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The new 'Doom' gets its first update on June 30th
The new Doom is on the cusp of getting its first major update, and it appears to be worth checking out -- especially if you have fond memories of the original games. The upgrade arrives on June 30th with the option of a classic dead-center weapon view, regardless of the mode you're playing. It's there to evoke nostalgia, of course, but it'll also be helpful if you want more of a visual aid when aiming.
'Quake' marks its 20th anniversary
Attention gamers of a certain age: you're about to feel very, very old. June 22nd, 2016 marks the 20th anniversary of the original Quake, id Software's classic first-person shooter. It may not be quite as genre-defining as the Doom games that preceded it, but it was still considered revolutionary. For a start, it was presented entirely in 3D (with semi-realistic lighting, no less) at a time when most shooters had to make do with '2.5D' engines -- even the zero-gravity title Descent had some 2D. Quake was also one of the first games of its kind to be built with internet multiplayer in mind, not just local networks. And who can forget the eerie soundtrack from Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor?
Chromecast in a '70s TV is wonderful and weird
You've no doubt seen some interesting attempts at melding vintage tech with the modern world, but few of them are likely to be as fun (and vaguely practical) as this. Gadget tweaker Dr. Moddnstine has modified a 1978 General Electric portable TV to include a hidden Chromecast, giving your YouTube videos a vacuum tube flair. It's impressive, and not just because he managed to get an HDMI device to talk to an analog set -- there's an auxiliary audio jack (the Chromecast can stay powered while the TV is off), and it'll even turn on and switch off automatically.
Atari Vault brings 100 classic games to Steam
At last, you now have a simple way to play hordes of classic Atari games on your PC without resorting to third-party emulators: as promised, the Atari Vault is now available on Steam. The Windows-only collection lets you play 100 arcade and Atari 2600 games, such as Asteroids and Crystal Castles, in an environment that strikes a balance between nostalgia (such as borders that mimic arcade cabinets) and modern-day conveniences. That includes online multiplayer play, worldwide leaderboards and advanced controller support -- Valve's Steam Controller will even mimic a trackball to give you a more authentic experience in Centipede or Tempest. The Vault costs $17 on launch (normally $20), so it's just inexpensive enough that you can relive the good old days without feeling regret afterwards.
Run 500 hard-to-find Apple II programs in your web browser
Sure, it's easy to find ways to run classic Apple II programs like The Oregon Trail or Prince of Persia. But what about that obscure educational title you remember using as a kid? Is it doomed to be forgotten? You might not have to worry. The Internet Archive has announced that its web-based emulation catalog now includes over 500 relatively tough-to-find Apple II programs that might otherwise have disappeared forever. If you remember using the likes of The Quarter Mile or The Observatory, you can fire it up without having to dig your old computer out of storage.
'The Legend of Zelda' marks its 30th birthday
Gamers, you have permission to feel old once again: The Legend of Zelda just turned 30. Nintendo released the classic action-adventure in Japan on the Famicom Disk System (it wasn't even a cartridge at the time) all the way back on February 21st, 1986, kicking off one of the biggest franchises in video game history. The series has since sold tens of millions of copies -- over 75 million at last count -- and has had a presence on virtually every Nintendo system to date.
Game Boy Macro mod breathes new life into your Nintendo DS
Your Nintendo DS is no longer the hottest handheld on the block, but that doesn't mean it has to sit in the closet gathering dust. Modder Anthony Thomas recently started up Game Boy Macro, a service that turns the DS into a giant Game Boy Advance player -- as the name suggests, it's basically a Game Boy Micro writ large. You lose the second screen (and thus native DS games), but the result is arguably much cooler. You can even specify custom case colors if you're eager to recreate the look of your old Game & Watch.
'MST3K' is the biggest crowdfunded video project to date
If you guessed that a Mystery Science Theater 3000 crowdfunding campaign would rake in a lot of cash... well, you guessed correctly. Joel Hodgson's quest to revive the poke-fun-at-bad-movies show has ended its campaign with nearly $5.8 million raised through Kickstarter, making it the biggest crowdfunded video project so far -- it just edged past the $5.7 million of the Veronica Mars movie. Between this fundraising and the $600,000 raised outside of Kickstarter, you're going to get 14 new MST3K episodes (including a holiday special) next year.
Recreate the old-school internet with this web browser emulator
Sure, you can visit the Internet Archive if you want to see a website the way it looked years ago, but it won't recreate the feel of browsing that site when it was fresh. What if you want both? That's where the new Oldweb.today tool might save the day. It not only grabs an archived version of the website, but gives you a choice of old browsers for the visit. If you want to know what the Space Jam movie page looked like in an era-appropriate version of Netscape Navigator, you can do it.
Vintage Electric's latest e-bike gives you more retro power
Vintage Electric drew a lot of attention when it unveiled its retro e-bikes a couple of years ago: it managed to fuse the classic look of early 20th century board track racers with a decidedly modern electric motor. Well, it's back for another year... and it's clear that the company has learned a lot in a short space of time. Its newly launched 2016 Tracker ups both the performance and the nostalgia quotient. It's 15 percent more efficient than last year's Tracker, but produces 20 percent more torque and carries a larger 70 watt-hour battery good for 35 miles of real-world travel. At the same time, you'll find clever new touches like stainless steel accents and pewter badging.
This 'Super Mario Bros.' watch will cost you $18,950
How much of a Nintendo fan are you? Enough that you could spend as much as you would on a car, just to show the world where your allegiances lie? You'll want to talk to luxury watchmaker Romain Jerome, then. It just unveiled a limited edition Super Mario Bros. mechanical timepiece that marks the 30th anniversary of the plumber's adventures in style. And we do mean style: its 46mm case is made out of black titanium, and the three-layer dial is loaded with enamel-coated pixel figurines to remind you of Mario's early days. It's quite posh-looking, then, although the eye-watering $18,950 price will likely rule this out unless you're a high roller with some fond gaming memories. On the plus side, that ultra-rare Nintendo World Championship cartridge suddenly seems like a bargain.
Nintendo revives 'Wild Gunman' in time for 'Back to the Future' Day
You've probably seen your share of over-the-top publicity grabs on Back to the Future Day, but Nintendo has a subtler one that you might just appreciate. The company's European branch has quietly released a Wii U Virtual Console port of Wild Gunman, better known as the game that Marty McFly dominates when he visits 2015 in Back to the Future Part II. As in the movie, you have to use your hands to play this "baby's toy" -- the big difference is that you're using a Wii remote instead of the NES' Zapper light gun (BTTF2's particular arcade cabinet never really existed, we'd note). You probably won't mind if you're on a nostalgia kick, though. And if you really, truly want to play a game that Hill Valley's kids would enjoy, Microsoft is happy to help.
Facebook's 'On This Day' feature has controls to filter out sad times
Facebook's On This Day tool is a nice feature when it recalls good times that may have slipped your mind. It has a tendency to bring up events and people that you might prefer to forget, though, and the social network added preferences to curtail the sadness. On This Day now has controls that'll let you filter out specific people and dates so the feature doesn't remind you of those bits of nostalgia you'd rather not revisit. Facebook has come under fire for toying with our emotions and digging up the past before, and there's already been some criticism of On This Day since it launched in March. By adding preferences, Zuckerberg & Co. are offering a way to keep those bad memories at bay. It's a nice touch, since you never know exactly when the memory machine will pop up in your News Feed. If you've noticed On This Day posts there, the new controls should be available for you to tweak.
Google Photos will now automatically surface pictures you took in years past
The revamped Google Photos service that was introduced at I/O this year is already one of our favorite ways to manage our ever-growing image collections, and Google keeps on adding features to make it better. The latest is a new tool that lets you walk down memory lane, so to speak. The Google Photos "assistant" will now show you cards that contain images that you shot on the same day in years past, letting you reminisce about whatever exciting things you took pictures of way back when. It's not clear yet if this new feature will show you every single photo you snapped on a given day or just a curated selection, but either way it sounds like a smart way to surface images that you may have forgotten you ever took.
'Sonic the Hedgehog' tribute games reflect a mascot's fall from grace
It'd be an understatement to say that the Sonic the Hedgehog game franchise hasn't held up well over time. Sonic was once nearly as big as Mario, but a long string of bad titles (with exceptions) ruined his rep -- you're more likely to spot him in dodgy fan fiction and internet memes than a popular game. And the homebrew developers from Arcane Kids know it. They've built the Sonic Dreams Collection, a batch of tiny tribute games for Macs and Windows PCs that acknowledge the Sega mascot's fall from grace. It masquerades as a leaked set of Dreamcast protoypes, but it's really a nod to the weird places Sonic fandom has gone in the 21st century. There's a "Sonic Movie Maker" where the hedgehog calls you his dad, and "My Roommate Sonic..." well, let's just say it turns romance stories on their head.
Vintage video games and hardware
This afternoon I visited Buy and Sell Kings, on Danforth Ave in Toronto. It is amazing.They have pretty much every historic video game console you could name for sale, and rafts of games for them all. Some particular gems were Atari VCS, Neo-Geo, Sega Game Gear, Colecovision and even a Panasonic 3DO. It was quite a treat.Here is a walk-through:And a shot of the Neo Geo Arcade machine they had for sale:And some still photos I took:
Captain EO is coming back to Disney World's EPCOT
As any child of the 1980s can tell you, Disney's Captain EO ride -- starring the "King of Pop", Michael Jackson himself -- was one of the best attractions to ever grace the park. EO debuted at Disney World in Florida back in 1986 and ran for eight years before closing in 1994. Now, Captain EO is back (and not just temporarily like they did after he died). The ride has reopened at Disney World's EPCOT in all of its hokey, 3D glory. Michael Jackson's ragtag team of freedom fighters are set to "bring freedom to countless worlds of despair" -- and keep you entertained for 17 minutes with a mix of '80s futurism and 30-year-old nostalgia.
Gaming legend Sid Meier auctions his SNES kit for charity (update: not him)
Want a rare piece of video gaming history? We hope you're a quick-draw bidder. Legendary game developer Sid Meier is holding a charity auction for a Super NES developer kit (which is hard to find by itself) used during his MicroProse days. Yes, there's a real chance that you could be using a system that helped build an early console version of Civilization. Don't think that you can just take on some credit card debt to get that nostalgia kick, though. Meier is only selling the kit to trustworthy eBay users with verified PayPal accounts, and bidding starts at $5,999 -- it's worthwhile if you want to help St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, but you're paying for a lot more than someone's second-hand console. Update 5/7: 2K tells us that it's not Meier selling this system. That doesn't mean this is bogus gear, but it certainly loses some of its luster.
Pong, Pac-Man and Space Invaders meet in mega mashup
We may have reached peak video game nostalgia. Mega-hybrid game Pacapong takes Pong, Pac-Man, and Space Invaders and crams them into a two-player mish-mash extravaganza. Players launch Pac-Man from Pong paddles through his maze hoping that he makes it to the other side without running into a ghost. If a player does launch the gobbling hero into a ghost, the other player gets to serve. Meanwhile, the players are also battling Space Invaders with the same paddles. It sounds confusing, but after few minutes, you'll be wondering when someone will build a mashup of Galaga, Joust, and Dig Dug.
Facebook makes it easier to relive your memories
Facebook knows you don't just want to keep tabs on the latest updates -- sometimes, you want to wax nostalgic as well. Appropriately, the social network is rolling out a previously tested On This Day feature that shows posts you shared (or were tagged in) on the same date in previous years. You'll be the only one taking this trip down memory lane by default, but you can always share the old posts if you want to remind friends of that big backpacking trip or college party. The feature is already making its way to mobile and web users worldwide, so don't be surprised if you soon have a good excuse to relive special moments in your life.
