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E3 News: My Arcade To Launch Two Classic BANDAI NAMCO Mini Players

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If Nintendo can do it with their ‘Minis’, then so can My Arcade and BANDAI NAMCO!

Day two of E3 got us excited with the announcement that My Arcade and BANDAI NAMCO have joined forces and to create two new gaming devices filled with Classic NAMCO games. The new machines further expand the line of products borne out of the partnership, which already includes a set of Micro Player Arcades featuring classic titles such as PAC-MAN™, GALAGA™, and DIG DUG™.

The NAMCO Museum Mini Player will be packed with 20 classic titles and features a large vertical-oriented screen for authentic arcade gameplay. It also features dual front facing speakers for optimal sound, a detachable joystick, and back-lit marquee and coin trap. All of the titles included on the device are the original arcade versions of the games, unless there was no original arcade version available. The Namco Museum Mini Player™ is slated to release in the Holiday 2018 season (between now and end of August).

The PAC-MAN Pocket Player is a brand new 16-bit handheld console designed by My Arcade that is compact, portable, ergonomically designed, and boasts a full colour screen. The Pocket Player™ will include three classic PAC-MAN titles, including original arcade favourite PAC-MAN, along with PAC-PANIC™ and PAC-MANIA™. The Pocket Player will be available starting July 2018 at retailers such as Walmart and Amazon.

We finally got to get excited about something at E3 2018! We can’t wait to get our hands on these units!

source: My Arcade®

 

Ah the 1980s, We Miss You So Much!

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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

 

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]

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

 

Galencia Blasts Onto Your C64

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Fire up your trusty Commodore 64 and grab Jason Aldred’s brilliant new shoot’em up Galencia.

For those that have been away on Mars and have just landed back on Earth, Galencia is a fast action shoot ’em up for the C64 in the mould of Galaga, but even better! Yes, it is that good that we reckon it is even better than Galaga – there, we said it.

Galencia features 50 action packed levels with asteroid fields, challenging stages, boss battles, ebb and flow difficulty curve and siren enemy with tractor beam for double ship action (Ed: oo’er!). The game includes gorgeous intro, launch and completion sequences, coupled with 6 unique SID chiptunes for your aural pleasure.

Blast-Off!

But wait, there is more! In-game options include:

  • Load, Save and Reset High Scores
  • Extensive CRT options including 3 levels of Starfield Brightness
  • 3 different Score Palettes
  • Tournament Mode
  • Music and Simultaneous Sound Effects or Sound Effects only
  • 3 selectable difficulty levels; and
  • Pause and Quit game options

There are many great people behind great games, just like the peeps that had a hand in creating Galencia. We can all thank these talented group of people for making such a wonderful and sublime game:

  • Jason Aldred: programming and graphics
  • Pulsebot: all music and some sound effects
  • Saul Cross: additional graphics and sound effects
  • Lobo: physical artwork including box and manual
  • Mark Hardisty: manual back cover illustration
  • Flemming Dupont: concept art
  • Jakob Chen-Voos: Protovison

Even the great Julian ‘Jaz’ Rignall gives his sizzling approval!

You can grab the digital version right now via itch.io for US$4.99 (which is an absolute steal!), or for the more traditionalists among us, Galencia will be available on physical media from Friday, November 17 via Protovision Games, just take a look at these tangible temptations:

  • Cassette (without box) €10.00 – comes on a green cassette with a j-card that can be flipped around for an alternative cover picture. The tape comes in a neon green jewel case (front side is fully transparent, only back is neon green).
  • Cassette (boxed) €30.00
  • Disk (boxed) €30.00
  • Cartridge (boxed) €40.00
  • Disk and Cartridge Special Edition (boxed) €50.00

All boxed editions of Galencia will come in a fully printed cardboard box with custom inlays to hold the disk, tape or cartridge, which will also include:

  • a full colour manual with 16 carefully designed pages (A5 sized),
  • Galencia coaster with a scratch free glass surface,
  • Bee key ring that can serve you as a trophy when you battle against vermin,
  • Big Galencia sticker that you can stick on your disk sleeve if you have the disk version; and
  • While stocks last – the first 200 boxed version orders will receive an additional small Galencia sticker!

With the Disk and Cartridge special edition, both physical media will be in the one box with all of the above inclusions, plus a space amulet that is much needed in higher levels of Galencia, as it has been reported to promote good fortune!

Oh yeah, the game works on both PAL and NTSC C64 computers, with all physical editions containing the tape and disk digital images. If you don’t have a C64, then emulation is fully supported through VICE.

So what are you waiting for, go and pilot the 1981 Galencia Fighter to restore order, before it’s too late!

The game is never over!

The eyes have it!

Credit where credit is due

Tough choice – will you grab Galencia on cart?

On disk?

Or on tape? The choice is yours (you can’t go wrong!)

Time to squash some bugs!

Go on, get blastin’

image source: Jason Aldred – Galencia HQ

 

Arcade Expo 2.0: Arcades From The Golden Age

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ArcadeExpo39Following on from the pinball extravaganza at Arcade Expo 2.0, Martin Robbins reflects on the other half of the expo, the arcade machines! Grab yourself a bib as you will be drooling all over yourself!

Just when I thought I had my fair share of the ‘Wow’ factor in the pinball section, I was in for an absolute treat when I made a beeline for the arcade area at Arcade Expo 2.0. The cabinet artwork, the sounds, the attract modes, people hovering around machines, Walter Day spruiking his cards and Billy Mitchell playing Donkey Kong (yep, THAT Billy Mitchell!) – It was like I was transported back to the golden age of arcade video games.

Billy Mitchell all suited up! Donkey Kong is serious business!
ArcadeExpo44_Billy

The area was littered with classic machines from the heavyweights of the arcade industry: Atari, Bally Midway, Centuri, Cinematronics, Data East. Exidy, Gottlieb, Irem, Konami, Namco, Nintendo, Sega, Stern, Taito, Universal and Williams. It was also great to see the Computer Space machine made by Nutting in 1971, regarded as the world’s first commercially sold coin-operated machine (Ed: Computer Space was designed by none other than the Atari founders, Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney)!

Oh wow, where should we start?
ArcadeExpo1

Upon entering the arcade area, I noticed that it had a different “feel” to it – there were more young people and families playing on arcade machines than what I experienced in the pinball area. The atmosphere definitely seemed a lot more relaxed, with heaps more room to move around. This was a welcome change to the hustle and bustle of the room next door. I found myself returning to the arcade area on a number of occasions to clear my head and unwind from the pinball tournament. I also found it difficult to leave as there were so many games I had not seen nor played in many many years. The problem was, once I’d finish one game, I would then see another one that would instantly transport me back to my youth at that corner Milk Bar with the urge to just have another go. The nostalgia was truly intoxicating!

Let’s see what goodness we’ll find down this aisle…
ArcadeExpo2

The arcade section also had exhibitors including Farsight Studios promoting The Pinball Arcade and in particular the Kickstarter for Dr Who, which reached its goal on February 14 – a job well done! I did have a a chat with their Community Manager, Mike Lindsay, who agreed that the resurgence in the pinball community was partly due to the success Farsight Studios had in bringing the experience to our mobile devices and PCs. Mike was particularly proud of how they had brought pinball to a new generation to experience it for the first time in digital format and then seek it out in the real world.

As mentioned earlier, I managed to see Billy Mitchell playing Donkey Kong. The set up next to Billy was quite cool – it allowed anyone to sit next to him and challenge him to a high score duel. I was not prepared for a public humiliation, so I left him to demonstrate his skills. It must be said, Billy was very friendly and was really enjoying the show.

All good things must come to end. The single regret I had about Arcade Expo 2.0 was not having enough time to play everything. Three days was just not enough. In my mind I’ve already started planning and saving up for my return trip in 2017 – hope to see you all there!

Great to see the next generation enjoying an absolute classic!
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Landing High Japan – wanna be a pilot?
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Test your wood chopping skills!
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Once you are done wood chopping, hit the bar!
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Granny and the Gators – you don’t see this (hybrid) one too often!
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Paddle, Fire and Flip!
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Getting the arcade fix
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Well, well, well, what do we have down here then….
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Buck Rogers (Planet of Zoom)! Haven’t seen one of these since the early 80s!
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No matter your age, everyone loves a bit of Out Run
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This was all the rage in 1976!
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Gun control!
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Midway were prolific in the arcade arena!
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No queuing here – just keep playing! 
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An old vector beauty
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Use the Force and destroy the Death Star!
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Families gaming together
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Oh my gawd! Discs Of Tron! Very drool-worthy
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Have you got the killer instinct?
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Kickin some butt!
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Gonna get drivin’, hard!
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Pole position on Atari’s Pole Position II
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Woo hoo, Walter Day!
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More Tron goodness
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Old school amusement machines
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Bit of target practice
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Contemplating what to play next…..
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From Joust pinball, to Joust arcade!
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Varkon – disguising a pinball table as an arcade game!
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Comfy arcade gaming
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Getting close to the action
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Let’s spin on Dave Theurer’s classic
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Passing on the retro gaming gene to the next generation
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Ending with a shooter’s delight – Xevious!
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Cute LEGO Arcade Stop Motion Videos

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featured image

We love Michael Hickox’s simple, but oh-so-cute LEGO arcade stop motion videos!

‘LEGO Donkey Kong’

Video source: Michael Hickox on YouTube

‘LEGO Arcade’

Video source: Michael Hickox on YouTube

‘LEGO Arcade 2’

Video source: Michael Hickox on YouTube

Source: Michael Hickox on YouTube

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msausretrogamerMs. ausretrogamer
Editor and Researcher 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

 

 

 

Galaga: The Affinity Lives On

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Galaga_arcade_flyer

Those on the ausretrogamer bandwagon will be aware that I LOVE Galaga! Namco’s vertical shoot’em up trapped me in its tractor beam back in 1981 and hasn’t released me yet.

Some 30 plus years ago, while waiting for relatives to arrive at Melbourne International Airport, I noticed a tabletop machine nearby. Upon gazing at the screen, I saw a little triangular ship shooting at formations of alien spaceships streaming from the sides of the screen. My first thought was, “wow, a souped-up Space Invaders”. Once I dropped in two 20 cent pieces, I immediately realised – this was no Space Invaders. This was way better! You could shoot multiple times (as long as you had the finger dexterity), your ship could be captured in a tractor beam, and there were challenge stages to rack up those high score points. To put it mildly, I was hooked.

Galaga_4

So, what was it about Galaga that got this child hooked all those years ago? Galaga was, and still is, an uncomplicated vertical shoot’em up with the right mix of challenge and entertainment. Blasting those pesky alien spaceships gives a great sense of satisfaction.

For those unfamiliar with Galaga, here is the low-down on this beautiful game: You control the ship at the bottom of the screen, firing at Galaga enemies, moving left and right to avoid their fire and kamikaze attacks.

Galaga_2

The enemy spaceships fly onto the screen from the left or right side. Unless you can shoot them all while forming, they assemble in the centre of the screen – just like in Space Invaders. As you play the game, you quickly learn the formation patterns and can anticipate when and how the spaceships will fly out onto the screen.

There is one particular Galaga enemy ship that is special – these enemy spaceships take multiple hits before they are destroyed. If you do not destroy them, they can fly down the screen towards you and release a tractor beam to capture your ship. To free the captured ship, you must destroy the captor Galaga while it is attacking you, if you fail, your captured ship will be destroyed. When you free your captured ship, it will dock alongside your current ship, and you are thus rewarded with a dual firing weapon of mass destruction.

Galaga_3

These dual ships are especially handy for blasting away enemies during challenge stages. With your dual ship you can clear stages quickly and collect some nice bonus points. Speaking of points, every 20,000 earns you an additional life (ship); and as the game increases in difficulty, every spare ship counts.

Galaga remains a firm favourite in the gaming community, especially to those who grew up in the 80s. Since dropping in those coins all those years ago, I can safely say my affinity for Galaga has not subsided one bit. Long live Galaga!

Graphics The star field is realistic enough to make you feel like you are flying through deep space engaging in some enemy fire.

90%
Sound Pew Pew sound effects never sounded any better.

90%
Playability Insert coins, move left or right and fire. Couldn’t be any easier, right?

93%
Lastability Galaga enemy spaceships have been fired upon ever since 1981. You do the maths on the lastability of this seminal shooter.

95%
Overall When it comes to old school vertical shoot’em ups, Galaga is at the top of its class.

95%

 

 

 

 

arcade-game-galagaManufacturer: Namco
Year: 1981
Genre: Shoot’em Up
Number of Simultaneous Players: 1
Maximum number of Players: 2
Gameplay: Alternating
Control Panel Layout: Single Player
Controls:
– Joystick: 2-way (left, right)
– Buttons: 1 (fire)
Sound: Amplified Mono (single channel)

 

 

 

 

Galaga_Namco