Video: Carmageddon for PC Review

Ever see the movie Death Race 2000? If so, then this might be the game for you. Do you also enjoy running over pedestrians and cows? If that's the case, then you're a sadist - but this also might be the game for you.

Retro Scan: Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare (PSone, PC, DC, GBC)

A slightly crumpled scan today as it comes from the back page of a Prima branded Driver 2 strategy guide (a well-used one at that, too). Regardless as to what you think about Prima today and the price they expect for their products (when online playthroughs are free and so readily available) Prima certainly had its day in the sun once upon a time. I should add that I only played a dollar for that guide too – so there’s that.

I certainly got my money’s worth for a dollar since I’ve probably played Driver 2 three or four times, but even more so now since I realised the other day it has useable retro scan material within.

This scan is for Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare (also known as Alone in the Dark 4) which was released in 2001. The PSone box is prominent in the advert, but it was also released on the Dreamcast, PC and even the Game Boy Color. Later on, it was also exclusively released on the PS2 in Europe. 

Video: The Net Yaroze: Wonders of the Retro Gaming World

For my second video in the Wonders of the Retro Gaming World series, I take a look at Sony's Net Yaroze. Released in 1997, this was a one of a kind PSone development kit targeted at hobbyists and students that we have not seen the likes of since.

The Games Room - August, 2016

About a week ago, I uploaded new photos of my games room to Imgur for the sole purpose of posting them on one of my favourite subreddits, /r/retrogaming. While it received a moderate amount of attention on Reddit - gaining a lovely 40 upvotes, it unexpectedly went somewhat viral on Imgur. I say somewhat because 102 points and over 2500 views in a matter of days is still pretty small fry. However, it was a nice amount of attention regardless and filled up my internet ego-metre for the foreseeable future - and that's what really matters, doesn't it?

Anyway, I thought I mind as well post the photos here, but if you really want to see the post on Imgur then I guess today's your lucky day. Here you go.
For everyone else, though, look below...

All the consoles are connected up and ready to play at a moments notice. The cabinet was bought from Ikea for $115AUS. The TV and speakers/amp were free hand-me-downs.

My switching system - sadly everything is currently composite (that's all the TV supports) but I'll introduce VGA and component one day when I upgrade to a suitable set.

I went to town using zipties to clean up the back - it was pretty horrid before. Here's a before and after photo.

The games (the books aren't mine).

Handheld hidey-hole.

My ever increasing boxed PC collection. Still very much a work in progress.

The recording station for the game footage. I use an Elgato Game Capture HD. This is also wired in to be activated at a push of a button. If you want to learn more, check out this.

My super crappy way to store controllers. Once upon a time, these were organised by console in ziplock bags, but that's all gone to shit over the years. One day I'll figure out a better solution.

Note: I've actually since resorted the controllers and they now reside in a plastic container.

A spare Famicom and PSone, a broken 2600 and fat PS2, a Super Famicom floppy disc pirating device , various loose instruction manuals, a pair of fantastic casual pants and an oddly placed lens flair.

Some other stuff I don't have room for in the TV's cabinet. Seen here is my Famicom, my Japanese PSone, Atari ST and an Xbox setup for emulation. There's also another working Xbox, about three others which aren't (and in various pieces) and some other odds and ends.

My reel to reel player and vintage (and probably dangerous by now) 1960's step down transformer (the player is American). And don't fret, the light isn't always on the reels. The curtain was just open for when I was taking photos.

My American mechanical record player, although this is currently not working (a project for another day).

A bunch of console boxes elsewhere.

A bonus pic of my modern game collection.

Video: Crackout for NES Review

In my second NES review, I check out the Breakout/Arkanoid type game, Crackout.
Released in 1991, it was developed by Konami and published by Palcom. Palcom was actually just a subsidiary of Konami, though, since Nintendo only allowed up to five games to be published per year. Pretty cheeky really, since no doubt Konami had already reached their yearly limit!

Video: The Satellaview: Wonders of the Retro Gaming World

This is a new series of mine where I'm exploring cool aspects of the retro gaming world. First off, an awesome piece of tech that allowed games to be downloaded to the Super Famicom by using satellites - The Satellaview!

Games Room Update 18/07/16: Game Recording at the Push of a Button

Well, not quite the push of a button - but pretty damn close. 

Beforehand, setting up my Elgato Game Capture HD with a console was a wee bit of a chore. I'd have to manually unplug the composite cables from my tower of video and power and plug them into the Elgato's female jacks. This was kinda sucky, but I'd also split the Elgato's cables so that one set went to an AV input of my TV along with the consoles - so I'd have to unplug and replug cables on the TV's end too. 

While this doesn't take a stupid amount of time, it was plainly an inconvenience so I'm happy to finally be done away with it. I could try to explain how I fixed it to be better, but instead, here's a hastily drawn 'wiring' diagram. Enjoy!

There are two switch boxes because I'm utilising both AV1 and AV2 ports on my TV. This is also why I can't simply split the signal somewhere along the line, and have to use an additional switch box. 

Now, though - instead of swapping around a few sets of cables, I simply just have to push the button for which console I want on my tower of video and power, and then select which switch box that console is connected to on the Elgato switch box. Too easy! 

Talking of my tower of video and power, here's an updated photo:

Nothing really has changed there, but I replaced the AV2 box to be the same as the rest. Beforehand, I had a crappy blue one where the output plug was on the front but all the inputs out the back, which meant the output cable to the TV (and now the Elgato switch box) was all up in the grill of the rest (which you can see here). Now, all cables are nice and tidy out the back and that makes me feel really good.

Video: Truck Racing for PSone Review

Truck Racing is a budget game from 2002 by Midas. Budget games have a reputation for obvious reasons, but I've found in the past that this is not always the case (The Italian Job also on PSone springs to mind as a very playable title). Does this excel above what's expected of it? Or is it as average as you might think? I guess you'll just have to watch and find out ;)





Here's the review I mentioned from the Official UK PlayStation Magazine (issue 97) in the video for your reading pleasure:

Click me to read easily! 

Game City: Eat Lunch & Play Retro/Arcade Games Right in the CBD!

I must admit, I feel a bit embarrassed.
Usually, when something new that's retro gaming related opens in or around Perth, I like to think I'm pretty quick to react. There have been a handful of game shops and even a museum that I'm have checked out with my camera within the first week of opening or at the very least, within the first month - but Game City (for one reason or another) has completely flown below my radar since 2013. 2013!
On top of that, it's insanely popular. Like, really popular. Just check the review section on their Facebook page for one, and you'll see that it maintains a rating of 4.9/5.0 over 154 reviews. If you know anything about the reviews on Facebook (or any online rating place for that matter) you'll understand how good a score that it. People online, for the most part, are hard as hell to please - but Game City are just killing it.

I feel I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, though. I haven't even explained what Game City is yet, so before I praise it anymore, I'll describe it in a nutshell.
Game City is a cafe and a place to pickup some lunch - but with a very awesome twist. Venture inside from the small part of Game City that pokes out into Raine Square - and you'll instantly see arcade machines, pinball machines, retro consoles hooked up to TV's, modern consoles hooked up to TV's (and also a projector) with fighting sticks and even amusement machines!

And I'm sorry, no, I didn't embarrass myself on the Dance Dance Revolution machine.

There was even a Wii!

An accidental out of focus photo. The horror!

Game Citys location is absolutely central in Perth too. Entering the Perth Underground Train Station from the Murray Street Mall (down those huge escalators), it can be found immediately to the left before the turnstiles as you enter the adjoining Raine Square shopping complex. I must have obliviously walked straight past it at least ten or fifteen times since 2013, making me feel that my situational awareness isn't as great as I thought it was. Either way, I visited for the first time on Saturday and had a really enjoyable time.

Unfortunately, I did not get to try the food or drink. I should get that out of the way immediately.
It wasn't because I didn't want to, though, but because it doesn't open until 1:00PM on Saturdays. I had already eaten just before, and already had enough caffeine in my system to see me through all the games. I really should have planned it so I was there to eat, drink AND play games for the whole experience - but hey, I never bragged about having good organisational skills. If anything, I'm lucky Retro Game On even exists at all.

Regardless, all the positive reviews I've read by everyone else seems to indicate that they're doing the right thing - and there is a lot of those reviews to choose from. For those that are interested, here is their menu, which looks to be very reasonably priced. I cannot see anything much over $10 and that is a very rare price point right in the CBD unless you want McDonalds (and there are no arcade machines in there).
It is still a shame I didn't try anything, though - I do realise that, but this is a website about gaming after all, so let's talk about that.

All the games can be played with specialty tokens that cost a dollar each - so don't go plugging in real dollarydoos like one special specimen of the human race did with a Midnight Maximum Tune 5 machine - it will just get stuck and ruin it for everyone.
I didn't see anything that cost more than two tokens to play, and there was a fair amount that only cost one (for instance, the retro consoles could be played for ten minutes each on one token).
On first entering, I was drawn right to the pinball machines - mostly because they're something that I don't get to play very often. I played the Twilight Zone first out of the selection because The Addams Family machine was out of order and I’ve never watched an episode of Game of Thrones (go ahead, tell me I’m silly for not doing so). But surprisingly, my favourite of the bunch was one I’d never heard of: Medieval Madness.

This was first released in 1997 by Williams and was a whole bunch of fun. Trolls stick their heads out to be slain, there’s a castle to invade and at one point there were about five balls flying all over the place. I was trying to spread out my time across the whole of Game City to try everything out – but that’s easily the one I’ll be playing first upon returning.

The 'getting deathly serious about obtaining a high score' face.

From there, I checked out some of the other, more modern arcade machines. The Tekken 7 machines were occupied the whole time I was there (it seemed there was a quite competitive series of matches happening), so being a fan of racing games I jumped straight onto a Midnight Maximum Tune 5 machine. I’ve actually played something like this before, in an IMAX of all places. It's a story based arcade racing game where you basically pay to keep playing, but the upside is that you use a memory card of sorts that remembers your progress. I don't know much about it, to be honest, but if you don't want to commit to the storyline, there are plenty of time trial levels to play as well.

After kicking my girlfriend's butt on a two player Point Blank X machine, we then moved onto some PS3's with arcade sticks that play Street Fighter 5 where I got a royal butt kicking myself. I swear I was okay at SF, since I always go on about beating SF2 Turbo, but the day just wasn't mine I guess (we'll have to organise a rematch soon).

These were token powered too but lasted less time compared to the retro consoles (attributed to how fast you can lose to your better half supposedly). I also assume that they're in higher demand too because of their competitive nature and the fact they're right in the cafe part of Game City.
Also in the cafe part, but on the other side was the bread and butter of my visit: the retro consoles. I had saved these to last and was not disappointed. All lined up in a neat row along the counter was a Mega Drive, a SNES and surprisingly, a Sega Saturn! That excited me the most since it was the console out of the three which I don't own myself (one day) and I had a merry old time playing Bomberman on it. I played that for a few tokens and then moved onto the Mega Drive to play Earthworm Jim for another few tokens while my girlfriend enjoyed some Tetris on the SNES.
To say that these were my favourite part of Game City would be an obvious statement (read the name of this website) but it's all been set up in a comfortable and fun environment which makes it a true winner. And even if Tetris, Earthworm Jim and Bomberman don't interest you (which would be weird) there is a whole library of games available that a helpful staff member will happily swap to for you.

The large amount of Mega Drive games available to play pleased me, since I've become somewhat of a fanboy of the console over the years.

And on that note, that pretty much sums up the whole experience I had. The staff were super nice and helpful, the shopfront its self is inviting and on top of everything, you simply cannot have a bad time. There's so many different sounds, lights and even smells (thanks to the cafe) that makes visiting Game City a fantastic experience. If there was to be one negative, it would be that there is just too much to choose from. I walked in and it was pretty much like "Ohh look at the all the pinball machines, ohh look Tekken and Street Fighter, ohh A SATURN! etc. etc".

If you ever happen to be getting on or off a train in the city, I'd highly recommend giving yourself an extra 20 minutes (at least) and checking out Game City. You will not be disappointed.

Game City can found in Raine Square (in Perth) near the Perth Underground Train Station exit.

Website:      www.gamecity.com.au

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/gamecityperth

Phone:       0433 032 616

Video: Chase H.Q. for Game Gear Review

Back to the Game Gear today, as I check out the interesting 16-racer type game from 1991, Chase H.Q. This was quite the arcade hit in the late 80's, so how well does it transition to the small, blurry screen of the Game Gear?