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Geek

Bubble Bobble 4 Friends – Nintendo Switch Review

November 21, 2019 By ausretrogamer

We have been busting to tell you about how awesome this game is for the last few weeks! If there was no embargo period, you would’ve all known weeks ago!

Since we have already given away what we think of Bubble Bobble 4 Friends (or BB4F for short), let us tell you why we reckon this iteration of Taito’s brilliant arcade game is darn awesome.

Firstly, it’s Bubble Bobble on a new Nintendo console! And everyone loves little dragons, especially Bub and Bob! What else is good about this game? Well, you can play it solo, 2 player co-op or with up to 4 friends co-operating either at home or while you are out and about.

But wait, there is more! As the titles suggests, not only do you get the arcade game, which you can play by yourself or with a mate, you also get the new take on Bub and Bob’s adventures with 100 new stages, 5 new bosses and a new unique skills upgrade system, like the Thunder Bubble that attacks enemies in a horizontal line when the bubble bursts. This new skills upgrade features adds considerable depth to the strategy of playing the game and also its replayability.

We naturally played the heck out of the original coin-op version, which is a blast. It looks, feels and plays great. We did find it a tad hard to play while on the go (we may need better glasses!), but playing it on a large screen TV was an intoxicating nostalgic trip. The new part of the game (the ‘4 Friends‘) is also fun and innovative, clearing stages with chain reactions from multiple burst bubbles with captured enemies to generate more and higher quality food is extremely satisfying. Special bubbles, such as bomb or lightning bubbles, provide new aspects to the game and add tactical angles that provide enough challenge to keep you hooked. Where this game shines is in co-operating with other players, giving you a sense of teamwork and accomplishment.

No game is perfect, so there a a few niggles that we must point out. Firstly, there are no online leaderboards, which does detract from those that love seeing their name at the top. The other niggle is that BB4F does not have competitive modes. We guess they couldn’t cater for every type of player, but there is enough in this package to satisfy the bulk of players around the world.

There is a reason why Bubble Bobble has endured and remains a cult classic – it is just so much darn fun! The fact that Taito’s game has been ported to more than 20 different platforms since it’s original arcade release in 1986, speaks volumes. Bubble Bobble 4 Friends on the Nintendo Switch is a welcome addition which gives you the best of both worlds – the original arcade game and of course, the new take on the formula that takes advantage of its host platform. We love it!

Disclosure: Bubble Bobble 4 Friends [Nintendo Switch eShop code] was kindly provided by PR Hound for this review.

 

 

Filed Under: Modern Gaming, Reviews Tagged With: arcade classic, Bob, Bub, Bub and Bob, Bubble Bobble, Bubble Bobble 4 Friends, Bubble Bobble 4 Friends review, Bubble Bobble 4 Friends Switch review, Classic Arcade Gaming, gamers, Geek, Nintendo Switch, Old School, Retro Gamer, Retro Gaming, retrogaming, Taito, Taito Bubble Bobble, vintage arcade game

Attack From Mars in Mechanical Lego Style

August 24, 2019 By ausretrogamer

Yes, another pinball related post. Ohhhh c’mon, it’s not that bad, we promise you’ll enjoy this one too!

As we are (a tad) obsessed with pinball, when we found out that pinball and LEGO go really well together, we had to let you know what we had found. If you are a talented and mechanically minded LEGO creator, like Teun de Wijs (aka: YouTuber TonyFlow76), you build a fully kinetic depiction of a pinball player flipping one of the greatest machines of all time, Attack From Mars!

For those that want to delve under the covers, Teun states that he used a few new techniques to build this awesomeness:

  • a cam wheel for the head movement,
  • a 9V Power Functions motor as a generator for four sets of blinking lights, three of which are mechanically activated by switches, and
  • three spring-action lift-arms for the “bumping” motion.

Hopefully Teun submits this to LEGO Ideas – we’d vote the heck out of it. Anyway, all we can say is, press play and return to battle soldier!

 


source: TonyFlow76

Filed Under: Pinball, Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: Attack From Mars, Attack From Mars Lego, Attack From Mars Lego Automation, Attack From Mars Remake, brickmakers, Geek, Kinetic pinball, Lego, Lego Automation, LEGO Ideas, Mechanical Lego, pinball, Pinball a Lego automation, Pinball Press, pinballpress, Retro Gamer, Retro Gamers, Retro Gaming, retrogaming, Teun de Wijs, Teun76, TonyFlow76

Lego Sonic Mania – Green Hill Zone: Vote Now

June 7, 2019 By ausretrogamer

Whoa, on the back of the cool Lego Sega Classic Arcade Machines idea we shared with you last week comes the Lego Ideas based on Sonic The Hedgehog!

Titled Sonic Mania – Green Hill Zone, you can show your support for this set on the Lego Ideas site right now!

This Lego Ideas set includes:

  • “Classic” Sonic the Hedgehog minifigure, with additional “running blur” build
  • Dr Eggman, Motobug and three Flickies as brick-built figures
  • Green Hill Zone “Spring & Palm Tree” and “Loop & Extra Life” modules
  • Egg Robot mech
  • Phantom Ruby and Ring accessories
  • 612 pieces, with 11 new prints (excluding minifigure).

If you still need convincing to support this awesome Lego set idea, here are a few play features to tickle your fancy:

  • Connect the Green Hill Zone modules together to design your own set pieces, mimicking the power of the Phantom Ruby warping the world!
  • Use the “Spring & Palm Tree” module to launch Sonic and his Flicky friends into the air, using the Technic lever to move the spring!
  • Use the Sonic the Hedgehog minifigure to run through the environment, collecting the ring and Extra Life (representing this being Sonic’s second try after his virtual journey through LEGO Dimensions!)
  • Dr Eggman can sit inside the Egg Robot mech, which can pose with its articulated arms and legs.
  • Use the handle on the end of the Egg Robot’s arms to extend its hands and use the drill attack on its enemies!
  • The Motobug can catch Sonic by surprise, making him lose his ring!
  • Have Sonic and Eggman fight for the Phantom Ruby!

image source: Lego Ideas – Sonic Mania

 

Filed Under: Announcements, Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: Dr Robotnik, Eggman, Geek, Green Hill Zone, Lego, Lego Green Hill Zone, LEGO Ideas, Lego Sega, Lego Sonic, Lego Sonic Mania, Lego Sonic Mania - Green Hill Zone, Lego Sonic The Hedgehog, Lego stuff, Old School, Retro Gamer, Retro Gaming, Retrogamer, retrogaming, Sega Lego, Sonic Mania, Sonic The Hedgehog

The Official Space Invaders Board Game

May 31, 2019 By ausretrogamer

We have said this a few times now, we are very very choosy what we back (and promote) on Kickstarter– so take note!

Space Invaders is one of those iconic video games that transcends generations. It is the game that keeps on giving. Having celebrated it’s 40th anniversary last year, this time around we are set to get an official Space Invaders Board Game!


source: 612 Games

We are so pumped for this Kickstarter and can’t wait to defend against the invaders on a physical board! For more info, head to the Space Invaders Board Game Kickstarter page to check out what you can get with your pledge. The campaign has already blown way past its target goal, so this is happening! Pew pew pew!

image source: Space Invaders Board Game via Kickstarter

[source story: technabob]

 

Filed Under: Announcements, Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: arcade gamer, board game, Classic Arcade Gaming, classic gamer, Geek, Kickstarter, Retro Gamer, retrogaming, shmup, Space Invaders, Space Invaders 40th anniversary, Space Invaders Board Game, Taito, Taito Space Invaders

Go Back To The Future With DMC Watches

May 22, 2019 By ausretrogamer

Back To The Future fans rejoice! If you can’t get to a DeLorean and hit 88 MPH (141.6 KMH for us Australian folks) to go back in time, then you can use one of these DMC watches to keep (up with) time!

Of course, there was only ever going to be one inspiration for these watches, the original (and damn cool) DMC-12 sports car. Check out some of the DMC watches (below) from their Alpha, Dream and 1981 collections.

Oh yeah, for a limited time, you can get 10% OFF any DMC watch purchase by using the coupon code ‘WELCOME19’! What are you waiting for, get that flux capacitor going and grab your very own DeLorean time machine!

photo source: DMC Watches

 

Filed Under: Announcements, Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: 1985, 80s, 88 MPH, 88MPH, Back To The Future, BTTF, Cool Watches, DeLorean, DeLorean Motor Company, DeLorean Motor Company Watches, DMC, DMC Watches, DMC-12, DMCWatches, Doc Brown, Flux Capacitor, Geek, Hill Valley, Marty McFly, Michael J Fox, nerd, Time Machine, Watches, Wrist watch

Electrifying the 80s

January 3, 2018 By ausretrogamer

What a way to start the new year with these awesome 80s metal posters from the ‘Electrifying the 80s‘ collection via Displate!

There are 14 metal posters in the Electrifying the 80s collection that will make your eyes pop! Here are a few to whet your 80s loving appetite…

image source: Displate

 

Filed Under: Modern Gaming Tagged With: Alien, Aliens, Art, Back To The Future, Displate, Electrifying the 80s, Geek, Metal Posters, nerd, Pop culture, Robocop, Terminator, Top Gun

The UNIQLO UTGP’17 Nintendo T-Shirts Are Out Now

October 11, 2017 By ausretrogamer

The wait is over peeps! Remember how we told you back in May about the UNIQLO Nintendo T-Shirt Grand Prix (UTGP’17) competition winners? Well now you can head on in to your local UNIQLO store and snag a few (or all) of the UTGP’17 Nintendo tees!

We started with one tee because we love Donkey Kong, but we couldn’t resist grabbing the two Super Mario tees. Oh yeah, the littlest member of the ausretrogamer crew also scored herself some tees – check them out!

If you intend on going into their store, UNIQLO also have a free play area for you to enjoy some premium Nintendo video gaming! And don’t fret if there is no bricks and mortar store near you, just head to their online store and buy them all!

Remember folks, life cannot be reset!

Whoa, where to begin…

Of course there were plenty of Mario related tees. Oh yeah, Luigi gets in on the act too!

Do your eyes hurt?

Metroid and Zelda fans will be happy

Whoa, we love 8-bit Mario (which was the winning design)!

There is even a junior 8-bit Mario tees! Our little one will love this!

One of the cool Donkey Kong tees

We had to grab this DK tee!

The back of the DK tee is as cool as the front! The level of detail is just sublime.

Wish they had this in adult size *sad face*

Just some of the UTGP’17 tees we grabbed. We will be going back for more!

After you are done shopping, play some (free) Nintendo video games!

So true!

 

Filed Under: Announcements, Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong t-shirt, Geek, Metroid t-shirt, nerd, nintendo, Nintendo clothes, Nintendo t-shirts, Pokemon t-shirt, Retro Gaming, Star Fox t-shirt, Super Mario t-shirt, UNIQLO, UNIQLO Nintendo T-Shirt Grand Prix, UTGP, UTGP’17, UTPG17

Retrogaming Designer Jewellery

March 9, 2017 By ausretrogamer

Are you a gaming nerd that is into their designer jewellery? If you are, then you’ve come to the right place.

We have seen many DIY gaming related jewellery on Etsy and other e-stores, which are pretty cool, but they don’t come close to the jewellery we have drooled over by Han Cholo.

With the Han Cholo collections (which there are many), there are designer and officially licensed products to choose from, like the official Sonic The Hedgehog 25th anniversary class ring and the awesome Sonic sneakers pendant!

Being gaming nerds and general pop culture geeks, we found ourselves trawling many of Han Cholo’s collections, from the cool Gamer stuff (hello Sega Mega Drive controller necklace) to the many Star Wars rings and Masters Of The Universe keychains and pendants. We just wish we had more than ten fingers and one neck!

The Sega Mega Drive / Genesis controller is close to our heart

Mario would be totally jelly of this ring!

If the Sonic ring is not your thing, then the Sonic sneakers pendant may tickle your fancy

The dark side of the force is strong with this ring!

Whoa, Daft Punk ring! No way!

Voltron!

We have the keys to our castle

By the power of Grayskull!

Battle Cat is fierce!

The perfect piece for the arcadians!
image source: Han Cholo


Filed Under: Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: Geek, Geek jewellery, Han Cholo, Jewellery, Masters Of The Universe, MOTU, nerd, pop culture jewellery, retrogaming, sega, Sonic class ring, sonic sneakers pendant, videogames, videogames jewellery

Junglist Returns With New Gaming Show

February 22, 2017 By ausretrogamer

New Youth Network, SNACKABLETV.tv, has launched a brand-new video game show called UNDER CONTROL, with Jeremy Ray (Junglist) and Jessie James (Geek and Gamer Girl) hosting.

The show went live on SNACKABLETV.TV on January 26th 2017 and is broadcasting on the CATCH app on Sydney buses reaching a huge audience in the 13-to-30-year-old age bracket.

The two hosts are already prominent figures in the gaming industry, with Junglist being one of the co-creators of the (sorely missed) Good Game and Kotaku contributor, and Jessie being one of Australia’s most popular Twitch streamers with over 74,000 followers.

New content will be produced weekly. Under Control will feature snack-sized content on all things gaming; reviews, interviews, behind the scenes, news, features and on-site event coverage.

“Sometimes I go over to Jessie James’ house and we have conversations about games. Lately, there’s been this weird camera guy there, but she told me not to worry about it. I’m sure it’s nothing!”, says Junglist.

“Once we pried Junglist off Dark Souls III and cleaned him up, it became clear he was the best co-host I could imagine. We keep each other in check and hardly ever try to kill each other offline anymore. It’s great!”

SNACKABLETV is a revolutionary digital youth network housing the best in bite-sized content. It’s an entirely new way for young people all over the world to access high quality short-form entertainment for FREE, without annoying advertisements or subscriptions (Ed: Yay!). It’s mainstream-accessible without dumbing down the content or neglecting the core gaming audience.

“We’re excited to be creating something new and authentic for the gaming community.” – Deb Morgan, SnackableTV’s Under Control Producer.

You can view UNDER CONTROL now, so hop to it!

source: SNACKABLETV – Under Control

 

Filed Under: Announcements, Modern Gaming Tagged With: Catch app, Gamer Girl, Geek, Jeremy Ray. Jessie James, Junglist, new gaming show with Junglist, Snackable, Snackabletv.tv, video games show

Beautiful Music: Fettes Brot Feat. Geekchester

February 22, 2016 By Ms. ausretrogamer

featured1You don’t need to speak German to appreciate the awesomeness of German hip hop band Fettes Brot with the retro computer big band Geekchester.

Source: Neo Magazin Royale on YouTube via Laughing Squid

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

msausretrogamerMs. ausretrogamer
Co-founder, editor and writer 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

 

 

Filed Under: Retro Gaming Culture Tagged With: Fettes Brot, Geek, Geekchester, German, hip hop, Music, Neo Magazin Royale, Retrocomputing, video, youtube

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