The Pop-Culture E-Zine
We have previously featured customised GameCube consoles, like the Mario Sunshine one, but these custom painted consoles by Mago Serenil (CustomsGameCubes on Etsy) are just so darn gorgeous!
The best part is, these custom painted GameCube consoles are available from Mago’s Etsy store (Mago is currently on a break, but you can still get in touch via Etsy).
[story source: [technabob]
Remember Centuri? Not really? We bet it will ring a bell when you watch this two-part series (on Centuri Inc.) and realise you probably played one (or more) of their licensed video games a fair bit at your local arcade joints.
Cassandra Chiles-Quirk (aka: Vintage Arcade Gal) has done a stellar job in encapsulating the highs and lows of this once great company of the golden age of arcade video games.
The Rise & Fall of Centuri – Part 1
The Rise & Fall of Centuri – Part 2
source: Vintage Arcade Gal
Nintendo Ball holds a dear place in our heart as it was their very first (Silver) Game & Watch product, released on this day [April 28] in 1980! This was the game that kicked off the iconic electronic handheld series.
Being the company’s first Game & Watch title, Ball is celebrated among the gaming community and within Nintendo itself, as evident from their many re-releases and remakes.
In case you never played Ball, the user controls a character who must juggle a few balls at once, ensuring that none of them are dropped. The control to keep juggling the ball is pretty straight forward – by pressing the left and right face button. It is this simplicity that made Nintendo’s Game & Watch series so memorable with its fans.
Do you have still have your Game & Watch(es)? Which one(s) is/are your fave?
source: Wikimedia Commons
I can’t believe that we (myself and Ms. ausretrogamer) have never appeared together on a podcast! Well, I am here to tell you that we finally made our debut together in guest speaking on episode 275 of the Vertical Hold podcast!
The topic of discussion was how we were passing the time and keeping our sanity in this worldwide pandemic. We delve into the midst of nostalgia and discuss all things gaming, from retro and modern, pinball, arcade, board games to the Commodore 64, SNES, RetroPie and Nintendo’s Wii! Oh yeah, Double Dragon and Zelda came up in conversation too 😉
Thank you to Alex Kidman and Adam Turner for having us on their brilliant weekly Vertical Hold podcast, we had a blast!
We recently delved into some of our forgotten boxes, hidden deep in our vault (aka: the garage) which were choc-full of classic video games.
What we found totally blew our mind – a treasure trove of Amiga gems! We are still shaking our head in disbelief in how we could have forgotten about these games – it is sacrilege.
Let’s get one thing straight, as much as we still love our Atari ST, the Amiga, with its various models we’ve had the pleasure of playing on, from the 500, CDTV, 2000 to the 1200 and CD32, it still holds a dear place in our bitmap heart.
So come on an intoxicating nostalgic journey with us by scrolling through the below games, but don’t rush through the photos, as you may miss an old favourite!
PS: Hit us up on Twitter or Facebook to let us know which game(s) gave you a warm and fuzzy feeling 🙂
The talented Bill Harbison, veteran Ocean/Imagine Software pixel artist, who worked on titles like, Chase HQ, Batman The Movie and Jurassic Park is doing something really cool for charity!
Bill is supporting the NHS Charities COVID-19 Urgent Appeal via his Fiverr page where you supply him an image of yourself that he then takes to create a mugshot to be added to his old ZX Spectrum game, Chase H.Q. How awesomely cool is that? If you are keen to be featured in the ZX Speccy Chase H.Q. game and also help out a great charity, then hit Bill’s Fiverr page now!
We’ll update this post and share our screenshot once Bill weaves his magic and sends through the finished image. We can’t wait!
UPDATE: Guess what peeps?! Bill was super quick with his pixel wizardry and delivered our screenshot waaaay ahead of the due date! So here it is, our Ed, Alex Boz, in full pixel art (Chase H.Q. mugshot) glory! 🙂
The Aussie hero loved by millions worldwide and everyone’s favourite boomerang chucking (not quite extinct) Thylacine is back. The creators of TY the Tasmanian Tiger and Blade Kitten are proud to present their award-winning game TY the Tasmanian Tiger HD – a charming platformer remastered for the Nintendo SwitchTM.
Explore the wilds of Australia with your favourite Aussie mate, TY the Tasmanian Tiger. By utilising the Nintendo Switch system’s many capabilities, Krome Studios has created a memorable experience that players are nostalgic for. Now, you can flick the Nintendo Switch Joy-ConTM controllers to throw your boomerangs and tilt to glide, too.
TY the Tasmanian Tiger HD’s 3D environments, characters, particle effects and audio have been enriched, along with new graphical effects like screen-space ambient occlusion, fully dynamic shadows, color correction, and bloom. You’ll be immersed in its Aussie-ness.
A new addition to the original, TY the Tasmanian Tiger HD will challenge you with Hardcore Mode; be awesome you only have one life. And thanks to dedicated fans – via a successful Kickstarter campaign – TY has new TY character skins for everyone to play. Added to the game credits are over 2000+ backers, including 44 custom drawings by the creator, Steve Stamatiadis.
“For 20 years now TY the Tasmanian Tiger has been at the heart of our game making-philosophy here at Krome Studios,” says Robert Walsh, CEO Krome Studios. “We thank our loyal fans who have joined us in continuing this family-friendly tradition on the Nintendo Switch. Without you, we could not have made this happen.”
TY the Tasmanian Tiger HD immerses you in 17 levels of iconic Australian Outback. Collect opals, golden cogs, thundereggs, 13 different boomerangs and the all-important mystical talismans. The first game is available March 31st in the Nintendo eShop for North America as a digital download, April 3rd in the Nintendo eShop for Europe, and April 4th for Australia and New Zealand.
Press release source: Krome Studios
Atari’s seminal 1980s arcade classic, Missile Command, has now been Recharged and is ready for blasting on your favourite iOS and Android device!
Missile Command has been one of our favourite games to play due to its compelling simplicity and very visceral and satisfying gameplay – aim at the falling missiles, fire and destroy, it doesn’t get better or simpler than that.
Missile Command: Recharged is actually quite well (re)done with beautiful neon visuals paired with cool electronic music that Jeff Minter would be quite proud of. The game also has power-ups, upgrades, and an augmented reality feature, making this game quite a blast (pun intended).
The current Atari cops a lot of stick for milking their original IP, including from us, but this free to play game (with a one time purchase to remove the ads) is a pleasant surprise – it is really well done.
If you want a (free) Missile Command game for your smart device, then you can’t go wrong with Missile Command: Recharged. Get it now!
By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.
When I tell people that my favourite professional golfer is Fred Couples, they usually give me side eye and ask, “Why?”. When I was little, my two favourite games on my Sega Game Gear were “The Incredible Hulk” and “Fred Couples Golf.”
The 1994 golf game was panned by critics when it was released. I think the reason some critics hated it was because the cramped graphical layout was a flaw. It didn’t bother me. I never chose a caddie, which was an option in the game. I’ve always believed that the practice mode and easy controls were innovative for a golf game.
I would play my Game Gear on the way to school on the bus, and on the way home as well. That was a lot of Fred Couples Golf. My mother would take my Game Gear away from me when I arrived home and tell me I could play after I finished my homework. The game was addictive. I started watching every golf event that Couples played in.
Many of my friends would ask me why I enjoyed Fred Couples Golf so much. The game was pretty much my introduction to the game of golf and the rules. I learned what a bogey was and I learned how to properly hit a golf ball out of a bunker. The game was unique because Couples, who endorsed the game, wasn’t a playable player. You could only play against him; and, on the difficult level, he was a worthy opponent.
I enjoyed the Couples game so much, I always wondered why Fred Couples didn’t get a game with more exceptional graphics for PlayStation or Xbox? Most of the big consoles made games endorsing Tiger Woods and other younger, more popular players on the PGA Tour. I doubt any game maker will, but if they made a Fred Couples game today, I’d buy it.
If a developer can centre a golf game around legends like Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, I don’t see why they couldn’t make a new game featuring Couples. However, video games are usually not designed for legendary players on the PGA Champions Tour.
Even though I have been gaming for over three decades, I am still your average gamer. The 80s arcade games definitely toughened me and sharpened my skills, but there were some games that no matter how sharp I was, I could never beat them.
The following list of wickedly difficult games is an admission of sorts that I never got to see the end credits. Heck, I don’t even think I saw more than a few levels (without cheating) on any of these games.
What are some of your most hardest games ever played? Let us know via Twitter or Facebook.
Contra / Gryzor / Probotector
Ghosts’n Goblins
Mega Man
Battletoads
Bionic Commando
Green Beret / Rush’n Attack
Impossible Mission
Robotron:2084
Rolling Thunder
Defender
Robocop
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
ESWAT: Ciyt Under Siege
Slap Fight
Hellfire
Rick Dangerous
Airwolf
Paperboy
Game Over
