retrogame

Mini Review: Moto Roader MC on Nintendo Switch

February 21, 2022 By ausretrogamer

We have fond memories playing NCS’ Moto Roader series on the PC Engine, so when we heard that Ratalaika Games were bringing the third instalment, Moto Roader MC, to modern gaming systems, we got quite excited!

Moto Roader MC was the third and final game in the NCS developed series, originally released on the PC-Engine (Super CD-ROM²) in 1992. Moto Roader MC played a bit different from the first two MR games, which was actually a good thing – and we are glad Ratalaika Games picked this one to modernise.

If you are a fan of overhead racing games, like the classic Atari arcade game, Super Sprint, with weapons to blast your opponents off the track, then you will absolutely love Moto Roader MC. Raitalaika Games have managed to keep the whole experience authentic to the original, including the “PUSH RUN” button to start the game, which obviously doesn’t appear on any modern gaming controllers – but it did on the PC-Engine ones.

The racing is fast and frantic, with numerous varied tracks with differing obstacles that add extra difficulty while trying to pass the other drivers by either speeding past them, or shooting them if they are in your way. You can play head to head against the computer or locally with a friend in multiple modes of futuristic racing. The Nintendo Switch version goes one step further to make this game even more fun by being able to play with up to 5 players locally – imagine you rivals sitting near you! There is a an array of cool cars and drivers, as well as a variety of gameplay modes, including bumper car challenges.

Moto Roader MC is another classic retro title that we are glad to have on a modern system. It’s a fun pick and play racing title with enough play modes and challenges to keep you coming back to it. This game truly shines if you have a few friends over for some local head to head racing!

Ratalaika Games is bringing Moto Roader MC to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Microsoft Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on February 25th, 2022. We recommend you add this game to your library ASAP and have fun – it’s honestly great!

Disclaimer: Nintendo Switch review code for Moto Roader MC was provided by PR Hound.

Atari VCS River Raid in MagicaVoxel Glory

August 3, 2021 By ausretrogamer

We love River Raid on the Atari VCS/2600. Heck, we love it on pretty much every other 8-bit platform.

When we saw Mauri Helme’s tweet about a gorgeous looking River Raid made with MagicaVoxel, well, we can say that it was an easy question to answer.

Would you play? Atari 2600 River Raid made with #MagicaVoxel and #Blender #b3d pic.twitter.com/tVnVly3AeQ

— Mauri Helme (@maurihelme) June 18, 2021

Chip’s Challenge is coming to the SNES and Sega Genesis/Mega Drive!

July 16, 2021 By ausretrogamer

Chip’s Challenge for SNES and Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Pre-Orders Now Live

Top-down tile-based puzzle game

Independent publisher The Retro Room Games has recently announced that the pre-orders for Chip’s Challenge on Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and Sega Genesis/Mega Drive are now open!

Play as Nerdy Chip McCallahan, who navigates through a series of increasingly difficult puzzles in 148 two-dimensional levels, in order to prove himself and gain membership to the very exclusive Bit Busters Club.

Originally developed by Epyx, Chip’s Challenge is a classic top-down tile-based puzzle game launched on Atari Lynx in 1989. The game was also ported to MS-DOS, Atari ST, Amiga, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, and the Amstrad CPC back in the 90s.

Chip’s Challenge was also released on Steam 6 years ago featuring 90% of positive reviews. This will be the first time that the game will be available on Nintendo and Sega platforms.

Chip’s Challenge will be available on 16-bit consoles including a cartridge in both PAL and NTSC versions, a box and an instruction booklet. Pre-orders for the game can be found here.

source: The Retro Room Roo

Features:

148 two-dimensional levels
Block-pushing puzzles
Dodging enemies
Skip to the next level option

Price: US$24.99 (cart only) / US$49.99 (Complete In Box)

Our Favourite Retro Games on the Pico-8

February 1, 2021 By ausretrogamer

There are a heap of great Pico-8 games out there, but for those of you yearning for a hit of nostalgia on the fantasy console, you may find it difficult to find that classic 80s game you enjoyed in the arcade amongst the plethora of available Pico-8 games.

Well, we are here to help you find a few needles in the massive haystack of Pico-8 games that will help with your hunger for nostalgia. Get your Pico-8 ready, and start favouriting these games:

Wizard Rule: If it’s Wizard of Wor you are after, then this port is absolutely amazing. We can’t stop playing it!

Galactic Wars: Um, it’s Galaga, and it’s awesome.

Pico Tetris: As if it wasn’t addictive enough on the Game Boy, this version is just as addictive.

Pico Sprint: A suped up version of Super Sprint on the Pico-8, need we say more?

Pico Frogger: Leap onto the highway and avoid the cars and other obstacles to reach the other side. The iconic arcade game is superb on Pico-8. If in case this Frogger version doesn’t feel right, then check out Minionsoft’s Frogger.

Bomb’n Picoman: eliminating your enemies by placing bombs strategically, just like Bomberman, it’s darn enjoyable.

Sonic 2.5: Don’t be thrown off by the .5, there is nothing half about this version of Sonic The Hedgehog. This is a work of art and has the speed to match.

MOTU: If you liked Palace Software’s head-chopping Barbarian game, then this version with Masters of The Universe characters takes it to a new and cooler level.

Super Mario Bros: How can we have a list without the little Italian plumber? Easy, we add him here as SMB is cool to play on any device.

Gaplus – Galaga Edition: There is nothing Galaga about this side-scrolling shoot’em up, but that’s not to say it is bad. If you like games like Salamander or R-Type, then this game is for you!

Bubble Bobble: The cutest dinos, Bub and Bob, are back and still as awesome as ever. This game never gets old -on any platform!

Minionsoft Scramble: The Minionsoft treatment is fantastic on this classic arcade game!

NOTE: Most games are available via the official PICO-8 site, while others can be found via itch.io.

Well, there you have it, a list of a few classic old games (and some not so old) to play on the Pico-8 that will satisfy any retro gamers’ nostalgia yearnings. Enjoy!

Castlevania: The Complete History

January 12, 2021 By ausretrogamer

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

Missile Command: Recharged – It’s a Blast

March 27, 2020 By ausretrogamer

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!

MEGAMANIA 64 – Have a Blast On Your C64

March 16, 2020 By ausretrogamer

One of the better Atari 2600 video games, Activision’s MEGAMANIA, has now been expertly and lovingly ported to the Commodore 64 by the very clever and prolific game dev, Nick Sherman of Arla Games!

The best part is, MEGAMANIA 64 is totally free! What are you waiting for? Grab the game and fire up your Commodore 64 and get blasting!

image source: Arla Games

Byte Driver – Review

May 29, 2019 By Mat Panek

Get radical and blast down the endless highway in Byte Driver, the latest game from Vector Hat.

Feeling like a long lost arcade cabinet from the early 80’s, Byte Driver is an interesting mix of games like Outrun, Night Driver and Spyhunter. As you make your way through the courses energy slowly depletes, hitting an object or obstacle will drain a larger percentage and hitting zero means game over. As you drive along you can hack opponents stealing energy or earning upgrades like improved vehicle stats, weapons or other consumables for your vehicle. Progressing through levels means harder enemies with more defensive and offensive skills will be there to oppose you in your pursuit of high scores.

Byte Driver definitely has some cool retro styling, looking like an old vector drawn game with screen shake and glitches being thrown in for good measure. There is also a monochrome mode for those that really want to embrace that real vector drawn feeling. The soundtrack is fantastic and suits the style perfectly, filling sound and vision with pure 80s aesthetic that really gets you into the feel of the game. Being high score driven means that at low level play, Byte Driver is perfect for hot seat score comps with friends while high level play can be fought for with online leaderboards.

Byte Driver succeeds in evoking retro game feel and charm but, much like it’s early arcade peers, there isn’t much else to the game beyond 5 difficulty levels and high scores. Challenge does ramp up nicely as you progress and it can get real tough towards the end but with practice it’s easy to shoot for those high scores. The addition of a “low Stress” mode is nice for people to come to terms with the mechanics and allows you to play without the energy meter falling to zero for some more casual play.

There is a lot of fun to be had here and fans of classic arcade games will likely enjoy what Byte Driver has to offer, a well made and fantastic looking indie title.

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Mat Panek
Retromancer – Collector, repairer & fan of retro games & tech. Atari to Amiga, Nintendo to Sega! LD, Zip, Beta and a proud dad! One half of the TiredParents on Twitch.

Follow Mat on Twitter and Twitch

Disclosure: Byte Driver was kindly provided by Vector Hat for this review.

Inside Lens: Game Preservation – The Quest

December 2, 2016 By ausretrogamer

Nostalgia can be very intoxicating, especially when it comes to video games. That affection we feel for the gaming period from our past can be lost if we do not take action to preserve it.

Preserving old video games has invaluable cultural and historical value, not just for our generation, but for generations to come. We want future generations to be able to look at, study, learn from and most importantly, play these old games.

In Japan, two video game enthusiasts, a French citizen (Joseph Redon) and a Japanese surgeon (Takuya Fukuda), are on a mission to save our old video games from extinction. They founded the Game Preservation Society, a non-profit organisation whose goal is to restore and archive video games from the past. Check out the NHK World – Inside Lens documentary – it pays tribute to their preservation work.

* The documentary is available to watch till December 12 2016, so get on over here and watch it! *