Thursday, November 18, 2010 9:52AM - By Jared Newman
Would 3D versions of Excite Bike or Ice Hockey change the game at all, or would they just look awesome? Probably the latter, as evidenced by Deviant Artist Justin Buonvino. Some renderings are better than others — The Legend of Zelda, for example, is kind of in faux-3D to begin with — but the Super Mario Bros. images are particularly rich. Check them all out at Justin’s Deviant Art page, or a gallery of my favorites below. And if you actually want to play an old-school game in three dimensions, definitely try Mega Man 8-Bit Deathmatch. [via Pixelated Geek]
Tuesday, November 16, 2010 9:54AM - By Jared Newman
Although Blaster Master is one of my retro gaming blind spots, I find it hard not to get excited for the next character in Super Mario Bros. Crossover. As the YouTube video above reveals, the game’s next update adds Sophia the Third, a hovering armored tank with a laser beam and missile launchers.
What does the abstraction of Mortal Kombat tell us about the game’s character design? That distinct color schemes and decorative outfit flourishes ruled the day, of course. If you want to make this argument to friends who clearly don’t get the beauty of Mortal Kombat, you can buy the T-shirt for $20. Same goes for Street Fighter II, whose characters are equally striking when stripped down to simple lines of color. Props to Infinite Continues for the artwork, but I’d really like to see the Mortal Kombat art in poster form. The SFII poster is already available. [via Technabob]
If CutmanMike and his team had quit after releasing the Mega Man 8-Bit Deathmatch demo, he’d get no complaints from me. Even with limited characters and maps, the game was good enough. But now, the full version of Mega Man 8-Bit Deathmatch is available for download, and it’s free. The game, which pits Mega Man heroes and enemies against each other in 3D battle arenas, is a mod of Doom, but you don’t need a copy of id’s classic shooter to play. Just download the 55 MB zip file and you’re good to go.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010 9:19AM - By Jared Newman
Realistic depictions of Pac-Man usually involve dudes dressed in funny suits, but DeviantArtist Jaime Margary’s approach is a little more frightening. Pictured above is the Pakku rotundus, more commonly known as a Pac-Man. It appears to be frozen in a ghastly state of hunger, perhaps given the touch of death by Pinky, Blinky, Inky or maybe even Clyde. Ms. Pac-Man has been notified, I hope.
Monday, September 13, 2010 8:10AM - By Jared Newman
Super Mario Bros. is now a 25-year-old video game. Released in Japan on September 23, 1985, the Famicom classic made its way to the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America the following year, and quickly began working kids who didn’t have the NES into an envious lather. Even though Mario appeared in Donkey Kong and Mario Bros in previosu years, video games were never the same after the iconic plumber starred in his first scrolling platformer. Read on for 10 ways to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Supe Mario Bros.
Friday, September 3, 2010 7:49AM - By Jared Newman
If you’ve got an Android phone, you know that the thrill of loading it up with classic console game emulators is quickly tempered by the difficulty of playing games with a virtual keypad or tiny QWERTY keyboard. So here’s a solution from Sk3tch, who gets bonus points for the extreme hacker name. A classic Nintendo Entertainment System controller is rigged up to an Arduino controller board and a BlueSMiRF Bluetooth module. Button on the controller are translated to keyboard input, which the emulator in-turn translates back to button presses.
Thursday, August 26, 2010 7:23AM - By Jared Newman
Doom doesn’t strike me as a prime candidate for arts and crafts tributes, but that only makes the Hama bead Doom title screen more delightful. YouTube user emilerlandsson sunk 80 hours and 56,832 beads into replicating the Doom space marine’s iconic pose. The final image measures 256-by-222 beads, and mounted to the wall in a sweet 55-by-47-inch frame.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010 11:33AM - By Jared Newman
Beacon, N.Y., might be a lovely city, but it still deserves a mark of shame for shutting down a retro pinball and video game arcade. CNN tells the story of Retro Arcade Museum, which Fred Bobrow operated for 18 months before the fuzz forced him out. At issue is a decades-old law that prohibits pinball machines in the city. Facing fines of $1,000 per day, or jail time, Bobrow’s only choice was to close the arcade.
