournament format with the same awesome group of pinball fanatics!

Come along to the Golden Fleece Hotel this Thursday (May 3rd) for the Argonauts Monthly Pinball Quest – The Horrid Hydra tournament. Bring your friends, bring your family, play pinball and soak up the fantastic atmosphere as Melbourne’s pinball community gather to battle it out for great prizes and IFPA points. Oh yeah, everyone is welcome, so you have no excuse!

The tournament format has changed to an 8 game limited qualifier, meaning that there is more time to socialise and hang out!

Tournament Details:

  • Qualifying time: 5:00pm to 9:00pm
  • Finals (start time): 9:15pm to 11:00pm (the aim is to be finished by 11:00pm, but it could run later)
  • Cost: $15.00 (entry fee covers ALL games for the night!)

The competition consists of limited qualifying and head-to-head final rounds. During qualifying, each player will play ONE game only on each machine and a SECOND game on one machine of their choosing. A point system will be used to rank each player’s best score on each machine. Those who rank highest at the end of qualifying will participate in the head-to-head final rounds.

This tournament will be managed through the rules and regulations of the IFPA.

Current Pinball Machine Lineup:

  • Medieval Madness Remake
  • Dialed In!
  • Indianapolis 500
  • Jack*Bot
  • The Shadow
  • Bally Playboy
  • Star Trek – The Next Generation

For more information visit the Argonauts Pinball Club on PinballScore.

image source: Argonauts Pinball Score

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SEGA Space Harrier Model Sneakers

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Holy cow! These SEGA Space Harrier MODEL runners (sneakers if you are from the North) have totally blown our minds!

Just take a good hard look at these sweet-as-f* runners! To say we love the Sega Space Harrier MODEL runners would be a huge understatement! Even if you are not a Space Harrier fan (Ed: say what?), you have to admit that these are pretty damn cool. We wonder if Yu Suzuki has a pair *pondering*?

image source: Anippon

 

Mind Bending Fun For Your Switch: Word Search by POWGI

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Darn it, we must have missed the memo on this one! As kids growing up in the 80s we absolutely loved crosswords and word search puzzles! You could imagine our delight when we saw that our beloved Nintendo Switch now has such a game, thanks to Lightwood Games!

Word Search by POWGI is a classic word game featuring 300 puzzles, which can be solved alone or with friends. This game will definitely keep your brain occupied for a while. The game follows Lightwood’s usual streamlined, no-nonsense approach. As a portable game, it’s a pocket puzzler that’s always ready to play when you are. Puzzles are expertly hand-crafted by POWGI and stuffed to the brim with words to find. Best part is that all the content is suitable for the whole family.

You can get your gray matter ticking with the playable demo with 4 sample puzzles, or you can go straight to the full version of the game which available to download, priced at £6.99 / €7.99 / USD$7.99 / AUD$11.99

Available now from the UK/Euro eShop and US/CAN eShop.

image source: Lightwood Games

 

The Best Stern Pinball Machine Since 2010 – Winners

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First of all, thank you all that voted in our Best Stern Pinball Machine Since 2010 poll!

We won’t keep you waiting any longer in announcing the winner, so here we go – the Best Stern Pinball Machine Since 2010 is [drum roll please] The Walking Dead!

This comes as no surprise, as The Walking Dead (32% of the vote) is an absolute beauty to play – it has a great balance of being easy enough to play casually and challenging to the max with its great modes if you want to become grand champion and the last man standing. Star Trek (12% of the vote) took out second place, as it should, as this machine is Steve Ritchie at his best – fast and flowing! The biggest surprise for us was third – TRON Legacy, which garnered 11% of the vote. The two machines that we thought would feature in the top 3 ended up being tied for fourth, Metallica and Ghostbusters (both 9% of the vote).

The brand new Stern machine Iron Maiden got votes too (3%), which was surprising, as it’s just rolling off the production line as we speak, so we can only imagine that this machine will climb up the votes in the months and years ahead – so look out The Walking Dead! For now, we reckon John Borg should be commended for having two of his games in the top 3 Best Stern Pinball Machines Since 2010.

There you have it peeps. This was a public vote open to all, so the pinball gamers around the world have spoken. What do you think? Hit us up on Twitter or Facebook and join in the conversation.

image source: Stern Pinball Inc.

 

The 13th Doll – A Fan Game of The 7th Guest

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Return to the Stauf Mansion this Halloween with The 13th Doll!

Let’s cut to the chase – The 13th Doll is a licensed fan game developed by Attic Door Productions which takes place within the cult classic The 7th Guest universe and as such, we thought we’d let you, retro-FMV-loving gamers know about it (Ed: unless you already knew about this)! Oh yeah, the game is slated for release on Halloween (October 31st 2018) on Steam, PC, Mac, and Linux.

Where were we then? Ah yeh, the developer, Attic Door Productions has released their official announcement trailer, which you can check out below. Spooky stuff!


source: Attic Door Producitons

The game is a followup to the classic game, The 7th Guest, a puzzle based horror game set in the haunted mansion of eccentric toy-maker Henry Stauf. The game was a technological landmark upon release, as well as the followup sequel, The 11th Hour, and was one of the first games to show full motion video sequences.

The 13th Doll picks up right after the events of The 7th Guest, where the protagonist, Tad, now resides in a mental institution, a result of the traumatic experiences in The 7th Guest. A new doctor arrives in the asylum, and the pair embark on a journey to return to The Stauf Mansion to bring catharsis to Tad and cure him of his demons. Plans go awry, and both characters find themselves separated and in peril, as they try to unlock the mysteries of The 13th Doll.

Game Features:

  • Full Motion Video Sequences filmed with over 10 actors
  • 26 unique, new puzzles
  • 35 rooms in 3 environments; and
  • The return of actor Robert Hirschboeck, reprising his role as Henry Stauf!

If this tickles your spooky retro gaming FMV nerve, then you can pre-order the game right now!

image source: The 13th Doll

 

SNK 40th Anniversary Collection Coming To The Nintendo Switch

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This is HUGE news! Mark spring time (fall/autumn in the north) in your diary peeps, as the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection will be released on the Nintendo Switch.

For those of you that like their tangible games, there will be a physical SNK 40th Anniversary Collection Limited Edition that can be pre-ordered now via the SNK Online Store.

Just in case you weren’t aware, SNK made heaps of awesome arcade games in the 80s before they went really big with their Neo Geo. To whet your retro gaming appetite, here are the announced SNK games you could (Ed: should!) be playing on your Switch, with more to come:

  • Alpha Mission (arcade + home versions)
  • Athena (arcade + home versions)
  • Crystalis
  • Ikari Warriors (arcade + home versions)
  • Ikari III: The Rescue (arcade + home versions)
  • Guerrilla War (arcade + home versions)
  • P.O.W. (arcade + home versions)
  • Prehistoric Isle in 1930
  • Psycho Soldier
  • Street Smart
  • TNK III (arcade + home versions)
  • Vanguard
  • Victory Road (arcade + home versions)

The Limited Edition comes in a Collector’s Box with all the games plus the “Nostalgic Music Collection” soundtrack and the “40th Anniversary Art Collection” hardcover art book.

Let’s celebrate SNK’s 40th anniversary by turning up the excitement level to 11!

image source: SNK Online Store

 

Bear Beware!

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We don’t have to convince you that interest in retro games has never been higher. Take John Darnell’s Bear Beware! (previously known as Sleepwalker) for instance – it was released on the Commodore 64 in April 2017 which quickly became a fan favourite amongst retro  gamers.

Fast forward to 2018 and John Darnell (Another Fine Mess) is about to release Bear Beware! on Android, iOS, PC and Mac so it can be enjoyed on modern systems, not just on the old trusty C64. There is even a hint that Bear Beware! will be coming out later for the Nintendo Switch – which is absolutely awesome news!

So what’s this Bear Beware! game all about you may ask? Well, it’s origins date back to 1984! Yes, 1984! Back then John Darnell (working for Software Projects in Liverpool developing Kane 1 & 2, Dragon’s Lair, Escape From Singes Castle, Star Paws and Jet Set Willy 2) had conceived Bear Beware! but the game was lost to the mists of time. Luckily for us John hadn’t forgotten about the game he came up with all those years ago, re-coding his original idea from scratch, delivering a fantastic arcade adventure that fans of classic retro games like Jet-Set Willy will love!

Bear Beware! revolves around the heroic efforts of the protagonist Security Guard Hero rescuing his little sleepwalking Funfair Buddy and getting him back to bed before he wakes up. Sounds easy aye? Welllllll, you must traverse 25 levels infested with all kinds of nasty peeps that are hellbent on stopping your Buddy getting back to bed.

Bear Beware! will be available free to play in the comings weeks (March/April 2018). You can follow the exploits of Bear Beware! on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

image source: Bear Beware! by AFM

 

Real Life Mario Kart is Coming Down Under

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Just in case you missed this, we thought we’d bring it to your attention!

Have you ever wanted to race against Mario or Luigi while collecting stars to win amazing prizes? ‘Real Life Mario Karting’ – Go Karting with a Twist will be headed to Sydney and Melbourne soon!

A unique experience that combines your favourite characters, friends and new friends for a driving experience that will take you back in time.

On the race day,  you’ll be able to pick your favourite character, drive courses dressed as them, and have the opportunity to collect stars to win prizes.

Tickets for this event are extremely limited, so sign up now.

Get ready for a ride of a lifetime!

image source: Mushroom Racing

 

Thimbleweed Park Physical Version Coming to PS4 and Switch

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Calling all physical game collectors! On March 30 — the one-year anniversary of Thimbleweed Park’s digital download debut — you’ll be able to pick up physical PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch versions courtesy of our friends at Limited Run Games.

For both PS4 and Nintendo Switch, Limited Run Games will offer a USD$34.99 standard version and a USD$64.99 collector’s edition that comes with exclusive “feelies” — just like the good old days. These releases will be region-free. Quantities will be limited and once they’re gone, they’re gone, so start saving your nickels, dimes, and arcade tokens!

You can find more details on Limited Run Games’ website: http://www.limitedrungames.com

Just in case you don’t know what all this Thimblweed Park business is about, here is the 101, but first, how it all started…

Thimbleweed Park began its life on Kickstarter, created by the co-creator of Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion, Ron Gilbert. Thimbleweed Park is definitely a homage to the aforementioned games, which is a pretty good thing we reckon.

Anyway, on with the Thimbleweed Park 101:

October 15, 1987 – A dead body is rotting under the bridge, but the 81 (sorry, make that 80) inhabitants of the once proud town of Thimbleweed Park have bigger concerns. The town’s founder recently died under mysterious circumstances. The hotel appears to be haunted. A giant slice of pizza roams the streets. And something sinister is going on behind the locked gate of the burned-out pillow factory at the edge of town — something that could consume us all.

Five people with nothing in common have been drawn to this weird, rundown place. They don’t know it yet, but they’re deeply connected. And they’re being watched.

  • Who is Agent Ray really working for?
  • What does Junior Agent Reyes know about the pillow factory fire?
  • Will the ghost, Franklin, get to speak to his daughter again?
  • Will Ransome the *Beeping* Clown ever become a decent human being?
  • Will aspiring game developer Delores choose her family over her dreams?
  • And most importantly: how come no one cares about that dead body?

By the end of a long, strange night, these questions will be answered — and you’ll understand why in a town like Thimbleweed Park, a dead body is the least of your problems.

Developer / Publisher: Terrible Toybox (based in Seattle)
Platforms: Mac, Windows, Linux, Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android

image source: Thimbleweed Park