The Pop-Culture E-Zine
It’s spring time! What better way to welcome the warmer weather than to delve into a deep corner of our retro gaming vault and dig up a few nostalgia inducing images from our past!
For September, we have your nostalgia covered with Neo Geo, Vectrex, PC-Engine, Commodore 64, Atari Jaguar and old school Nintendo items to name just a few! Enjoy the trip down memory lane and we’ll see you next month for more vault shenanigans!
All images are copyright of ausretrogamer
By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.
Before every NFL season begins, I like to play the full schedule of the reigning Super Bowl champion from the previous season. A few weeks ago, I played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers full 2021 season on Madden ’22 on my Xbox. My takeaway of how this season will go for Tom Brady and the Bucs is rather simple: They’re going to be very good. I only lost 3 games playing their ’21 schedule, but they were interesting losses.
Since I was a teenager, I’ve been playing a full season of Madden before the start of the NFL season. The teams that I lose to with the defending champions are usually the teams that the real squad end up losing to. It’s strange, but it’s the way it usually works out.
In my simulated, Xbox world, the Buccaneers lost an away game to the Washington Football Team by a field goal. Washington’s defense smothered any running attack by the Bucs, and Brady was on his back several times. They kept it close, and the Bucs failed to have the ball last; the way Brady and Bucs’ head coach Bruce Arians like it.
image source: xboxachievements.com
The Buccaneers offense is supposed to be phenomenal this season, but when I was in control of them, playing Madden, they had a ton of dropped balls and they couldn’t convert on 1st downs. My ’21 Bucs lost to the Colts, at Indianapolis, by 17 points. It was a blowout, and I couldn’t get my offense going. The short little passes that Brady is so good at were not connecting. All my receivers seemed covered on every passing play I’d select.
Playing the Buffalo Bills on Week 14 was difficult, but my Bucs won by a field goal. During that game, Brady had a last-minute drive that set up my kicker for the win. I lost to the Saints at Tampa Bay. None of my offensive players could hold on to the football in that rainy game. I like the elements in Madden, but not when they cost me a victory.
I’ll see if the Buccaneers will lose to Washington, the Colts, or the Saints this season. Some ESPN analysts are suggesting that the Bucs could go undefeated this season. My opinion: Not a chance. When you’re the defending champion, every opponent circles you on their schedule. Opposing teams will be ready.
We love the NZ Mint gaming related silver coins, so their latest release, the Street Fighter – Ryu Chibi Coin is so cool (and cute)!
Made from 1oz of pure silver, this new Chibi® Coin features experienced martial artist Ryu – the main protagonist in the video game Street Fighter™. The coin has been shaped and coloured in the Chibi art style to resemble Ryu. He is shown in his most recognisable attire consisting of a tattered white karate gi, long red headband, red martial arts gloves and bare feet. The Ian Rank Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II can be found on the opposite side to confirm it as a legal tender coin.
The coin is protected inside a specially designed case, moulded to the coin’s shape. The outer box is Street Fighter-themed, incorporating images of Ryu as he appears in the game, and includes a large window so you can easily display this precious collectable.
A maximum of 2,000 coins will be produced. This is confirmed by the Certificate of Authenticity printed on the box, along with the coin’s unique serial number. Don’t miss out on this officially licensed coin for Street Fighter!
PS: We can also exclusively reveal that there will also be Ken silver coin in the very near future!
source: NZ Mint
As we come out of a long (southern hemisphere) winter, we look long and hard into the vastness of our retro gaming vault and come out with a number of juicy nostalgia-inducing classic gaming bits and pieces, starting with a couple of pretty cool, but useless NES peripherals!
We also have the mighty Neo Geo featured this month, with its interchangeable console and arcade memory card that we use on our AES and MVS. For the Nintendo fans, we have DK on the NES and a snippet of Super Mario World (you gotta look hard). For the really old school fans we have the Futuretronics Galaxy Invader 1000 tabletop and the cool Space Shuttle Game Watch we used to love strutting at school. The Contra lads make an appearance as well, as does the DynoVisor VR headset we use on the PC-Engine. Last but not least, our all time fave C64 compilation.
Enjoy the nostalgia and we”ll see what we find in the vault next month!
All images are copyright of ausretrogamer
Our postal service surprised us today with not one, but two packages! Wow, AusPost never ceases to amaze us.
XBOX Series S
We may stir up a few hardcore retro gamers with this first package, but before they start flying off their handle, relax, we got the Xbox Series S for a couple of reasons, the main one being that we can legitimately play our retro games on it via the retail version of RetroArch. Yep, you read that right, there is a legit RetroArch version available on the Microsoft store. The other use case we have is playing the classics we know and love via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which we scored for a bargain ($2 for 6 months)!
ARDUBOY FX:
The second parcel to arrive was in a much smaller package, which we honestly didn’t know what it was till we opened it. The story goes like this – we ordered the Arduboy FX almost a year ago, which at the time we were told that it would arrive by September 2020, but COVID derailed that ETA. Opening up this package was a total surprise and we must admit, we got more excited for the Arduboy FX than the Xbox Series S.
We bet you’ll guess what we will unbox and play first 😉
Happy Gaming peeps!
Don’t you just love April Fool’s day? Well, it depends, if you are at the end of an elaborate April Fool’s joke, then the answer is probably no. We have fallen for a few April Fool’s jokes over the years, so we know how that feels.
But, today is a day to reflect on some pretty cool and very clever April Fool’s jokes from some well known brands from around the world.
We wonder if anyone fell for any of these…………
First cab off the rank, it’s EB Games’ The Drip Limited Edition Apparel! Actually, they plan to release this apparel to raise money for charity, so it’s all in good fun!
The next few are food based, so don’t get your taste buds too excited peeps!
Oh gosh, we would love this Tim Tam Spread! Sorry Nutella.
source: Imgur
Introducing the Domino’s Bread – so yummy! Well at least you won’t have garlic breath 😉
source: Imgur
Um, would anyone like a Coriander Biscuit from Subway?
source: Imgur
Saving the best food based April Fool’s joke for last! Would you DARE to drink this?
source: Imgur
Ok, enough of the food based April Fool’s! Let’s see what else we found today!
Oh look, SBS is releasing 3 exciting features on their On-Demand service!
source: SBS
Introducing Jeep Chameleon, a new colourway with revolutionary nano-guanine molecular technology to blend seamlessly into the wilderness.
*If you find it, you can keep it.
One for gamers, match your PC RGB aesthetic with Razer’s Rapunzel Chroma Hair Dye—the world’s first RGB haircare product for a look that’s always lit!
source: Razer
And last but not least, our friends at Ikea Australia got creative with their new range, IKEA HUND COUTURE – Haute Couture Outfits for Dogs!
source: IKEA Australia
The highly anticipated Doom clone, Poom, is finally released on Pico-8!
This amazing conversion by Frederic Souchu and Paranoid Cactus is available for play right now, so go get blastin’! This is an absolute blast (Ed: pun fully intended) to play. Thank you to the developers for their meticulous work on this game, as they have transported us back to the 90s playing one of the greatest FPS games of all time, we love it!
If you like the game, and we assure you, you will, please support the creators so that they can continue making awesome games for us to enjoy!
By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.
I didn’t like the “Saw” movies when they were first released, but over time, catching a lot of the films on cable, I can appreciate a few of them as pure horror films. Are they scary? At times, but they never lack imagination.
A “Saw” pinball machine makes a lot of sense because the film deals with gadgets and trinkets that the villain Jigsaw constructs for deadly reasons. A pinball machine can feature little parts of the films, certain traps, and sounds. Jigsaw’s little puppet’s disturbing, menacing laugh could be included in the storyline of the game. The drain at the bottom of the play field could trigger the menacing laugh when the player loses a ball. The movies are a game (a deadly game), so features on the play field are perfect for pinball. Once a player launches the ball with the spring, use of the creative properties from the films could be limitless.
A clear walled machine for a “Saw” design could be ideal. The features and tricky layout could set up some interesting scoring objectives from the franchise that are both compelling and frightening. A designer could get creative with kickers and slingshots. A slingshot could be a distinguishable Jigsaw tool or trap from the film.
“Saw VI” is my favourite film in the franchise. It’s the one that centres around an insurance executive who must complete a series of deadly “games” set to spare his employees. That entry did something different and unique with the series.
Tobin Bell has always been great as John Kramer/Jigsaw. He has portrayed the menacing character in eight of the “Saw” films. I’m not sure if he’s involved in the upcoming “Spiral: From the Book of Saw,” with a story by comedian Chris Rock. Bell can be scary without saying a word. The veteran actor has a great, wicked face. I’m looking forward to seeing what Rock does with the popular franchise. From the trailer, it looks like someone who is imitating Jigsaw is targeting two police detectives: Rock plays one of the detectives. But it’s a “Saw” movie, the trailer purposely gives very little away.
image source: Nirico
Tony Temple needs no introduction for anyone that is into the classic arcade video games scene. Tony’s The Arcade Blogger site is a treasure-trove of arcade’s past, including finds like arcade coin-op promotional videos from long gone heavyweights of the arcade industry.
Tony’s latest feature looks at the promotional videos Williams Electronics used to tempt their distributors and operators with their then latest and greatest offerings, from Defender and Joust, to Robotron, Sinistar and beyond. Grab some pop-corn and check out the promo vids – BE WARNED, some are cheesier than others 😉
Defender promo video
Robotron:2084 promo video
Sinistar promo video
To check out the rest of the Williams Electronics promotional videos, head on over to The Arcade Blogger now!
[YouTube video source: duncanfbrown and Mylstar Electronics]
By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.
I love the chaos of the new game “Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout,” developed by Mediatonic. I discovered Fall Guys, a platformer battle royale game, by hearing someone on the radio talking about it. Since its release on August 4, the game has become a unique alternative for Fortnite. The game is sort of a mix mash of Mario Party and Fortnite, but with funnier, and just as original looking players.
The jellybean-like figures manoeuvre through a three-dimensional playing field. The figures can jump, grab, and dive to help with gameplay. The aim is to qualify for rounds by completing each of the random mini-games. At times, you have to work as a team to make it to the end of the mini-game. The obstacles that randomly change throughout the game can be difficult to navigate even for an experienced gamer.
Players gain Kudos, an in-game currency, by completing matches. You get “Crowns” by winning; they are the ultimate currency. I’m not a fan of getting pink slime on me. When it first happened, I didn’t know what had happened to my dinosaur avatar.
Manoeuvring around the sliding walls in early rounds is easy. But the disappearing levels of plates and the turntable-like obstacles are sometimes difficult to master. The ability to dive becomes vital on those obstacles. Being able to grab other players helps as well.
My strategy is to always hang back behind the group or cluster of players as I move around the outskirts of the mapped obstacles. I think it’s oddly enjoyable to manoeuvre around giant fruit flying at you as you run with a herd of other players. I got taken out by a watermelon in one round.
I haven’t played a game this original and entertaining in years. I’m still discovering the various rounds. Sometimes, it’s not easy; but the game gets its hooks in you and it’s difficult to put down the controls.