Wednesday, February 22, 2012

PC Museum showcases best of hi-tech history

Some of us might have an old computer or two sitting in a dustry storage room somewhere, but almost no one can claim to have more than 20,000 artifacts of computer history in a backyard shed.

Syd Bolton can; the founder and curator of the Brantford, Ont.-based PC Museum has it all. There’s the Commodore 64, the IMSAI 8080, and the VIC 20 - not to mention all the old software and books documenting the technology.

Video: http://bcove.me/6v0zo85a

Brian Fargo Kickstarting a New Wasteland

Back in 1988, when Interplay was still a heavy hitter, Brian Fargo headed the development of a post-apocalyptic RPG for the Commodore 64, Apple II and IBM PC called Wasteland. The name doesn’t carry much weight these days but it’s more significant than most people realize: Interplay didn’t have the rights to Wasteland when it came time for another foray into the PA genre, so it created the legendary Fallout instead.

But Fargo recently reacquired the rights to the franchise and now, taking a page from Tim Schafer’s book, he’s Kickstarting a sequel. “The fans started pinging me first,” he told IGN, but once the idea was planted it didn’t take him long to decide to run with it.

He’s not sure yet whether the new game will be called Wasteland 2 but it will be “100 percent faithful to its roots” no matter what it’s called. That means a game that’s “top-down, probably isometric, party-based, skill-based - where if you’d just finished playing Wasteland and moved on to this, you’d feel comfortable.” It will be a PC game first and foremost, he added, with a possible iOS version as well.

Full article: http://www.escapistm … ting-a-New-Wasteland

Old-School Hacker Movie Set In Melbourne Needs Your Help

It’s not every day someone asks you for your old Commodore 64 to help recreate 1980s Melbourne for a period piece on hackers. Yet, that’s exactly what the makers of Underground, a direct-to-TV movie currently in the works for Channel Ten, are doing. So, have you got any aging hardware you’re willing to part with?

Specifically they’re after “Commodore 64 machines, Amstrads and IBM PCs”. So no Colecovisions… unless they get really desperate. If you’re looking for the profit angle, the flick’s art director, Janie Parker, told ZDNet that they’re willing to buy or hire your ancient wares, though no figures were provided.

If you’d like payment in screen time, they can accommodate that too. According to the article, a “computer market” scene featuring stalls of old gear is planned, so you can plonk down your Amstrad and play swap meet vendor for a day as an extra.

Full article: http://www.gizmodo.c … rne-needs-your-help/

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

New ‘Karateka’ Slated For 2012, iOS A Possible Platform

And some say the world is a cold, passionless place. Thanks to a hip angel investor, the visionary behind Prince of Persia, Jordan Mechner, is getting a shot at remaking and re-imagining Karateka for release across multiple downloadable platforms.

In a blog post, Mechner says that he’s been working on the new Karateka with a “small team” for over a year. It’s a passionate write-up for the most part, and the reason is plain: this was his first published game, and it’s a legendary one to boot. The side-scrolling action might have been simple, but the title caught fire and has been purchased and subsequently ported roughly sixteen billion times.

Firm details are impossible to find at this point, but we do know that this is a re-make that will blur the standard lines:

It’s closer than the 2003 Prince of Persia: Sands of Time was to the original, side-scrolling Prince of Persia. But it’s a more radical reinvention than, say, the 2007 XBLA Prince of Persia Classic. The new Karateka is much more than a port; it’s both a remake and a re-imagining of the original game for today’s consoles.

Full article: http://toucharcade.c … a-possible-platform/

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Hasbro reinvents Lazer Tag for the smartphone generation, lets you live out your Doom-fueled fantasies

Xappr and appBlaster are fine weaponizers for your smartphone, provided you don’t care to share your violent tendencies with your friends. Thankfully, Hasbro is bridging the gap between new-school AR shooter and that teenage classic — laser tag. The NERF Lazer Tag system is getting an update for 2012 that lets you pair your blaster with an iPhone or iPod touch. The top of the plastic guns now sport a slot for your iDevice which, when loaded with the Lazer Tag app, provides you with an augmented HUD view. While you can play against purely virtual opponents, the real fun is in using to track your battles with fleshy foes. The app will display your gear and power level, and update your progress on a global Lazer Tag leaderboard. As you play, new attacks and gear will be unlocked for you to enhance your gaming experience. The app will even actually show your blasts’ trajectory, letting you see exactly where you shot your former friend. The 2012 edition of Lazer Tag will hit shelves on August 1st with individual blasters costing $40 and sets of two $70.

Full article: http://www.engadget. … artphone-generation/

Friday, February 3, 2012

Turn Your PC Into a Golden Age of Console Gaming Time Machine

You didn’t sell all your Genesis and Super Nintendo cartridges at a garage sale did you? You did?! What were you thinking? Well, go hunt those customers down and steal your games back- the Retrode 2 is on the way. This little magic wonder connects to your PC (or Mac or Linux box, but probably not your Commodore 64), allowing you to plug in your 16-bit cartridges and system controllers, two from each system, for an authentic console Golden Age experience.

What’s that you say? You’ve already “acquired” some games from a “friend?” You’ve been playing them already?

You can still take advantage of the Retrode 2′s built-in emulator and gamepad support to play those games the way they were intended, just on your PC instead of a tiny TV in your parents’ house. Regardless of which method you use, the Retrode 2 box serves as a driverless emulator that works on any operating system. Not that we encourage that type of thing here at RipTen.

[Read more…]

Admin area

Ad