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The Rise and Fall of Centuri Inc.

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Remember Centuri? Not really? We bet it will ring a bell when you watch this two-part series (on Centuri Inc.) and realise you probably played one (or more) of their licensed video games a fair bit at your local arcade joints.

Cassandra Chiles-Quirk (aka: Vintage Arcade Gal) has done a stellar job in encapsulating the highs and lows of this once great company of the golden age of arcade video games.

The Rise & Fall of Centuri – Part 1

The Rise & Fall of Centuri – Part 2

source: Vintage Arcade Gal

 

Nintendo Ball – The Game and Watch That Started The Iconic Series

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Nintendo Ball holds a dear place in our heart as it was their very first (Silver) Game & Watch product, released on this day [April 28] in 1980! This was the game that kicked off the iconic electronic handheld series.

Being the company’s first Game & Watch title, Ball is celebrated among the gaming community and within Nintendo itself, as evident from their many re-releases and remakes.

In case you never played Ball, the user controls a character who must juggle a few balls at once, ensuring that none of them are dropped. The control to keep juggling the ball is pretty straight forward – by pressing the left and right face button. It is this simplicity that made Nintendo’s Game & Watch series so memorable with its fans.

Do you have still have your Game & Watch(es)? Which one(s) is/are your fave?

source: Wikimedia Commons

 

Kickstart A Hit Of AMIGA Nostalgia

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We recently delved into some of our forgotten boxes, hidden deep in our vault (aka: the garage) which were choc-full of classic video games.

What we found totally blew our mind – a treasure trove of Amiga gems! We are still shaking our head in disbelief in how we could have forgotten about these games – it is sacrilege.

Let’s get one thing straight, as much as we still love our Atari ST, the Amiga, with its various models we’ve had the pleasure of playing on, from the 500, CDTV, 2000 to the 1200 and CD32, it still holds a dear place in our bitmap heart.

So come on an intoxicating nostalgic journey with us by scrolling through the below games, but don’t rush through the photos, as you may miss an old favourite!

PS: Hit us up on Twitter or Facebook to let us know which game(s) gave you a warm and fuzzy feeling 🙂

 

Resident Evil: Surviving The Horror

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Wow, when Resident Evil was released on this day (March 22) in 1996, who would have thought that we would be talking about it all these years later!

Our first encounter with Resident Evil was quite memorable. Upon loading the game on our Playstation, we were subjected to some cheesy B-grade acting, but it was the rabid zombie dog at the end of the intro sequence that scared the pants off us when watching it at the dead of night – we still have nightmares!

We quickly learn that Raccoon City is a foreboding place, where an outbreak of the T-Virus (created as a bio-weapon by the Umbrella Corporation) starts spreading from the nearby Arklay Mountains, turning humans into zombies and other creatures into horrifying monsters. The protagonists, Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, both members of the Alpha S.T.A.R.S. (Special Tactics And Rescue Service) special forces from the Raccoon Police Department (RPD) are trapped in the Spencer mansion, attempting to find out what all the eeriness is about. This is where things get interesting in this awesome survival horror game; from encountering supernatural enemies – some that make you jump off the couch, to finding typewriter ribbons to save your progress and the dread you feel when opening a door to transition to another room, there were scares aplenty!

Interestingly, the game is known as Biohazard in its native Japan. When the Biohazard project kicked off, Capcom were planning a spiritual remake of their 1989 horror game Sweet Home. Once they found that a DOS game had registered the Biohazard title in the US, the company held an internal contest to choose a new name. This contest lead to the title, Resident Evil, which we know and love outside of Japan. Resident Evil/Biohazard was also first to be dubbed a ‘survival horror’ game – the term coined for the new genre.

Capcom weren’t convinced that Resident Evil would do well, with sales projections pencilled in at just 200,000. Once critical acclaim was widespread, Capcom were truly gobsmacked when Resident Evil went on to move 5.8 million copies (original, Director’s Cut and Director’s Cut DualShock), making it a massive hit.

Hit us up on Facebook or Twitter to tell us about your most memorable encounter or scary moment from the original Resident Evil. Oh, and a ‘Jill Sandwich’ is a thing!

image source: games revisited

 

PAC-MAN Tamagotchi Has Officially Launched

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Waka waka waka waka waka waka

To celebrate the iconic yellow pill muncher’s 40th anniversary this year, Tamagotchi and PAC-MAN have teamed up to bring fans a new virtual pet experience – PAC-MAN TAMAGOTCHI!

The Tamagotchi device stars PAC-MAN as the virtual pet character with iconic PAC-MAN features – see further below!

Officially released on March 15th, PAC-MAN Tamagotchi is now available on store shelves. This is perfect for on-the-go entertainment – it fits easily into pockets or bags and it even includes a wearable key-chain allowing kids or their parents to tend to their PAC-MAN Tamagotchi wherever they go!

PAC-MAN Tamagotchi Features:

  • Raise and nurture your Tamagotchi character with the help of PAC-MAN
  • PAC-MAN will save your Tamagotchi character from the ghosts and bugs
  • Feed your Tamagotchi rice or PAC-MAN’s favourite, cherries
  • Raise your Tamagotchi character from egg to baby to adult
  • 7 adults included, which is determined by how you take care of your PAC-MAN Tamagotchi character
  • Two fun mini-games: play the Pac Game and the Catch Game!
  • Two different shell styles to choose from
  • Two PAC-MAN mazes to choose from; yellow and black
  • Battery (LR44) included
  • No WiFi needed

The PAC-MAN Tamagotchi also comes in a Deluxe Assortment that includes a PAC-MAN case to protect your device! Join the PAC and get ready to commemorate PAC-MAN’s 40th Anniversary as a pop culture and video game icon!

Available from:

  • Amazon (US)
  • Big W (Aus)
  • EB Games (Aus)

image source: Tamagotchi US

 

WA-HOO: Happy MAR10 Day

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Wa-hoo, it’s that time of year when we celebrate the greatest video game character of all time, that little Nintendo plumber who likes to munch of mushrooms, Mario! Or should that be Mar10? 😉

To celebrate (Super) MAR10 Day, we encourage you all to play one of his many many games, from the classic platformers, adventure, karting, to tennis, party games and even his old school Game & Watch based games!

Today is the day we honour one of the most iconic video game characters of all time. We are going to celebrate by playing something very old and also one of our favourite Mario games of all time. Oh yeah, we may even throw on a pair of overalls to get right into this great day!

Which Mario game will you play in celebration of MAR10 Day? Hit us up on Twitter or Facebook to share the Mario love.

 

Celebrating the Nintendo 64

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We love celebrating anniversaries, especially the big milestones like new consoles that were released in Australia!

With that said, on this day [March 1] in 1997, Nintendo officially released the Nintendo 64 in Australia (and other PAL regions, like Europe).

We actually bought the Nintendo 64 on day one and immediately were hooked on Super Mario 64 and the fog-riddled Turok: Dinosaur Hunter. Once we played Wave Race 64 and later on, Mario Kart 64, we knew we made the right decision (and our PS1 was quickly packed away in favour of the N64!).

The Nintendo 64 provided many highlights for us, including all-night gaming sessions with friends and family – that GoldenEye 007 was an addiction y’all (and still is)!

We could go on and on about the Nintendo 64, but we would love to hear your memories about Nintendo’s last cartridge based console – hit us up on Twitter or Facebook.

Game Over: Hardest Video Games Ever

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Even though I have been gaming for over three decades, I am still your average gamer. The 80s arcade games definitely toughened me and sharpened my skills, but there were some games that no matter how sharp I was, I could never beat them.

The following list of wickedly difficult games is an admission of sorts that I never got to see the end credits. Heck, I don’t even think I saw more than a few levels (without cheating) on any of these games.

What are some of your most hardest games ever played? Let us know via Twitter or Facebook.

OUR HARDEST GAMES LIST

Contra / Gryzor / Probotector

Ghosts’n Goblins

Mega Man

Battletoads

Bionic Commando

Green Beret / Rush’n Attack

Impossible Mission

Robotron:2084

Rolling Thunder

Defender

Robocop

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels

ESWAT: Ciyt Under Siege

Slap Fight

Hellfire

Rick Dangerous

Airwolf

Paperboy

Game Over

 

Getting To Grips with Sega Pocket Arcade

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They may have been a bit late to the handheld LCD party (which Nintendo’s Game & Watch series were the life of that party), but Sega did manage to leverage their might by offering some of their iconic arcade games to be ported to the Pocket Arcade platform.

The Pocket Arcade (LCD based) series of games were developed by everyone’s favourite LCD gaming manufacturer (Ed: tongue firmly in cheek!), Tiger Electronics.  Under license by Sega, Tiger Electronics made the Pocket Arcade series from (about) 1994 till 1997. These LCD based games were primarily sold in North America, meaning that they are scarce anywhere else. Being Tiger, many of the Pocket Arcade games in the series were reskinned versions of previous LCD games, but there were quite a few that were new.

image source: eBay

One of the unique features to set the Pocket Arcade games from their LCD gaming brethren is the ‘conceal and reveal’ feature. The clam-shell keeps the game safe (and off) in your pocket, so once you are ready to play, just hit the button to flip, pop or pivot the screen, which also turns on the game. When you are done playing, just close the unit and stick it back in your pocket.

So what Sega Pocket Games games could you get? Here is the series list, thanks to Sega Retro. Don’t all raid eBay at once!

Red cover series:

  • Amazing Sonic
  • Sega Sports Baseball
  • Bug!
  • Ecco the Dolphin
  • Eternal Champions: Special Moves Edition
  • Sega Sports Football
  • Sonic Blast
  • Columns

Blue cover series:

  • Bug!
  • Ecco the Dolphin
  • Indy 500 / Sega Raceway
  • Panzer Dragoon
  • Sonic 3D Blast
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 3
  • Streets of Rage
  • Super Monaco GP
  • Virtua Cop
  • Virtua Fighter


source: ClassicAds

 

Contra: Celebrating 33 Years Of Rock Hard Awesomeness

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Contra, Gryzor or Probotector. No matter what name you know this classic Konami run and gun game by, you will definitely remember it as one tough mother of a game!

Konami had an instant hit on their hands when they released the arcade machine on this day [February 20] in 1987. Happy 33rd anniversary Contra, you irresistible force!

For those that have been away from Earth since early 1987, here is the lowdown on Contra:

Midnight, September 12 2631. The Marines catch sight of a small-sized meteorite that is fast approaching Earth. The meteorite plummets 20km north-east of New Zealand, at the Gal Mosquito Archipelago. The command keep watch of the meteorite.

Two years later, in December 2633, an intruder known as the Red Falcon is occupying the Gal Mosquito Archipelago and is planning the fall of mankind. Command orders confidential investigations at the enemies’ front base. The marine post orders for two “Contra” soldiers, Private First Class Bill “Mad Dog” Rizer and Private First Class Lance “Scorpion” Bean on a mission. The mission being: penetrate the insides of the enemy, destroy the front base and the entire centre of operation.