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Read Some FREE Retro Gaming Books While In Isolation

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These are unprecedented times. We have never collectively faced or experienced such a situation, so it is great to see when we rally together across this beautiful globe to self isolate to help beat this darn Coronavirus!

Thanks to some awesome retro gaming community members, like Chris Wilkins from Fusion Retro Books, they are providing some of their digital (PDF) books for free for all to enjoy while self isolating – check them out further below!

But wait there is more! The Dreamcast Junkyard folks have their The A to Z of Dreamcast Games PDF book for all of you Dreamcast fans to enjoy too, and it’s free.

image source: The Dreamcast Junkyard

These times may seem gruelling, difficult and downright crazy, but we will get through it. For the time being, settle in and immerse yourself with some great free retro gaming content!

Free Fusion Retro Books:

image source: Fusion Retro Books

 

Sega Game Gear Gaming: Fred Couples Golf

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By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

When I tell people that my favourite professional golfer is Fred Couples, they usually give me side eye and ask, “Why?”. When I was little, my two favourite games on my Sega Game Gear were “The Incredible Hulk” and “Fred Couples Golf.”

The 1994 golf game was panned by critics when it was released. I think the reason some critics hated it was because the cramped graphical layout was a flaw. It didn’t bother me. I never chose a caddie, which was an option in the game. I’ve always believed that the practice mode and easy controls were innovative for a golf game.

I would play my Game Gear on the way to school on the bus, and on the way home as well. That was a lot of Fred Couples Golf. My mother would take my Game Gear away from me when I arrived home and tell me I could play after I finished my homework. The game was addictive. I started watching every golf event that Couples played in.

Many of my friends would ask me why I enjoyed Fred Couples Golf so much. The game was pretty much my introduction to the game of golf and the rules. I learned what a bogey was and I learned how to properly hit a golf ball out of a bunker. The game was unique because Couples, who endorsed the game, wasn’t a playable player. You could only play against him; and, on the difficult level, he was a worthy opponent.

I enjoyed the Couples game so much, I always wondered why Fred Couples didn’t get a game with more exceptional graphics for PlayStation or Xbox? Most of the big consoles made games endorsing Tiger Woods and other younger, more popular players on the PGA Tour. I doubt any game maker will, but if they made a Fred Couples game today, I’d buy it.

If a developer can centre a golf game around legends like Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, I don’t see why they couldn’t make a new game featuring Couples. However, video games are usually not designed for legendary players on the PGA Champions Tour.

 

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

 

MEGAMANIA 64 – Have a Blast On Your C64

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One of the better Atari 2600 video games, Activision’s MEGAMANIA, has now been expertly and lovingly ported to the Commodore 64 by the very clever and prolific game dev, Nick Sherman of Arla Games!

The best part is, MEGAMANIA 64 is totally free! What are you waiting for? Grab the game and fire up your Commodore 64 and get blasting!

image source: Arla Games

 

It’s-a me, LEGO Super Mario

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With everything going on in the world right now, you’d be forgiven for missing some big (geeky) news. Thanks to our friends (Phil and Kristy – you guys rock!), we’ve been informed that Lego will be releasing a new playset and characters based on Nintendo’s coveted franchise, Super Mario!

The below video hints at what fans can expect when LEGO Super Mario launches later this year, showing a player using an interactive Mario figure collecting coins in a real-life game level that has been created with LEGO bricks.


source: ProsafiaGaming

Reading through the press release, this passage made us get quite giddy,

“Neither a video game nor a traditional LEGO brick-based set, LEGO® Super Mario™ is a new product line that features an interactive LEGO Mario figure who collects coins in real-life game levels created with LEGO bricks. The new line will let kids experience the playful world of Super Mario like never before.”

To say we are excited would be the biggest understatement of 2020! We can’t wait for this to be released (later this year)!

source: Lego

The Snidewalk: Taking a Dangerous 8-Bit Stroll in NYC

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If you’ve ever walked the streets of NYC, Graham Davis’ The Snidewalk game will hit home!

Using an 8-bit aesthetic, and tunes to match, this free (desktop or smartphone) game, sees the player walking the NYC streets, with the premise being that you must avoid all obstacles to gain  points, from the pesky cat and the unpredictable delivery rider, to the Instagramers taking photos on the footpath and the mass of dog walkers.

We failed miserably on our first attempt, only hitting The Pizza Rat! Right, time to hit the pavement yet again, see ya!

[story source: Laughing Squid]

Best of The Web: Mario Shenanigans

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There is no better way to start (or end) the working day than with some Mario (meme) shenanigans. Since it still is MAR10 Day somewhere on the planet, we thought, life is too serious, let’s have a laugh together!

You are in big trouble now, Mario!

Mario_meme1
Source: Meme-Comics


Size does not matter

Mario_Meme2
source: Galaxy Meme

 

The irony of the hipster Mario

Mario_meme3_hipster
source: Tumblr

 

Mario, the cosplay pioneer!

Mario_Meme5_cos
source: Cheezburger

 

The collective say, “Awwwwww, how cute!”

Mario_Meme4
source: Stuff I Stumbled Upon

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.