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The Twelve Gifts Of Christmas

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Xmas_Gifts_HDR“On the First day of Christmas my true love sent to me”, No, no, no! There will be no ‘The Twelve Days Of Christmas’ singing here, thank you. With Christmas just around the corner, we thought we would ease the gift buying burden by giving you ‘The Twelve Gift Ideas For Christmas’ to help you get something special for your really cool geeky / nerdy partner.

Forget about going out to the local shopping centre and battling for a car park only to get frustrated when you can’t find anything suitable. We are here to make this Christmas shopping period a pleasant experience from the comfort of your own home and one where your partner will thank you for the awesome gift (Ed: don’t you mean gifts!)!

Enough chatter, as promised, here are The Twelve Gifts of Christmas!

Star Wars: The Original Topps Trading Card Series, Volume One – Just in time for the Force Awakens!
Xmas_StarWarsTopps

If they are Zelda fans, then this 2.5″ 8-Bit Link Action Figure will tickle their fancy
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But if they are a Donkey Kong kinda guy or gal, then they’ll go ape over this!
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Secure their DS / 3DS with a retro NES inspired case! 
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Sega fans rejoice! Plug and play the Sega Nano on any TV (with composite connectivity)
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There should always be a Masters Of The Universe gift under the Christmas tree
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If clothing is preferred, then nothing says cool like a C64 tee
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Bookworms partners will love this Commodore book!
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Can’t afford a real Intellivision? Then the Intellivision Flashback is the next best thing!
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Or maybe they are a ColecoVision type of gamer…
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Forget forking out thousands for an arcade machine, grab them a My-Arcade mini retro machine!
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And if you really want to spoil him or her, get them the ultimate handheld emulation system, the GPD XD
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image source: supplied

The Mini Arcade By SuperGameCo

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MiniArcade_GalagaHave you always wanted to make your own mini arcade tabletop machine? Are you a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) hack just like me? If you answered yes to both questions, then the SuperGameCo Mini Arcade may be just what you are looking for.

Made from bamboo panels that snap together, the Mini Arcade is a breeze to setup – if you prefer (Ed: are too lazy), SuperGameCo also offer the Mini Arcade in fully assembled form.

MiniArcade_SideView

MiniArcade_Control_topdown

At the heart of the Mini Arcade is a very speedy Raspberry Pi 2 Model B computer, running Emulation Station. This ensures that the emulators and games run nice and smooth. We didn’t experience any slowdown during play – which was great. The 9″ LCD screen provides great resolution, but the marquee protrudes a tad too much which tends to get in the way if you are not sitting down low.

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The control deck is made up of an 8-way Sanwa/Seimitsu arcade stick and 6 concave arcade buttons. These are complimented with a single player select button and an insert coin (credit) button on the left side of the unit to provide an authentic arcade feel when playing games via MAME.

MiniArcade_Emulators

Audio on the Mini Arcade is pumped through the front facing speakers via a stereo amplifier. We did find that the sound wasn’t as beefy as we would have liked, which took away a bit from the experience when playing shoot’em ups with booming explosions.

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We found the Mini Arcade to be a breeze to operate and play games. The assembly was nice and easy, and once you are all setup, it is pretty straight forward to select your favourite old game and get all nostalgic. If you are struggling to find a Christmas present for your retro gaming partner, then the Mini Arcade may be a viable option.

PROS:
– Clever snap-together kit (or you could opt for it to be fully assembled)
– Easy to get started playing games
– Latest Raspberry Pi 2 Model B internals
– Quality Sanwa/Seimitsu arcade joystick
– Inclusion of the Insert Coin button provides an authentic arcade feel
– Multiple interfaces (USB/RJ45) for additional connectivity

CONS:
– Marquee is obtrusive when playing on the 9″ LCD display
– Button layout felt a tad cramped
– Sound is reasonable, but it needs to be meatier
– Insert coin button stickiness (may have just been our unit)
– Power supply cord was too short
– Graphics on the bamboo panels would be nice

The Mini Arcade product variants and prices can be found at the SuperGameCo store here.

 

Tiny Arcade: A Retro Tiny Playable Game Cabinet

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‘Tiny Arcade’ is an adorable arcade cabinet that fits in the palm of your hand – this is our kind of mobile gaming!

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Made by Tiny Circuits, the Tiny Arcade has an analog joystick and two fire buttons, a built in speaker for playing audio, a Lithium battery, built in USB for charging (and programming), and a microSD expansion slot.

 

You can order your Tiny Arcade completely pre-assembled or as a DIY kit and there are plans for over twenty classic games available for free download by the start of shipping. The Kickstarter campaign has already well and truly met its target, so get your order in by 18 

Games
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Options: black acrylic, clear acrylic, basswood or the premium realistic 3D printed case.
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3d

Kickstarter rewards
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Source: Kickstarter via Laughing Squid
Image and video source: Kickstarter

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msausretrogamerMs. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer 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

 

 

Bluegrass Tetris Theme By Samuraiguitarist

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Canadian Guitarist/Songwriter/Samurai Steve Onotera (aka samuraiguitarist) performs a gorgeous bluegrass/rock multi-track cover of the classic ‘Theme A’ song from Tetris.


Video source: samuraiguitarist on YouTube

Source: samuraiguitarist via Laughing Squid

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msausretrogamerMs. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer 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

 

 

Fury Fingers Films

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Australian film-makers ‘Fury Fingers Films’ make funny live action films about video games with plenty of bad-ass action and visual FX.

Fury Fingers was started by film school friends Nicholas Cleary, Andrew Shanks, Daniel Vink and David Gregan. Talented stuntman and fight choreographer Anthony Rinna is the most recent addition to the team (aka the 5th Beatle).

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Making films has allowed the guys to develop and showcase their skills as visual effects artists, and become confident directing action, working with stunt / fight choreographers and parkour artists. Their next challenge is to learn about rope work and pyrotechnics (wow!). All their hard work has been worthwhile too, with big players such as Konami and Crystal Dynamics (among others) taking notice of Fury Fingers’ awesome films. Look out for their upcoming Tomb Raider fan film featuring Melbourne-based cosplayer Shiveeejam.

Watch a selection of their fantastic films below, and be sure to subscribe to their YouTube channel, like their Facebook page, and follow them on Twitter to keep up to date with their latest projects because these guys are going places!

Fury Fingers Channel Trailer

Video source: Fury Fingers Films on YouTube

Gritty Mario World

Video source: Fury Fingers Films on YouTube

Sleeping With The Enemy – Metal Gear Solid Fan Film

Video source: Fury Fingers Films on YouTube

Day Of The Living Dead Batteries

Video source: Fury Fingers Films on YouTube

The Best Of Us – The Last of Us Fan Film

Video source: Fury Fingers Films on YouTube

Boxhound – Metal Gear Solid Fan Film

Video source: Fury Fingers Films on YouTube

Looters – Elder Scrolls Fan Film

Video source: Fury Fingers Films on YouTube

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msausretrogamerMs. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer 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

 

 

Jon Hare’s Sociable Soccer Now Live On Kickstarter

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ss_dev_TitleIf you have been living on another planet and just returned to our blue marble, you may have missed the big news – Jon Hare, the coding genius who created Sensible Soccer, is back with a Kickstarter campaign to make Sociable Soccer, a worthy spiritual successor to one of the greatest footy (Ed: soccer) games of all time. With the pedigree of Sensi Soccer, you know this new game will be an absolute beauty.

Jon Hare’s Sociable Soccer will be kicking off on your  PC, Steam, XBox One and Playstation 4 at the end of 2016. To say we can’t wait for this game, would be a gross understatement. Kick some goals for Sociable Soccer by backing it right now on Kickstarter!

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ss_splashimage source: Tower Studios

 

Awesome Dad Re-enacts Street Fighter II Turbo Victory Poses

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Watch Los Angeles Comedian Nick Luciano’s awesome Dad re-enact all the victory poses from Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting. He has also re-enacted every taunt animation from Super Smash Bros Wii U (watch part 1 and part 2).

Source: Cheezburger

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msausretrogamerMs. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer 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

 

 

Britsoft: An Oral History

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BritSoft_1It is no secret that I am a huge fan of the From Bedrooms To Billions documentary film – I called it the video gaming film of the year for 2014. It is also no secret that I am a fan of Read-Only Memory’s sublime Sega Mega Drive/Genesis: Collected Works book. When these two worlds of film and publishing collide, you get Britsoft: An Oral History.

The Britsoft: An Oral History book is a companion piece to the 2014 documentary, From Bedrooms to Billions – it uses exclusive cuts from the hundreds of hours of interview footage to carve its original story. Through the voices of programmers, musicians, journalists and business people, it traces the making of games such as Dizzy, Elite, Paradroid and Kick Off; and the birth of publishers, magazines and software houses, from Codemasters to Zzap!64. Edited by former Edge magazine editor, Alex Wiltshire, and its striking page layouts designed by London-based studio Julia, Britsoft: An Oral History oozes premium quality.

With its rarely-seen archive images, such as candid period photographs and magazine ads, its high attention to detail, premium paper and design layout, this book will not disappoint. If you want a great companion publication to go with one of the best documentary films of 2014, then look no further, Britsoft: An Oral History should be at the top of your shopping list.

Vital Stats:
Title: Britsoft: An Oral History
Price: £30.00 (plus shipping)
Size: 160mm x 230mm
Binding: Hardback
Pages: 422
Specials: Lay-flat binding and multiple paper stocks

Rarely seen archive images – Work hard, play even harder!
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Original illustrations of cult hardware of the era
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Oh man, the colours, they are so vivid!
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I spot Space Harrier!
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Interviews with 35 people who shaped the modern videogames industry
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Multiple paper stock is strikingly beautiful
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A cup of tea? How British
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Oo’er, 16-bits of awesomeness!
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image source: Read-Only Memory

 

Oculus Arcade on Gear VR

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lobbyWhat does everyone want to do with the latest cutting edge gaming technology? Play classic games, of course! Here is the Oculus ‘Arcade’ Gear VR app which lets you play over 20 classic titles from Sega, Namco, and Midway. James Halliday would approve!

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Video source: Road to VR on YouTube

Games available:

Bandai Namco
Pacman (1980)
Galaga (1981)

Midway
APB (1987)
Defender (1981)
Joust (1982)
Gauntlet (1985)
Gauntlet II (1986)
Rampage (1986)
Root Beer Tapper (1983)
Spy Hunter (1983)

Sega
Altered Beast (1988)
Golden Axe (1989)
Phantasy Star II (1989)
Shinobi III (1993)
Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992)
Sonic Spinball (1993)
Streets of Rage (1991)
Streets of Rage 2 (1992)
Virtua Fighter 2 (1994)
Ecco the Dolphin (1992)

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Source (including images): Road to VR

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msausretrogamerMs. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer 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

 

 

Cinemaware Retro: Defender of the Crown – Extended Collectors Cut

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DoFTC_TitleOh how I miss the days of big boxed games. I remember walking into our local entertainment store and making a beeline to the games section to check out what was new. I loved picking up boxed games off the shelf and checking out their beautiful cover art. I would then turn the box over to check out the graphics and read the blurb. Ah, those were the days.

Alas, the good folks at Cinemaware Retro must have heard me! I had to rub my eyes to ensure this wasn’t a figment of my imagination – check out their classic big box Defender of the Crown – Extended Collectors Cut game! The different versions of the game will run on your PC and MAC, but best of all, the game will also run on your Amiga and CD32 (Ed: C64 folks don’t fret, there are disk-files of the classic game to create your own C64 disks!)! To say I am excited about all this would be a gross understatement. If you are (or were) a fan of Cinemaware’s games (Ed: there will be lots of you out there!), then this game would be right up your alley – better be quick, as there will only be a limited run of 500 units!

Cinemaware should be applauded for taking this initiative (check out their remastered Wings Amiga edition too!). If this succeeds, then hopefully Cinemaware will make other classic big box games from their awesome back catalogue! If this doesn’t tickle your nostalgic senses, then nothing will.

DoFTC_1image source: Cinemaware Retro