Announcements

Super Russian Roulette: The Good, the Bad, and the Zapper

March 16, 2016 By ausretrogamer

Move over Duck Hunt, there is gonna be a new shooting game in town! And forget Wii Sports to bring your party alive! For your next party, you should be playing Super Russian Roulette on your NES! Yep, you read that right – get your Zapper ready!

Before you rush off to your nearest gaming store, relax, Super Russian Roulette is being funded via Kickstarter and it has already blown past its goal of $20K! What is there to say about this game other than, you and up to two of your friends and the trash talking cowboy take turns passing the pistol, spinning the chamber (or not!), and drinking to your own demise (or not)! That Andrew Reitano is a genius.

If you are party gamer, gunslinger or an adrenaline junkie, you need to back Super Russian Roulette now! The game will be available in NTSC and PAL formats.

source: Super Russian Roulette on Kickstarter

Growing The 8-Bit Generation

March 15, 2016 By ausretrogamer

source: 8bit generation

We initially backed Growing The 8-Bit Generation Kickstarter campaign not knowing its troubled past. We were drawn to it because of it’s proposed subject matter – a documentary about the start of the home computer industry, which was right up our alley. Rather than getting bogged down in the windy road of how this documentary came to be, we thought we would concentrate on what the 8-Bit Generation / Junk Food team have delivered, and boy is it good!

Like any documentary that delves into the history of a particular industry, it is the people that were there, recounting their experiences first-hand that is paramount to the success of telling such a story. Growing The 8-Bit Generation nails this part by featuring a roster of interviewees that reads like a computing and video gaming hall of fame, from Chuck Peddle, Al Charpentier, Bil Herd, Michael Tomczyk, Dave Rolfe, Richard Garriot, Jeff Minter, Andy Finkel, Lord British, Steve Wozniak, Nigel Searle, Chris Curry, John Grant, Nolan Bushnell, Al Alcorn to Joe Decuir and Leonard Tramiel among others. However, the biggest interviewee coup for the documentary was having the late and great, Jack Tramiel recount his days as the head of Commodore and his somewhat ruthless pursuit to build computers for the masses, not the classes – which he certainly did. It is staggering to think that the production team actually interviewed 64 key industry figures, not all appearing in this film, which means there will be future documentaries with the additional footage!

The best way to describe Growing The 8-Bit Generation is that it is a visual and aural representation of Brian Bagnell’s book, Commodore: A Company on the Edge. If you have read this book, you will recognise the interviewees and know the subject matter quite well. Having said that, if you haven’t read Brain’s book, you will learn how Commodore battled it out with Atari, Sinclair, Texas Instruments, Apple and Tandy to reign supreme in the home computer hardware market.

The documentary is given a sense of authority by having Bil Heard (former Commodore engineer) lending his voice as the narrator. There is also subtle chiptune background music which adds to the aural spectacle. If we were to be nitpicking (Ed: and we would hate to be!), we would have loved to have seen Bob Yannes (SID chip inventor) appear and perhaps someone from Amstrad, like Lord Sugar. Purists may argue that the documentary is too Commodore-centric, but you have to remember it was their MOS6502 microprocessor that gave birth to the home computing industry and it also had a profound impact on the video games console market.

What From Bedrooms To Billions documentary was to the history of home computer games development, Growing The 8-Bit Generation is to the history and evolution of home computer hardware – it is certainly compelling viewing!

NOTE: Retail availability of the documentary is yet to be confirmed. Keep an eye on the 8-Bit Generation site for more details.

image source: 8-Bit Generation

Flippin Out: Ghostbusters Pinball

March 11, 2016 By ausretrogamer

When it comes to big-licenses in the pinball world, Stern definitely know how to grab you by the steel balls! Joining their stable of recent big hits like The Walking Dead and Game Of Thrones is Ghostbusters Pinball.

The timing of Ghostbusters Pinball coincides with the release of the trailer for the upcoming reboot, but don’t read too much into that, as Stern’s Ghostbusters is based on the classic pair of films from the 80s, with Bill Murray, the Ecto-1, Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and of course, Slimer all making their ghoulish way onto the playfield.

There are plenty of ramps, toys, lighting, speech and motorized effects to scare the pants off you while you rid New York City of ghostly apparitions. To get you right into the mood, Ray Parker Jr belts out the Ghostbusters theme. “If there’s something strange, in your neighborhood, who ya gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS!”

For more deets on Stern’s Ghostbusters Pinball, go here.

Are you a Pro Ghostbuster?

Or are you a Premium Ghostbuster?

Aha, you wanna be a limited edition Ghostbuster!

Oh la la!

Flip those ghosts!

Watch out for Stay Puft Marshmallow Man!

Don’t get slimed!

Return your library books before they are due!

I ain’t afraid of no ghosts!
image source: Stern Pinball Inc.

Raid The Atari Vault At The PC Gamer Weekender

March 1, 2016 By ausretrogamer

There is no hiding the fact that we are huge Atari fans – always have been, always will be. We definitely have a soft spot for Atari’s old school gaming franchises – so to our delight, the company that brought us Pong and the VCS will be attending The PC Gamer Weekender at London’s Old Truman Brewery this coming weekend, March 5-6. They will be unleashing their Atari Vault, which will be packed with 100s of classic Atari games.

The Atari Vault (slated for a Northern Hemisphere spring 2016 launch on Steam) will be stacked with classics such as Asteroids®, Centipede®, Missile Command®, Tempest® and Warlords® to name a few. To relive the gaming experience in the modern age, Atari have added online and local multiplayer options, an upgraded UI and original 70’s and 80’s soundtracks, Steam leaderboards to challenge others for arcade supremacy and most importantly, Steam controller support – giving you, the player, precision control to take out your fellow challengers.

When it comes to Atari’s seminal titles, there is no denying their timeless appeal transcend generations and provide the same fun as they did when we were knee-high to a grasshopper. Bring on the Atari Vault!

image source: Atari

February 7, 2016 By ausretrogamer

Ready, (Re)Set, Go! Rejoice C64 fans as issue 8 of the world’s most awesome free C64 magazine, Reset, is out now! Grab yours right now and go on a great adventure down memory lane.

In this issue, the Reset team take a look at Heroes & Cowards (Protovision), as well as Caren and the Tangled Tentacles (PriorArt) and Knight ‘N’ Grail (Psytronik). Ant Stiller delves deep into the murky depths of the D42 Adventure System and Ray Carlsen returns to tell us all about his replacement PLA chip. Martin Grundy makes his Reset debut, taking us back 30 years to January 1986 in his Reset Reloaded column. All your regular columns, news and reviews are still in there for this issue, so don’t miss out!

8-Bit Music Power For Your Famicom

February 2, 2016 By ausretrogamer

If your Famicom is sick of old carts then this may be exactly what it was craving for – 8Bit Music Power, a new cartridge released for the Fami in over two decades! This retro 8-bit chiptunes cart will push the RP2A03 sound processor to its limit, making your Famicom pump to the beats.

You better be quick, there are only a thousand copies available of this cart, and at a price of US$29.99/~AUD$42.64, it will surely become one of the rarest gems for the Famicom.

The compilation consists of 12 tracks and features the talents of Yuriko Keino (Xevious, Pac-Land), Takeaki Kunimoto (Star Soldier, Ninja Hattori-kun) and Masahiro Kajihara (Trigger Heart Exelica, Princess Maker) among others. Complimenting the cool chiptunes is the nostalgic pixel art of Hiroshi Ono (Pac-Land, Bahamut Lagoon, Final Fantasy Tactics).

If your Famicom is in need of some new wares, then look no further than the 8Bit Music Power cart!

source: RIKI8BIT

image source: Play-Asia

By The Power Of Grayskull

January 25, 2016 By ausretrogamer

As Prince Adam once proclaimed, “Fabulous, secret powers were revealed to me the day I held aloft my magic sword and said: “By the Power of Grayskull!”, indeed, there is a Power Of Grayskull, and it is on Kickstarter right now! Don’t be like a bumbling Cringer, get on this project, as it will be the most definitive He-Man and Masters Of The Universe documentary of all time!

The Power of Grayskull Kickstarter has already blown past its modest $25,000 goal, so we all hope it will keep going and reach those lucrative stretch goals. So who is behind this awesome film you may ask? Well, it is the teams who brought you “Turtle Power” and “Nintendo Quest” – they have joined forces to bring you this highly anticipated MOTU documentary. With this kind of pedigree, POWER OF GRAYSKULL: The Definitive History of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is bound to be the best thing since sliced bread! So let’s embark on an epic adventure into the heart of 80’s nostalgia to find out once and for all #WhoHasThePower!

Just for the record, we have backed this on Kickstarter and are now looking forward to becoming an Eternian Prince (and Princess)!

image source: Power Of Grayskull on Kickstarter

Coming To America: Sega 3D Classics Collection

January 23, 2016 By ausretrogamer

Just like Eddie Murphy did in Coming To America, Sega is coming with its Sega 3D Classics Collection to North America on April 26, 2016 (pre-orders have already started!). We did ask Sega if there were plans on releasing this awesome retro collection in Australia, alas, we are still waiting on a response.

Taking a peek inside this collection, we find that Sega has thrown in five of their previously released 3D titles, two never released outside-of-Japan 3D titles, and a pair of rarities never before released on the 3DS! For those inquisitive types, here is the breakdown of games in the collection:

Previously released titles:

Fantasy Zone II W
Sonic The Hedgehog
Thunder Blade
Galaxy Force II
Altered Beast

Two never released outside-of-Japan titles:

Power Drift
Puyo Puyo 2

Two bonus (never released) titles:

Fantasy Zone II
Maze Walker

The Sega 3D Classics Collection will be released at a price of USD$29.99 and CA$44.99 for the Nintendo 3DS system in stores and digitally on the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo 3DS. The superb retail packaging will feature original artwork by Pokémon art director, Ken Sugimori.

Wow! For the time being this Sega 3D Classic Collection looks like it will be exclusive for our very lucky North American friends. We all hope that Sega don’t forget the rest of us!

Image source: Sega Of America

A Huge Arcade Coin-Op Sale On Craigslist

January 23, 2016 By ausretrogamer

Last Saturday (January 16) in a storage unit in Grand Island Nebraska there was a huge one day sale on classic and vintage arcade machines, jukeboxes and various other coin-ops. These relics had not seen the light of day in over 30 years!

The seller on Craigslist stated that there was too much gear to move and everything had to go – at fantastically great prices (Ed: relatively speaking!). The array of machines that had to go included: Asteroids and Asteroids Deluxe, Galaga, Bi Plane, Head-On, Omega Race (stand up and sit down), Space Invaders and Tank II to name just a few.

So, who of you attended this once-in-a-lifetime fire sale? Hit us up on Twitter or Facebook and tell us all about it.

PS: I wish we had these kinds of storage unit sales in Australia!

A Space Invader lurks in storage