Thursday, September 1, 2011
Global Defense for Sega Master System
Global Defense video review (aka SDI or Strategic Defense Initiative) Classic Game Room reviews GLOBAL DEFENSE for Sega Master System from 1987, an arcade game where players control a satellite and shoot down ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) and other enemies protecting Earth, the moon and other intergalactic locations. SDI, or Global Defense, is available for some other game systems and old school computers as well as the SMS. Global Defence review (if you spell is wrong) is from CGR and covers the 1987 Global Defense on SMS Sega Master System from Sega released in 1987.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Take control of your fun level
by MATTHEW NASH
Sequim Gazette
Gaming enthusiast Dan Kerber, owner of Rock Plaza Fun Center, hopes families and young people connect with his new Sequim business.
His arcade boasts 30 machines, ranging from air hockey tables to retro and new games that let the player drive, dance, play pinball and everything in between.
“The Fun Center gives people a place to gather,” Kerber said.
“I’ve seen kids with their parents and they are having a kick, but it’s not just the kids; the parents get a kick out of it, too. It’s a great environment to bond with your kids and have fun competition playing games like air hockey. It’s quality time.”
Fun Center transplanted to Sequim after a year in Port Angeles because Kerber said Rock Plaza provides him space for his original vision.
“It’s a nice, clean environment,” he said. “I had more of a ‘Chuck E. Cheese’ theme in mind when designing this.”
Kerber said he has space for twice as many games and an area for birthday parties and special events. He plans to expand in a few months with more video game machines.
Kerber said the center is affordable fun for families.
“The other day a family of four had 20 bucks and played for an hour together,” he said.
Players buy tokens to play, with each game costing one to four tokens.
One game in the arcade that takes four tokens is Kerber’s own creation — “Virtual Assault.”
The interactive system uses a small monitor screen attached to a toy gun to replicate in-game action. If a player moves left, the game moves left and so forth.
“There’s no arcade game in the world like it,” Kerber said.
The system plays popular titles like “Call of Duty,” which can be changed out.
Some of the arcade games in the center play several titles and are changed weekly.
Kerber plans to incorporate redemption games, which dispense tickets for prizes, at a later date.
Before venturing into his own business, Kerber worked in software development.
He’s a self-described hard-core gamer and got hooked early with the Commodore 64 video game system and Coleco Adam home computer.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Champions of Commodore
Sean Robinson still remembers the argument he used to convince his parents to buy him a Commodore 64 computer in 1983.
Events
Commodore Computer Club meeting, 6 p.m. to midnight Sept. 2, Pied Piper Pizza, 12300 N.E. Fourth Plain Road. Meets monthly. Free. http://www.CommodoreComputerClub.com.
Portland Retro Gaming Expo, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sept. 24, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 25, Portland Doubletree Hotel, 1000 N.E. Multnomah St., Portland. Tickets range from $10 to $45, http://www.RetroGamingExpo.com.
Computers are great for homework, he told them, and adults can use programs to manage their finances.
Everybody wins, right?
“That’s what all us kids told our parents back then,” Robinson said with a mischievous grin. “We’d tell them it was good for school, but what we really wanted them for was games.”
The 39-year-old founder of Vancouver’s Commodore Computer Club still has that machine, which he scored as a Christmas present when he was 11.
It looks a little different today, though.
Robinson souped up his old machine — with a special switch for easy restarting and a pimped-out cartridge that holds every game ever made for the system.
And those are just a couple ways he’s merged new technology with old computers to get what he wants, he said.
“I like to hack and tweak on stuff, make it do what it was never intended to do,” he said.
That handiness is common among members of the retro computing club. They tinker and rebuild electronic gadgets of all sorts after finding them at yard sales, Goodwill or even in the garbage.
And they put them together in ways that their original makers probably never imagined.
Hook an Atari 2600 to a giant flat-screen TV by building your own cable? Robinson’s done that.
Rebuild microchips and repair connections to bring a computer back to life after it’s lain dormant for 20 years? Check.
Hollow out an original Nintendo controller to turn it into a slick retro iPod case? You bet.
“Most of the time when we find stuff it doesn’t work, so we work together and get it fixed up,” Robinson said. “If people bring old computer stuff to our meetings, we can help them get it working, too.”
And if you like old games, members have a plethora to choose from. They usually set up several machines at their meetings and share their toys.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Commodore Free #52
Commodore Free issue 52 released as txt, Pdf, Seq, D64, Html and various ebook versions.
This issue features:
Regenerator 1.0 Released
AROS AHCI SATA Driver Bounty
Ami-Lineapolis Version 2.9
Snapshoter Updated to v1.5.1
Commodore 128 VDC-IHFLI
Club Info #122 Released
Vandalism News #56 Released!
AmigaOS 4.1 (Update 2)
Amiga Mania #1 Magazine Released
FFmpeg
DiscreetFX Project Metropolis
Digital Audio Concepts
Landing in the Village
BioTerror!
HybridSID
Loadrunner Ported To Plus/4
Review: Clone – C16/Plus4 Game
Review: On The Farm
Review: Chang’s Adventure
Review: Deff-Ender
Review: Coins
Shoot ‘Em Up Destruction Set 2 (C64)
Psytronik Software is proud to present the SHOOT EM UP DESTRUCTION SET 2, another stunning compilation of games produced by the shoot ‘em up MASTER, Alf Yngve! For SEUDS 2 we have delved into Alf’s unreleased game archive and have selected two classic unreleased titles for the compilation and have also included two superb new sideways-scrolling action games by Alf! The resulting compilation features FOUR complete games that have been enhanced with brand new bitmap loading screens and music, front-ends and additional in-game effects and power-ups. The compilation features the following four titles:-
SUPER TAU-ZETA
SUPER TAU-ZETA is a sideways scrolling shoot ‘em in which you control a fleet of ships battling your way through the cosmos. For this game Alf has created some stunning vistas for you to battle through including deep space, an asteroid field, an alien planet and even an alien cityscape. The game features clever effects including parallax scrolling, boss battles and even a sunset when you arrive at the alien city. If you like challenging shoot ‘em ups then don’t miss this great blaster!-
Razer Announces ‘Blade’ Gaming Laptop
Razer has finally revealed the product behind its mysterious “PC Gaming is NOT Dead” website, which declared in a rather V for Vendetta tone that on August 26th the company would turn the PC gaming upside down.
At 12 noon EST Razer unveiled its “Blade” gaming notebook, declaring it the “World’s first true gaming laptop.” The last bit of marketing bait left us a tad puzzled; surely Razer’s audience has heard of such manufacturers as Alienware and VoodooPC? But the machine does look stunning: it has that simple Apple aesthetic with nothing more than Razer’s green logo adorning the lid. Its chassis is also made of a dark aluminum material.
The Blade’s 17-inch screen display outputs true 1080p HD. For its size, the chassis is relatively light, weighing only 6.9 pounds compared to other 17-inch gaming laptops like the Alienware M17x that weighs in at 9.8 pounds. The Razer Blade is also extremely thin, measuring about .88 inches thick. Part of the reason for its slim form factor is Razer dropped the optical drive, a smart move as most gamers nowadays get their fix from digital retailers like Steam.
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Inside the chassis, the Razer Blade features a 2.8GHz Intel Core i7-2640M processor, 8GB of DDR3 RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce GT 555M (2GB) discrete graphics chip with Optimus technology, which will help extend that 60Wh battery’s life span. There’s 320GB (7,200rpm) of hard drive space, a bit on the small size. It comes with 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0 (for connecting wireless peripherals), Ethernet jack, a USB 3.0 port, two USB 2.0 ports, and 3.5mm headphone and mic combo jack.
The Razer Blade will be available in the fourth quarter of this year, and will be sold for $2,799.99.
Full article: http://www.pcmag.com … ,2817,2391939,00.asp