Retro Gamer

DARRAN JONES It’s probably Eye Of The Beholder II for me, because it convinced me I should sell my NTSC SNES collection. Expertise: Juggling a gorgeous wife, two beautiful girls and an award-winning magazine, all under one roof! Currently playing: Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Favourite game of all time: Strider ANDY SALTER Elfmania, it’s the only game I can remember seeing exclusively on the Amiga. Expertise: Modding games, no ‘vanilla’ versions for me, thanks! Currently modding: STALKER: Anomaly GAMMA Favourite game of all time: Rome: Total War although I guess it’s the Remastered edition now. DAVID CROOKES Without a doubt, Sensible World Of Soccer – a perfect match for the Amiga and a game that still makes me sick as a parrot when I lose (which is often!) Expertise: Amstrad, Lynx, adventures, Dizzy and PlayStation 2 (but is it actually retro? Debate!) Currently…

I can still remember the first time I played on an Amiga. I was visiting a friend’s house as he’d just upgraded from an Amstrad to Commodore’s machine, and he was tremendously excited about showing me his new purchase. He was a proud owner of the ‘Batman Pack’ and Ocean’s game was the first he demoed to me. I’d already seen games like Blood Money and Defender Of The Crown, but they’d been through glass, watching demos of them as I waited for the bus outside Parkstone’s sole computer shop. Hearing the numerous movie samples and playing the spectacular Batmobile level was a completely different experience to peering through a shop window and I ended up playing countless games before I finally left. Such was the Amiga’s impact on gaming that…

We start the first issue of 2023 with the extremely sad news that Archer Maclean has passed away at the age of 60. Famed for hit games like Dropzone, IK+ and Jimmy White’s ‘Whirlwind’ Snooker, Archer was an incredibly accomplished programmer and a prolific name throughout the Eighties and Nineties. Known for his love of arcade games (he owned a large number of classics and eventually started to restore them) he made his mark with the excellent Dropzone, which took elements of Eugene Jarvis’ Defender and pushed the capabilities of both the Atari 8-bit and Commodore 64. Archer’s calling card meant he soon caught the attention of System 3’s Mark Cale, who paid his own tribute to Archer on Facebook and shared a photo of them having dinner together while discussing…

After a quiet couple of years during COVID, I am now working harder than ever before. I have three jobs: hosting a breakfast show on Jack FM, working as a counsellor and doing shows and podcasts via Patreon. The latter is done behind a paywall for people who are prepared to stump up a few quid every month. Since you asked, it’s at patreon.com/iainandkatherine What makes the Patreon show so cool is I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT. Literally. I can talk silly or serious, I get to interview some really fun people and I can watch classic TV programs. Recently I have been watching a lot of old game shows: 3,2,1, The Price Is Right and Play Your Cards Right. Watching Brucey bring on the Dolly Dealers (my God, a…

What sounds do you associate with gaming? I’m not talking about in-game sounds – the music, the effects – but the sounds that come from the physical act of playing games. Gaming has always been a multi-sensory experience, even without having Smell-o-Vision, or joypad vibrations and other gimmicks. We are physical beings and interacting with games is something that engages all of our senses. There’s a reason why YouTube gets good numbers for ASMR videos where people are simply handling controllers. The ambient clicks and rattles of a DualShock in somebody’s hands is simultaneously soothing and nostalgic. Also: most of the thumbnails prominently feature cleavage, but we’ll gloss over that. Somehow, my original PlayStation – the PSX or PlayStation 1, depending on how you want to label the machine – had a…

Matt Sephton has a passion for videogames – indeed, he’s recently developed a handful for the Playdate handheld console. He also loves the massive megalith Moai statues at Easter Island and he adores lists. So forgive him for indulging all three interests with a website that lists the 671 videogames (and counting) that include Moai in some way. We spoke to him to find out more. What do you like about Moai? I’ve always been fascinated with the world’s ancient wonders such as the Pyramids Of Giza, the Hanging Gardens Of Babylon and of course Moai. Around 2010, I’d just moved house and saw a relatively small Moai for sale in a garden centre. I thought it would look cool on display at home! When did you first start noticing Moai appearing in…