Hi! Hope you’ve had a great weekend of retro gaming. I had to go into manual mode, and played bowling at my local retail and leisure park. It’s not all bad, as there is a Space Invaders Frenzy machine – the one with the big screen and cannon-style guns – at the venue, and I was wearing my favourite Atari t-shirt, so it wasn’t so bad, really.
Today’s round up of retro gaming news covers books and games, along with a bit of Lord Alan Sugar. Looks like he’s getting soft in his old age…
Table of Contents
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N64: A Visual Compendium reprint coming soon
Bitmap Books is currently listing a reprint run for its popular Nintendo 64 book. N64: A Visual Companion is a vibrant 436 page collection of games, with over 150 titles presented with meticulously realised screenshots and game art.
The book features a foreword penned by GoldenEye 64 and Perfect Dark’s David Doak, and is is filled with exclusive interviews with game industry luminaries such as Jim Wornell (Nintendo), Michael Mendheim (BattleTanx), Kevin Bayliss (Diddy Kong Racing), Remington Scott (Turok) and Julian Eggebrecht (Star Wars).
Expected to retail at £29.99, head to Bitmap Books to set an alert for when N64: A Visual Companion is available again.
Fusion Retro Books’ Rob Hubbard book almost sold out
Incredibly, Fusion Retro Books is down to the last 5 copies of Master of Magic – Rob Hubbard. Running to an impressive 354 pages, the book – authored by Chris Abbott, Rob Hubbard and Kenny McAlpine – features a chronological progression through his career, and is accompanied by an incredible 120 GB archive of audio, video, sheet music, source code, disassemblies and other media.
If video game music of the 80s and 90s interests you, grab a copy of Master of Magic – Rob Hubbard from Fusion Retro Books ASAP!
“You’re fired” up to celebrate Amstrad with Lord Sugar?
Around 35 years ago, my dad was given an Amstrad PCW (PCW8256 or PCW8512, not sure which) by his brother. It had a monitor-mounted 3-inch (not 3.5-inch!) disk drive and printer, and was mounted in a chipboard sort of “arcade cabinet.” This was almost the only piece of Amstad tech we had in the house, where it was used almost purely for word processing.
Oh, and it had a green screen. Ideal for words and numbers, but not much else.
While Lord Alan Sugar may be better known as a TV personality, his success as a businessman is mostly down to his electronics company, Amstrad. Earlier in 2024, he announced he had purchased the Amstrad name once again, set up for a digital marketing project.
More recently, however, Lord Sugar has revealed a new Amstrad Nostalgia website, and he’s asking for users of his Hi-Fi, AV, computers, and other electronics to share their memories on the site. Check the tweet:
Here’s a reminder of some of Amstrad’s hardware.
Metal Dragon and Life on Mars Evercade cart pre-order
Finally, with all the fuss of other Evercade news recently, we missed the news on this.
Evercade owners, prepare for a double dose of nostalgia. Another dual-game cartridge is coming to the Evercade platform, this time featuring two titles from the talented minds at Spanish indie developer Kai Magazine Software: Metal Dragon and Life on Mars.
Metal Dragon is a high-octane, top-down shooter that harkens back to the golden age of 16-bit gaming. Players take control of a bored but deadly operative as they blast their way through enemy hordes and challenging levels. The game’s blend of fast-paced action and humor is sure to delight fans of classic shooters.
Life on Mars is a sci-fi horror platformer that transports players to the Red Planet. As interplanetary repair technician Sam, you must explore a mysterious Martian colony, solve puzzles, and battle alien creatures. With its atmospheric setting and challenging gameplay, Life on Mars is a must-play for fans of exploration and adventure.
The new cartridge is set to release in December 2024 and is available to pre-order now.
Learn more on the Metal Dragon/Life on Mars cartridge page.
Game over!
That’s your lot today. I’ll be bringing you a new collection of retro gaming news and releases soon. Until then, keep sharing the newsletter (I might have some bonuses for that soon), support our sponsors, and take it easy!
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Christian Cawley is a writer and editor who covers consumer electronics, IT, and entertainment media. He has written for publications such as Computer Weekly, Linux Format, MakeUseOf.com, and Tech Radar.
He also produces podcasts, has a cigar box guitar, and of course, loves retro gaming.