AUSRETROGAMER

Australia's Retro Gaming and Pinball E-Zine

You are here: Home / Archives for Arcade

Arcade

Tempest 4000: The Tube Shooter Comes of Age

By

In the beginning there was Dave Theurer’s tube shooter, Tempest. Then came Jeff Minter’s Tempest 2000 on the Jaguar, a psychedelic take on Dave’s masterpiece. This was then followed by Tempest 3000 on the defunct Nuon and finally the contemporary take on Tempest for the PS Vita, the awesome TxK. And now we have the imminent release of this iconic tube shooter, Tempest 4000, again coded by Llamasoft’s Yak (Jeff Minter), which means the franchise is still in great hands!

Strap into your Claw peeps, cause the adrenaline-pumping Tempest 4000 will be available on your PlayStation®4 and Xbox One systems on July 17, 2018 for $29.99!

The original Tempest was one of the first videogames to use 3D vector graphics, securing itself as one of Atari’s hallmark titles and one of the most popular arcade games of all time. It has been featured prominently across pop culture, including Ernest Cline’s dystopian Ready Player One novel.

Developed by legendary game designer Jeff Minter, Tempest 4000 remains faithful to the fast-paced gameplay of the arcade original, while adding brand new features and visually stunning graphics.

As in the original game, players are in control of the Claw, a powerful spacecraft equipped to destroy deadly creatures and other obstructions with rapid-fire shots on vibrant geometric prisms. With three game modes to choose from and 100 levels to conquer, players must eliminate all enemies as quickly as possible to survive, aiming for the coveted spot at the top of the leaderboards.

Additional Key Features Include:

  • Arcade Style Shooter: Hordes of enemies will test players’ reflexes in this fast-paced arcade style shoot ’em up;
  • Visually Stunning Graphics: Revamping the look of the original arcade game, Tempest 4000 features vibrant graphics in sharp 4K resolution;
  • Multiple Game Modes: Three different game modes will push players’ skills to the limit, including Classic, Pure and Survival:
    • Classic: Equipped with three lives, players battle through enemies until all lives run out. Players can begin their next playthrough from the last completed stage with their previous high score.
    • Pure: The classic arcade mode, Pure gives players three lives to start from the beginning and progress as far as possible.
    • Survival: A brutal challenge, Survival gives players eight lives to survive as long as possible.
  • Level Up: With 100 unique geometric levels to progress through, players must equip themselves with various weapons and power-ups, earning upgrades through bonus rounds;
  • Global Leaderboards: Players can duke it out for the top spots on leaderboards for all three game modes in the quest to be recognized as number one;
  • Retro Techno Soundtrack: In true retro space shooter style, the game features a thumping soundtrack inspired by early 1990s techno;
  • Old School Gameplay: Nostalgia is here to stay with the traditional gameplay of the original Tempest with enhanced graphics on current generation consoles.

We can’t wait to EAT ELECTRIC DEATH!

image source: Tempest 4000

Man Walks into a Bar and Sees a Pac-Man Machine

By

Source: Steve Ringman/The Chronicle 1981

By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

I recently walked into a hipster bar that I had never been in before. I immediately felt slightly old. Everyone there was in their early twenties; some of them didn’t look old enough to order a beer. As I made my way past the bustling, long bar, I noticed something in the back corner of the place that I hadn’t seen in a longtime.

A large group of twentysomethings were gathered around an original Pac-Man arcade machine. I hadn’t seen a Pac-Man machine since I was a little kid. It was a smack of nostalgia in a place I didn’t expect it.

Like the Rubik’s Cube or the DeLorean DMC-12, Pac-Man is an 80s icon. Seeing a vintage machine with a group of Millennials playing it, made me curious. I sat at a small booth near the Pac-Man machine and watched the young group feed the machine quarters. They were having such a blast trying to see who could reach the highest score with one quarter.

source: ausretrogamer

After a few craft beers, I wanted to try my hand at Pac-Man; but they had taken over the machine. It was entertaining watching them shriek and groan when they got devoured by a ghost. It may’ve been the first time any of them had ever played the arcade version of Pac-Man, but I still wanted my turn.

Pac-Man brings people together. From the time the game was released in arcades in October 1980, Pac-Man has been a unifier that you could play with friends. Pac-Man is cross-generational. It seems simple at first, but as you keep playing, the difficulty of each stage keeps you addicted to clear the maze.

When Pac-Man was released in 1980, movie theatre owners and movie moguls were worried that the game would hurt the film industry. Pac-Man was taking money away from Paramount and 20th Century Fox. Pac-Man’s enormous popularity was short-lived, but at its height, movie studio executives had to be worried about how long they would be competing with the bright yellow machines.

I never got to play the Pac-Man machine in that bar that night, but I enjoyed watching the twentysomethings play a game that this October will turn 38-years-old. Will there ever be another Pac-Man? I doubt it.

source: ausretrogamer

 

The Ultimate Airbnb Experience: The Tiny House with a Pool and Retro Arcade!

By

We definitely need a holiday! Who doesn’t like holidays, right? Well, we may have just found the perfect place to stay for our next getaway via Airbnb! This proves that tiny can be awesome!

If the photos of this tiny house with the great arcade and pool don’t convince you why it’s a cool place to stay at, then perhaps the write up may sway you:

“Our goal is to offer guests a unique opportunity to experience life in a “Tiny House” and to re-live some of their childhood in our retro arcade (all 45 games on free-play!). The atmosphere we’ve tried to create is “fun & different”. We want AirBnB’ers from ages 6 – 106 to relax, have fun and feel at home here. We’d love to have you come back to visit again & maybe even tell your friends about us too!? We’ll do everything in our power to make sure your stay is awesome, just like you expect it to be.”

Rightio, we have dibs on this tiny place next summer 😉

image source: Airbnb

 



Evolution Of The Ausretrogamer Fun Factory

By

This post has been a long time coming!

Not content with the home office acting as our games room, Ms. ausretrogamer came up with the idea to transform the garage into a fun factory – a place where all of our retro gear would be setup to be played and enjoyed.

Once the overall design was pitched, it took a while for me to come around to convert the garage into a gaming space. The garage was basically going to provide an idyllic setting for all of our computers, consoles, arcade and pinball machines in the one space so that they could be enjoyed by anyone at anytime – no more fetching stuff out of cupboards and wiring them up to be used!

With the garage already sporting painted walls and ceiling, the next step was to make it secure from the elements – we didn’t want dust to come in and damage the delicate old school gear. Once the garage was secure and weather tight, the interior design was kicked off by Ms. ausretrogamer. Her eye for detail and use of space was second to none! I must admit, I had trouble picturing how the whole thing would look like, but I should not have had any doubt. Ms. ausretrogamer’s vision for the room was exactly what both of us had wanted, I just didn’t know it till I saw it done!

The games room, now called the ‘ausretrogamer fun factory‘ started taking shape once we relocated the computers, consoles and the Dreamcast kiosk on one side, the cupboards holding the precious software on the opposite side and the larger items (pinball and arcade machines) utilising the rear of the room. Every inch of the room was used to its fullest extent – no waste of space in this fun factory!

The ausretrogamer fun factory has evolved over the last few years, with old items making way for newer old items, with the overall design and function remaining true – which is an ideal space for friends and family to get together and have fun!

All great ideas start with a mess!

Starting the building process

Starting to take shape

Getting the console area setup using a Data Centre grade power-strip!

Testing 1, 2, 3 – we have POWER!

Getting the artwork setup

A comfy chair is a prerequisite!

Fun Factory MK I – console area

Fun Factory MK I – panoramic view

Fun Factory MK I – the pinball and arcade machines area

Fun Factory as it is TODAY! There have been quite a few moves and changes!

Fun Factory – the current pinball and arcade area. Fun times ahead!

If you intend on using any of the photos from our Ausretrogamer Fun Factory, please credit them back to this article – thank you.

 

King Of The World: SNK’s NEOGEO Mini Revealed

By

The worst kept secret in gaming has finally been confirmed!

The NEOGEO mini, the video game console that celebrates the 40th Anniversary of SNK’s brand has been revealed!The system will include 40 legendary and awesome NEOGEO titles!

The NEOGEO mini is a video game console, which will include 40 nostalgic titles from the NEOGEO system, which made its debut in 1990.

Rest of the world NEOGEO mini version

The NEOGEO mini will feature a 3.5 inch display, meaning the games can be enjoyed without the need to connect it to a TV or monitor! The size of the NEOGEO mini means it fits perfectly in the palm of your hand – just like the Atari Lynx does *wink*

The NEOGEO mini will be available in two different designs, one for the Asian market and the other one for overseas markets. With its design in black, white and red, the Japanese version of the NEOGEO mini will faithfully reproduce the original NEOGEO arcade cabinets that were introduced in Japan in 1990. The overseas version will be a simple and modern design in black, white and blue.

The Japanese NEOGEO mini version

SNK hasn’t released any more details, so we are keeping our peepers peeled to find out when these will be released and the confirmed games list!

So what do you think? We actually love the look of both units. Which one do you like?

PRODUCT DETAILS:
■ Product name: NEOGEO mini
■ Number of titles: 40 titles
■ Display size: 3.5 inch
■ Size and weight: W135mm x D108mm x H162mm / 600g
■ Accessories: Power supply cable (AC adaptor will not be included)
■ Connections: HDMI terminal (Input for TV monitor), headphone terminal, 2 external controller terminals

source: SNK via Facebook

 

Bucket List Entry 24: Galloping Ghost Arcade

By

Our Bucket List keeps getting longer and longer, so we thought it was time to revisit it and take stock of what’s in it. Upon going through the all important list, we had to bump the Galloping Ghost Arcade up the list, because you know, it has a ton of awesome retro arcade games (and a couple of pinball machines) we want to play!

We will be crossing off Bucket List : Galloping Ghost Arcade in the near future – it’s a done deal!

image source: Galloping Ghost Arcade website & Facebook

 

The Rise of Mr. Nintendo

By

As Nintendo started to break into the U.S. market, they searched for a spokesperson with a true passion for gaming. They chose Howard Phillips, an employee working in the Nintendo warehouse. Little did he know that he was about to become a gaming legend!

Learn the entire origin story behind Mr. Nintendo in the Emmy® nominated series 8 Bit Legacy!


source: Great Big Story – 8 Bit Legacy

 

Ah the 1980s, We Miss You So Much!

By

Gotta share this video that was posted by video game history guy, John Anderson. Using John’s words, this is, “A 1981 TV news report by WMAQ-TV in Chicago about the makers of Defender (Williams Electronics) and inside the Midway factory assembling Pac-Man arcade cabinets (350 a day!)”.

Ah the 80s, we definitely miss you so much!

source: John Anderson via Twitter

 

The Most Accurate Arcade Diorama!

By

Holy smokes! Just as we were scrolling aimlessly through our Twitter feed and were about to give up and shut the app, we came across xevious765_bt’s Tweet which almost made us choke on our own spit!

The (loose) translation of xevious765_bt’s Tweet is, “The arcade diorama was taken by a close female photographer, ‼＼(^o^)／ 📷 and the real feeling is different when I take it with a good camera of the one eye reflex! of ▽*) Course, the cameraman’s arm is good.”

Gotta thank their close female photographer friend for snapping these awesome pics. Oh, and to the creator of the arcade diorama, wow, talk about intricate detail – simply amazing!

[source: xevious765_bt via Twitter]

 

Ausretrogamer is Six Years Old

By

Ausretrogamer launched six years ago today! We’re not doing a whole lot to celebrate, unless eating cupcakes and doughnuts counts as a celebration – but we didn’t want to let the day pass without some sort of acknowledgement. It would be an understatement to say that the retro gaming scene is a tad different today than when we launched in January 2012. Back then there was no NES or SNES Classic Minis nor was there a PAX event in Australia.

The retro gaming community has grown in leaps and bounds with its momentum showing no slowdown – long may it continue to be this way. In fact, if we can blow our own horn for a moment, we’ve set new traffic records on ausretrogamer in 2017 – and we have all of you awesome peeps to thank for that!

We at ausretrogamer are not planning on stopping anytime soon. Your enthusiasm and excitement for retro gaming and its limitless possibilities is what keeps us motivated to keep on going. Who knows what the next six years will bring, but rest assured, we will keep doing what we do as long as you keep reading and engaging with us on social media. Thanks heaps!