Saturday, October 29, 2016

Retro Game Boys - Episode 11 - Donkey Kong

Stuart finds an excuse to use The Goodie's Funky Gibbon as a backing track as he introduces Kieran to Donkey Kong (and doesn't do a great job).  Enjoy episode 11!


Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Happy 20th Tomb Raider

Friday 25th October 1996 - I remember that day well.  Immediately after finishing work, I went straight over to Electronics Boutique in Basildon Town Centre to buy this highly anticipated game, and once I got home and fired up the PlayStation, I was addicted and didn't put it down until I had finished it.
 
What's tough to believe is that this in now considered by me to be 'retro', and yet once you get over the blocky graphics, the game still plays very nicely today.
 
It's also another reminder of how old I am feeling/getting.  I was only 19 years old at the time when I, along with millions of others started playing with Lara (and saying goodbye to what little social life I had at the time). 
 
Ahhh, the memories.
 
Happy 20th Tomb Raider and Lara Croft.

Sunday, October 09, 2016

A Dream Come True

Wow, it's been a few months since my last post.  Apologies for that.  While I think of something good to write about, here are a couple of pictures of me meeting William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk) and Terry Farrell (Jadzia Dax) at the Destination Star Trek Europe convention yesterday at the NEC in Birmingham.
 
A dream come true to say the least.
 
 The legend that is William Shatner.
 
The gorgeous Terry Farrell
 
Normal content will resume shortly :D

Thursday, June 02, 2016

Retro Game Boys Episode 10 - Lotus III The Ultimate Challenge (Commodore Amiga)

Stuart introduces Kieran to the classic racer on the Commodore Amiga, and also risks a tenner!  Enjoy our feature length 10th episode! (it's only feature length because we got carried away playing the game!)


Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Mastertronic - What if? : Uncharted 4 - A Thief's End

Mastertronic brings you "Uncharted 4 - A Thief's End" on cassette for £1.99, only for Commodore, Amstrad, Spectrum and Atari  - Available from all good newsagents, chemists and game shops!
 
If only..... :o)

Because I have WAY too much time on my hands, I thought I'd mess around with putting together some fake Mastertronic covers for modern computer games in an attempt to give them the retro 1980's 8-bit cassette look.
  
Remember...  These are just for fun, and are obviously NOT real and NOT available.

In case you are not aware (or can not remember), Mastertronic were big in the mid to late 1980s and were a major budget software label in the United Kingdom and produced a large number of cheapo games and re-releases for the Commodore/Spectrum/Amstrad/Atari 8-bit computers (and some 16-bit too) - most at a pocket-money-friendly £1.99!  They're still going now, but dare I say it I doubt anyone from the original days is still running things. 

Anyway, remember this is just a bit of fun, but what would modern games look like if Mastertronic still released games like the good ol' days? Well, here you can find out!
 
As always, click the images to enlarge.
 
 
 
 
 

Monday, April 11, 2016

Stuart's Panoramic World 19 - Evesham, Workman Bridge & Flooded Avon - 25th November 2012

My next 360° panorama is from way back in November 2012, when Evesham was hit by a moderate flood which affected Waterside, and Crown Meadow.  This was taken on Workman Bridge, overlooking the flooded Avon.
 
 
If you look at my previous Panorama (number 18), you'll notice that the path where that one was taken is well under water.  In fact, you can just about make out the Life Ring stand just poking out of the water in this shot which is clearly visible in the previous panorama.
 
 
This one was taken on my old Fujifilm HS30EXR camera - A great little bridge camera which I used before upgrading to a Canon EOS DSLR.