CATEGORIES

THE MAKING OF Trivial Pursuit

IN 1986, A SMALL SOFTWARE HOUSE ON THE VERGE OF BANKRUPTCY LICENSED THE WORLD’S BIGGEST BOARD GAME FOR HOME COMPUTERS. IT CHANGED DOMARK – AND THE UK GAMES INDUSTRY – FOREVER

THE MAKING OF MICKEY MANIA

THERE WERE SEVERAL GAMES ON THE MEGA DRIVE FEATURING THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS MOUSE, SOME VERY GOOD (CASTLE OF ILLUSION), SOME VERY BAD (FANTASIA). AND THEN THERE WAS MICKEY MANIA, AN IMPRESSIVE TECHNICAL SHOWCASE FROM TRAVELLER'S TALES

SNATCHER

AS HIDEO KOJIMA HAS BECOME A RARE CELEBRITY IN THE GAMING WORLD, SO HIS OLDER WORKS ARE INCREASINGLY REVISITED. BUT HIS 1988 CYBERPUNK ADVENTURE SNATCHER IS ALMOST UNPLAYABLE TODAY, LEGALLY, AND ONLY RECEIVED ONE ENGLISH PORT – WHICH HAS ONLY INCREASED ITS CULT APPEAL, AND COST

EVERCADE EXPANDS

We go hands-on with Blaze’s upcoming releases

Rock Band Unplugged

WHO NEEDS PLASTIC PERIPHERALS?

Super Woden GP II

In a world where additional extras are often hidden behind microtransactions and downloadable content it’s rather refreshing to find a game that comes loaded with an obscene amount of extras.

THE SPECTRUM

IT’S ONE OF THE MOST ICONIC HOME COMPUTERS EVER MADE, AND IT’S BACK IN PLUG-AND-PLAY FORM. WE SPEAK TO THE PEOPLE BEHIND IT TO FIND OUT WHY IT’S TAKEN SO LONG, AND GET A CHANCE TO GIVE OUR FIRST IMPRESSIONS AHEAD OF LAUNCH

PARKER BROS

BY USING ITS CONTACTS IN THE ENTERTAINMENT SECTOR AND FORMIDABLE MARKETING CLOUT, PARKER BROTHERS BROUGHT TITLES LIKE STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, SPIDER-MAN AND FROGGER TO THE ATARI 2600 AND ITS RIVALS. RETRO GAMER HIGHLIGHTS THE FIRM’S BEST RELEASES

Alan Wake 2: Night Springs

Keepin' it weird

The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road

Keeping us engaged with the carat-and-stick approach

GRAND THEFT AUTO VI

The ruler of the crime sandbox returns

ASSASSIN'S CREED SHADOWS

Presenting protagonist double trouble

Welcome to the Roughnecks

Blasting bugs and shooting the breeze with Starship Troopers game lead Peter Maurice and star Casper Van Dien

ASTRO BOT

Fun fact: when attending big showcases, invitations to go hands-on don’t always say what games you’ll be playing.

DELTA FORCE: HAWK OPS

Teaching an old hawk new tricks

MARVEL RIVALS

A worthy nemesis for Overwatch

WARHAMMER 40,000: SPACE MARINE 2

Up to your pauldrons in science-fiction action

LEGO HORIZON ADVENTURES

Bricks and stones may break robo dino bones

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance

A delightfully devilish refresh

Batman: Arkham Asylum

15 years!? Holy depressing passing of time, Batman!

RETURN OF THE JEDI

WITH ITS EPISODIC NATURE AND PLENTIFUL ACTION, RETURN OF THE JEDI SEEMED LIKE A PERFECT FIJ FOR A MOVIE TIE-IN, BUT HOW DID ATARI'S COIN-OP FARE? JOIN US AS WE BRING YOU THIS INFORMATION - AND TRY NOT TO END UP LIKE MANY BOTHANS

THE MAKING OF TRON

EVER WISHED YOU COULD BE IN LIKE FLYNN AND ENTER A VIDEOGAME? LEAD PROGRAMMER AND DESIGNER BILL ADAMS TELLS US ABOUT PUTTING ARCADE GOERS ON THE GAME GRID

THE FIRST CONSOLE WAR ENDS

Atari acquires Intellivision in a surprise deal

MARK WEBLEY

The cofounder of Two Point Studios talks about his amazing career at Bullfrog and Lionhead, where he worked on classic titles like Theme Hospital, Black White, Fable and The Movies

THE LATEST NEWS FROM DECEMBER 2007

Nintendo can always bank on Mario's inimitable blend of mass appeal and fundamentally excellent gameplay, and Super Mario Galaxy was its big Wii hit for the holidays.

Paul Murphy

A quick chat with the founder of Ninty Media

THE IMPACT METAL GEAR

KONAMI'S METAL GEAR SOLID INFILTRATED THE PLAYSTATION IN 1998, POPULARISING A GENRE WITH ITS BLEND OF TACTICAL ESPIONAGE ACTION AND CINEMATIC STORYTELLING. FROM CLONED BROTHERS AND CYBORG NINJAS TO EXCLAMATION MARKS AND CARDBOARD BOXES, RETRO GAMER DECODES THE MULTITUDE OF WAYS THAT HIDEO KOJIMA'S GAME LEFT ITS ENDURING FOOTPRINT IN THE SNOW ON THE GAMES INDUSTRY

AND THE PLANETEERS

ON CHRISTMAS MORNING OF 1991 MANY LUCKY KIDS WOULD WAKE TO FIND THE AMIGA'S CARTOON CLASSICS PACK UNDER THE TREE. ALONG WITH LEMMINGS, BART SIMPSON VS THE SPACE MUTANTS AND DELUXE PAINT III WAS CAPTAIN PLANET AND THE PLANETEERS, DEVELOPED FOR MINDSCAPE BY ANTONY CROWTHER, JASON KINGSLEY AND THE LATE BEN DAGLISH

THE MAKING OF Booty

YO HO HO AND A BOTTLE OF RUM! RETRO GAMER FINALLY CATCHES UP WITH JOHN F CAIN, CREATOR OF THE FINEST PIRATE BUDGET GAME ON THE ZX SPECTRUM. FROM THE ISLE OF MAN TO THE HIGH SEAS, THIS IS THE ENTERTAINING STORY OF BOOTY. ARRR!

THE EVOLUTION OF GAUNTLET

WHEN ATARI ADAPTED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS FOR THE ARCADES WITH GAUNTLET, IT POPULARISED FOUR-PLAYER CO-OP GAMING AND PAVED THE WAY FOR A SUCCESSFUL FRANCHISE. BOB FLANAGAN, MIKE HALLY AND JOHN ROMERO EXPLAIN HOW THE SERIES EVOLVED