History

Smells Like Christmas 1992/1993

05/01/2015 By ausretrogamer

Ah yeah, I remember the festive season of 1992/93 quite well. Shane Warne was mesmerising the opposition with his leggies and Sharon Stone was uncrossing her legs in Basic Instinct.

On the gaming front, it was all about the 16-bit beasts from Sega and Nintendo, but there was still some fighting spirit left in the 8-bit consoles. The Australian gaming charts for December/January 1992/93 show that it was Sonic 2 kicking ten shades out of the opposition on the Sega consoles, while the usual suspects were doing their thing on the Nintendo systems.

Who could forget the Sega Powerline – the guys on the hotline were there to help you beat Robotnik with a ‘Super Dash Attack’ – they did warn kids to seek their parents permission to call, as the 70c per minute was highway robbery.

Oh yeah, there was also the Sega Club. The Club was created to entice you to become a member and get your hands on some tasty exclusive Sega gear! With an annual membership cost of $20, it was well worth sending in your credit card details.

As per usual, Ocean was peddling their latest videogame film tie-in, Lethal Weapon. Slated for all 8 and 16-bit computers and consoles, the Master System version mysteriously didn’t make it due to unknown reasons – perhaps a blessing!

Still on the Ocean bandwagon, their wares were still going strong in the early 90s. The Dream Team consisted of games that transcended popular culture, from The Simpsons and wrestling, to the T800 Arnie becoming a good guy. I won’t be back to play!

Being the festive season, Sega was eager to cash in on the Christmas rush and wrestle you away from the Game Boy and buy their newfangled handheld, the Game Gear – the ultimate escape kit. Who could resist a bit of Streets Of Rage on the go!

With grunge popularity at its peak and the video gaming industry pumping out awesome games to keep us entertained, it definitely smelled like a great Christmas in 1992/93.

A 1972 Magnavox Odyssey Promo: I Like Them Cheesy

02/01/2015 By ausretrogamer

Prior to super-slick marketing videos, there was cheesy (and endearing) promotional films, just like this rare 1972 footage telling you all about the ground breaking Magnavox Odyssey video game system – the electronic game of the future!

Since there was no YouTube back then, this super-8 film was distributed to TV dealers in the very obscure Magi-Cartridge film-loop format, which could be viewed on special display devices in the dealer showroom. Would this video have got your attention? I know this promo would have sucked me in to getting Mr. Baer’s Odyssey, but that’s because I like my promotional videos to be big and cheesy.

source: yorkie2

Top 5 Games Charts: September 1997

03/12/2014 By ausretrogamer

The start of September in 1997 was tinged with sadness with the passing of Mother Teresa and the funeral of Diana, Princess Of Wales. With Elton John’s Candle In The Wind song topping the music charts, we were also introduced to another hit song, Tubthumping from Chumbawaba. In the video gaming sphere, Electronic Arts was pervading the top 5 games charts on a number of platforms, from the PlayStation and Saturn, to the ubiquitous personal computer.

I recall hammering V-Rally to death on my PlayStation and loving the politically incorrect and gruesome Carmageddon on the PC. What were your favourite games from September 1997?

	1) V-Rally (Ocean)
	2) International Superstar Soccer Pro (Konami)
	3) Syndicate Wars (Electronic Arts)
	4) Rage Racer (Sony)
	5) Fade To Black: Platinum (Electronic Arts)

	1) King Of Fighters ’95 (SNK)
	2) Fighters Megamix (Sega)
	3) Manx TT Superbike (Sega)
	4) FIFA ’97 (Electronic Arts)
	5) Shining The Holdy Ark (Sega)

	1) Dungeon Keeper (Electronic Arts)
	2) Carmageddon (SCI)
	3) FIFA Soccer Manager (Electronic Arts)
	4) Command & Conquer: Red Alert (Virgin)
	5) Theme Hospital (Electronic Arts)

‘Atari: Game Over’ – Setting The Record Straight

22/11/2014 By ausretrogamer

When I first heard that Fuel Entertainment and Xbox Entertainment Studios were going to make a documentary about the so-called Atari landfill urban legend, I thought, “everyone knows that Atari dumped their stock in Alamogordo. So what?“. So what indeed. A lot of people still believed that it was an urban legend that Atari dumped millions of E.T. cartridges. Well, my scepticism about the documentary and how it would present the material was totally unfounded. My scepticism had been smashed out of the park. Take a bow Mr. Zak Penn.

The documentary interweaves two storylines within an hour of compelling viewing. There is the lead up to the Alamogordo dig and the rise and fall of Atari. The interviews with key Atari people, including its co-founder, Nolan Bushnell, former Warner Communications Inc. Co-Chief Operating Officer, Emmanuel (Manny) Gerard and Atari games developer, Howard Scott Warshaw, add that extra credibility to an already well produced documentary. (Ed: SPOILER ALERT!) There is an emotional moment in the documentary when Howard is asked by a media crew on how he felt about the dig. We promise you, you will shed a tear too.

Atari: Game Over sets the record straight about the Atari burial myth once and for all – do yourself a favour, and watch it right now!

Screenshots from Atari: Game Over

Celebrating the Atari Lynx

03/10/2014 By ausretrogamer

It may have started life on a napkin back in 1986, but it wasn’t officially released to the gaming public as the world’s first 16-bit colour handheld till October 1989 (Ed: the Atari Lynx was officially released on September 1 1989, but it wasn’t available for retail till October of that year). The Epyx Handy, which would eventually become the Atari Lynx, celebrates a significant milestone – it’s another year older and it is still kicking nostalgic goals!

The Atari Lynx may have been decimated in market share by the Game Boy juggernaut, but it’s place in history is undeniable. It didn’t bask in the same glory as Nintendo’s little pocket rocket, let’s face it, no other handhelds did, but with 16-bit colour graphics, support for hardware scaling, great arcade conversions and the ability to link up with friends, the Lynx was still a force to be reckoned with. With two system variants, the Lynx provided many hours of fun – as long as you were stocked to the teeth with AA batteries.

We wrote about the Lynx’s history (Ed: you can read that here), which in typical Atari fashion was quite colourful, with lots of twists and turns. This feature celebrates everything about the mighty 16-bit colour handheld – its hardware revisions, its awesomest games and some very interesting facts.

The Lynx was truly ahead of its time. Long live the Atari Lynx!

Hardware Comparison:

Game Cards – Curled vs Flat:

Awesomest Atari Lynx Games:

Interesting Atari Lynx Facts:

It was initially going to be the Atari Portable Entertainment System. But once it was pointed out that the acronym would be APES, the name change was swift;
The Lynx was christened many names before Atari settled with the name we now know and love – it went from being the Epyx Handy, APES, Nuclear Toaster to finally, the Lynx;
The model name was chosen due to the system’s ability to link up with multiple machines. It wasn’t in reference to the big cat of the same name;
It was the first home system to support hardware scaling, just like After Burner and Pit Fighter in the arcades;
Mikey was the first sound chip in any console to provide specialist sampled sound support on all four channels;
Game cards could store up to a maximum of two megabytes;
The 8-bit CPU was paired with a 16-bit math co-processor – this took a lot of the cycle load off the CPU and allowed the Lynx to provide super fast game play;
It was the first colour LCD with a 16-bit graphics chip (Suzy) – providing 4,096 colours to choose from with a maximum of 16 per scanline.

Activision: Happy 35th Birthday

01/10/2014 By ausretrogamer

What do you do when the company you make video games for does not want to recognise nor pay you royalties for your efforts? You become disgruntled and leave that company with a few of your programmer co-workers and form your own company. Well, that is pretty much how Activision was created – to break the shackles from Atari and recognise the programming geniuses behind some of the most beloved video games of all time.

In creating Activision; David Crane, Larry Kaplan, Alan Miller, and Bob Whitehead became the world’s first third-party video games developers. So thank you to the courage of these men, we can only speculate (Ed: shudder to think!) what would have happened if we didn’t have a third-party video games developer community.

Activision has changed over the last three and a half decades, as has the video games market, but its legacy will not be forgotten. We still love playing their creations from all those years ago, from Pitfall! and River Raid on the Atari 2600, to breaking joysticks with Decathlon on the C64. Ah, those were the days. Happy 35th birthday Activision!

Retro Gaming: Solid State Media

25/09/2014 By ausretrogamer

There is no point in pretending that I am a fan of downloadable content (DLC) – just for the record, I am not a fan! However, I can’t deny that it is the way of the future, unfortunately.

There is a sense of gratification when holding something precious like old school video games in your hands. That tactile pleasure is not the same as hitting the ‘Download Now‘ button. As solid state media becomes extinct, the pleasure of holding games in your hands and looking at the back to “check out the graphics” will become a thing of the past – something to tell your grandchildren.

Just like books adorning your personal library, there is an intoxicating atmosphere of nostalgia when you are able to view and touch your retro gaming collection. There is a sense of cultural importance in preserving these collections. Be proud of your gaming cartridges, diskettes, tapes, CDs, cards, DVDs and Blu-Rays. They may be going the same way as the dodo bird, but our passion for preserving these artefacts will ensure that they are enjoyed for generations to come.

Chubby Checker’s Dig Dug Dance

09/09/2014 By ausretrogamer

There is something quite endearing about old video gaming advertisements – from daggy TV commercials to the advertising wars between the heavyweights of the industry!

Then there are the TV advertisements that were released, but not as originally intended. The unearthing of a cassette tape with Chubby Checker singing in Atari’s Dig Dug arcade commercial, has sent a buzz around the retro gaming community.

Just in case you weren’t aware, the cassette was recently discovered by Matt Osborne, son of former Atari vice president Don Osborne. The song itself was technically used in the Dig Dug commercial, but without Checker’s vocals. The reasons of why this recording exists and why Chubby Checker’s vocals weren’t used in the final product, are unfortunately lost to history. We know which version we prefer.

Chubby Checker’s version

Final Atari Dig Dug Dance TV commercial

source: Scottith Games

image and Chubby Checker vocals source: TheOzMan (Matt Osborne)

Blast From The Past: The Top 10 C64 Games of August 1984

22/08/2014 By ausretrogamer

What is so significant about August? Well, if you are a Commodore 64 fan, you don’t need to ask. If you haven’t got the faintest idea why I am gushing over August, then let me tell you – this month back in 1982, Commodore Business Machines unleashed the little 8-bit home computer powerhouse we affectionately call, the C64. August will forever be remembered as, C64 month.

In its 32 year lifespan, the C64 has entertained millions of players around the world via an extensive library of games; some good, some bad, and some absolute rippers! Speaking of ripper games, for this article, we take a trip down nostalgia lane to a time long forgotten – August 1984. Take a look at the chart and see what the top 10 C64 games were in this month 30 years ago. The games may seem primitive, but there is no denying that there are some games in this list that still endure – Beach-Head anyone? Do you like anything you see in this chart? Let us know your pick of the bunch via Twitter.

We rounded up the illustrious RESET staff and asked them to pick one standout game from the top 10 C64 games list to give us their take on what that game meant to them.

Vinny Mainolfi: International Soccer
Back in 1982 when our beloved Commodore 64 hit the shelves, all I remember seeing was International Soccer on the screen in our local John Menzies, and young boys huddled around fighting over who was next to play. It was also the first game I ever played on the C64 because when I purchased my first C64 it didn’t come with a datasette! A fantastic retro game that’s still worth a kick-about.

Kevin Tilley: Space Pilot
I have very fond memories of playing Space Pilot as a youngster (seems like a long time ago now!). Back then, I had no idea what an arcade game was or the existence of Time Pilot. I played this game with an innocence that allowed me to have pure 100% fun with what was in front of me without any preconceptions. I remember flying through the first level, continuously upwards to see if I would hit space, or continuously downwards to see if I would ever hit the ground, shooting enemies as I went! Of course, I never did hit space or the ground but that didn’t matter. Curiously, I don’t ever remember making it past the second or third stage even though I loved the game and played it regularly. A classic unofficial conversion of Time Pilot that still plays well today!

Merman: Beach Head
I got this on the ‘They Sold A Million’ – a brilliant compilation with Beach Head, Staff of Karnath, Daley Thompson’s Decathlon and Jet Set Willy, offering great value for money. I loved all the different scenes in Beach Head – the onslaught of the air raid, the hidden passage filled with mines and torpedoes, the naval bombardment trying to hit the enemy ships and the tanks driving and exploding among the defenses on the beach. It took me several years to finally conquer the giant fortress by blasting the white squares (weak points that lit one by one) and took pride in seeing the white flag of surrender waving from the ruins. The sequel was a lot of fun too.

Frank Gasking: Trashman
Sadly I was too young to experience Trashman when it first hit the shelves, but was lucky enough to play it back in 1992 when Zzap! 64 put it on their cover mount. Although not quite as fast paced as other titles I played at the time, there was something oddly enduring about playing a game where the aim was to clear up trash from the street! The comments from the home owners were pretty amusing at the time, and I amassed many C64’s from parents trying to clear out their kid’s collections. Sometimes felt a bit harsh when a car appeared from nowhere as you tried to struggle across the road, but I still kept replaying. Also I remember there being a neat cheat where if you got hit by a car and pressed a key, it would restart the game with frozen traffic (touching a car would still kill you though!). Great conversion of a Speccy classic!

Craig Derbyshire/Babyduckgames:Hunchback
Back in those days I never owned a C64 as it was too expensive for us but my wealthier cousin owned one and I spent many an hour around his house as a spectator waiting for him and his friend (I was always made to go last !) to finish their turns on this game. I picked up a few swear words along the way as they struggled to get past the increasingly difficult levels. It didn’t bother me being a spectator for a while as when my turn arrived I had already learnt from their mistakes and usually managed to progress further than them which made me feel kinda chuffed. I find it a simple game compared to latter C64 games but to me it has that classic “one more go” feel. I’m sure that one day I will return to it with the aim of completing it.

Plume: Son of Blagger
Haha, games just seemed more sprawling and epic when you were younger and less jaded didn’t they? This was one of those games for me. I always loved the fact that I could see tantalising areas behind walls before I could get to them, which just added to the mystique. Having played it on a mates Spectrum first, I remember being significantly miffed that it was decidedly less colourful, but the fact it wasn’t a push scroller like its counterpart soon won me over. If only it would let me change direction when I jumped, I probably wouldn’t be the bitter curmudgeon I am today. Son of a bitch more like.

Cameron Davis: Blagger
Blagger was a bit of a mystery to me when I first found out about it. I had read about it in an early issue of Zzap! 64 and it (along with super-programmer Tony Crowther) was held in high reverence, but I never saw it on store shelves two years after its initial release. Being such an old game it wasn’t exactly a hot item on the schoolyard tape-swapping circuit, either. It wasn’t until five years after its debut that I managed to find a copy…and it did not age well. Finicky, pixel-perfect platform games were already old-hat by 1988 thanks to the advent of Great Giana Sisters and the like, and even the colourful visuals couldn’t save what was an exercise in frustrating rote learning of enemy movement patterns and item locations. I know Blagger has its fans, but I think it really was a case of “you had to have been there!”

As for myself, I struggled to pick one standout from the games chart. The decision proved all the more difficult as I still have vivid (and very fond) memories of playing International Soccer and Decathlon. At least I never broke any joysticks playing International Soccer!

My nostalgic senses lean towards International Soccer, as it was the pack-in cartridge in my C64 Family Pack (America’s Cup Edition). I remember playing it with my dad to a point of exhaustion. Once I had him beat, which was quite often, we went onto the wrist-snapping Decathlon. Many a C-1342 joysticks were broken while waggling the joystick to break an event record – but boy, was it fun!

I figured that the only way I could solve this stalemate was to toss a coin. I picked heads for Decathlon, tossed the coin and guess what – it landed on heads. Time to break another joystick and that 100m sprint record!

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DISCLAIMER: This article appears in issue #4 of Reset.

Arcade Legends Of The Golden Age

12/08/2014 By ausretrogamer

Growing up during the golden age of arcade gaming, I didn’t know nor care who created them, I just wanted to have fun playing them. I was always on the lookout for titles that other gamers and friends were talking about. Who was Dave Theurer or Eugene Jarvis? These names didn’t mean a thing to me as a youngster. As long as I had coins to pump into the machines, I was happy.

With passing of time, my curiosity got the better of me. Forgetting about the Sega, Atari, Taito, Nintendo, Namco arcade brands, I was curious to know who the human beings were behind some of the industry’s most iconic arcade games.

This is my way of paying homage to the real creative legends of the arcade games I loved (still love) playing.

Welcome to the ausretrogamer ‘Arcade Legends Hall of Fame’.

Name: Yu Suzuki
Company: Sega Enterprises
Games: After Burner, Out Run, Space Harrier, Hang-On, Virtua Fighter
Comment: The Michaelangelo of the video games industry

Name: Eugene Jarvis
Company: Atari, Williams Electronics
Games: Defender, Robotron:2084, Stargate, Smash TV, NARC
Comment: Arcade games and pinball designer extraordinaire

Name: Ed Logg
Company: Atari
Games: Asteroids, Centipede, Millipede, Gauntlet series
Comment: Quarter guzzling arcade master

Name: Dave Theurer
Company: Atari
Games: Missile Command, Tempest, I,Robot
Comment: Pioneering game designer that was inspired by Pong

Name: Yoshiki Okamoto
Company: Konami, Capcom
Games: Time Pilot, Gyruss, 1942, Gun.Smoke, Final Fight, Street Fighter II
Comment: The arcade games innovator

Name: Shigeru Miyamoto
Company: Nintendo
Game: Donkey Kong
Comment: Critically acclaimed influencer of the video gaming industry

Name: Toru Iwatani
Company: Namco
Game: Pac-Man
Comment: World record holder of the most installed arcade machines

Name: Tomohiro Nishikado
Company: Taito
Game: Space Invaders
Comment: The granddaddy of the killer arcade game

Name: Yoshihisa Kishimoto
Company: Technos
Game: Double Dragon
Comment: The grandfather of the beat’em up genre

It is always difficult composing such a list as there will be other deserving arcade game creators that will miss out. Who would be your pick for your arcade legends hall of fame?

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