The Games Ingredients - This is 2.0...

10 October 202327 October 2023

Halloween the video game 1983.

Halloween night, a small American town, fifteen years ago…

Now this astounds me – back in 1983 in an era of Steven King, David Cronenberg and terrible slasher movies where the trailer would be narrated by a guy with a deep voice Halloween the video game released for the Atari 2600 VCS. It was so controversial at the time that many retailers refused to stock/sell it, and those retailers that did stock/sell the game kept it behind the counter and sold it on a request basis only – controversy 1983, and you thought Destructive Creations Hatred from 2015 was the shock jock? Continue reading “Halloween the video game 1983.”

4 September 202327 October 2023

Load “ZX Spectrum Next”…

Press play on tape…

My gaming life began on the ZX Spectrum 48K+ back when movies like Ghostbusters, The Karate Kid and Gremlins infused the life of a young person. Laura Branigan had Self Control and Madonna was Like a Virgin (if she was ever one)?

A lot of years have gone by and even though gaming has come a zillion miles with simple adventure games no longer programmed by kids in bedrooms or university grads trailblazing the next decade of 8 bit gaming and beyond, is there still room for nostalgia in hardware form, the plastic box? I’ve always like going back to the classics but really find emulation frustrating, so if the opportunity comes along to play such classics on hardware old and well-used or re-imagined as is the case with the ZX Spectrum Next, then that gets my attention. Continue reading “Load “ZX Spectrum Next”…”

5 July 202324 September 2023

The gaming magazines you read.

Floppy disc and CD Rom demo’s on the front cover.

So lets get down to it – Special Reserve, I guess anyone that’s old enough to have read a gaming magazine will remember the mail order company that advertised in all the major UK publications of the time. Buying the latest edition of your favorite magazine, (Amiga Format, ST Format, Computer and Videogames to name a few institutions). The monthly glossy adventures to consume on your break at work or on the bus on way home, whatever the magazine you geeked over, somewhere inside, between gawking at the upcoming Chaos Engine developed by the Bitmap Brothers and a transparent Competition Pro joystick that was about to be released, Special Reverse would always draw attention. Continue reading “The gaming magazines you read.”

13 June 202327 October 2023

Microsoft buzzwords, 30 frames per second and low setting.

Reach for the stars…

There you have it, Starfield confirmed to be running at 30 frames per second on Xbox Series S and X. Already the armchair critics are tapping and bashing on screen and keyboard, arguing over a game that has not yet released.

I read a comment that went, “I never want to go back to playing 30 FPS again!!!” I would simply say give it ago on Game Pass and if it sucks you haven’t dropped £60/70 on a 30 FPS dud, if it turns out to be a dud? So I want to put a question/thought out there about buzzwords and console gaming. Continue reading “Microsoft buzzwords, 30 frames per second and low setting.”

6 June 202327 October 2023

Gaming retrospective 2007.

50,000 people use to live here…

As we approach the time when the gaming world would normally be waiting with bated breath for E3, absorbing, analysing and arguing over every leak and tidbit that found its way to the social cesspit that begins with., I thought it would be nice to take a trip down memory lane and remember some of the amazing games that came out in 2007, from Super Mario Galaxy to Halo 3. From Bioshock to Uncharted and many other games that have turned into great franchises, some still great, others lacking direction and past their sell by date. Continue reading “Gaming retrospective 2007.”