Bubble Gum Toad - A challenging yet fun Sega Mega Drive game by Martin Asteasuain

A new hero is hopping onto the Sega Mega Drive, and he’s bringing a fresh pack of chewing gum with him. Bubble Gum Toad, the latest retro gaming homebrew for Sega’s classic 16-bit console! A game that  is winning over gamers who's played it with its unique mechanics and vibrant retro charm. In this adventure, you play as the coolest toad in the neighborhood, but there's a catch: this toad doesn't jump. To navigate through levels and reach the ultimate goal—the bubblegum machine—you must rely entirely on your blowing skills...So good luck!

Halo Zero (Unofficial remake - Amiga/MD/NeoGeoCD) by Earok gets a preview build!

Here's another banger of a news story especially if you were a fan of the Halo games, as thanks to a heads up by Earok, developer of the Scorpion Engine, he has announced a preview download of 'Halo Zero'. An unofficial fan port of a classic fan game, which in turn was inspired by the series created by Bungie. In light of this news which was a bit of a surprise considering that I'm slowly finishing this bottle of bubbly ;), provided below is some screenshots and a video soon from Saberman.

Mega R-Type DEMO - R-Type for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis with an updated demo!

In 1987 Irem produced one of the greatest shoot em ups of our time, a shoot em up that even today is regarded as one of the best. That shoot em up was none other than R-Type. A game which featured many waves of enemies, a beam weapon, power ups, great level detail (that almost feels alive), big menacing bosses and a fantastic soundtrack that you will listen to again and again. So why is this awesome game getting another mention? Well we've just found out that the in development Sega Mega Drive/Genesis of 'Mega R-Type,' has got a BIG demo update with a new stage and more!

Mega R-Type DEMO - R-Type for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis? HELL YEH!

In 1987 Irem produced one of the greatest shoot em ups of our time, a shoot em up that even today is regarded as one of the best. That shoot em up was none other than R-Type! It featured many waves of enemies some of them extremely deadly, a beam weapon, power ups, great level detail (that almost feels alive), big menacing bosses and a fantastic soundtrack that you will listen to again and again. As such I myself have spent many hours playing this game, more so on the Amiga than the Amstrad. But never would I believe, that this year, thanks to a heads up by a good friend of ours, that R-Type would appear on the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis... Well here we are!

Theme Park - One of the best theme park strategy games gets a DarkwyndPT review!

Now, we’re just upping the ante, aren’t we? Still, it’s impossible to make a Bullfrog retrospective without mentioning another critical and commercial successful title, which is perhaps their most colourful game that also begun its own influential series. I’m talking about Theme Park.

Theme Park is a managerial strategy game developed by Bullfrog and published by Electronic Arts. It was originally released in 1994 for the 3DO, Commodore Amiga, DOS and Macintosh. The following year, it was ported to the Amiga CD32, FM Towns, Genesis/Megadrive, Jaguar, PC-98, Playstation, Sega Mega-CD, Sega Saturn and SNES/Super Nintendo. In 2007, it was remade for the Nintendo DS and in 2008, that remake was ported for the Playstation 3 and PSP and in 2012, it was ported for the PS Vita. In 2013, the original version was re-released for Windows and Macintosh. There’s also an iOS remake with microtransactions which was released in 2011, but it wasn’t as well received (I wonder why).

Antstream - A retro game streaming subscription service is now live!

Great news if you were supporting the Antstream Kickstarter; a crowd funding campaign for a retro gaming based streaming service. As we've recently been informed through our twitter feed, that not only was Antstream a Kickstarter success a little while ago, but after having a closed beta, the retro gaming streaming service is now available in the UK for PC, MAC and Android!

Populous - A brilliant Strategy game reviewed by DarkwyndPT

Well, it isn’t too hard to figure out which Bullfrog game I’ll start reviewing for this retrospective. And it’s only fair that I start with Bullfrog’s first and possibly biggest success ever: Populous.

Populous is a managerial/strategy game developed by Bullfrog and published by Electronic Arts. It was originally released in 1989 for the Amiga, Atari ST and DOS. The following year, it was ported to the Genesis/Megadrive, PC-98, Sharp X68000 and the SNES/Super Nintendo. In 1991, it was ported to the Master System and Turbografx-16. In 1992, it was ported to the Acorn 32-bit and the following year for the Macintosh. In 2011, it was re-released for Windows.

Misplaced - A new Megadrive release from RetroSouls

RetroSouls that are known for many great homebrew games just released a new title for the Megadrive/Genesis called “Misplaced”. RetroSouls describes Misplaced as a small experimental puzzler. The goal is to collect crystals and placing them on altars to progress to the next level. To help the character to collect all the crystals that sometimes are located on hard to reach places you can use your very snazzy magical glasses that lets you record your steps and then with a press of a button you can replay the path you just recorded. If you liked the puzzle part of RetroSouls game Alter Ego then you should definitely check this out!

Game Dev : RetroGaming has launched in full support of Retro Game developers across the globe!

For a good number of years now right to the birth of Indie Retro News, we have been featuring as many games as possible from out of the retro scene, to even Indie games developed by a small team of people that eventually end up on Steam much to the delight of the community. We don't believe in sticking to one particular system either, as although the Amstrad or C64 is my system of choice, there are some stunning games released on the Amiga, Atari ST, MSX, Mega Drive, NES, SNES, ZX Spectrum and even the modern PC beast sitting on your desktop. So as from this week as a BIG announcement, we have launched the Game Dev : RetroGaming Facebook group in full support of retro game developers across the globe!

HD Retrovision Cables - Component video cables for retro consoles

Getting crisp pictures out of gaming machines on domestic TV's has always been a bit of a panacea for retro-gaming enthusiasts, from the point that you realise that tuning your TV into an RF-Channel actually produces the worst quality, lowest common denominator visuals you could imagine, to the realisation that sanctuary lies in upgraded cables via better transmission mediums. In the case of most 8 and 16-bit consoles, that nirvana was usually in an S-Video output.

Golden Axe - A retro look back at a classic beat 'em up

Now where's my Horn of Mead wench? After playing Golden Axe, I am definitely feeling my inner barbarian. This great game from Sega was almost a world apart from the game we have come to know and love. Originally inspired by the 1982 film Conan the Barbarian (staring our old friend Arni), mixed with the Traditional Korean Folk Tale "Golden Axe Silver Axe" also known as "The honest woodsman", Golden Axe was intended to be an RPG game with ornate graphics giving an inspiring journey. Sega however, weren't keen on this idea but loved the character concepts. Since, at the time, the main money making was in the Arcade, Sega knew, they needed a game that had a faster pace.

Mega Lo Mania - Another great Strategy free release from TheCompany.pl

Game Type : RTS, Strategy
Launcher Developer :  The Company.pl
Game Info  : A game that I remember so well, was Mega Lo Mania, which was an RTS developed by Sensible Software. It was released for the Amiga in 1991, and ported to many other platforms including the Atari ST, Mega Drive/Genesis, Super NES, DOS, and the Sharp X68000. The object of Mega Lo Mania was to conquer 28 islands, divided into nine Epochs that span the history of mankind. As the years progress the game gets ever harder, so make sure your defence and research is ready for the onslaughting enemy. Thanks to TheCompany.pl you can replay this fantastic game in a single exe!
Release : Available now FREE

Systems : PC

Sacred Line Genesis - Classic Sega Genesis / Mega Drive Adventure (Emulated+Demo)

Game Type : Horror Adventure
Developer : Sasha Darko
Game Info : Sacred Line Genesis is a brand new Graphic Adventure game which was developed exclusively for the Sega Mega Drive / Genesis. It tells the story of Ellen, a private detective, who is trying to survive in Eastern Europe. Lately detective business, which she inherited from her missing sister Sarah, almost ceased its existence and one day before she was going to close her office she got an anonymous call. The unknown asked her to find some hidden forest outpost and told her about its position. That was just the beginning.
Release : Digital version released ($5.99), Cartridge TBA
Systems : PC, Sega Genesis (TBA), Mega Drive (TBA)

Games I remember, with a remake - Mega Lo Mania

Another game I remember so well, was Mega Lo Mania, which was an RTS developed by Sensible Software. It was released for the Amiga in 1991, and ported to many other platforms including the Atari ST, Mega Drive/Genesis, Super NES, DOS, and the Sharp X68000. The object of Mega Lo Mania was to conquer 28 islands, divided into nine Epochs that span the history of mankind.