Posted on March 26, 2021
Livestream 3/25/2021 – Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Last night we played a game I spent probably way too much time on back in the day. Command & Conquer Red Alert. A quick sequel/prequel to the original Command & Conquer set during an alternate WW2 timeline. While it’s missing some quality of life improvements we have come to expect from RTS games such as double click to select a type of unit and similar it still is great fun. The combination of tight gameplay and cheesy FMV cutscenes really sell it. It’s a total blast in multiplayer as well and was a favorite of the era at most LAN parties. Either way it was very fun to revisit the game again and I nearly got sucked back in. Check out the replay of the stream below. Welcome back Commander.
Posted on March 25, 2021
1000 subscribers!
I’m excited to say that I finally hit 1000 subscibers for the channel! It’s been quite a journey so far and I appreciate every single one that has watched, subbed or interacted with me in any way. Anything helps support and above all motivate me to produce more content. It’s a nice milestone to have under my belt and I intend to keep pushing forward. Stay tuned there is plenty more random retro coming!
Posted on March 22, 2021
Sony Likely Shutting Down Old Stores
Based on reporting by thegamer it’s looking likely that Sony will soon shut down the storefronts for their older systems like PS3, PSP and the Vita. I don’t think that comes as any surprise at all that we’d eventually end up here as I can only imagine supporting these older storefronts for very little gain. The concern of course that comes up is what happens with digital games in a move like this. Per the report (and we still need to wait for an official word from Sony) you can keep using your purchases as long as they are done before the store shutdown. However questions remain on if you can keep downloading things after the fact if you have previously purchases a game.
It really does highlight the more we get into a digital distribution system where consoles are starting to ship even without any disc drives you are basically just renting or leasing your games (or rather the license to use it) from the publisher. I prefer physical media where possible but sure enough I have plenty of digital games that eventually will likely expire. The future retro use of these sort of games and consoles come into question. At least officially because jailbreaks and hacks are often available after a system has left the spotlight. Personally my PSP is already soft modded and at this point it looks like the PS3 and Vita might follow in short order.
Posted on March 21, 2021
Atgames Legends Ultimate Arcade
So we decided to expand our play options in the basement with a multi arcade machine. The basis is the Atgames Legends Ultimate arcade. Considering what is included it’s quite a deal at about $500. It uses clone sticks and buttons, has about 300 games built in but the real strength is the vibrant modding community that has sprung up around it. Adding just about any old school Mame game is basically trivial and with HDMI in it’s also easy to use a RetroPie or even MiSTer with no modifications. Expect me to cover the cabinet in several upcoming videos as I’m excited to fill in the gap we had being able to play arcade games.
Posted on March 19, 2021
New MiSTer Core – Atari Lynx
A new core just released for the MiSTer: Atari Lynx. It’s not a handheld I’ve really ever played except occasionally testing it on emulators but I think it’s an awesome addition to the project. Being able to play an ever expanding library of, usually very well replicated, systems and consoles is the real strength of the MiSTer project.
This should be a neat way to explore the library of a system I likely won’t own any time soon. Notice in the picture above how well the MiSTer is able to add a pixel effect that really does look great on a flat panel. Read more about the core on the official Github page for it here. I’m excited to check it out more!
