Comments on: Links to the Past for March 8th, 2009 http://retroblique.com/links-to-the-past-for-march-8th-2009/ Taking retrogamers to the next level. Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:51:30 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: Retroblique http://retroblique.com/links-to-the-past-for-march-8th-2009/#comment-104 Retroblique Sat, 18 Apr 2009 15:55:53 +0000 http://retroblique.com/?p=170#comment-104 Oh, and don't forget the Pac-Man scratch-card games that came with a slab of bubblegum. They, alongside Eagle, Scream, 2000 AD and a huge bag of penny sweets, were always an essential purchase at the local newsagent. Oh, and don't forget the Pac-Man scratch-card games that came with a slab of bubblegum. They, alongside Eagle, Scream, 2000 AD and a huge bag of penny sweets, were always an essential purchase at the local newsagent.

]]> By: Retroblique http://retroblique.com/links-to-the-past-for-march-8th-2009/#comment-103 Retroblique Sat, 18 Apr 2009 15:46:36 +0000 http://retroblique.com/?p=170#comment-103 Yeah, the guy kind of relegates the Gabriel Knight series to a mere "also published" list. It's a bit like writing up a guide to Spielberg movies and leaving off Jurassic Park. I must admit I never really played many Sierra adventures back in the day. I had a brief flirtation with some games in the Space Quest and Police Quest series, but I found them to be a little slow-paced and home to too many instant death scenarios. I did buy Gabriel Knight though and it's one of my all-time faves. Glad you noticed the Atari joystick inspiration in the new logo too! Yeah, the guy kind of relegates the Gabriel Knight series to a mere "also published" list. It's a bit like writing up a guide to Spielberg movies and leaving off Jurassic Park.

I must admit I never really played many Sierra adventures back in the day. I had a brief flirtation with some games in the Space Quest and Police Quest series, but I found them to be a little slow-paced and home to too many instant death scenarios. I did buy Gabriel Knight though and it's one of my all-time faves.

Glad you noticed the Atari joystick inspiration in the new logo too!

]]> By: Sheamus http://retroblique.com/links-to-the-past-for-march-8th-2009/#comment-102 Sheamus Fri, 17 Apr 2009 09:00:09 +0000 http://retroblique.com/?p=170#comment-102 I forgot to mention Pac-Man stickers; I used to use my school lunch money to buy as much as I could, saving 19p for fries and baked beans, like five times a week. Insane. Yep, Puck-Man: that’s the one. Absolute rubbish, it was. I also became a bit of a wizard on Mini Munchman. <a href="http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Grandstand/MiniMunch.htm" target="_blank">http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Grandstand/MiniMunc...</a> With no exaggeration whatsoever, I could clock the game when it was held upside-down, with my eyes closed. THAT’s how often I played the darn thing. I had every movement the ghosts ever made completely memorized. No real random back then, but still, something of an achievement. Good times. I forgot to mention Pac-Man stickers; I used to use my school lunch money to buy as much as I could, saving 19p for fries and baked beans, like five times a week. Insane.

Yep, Puck-Man: that’s the one. Absolute rubbish, it was. I also became a bit of a wizard on Mini Munchman.

http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Grandstand/MiniMunc...

With no exaggeration whatsoever, I could clock the game when it was held upside-down, with my eyes closed. THAT’s how often I played the darn thing. I had every movement the ghosts ever made completely memorized. No real random back then, but still, something of an achievement.

Good times.

]]> By: shezcrafti http://retroblique.com/links-to-the-past-for-march-8th-2009/#comment-101 shezcrafti Fri, 17 Apr 2009 05:33:47 +0000 http://retroblique.com/?p=170#comment-101 Yay for the Sierra adventures! However, if that link doesn't mention Gabriel Knight, then I hope I won't be expected to click. Also, I have a love/hate relationship with Pac-Man. The game frustrates me to no end, yet I feel compelled to play it as if I'm somehow magically not going to suck at it one day. I'm loving the new Atari-esque site logo, btw! Yay for the Sierra adventures! However, if that link doesn't mention Gabriel Knight, then I hope I won't be expected to click.

Also, I have a love/hate relationship with Pac-Man. The game frustrates me to no end, yet I feel compelled to play it as if I'm somehow magically not going to suck at it one day.

I'm loving the new Atari-esque site logo, btw!

]]> By: Retroblique http://retroblique.com/links-to-the-past-for-march-8th-2009/#comment-100 Retroblique Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:55:13 +0000 http://retroblique.com/?p=170#comment-100 Our family spent many a summer holiday in Newquay. The hotel we'd regularly stay in had a couple of tabletop Space Invaders machines. After dinner, all the kids would invariably congregate around them for two-player marathons, scrounging ten pen pieces off our parents for the next blippity-neon fix, knocking back glass after glass of iced Coca-Cola. Happy days! Such was our fixation with Pac-Man, our grandparents bought my brother and I our own handheld Pac-Man games. My brother drew the short straw with TomyTronic Pac-Man, which you can see here: <a href="http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Tomy/PacMan.htm" target="_blank">http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Tomy/PacMan.htm</a> It had a small maze, Pac-Man always faced in the same direction and could only eat dots while moving from right to left! Actually, I see the Puck-Man branded version of it on the same page, so you probably had the same thing. I was a bit luckier with Futuretronics Pac-Man (also branded Puck Monster), which looked like this: <a href="http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Misc/FuturetronicsPacMan.htm" target="_blank">http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Misc/FuturetronicsP...</a> This one played a little more authentically, much to my brother's envy. A brief flirtation with the Pac-Man bubblegame card game aside, my interest in Pac-Man eventually subsided, once I had a ZX Spectrum and C64 to keep me occupied. On later visits to video game arcades, I'd enjoy playing Pacmania and was pleasantly surprised by the near arcade-perfect Amiga port that turned up a few years later. Dammit, now I'm firing up MAME for a quick blast of Pac-Man and Pacmania! Our family spent many a summer holiday in Newquay. The hotel we'd regularly stay in had a couple of tabletop Space Invaders machines. After dinner, all the kids would invariably congregate around them for two-player marathons, scrounging ten pen pieces off our parents for the next blippity-neon fix, knocking back glass after glass of iced Coca-Cola. Happy days!

Such was our fixation with Pac-Man, our grandparents bought my brother and I our own handheld Pac-Man games. My brother drew the short straw with TomyTronic Pac-Man, which you can see here:

http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Tomy/PacMan.htm

It had a small maze, Pac-Man always faced in the same direction and could only eat dots while moving from right to left! Actually, I see the Puck-Man branded version of it on the same page, so you probably had the same thing.

I was a bit luckier with Futuretronics Pac-Man (also branded Puck Monster), which looked like this:

http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Misc/FuturetronicsP...

This one played a little more authentically, much to my brother's envy.

A brief flirtation with the Pac-Man bubblegame card game aside, my interest in Pac-Man eventually subsided, once I had a ZX Spectrum and C64 to keep me occupied. On later visits to video game arcades, I'd enjoy playing Pacmania and was pleasantly surprised by the near arcade-perfect Amiga port that turned up a few years later.

Dammit, now I'm firing up MAME for a quick blast of Pac-Man and Pacmania!

]]> By: Sheamus http://retroblique.com/links-to-the-past-for-march-8th-2009/#comment-99 Sheamus Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:34:19 +0000 http://retroblique.com/?p=170#comment-99 I used to love Pac-Man as a nipper, too. I think my first encounter with the game was the tabletop-version at a local pub. This was back when the best you could hope for at home was the God-awful, he-never-looks-up-or-down Atari VCS version. I hate to rag on the VCS, as I loved it, but some of those games were pretty dire. I have vague and less-than-fond memories of trading my entire Subbuteo set for the handheld (and actually quite rubbish) Puck-Man, such was my enthusiasm for pills and ghosts. Quite a few years later I became semi-obsessed with Baby Pac-Man, which was a videogame/pinball hybrid, and Pac-Land was almost - but not quite - as much fun as Super Mario Bros. Good times. I still like to maintain that true videogame playability died with the Super Nintendo. I used to love Pac-Man as a nipper, too. I think my first encounter with the game was the tabletop-version at a local pub. This was back when the best you could hope for at home was the God-awful, he-never-looks-up-or-down Atari VCS version. I hate to rag on the VCS, as I loved it, but some of those games were pretty dire. I have vague and less-than-fond memories of trading my entire Subbuteo set for the handheld (and actually quite rubbish) Puck-Man, such was my enthusiasm for pills and ghosts.

Quite a few years later I became semi-obsessed with Baby Pac-Man, which was a videogame/pinball hybrid, and Pac-Land was almost – but not quite – as much fun as Super Mario Bros.

Good times. I still like to maintain that true videogame playability died with the Super Nintendo.

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