Coming Soon to Xbox Live Arcade

Apologies for the lack of updates recently. A combination of work and DIY have unfortunately been getting in the way of my blogging time. When I have found myself with spare time I've either been down the pub or trying to better my scores on Xbox Live Arcade versions of Frogger or Galaga.

On the subject of Xbox Live Arcade, it seems as if there's a whole slew of classic games on their way for Xbox 360 owners with Live accounts. Here's a brief lowdown of just some of them:

Alien Hominid
Assault Heroes
Castle Crashers
Contra
Cyberball
Defender
Dig Dug
Diner Dash
Heavy Weapon
HoopWorld
Lumines Live!
Mad Tracks
Mega Force
Mini Golf
Ms. Pac-Man
Mutant Storm Empire
Novadrome
Paperboy
Pinball FX
Rally-X
RoboBlitz
Root Beer Tapper
Scramble
Small Arms
Sonic the Hedgehog: High Speed
Super Contra
Texas Hold 'Em
Time Pilot
Totem Ball
Track & Field
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

My thanks go to evilwallpaper of RLLMUK for passing on the above

Frogger Now Available on Xbox Marketplace

After months and months of waiting Microsoft have finally started to add titles to their Live Arcade section of Xbox Marketplace. Entitled 'Live Arcade Wednesdays', over the next five weeks or so each Wednesday will see a new title added to the Live Arcade line-up.

The latest addition is Konami's 1981 arcade hit, Frogger, which celebrates its 25th birthday this year.

Weighing in at a mere 400 points, it has to be a bargain, surely? Well, in my opinion it is, but then I've always been a fan of the game.

Featuring all manner of enhancements, including a choice of revamped graphics and sound, or the original, plus a number of multiplayer modes over Xbox Live, it really is great value for money.

One feat which initially seems impressive is the ability to swap between the original look and sound to a revamped mode mid-game. However, you soon realise that to do this the programming team haven't emulated the original Frogger, but have instead converted it.

The conversion of Frogger is very good, but it's not perfect. Some of the music is distorted, and the main soundtrack is missing, meaning that some parts of the game are deathly quiet. Still, that's a small niggle on what's otherwise an excellent package. Couple this with the plethora of achievements available, and I'm sure you'll be coming back to this again and again.

Roll-on Galaga and Pacman!

Don't Copy That Floppy

I'm not sure if I should thank or curse RLLMUK member Captain Crunch, for a heads-up on the following Google Video link, as it really is 'that' bad!

Us UK gamers no doubt the remember the long running FAST (Fedaration Against Software Theft) ads which ran and ran in numerous computing mags during the early '90s. However, those in the US had it far worse with this piece of terrible telivised brain washing.

Simply click on the following link:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4837609090332617729

Apparently it weighs in at around 10 minutes in length, but as with a number of my fellow forumites over on RLLMUK a few minutes was all I could stand!

Want to Program in Machine Code on The Spectrum?

Due to unforseen circumstances, Retro Gamer forumite robpearmain is currently selling off his collection of Spectrum machine code programming books.

Books for sale are:

How To Program The Z80 by Rodney Zaks

Machine Code Applications for the ZX Spectrum

Introducing Spectrum Machine Code

Spectrum Machine Code by Ian Stewart and Robin Jones

Spectrum Adventures by Tony Bridge and Roy Carnell

Machine Code Sprites and Graphics for the ZX Spectrum

Super charge your Spectrum by David Webb

Advanced Spectrum Machine Language by David Webb

There are some very nice titles in that list, and if you've ever thought about producing something more complex than a simple text adventure, the above titles should prove invaluable.

The Joys of Car Booting

If you're a retro gamer, then it's highly likely that you frequent your local car boot sale on a regular basis.

Over the years I've picked up a few bargains, and have added a number of nice items to the collection. On no occasion have I encountered any annoying traders or buyers, but it would seem that I'm quite clearly in the minority as this thread over in the retro section of RLLMUK reveals.

2600 Connection - Issue 82 Now Shipping

(Taken from www.atariage.com)

The July/August 2006 issue of the 2600 Connection newsletter is now available. Issue #82 includes the following articles and more:

* Atari 2600 Prototypes Update - Part II
* Just Like the Real Arcade Game (focusing on arcade conversions Rampage and Xenophobe)
* Spotlight on Homebrews: ASTAR, Wolfenstein VCS: The Next Mission, Conquest of Mars, Rainbow Invaders
* David Crane, Activision Ace and Pitfall III?
* Game review: Off the Wall (by Atari) review by Andy Floyd
* Letters from Readers
* News & Notes
* Classified Ads

Please visit the 2600 Connection to purchase this issue or subscribe to the newsletter.

The Commodore Vegas Expo v2.0

CommVEx 2006 (The Commodore Vegas Expo v2.0) takes place at the Plaza Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada on July 29th and 30th.

Whilst there's no way in a million years I'll be able to get my backside over there, I thought one or two of you may be interested.

For more information, point your browser over to:

http://commvex.petscii.com/