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I know it's a bit old now(having been released in 2009), but has anyone tried this?  Or owed one?  There's a couple of versions available, with having different amounts of in-built games.  They take old cartridges.  There's also a NTSC/PAL switch.  I think that it's okay with US games - but not Japanese ones.  I think it's composite output only. 

Following the success of Play up in Blackpool - it looks like it is coming to the South of England as well.  Take a look at the following :-

http://www.margatewintergardens.co.uk/event/play-margate/

It's back!  Kent's retro gaming event - and held in the Winter Gardens, in sunny Margate.  Held over February 20-22.

Here's a link :-

http://www.geek-play.com/index.html

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Whilst browsing on Yahoo, I found this :-

http://uk.games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/nightmare-busters-awesome-game-super-nintendo-185559531.html#more-19599

Bargain game publisher Majesco released a version of the classic game Frogger for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1998. By then, every other publisher had moved on from the 16-bit game platform to shiny new CD-ROM systems like PlayStation. Frogger was the last game released for the Super Nintendo in America. Until now.

Some enterprising companies have released new games for the old system, feeding the growing market for classic games. The most prominent of these new releases is Nightmare Busters, a two-player action game created in 1994 but unpublished until last month. Super Fighter Team opened up preorders and processed everyone's $68 payment in February, 2012, and it took until now to finally ship out the games.

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Geek Expo is back at the Winter Gardens in Margate for next year.  See the link below :-

http://www.geek2014.co.uk/

A new retro arcade has opened in Southend-on-Sea for UK residents.  It's called "Lucky 777". 

Here's its Facebook page :-

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lucky-777s/179100905574510?fref=ts

Apparently, there are lots of JAMMA machines there as well as some pinball and a few pool tables. 

Anyone remember these?  I took a photo of one that is still in operation in a local arcade. 

[Banana Islands on the Amiga]

Do you remember any knock-off/cloned games?  I know that certain games like Space Invaders and Galaxian must have gotten unofficial ports to a lot of formats, but I have sort of something different in mind.  They were usually not up to the originals' premise. 

I can think of a couple :-

Banana Islands on the Amiga



As you can see, it is a Rainbow Islands rip-off.

Next up,

China Miner on the C64



A Manic Miner clone.

Ever wondered what it would be like to play videogames on a cinema screen?  Well, you no longer have to wonder!  Not just any cinema screen, but the UK's largest - the BFI IMAX!  A retro videogaming tournament that will feature consoles and computers from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.  There will also be developer sessions and also demos of retro inspired games.  It is going to be held on the 4th October. 

Here is the link to the website :-

http://www.retroxtreme.com/

For added coolness, here is a video of some retrogaming on the BFI IMAX screen(skip to about the 0:59 minute mark for it) :-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c24FpqFQ2c

Any fans of this game?  It was quite novel.  Having an ED-209 type machine to control(hence the "Walker").  You could get two people to control it co-operatively.  One controlling the movement and the other controlling the guns.  The "overheat" function on the guns was unique as well.  It did add to the difficulty.  Just a shame about the ending.  Quite a different spin on the shoot 'em-up genre. 

[X-Com : Enemy Unknown]

What with the recent releases of X-Com : Enemy Unknown and Carrier Command: Gaea Mission, what retro games would people like to see get a modern commercial re-make?  It can be on any of the modern platforms(PC, Wii, Wii U, PS3, Xbox 360). 

Does anyone have any favourite turn based games?  Mine are :-

Civilization - building your empire on a large scale.

X-Com UFO Defense - The battle sections are like a game of chess with you versus the aliens.

Historyline : 1914-1918 - A superb hexagon tile based game.

Battle Isle - The forerunner to 'Historyline : 1914-1918' but without the historical setting.  This time you had futuristic craft. 

As I have just reviewed both 'Kikstart 2'(on the C64)and 'The Power'(on the Amiga) recently, I thought that the topic of level/track designers in games would be interesting?  How many people have fond memories of doing that for certain games?

On my C64 and with 'Kickstart 2', I loved designing tracks.  Cool fun.  Making them high speed was good.

I think that 'Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge 3' had a circuit designer.  That must have been interesting.

Likewise, when moving over to the PC, and getting the modded levels for 'Doom 2'.  I think that  'Duke Nukem' had a level designer as well.  I remember getting multiplayers' maps for both type of games. 

'Quake 2' had some good mods.  There was one for 'Capture the Flag' and it gave the players a grappling hook gun. 

Share your memories here.

Anyone ever have one of these for their old computers?  I had one for my old Amiga A500.  It attached itself to the left hand side expansion slot.  It was the Action Gear(aka Nordic Power II).  Lots of fun to be had.  Of course, it could be used for programming and so on(using the code monitor), hacking games for more lives, getting around a games' copy protection(remember piracy is theft people)by dumping the memory state after you have got past the copy protection phase of the game, taking screenshots and ripping the game's music(on the Amiga it was games with a Noisetracker soundtrack).

I did have a Cambridge Cartridge for my C64 as well.  I never used it that much though.  I think that could give you extra memory as well.

On the Amiga the Action Replay was very popular.  I think it came out for several models : the A500, 2000 and the A1200 as well.  I know there was a version for the C64 as well and the PC.  Plus, the game console version for infinite lives on games.  Did it come out on other machines as well.

I know the Spectrum had a freezer cartridge of some sort.  I am sure there were other cartridges for other machines.  Post your memories up here. 

Remember that?  Linking up two machines and playing a game?  I done it a couple of times with my Amiga.  Take it around to a friend's house and play.  Of course you had to bring along a 14 inch TV as well.  Anyway, I played : Lotus II, Populous I and II, Stunt Car racer and Knights of the Sky.  Great fun.  I think that Populous II and Knights of the Sky were my favourites though, in multi-player mode.  Just something about them made them so good.

I did player a couple of games on the PC in serial mode.  Doom 1 and 2, as well as Transport Tycoon.  I eventually moved over to using a LAN card, as my PC's serial port was slower than my brother's PC's.   

Anyone else have fun doing that?  I know that Populous I on the Atari ST had serial link up.   

DOSBOX does allow the serial port to be emulated over the internet, so that you can use that way for multi-player.  It looks a bit complicated to set-up though.  If anyone has done it then post up your experiences of it here as well. 

Hi there from Katzkatz.

It is me.  You might already know me from another forum.

I got into gaming in the 1980s.  My Dad had a ZX80(don't laugh) and my uncle had an Oric, which I do remember playing some type of shoot 'em up on there. 

Later on, the family got a C64.  Loads of fun with that and the games.  Plus, the move to a floppy drive for it. 

Then it was on to the amazing Amiga. I had the 'Flights of Fantasy Pack' for it.  So many great games for that machine.  Perhaps my favourite machine of all time.

DOS was next in my gaming life.  In 1993 with a 486 SX 33 PC with VGA and a soundcard.  Tie Fighter, Railway Tycoon, Pinball Fantasies and so on. 

Any love for the old 8 bit breadbin?  It had the great SID chip for music.  Some of my favourite games for it were :-

Elite
Twin Kingdom Valley
Ranarama
Dropzone
Paradroid
Armalyte
Pitstop II


Add your memories here.