Rescue on Fractalus! - An 8bit classic is coming to an Amiga near you! [UPDATE]

Well this is fantastic news and a real hit to the nostalgia, as Rescue on Fractalus!, the ground-breaking 1985 title originally developed by Lucasfilm Games for the Atari 8-bit, Atari 5200, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Commodore 64, Color Computer 3 and ZX Spectrum is being ported to the Amiga by Vesuri, offering those that remember playing this all time classic a fresh way to experience it. Just beaware however you need an Amiga with 1 MB of RAM — it does not fit an unexpanded 512 KB A500, and has been developed and tested on an A500+ under Kickstart 3.1; also runs on Kickstart 1.3 PAL.

The Micro Kids - A book by Gary Plowman

Micro Kids? I thought they looked small.

It seems Gary Plowman may have an obsession with Spectrums - first he wrote a book of self-penned ZX Spectrum games in his ZX Spectrum Games Code Club book, now he's back again (but this time in novel form) with another book featuring the old Speccy. Though we are treated also with other notable home micros (you should have noticed the C64 on the cover - and also the excellent pixel work of Simon Butler) here, as we are taken on a journey back to the glorious eighties when computers were real computers and the games defined many a young persons' life. Ah, memories.

The Way of the Exploding Fist - A fighting classic comes over to the Atari XL/XE

Here's a game I remember fondly especially on my green screen Amstrad CPC 464, is ' The Way of the Exploding Fist' ; a 1980s fighting game published by Melbourne House that appeared on many different systems such as the C16, C64, ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, and even the Acorn! This rather famous game which was very similar to Karate Champ and featured gameplay as a series of one-on-one karate matches, sadly never appeared on the Atari XL/XE, and it wasn't until recently that Fandal and Miker converted the game over to the Atari from the C16.

Alwa's Awakening - Charming looking retro style platformer coming this Jan to Steam

Next up in our list of goodness and one I think most of you will be looking forward to playing, is Elden Pixels retro inspired PC platformer ' Alwa's Awakening ', which is going to be released this month Jan 2017. In this game you play as Zoe, a heroine sent from another world to bring peace to the land of Alwa. You must use your magical staff against all manor of strange beasties and big bosses through many different rooms, while also solving puzzles to uncover the secrets in this challenging and charming 8-bit inspired adventure game.

8-bit Music - The best of 8-bit retro music on your Android device!

In truth I can honestly say I'm not a fan of downloading and testing apps out on a mobile or tablet. Many of them feel really cheap and tatty and usually contain a ton of in-app purchases that makes you wonder why you even attempted that download in the first place. Hence why I very rarely mention them on this site. But today I happened to come across an App that I think many of you Android users might just like. It's called 8-bit music and allows you to play lots of different retro gaming based music channels directly through your phone!

Remember the 80's - A musical nostalgic trip on the Amstrad

Rejoice Amstrad owners as we are going to step back in time to the 80's and not with gaming either, but a musical nostalgic trip on the Amstrad CPC!  Devilmarkus and ed209 have now made available ' Remember The 80's ' for the Amstrad CPC 664, CPC 6128, 464 Plus, 6128 Plus and GX4000! Released at the Sundown 2016 and coming second place, has a great number of 80's tracks such as Blondie - Call Me, Human League Don't You Want Me? And much more, all remixed on that great 8bit machine.

Skool Daze - Retro School antics goes final for the Amstrad CPC

Another hit game which I'm sure you remember was the world favourite of 'Skool Daze'; a ZX Spectrum release from 1984 that featured lots of school antics as you play as a naughty schoolboy named Eric with a task to steal the report card from the headmaster's safe! When I originally played it I had so much fun back in the day, there was nothing better than smacking other kids with your trusty catapult or causing havoc for the teachers and getting 1000's of lines. So how would you like to play the Amstrad conversion which in the last month or so was finally released by the developer Joseman? You do, good! Because it is available to download as a disk and works via an Amstrad emulator or real Amstrad CPC hardware!

Donkey Kong Jr - Atari 8-bit Arcade HACK released!

Welcome to Donkey Kong Junior, originally released in 1982 for Arcades and later released for home systems such as the Atari 2600, Atari 7800, Atari 8-bit , ColecoVision, Coleco Adam, Intellivision, NES and BBC Micro, with a C64 overhauled version released by Mr Sid at the end of last year (link). In this game you play as Donkey Kong Junior and must rescue your father Donkey Kong who has been imprisoned by Mario in his only appearance as an antagonist in a video game. A sequel to the hit classic, you can now play this fantastic Atari 8-bit hack by darryl1970 which brings back the original Arcade design such as the bricks and improves the controls.

BITBIT Jam - Lots of free retro homebrew games to play!

Throughout July of this year, there was a competition for gamers around the world to create a game for old hardware in a single weekend. Unlike other jams of it's type, in BITBIT Jam the games had to work on the systems they were developed for, so if you created a ZX Spectrum game, it had to work on a ZX Spectrum computer. In all over 5 games were shown with each one having a different style of gameplay, that are playable on systems such as the Amstrad CPC, C64, Gameboy, Sega Megadrive and ZX.

Could The Oliver Twins be making a new Dizzy game?

As you well know I and many others are huge fans of the Dizzy series. A famous egg going way back to the 80's, who went on grand adventures, talking to the YolkFolk, solving puzzles and most of the time having a really bad experience with the evil Wizard Zaks. A character designed by the legendary 'Oliver Twins' that has gained such devoted fans, we've seen countless remakes and Dizzy fan games from a multitude of home based developers. Even though we've played all the games such as Dizzy, Treasure Island Dizzy and the others, we were very disappointed to hear of the failure of the Dizzy Kickstarter, which looked like it was to be the most incredible looking Dizzy yet! But all is not lost, as over these past few weeks, it looks as if The Oliver Twins have been hinting of a new Dizzy game!

RoboCop Classic - Game movie classic gets a ZX PC update

Before I begin with this write up, I would just like to apologize for the lack of articles this weekend as due to ill health which took hold last Friday I was unable to write anything for our readers. But back on topic, today's game is an update to the previous 80's Park Production RoboCop release and now features not only a ' RoboCop Classic ' rename, but co-op, and both Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum graphics at smooth 60fps scrolling!

PC to Amstrad CPC 464 - Games over Bluetooth!

Some would probably say I'm easily pleased, and to tell you the truth they are right. But what we've come across today simply blew my mind. Imagine going back to the 80's and someone telling you that in many years to come, you'd be able to wirelessly transfer games over to your Amstrad CPC 464. They'd probably think you had gone nuts! But that's exactly what this is; a way to play Amstrad CPC games via bluetooth as snapshots, to an Amstrad CPC 464 through an MX4 expansion board with X-MEM and CPC Minibooster expansions

The DizzyAGE Easter Competition 2015 winners!

What a fantastic year 2015 has been for Dizzy, as many different developers stepped up to the task of creating a new Dizzy adventure using the DizzyAGE engine. This is the 'DizzyAGE Easter Competition 2015 ' through YolkFolk.com; which began during the early part of the year, ended in June and the finalists have been announced today. In all 6 Dizzy games became the top entries, with not just some fantastic detail that even the Oliver Twins would be proud of, but great animation, sound and music. So here we go with the winners list!

Memoirs of a Spectrum Addict - ZX Spectrum film Kickstarter success!

I'm sure many of you have noticed the influx of ZX Spectrum books, games and modifications, but a new ZX Spectrum film has just smashed through it's Kickstarter goal and there's still 29 days to go. It's the 'Memoirs of a Spectrum Addict - A tribute to the Sinclair ZX Spectrum ' film by Andy Remic. Classed as a full length documentary and raising over £1,624 so far, this Kickstarter of retro memories will be 120-180 minutes in length, which takes a detailed look at the ZX Spectrum, it's history, it's developers, it's games and it's fans!

Zombo - A free ZX Spectrum game that will eat your brains!

Watch out everyone the Zombies are coming! Well ok not quite yet, but a new game has appeared for the ZX Spectrum by Monsterbytes, which features your very own playable Zombie hybrid that is both part Man and part Zombie! You are 'ZOMBO', the result of a top secret experiment to create the ultimate soldier, now on a mission to save the survivors of Flight 303 that has crash landed on the proto-sentient and highly lethal death world known as Chronos.

Victorians Run Boy Run - A very retro styled music video

Here in the UK the weather is currently very "naff"! It's cloudy, it's raining and generally just not worth going outside for. So to cheer up the Brits and probably everyone else too, we've came across a music video that's unlike anything we've seen before. A heavy metal based track, blended in with multiple retro games such as E.T, called 'VICTORIANS - Aristocrats' Symphony - Run Boy Run (WoodKid cover)'. Watch as the main character dressed in a karate outfit, run's and jumps his way past baddies and traps through so many different games I remember growing up, that you'll want to watch right to the end !

Aaron White's C64 To Amiga Chiptunes Disk 5!

It's that time again when Amiga owners are loading up their Amiga Gotek's and the emulator WinUAE for another Aaron White 8-bit tune special! It's the Aaron White's 'C64 to Amiga Chiptunes Disk 5'. Which is full of fantastic upbeat chippy goodness, ranging from the amazing C64 classics such as Clumsy Colin (Action Bikez), Plotting, Cobra, and High noon to Aliens and Flimbo's Quest! Download the ADF file, turn up those speakers and annoy the neighbors with another fine conversion by the genius that is Aaron White!

Links : Download / Twitter

The Return of Traxtor - Match 3 fun for the ZX Spectrum gets a sequel!

Last year owners of the ZX Spectrum were delighted to play ' The Legend of Traxtor '; an Match 3 puzzle game by Juan J. Martinee, which appeared as a #gbjam 3 entry and then ported over to the delightful 8bit system. That same game that had the player matching of 3 coloured shapes and objects to obtain a high score using a special space ship, has got a sequel with 'The Return of Traxtor' that was released today!

ZX Spectrum Retro Review - Paperboy

It is an important and popular fact that back in the 1980s I funded my computer gaming time by delivering newspapers. This fact is in some small way commemorated by the fact that, in a time of mid-life crisis, the first game I loaded up on my newly acquired rubber-keyed Spectrum was Paperboy. There was no deep reason for Paperboy; it was never one of my favourites, but, having been bought at some point between packing my old +2 away and acquiring a 'new' Spectrum, it was the first game that came to hand.

Minecraft being ported to the Amstrad CPC? Welcome to AmsCraft!

This picture above may not look like much, but this is actually a very early preview shot of a Minecraft-style game for the Amstrad CPC that is being developed by lachlank. The current title of the game is being called 'AmsCraft' and will be written mainly in C using SDCC/CPCTelera but with assembler to draw blocks. So far the developer has noted that he is only drawing the screen and player sprite at present and is hoping for contributions from other programmers to make the music that sounds very similar to Minecraft, but in that 8bit style. Also to coincide with this news, the developer has released a very short video tease that goes to show how far the development has come.