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Sega Mega Drive, Saturn lighters

Sure, smoking may most one of the self destructive habits you could take up but if you’re going to do it, you might as well do it in style. Geek style, that is.

What you see above are Branpresto’s recently announced Sega Mega Drive and Sega Saturn Zipp style lighters. Both of them are available for pre-order right now for ¥10,500 or about around $115.

Of course, if you don’t smoke you can always keep them as collectibles.

via joystiq

FireCore plug-and-play console comes with Genesis games, plays them too

Not a fan of plug-and-play consoles? Neither were we, until we saw the FireCore, that is. This console is essentially a Sega Genesis remake in the sense that it lets you play Genesis carts. That’s where the similarities end, however, as the console itself actually comes installed with 20 Sega Genesis games that you can play right out of the box.

Want want? Of course you do, Buy.com has the FireCore console up for sale at just $50.

Alien Breed Spawning Next Generation

Isometric third person shooters were once as ubiquitous as FPS titles are today, being made for a wide variety of systems over the years with varying degrees of success. Many of these games are still played by rabid fans and those who prefer the simpler style of retro games. One title you’ll see on every abandonware site under the sun is Alien Breed and its two sequels.

It was originally released on the Amiga and was a big hit for developer Team17, drawing on inspiration from the Alien films and games like Gauntlet. It’s been a bit over twelve years since the last title was released, though several new projects have been started and then shelved since. The newest title, Alien Breed Evolution is aptly named as it’s a huge leap forward for the series in terms of graphics. The last title in the franchise was released when a 66 MHz processor was top of the line, while this title will be utilizing the Unreal3 engine.

Release dates and platforms are forthcoming, but since it’s a downloadable title being made by an independent company I’d certainly imagine it’ll be released for both the Xbox 360 and PS3.

Boxing dummy rigged up for NES Punch-Out!!

You thought using the Wiimote and Nunchuk for the upcoming Punch-Out!! was realistic? Get a whiff of this –The modder featured in the above video took a Slam Mans boxing dummy, outfitted it with a whole array of different buttons making for a completely unique way to play the classic NES title Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!.

Two buttons on the face for left and right face hits, two in the stomach for left and right body hits, and three in the chest area for dodge, block, and start button for use with star punches.

Honestly though, check out the video because you’re going to have to see it to believe it.

Arkanoid Live Joins Zombie Wranglers, Space Invaders This Wednesday

 
Xbox Live programming director Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb announced that downloadable retro revival Arkanoid Live will debut on Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday, joining Zombie Wranglers and Space Invaders Extreme.

The three games will sell for the same price – 800 Microsoft points ($10) a piece. All feature single-player and both online and offline multiplayer modes.

Arkanoid first appeared in the 1980s as a new style block-breaking game. The remake features more than 120 stages and both cooperative and versus modes. There’s also game customization in the form of custom gameplay, and there are new game modes as well.

ThinkGeek offers brand new Dreamcasts

If you missed Dreamcast’s original 1999 debut and refuse to settle for a used console, you’re in luck. ThinkGeek, a popular online retailer for all thinks geek, has recently gotten their hands on a shipment of brand new, in the box Sega Dreamcasts and are selling them for just $99.99.

You better act fast as these things are sure to sell like hot cakes. The console’s listing is here.

UPDATE: Yep, just as I finished writing this they sold out of the consoles. Fortunately, they have a mailing list you can join to be notified if and when they get a new shipment.

Weekly Wii Update – 3/16/08

Yep it was inevitable, another update from Nintendo for the Wii’s WiiWare and Virtual Console services. Hey, it is Monday after all.

This week we are greeted with the Commodore 64 tite, Summer Games II for the Virtual Console and the beat makin’ BIT.TRIP BEAT for WiiWare.

More information, straight from Nintendo, below:

WiiWare
BIT.TRIP BEAT (Aksys Games, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 600 Wii Points): BIT.TRIP BEAT is a rhythm game that brings retro action into the present, letting you use the motion-sensing Wii Remote™ controller to bounce beats. Retro visuals, classic game play, four-player multiplayer and an 8-bit soundtrack will get you in the zone and rock your world. The challenges are mighty, but if you can stay cool as the difficulty increases, you’ll discover the beginnings of the BIT.TRIP saga.

Virtual Console
Summer Games II™ (Commodore 64, 1-8 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): A thousand athletes. A hundred countries. Billions watching around the world as you enter the stadium, marching confidently among your nation’s strongest, fastest and boldest young men and women. Your gaze sweeps the crowd as you realize the scope of your achievement. You are about to compete against the world’s best athletes in a 3,000-year-old competition. This is the pinnacle of athletic achievement: the Summer Games. Summer Games II challenges your competitive skills with a series of athletic contests for one to eight players. Experience the excitement and realism of eight different events: cycling, equestrian, fencing, high jump, javelin, kayaking, rowing and triple jump. Practice each event to sharpen your skills, then choose from the 18 countries you can represent in the competition.

R-Type Dimensions: Frustratingly Difficult or Pointlessly Easy

Retro gaming aficionados could endlessly debate what bygone style was the best. Whatever your favorite eight or sixteen bit genre, if you grew up in the 80s and 90s you’ve probably played one of the many side-scrolling shooters that have come out over the years. The plot is often the same: an invading alien force has decimated the defenses of the human race. Only one hope remains: a pilot who must single-handedly defeat the forces hell-bent on humanity’s destruction.

The R-Type series was a classic in the genre. Featuring creepy organic enemies who came on in endless waves, interesting bosses and some very cool power-ups it was everything the side-scrolling shooter genre could be. It was also devastatingly hard, but then again this was a hallmark of the genre. After all, wouldn’t taking on an alien armada with one fighter be difficult?

The recent remake of the original two R-Type games that is packaged on Xbox Live Arcade as R-Type Dimensions is an excellent bit of nostalgia. One of the cooler features is the ability to swap between the retro 2-D graphics and the new, 3-D updated graphics with the push of a button. Unfortunately the hordes of enemies are just as deadly in either resolution.

Playing through either R-Type game in the standard mode is maddeningly hard. You’re given only three lives and one hit from anything kills you. In some levels the enemies are so thick that it seems impossible to get through. For those of us who aren’t experts there’s the ‘infinite mode’ where you can die however times you like and your performance is based on your score. Unfortunately this takes a lot of the fun out of things as there’s little consequence for dying.

Overall it’s visually amusing and provides a great challenge for the retro gaming crowd, and the co-op feature is fun, but the more casual crowd will find it either too frustrating or too easy depending on the mode.

Good Old Games’ Jagged Alliance is Sacred

Retro games Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games and Sacred have joined the roster of Good Old Games, the DRM-free digital distribution platform being run by CD Projekt, the studio behind The Witcher.

Released back in 1995, Jagged Alliance was developed by Sir-Tech and offers tactical turn-based RPG action. The other game is Sacred, a hack-and-slash adventure from 2004, that offers 8 character classes and includes the Underworld expansion, which adds more quests and 2 more classes.

Both games are retailing for $9.95 a piece.

Splatterhouse Revealed

The June issue of will be giving us a look at the newly announced next-generation Splatterhouse game, being developed by Namco. There are not too many details right now, but there is a lot of weight being held by a title like this. Splatterhouse was a pioneer in horror gaming released in 1988, which eventually lead to some great games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. It was also the first game to ever get a parental advisory disclaimer.

The original game is also available on the Virtual Console for the Wii. Hopefully Rick will be kicking some next-generation ass.

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