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Today's Google doodle is an anime-infused sports game
Google's latest doodle marks the start of the Tokyo Olympics with an interactive sports game that lets you play table-tennis and skateboarding.
The Sega Genesis Mini is $30 off for Black Friday
After toying with lackluster miniature versions of its Genesis console, Sega finally hit its stride with the Genesis Mini. The HDMI-equipped emulation device faithfully recreates the 16-bit experience without the laggy or choppy performance of previous efforts, making it a worthy competitor to Nintendo's SNES Classic. The tiny console is currently on sale for $50 -- $30 off its usual price, making it an even more alluring purchase as a holiday gift.
Classic Dragon Quest games come to Nintendo Switch
Dragon Quest became the prototypical JRPG when it launched on the Nintendo Famicom in 1986. Its first two sequels formed the Erdrick Trilogy, cementing Enix as a role-playing powerhouse. All three games will be making their way to the Nintendo Switch on September 27th to coincide with the latest release in the series, Dragon Quest XI S: Echos of an Elusive Age.
Analogue’s mini-Genesis will include an unreleased game from 1994
If you needed another reason to consider buying Analogue's Mega SG console, you might just have one: the chance to play Hardcore, a 1994 Sega Genesis game that was previewed but never published. After 25 years in the dark, Hardcore will see the light of day, now that Analogue has chosen to bundle the game with its upcoming hardware.
RAW image editor merges the best parts of Photoshop and Lightroom
Image pros that work with RAW photos must often switch back and forth between Lightroom and Photoshop, first to adjust the look and then to do any layering or cleanup. FXhome, the company behind the YouTuber VFX program HitFilm, has just launched a $149 app called Imerge Pro that helps you avoid that juggling. It's "the world's first non-destructive RAW image compositor," the company claims, enabling you to load up your RAW photos and do all those chores in one app.
Disney 16-bit classics including 'Aladdin' coming to GOG.com
Nothing says '90s gaming like the Sega Genesis and 16-bit Disney classics like Aladdin. You can bathe in that nostalgia again thanks to GOG.com and Disney's re-release of Aladdin, The Lion King and Jungle Book. Those titles, originally developed for the Super NES and Sega Genesis, were groundbreaking at the time for the hand drawn "Digicel" tech used. All were eventually ported to the NES, Amiga, PC and other systems, but GOG cheekily said that the Aladdin update is based on the "obviously superior" Sega/PC version.
Coleco Chameleon will resurrect your favorite Atari 2600 games (update)
The Coleco Chameleon from Retro Video Game Systems won't land on Kickstarter until the end of the month. However, it did hit Toy Fair earlier this week to give the public a little taste of its retro-gaming goodness and score a few deals. And score it did, landing the rights to the Atari 2600 library. That's over 300 games, as well an option for the company to develop new games based on all that classic IP. (Update: We've gotten in touch with Atari; see comments at the end of this post.)
Son remembers his Sega-loving father in tribute video
Long before the days of YouTube, gaming enthusiasts had to make the best of home video recording equipment to express their passion for the medium. The above clip, unearthed and uploaded more than 20 years after its initial recording, shows a loving, geeky father sharing his hobby with his now-adult son. Tyler Esposito's father produced this video in the hopes of selling his New York relatives on the Sega Genesis. Dad here has uncanny taste in games, and surely made a powerful argument with footage of 16-bit classics like Strider, Ghostbusters, The Revenge of Shinobi, and Castle of Illusion. Esposito's father has since passed on, but his enthusiasm for gaming and love for his son is plain to see in the video he left behind. It's a must-watch if you want to see pure, generation-spanning appreciation for a medium that has since exploded in popularity. [Video: The Sega Channel]
This stackable media hub plays your old 16-bit game cartridges
The set-top box market is currently flooded with many cheap Android boxes, but they tend to offer limited remote access plus expansion capability, so it's about time that something more exciting popped up. One such candidate is the EzeeCube, which aims to be an idiot-proof media hub with three main selling points: Auto-sync content across multiple platforms (Android, iOS, Windows and OS X); simple initial setup for accessing hub content from anywhere; and cable-free expansion that lets you stack up to four modules. We're talking about slapping on an extra hard drive, a Blu-ray drive, a TV tuner and even a retro gaming module that will bring your dusty SNES and Sega Mega Drive / Genesis cartridges back to life. No messy cables here.
Gigantic Army paying homage to 16-bit mech shooters in February
Side-scrolling mech shooter Gigantic Army will launch February 5 on PC for $5.99. Developed by three-man Japanese indie studio and Satazius creator Astro Port, the side-scroller is described as an homage to mech shooters of the 16-bit era, such as Cybernator and Mech Warrior. Gigantic Army has players taking control of a manned combat robot known as "GMR-34 SALADIN," customizing a set of explosive, projectile and plasma weapons across six stages. The game includes four difficulty modes and 12 "mid and end level" bosses. The developer is working to bring the game to Linux, and is currently vying for a spot on Steam via Greenlight. The game is published by Nyu Media, which announced its localization plans for Gigantic Army in addition to other Japanese indie games like the crowdfunded Yatagarasu: Attack on Cataclysm in October 2013.
New Super NES cartridge Nightmare Busters now shipping worldwide
Retro boutique publisher Super Fighter Team is now shipping copies of its Super Nintendo run-and-gun platformer Nightmare Busters to pre-order customers worldwide, marking the first time in several years that Nintendo's 16-bit console has seen a new cartridge production run. Originally created and scheduled to launch in 1994, the Nichibutsu-developed Nightmare Busters failed to materialize on store shelves, and never saw a release anywhere in the world. A completed version of Nightmare Busters was discovered years later, and Super Fighter Team began accepting cartridge pre-orders in 2012 after acquiring the rights to release the game officially. While Super NES reproduction releases for prototype and fan-translated games are common, Nightmare Busters is a more ambitious project, shipping with a replica cardboard box and manual in addition to a uniquely-shaped cartridge that is compatible with SNES and Super Famicom consoles from all regions. Super Fighter Team is currently accepting orders for future cartridge production runs, and a complete-in-box copy of Nightmare Busters is available for $70 plus shipping.
Nicalis wants your input on The Binding of Isaac's makeover
Nicalis is proposing four different art styles for The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, the console remake of Team Meat's bizarre PC game. Fans can vote on the four mock-up 16-bit art styles seen in the gallery below to determine which direction Nicalis will take the remake in.According to The Binding of Isaac creator Edmund McMillen's Tumblr blog, the game is getting a face lift "because I think the art is tired and I'm sick of looking at it." The survey also asks for input on which platforms the game should appear on, with 3DS and Wii U listed as options.Nicalis will begin development on the project in January and hopes to launch PS3, Vita and PC (Steam) versions of The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth by the end of 2013, with Xbox 360, iOS and Nintendo console ports a possibility. %Gallery-172447%
Borderlands gets demade, is playable in your browser and totally rad
You wanna play Borderlands, but you're stuck at your job. Also, the new Borderlands still isn't out, and you've played so, so much of the first one. Or maybe you're only into 16-bit games? The Borderlands remake – an official part of the Borderlands 2 marketing campaign – is here, and it's pretty boss.Well, okay – it's as boss as a top down, 16-bit, browser-based rendition of Borderlands could possibly be. Incidentally, that's far, far more boss than we had imagined. What're you still doing here? Go play it!
Daily iPhone App: Wizorb turns Breakout into an RPG
Wizorb is a title that originally came out on Steam, but it just recently arrived on iOS, and it's a nice one to have in our gigantic library. The game is a mix of breakout and the old 8/16-bit RPGs, and the combat is essentially the old Breakout game. You use a paddle at the bottom of the screen to knock a ball up into bricks and enemies above. Wizorb wisely never backs down from its 16-bit RPG style, so the graphics, the spells, and even the music are delightfully retro, and should be familiar to anyone who played similar RPGs during that era. The Breakout side of the game is solid as well. It can be a little unclear just what you're earning as you collect potions, coins or gems after breaking blocks, and the addition of spells like fireballs and an "alter" spell (which will push your ball in a different direction) can make things even more confusing. But as long as you keep the ball from falling offscreen, you'll be good. The controls on PC were probably a little better for this kind of gameplay. Swiping your finger across the screen constantly isn't the most fun thing to do. It's strange that the game doesn't have tilt controls, but that's probably a consequence of its PC heritage. All in all, Wizorb is a well-made retro game, and it combines these two seemingly disparate game genres in very interesting and fun ways. If you missed it on Steam, it's worth picking up on iOS, and there's plenty of content to bounce your way through. It's US$2.99 in a universal version, available right now. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
Battlestar Galactica, as retold by a 16-bit RPG
Feel like reliving the bizarre twists and turns of Battlestar Galactica without, you know, actually having to watch it again? College Humor has put together a handy (and fake) retro RPG that handily condenses the series' most memorable plot points (and holes). Oh, and: Spoiler warning. Duh.
Sony's F65 CineAlta 4K camera now available for a paltry $65,000
Sony's F65 CineAlta camera now has a price tag to match its name -- and its girth. The imager, which was first unveiled at this year's NAB Show, has now been officially released ahead of this week's IBC conference in Amsterdam. The newest member of the CineAlta family captures images in 4K (4096 x 2160) resolution and features a speedy 20.4 megapixel, Super 35mm CMOS sensor, capable of reaching up to 72fps at 4K resolution and 120fps on 2K. The F65 also comes boasts 16-bit RAW output at 19Gbps on 4K and WiFi connectivity that allows you to manipulate it from the comfort of your tablet. The shooter won't start shipping until January, but filmmakers or production houses with lots of disposable income can order one now, for a mere $65,000. More details await you in the press release, after the break.
The Perfect Ten: Sequelitis
As a long-time movie buff, I've always been fascinated by sequels. I know, they have a terrible reputation and everyone gets this face like he's digesting a porcupine when discussing them, but there's something fun about them as well. I think we always want a good story to continue, to see what happens next, and to answer the question, "What would the first film be like if it were put in the hands of a complete boob?" It would be an entertaining trainwreck, that's what. Even though the MMORPG genre is in its toddler stage, it's seen a number of sequels, prequels and spin-offs, just the same as other types of entertainment. Video game sequels for hit titles are safer financial investments than striking out into new territory, so it makes sense that MMO studios would follow this pattern as well. Right now there are loads of MMO sequels and spin-offs in the works -- including EverQuest Next, PlanetSide Next, Guild Wars 2, Mabinogi 2, MapleStory 2, Phantasy Star Online 2, Dust 514, and even a possible Ultima Online sequel -- so it's safe to say that the trend won't be dying down anytime soon. However, today I want to look at 10 sequels that already made it to release and briefly examine how they stacked up to their predecessors. Oh yes, there will be blood after the jump -- and I will drink your milkshake!
Microsoft: NoDo didn't break a 32-bit color feature, it fixed a 32-bit color error
Microsoft may be promising 32-bit color support in its upcoming Mango update for Windows Phone 7, but some users already had sufficient chromatic depth -- at least until they unknowingly traded it for copy / paste. Word on the street is that HTC HD7 owners are noticing a significant drop in color depth after installing Microsoft's NoDo update, causing ugly color banding in (previously gorgeous) apps and photos. The big M, via a moderator on the Microsoft Support forums, has confirmed the phenomenon, stating that HTC launched the HD7 with color support outside of Windows Phone 7's 16-big design requirements. The update didn't remove a feature, it merely brought HTC devices in line with WP7 device requirements; to ensure "a stable and consistent customer experience," of course.
A series of unfortunate demises: classic arcade game deaths compiled into a tender tribute video
Whatever your flavor of old school gaming, whether you were a future-loving RoboCop killer or a skeleton-slaying Golden Axe swinger, there's a little slice of nostalgia here for you. The guys from BoingBoing have lovingly compiled some of the most memorable death scenes from the games of yore into a video tribute, and they've been nice enough to leave out the names of all the games featured. There's no Pokémon action in there, but still, can you guess 'em all?
Swedish rapper Pato Pooh asks you to follow him into the old school
Adding himself to the short list of things we associate with Sweden other than Volvo, Ikea, and delicious meatballs, Stockholm's Pato Pooh recently released a music video for his song "Follow Me." It features a regular who's who of 8- and 16-bit era gaming in the process, referencing everything from Mega Man's opening to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He even kills off that snickering jerk dog from Duck Hunt we all love to hate. Who's laughing now, dog? Who's laughing now?![Thanks, SuerDOS!]
