Tag Archives: retro games

Announcements, Community

Happy New Year! (2021 Edition)

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Happy new year to you all! What a year it was, too, eh? Hopefully you all had some sort of opportunity to let your hair down a bit last night — while staying safe (in every sense of the word) of course.

I stayed in and played original Xbox games while my wife played Jackbox Party Pack with some friends she hasn’t had the opportunity to speak to, let alone see, for a very long time now. We also had a Chinese takeaway, much like last year. I am 100% fine with these arrangements.

I’m not going to spend too long talking about stuff today, but I do want to outline a few things I have planned for the year coming up. Hit the jump to find out more!

Continue reading Happy New Year! (2021 Edition) →

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: The New Zealand Story

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Taito made some great arcade games back in the day, some of which are more well-known than others.

One which got a fair amount of attention back in the days of 16-bit home computers was The New Zealand Story which, among other things, was part of a popular Commodore Amiga bundle. Naturally, owners of the Amiga’s big rival, the Atari ST, had a chance to get in on the action, too.

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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short;Play, Videos

short;Play: Fractalus

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Rescue on Fractalus is one of my all-time favourite games, so I was tremendously excited to hear that a remake that has been ten years in development finally reached its 1.0 release the other day.

At the same time, I was a little skeptical; could a modern reimagining of a classic 8-bit game, deliberately built within the constraints of technology of the time (albeit using some real bleeding-edge programming techniques) really match up to its inspiration? Only one way to find out, isn’t there? Well, maybe two; you can also download it for yourself for free at the official site.

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

Dreamcast, Racers

Tokyo Highway Challenge: Around and Around and Around

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The racing game genre is one area of gaming where, outside of graphical and performance improvements, I suspect it’s always felt quite difficult to innovate.

After all, the fundamental concept of “two or more things moving in the same direction at high speed, with one attempting to get somewhere before the other one in order to receive some sort of reward” has been around pretty much as long as human civilisation. So what else can you do with that?

Well, says Tokyo Highway Challenge (aka Tokyo Xtreme Racer, aka Shutokou Battle) for Sega Dreamcast, why not rethink the fundamental means through which a winner is decided? Let’s take a closer look at how that works.

Continue reading Tokyo Highway Challenge: Around and Around and Around →

Videos

Atari A to Z: Triad

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Although their name might suggest otherwise, Adventure International put out many different types of game for the Atari 8-bit.

One interesting example from the relatively early days is Triad, a game that combines noughts and crosses with shoot ’em up action, in which each square on the board contains a specific type of enemy — and each type of enemy requires a specific means of defeating them! It’s a fun combination of shoot ’em up and puzzler that is still surprisingly addictive today.

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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Community, Q&A

Q&A: December 2020

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Welcome to the second monthly Q&A session, in which S-Rank Patrons over on Patreon get the chance to ask me questions about whatever they feel like probing me on.

This time around, we ponder my outlook on Western games, Vtubers, forgotten games from the early days of the company we now know as Nippon Ichi, anime girl kinks and favourite games from least-favourite genres.

Enjoy the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more. If you’d like to be part of the next Q&A, sign up to become an S-Rank Patron at my Patreon page here: https://patreon.com/petedavison

Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: RealSports Boxing

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Fighting game fans whinge a lot these days, but a lot of them don’t know how good they have it now. Back in 1987, the genre was still in the process of figuring things out and determining the best way of doing things — and whether there should be a contrast between “sports fighting” games and “street fighting” games.

RealSports Boxing for Atari 2600 is a late-era release for the system that adopts the sporting approach, with a points-based system and long matches bound by a clear set of rules. There are some interesting features, though, particularly considering the era — most notable of which is the fact that you’re able to choose between several different characters to play as.

While it’s not necessarily something you’ll want to spend a lot of time with today, it is worth checking out from a historical perspective. And you can do just that in the video below. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more when you’re done!

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Announcements, Community

A Very Merry Christmas! 2020 Edition EX Plus Alpha

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Hello everyone, and a very merry Christmas to you all, unless you celebrate something else around this time of year, in which case happy whatever that is.

2020 has been a big challenge for everyone, so I hope over this most festive of holidays you’re able to take a step back from the chaos in the world and have a day or two of pure relaxation and enjoyment — preferably with family and/or loved ones if you’re in a part of the world where that is something you’re allowed to do!

This week’s posting schedule is a bit wonky due to holidays and the like, but you can expect the next episode of the Atelier MegaFeature tomorrow! In the meantime, let’s do the obligatory Christmas Roundup Post! Join me after the jump for some festive funtimes.

Continue reading A Very Merry Christmas! 2020 Edition EX Plus Alpha →

Evercade A to Z, Videos

Evercade A to Z: Checkered Flag

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Every gaming platform worth its salt needs at least one great racing game to keep the petrolheads amused. And in the case of the Atari Lynx, that role was very capably fulfilled by Checkered Flag.

The game is a challenging “vanishing point” racer that offers a wide selection of tracks and options to customise your experience, plus a great showcase of the Lynx’s hardware scaling capabilities. Plus you get a big ol’ snog from a hottie (male or female, depending on preference) in a swimsuit if you win. And now you can enjoy it as part of the Atari Lynx Collection 2 for the Evercade!

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Mercenary III

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I’ve been a big fan of Paul Woakes’ incredibly ambitious open-world adventures in the Mercenary series since a young age, and returning to them with adult eyes has given me a whole new appreciation of them.

Take this third installment, for example; while I grasped the basic concept of the game when I played it as a kid — and even beat it, if I remember rightly — as an adult I have to respect the sheer ballsiness of a developer putting out a game that is, in essence, a first-person political intrigue game more than anything else. Even more so because Woakes managed to pull it off and still keep the game interesting, enjoyable and amusing — thanks in part to the fascinating universe he created, and also to the biting satire in the writing.

Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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