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Space Invaders baseball caps

Posted by Lolita Beckwith
Categories: Accessories, Casual, Culture, Retro

Space Invaders Baseball Cap

Last year we featured lots of Space Invaders stuff, such as the bling, welcome mat, tote bag and even a baby mobile. Well we just found out the classic video game turns 30 this year.  To celebrate, manufacturer Taito and New Era caps have teamed up to release a collection of seven black, fitted-style 59Fifty caps embroidered with the game’s characters. We think they’re a tad pricey at $57 each, but think of how great it will go with this scarf. According to StrictlyFitteds.com, the caps are available at Cap Collector One and New Era.

Read More | Strictly Fitteds via Gizmodiva


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The Console Wars Veteran I gaming medal

Posted by Lolita Beckwith
Categories: Accessories, Culture, Nintendo

Console Wars MedalsOnly a hardcore gamer knows the unique sense of accomplishment felt after reaching “100% completion” on a video game. But when you brag about it, you’re likely to get the response “So whaddya want, a medal?” Well, now you can actually have your own gaming medal, courtesy of Supermandolini. The limited edition Console Wars Veteran I medal honors “the memories of endless epic battles, infinite high scores and numerous blistered fingers.” The metal badge features a retro NES controller, but we’re hoping other consoles will get the medal treatment soon, as we’d love a SNES version. Available for approx. $27 USD. 

Read More | Supermandolini via Retro to Go


Geek Jewelry: The “Space Invaders” Rings

Posted by Lolita Beckwith
Categories: Accessories, Culture, Retro

Space Invader RingsCall us paranoid, but we’re beginning to wonder if the aliens in “Space Invaders” really are trying to take over the world: The tote bag. The baby’s mobile. The scarf. The doormat. And now… the rings! Yes, now you can show your love for the classic game 24/7 by wearing one of those pesky aliens (or elusive spaceship) on your finger. Choose one of four designs, each made of pure silver with Rhodium plating. Strangely, we couldn’t find price info on the manufacturer’s website, so you may have to contact them yourself for details.

Read More | Toy Me Milano via Geek Sugar


Xbox Live Arcade and Virtual Console Releases This Week

Posted by Paul Hamilton
Categories: Virtual Console, Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade

BonkThere are six new games to choose from this week on and , though none of them are original games (which you expect from VC but even XBLA is arcade ports this week). Plus, most of this week’s games are relatively inexpensive with one exception.

Games this week include Bonk 3: Bonk’s Big Adventure, Adventure Island, Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole, Donkey Kong Jr. Math, Cyberball 2072 and Fatal Fury Special. Details for the releases are below.

Click to continue reading Xbox Live Arcade and Virtual Console Releases This Week

Read More | Nintendo Press Release

California Extreme Channels a Simpler Time

Posted by Paul Hamilton
Categories: Culture, Editorial, Retro

Pinball Players at California Extreme 2007

Gamers of a certain age, if given half a chance, will gladly recount grand tales of smoky rooms, dimly lit by a few dozen cathode rays where the only sounds are the white noise of competing digitized soundtracks, crude speech sythesizers, blips and bells, pings and whistles and artificial arpeggios rolling down an electronic scale.

The misty sincerity of those gamers who cut their teeth on the quarter-munching cabinets of Space Invaders, Asteroids, Missile Command and Sinistar is almost enough to make one forget what a mess the modern arcade equivalent has become. The gargantuan interface machines with their elaborate weapon approximations and physical demands juxtapose over a likewise spectacular price per play resulting in a hollow shell of what the old guard knew so well. These are not arcades as exist in those guarded memories, they are interactive entertainment experiences: The kind of branded, marginalized speciality device that has been focus tested and trade-show marketed to get the premium floor space right out front in view of the mall concourse is showpiece here.

Even those arcade machines which can still accurately be described as video games compete for the higher-yield ticket-generating skill games (which ironically involve very little skill). Most of those who recall the days when 3D graphics referred to the vector lines of Tempest pass by these modern emporiums. Perhaps they shake their heads a little or make a disparaging comment. Kids these days. Get off my lawn. They don’t enter; inside is only heartbreak.

Perhaps what hurts the most is that it is a heartbreak we chose. We have no one to blame but ourselves, for while the arcade as it was may be dead, ultimately it is us who killed it.

We wanted the more valuable entertainment experience. We asked for and then demanded a perfect replica of our arcade favorites that we could play at home from the comfort of our couches. We pressed for more arcade-quality graphics on our home consoles until our set top boxes had visuals that outpaced anything showcased on a standalone machine. We asked for, and received, greater narrative depth in our games and as a casualty for our insistence we killed the arcade—the very entity we now mourn.

Click to continue reading California Extreme Channels a Simpler Time


Track & Field Hits Xbox Live Arcade This Week

Posted by Chris Pereira
Categories: Microsoft, Release Dates, Retro, Screenshots, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade

Track & Field Xbox Live Arcade screenshot

This week the Arcade goes retro with the 24-year-old Track & Field. For 400 Microsoft Points you’ll get the classic button-masher, complete with 4-player split-screen and Xbox Live support. Along with this announcement, Microsoft has revealed some of the XBLA games we’ll be seeing in August and by summer’s end.

Headlining releases this month is Hexic 2, sequel to the XBLA launch game, Hexic HD. We’ll also receive Ecco the Dolphin and War World during August.

And “in the coming weeks,” we’ll see Geon: Emotions, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, Space Giraffe, Streets of Rage 2, and Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. (That one’s a mouthful.)

Check after the break for a brief description of all these games, and a few more screenshots of Track & Field in action.

Click to continue reading Track & Field Hits Xbox Live Arcade This Week


Virtual Console 7/30: Star Soldier, Dynamite Headdy, And Drop Off

Posted by Chris Pereira
Categories: Action, Adventure, Nintendo, Puzzle, Retro, Virtual Console, Wii

Dynamite Headdy Sega Genesis boxartWhile the Xbox Live Arcade is set to get the classic Marathon, Virtual Console’s additions this week include Star Soldier (vertical shooter; NES, 500 Wii points), Dynamite Headdy (platformer; Genesis, 800 points) and Drop Off (puzzle; TurboGrafx16, 600 points) – all pretty old titles. This is really a hardcore retro week, apparently.

All three are now available. Check after the break for more details.

Click to continue reading Virtual Console 7/30: Star Soldier, Dynamite Headdy, And Drop Off


Xbox Live Arcade 6/6: Pac-Man Is Back, Now With Neons

Posted by Chris Pereira
Categories: Casual, Retro, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace

Pac-Man Championship Edition

Today’s XBLA release was first revealed yesterday as Pac-Man Championship Edition. Before you roll your eyes thinking that this is another port, you’d be well advised to give it a look – despite being 800 points ($10), this is a pretty rock solid release. I spent some time with it earlier today and had a blast; expect a review in the next few days.

New modes and redesigned mazes are the big attraction here (although those neon visuals sure are pretty). The new modes are as follows:

  • The Championship Mode. This is the main game mode designed by NAMCO BANDAI Games and Iwatani specifically for the championship round of the Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championship. This mode – as well as all others within the “Pac-Man Championship Edition” – features redesigned mazes with wide maze walls and a widescreen configuration to better enable high-speed game play. Timed limit of five minutes.
  • Challenge Mode 1 (Patience and Reward Course). This mode is an evolution of the Championship Mode.  Patience mazes strategically offer fewer Power Pellets and Reward mazes provide a large number of Power Pellets – providing unique challenges and rewards for the player. Timed limit of 10 minutes.
  • Challenge Mode 2 (The Darkness Course). In this mode, only the area directly around Pac-Man and the Ghosts is visible and the maze walls are completely hidden. Timed limit of 10 minutes.
  • Extra Mode 1 (The Freeway Course). An extremely high-speed mode for advanced players, this mode features warp-speed Pac-Man and Ghosts and plenty of tunnels. Timed limit of five minutes.
  • Extra Mode 2 (The Manhattan Course). A mode inspired by the streets of Manhattan — the home for the first-ever Xbox 360 Pac-Man World Championship. Timed limit of five minutes.
  • Extra Mode 3 (The Overall Course). A mix of all other modes resulting in extreme mazes for the most devout Pac-Man fans. Timed limit of 10 minutes.


    • Castlevania Heads To Virtual Console

    Posted by Christopher Sasaki
    Categories: Nintendo, Retro, Virtual Console, Wii

    ShockmanHeadlining this week’s Virtual Console releases is the original Castlevania for the NES. At 500 points, gamers can explore the origins of the franchise as it appeared on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Those used to the later entries in the series will find this version somewhat limiting – the exploration elements and many of the control refinements wouldn’t appear until later releases. Instead, gamers will get six levels of sidescrolling platform action.

    The other two releases this week could best be defined as “cult classics.” The Legend of the Mystical Ninja for the SNES probably didn’t have a huge following on its original release, but for 800 points gamers can experience the US-localized version of the Goemon series from Japan. The gameplay is fairly strong and graphically the game holds its own. Shockman is another arcade like title that mixes standard platforming stages with 2D shooting. At 600 points, the Turbografx16 title adds another quirky entry into the Virtual Console catalog.

    Nintendo’s full press release continues below.

    Click to continue reading Castlevania Heads To Virtual Console


    Live Arcade Gets Catan, Centipede

    Posted by Christopher Sasaki
    Categories: Retro, Strategy, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, Xbox Live Arcade, Xbox Live Marketplace

    Catan

    Microsoft continues its string of multiple Live Arcade releases this week, this time with the hugely anticipated Catan along with arcade classics Centipede and Millipede. Catan has had board game geeks waiting eagerly; the Live Arcade version of the classic Settlers of Catan strategy board game will hopefully live up to expectations. The game will sell for 800 points ($10) and features decent single player offerings with a supposedly strong AI along with four player multiplayer support over Xbox Live. Centipede and Millipede get bundled together for 400 points ($5) and promise updated graphical modes. Both titles will hit Xbox Live this Wednesday.

    Read More | Gamerscoreblog

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