Filed under ‘Classic gaming’
Duck Hunt light gun for Windows
If you’re a fan of retro gaming then you’ve probably missed using a real light gun on games such as Duck Hunt and Hogan’s Alley - unless you own an original NES and Zapper gun. I’ve just discovered a great little driver that allows you to use an inexpensive GunCon2/Gcon2 PlayStation2 light gun with Windows - you simply need to use your graphics card’s TV out to play your emulator games on a normal TV. I’ve been playing Duck Hunt all day (using the FCE Ultra Nintendo emulator), and it works perfectly - Duck Hunt is even better than I remember. 8-bit magic at its finest!
30 years of gaming history
Relive all those wonderful gaming memories from the 70s, 80s and 90s - The Encyclopedia of Game Machines covers over 30 years of gaming history, and includes around 450 games machines. The 224 page book presents almost every game computer and console ever created, from Japan, USA and Europe, along with background information and technical facts.
» Available from Play-Asia
GP2X Gameboy Advance emulator
Finally there’s a playable Gameboy Advance emulator for the GP2X, and even at this early stage in its development, GPSP2X can already play many commercial games at full speed.
Space Invaders Trilogy for PPC
HanaHo Games have release a new (and official licensed) release of Taito Space Invaders for Pocket PC/Windows Mobile. Space Invaders Trilogy includes the original Space Invaders, Space Invaders Part II, and Return of the Invaders - all featuring the original background artwork used in the arcade cabinets.
PSX emulator for GP2X
It may only be at Beta 4, but there’s now a real world PSX emulator for the GP2X. PSX4GP2X can run many original PlayStation games, with several listed as running at “full speed”, with “no noticeable problems”. There’s a few videos of the Beta 4 version of PSX4GP2X on YouTube, and although most of them run painfully slow, it’s still impressive to see so many PlayStation games running at all on the GP2X.
» More info at the PSX4GP2X wiki page at GP2X.org.
Super Mario Bros solar mushroom
We’ve found yet another solar powered gadget to brighten up your desk - this time it’s a solar powered Super Mario Bros mushroom that bounces around when the sunlight hits it. Maybe not as relaxing as the solar powered Hello Kitty, but probably a bit more fun. Available now (limited stock) at Play-Asia.
Atari Flashback 2
One of my favorite classic gaming consoles is without a doubt the Atari Flashback 2 - it’s fully licensed and manufactured by Atari, the games are the real deal, the joysticks are superb, and I love it. I see old Atari 2600 cartridges for sale all the time in junk stores and at garage/yard sales, and always wish I had a reason to buy them - and now I do. The Atari Flashback 2 can be modified to play original 2600 cartridges. And here’s how to do it.
Atari 2600 keychain games
These have to be the smallest plug’n'play games in the world. Yes, these tiny keychains actually contain classic Atari 2600 games. The catch is that you need to plug the keychain into a slightly larger cable (included), which in turn plugs directly into your TV. There’s three versions available:
Paddle - Pong, Breakout, & Warlords
Joystick 1 - Asteroids & Millipede
Joystick 2 - Centipede & Yar’s Revenge
» Available from ThinkGeek.com.
Capcom and Namco TV Games
Jakks Pacific have finally released their new Capcom and Namco ‘plug and play’ TV Games - just plug the joystick into a television and play. The Namco stick includes Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Galaxian, Rally-X and Bosconian - the Capcom stick includes 1942, Ghosts ‘N Goblins, Mega Man, Gun Smoke and Side Arms. All you need is a TV and some batteries.
Remote control Mario
Japanese toy giant Banpresto have released a collection of remote control Mario characters. They don’t do anything spectacular - but they do look very cute.
