commodore • sega • nintendo • atari • sinclair • arcade

104 Pages·2007·5.41 MB·English

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COMMODORE SEGA NINTENDO ATARI SINCLAIR ARCADE
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VOLUME TWO ISSUE FOUR
Nintendo
Famicom
Is this the best console of all time?
Indiana
Jones
Opening the gaming ark
Rare’s
GoldenEye
007 heaven on the N64
Pong
Wars
A brief history of videogames
RetroGamer16
£5.99UK
$14.95AUS
V2 $27.70NZ
04
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<EDITORIAL>
Editor =
Martyn Carroll ([email protected])
Deputy Editor =
Aaron Birch
([email protected])
Art Editor =
Craig Chubb
Sub Editors =
Rachel White + James Clark hello
Contributors =
Alicia Ashby + Simon Brew Richard Burton + Jonti
Davies
Ashley Day + Paul Drury
Frank Gasking + Geson Hatchett
Craig Lewis + Robert Mellor
Per Arne Sandvik + Spanner Spencer
John Szczepa+niCahkris Wild
<PUBLISHING & ADVERTISING>
Operations Manager =
Glen Urquhart
Group Sales Manager =
Linda Henry
Advertising Sales =
Danny Bowler
Accounts Manager =
Karen Battrick repareforinvasion, shouldbecommended leadinguptotheevent.CGE2005
Circulation Manager = P asretrofans, (knighted?)forhiseffortsin isoncoursetosurpasslastyear’s
Steve Hobbs
exhibitorsand gettingtheshowontheroad. successfuldebutineveryway,
Marketing Manager =
Iain "Chopper" Anderson celebritiesdescend ThefailureofGameZoneLive andit’shopedthatonedaythe
Editorial Director = onLondonforthe goestoshowthatevenalarge showwillbeasbigasitsUS
Wayne Williams secondClassicGamingExpo. consumereventwithhuge counterpart(whichisnowinits
Publisher =
Followingabrief,nightmarish financialbackingcanstillfall eighthyear).Andthat’ssomething
Robin Wilkinson
periodwhenitlookedlikethe spectacularlyonitsarse,so we’reveryproudtobepartof.
<SMALL PRINT> eventmaysuccumbto Chris’sdedicationtotheretro Bookyourticketsearly–it’s
Distributed by circumstancesbeyondorganiser causecannotbeunderestimated. boundtobepopular–andwe’ll
Comag, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex
ChrisMillard’scontrol,thegood I’malsopleasedtoannounce seeyouthereontheday.
UB7 7QE, England. Tel: [phone].
Fax: [phone] newsisthatCGE2005willtake thatRetroGamerwillonceagain
No part of this magazine may be repropdluacceedoonrAugust13thatthe sponsortheshow,providingChris martyn carroll
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written consent of Live Publishing Int Ltd. The
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opinion of the Publishers.
Live Publishing Int Ltd
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ISSN: 1742-3155
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Retro Gamer, ISSN number 1742 3155,
is published monthly (twelve times
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>Content v2.04
Retro Revival p18 The Family Computer p30
Aaron Birch ventures into Gauntlet’s deepest John Szczepaniak examines the original
dungeons in search of gaming treasure Japanese Famicom and its Disk System sibling
Next Level Gaming p44 Indiana Jones and the Gaming Ark p48
Martyn Carroll rounds up the games available Robert Mellor follows Indy’s adventures in
for the Amstrad CPC-6128 interative entertainment
A Brief History of Videogames p60 Shadowrun p72
Spanner Spencer charts the early work on John Szczepaniak explores the Shadowrun
which today’s videogame industry is founded universe, revealing three very different games
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>Regulars
Retro News p06
Two pages of the latest retro news
Back to the Eighties p08
A look back at what was happening in the
gaming world 20 years ago this month
King Mario p38 Retro Rated p12
Alicia Ashby and Geson Hatchett look at the Retro Gamer reviews the latest commercial
hardware and software releases
incredible impact of the NES in America
Japan Happy Play Noise p20
A look at Japanese retro sports games
Desert Island Disks p22
Paul Drury talks to Digitiser’s Mr Biffo
and Mr Hairs
Son of Arcade Hunt p68
Retro Gamer goes in seach of classic coin-ops
Killer Apps p78
Rare’s GoldenEye – the best Bond game ever
Gilsoft p56
Games That Weren’t p80
Chris Wild talks to the guys behind Gilsoft,
Frank Gasking takes a stroll through the
creators of The Quill
gaming graveyard
Strange Games p82
The bizarre Chou Aniki series of games...
Retro Scene p92
The latest news from the retro community
High Score p96
Paul Drury talks to Roy Shildt, holder of the
Missile Command world record
Retro Auction Watch p99
Richard Burton keeps his eye on eBay
Feel the Force p85
We present a little piece of Newsfield history in Retro Forum p100
the form of Nintendo Forcemagazine Reader feedback and Web forum posts
Retro Coverdisc p106
A getting started guide to Elder Scrolls: Arena
Endgame p114
5 Another issue draws to a close
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(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1) (cid:1)
Return of the Pac
25 years and still eating…
Pac-Man,eh?Who’dhavethought hitarcades,theever-hungryhero
thatasimpleyellowcirclecould issettoreturnoncemore.
havehadsuchanimpact? Pac-Man’sleashholder,
Besidesbecomingoneofthe Namco,recentlyannouncedthat
mostrecognisablevideogame thelatestadventureinthe combine,anddarknesswillreign playerswillrunintoseveral
charactersevercreated,Pac-Man popularPac-ManWorldserieswill forever.“Mu-ha-ha-ha,”asevil blastsfromthepast,andwill
wasoneofthekeyplayersin bedueouttowardstheendof genius’sarefondofsaying. evenmeetsomeoldenemies.We
bringinggamingtothe theyear,justintimetocelebrate Pac-ManWorld3willbea wouldalsostronglysuspect
mainstreamaudience.Andnow,a his25thbirthday. full3Dplatformingaffair, thatsomeclassicPac-
quarterofacenturysincehefirst ThenewgamewillseePac- asyou’d Mangameswillmake
Manonaquesttosavethe expect.Butit theirwayintothe
worldfromErwin,youreveryday willstill finalgameinsome
evilgenius.Inabidforpower, featureall formoranother,
thescrewyscientisthascreateda oftheusual probablyas
devicethatcanopenadoorway Pac-Man unlockable
tothespectralrealm.Butthis elements,suchas bonuses.
devicehasmalfunctioned, power-pills,dotsandfruit, Pac-Man
causingtheghostlydimensionto aswellasnewfeatureslike World3willbe
collapseandseepintothereal power-upsmoothies(!)and outintheautumn
world.Ifthingsaren’tfixedsoon, thePactrometer(!!).On forPC,Xbox,GameCube,
thenthetwoworldswill theway,though, PS2andPSP.
Devil May Fantasise
returningFFVIIstar,Vincent onaconsole.Infact,youcan
Valentine.Detailsaresketchyat nowfindthespiky-hairedhero
themoment,butitlooksas hittingtheslopesonthenew
Final Fantasy VII stands by for action thoughShinraInc’smilitaryspecial mobilephonegameFinalFantasy
forces,SOLDIERareuptono VIISnowboarding.Yes,thatcool
good,andagreatmeteorhashita littlesub-gamefromFFVIIisback
Thehugelypopularandlong- thereareasyetnocleardetails smallpeacefulvillage,causingthe andisdoingtheroundson
runningJapaneseRPGmonster regardingtheactualgame,from heroicvampiretogetinvolved. mobile.Ifyouwanttofindout
thatisFinalFantasylookssetto whatwe’veseen,itlookssetto Earlyscreensalreadysuggest moreFFinformation,visit
dipitsturn-basedtoeintoarcade replicatetheactionseenin thatthegameisverylikelytobea wwwwww..ssqquuaarree--eenniixx..ccoomm.
actiononceagain(remember Capcom’sDevilMayCry. third-personscrapperofsomesort,
Ergheiz?).FinalFantasyVII:Dirge Takingplacethreeyearsafter andshouldseethereturnofmany
ofCerberusisthenewtitlebeing theeventsseeninFinalFantasy ofFFVII’scharactersandlocations.
thrownaround,andalthough VII,thegamewillrevolvearound Withthisaction-heavygameplay,
it’snotcertainhowmuch,ifany,
RPGgameplaywillremain.But
maybeit’stimefortheseriestotry
achangeinpace…
Alsomakingareturntothe
gamingworldisCloud,themain
characterfromFFVII.However,his
appearanceisn’tinanRPGoran
actionadventure–he’snoteven
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REGULAR | RETRO NEWS
(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1) (cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)(cid:1)
Brand new
Mario
All the latest news from the retro world
Nintendo’s figurehead in
new 2D platformer
If you prefer the good old days of Mario’s
exploits before his leap into 3D, then you’ll
be happy to know that Nintendo is
developing a new DS title starring the
lovable plumber.
Tentatively titled New Super Mario, the
Namco a go-go
DS incarnation will ditch the 3D
perspective, making it the first new 2D
Mario game since Yoshi’s Island on the
Arcade classics on the move Super Nintendo. Sadly, nothing of
significance is known about the game at
the moment. Until that changes, why not
Got an import PSP? Hungry for Namco hits Pac-Man, Dig Dug, gaze at these mouth-watering screenshots.
some mobile retro gaming? Then Galaga and more. However,
the guys at Namco have got the Western gamers will get an even
answer. The games giant has bigger dose of arcade history as
recently announced that it intends the US version (and presumably
to release a retro-fuelled collection the UK one too) will not only
of its all time greats onto Sony’s feature all of the original Japanese
handheld. The release, titled titles, but will also contain an
Namco Museum Battle Collection, extra 10 classics. These will with the original Japanese release,
originally went on sale earlier in include Xevious, Mappy, Dig Dug each game will come in its original
the year in Japan and featured 2, Bosconian and more. And, as form, as well as an updated and
reworked edition.
The compilation will also
make full use of the PSP’s
wireless connectivity too, allowing
multiple players to connect for
some classic multiplayer action.
You’ll even be able to share the
fun by using the Game Sharing
Mode, which will let you transfer
titles wirelessly to another PSP. Ones to
No release date has been
confirmed at the time of writing
but rest assured, we’ll have a full watch
review when it arrives.
Retro pirates raided! Two new retro games on
1,000s of hooky NES
the radar
systems seized
A couple of interesting titles have appeared
Authorities recently raided a went undercover as potential on the Web over the last few weeks, and
number of locations in the US, buyers, informing the suspects while there are no real details to report or
and rather than finding the that they wished to distribute the screens to show, the names alone are
expected PC, PS2 and Xbox goods throughout NY and the enough to get us excited. The two are Taito
games, they uncovered a Midwest. It’s alleged that the Legends and Bubble Bobble DS.
whopping 60,000 bootleg NES defendants actually imported We can only imagine that Taito Legends
systems! The raids, which took more than 280,000 illegal game will be a collection of the arcade games
place in New York and New consoles into the US in 2004 and created by the legendary developer, and
Jersey, un-earthed many pirated that the piracy scam cost we hope that greats such as Phoenix, Qix,
NES games too, including Duck Nintendo millions in lost revenue. Arkanoid, Slap Fight and Renegade are
Hunt, Donkey Kong and the So there you go. As well as included. Bubble Bobble DS on the other
original Mario Bros. bringing America’s most wanted hand is a little more predictable, and we
Four people were to justice, and looking for extra- should have a faithful recreation of the
arrested following the terrestrial life forms, the FBI is hugely popular hit for the new mobile
operation, in which FBI agents now onto retro game pirates too. platform. More news as we get it.
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RetroGamerushers ay1985wasthe formerlyknownasSamurai,which plansforanewarcadearm.The
you back to May Mmonthwefinally laterchangedtoElanandthen label,tobecalledMonolith,
foundoutaboutthe oncemoretothecomedicsponge- revealedthatitsfirstreleasewould
1985, when big-
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memory computers
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and KP Skips were new512KBSTrange.Atariplanned Enterprisecomputer,givingita Aftertherousingreception
flavour of the tobundlethe520STwitha steep£250pricetag.Theolder Starionreceivedfromthereviewers
monochromemonitorandadisk 64KBversionwasreducedto£180. thismonth,MelbourneHouse
month. And the
drivefor£899.Ithopedthe Althougharathergoodmachine, revealeddetailsofitsnextbig
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news were… aroundSeptembertime. thecomputermarketplaceabittoo simulationratherthanabeat-em-
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Despitethenews,Atariwasn’t Doomdark’sRevenge,announced wandering,dribblyoffspringof
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computerjoined Failingthat,youcouldbuy
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8
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REGULAR | BACK TO THE EIGHTIES
WallyandWilmaWeekshould firstissuemadeaninstantimpact
provetooffermoreofthesame andwasaroaringsuccessstraight
head-scratchingpuzzleanticsseen fromtheoff.
inpreviousgames. EditorChrisAndersonwould,
ThemonthofMayseemedto however,shortlybemakinghis
besufferingfromtie-inmaniawith ownimpactonthepublishing
severalsoftwarehouses world.Afterashortspellasthe
announcinglicensingagreements Zzapeditorhewouldleavetostart
withfilm,TVandprawncocktail asmallpublishingcompanyofhis
flavouredsnacks.Dk’Tronics own,FuturePublications,withits
revealedtheywerereadytobring firstmagazinebeingAmstrad
MindertotheSpectrum,whilstUS Action.That’sforanother
Goldaimedhigherwithadealfor timethough…
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characters. reviewedFirebird’sElite,givingita
Beyondalsocashedinonthe whopping95%andalso
tie-intrendwithaSuperman bestowingonitthehonourofthe
licenceofitsownforitsnew first-everZzapGoldMedalAward.
Monolithlabel.TheTVseries, InacrackingmonthforUSGold,
RobinOfSherwood,wasanother threeofitsreleasesattainedglory
titletobeacquired,thistimeby intheformofahotandthrobbing
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adventure.Nobigsurprise with89%andSpyHunterand
therethen. SuperHueybothnotchingupa
MeanwhileMastertronic, respectable87%.
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followersoftheCommodore64. alsohadasplatteringoftop- StarionacovetedCrashSmash. warmwelcomefrombothcamps.
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>Top Five Charts (May 1985)
Commodore 64 Spectrum Amstrad UK singles chart
1 Everyone’sAWally 1 Booty 1 DaleyThompson’sDecathlon 1 19
(Mikro-Gen) (Firebird) (Ocean) (PaulHardcastle)
2 Grog’sRevenge 2 BruceLee 2 SirLancelot 2 MoveCloser
(USGold) (USGold) (MelbourneHouse) (PhyllisNelson)
3 BountyBobStrikesBack 3 RaidOverMoscow 3 CombatLynx 3 IFeelLove
(USGold) (USGold) (Durell) (BronskiBeat&MarcAlmond)
4 MasterOfTheLamps 4 Gyron 4 Sorcery 4 EverybodyWantsToRule
(Activision) (Firebird) (Virgin) TheWorld(TearsForFears)
5 Airwolf 5 Confuzion 5 DarkStar 5 FeelSoReal
(Elite) (Incentive) (DesignDesign) (SteveArrington)
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Game
Month
of the
With Shadowfire, Denton Designs rewrote the adventure game, and a new genre was born
nnovationisaword location,andnobattlingwith
I usedanawfullot dodgysyntax.Why?Because
thesedays,with Dentonimplementeda
developersalways revolutionaryiconcontrolsystem.
keentoclaimthat Usingaseriesoficon-driven
theirgameboaststrulyoriginal menuscreens,youcontroleach
andinnovativeideas.Thisisvery memberoneatatime,issuing
rarelythecase,butoccasionallya commandsusingthevarious
gamecomesalongthatgenuinely mini-menus.Asmalltop-down
offersthegamingworldsomething viewshowsthecharacter’s
newtochewon,somethingso location,andastatuspanel
differentyoujusthavetostandup indicatestheactivitiesofallparty
andtakenotice.Shadowfirewas members.Eachcharacterhas
onesuchgame,anditsarrival specificskills,canusecertain
heraldedahugechangeinthe itemsthatotherscannot(Manto
adventure-gamingworld.Okay,so istheonlyonecapableofusing
weknowthattheC64versionof thetransportersforexample),and
Elitealsocameoutatthesame hasuniquestrength,agilityand
time,butyoureallydon’tneed staminalevels.
tellinghowgreatthatparticular Shadowfireisadeepand
gameis.Shadowfire,ontheother complexgamethatisasrewarding
hand,isalittlegemyoumay asitischallenging.Gettingto
haveoverlooked. gripswiththeiconcontrolsystem
TakingcontroloftheEnigma cantakealittlelongerthanit
Force,youhavetorescuethe perhapsshould,butwe’dstrongly
Kryxixambassadorfromtheevil recommendyoupersevereasthis
GeneralZoff.Yourtargetsare isatrulygroundbreakinggame.
aboardtheZoff5spacestationand Specialmentionshouldalsogoto
youhave100minutes(counting thegreatsoundtrackby
downinrealtime)tocomplete FredGray.
yourmission.
Takingtheclassicadventureby DDeevveellooppeerr Denton Designs
thehorns,Dentondecidedto FFoorrmmaatt C64/Spectrum
>It’s an enigma
ditchallofthepreconceptions
PPrriiccee £9.95
thatusuallygowiththegenre.
PPllaayyeerrss One
There’snotextinput,nolong- controlsystemisagaincalled
windeddescriptionsofyour SSCCOORREE 8/10 intoplay,butthistime
charactermovementisn’tlimited
toasmalltop-downview.
Instead,theunfoldingaction
takesplaceinthetophalfof
thescreenandisviewedside-
on.EnigmaForcemaybethe
Shadowfiredidn’tshift sequeltoShadowfire,but
significantnumbersofcopies, technicallyandvisuallyitisina
butitdidwellenoughto leagueofitsown.
warrantasequelthefollowing
year.EnigmaForceonceagain
placesyouincontrolofthe
fearlessteamfromthefirst
game,albeitslightly
streamlinedasnotallthe
membersarepresentsecond
timearound. Theicon-driven
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