AUSRETROGAMER

Australia's Retro Gaming and Pinball E-Zine

You are here: Home / Archives for Retro Gaming

Retro Gaming

Introducing the WiiBoy Color – The Awesomely Portable Wii

By

If you were impressed with Pixeljunkie’s playable mechanical LEGO Street Fighter II arcade machine, then there is no doubt you will be fully gobsmacked by Ginger Of Mods’ WiiBoy Color creation – a portable Wii, which is similar in size to the Game Boy Color!

This creation took 9 months of meticulous work, from printing the shell, to fitting all of the components, like the motherboard and display, resulting in the superb and unique WiiBoy Color!

The ‘Shut up and take my money’ meme would be a massive understatement right about now!


source: Ginger of Mods

 

Play Freecell64 on your Commodore 64

By

UPDATE: Fritz has informed us that FreeCell64 version 2.2 is out now! Fritz has also advised us that this awesome game is now complete, which is now more colourful, has mouse support and comes with time counter and statistics included. Grab this latest version and enjoy!

Whoa, developer Friedrich “Fritz” Philipp has released his first version of Freecell, titled Freecell64, for the Commodore 64!

What is so impressive is that Freecell64 has been totally written in BASIC! So don’t just sit there, go and download Freecell64 via GitHub right now! Oh Fritz, what have you done to us, our productivity will surely take a tumble!

For those that need some quick instructions, to move cards, click anywhere on the respective pile and then onto the destination pile. Double-clicking is also possible where cards are moved to the Aces pile (as a priority) or to the repository. When you think you have won, click on the “Game” menu item and select “Check” – good luck!

Being version 1.0, Fritz advises that Freecell64 still requires:

  • A time counter;
  • High scores; and
  • Sound

To say we’ll be watching this eagerly will be a gross understatement!



Iconic TAITO STATION To Close In March

By

Not the arcade gaming news we wanted to see in 2021 – another iconic arcade building is set to close.

First it was Sega’s (GiGo) Building 2 that closed in August last year, and now as reported by SoraNews24, Taito Station’s iconic Nishi Shinjuku branch is set to close its doors on March 21st, 2021.

If you are anywhere near Shinjuku, go and check this out before it closes. Unfortunately we will never get to tick this one off our bucket list 🙁

 

David Lynch’s PlayStation 2 Ad

By

By: D.C. Cutler, U.S.A.

I never knew David Lynch made a commercial for PlayStation 2. There have been a handful of great film directors who have made ads for a company. Ridley Scott’s Super Bowl ad for Apple’s Macintosh, inspired by George Orwell’s “1984,” is probably the most iconic ad made by a legendary filmmaker.

The 2000 PlayStation 2 commercial feels very Lynchian. The commercial is extremely bizarre, even for Lynch’s standards; and I’ve seen “Lost Highway” twice. In the ad, titled “Welcome to the Third Place,” there’s a fire woman and a floating head. Lynch plays with his trademark, skewed perspectives in the short ad. I wonder how the executives at Sony gave the green light for a Lynch commercial. It breaks down advertising logic, but that is what’s so appealing about it. Lynch puts his stamp on it, and it’s a fascinating ad that pulls you in. You can’t look away from the strange, sensory experience. I wish I could’ve been a fly on the wall when the higher ups at Sony and PlayStation watched the ad for the first time. Did they give notes?


source: PlayStation Europe

I’ve always thought that David Lynch is one of the most imaginative filmmakers in the history of cinema. Lynch’s “The Elephant Man” is a masterpiece. Whenever I watch the black-and-white, 1980 film, I’m floored by how intimate and visually powerful it is. It’s so engrossing, you feel like you’re in late 19th-century London. The film, starring Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt, still holds up. It feels like it’s directed by an old, wise filmmaker who knows his way around a period piece. Lynch was in his mid-thirties when he directed “The Elephant Man,” which was nominated for eight Academy Awards. “Blue Velvet” is another Lynch film where every frame looks like a vivid painting. The auteur never shies away from uncomfortable subject matter. “Eraserhead” and both “Twin Peaks” television series had unforgettable, haunting images.

Disney’s “WandaVision” has a David Lynch feel to it. Some of Westview, or the small town that Wanda has perfectly envisioned, reminds me of the town in Lynch’s “Blue Velvet.” I’m waiting for Frank Booth (played by the late Dennis Hopper) to walk around a corner of Westview, huffing on an unknown gas from a tank.

 

 

Retro Gaming at Sears in 1982

By

Absolutely adore these kinds of videos of news reports from department stores in the early 80s featuring some awesome footage of their home and entertainment departments from back in the day.

The best part about this video is that it is a b-roll (raw footage) taken from inside a Sears store in mid-December 1982 (just before the Christmas rush for that year), which features clips of Atari computers and kiosks, a Vectrex store display and Donkey Kong being played on the Intellivision amongst other great clips!

Check it out and let the nostalgia wash over you.


source: btm0815ma

NEO GEO Games Infographic

By

There are some images that need to be shared for their informative awesomeness, and this NEO•GEO games infographic is one that definitely fits that bill.

Created and shared by Ange Albertini of the Corkami Reverse Engineering and Visual Documentation github repository, this image speaks to us loud and clear! We love the fact that in one image, we can see the timeline of all the games that were released for SNK’s mighty NEO GEO.

To get a sense of this amazing graphic creation, please click on the image below to see it in its native resolution!

 

The Players Guide to Programmable Videogame Systems from 1982

By

Now this is a blast from the past! Well, a blast from 1982!

While trawling good ole eBay, our nostalgic interests were piqued when we found this 12-page ‘The Players Guide To Programmable Videogame Systems’ advertorial, which is cool to read in hindsight. We were glad to see the Bally Astrocade featured amongst the heavy hitters.

Check it out!

 

Complete History of Epyx Inc. – 1978 to 1990

By

We got to say, we absolutely played the heck out of anything Epyx made and published for the Commodore 64 back in the day. Still can’t believe they are gone, so this complete history of the once mighty Epyx, from their simple beginnings in 1978 until their fall in 1990, it is a great trip down nostalgia lane.

The documentary is over 70 minutes in duration, so you’ll be staying a while, but not forever! 😉


source: BastichB 64K

Once Upon Atari: How I Made History By Killing An Industry

By

Our friend and Atari developer extraordinaire, Howard Scott Warshaw, you know, he made Yars’ Revenge and E.T. amongst other notable Atari 2600 games, has released his new book, Once Upon Atari: How I Made History By Killing An Industry, which is available right now on Kindle and Paperback.

Upon the release of his new book, Howard stated that, “I needed to put something fun and interesting into the world. Is it “The feel good book of 2020″? Nah, that’s too low a bar. This book was a labour of love, but a labour nonetheless. If you know me, you know this is a fun read. If you don’t know me, it’s still fun. I’m happy with the result and I hope you enjoy reading it”.

This book provides an intimate view into the dramatic rise and fall of the early video game industry in the US, and how it shaped the life of one of its key players. Howard’s book offers eye-opening details and insights from someone that was there during Atari’s heyday.

What are you waiting for, go and grab it!

 

Castlevania: The Complete History

By

We are huge fans of Daniel Ibbertson’s (aka: Slope’s Game Room) history vids, just like his recent full-length documentary based on the history of one of the biggest game franchises of all time, CASTLEVANIA.

The Castlevania games series is one of the most expensive and well-loved retro gaming collections ever released. In this doco, Daniel not only talks about its history, but also showcases some of the rarest games in the series.

So chuck your headphones on, put your feet up and immerse yourself all things Castlevania.


source: Slope’s Game Room