Retroaction Issue #2 Review

[triverse]

Want to see the future of gaming publications? Check out Retroaction #2 for a glimpse of what may come as the Internet becomes more prominent in life (can it really get more prominent than it already is?). 84 pages of wonder and excitement covering retro games and other related items (like game creation of new games for old systems, often referred to as Homebrew).

Bummed about the recent announcement that Duke Nukem Forever is, well, gone forever? You will enjoy the cover story then, Building Classics. It is 5 pages of coverage of games that used the Build Engine (from the original Duke Nukem 3D) and contributor Duncan Rule was able to secure a 3 page interview with Ken Silverman the creator of the Build Engine itself!

Ever wanted to be a game designer? Found it too confusing learning programming from scratch, ready made engines cost too much, or just don't have the time to just do it? Then how about checking out the article, Seud: Shoot-em-up Designer by Gnome himself for a very conveniently priced (4.99 in pounds) program for the Spectrum"]ZX Spectrum[/url] (for more info on the Spectrum see the next section). While SEUD is limited to shooter games similar to Gradius and such you are only limited by your imagination, the author, Jonathon Cauldwell, does have other engines available- Platform Game Designer and Arcade Game Designer.

Twilight of the Spectrum by Richard Tarjan, is 4 pages of eye opening amazement for me (the first computer I had was a Color Computer then we moved up to a C64 and then many many years later I bought a 286 DOS based machine at a yardsale for $400). Over 12,000 games were released for the Spectrum from 1982 to 1993! I know, you are probably thinking it was nothing but homebrew and other 'unprofessional' games, well, no, your partly wrong as many games were released for this computer that made it to other systems with varying degrees of success. Mortal Kombat 1 and Time Gal are two titles that appeared on the Spectrum, there were other notable games too like Dune: Emperia 2, Fire n Ice and even a Mario game, Mario Islands. The amount of thorough and concise information is just amazing. I am off to ebay to try and pick up a Spectrum as soon as I am done writing this this review.

My favorite recurring article of Retroaction has become How to Cause a Complete Controversy. It is funny to me, and interesting at the same time, because I lived through the topic this month:

Yep, Night Trap. The game that arguably was the reason the gaming industry created a rating system. The tame by TV standards, even for the time, was nothing more than a really misunderstood FMV game that was the lightening rod of controversy. If you were too young to have watched this drama unfold I will just hit the high lights for you here as the article in Retroaction is superb and in depth.

Sega released Night Trap, a game that really showed off the capabilities of the then new Sega CD (although Night Trap and the other early FMV game, Sewer Shark, are much older than that having been developed for an even earlier system). A game that simply could not be done on cartridge in an affordable manner (sure you can keep adding memory to a cartridge but at some point it becomes too expensive to market). B rated type horror movies are usually something that most people get into, either openly or they are closet fans, either way, it is a fairly safe assumption that this type of game will sell. Add in college age looking girls, aliens and an air of mystery and you could have a made for TV movie on your hands, but it wasn't, it was a game and that is why it sparked the controversy it did. Night Trap was quickly pulled from shelves and shipments stopped when Senator Joe Lieberman got on his soap box about it and heralded in litigation against these 'brain damaging' games. Sad that out of everyone involved at the political level, that no one played the game, or for that matter read the back of the box! There were constant misrepresentations concerning the game like the thought that you were attacking the girls when in fact, you were saving them! That must come from the idea that the on screen character, or at least one of them, is controlled by the player and the Augers (the aliens) are attacking women so it must be the player doing it. There is plenty more about this wonderfully horrible game (although I like FMV games for some reason) in this issue of Retroaction, check it out and have a good laugh (when your done, why not call Senator Lieberman up and ask him why? Just google him, you will find his office's contact info).

Now this is the interesting part to me, not just because part of it is about Retromags, but because I love old gaming magazines (if you don't why are you here?). Neil Reive leads us through this trip into time and old gaming magazines and offers up some interesting choices on where to find magazines online. I won't ruin too much of this article for you other than to say, it reminded me so much of the Gamefan type layout (looks almost chaotic but keeps you flowing across the whole page with no problem). If you have the slightest interest in projects like Retromags then you really need to read the article and then interview with Mort. It is wonderful and very well laid out. I am not trying to sound like I am copping out on this review, I just don't want to ruin it for anyone as this article is simply wonderful.

Other points of interest in this issue, the Retrobrite Project (tips on taking care of yellowing systems), Retro Respect: Hexen and also Buck Rogers Countdown to Doomsday, Raiders of the Lost Arcade: X-Men Children of the Atom and the simply huge and detailed Reviews section (I didn't know there were that many retro games released of this quality) also, don't miss the Retro Scene section for even more great games. My biggest question after reading issue #2 is, when will issue #3 be released?

Head over to Retroactionmagazine.com and get your copy of issue #2 and also while you are there get #1 and check out the forums to keep up on what is coming in issue #3!

[Thor]

I don't know if I can bring my self to reading that magazine. Just looking at that cover story makes me want to cry.

Ok maybe not really but it does upset me. I wish I could play Duke 3D right now but I know I would end up getting motion sick so I guess I cant.

But man I remember the expansion packs they had. I had both Duke it out in DC and some Christmas Duke. I'll have to search for those on youtube now because I really don't remember much about them.

[Hidinger]

I don't know if I can bring my self to reading that magazine. Just looking at that cover story makes me want to cry.

Ok maybe not really but it does upset me. I wish I could play Duke 3D right now but I know I would end up getting motion sick so I guess I cant.

But man I remember the expansion packs they had. I had both Duke it out in DC and some Christmas Duke. I'll have to search for those on youtube now because I really don't remember much about them.

Did you also have the Plutonium pack? I think that is the one where you end up fighting the giant bad guy on a football field so that you can save the world and sleep with some cheerleaders...Man I love that game.

Anyway. Reading this reminded me that I have a copy of Night Trap...and it is aTERRIBLE game.

[triverse]

Did you also have the Plutonium pack? I think that is the one where you end up fighting the giant bad guy on a football field so that you can save the world and sleep with some cheerleaders...Man I love that game.

Anyway. Reading this reminded me that I have a copy of Night Trap...and it is aTERRIBLE game.

Care to sell your copy of the game?

[Areala]

Care to sell your copy of the game?

I have a copy too, but it isn't for sale... When people find out I have a Sega CD, it's invariably the first game they want to see.

*huggles*

Areala

[triverse]

I have a copy too, but it isn't for sale... When people find out I have a Sega CD, it's invariably the first game they want to see.

*huggles*

Areala

I got a complete sealed copy of Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective for PC recently. Best 5 cents I ever spent at a yardsale.

[tinman]

I have a copy too, but it isn't for sale... When people find out I have a Sega CD, it's invariably the first game they want to see.

*huggles*

Areala

Gawd I remember the Sega CD, it was slow as molasses on a cold day, but it sure did look bad with Genesis sitting on top of it! awe the memories and the $$$ it took to support my gaming habit

[Tony_32]

Thanks for the link, Triverse. I love that mag and best of all, it's free. Just bookmarked.

[triverse]

Thanks for the link, Triverse. I love that mag and best of all, it's free. Just bookmarked.

They are preparing to release issue #3 in or around September and it is going to be about 80-90 pages of great games (I have a list of most of what is in it and it is going to be better than #2 by a long shot).  Of course we will feature a review of it here on RM for everyone to check out.