AUSRETROGAMER

The Pop-Culture E-Zine

You are here: Home / Archives for Retro Game

Retro Game

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 13th Doll – A Fan Game of The 7th Guest

By

Return to the Stauf Mansion this Halloween with The 13th Doll!

Let’s cut to the chase – The 13th Doll is a licensed fan game developed by Attic Door Productions which takes place within the cult classic The 7th Guest universe and as such, we thought we’d let you, retro-FMV-loving gamers know about it (Ed: unless you already knew about this)! Oh yeah, the game is slated for release on Halloween (October 31st 2018) on Steam, PC, Mac, and Linux.

Where were we then? Ah yeh, the developer, Attic Door Productions has released their official announcement trailer, which you can check out below. Spooky stuff!


source: Attic Door Producitons

The game is a followup to the classic game, The 7th Guest, a puzzle based horror game set in the haunted mansion of eccentric toy-maker Henry Stauf. The game was a technological landmark upon release, as well as the followup sequel, The 11th Hour, and was one of the first games to show full motion video sequences.

The 13th Doll picks up right after the events of The 7th Guest, where the protagonist, Tad, now resides in a mental institution, a result of the traumatic experiences in The 7th Guest. A new doctor arrives in the asylum, and the pair embark on a journey to return to The Stauf Mansion to bring catharsis to Tad and cure him of his demons. Plans go awry, and both characters find themselves separated and in peril, as they try to unlock the mysteries of The 13th Doll.

Game Features:

  • Full Motion Video Sequences filmed with over 10 actors
  • 26 unique, new puzzles
  • 35 rooms in 3 environments; and
  • The return of actor Robert Hirschboeck, reprising his role as Henry Stauf!

If this tickles your spooky retro gaming FMV nerve, then you can pre-order the game right now!

image source: The 13th Doll

 

Get A Hit of Nostalgia With The Retro Pocket Arcade

By

Have you had enough of the huge prices that Nintendo’s Game & Watch games demand? Well, you are in luck, as JB Hi-Fi have the exclusive Retro Pocket Arcade handheld going for $24.95!

This fun on the go mini handheld arcade sports a colour 1.8″ LCD and comes packed with 150+ games – take that Game & Watch! The little pocket rocket is powered by 3 x AAA batteries so you can game on the go for hours.



We know what you are thinking – what games are on it and how does it play? Well, if you like Game & Watch games, then you’ll love the incarnations on this little beast. Games like Parachute are on there (it’s actually called Parachute!) – save the parachuting kamikazes by catching them with your boat. We’d be here all day if we went through the entire list of games, but rest assured there are games on the Retro Pocket Arcade to please everyone (take a peek at some in the pic below).

The LCD is nice and bright, making viewing better and easier on your eyes. The D-pad is replaced with four buttons, but that isn’t a bad thing, as it’s reminiscent of the older Game & Watch games that predate Gunpei Yokoi’s wonderful directional pad. The buttons all feel easy on the finger without any lag, but they would have been even better if they were convex instead of being flat. At $24.95, this little beast comes highly recommended if you can’t be stuffed chasing the elusive and expensive Game & Watch games by Nintendo.

With Christmas around the corner, this is a great stocking stuffer for the retro gamer. JB, you’ve done it again!



* The Flea Market Retro Pocket Arcade handheld was supplied by JB Hi-Fi for this article.



Batman: The Game Needed More Joker

By

By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

The Joker is one of the most fascinating and colourful characters in fiction. Moviegoers and gamers have a strong curiosity when it comes to the Crown Prince of Crime.

Nintendo’s Batman: The Game, released in 1989, was ground breaking for its graphics, its music score and dark tone. But something that has always bothered me about the game is the lack of The Joker.

The objective of the game is Batman fighting The Joker’s henchmen as you make your way to the Dark Knight’s popular nemesis. You get a little of The Joker sprinkled in throughout the game with quick shots from the film. Sunsoft was smart to put those Joker shots in, because if they hadn’t included them, you wouldn’t even know The Joker had anything to do with the game.

When The Joker finally appears at the final level of the game, he’s unusually massive. The Joker is tall, but he’s not supposed to look like a giant. I admire that the creators of the game made it so difficult to defeat The Joker. It took me awhile to figure out how to kill the villain; I can’t count how many times I died before I finally accomplished the task. The number was high.

Perhaps The Joker’s absence is so noticeable in Batman: The Game because every Batman game since has featured The Joker prominently. Some games, like Batman: Return of The Joker, and the more recent games, has exploited The Joker. They feel more like a Joker game than a Batman game. And with Harley Quinn probably being the most popular comic book character on the planet at the moment, recent games have played her up more as well. And with a “Suicide Squad 2” in the works, expect to see even more Harley in upcoming video games.

I know back in the 1980’s game play was a bigger priority for developers than story. However, Batman: The Game could’ve used a few more sinister Joker scenes. But with the technology at the time, they could’ve turned out clunky; unlike today, where you have the pale villain appearing too lifelike.

The graphics are brilliant for 1989. Each stage, from the chemical plant to the cathedral, has graphics that were above any other NES releases at the time. Double Dragon II maybe being the one exception.

Jumping is one of the best options in the game. Batman, when he jumps, has the ability to latch on to a wall and push himself off of it. Pressing the A button in a rhythm is all you have to do. You don’t even have to point Batman in any particular direction for him to jump to the adjacent wall. That was a unique move for its time.

I grew up playing countless Batman games. Batman: The Game is still one of my favourites based on the Dark Knight property; even if The Joker has very limited screen time.

 

Retro Gaming Wallpaper Murals

By

We recently discovered Murals Wallpaper when searching for ways to spruce up our tired walls in our new games room. To our pleasant surprise, we found a swag of very cool retro gaming inspired wallpapers as part of Mural Wallpaper’s Retro Game Wallpaper Mural collection. Our only problem was, which one to choose! More on that later…

Inspired by the console controllers that revolutionised the way we play video games, Murals Wallpaper have paid homage to the most iconic of them in an exciting new mural range, featuring everything from Atari’s CX-40, Sega’s Master System and Mega Drive control pads, through to Nintendo’s N64 and GameCube controllers, there is something for fans of every platform. There’s even the humble Game Boy thrown in for good measure!

The new collection is available on the Murals Wallpaper website and your favourite design can be made to your exact specifications to create a brilliantly custom piece that will fit your chosen wall just perfectly. Coming in a host of eye-catching retro inspired colours, the Retro Game Wallpaper Mural’s will add the perfect finishing touch to your entertainment or games room. We were so impressed, we put in an order for the yellow retro game wallpaper (Ed: Can’t wait for it to arrive!)! If yellow isn’t your thing, then check out the rest of their range:

Yellow Retro
Mural_Yellow

Blue Retro
Mural_Blue

Pink and Blue Retro
Mural_BabyBlue_Pink

Blue Outline Retro
Mural_BabyBlue

Blue and White Retro
Mural_Blue_Yellow

Light Grey Retro
Mural_Greyscale

Grey Retro
Mural_Dark_Grey

Orange Retro
Mural_Orange

Turquoise Retro
Mural_turquoise

You can engage with Murals Wallpaper via their site or any of their social media channels on: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Google+.

 

 

Christmas Invaders: When Retro Gaming Met Christmas

By

ChristmasInvaders_Title

Counting down the days until Christmas? Bored at work or home? Need a distraction?

You’re in luck. Santa has delivered all you ever wanted this holiday season: a Christmas Invaders game for your smart device! Inspired by the classic arcade game (Ed: you know, the one where you shoot invaders), you’ll be challenged with fending off wave after wave of Christmas themed invaders.

Simply tilt your device to control your Christmas tree shooter and eliminate the barrage of oncoming festive attackers. You can even try your luck aiming at Santa and his reindeer for bonus points and lives!

ChristmasInvaders_Image2

Work your way through the increasingly difficult levels with awesome Christmas jumper inspired designs and old school sound effects that will take you back to the good old days.

Christmas Invaders brings a festive feel with retro style gameplay. Step back in time, get in the Christmas spirit and have a go on Christmas Invaders – it is FREE!

Get your hit of FREE Christmas Invaders for your Android or iOS device right now.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

ChristmasInvaders_IconHovel Games is an independent start-up that develops games for mobile devices including iOS and Android.  Hovel consists of partners Kurt Rathjen and Emma Carter, and was founded in 2012 in Australia.