When it comes to gaming a good controller can make or break the experience. This is especially true for Retro Gaming where split-second timing is required. Sourcing parts for controllers can also be difficult such as the button membranes for the NES Advantage so keeping controllers clean and in good shape is paramount. I have a standard procedure I follow for cleaning my controllers and wanted to share in the hope that we can bring some controllers back to life.
With the rising costs associated with retro gaming many are turning to flash carts. These carts allow the flashing (writing to the cart) of unaltered ROMs allowing them to be played on original hardware. Igor Golubovskiy better known as Kirkzz has created a line of flash carts called Everdrives whose console spectrum covers the NES all the way up to the N64. Igor's creations are praised for their reliability and ability to work with console libraries. I recently purchased a variant of the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive called the Mega Everdrive X5 and put it through it's paces.
In theory, a pinball-centric Metroidvania shouldn't work but Yoku's Island Express feels like a breath of fresh air in an increasingly crowded genre. It's whimsical, charming while staying true to everything I love about 2D platformers. Despite an occasional frustration with the pinball paths I enjoyed every minute of the six-hours I spent unraveling the mysteries of the island.
These days one can find all sorts of new tech for old consoles. With devices ranging from Framemeisters to Optical Drive Emulators, these products help us keep our old consoles working and expand their feature-base beyond anything we could have imagined. When California based Pound Technologies released their Original Xbox to HDMI cables, they were met with high praise for their signal quality and low price. Their recently released Dreamcast to HDMI cable promotes features such a generous 6.6-foot cable length and the best video output the Dreamcast can provide, but can it deliver?
E3 2018 is just a few weeks away and you can feel the excitement in the air as the video game industry and thousands of people descend upon the Los Angeles Convention Center to mark the biggest show in the gaming calendar. It's where the big platform makers (Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo) come to show off their latest games or hardware. Rumors about what might be at the show have already started to circulate and as it's always fun to speculate let's take a look at everything E3!
This year's incarnation of E3 will take place from June 12th through June 14th. The press conference schedule is as follows:
* EA - June 9th 11AM PT * Microsoft - June 10th 1PM PT * Bethesda - June 10th 6:30PM PT * Ubisoft - June 11th 1PM PT * Nintendo - June 12th 9AM PT * Sony - Not yet announced
Following a successful Kickstarter Campaign in 2014, Lizard is the latest NES focused homebrew from developer Brad Smith who previously released chiptunes cartridges, Moon8 and 2A03 Puritans. Lizard forgoes powerups, lives, and timers and instead opts for an open-world, platforming adventure. It's an adventure four years in the making, so let's put on our Lizard suit and take a look.
I play a lot of games these days and it takes a special game for me to spend more than a couple hours on. I hadn't followed any media on Kingdom Come Deliverance so I didn't know anything about it going in. What I found was a historically grounded first-person RPG whose gameplay loop is akin to the Elder Scrolls series. Join me as I take a look at the good, the bad, and the buggy in Kingdom Come Deliverance.
Many of us have memories of flipping through the pages of our favorite gaming magazines eagerly digesting every word and picture to find out what was happening in gaming. Publications such as EGM, Nintendo Power, Gamefan, and GamePro gave us reason to frequently check our mailboxes and news stands. Flipping through the pages of these magazines can take us back to the times of our youth, but collecting gaming magazines presents it's own share of issues and takes up valuable space that could be used for games. So what can you do? Many of us have an old tablet lying around, so with a little work, we can turn that old E-reader in to an EGM reader!
It's January and the cold weather is perfect for staying indoors and playing games. We caught up with Nick & Steve from HD Retrovision to chat about their company and shared passion of getting the best picture out of your retro consoles.
Ask any retro gamer what consumer CRT they would prefer and you're probably going to hear Sony Trinitron. Few Sony products carry the same gravitational pull as the Trinitron with over 280 million tubes sold and name recognition on par with the Walkman. The apreture grill technology used in the Trinitron line gave Sony's products a unique look and made the name Trinitron a synonym for the best quality TV sets and computer monitors around. So with all of this going for the Tiritron CRT why would you choose anything else?
On October 26th 2000, Sony released the juggernaut known as the PlayStation 2. PlayStation 2 or PS2 collecting has started to pick up with many collector's actively trying for a full set. In this edition of Collector's Corner, we will take a look at some of the more collectable US Special Editions and Collector's Editions for the PS2 and come up with a general idea of what you should pay.
I am a child of the 80's/90's and all of the nostalgia that comes with it. The Disney Afternoon was a staple of my childhood and the Capcom developed games were a great way to play in the worlds of DuckTales, Darkwing Duck, Rescue Rangers, and Talespin. Frank Cifaldi and Mike Mika of Digital Eclipse showed their love of these properties when they released the Disney Afternoon Collection on XB1, PC, and PS4. Everybody get ready, it's time for the Disney Afternoon.
We've all been there. You find an untested system at Goodwill, flee market, or the local game store. You bring it home and power it on only to find out that the laser is dead and replacement parts are hard to come by. This is especially true of the PlayStation 2 fat systems whose lasers are difficult to replace. The good news is your PlayStation 2 can play games again with some help from Google, and a couple spare parts.
It's a widely held belief in gaming that exclusives sell consoles, and I believe it's often true. We've all bought a new console just to play a certain game that really captured our interest. In years past it could be playing a game at a friend's house, or playing a kiosk at a local retailer. These days Twitch streaming and YouTube Let's Plays offer new ways to convince us to take the plunge. I recently picked up a PS4 just to play Horizon Zero Dawn and started thinking of all the other exclusive titles that convinced me to purchase the system. I compiled a list of systems I purchased and the games that convinced me to buy them and would love to hear what games convinced you to purchase a console.
From 1988 to 1993 the S.S.T. band or Sega Sound Team was Sega's in house band that performed rock versions of Sega's arcade hits for compilation albums or Japanese festivals. Join us as we take a look at at the S.S.T. band and their legacy.
