AUSRETROGAMER

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Kickstart A Hit Of AMIGA Nostalgia

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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 🙂

 

Get Your Mugshot in Chase H.Q. and Help NHS Charities

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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! 🙂

 

 

TY the Tasmanian Tiger HD – Krome Studios Launches Classic Platformer

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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

 

Missile Command: Recharged – It’s a Blast

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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!

 

Sega Game Gear Gaming: Fred Couples Golf

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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.

 

Game Over: Hardest Video Games Ever

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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.

OUR HARDEST GAMES LIST

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

 

Getting To Grips with Sega Pocket Arcade

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They may have been a bit late to the handheld LCD party (which Nintendo’s Game & Watch series were the life of that party), but Sega did manage to leverage their might by offering some of their iconic arcade games to be ported to the Pocket Arcade platform.

The Pocket Arcade (LCD based) series of games were developed by everyone’s favourite LCD gaming manufacturer (Ed: tongue firmly in cheek!), Tiger Electronics.  Under license by Sega, Tiger Electronics made the Pocket Arcade series from (about) 1994 till 1997. These LCD based games were primarily sold in North America, meaning that they are scarce anywhere else. Being Tiger, many of the Pocket Arcade games in the series were reskinned versions of previous LCD games, but there were quite a few that were new.

image source: eBay

One of the unique features to set the Pocket Arcade games from their LCD gaming brethren is the ‘conceal and reveal’ feature. The clam-shell keeps the game safe (and off) in your pocket, so once you are ready to play, just hit the button to flip, pop or pivot the screen, which also turns on the game. When you are done playing, just close the unit and stick it back in your pocket.

So what Sega Pocket Games games could you get? Here is the series list, thanks to Sega Retro. Don’t all raid eBay at once!

Red cover series:

  • Amazing Sonic
  • Sega Sports Baseball
  • Bug!
  • Ecco the Dolphin
  • Eternal Champions: Special Moves Edition
  • Sega Sports Football
  • Sonic Blast
  • Columns

Blue cover series:

  • Bug!
  • Ecco the Dolphin
  • Indy 500 / Sega Raceway
  • Panzer Dragoon
  • Sonic 3D Blast
  • Sonic the Hedgehog 3
  • Streets of Rage
  • Super Monaco GP
  • Virtua Cop
  • Virtua Fighter


source: ClassicAds

 

Rumble In The West: The Pop-Up Retro Arcade and Pinball Bar

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NOTE: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, this event has been cancelled!

 

Now this is a great cause to support! The Sydney Pinball and Arcade Company presents Rumble in the West – a charity POP-UP RETRO ARCADE and PINBALL Bar, coming to Western Sydney on April 25 and 26, 2020. Rumble In the West will help raise funds for CheckPoint, a nonprofit organisation connecting games and gamers with mental health.

The Rumble in the West pop-up arcade and pinball bar will host over 15 pinball machines, 15 arcade machines and video game consoles from the 80s and 90s. Mixing wood fired pizzas, craft beer and cocktails with gaming, the organisers of Rumble in the West aim to create an authentic feeling of classic arcades.

Nostalgia certainly plays a part in the excitement of an event like this! However, there is something to be said for the fun of arcade games in a social environment like a bar. It is the opposite of the home console gaming experience of today. This event is designed to bring people together and experience the fun of these games in a face to face setting.

Rumble in the West organisers have set a goal to raise $10,000.00 for CheckPoint who support the mental health of gamers with resources, community engagement, videos and articles. CheckPoint strive to spread awareness and educate about mental health issues, while reflecting on how those issues impact the lives of people who play games.

John from The Sydney Pinball and Arcade Company says “We couldn’t make this event happen without the support of the local community members who are passionate about games. We want to pass on that goodwill, which is why we decided to make this donation goal to CheckPoint”.

Early bird tickets are currently on sale for the event. Getting to Rumble in the West is easy because they will have a courtesy bus making trips every hour from the Blacktown station. for more information, please visit the event website www.rumbleinthewest.com.

Events Details:

Event: Rumble in the west – a pop-up retro pinball and arcade bar
When: 25th – 26th of April 2020 (1pm till midnight on the 25th & noon to midnight on the 26th)
Where: 30 Holbeche Rd, Arndell Park N.S.W. (10 minutes from Blacktown. 25 minutes from Parramatta)
Tickets: Early bird ticket price: $40.00 (available till March 25th) – purchase here. Entry tickets get you into the venue for the entire day and entry to all competitions, except the pinball competition. All games and activities are free to play. Food and drinks are additional. Kids 14 and under gain free entry.

image source: Rumble in the West

 

C64 Barbarian – Masters Of The Universe Edition

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We got quite giddy when we came across John Henderson’s tweet depicting his bitmap creation of Palace Software’s Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior as C64 Barbarian He-Man Edition.

To say we hope this coding continues to fully recreate the ultimate slash’em up game on the C64, is an understatement! I have the POWER!

[image and story source: John Henderson via Twitter]

 

Metroid: Mother Brain Is an Iconic Villain

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By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

Metroid’s Mother Brain is considered one of the most diabolical she-villains in video game history.

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with defeating Mother Brain every time I put my Metroid cartridge into my Nintendo Entertainment System. It took me a while to finally defeat her, and when I did, I wondered if Mother Brain had a backstory. How did she get to possess such vast power?

When I would play the original Metroid, I found Mother Brain fascinating. In later Metroid games, we got a little backstory on Mother Brain, but none of it seemed that imaginative. The original design of Mother Brain was the best. All of the designs in later games, especially in Super Metroid, when Mother Brain looked like a brain with a grotesque chicken body, were slightly extreme and almost silly. In the original Metroid, Mother Brain was captivating and menacing by just sitting in a glass jar, controlling the game like a puppet master. When I would defeat Mother Brain, my imagination would run wild. Was what we saw in the jar her original or real form?

image source: Samolo via Deviantart

Metroid was not the easiest game to beat. It took me several tries before I finally completed the game. I wasn’t an expert at the game like my brother. It took him just a day or two to defeat Mother Brain. Then he would usually move on to another game and beat that before me as well.

In the video game magazines of the time, like Nintendo Power, they never really went into much depth when it came to the iconic, she-villain. But the early games didn’t tell as much about Mother Brain either. It must’ve been a boring existence, just sitting there in a protective glass jar, ruling the planet, hoping that a bounty hunter wouldn’t come along and destroy you. However, she did have an army of henchmen protecting her. Villains in other major games at the time were primarily male and mostly on the beefy side.

Mother Brain was engrossing because she was so different from all of the other heavy villains in video games. Mother Brain is one of the reasons Metroid is a classic NES game.

image source: metroid.fandom.com