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Sega Mega Drive Classics coming to PlayStation 4 and XBox One

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HOLD ME CLOSER SHADOW DANCER! SEGA MEGA DRIVE CLASSICS COMING TO PLAYSTATION 4 AND XBOX ONE

SEGA® Europe Ltd. has an Altered Beast™ of an announcement certain to create an Alien Storm™ amongst the Shining Force™ of retro SEGA fans out there, as SEGA® Mega Drive Classics™ is set to release for PlayStation® 4 and Xbox® One on 29th May, 2018.

The collection has over 50 retro classics to experience across every genre; arcade action, shooters, beat ‘em ups, puzzlers, old favourites and hidden gems, with a raft of modern features. These include online multiplayer, achievements, mirror modes, rewind and save states meaning players old and new should find revisiting these great games an absolute Sonic 3D Blast. Visit the Sega Mega Drive Classics product page for more details.


source: SEGA Europe

SEGA Mega Drive Classics is available to pre-order now. It comes complete with a double sided Golden Axe™ and Streets of Rage™ poster, identical to the ones you would have seen in the game’s 90s inspired retro gamer’s bedroom, the hub through which players can access the entire collection!

To Gain Ground™ on all the latest information about SEGA and the SEGA Mega Drive Classics visit www.sega.co.uk.

Go now, be the Light Crusader™ you always dreamed you could be…

PS: Oh how we wish Sega Mega Drive Classics would somehow materialise on the Switch 😉

image source: SEGA Europe

[PRESS RELEASE supplied by Five Star Games]

The Blue Marble

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We are left scratching our heads yet again by the brilliance of others in this world.

Enter YouTuber Kaplamino. He spent 3 months making this epic blue marble Rube Goldberg domino-effect contraption which has totally blown our minds!

Kaplamino must have patience of a saint, as he failed over 500 times getting this just right – WOW!


source: Kaplamino

 

Digitiser: The Show – Proper Retro Gaming TV

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Does Paul Rose (aka: Mr Biffo) really need an introduction? If so, then hang your head in shame! OK, if you really don’t know, for whatever reason, we won’t judge (Ed: oh yes we will!). Anyway, here is the 101 on Paul Rose – Going by his alter ego, Mr. Biffo, he is the creator and chief writer of legendary teletext games magazine Digitiser, which ran in the UK between 1993 to 2003. These days, he mostly writes for kids TV but can still be found rambling on about games, old and new on his daily website, Digitiser2000.com. You can thank Wikipedia and Retro Gamer (magazine) for this mashed Paul Rose bio.

So why all the excitement and the soiled undies you may ask? Well, Mr Biffo has a Kickstarter that will tickle your retro gaming and funny bone. Digitiser: The Show, will be a proper retro gaming tv series, with top notch production value that will blow your 8-bit minds! Rather than spin a yarn on here, why don’t you check out the Kickstarter campaign and judge for yourself as to why THIS MUST HAPPEN!

Oh yeah, since Digitiser: The Show campaign has blown past its target goal, Mr Biffo has kindly thrown together a handy grid showing which rewards are available with which tier – so check it out, pledge hard or go play with your broken yo-yo!


source: Digitiser2000

 

Skynet Can Now Play Galaga!

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We all know the doom and gloom that Skynet brought us in the Terminator movies, but what would happen if you used artificial intelligence for good by playing one of the greatest vertical shmups of all time? Well, high score tables may end up all having the initials AI on them.

So how does the Learnfun and Playfun AI built by Tom Murphy VII go at playing Galaga? You’ll have to watch the video to study its moves and find out the surprise ending 😉

PS: If you wanna learn how to use the Learnfun and Playfun AI system, check it out here.


source: Jordan Rathbone

[via Technobob]

Create Your Own Miniature Arcade and Pinball Parlour

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UPDATE: 33 Games is no longer available via Etsy (as at May 1 2018)

If you don’t have the space or can’t afford a row of classic arcade and pinball machines at your place, then 33 Games may have the next best thing – miniature 1/12th scale arcade and pinball replica machines!

Standing 6 inches tall and mostly made of wood and plastic, these mini arcade machines and pinball tables are an absolute meticulous work of art by Alan Friggens of 33 Games. The range is quite extensive for both arcade and pinball machines – all the greats are there, from Robotron, Galaga and Final Fight, to Bally, Gottlieb, Williams, Data East, Stern and Jersey Jack Pinball machines! We just wish Alan made JJP’s Dialed In mini pinball machine (hint! hint!).

33 Games offers these scale miniature machines as a single buy (pinball $36.82 / arcade $27.61) or in a special ‘pick any 3’ for $92.08 for 3 mini pinball tables or $73.66 for 3 mini arcade machines of your choice. Oh yeah, the pinball machines also have a LED lighting option which adds custom fitted LED lighting under the playfield and behind the backglass to really make them pop!

Which 33 Games mini arcade and/or pinball machines would you get? Jump on Twitter or Facebook to let us know!

image source: 33 Games via Etsy

 

The Legend Of Zorba

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Kevin Lieber of Vsauce2 fame checks out the old, interesting and weirdly obscure 10kg portable CP/M machine, the Zorba!

Now imagine lugging this beast around to play video games like Zork! That is exactly what Kevin does as he dives into the complexity of this early text adventure which paved the way for the Skyrims and Witchers of today 😉


source: Vsauce2

 

2018 Reset64 4KB ‘Craptastic’ Game Competition

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We’re excited to announce the 2018 Reset C64 4KB game coding competition. This year’s competition theme is once again…. Craptastic!

“What the bloom’n heck does craptastic mean?”, I hear you ask.

It certainly doesn’t mean crap, although it can! Craptastic can mean ludicrous, bonkers, outrageous, funny, wacky, far out, and silly. The theme simply implies that the compo is just for a bit of fun, not a serious coding competition. You are more than welcome to make an excellent game to submit for the compo. Your game may contain some humour or silliness to fit more with the theme, but it doesn’t have to!

2016 Craptastic Comp Winner: Goblin by Vanja Utne / Pond Software

In the 2016 competition, some entries were truly excellent, others excellent but silly, others truly awful but funny! It’s just a chance for people to do something a little different if they wish and explore ideas/concepts that wouldn’t normally work well in a more serious compo.

Please remember that this competition is limited to 4KB. Yes, any entry submitted can be no more than 4KB when compressed. If your game is more than 1 file, then all the files put together must not exceed the 4KB limit.

We want craptastic game entries! Remember, the key word here is fun! We want both coders and players alike to have fun and enjoy this comp!

Submit your entries to RESET (via email) by 30th June, 2018 (23:59 GMT).

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RULES

Basic rules are as follows:

  1. The competition deadline is 23:59 GMT on the 30th June, 2018. All entries to be submitted to [email protected])
  2. All entrants must register at [email protected]
  3. Entrants are free to preview screenshots and videos of their game(s) to other publications/websites.
  4. The competition will only begin when there are at least 5 registered entrants.
  5. All submitted games MUST be 4KB or less, compressed, and executable on a stock C64 on either or each of tape, disk and cartridge. Your submission may have a separate docs file (either as a C64 executable or a txt file, which doesn’t count towards the 4KB cap).
  6. The games must be previously unreleased and your own work, whether that be by yourself or as part of a collaboration.
  7. PAL must be supported, with additional NTSC support optional (but encouraged).
  8. Participants may submit multiple entries, either as an individual or within a team. Team entries must be registered by an individual, and any potential prizes will be sent to the registered individual only.
  9. All applicants that submit a valid entry will be featured within the next issue of RESET magazine.
  10. Entries should be submitted exclusively to RESET by the competition deadline. Please feel free to share as you wish after the competition has ended (after the compo deadline has passed).
  11. There will be a panel of judges (TBA), and entries will be scored on a point distribution basis across several criteria. The decision of the panel is final.
  12. Judges *CAN* enter games themselves, but cannot self-vote (award points to their own release).
  13. Games must be submitted as freeware.
  14. Games will be published (not necessarily exclusively) on a future Reset Mix-i-disk for the whole world to enjoy, after the competition has concluded, and may be included on a future cartridge compilation.

4th place in the 2016 Craptastic Comp: Bonkey Kong by Graham Axten / Pond Software

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SCORING SYSTEM

The scoring rules are very simple. Depending on the number of entries, the judges will award points to each game over several criteria (as discussed below). If there are 6 entries, 6 points go to the best, then 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 to the worst.

If a panel member has entered a game themselves, then the number of points that they can award will be adjusted (in this example, to 5) and they will not score their own release.

The criteria that each game will be evaluated on are:

Originality – New idea or “rip off”? Off the wall ideas encouraged.
Concept – Quality of game design, is it fun, is it bonkers, is it craptastic?
Execution – Execution of design, taking into account controls, NTSC/GS compatibility.
Presentation – Quality of graphics, audio and overall presentation. Supremely bad can be seen as a positive in some cases!
Gameplay – A measure of how enjoyable the game is to play.
Lasting Appeal – replay value, addictiveness.
OMG factor – when you see it, do you think “wtf!?” This is the true measure of craptasticness!

When the panel has scored each game accordingly, the totals for each criteria will be divided by the number of judges to produce a mean average. These averages are then added together for each game to give a final score.

CSDB will not be used for voting. Also, entries should not be uploaded to CSDB, or elsewhere until after the competition has closed. Feel free to post screenshots or info though.
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PRIZES

A craptastic gaming comp requires craptastic prizes, right? Actual prizes and more sponsors will be announced soon!

For now, a big thank-you to the following sponsors for their support.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

  • Keep an eye on the Reset64 Facebook page for more information.
  • If you would like to sponsor a prize, please get in touch!

So, what are you waiting for? Get coding, and remember, have fun!!

Previous competition (to help you get inspired): http://csdb.dk/event/?id=2483

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Unkle K / Reset C64
Father, husband, teacher and retro gaming/computer enthusiast! Editor of Reset… C64 magazine.

Follow Reset C64 on Twitter

 

 

SCORE WARS: Galaga World Championship

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Consider yourself a top Galaga player? Then you only have till March 1 to qualify for a chance to be flown over to Score Wars (in Sante Fe, New Mexico) by Meow Wolf to compete for the $10,000 top prize!

So what are you waiting for, get on over to the Score Wars website now to register your high score!

source: Score Wars

 

JB Hi-Fi Staff Have Done It Again!

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We love our video game reviews and descriptions to be short, sharp and most importantly, witty!

Luckily for us JB Hi-Fi staff have a knack to nail their game reviews and descriptions. Who needs to read pages full of text when you can just rock up at a JB Hi-Fi and get informed on the spot.

Here are (quite) a few JB staff write-ups that caught our eye today: