Super Probotector Alien Rebels (SNES Review) - Is this the best action side scroller ever?28/2/2016
By Gemma @Juicy Game Reviews
Super Probotector: Alien Rebels (known as Contra 3 in North America) is arguably one of the finest side scrolling action games from the Super Nintendo era. That’s a pretty bold statement but it sure holds a lot of validity by today’s standard’s and if price is anything to go by then Super Probotector is definitely one of the pricier titles if you snap up a boxed, complete copy. Why is it so sought after? Why is it one of those retro games that comes up in conversations a lot? Why do some of us go to further lengths to obtain those games like Super Probotector?
Remember those days when you used to count your change to try and reach the desired amount to buy a game? Perhaps you didn’t need to do this but I remember a dirty old second hand (thrift) store on the outskirts of my town. I counted copper pennies, twos and had a few pound coins laying around back when I was fourteen. I wanted so desperately to buy a used copy of Super Protector: Alien Rebels on the Super Nintendo. It was priced at £10 and forced so deeply to the back of a shelf that I could barely see it in store. Alas, I had counted £9.50 and I knew I was short when I handed my money over. I prayed the old guy would’t notice but he did. He was a good sport and let me walk out with the discounted Super Probotector: Alien Rebels. Even a teenager I went to those lengths. How rude of me to think I could get away with short changing this guy! I knew I wanted my very own copy after first playing it at my friend, Matt’s house. I always wanted to be the red robot during our fights before a two player game.
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By Gemma @Juicy Game Reviews
Immediate Press Release for the ZX Spectrum Vega+
Sir Clive Sinclair Launches New Hand-Held Games Console: Sir Clive Sinclair has today announced the launch of a 2nd new low-cost hand-held games console called the Vega+, based on his hugely successful Spectrum products of the early 1980s. The Vega+is the only games console that exists with 1,000 licensed games already included and with an LCD for you to use on the go.This launch follows the huge public and media support of the initial Vega product last year, and is the next step in the evolution of the Vega. The Sinclair ZX Spectrum Vega+ to give it its full name, takes advantage of major advances in technology to achieve big cost savings by replacing most of the electronics in Sir Clive’s earlier computer products. Instead the Vega+ uses a low cost micro-controller and some clever software to enable the Vega+ to run all of the games, 14,000 or more of them, developed during the years when some 5 million of the original Sinclair Spectrum were being sold. The Sinclair ZX Spectrum Vega+ is being marketed by Retro Computers Ltd, the Luton-based start-up in which Sir Clive’s company Sinclair Research Ltd is a shareholder. The development and marketing of the Vega+ is under licence from Sky In-Home Service Ltd, who inherited the intellectual property rights to the Spectrum computers from Amstrad. Development of the product is complete, and a fully-functioning prototype is ready to go into production. The Sinclair ZX Spectrum Vega+ is as simple to use as any of the popular games consoles, but far less expensive. It has a colour LCD so the user can play it anywhere. Additionally, it can be connected to a TV so the user does not need a computer monitor, and it comes complete with 1,000 licensed games built-in. The user will also be able to download additional games free of charge from the thousands that are available on the web, so there is no need for users to pay any more than the cost of the basic product, which will be in the region of £100 from the company’s web site and from various online retailers and High Street outlets. The Vega+ has been developed by Chris Smith, who is the world's leading expert on Sinclair Spectrum technology and author of the definitive technical book "The ZX Spectrum ULA: How to design a microcomputer". The design concept of the Vega+ is by Rick Dickinson, who was responsible for the design of all of Sinclair’s ZX computers in the 1980s. Paul Andrews, Managing Director of Retro Computers Ltd, is a lifelong fan of Sir Clive’s products, and has himself worked within the games and media publishing market for many years. David Levy, the company’s Chairman, is President of the International Computer Games Association and has been responsible for the development of more than 100 consumer electronic products since the late 1970s. Sir Clive Sinclair says that the success of the original Spectrum was due to the fact that: “it was adaptable, approachable, very easy to program, and simple to use”. Of the Vega+ Sir Clive says:“The present surge of interest in retro products inspired me to plan the Vega+ as a handy games console which can be played anywhere.” Retro Computers Ltd has today launched its financing for their new product via the Indiegogocrowdfunding web site. The funding will be used for the UK manufacture of the first production run, which will be for sufficient numbers of the Vega+ consoles for all those supporters of the Indiegogocampaign who choose the Vega+ as a perk, and to prepare us for the second production run. A range of limited edition Vega+ consoles and other related exclusive items are being offered on the site, including some special edition Vega+ consoles with red, white and blue bases, which will only be available during the Indiegogo campaign. Back the Indiegogo Campaign HERE
Guest Blog by Todd @The Top Loader
The name Mario in this day and age is common place. You see him everywhere, kids clothes, hats, toys. In a world full of Grand Theft Auto's and Rockstar Games, he is a modern day Retro Pimp, and he deservingly flaunts his star power all over town. But back in my day, oh man I didn't just say that did I? Well I am getting older, but you know what so is Mario just in a different way.
Back in my day Mario - he was was a high flyer even before he reached the great heights of Super Mario 3. Mario was his name and platforming perfection was his game, and by the time Super Mario World hit the shelves he was already well known amongst us kids for his perfect gaming formula. Super Mario World; a classic game in this day and age. Released in Japan in late 1990 playing it these days I know every secret, every hidden key and have a good read on the many hidden warp pipes in any given level. There is nothing new to experience, yet I still play this game decades after its initial release. At least once a year. I could play this game blind folded, and die multiple times but without the blind fold I could easily fly through this game (even without the cape). With 96 ways to exit all of the levels (and not the 96 levels the back of the box would mistakenly tell you). With a world so vast, bright and colourful. Everything on screen feels so alive. With each area interlacing so seamlessly with one another, and surrounded by the best level selection Hub I have seen in any game. It was exciting, mysterious and it just felt fun. I will never forget walking into the Forest of Illusion for the first time and having no idea where I was about to end up.. as on the surface it seemed to have no path to follow. I still make a smirk remembering back to my 11 year old self trying to work out how to get out of the area. I truly felt lost in the woods walking around in one big circle as the main path forged itself into a circle (if you finished the levels in the normal fashion). The game forced you to think outside that linear box of normal straight forward thinking of merely getting to the end pole, which is what we were all used to in previous Mario games. The key here was to find the keys which in turn unlocked the hidden paths and to find your way out of the area. And If you had managed to go that far into game without finding any keys by this point it would turn out to be even more confusing for you. Completing the levels and then finally the Castles would make for more major changes as you would watch the World change its landscape right before your eyes, and in in many ways Super Mario World changed the gaming landscape for Platformers forever. |
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