Christmas ReBlog: The 12 Days of Retro Gaming

I just read a wonderful Christmas-related retrogaming post from 2011 that I hadn’t seen before, all thanks to the magic of google! It’s called 12 Days of Retro Gaming, and it’s worth a read!

In 1994 my father decided that it was high time to replace that old Commodore 64 (which wasn’t even considered a PC anymore) with a brand new Pentium 90 mhz PC.  I remember coming downstairs on Christmas morning and there it was, a beautiful boxy white machine with a VGA monitor, printer, and took up all the space our wide oak desk could spare.  CD-ROM was brand new and this bad boy came equipped with it and a few initial CDs, including Myst and an Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia.  At that time, however, not every game came in the CD version and many PC gamers were selling off their floppy disc versions of games to upgrade.  It was at this time that I became enamoured with PC gaming and began stopping by the used PC game shop near my part-time job and blowing my money on classics.

Read more by clicking the link HERE

ReBlog: NES Cartridge Hard Drive and Console Dock

Recently I was asked for permission to use some pictures I made and used in my guide for replacing a Nintendo Entertainment System 72-pin connector to help show some steps in creating a hard drive and docking station out of an old NES cartridge and console.  How could I say “NO” to that?  The guide is now uploaded into the instructables website, and you can read the guide and watch the video to see some fine retro-themed hacking. Check it out here: http://www.instructables.com/id/NES-Cartridge-Hard-Drive-and-Console-Dock/?ALLSTEPS

Indie Game Review: Martian Marine Lander

Here’s a little indie gaming treat for cheapass gamers like myself: Martian Marine Lander. The premise is simple: guide your Martian spacecraft full of Martian Marines down to Earth so that the invasion can begin. Of course, Earth has defense forces, and they’re keenly interested in turning your craft into space dust, so the lander needs to be protected by dexterously angling your force fields to absorb damage while floating down to the surface. It’s harder than it sounds, as inertia tends to keep your craft rolling in the wrong direction just when you need the shields to be facing elsewhere! And don’t think you can just plummet down at a breakneck pace to avoid all the weaponry altogether: making a run for it causes the Lander to explode into so many little pieces from the stress.

My meager Martian Marine Lander skills in action.

This game reminds me of classic retro games you could find on your Atari 2600 in that the game difficulty adjusts to your level, giving you new challenges to overcome, yet with modern music and graphics. In fact, I found myself sucked into the game for a considerable length of time before realizing that food and water were also an important part of my regular routine.

If this sounds like your cup of tea, check out http://www.martianmarinelander.com/ and shell out the mere $4.95 it costs to download the full game, and enjoy!

Bundle in a Box – DEEP SPACE Has Launched!

While sitting here coughing up a foreign substance and generally feeling miserable, the thought crossed my mind that I needed some cheering up, and what better way to do so than by checking out Kyttaro Games’ latest limited time offering, Bundle in a Box – Deep Space.

For an absolutely absurdly minimal investment you receive five space-themed games: Armalyte (the classic Commodore 64 game redone for today’s technology), Dark Scavenger (a black-humored adventure game with turn-based combat), Death Ray Manta (a psychedelic and fully customizable arena shooter designed exclusively for Bundle in a Box), Space Giraffe (a mesmerizing shooter in the Tempest-style), and The Wreckless (a space combat simulator in the spirit of TIE Fighter). Pay a little more (beat the average price!) and you receive three more games: Miner Wars Arena, RobotRiot, and Sol: Exodus! Sounds like a great deal to me!

Just like the previous Bundle in a Box release, part of the proceeds are paid into the Indie Dev Grant, a fund created by Kyttaro Games to help Indie game developers by providing them with a little extra cash. For every 100 bundles sold, $10 will be added to the grant, and the cumulative total will be handed with no strings attached to a lucky developer. That’s awesome enough, but it gets even more awesome (awesomer?) with a portion of the proceeds also going to charity. Kyttaro Games is donating a portion of the proceeds to The Hellenic Centre for Mental Health and Treatment of Child and Family, also known as To Perivolaki (The Little Garden), a non-profit and non-governmental organisation established in order to diagnose and treat children and adolescents with autism or psychosis, while simultaneously supporting their families.

Between the charity, dev grant, and just plain selfish desire to play some nifty games, how can you go wrong? Get thee hence to the Bundle in a Box website, located HERE, and bask in the glory of supporting indie game development while playing some great games, all for a ridiculously low price tag! But you better hurry…the Bundle in a Box – Space Bundle offer will expire soon!

Posting pictures of retrogaming memories…

If you haven’t been following the magisterrex.com Facebook account, you’re missing out on some great pics of classic games being posted every day. Rare board games, classic video games, even old PC games that you may dimly recall…after a decade of selling retrogames, many of the pictures of those oldschool beauties are being posted for all to enjoy. Check out the Facebook page HERE, give it a LIKE, and join the conversation!