Evercade have announced a new cart for their system, which will be launched in early 2022. The new cartridge brings together a selection of games from Japanese publisher Telenet and its US subsidiary Renovation. These titles included were never released in Europe during their original run and so this is a first for the UK and EU to have non-imported physical versions of these 16-bit titles. Telenet was originally founded in 1983 and went on to produce incredible titles for the 8 and 16-bit era with their internal development studios like Wolf Team. They were responsible for some of the most well-known and loved titles of that era of Japanese gaming including the Valis series and distributed many other games in the US under the Renovation name. Evercade say "We’ve really enjoyed and listened to the feedback from the Evercade community and following the success of other carts, some of our most requested games have been shoot ’em ups, JRPGs, and more rare titles. We believe this fits the bill nicely and will be a great start to the new year! We look forward to you getting your hands on these games and keep an eye out for more promotional material and box art for this cartridge later this year." Games included are: • Arcus Odyssey • Beast Wrestler • Dino Land • El Viento • Exile • Final Zone • Gaiares • Granada • Sol-Deace • Traysia • Valis: The Fantasm Soldier • Valis 3

Arlasoft has been busy creating more Channel F games! Three new games have been launched for the system: 2048, Threes and Centipede 2048 for Fairchild Channel F A game for the Fairchild Channel F, written in F8 assembly language over the course of around 24 hours. This is the classic modern-day mobile puzzle game 2048. The aim is to create a block containing the number 2048. When you move the controls in a direction, the blocks will move in that direction until they hit another block or the edge of the grid. When a moving block meets a stationary block of the same value, they combine to create a block with double the value, which clears space on the grid. 3rees for Fairchild Channel F A game for the Fairchild Channel F, written in F8 assembly language. As an adaption of the game 2048, it took just a few hours to add the graphics and the extra rules that make Threes a trickier game to master than 2048. The aim is to get the highest score possible before you run out moves. When you move the joystick all the blocks that have space will move ONE square in that direction. When a moving block of 3 or above meets a stationary block of the same value, they combine to create a block with double the value. Unlike 2048, blocks containing 1 or 2 can only combine with each other and not themselves, therefore it's important to keep an eye on them and make sure 1's or 2's are not bunched together filling up the grid. Centipede - Channel F Port of the classic 1981 arcade game. The basic idea is to shoot and avoid the centipede, as well as other enemies such as spiders, fleas and scorpions. When a centipede hits a mushroom, he will drop down one row and turn around. When you shoot a centipede, he will split and the second part will generate a new head. Shooting the head scores more points than the body. Mushrooms can be poisoned (turned blue) by the scorpion and will cause the centipede to dive straight for the bottom of the screen. You can see all of Arlasoft's Channel F games here.

Nixy the Glade Sprite is a new C64 arcade-adventure platform game, which has been ported from the ZX Spectrum version launched in 2018. Nixy is a glade sprite charged with looking after the Gaia stone. The Gaia stone is the heart of the Glade and gives life to the plants and flowers. But something is wrong with the stone, its been corrupted and now once beautiful flowers are turning dangerous and the once friendly Mushroom people are attacking! The Old Ones talk of a pool of water which in ages past cleansed the stone. Maybe that might work again? Travel through the forest avoiding deadly plants and creatures to find the sacred pool and cleanse the stone, then return it to the Guardian Tree in the Glade. Programming for the game is by Anthony Savva; Art and concept by Andy Johns; Music and SFX by Kamil Wolnikowski; Loading screen by John Blythe; Tape master by Richard Bayliss & Martin Piper; Tape loading tune by Richard Bayliss; Cartridge produced by James Monkman / RGCD; Inlay art by Trevor Storey; Additional packaging design by Kenz Bubblesoft have teamed up with Psytronik Software to launch the game, which is available as a download, as well as physical collectors edition.

Hamster are adding Hacha Mecha Fighter to its Arcade Archives range for Nintendo Switch and Playstation 4. The shoot em-up game was launched in the arcades in 1991 by NMK. Hamster say: Control KAWAUSO and TSUCHIBUTA as they fly forward on airplanes and defeat enemies along the way. It's a great, easy game to get into, even for players who don't often play shooting games, but still poses enough of a challenge to keep fans of the genre interested! Hacha Mecha Fighter is released today and more information can be found on the Hamster website. The Arcade Archives series has been designed to faithfully reproduce many classic Arcade games. Players can change various game settings such as game difficulty, and also reproduce the atmosphere of arcade display settings at that time. Players can also compete against each other from all over the world with their high scores.

Soul of the Beast is an Atari 2600 game inspired by the classic Amiga game, Shadow of the Beast. The game was previously under working title of Legacy of the Beast and was coded by Michael Christophersson (@aeriflame on Twitter.) and runs on NTSC Atari systems, as well as Stella, Gopher2600, OpenEMU or other Atari 2600/VCS compatible emulators. A PAL version is apparently in the works. Stolen as an infant child, moulded and twisted into a creature of violent servitude; You have at last awakened. Now defeat the vile horde, kill the sorcerer Rynkar, and regain your humanity. :: 15 unique enemy types and variants :: 4 massive areas to explore :: Non-linear game design The game is available now to download from itch.io

Xbox Game Pass is a subscription service for players with Windows, Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S. Once subscribed you have access to over 100 games, but which ones might be of interested to the retro-gamer? Here is a list of all the Xbox Game Pass games we think fit the bill. (We've included the EA Play games which are available in the Windows and Ultimate subscriptions) Game Xbox Win Genre Notes Age of Empires I,II & III Definitive Edition ❌ ✅ Strategy Remake of the 1997 original Atic-Atac* ✅ ❌ Action ZX Spectrum version Banjo-Kazooie ✅ ❌ 3D Platform Xbox 360 version of Rare's N64 original Banjo-Tooie ✅ ❌ 3D Platform Xbox 360 version of Rare's N64 original Battletoads* ✅ ❌ Beat em Up NES version Battletoads* ✅ ❌ Beat em Up Arcade Version Battletoads ✅ ✅ Beat em Up The new version that came out last year Bejewelled 2 ✅ ❌ Puzzle Candy Crush's grandmother Blast Corps* ✅ ❌ Action N64 version Celeste ✅ ✅ Platform 2D Platformer orignally written for the Pico-8 fantasy console Cobra Triangle* ✅ ❌ Racing NES Version Conker's Bad Fur Day* ✅ ❌ 3D Platform No need to buy an expensive N64 cart off eBay Day of the Tentacle ✅ ✅ Adventure Remake of the 1993 LucasArts classic SCUMM based adventure Digger T Rock* ✅ ❌ Platform Nes Version Doom, Doom 2, Doom 3, Doom 64 ✅ ✅ FPS The game that made all Amiga owners end up buying a PC Double Dragon Neon ✅ ❌ Beat em Up Recent version of the arcade brawler Elite Dangerous ✅ ❌ Strategy Follow-up to a BBC Micro game Final Fantasy VII ✅ ❌ RPG Port of the PSX original Final Fantasy VIII ✅ ❌ RPG Remastered version Fuzion Frenzy ✅ ❌ Action Yes, OG Xbox has to count as retro now, this game is 20 years old for gawd's sake Grabbed by the Ghoulies* ✅ ❌ Arcade Adventure Xbox port. Rare are keen to point out that it wasn't inspired by Atic Atac. Grim Fandango ✅ ✅ Adventure Remastered version of the LucasArts classic adventure Gunfright* ✅ ❌ Arcade Adventure ZX Spectrum Version Hollow Knight ✅ ✅ Platform Modern old-skool platformer Jetpac ✅ ❌ Action ZX Spectrum version Jetpac Refuelled ✅ ❌ Action Follow-up to some ZX Spectrum game Killer Instinct Gold* ✅ ❌ Fighting N64 Version Knightlore* ✅ ❌ Arcade Adventure ZX Spectrum Version Lunar Jetman* ✅ ❌ Action ZX Spectrum Version Perfect Dark ✅ ❌ FPG Rare's kinda follow up to GoldenEye Populous & Populous II ❌ ✅ Strategy The classic God-games R.C. Pro-Am & R.C Pro-Am II ✅ ❌ Racing NES versions Sabre Wulf* ✅ ❌ Arcade Adventure ZX Spectrum Version SimCity 2000 ❌ ✅ Strategy Classic isometric city-building strategy game Slalom* ✅ ❌ Skiing The first game released under the Rare brand. NES Version Solar Jetman* ✅ ❌ Action NES Version Snake Rattle N Roll* ✅ ❌ Platform NES Version Streets of Rage 4 ✅ ✅ Beat em Up Awesome recent game in the Streets of Rage series Tetris Effect ✅ ✅ Puzzle It's Tetris, but with multiplayer Two-point Hospital ✅ ✅ Simulation It's basically Theme Hospital Underwurlde* ✅ ❌ Arcade Adventure ZX Spectrum Version Worms W.M.D ✅ ✅ Strategy Modern day version of the Amiga classic Xeno Crisis ✅ ✅ Top-down shooter Recent game originally made for the Sega Megadrive *Available as part of the Rare Replay compilation. Let me know if there's anything you think I've missed. I'll regularly update this to show new additions or things that are no longer available.

Intellivision's upcoming Amico will launch with six games pre-installed on the system and two controllers as standard. In addition, up to six smartphones can be used as controllers with a free downloadable app. As previously announced, the included games are “Intellivision Skiing”, “Cornhole”, the dice game “Farkle”, “Astrosmash”, “Shark! Shark!” and yet to be announced party game. In the “Amico Game Shop”, over 20 additional titles from all genres are expected to be available for download on launch day. The price range starts at from EUR 5.99. The following eight of these titles will not only be available online, but also in a special edition for EUR 17.99 (SRP) in traditional stores: Evel Knievel Dare to attempt impossible feats! Unlock multiple vehicles & outfits or jump Snake Canyon with friends! Biplanes Take to the skies and ace multiple modes in this fun-filled action air combat game bases on a classic Intellivision favorite! Moon Patrol Drive an armed-and-agile space rover through the wild wastes of a far-future solar system in this reimagined arcade classic. Missile Command Protect your cities from ever-mounting barrages in this frantic new take on one of the all-time classics. Rigid Force Redux Enhanced Take the captain’s chair and ready your reflexes for this fast-paced, bullet-dodging shoot-’em-up. Finnigan Fox Take up your magic crossbow and master the changing seasons in this forest adventure of platforms, puzzles, and plunder. Dynablaster Have a blast setting devious traps and clever ambushes for your friends and family, or test your skills against AI opponents. Brain Duel Test—and expand!—the limits of your grey matter with this tailored set of brain fitness tasks and tools. There will also be a large range of accessories. A special "Intellivision Amico" console bag (SRP 29.99 EUR) allows the console and two controllers to be transported safely when traveling. A sleeve can be used to protect your Amico controller when you go out to meet friends to play with (SRP 17.99 EUR). If you want to customise the look of your system, you can choose from ten different controller skin packs (SRP 17.99 EUR) which each include 3 different designs. That way you can customise the look of your controller to your taste. The motifs include racing, sports, sci-fi, modern art or a kids pack. From June 1st, the European team will be strengthened with the appointment of Therése Svensson. As Product Manager for Europe she will coordinate the localisation of all products as well as marketing and press work from Sweden.

Evercade have partnered with Funstock to launch the Founders Edition of the Evercade VS console. The Founders Edition is limited to 5,000 units, and will be black instead of white. With the package, you will receive: Evercade VS Founder Edition Console (Black) Evercade VS Founder Edition Controller (2x Black) Evercade VS Founder Edition Exclusive Packaging Evercade Handheld Black Link Cable Founder Edition Certificate of Authenticity Two Evercade VS Exclusive Art Cards Evercade Exclusive Founder Edition Poster Evercade VS Steel Book Cartridge Holder Evercade VS Founder Edition Keyring Your name in the credits* for the Evercade VS You will also receive 6 cartridges with over 50 games included: Intellivision Collection 1 (#21) Bitmap Brothers Collection 1 (#22) Technos Arcade 1 (Arcade Series #01) Data East Arcade 1 (Arcade Series #02) Gaelco Arcade 1 (Arcade Series #03) Atari Arcade 1 (Arcade Series #04)

Sega are launching their mini-arcade, the Sega Astro City Mini, in Europe on 22 June. The Astro City Mini console is a 1/6 scale true reproduction of the original arcade cabinet. The Astro City Mini has 37 classic arcade Sega games pre-installed, including the 720P-HD version of Virtua Fighter. The company is also releasing an Astro City themed controller and arcade stick, which can be used with the mini console. Sega Astro City Mini console specifications: 37 games Dimensions : 13*17,5*17cm Screen size : 3.9’’ LCD resolution : 480x800 LCD colors : 16.7M HDMI : 720P/480P Outputs : USB-B , HDMI output, jack 3.5mm, 2 controllers USB-A. Accessories : USB-B Power cable, HDMI cable (1.8m), Instruction manual (english/french/german/italian/spanish) Games included Virtual Fighter Space Harrier Rad Mobile Fantasy Zone Altered Beast Golden Axe Golden Axe – The Revenge Of Death Adder Alien Syndrome Alien Storm Wonder Boy Wonder Boy In Monster Land Wonder Boy III Monster Lair Shinobi Shadow Dancer Cyber Police Eswat Crack Down Gain Ground Quartet 2 Puyo Puyo Puyo Puyo 2 Columns Columns II Stack Columns Bonanza Bros. Tant-R Ichidant-R Thunder Force AC Sonic Boom Dottori Kun Flicky Sega Ninja My Hero Arabian Fight Dark Edge Cotton Alex Kidd with Stella The Lost Stars Scramble Spirits

Here’s something you don’t see that often - a new Channel F game! The game is a puzzle game called Tents and Trees. The aim of the game is to place a tent adjacent to each tree in such a way that the correct number are in each row and column, as shown by the numbers alongside. When you have the correct number in a particular row or column, the number will turn green. Tents cannot be placed if there is no tree to the left, right, above or below. You can move the blue selection box around the grid using the joystick (arrow keys), and place or remove a tent by pressing fire. As you complete more levels the size of the grid, and therefore the complexity of the puzzles, increases. The quicker you solve each puzzle, the more points are added to your score, up to a maximum of 50 per grid. Puzzles are created using procedural generation so there is a large number to solve. More info can be found here: https://arlagames.itch.io/tents-and-trees-fairchild-channel-f

The Evercade, which launched last year, is a handheld system that takes physical carts, mainly based around retro games. The company have announced a tie-in with Intellivision Entertainment to release to carts based around Intellivision games. The Intellivision was launched by Mattel in 1979, and lived on until 1990. Recently the brand has been revived by Tommy Tallarico, and the company are launching a new Intellivision console this year called Amico. The new Evercade carts feature classic Intellivision games. Collection 1 will launch in the Autumn and will feature twelve games, three of which have been confirmed. The confirmed games so far are: Astrosmash Night Stalker Frog Bog The remaining games will be announced at a a later date.

Shattered Screens have launched a playable demo of their upcoming rhythm game for the Vectrex, named VecRibbon. The game is inspired by the PlayStation rhythm game, Vibribbon, where you guide Vibri – a rabbit (and sometimes frog or TV-headed-worm thing) across a landcape created from the rhythm of the background music. In VecRibbon, you control Liv the Ladybird! This playable demo features two levels; “Snowfall”, while no walk in the park, will help you find your feet and takes you on a journey through all the Vecribbon obstacles. Once your skills are ready, you can tackle the brutal “Astronoma”! You can find out more and download the demo at the Shattered Screens website.

Evercade have announced another cart which will be due for the hand-held console in 2021: Codemasters Collection 1 Games included on the cart include: Cannon Fodder Sensible Soccer International Edition (Previously Unreleased) Tennis All-Stars Big Nose Freaks Out Cosmic Spacehead The Ultimate Stuntman Psycho Pinball Big Nose The Caveman MiG 29 – Soviet Fighter Bee 52 Stunt Buggies Linus Spacehead F16-Renegade CJ’s Elephant Antics Super Skidmarks Boomerang Kid Mega-Lo-Mania Other Evercade cartridges already announced for 2021 include: Piko Interactive Collection 2 Jaleco Collection 1 Indie Heroes Worms Collection

Our friend FOX was one of the many people who backed the Atari VCS Crowd Funding Campaign when it launched in 2018. It’s finally arrived and here is the first impressions! So here we are, the day I thought would never happen – my Atari VCS 800 Collectors Edition finally (after originally backing it in May 2018) arrived via UPS today. First impressions, the main console (or is it a PC?) is nicely made, feels like a quality product, build quality seems good, and the joystick seems like it will be responsive and looks great – you can definitely see the linkage with the original 2600. It came with a certificate of authentication, and a confirmation of my backer number, noted via a hologram at the rear of the console/PC, whatever it is. No instructions or any other documentation as it’s all digital. And as I stopped paying any attention to the project (about 18 months ago), I’ve no idea what the Ubuntu-based OS (Atari World) will be like. It apparently has about 100 classic games bundled, which seems very very low to me. I’d have expected to be 10-times more games available than that. The form factor is nice, but as so many pics have previously been leaked, it doesn’t blow me away. Sadly not much else I can say right now BECAUSE, and the lolzz keep coming , it’s shipped with a 2-pin USA plug, so I need to check the voltage and buy a 2-pin to 3-pin UK adapter and I really hope I don’t need a step up/down transformer. I’ll be emailing Atari to seek advice. But yeah, this is my $299 (£225) investment. And although the machine is now in my paws, I still can’t use it, which is frustrating, as I wanted to make a very short video of it booting-up and see what I get on-screen as I’ve no idea right now, but the PC mode might be interesting. I may not get the converter before Christmas, weather awful so I’m hunkering down inside, the Royal Mail is shot to bits right now and it wouldn’t arrive before the 25th (I’m sure) I saw someone on eBay in the UK trying to shift theirs for £5k…

The first completely new Dizzy Adventure from the Oliver Twins in 28 years was released Friday 18th December 2020 for ZX Spectrum! The twins teamed up with the team who made the 2017 Crystal Kingdom Dizzy remake to create the game. Wonderful Dizzy is inspired by L Frank Baum’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz released in 1900. Designed by The Oliver Twins using traditional methods and a little help from Excel, and Google Docs. Programming has been by Evgeniy Barskiy, whilst graphics were provided by Dmitri Ponomarjov, Alexander Filyanov, Oleg Origin, Marco Antonio Del Campo and Jarrod Bentley. Music & FX by Sergey Kosov. The Logo and Poster illustrations were by Piotr ‘PIT’ Gratkiewicz “We first contacted this talented team when they rewrote Crystal Kingdom Dizzy from scratch, improving just about everything in the game. We felt confident that if we designed a great new Dizzy game they would excel in the development and make an outstanding new game.” said Philip Oliver Andrew adds “It’s amazing to see such a large, colourful and engaging game running on a Spectrum – that’s just 128k! That’s the same as 6 seconds of an MP3 song. They’ve used every technique possible to make it absolutely stunning. Technically and artistically it’s incredibly impressive and we’re so pleased with what they’ve achieved” You can download the game for the 128K Spectrum here, or play in browser.

Fractalus is a fan-made remake of the classic Lucasfilm game, Rescue on Fractalus! Rescue on Fractalus! was originally launched on the Atari 8-bit in 1984. The game involves rescuing pilots while avoiding turrets and aliens. The new game has been written for Windows, Mac OS and Linux by Luke Arnold – a software developer based in Perth Australia.As well as the chance to relive the game on modern platforms, Fractalus also supports VR on Windows for a true immersive Fractalus experience. Although the project is unofficial, Arnold has had help from David Fox, Loren Carpenter, and Charlie Kellner from the original Rescue on Fractalus team for in bringing the remake as close to the original as possible. More information can be found here.

Overthrown is a new game for the Commdore VIC-20 where you play as the soon to be ex-President of a corrupt state. Leave your palace, grabbing as much money as you can, escape by armoured car, and then get on your private plane to reach your private island. The game starts at the presidential palace where you have to collect cash for the journey and retirement. Meanwhile, armed vigilantes try to kill you while the roads to the airport are being blocked. It is good that you brought a hand gun in case things get tense, or maybe it already is. This section ends when you enter the armored car and drive away or when the palace is set on fire. The next section is a race to the airport. Crash through barricades, avoid land-mines and air strikes until your armored car breaks down or runs out of fuel. If you have the cash ($1000) you can get a replacement on the spot otherwise you’ll need to walk. At the airport your fighter jet is ready for take off. In the air you’ll cross the sea in search for the tropical island with your retirement villa. However the air force and navy are trying to stop you. Avoid helicopters, fighter jets and surface to air missiles. Don’t forget to refuel in time at the towers! Aircraft fuel isn’t cheap as well ($100 a unit). With luck and skill you will reach your retirement villa with plenty of cash to enjoy! Or not… The game, written by Erik Hooijmeijer, runs on a VIC-20 with 8K expanded memory. It is available as a cartridge and you can also download the game and find out more here.

Protovison, the publisher of retro homebrew games such as Soul Force and Sam’s Journey are seeking funding for a multi-button controller for Commodore 64 games, which will also work for Atari and Amiga. The controller, named the Protopad, will have 8 buttons, and joy upon joy, one of the buttons is pre-programmed as Up, so there is a button to jump! The Protopad will be compatible with C64 games that can already use a 2-button joystick such as Double Dragon and Robocop 2. New homebrew coders will be able to define the buttons for their own games. Funding is being sought to ensure that it can be produced at a price that makes it affordable. If they reach €5,000 then initial costs will be covered. At €10,000 then Knights of Byte will make a new version of Sam’s Journey with multi-button support. At €15,000, Protovision will make new paddles for the C64, and at €20K a new multi-button joystick will be made. Find out more and donate here.

The Commodore Plus/4 didn’t get a great deal of love in its day. Most game publishers just made games for its 16K sister, the Commodore 16. The Plus/4 had a whopping 64K but barely anyone took advantage of it. Times have changed and now lots of clever coders have made some awesome games that take advantage of the Plus/4. These games will also work on a Commodore 16 with a memory expansion. There’s also a whole bunch of amazing unofficial Plus/4 ports from other platforms, but I will cover those another time! Note: if you are emulating, then VICE isn’t the best at some of these games – give YAPE a try. Bucket Wars Author Oziphantom Genre Strategy Launch 2020 A bunch of losers have stolen your bucket, and they are going to stop at nothing to avoid you from getting it back! Bucket Wars is a tactical strategy game with three levels of difficulty. Originally programmed by Oziphantom for the Commodore 128, and then converted to the C64 and Plus/4 (If you think that a war over a bucket sounds ridiculous, then you might want to read about the 1325 War of the Bucket) Available as: Download Slipstream Author Bauknecht Genre 3D Shooter Launch 2017 Slipstream is a tale of AI gone wrong. Robots defending the planets asteroid-shielding system have begun to malfunction. The robots are now classifying whole planets as asteroids and began attacking them. It was only a matter of time before they started attacking inhabited worlds Slipstream is a 3D Rail shooter, with polygon graphics and and an awesome soundtrack. Shoot all the robot enemies by holding fire and move to target them, and blast away! Available as: Download / Diskette Berks Four Author Jon Williams Genre Multidirectional Shooter Launch 2019 Jon Williams coded the original Berks game back in 1985 – it was a top-town shooter very much inspired by Bezerk. Berks 2: Major Blink and Berks 3 followed in very quick succession. Well, now 35 years later, Williams has created another Berks game, this one is an expanded version of Berks 3. The aim is to collect a bunch of keys from the maze-like levels while avoiding Berks and Drones. Once you have all the keys you can enter the Crystal Chamber and get a password to enter the next world. Williams has also converted Berks Four for the C64 and Atari 8-bits. Available as: Download Digiloi Author Tero Heikkinen Genre Run-and-Gun Launch 2018 The amazing thing about Digiloi is that all the graphics are made of PETSCII characters (the default character set of the Commodore computers). The second amazing thing about the game is the size of the sprites* The game was originally created for the C64, but although the Plus/4 version is a tad slower**, it does look slightly better due to the Plus/4’s larger colour palette. The game is a run-and-gun platformer where the aim is to find keys and place them in a machine thing, all at the same time as shooting everything that moves. The game isn’t overly long, but it’s fun the whole time. *The Plus/4 doesn’t actually do sprites, but I’m using ‘sprites’ as shorthand for ‘the things that move about.’ ** Originally I stated that the Plus/4 version was slower. This was a mistake on my part, and thank you to @Kekule1025 for pointing it out. So, I think that makes the Plus/4 version currently the best Digiloi! Available as: Download The Pit Author Doug Turner Genre Action Puzzle (Boulderdash style) Launch 2020 Like Jon Williams of Berks fame, Doug Turner has recently created his first Plus/4 game in many years. The Pit is Turner’s kind of sequel to his earlier works Icicle Works and Prospector Pete, which he wrote in the eighties. The game stars the aforementioned Prospector Pete who is now on his new quest – to get through all the mines, collecting gems, solving puzzles and fighting monsters. If you ever played Icicle Works (or of course Boulder Dash), then The Pit is well worth your time. Side note: The Pit was influenced by Boulderdash, but Boulderdash was influenced by an arcade game also called The Pit (though it’s nothing like this one) Available as: Download Pets rescue Author Members of Assassins and Bauknecht Genre Platform Launch 2019 Pets Rescue may be the nearest thing we’ll get to a Mario game on the Plus/4. The game was created by basically a supergroup of people involved in the modern Plus/4 home brew scene. Dr Andrea “Dr. Dree” Brown is vet by day and a singer by night. But her veterinary assistant is a bit of an evil genius and has messed with the DNA of all the animals. So Dr. Dree has to ditch her lab coat, and don her cool-looking headphones and set about rescuing all the animals by jumping on their heads. Pets Rescue takes everything that’s good about Super Mario Bros and brings it to the Plus/4. And it is awesome. Available as: Download / Diskette Adventure Park Author Skoro / Kichy Genre Platform Launch 2019 Collect all the diamonds and trade them in for your girlfriend, who has been caught in spider’s web. Adventure Park is a Jet Set Willy-style platform game, with flip screens, enemies and stuff to collect. Available as: Download Magic Blocks Author Roland Kunz Genre Action Puzzle Launch 2018 Magic Blocks is a puzzle-platformer arcade game where the aim is to find the key and get to the door. You play as Archimedes, a sorceror’s apprentice who can move blocks around to help reach his goal. Available as: Download Get It Author Assassins Genre Action Launch 2007 Another “Get the key and reach the exit” type game. This time the key keeps moving, so you have to be quick. Reminds me of a Game & Watch style game – really basic but fun. Available as: Download Pac-Pac Author Assassins Genre Maze Launch 2016 Thankfully not a straight Pac-Man clone, Pac-Pac has a few differences to make it worth a look. There is a variety of mazes in the game which are randomly presented. Pac-Pac has no power pills, but instead a Question Mark appears on screen gives you a random power up, from freezing the ghosts, or the evil reverse controls. Available as: Download Tenebra Macabre Author Digital Monastery Genre Platform Launch 2019 Tenebra Macabre was originally created by the Mojon Twins for the ZX Spectrum. You are Mega Megan and are trapped in dark crypt. All the rooms are pitch black and you can only see a small area around you. Luckily lightning striking every now and again will give you a quick glimpse of the layout of each level. Each screen hides a magic candle, which will light up the room when you have touched it. Light up four candles and gain an extra life. Available as: Download Alpharay Author Puls4r (Mad / Kichy et al) Genre Horizontal Scrolling Shoot-em-up Launch 2019 Alpharay is an awesome Nemesis / R-Type style horizontal shooter, from the same people that created Pets Rescue. The game features features six gorgeous levels to shoot through. There’s a convoluted back story but all you really need to know is that this is probably the best horizontal scrolling shooter on the machine. Available as: Download / Diskette The Curse of Rabenstein Author Stefan Vogt Genre Text Adventure Launch 2020 You are on a journey to Strasbourg, and are passing through the Black Forest looking for a Tavern, which you should have reached hours ago. You are completely lost. Your coachman checks his maps and you go to stretch your legs. On your walk, you come across two mysterious Roman figures. What’s going on? You rush back to the coach and the coachman asks you to seek out some shelter while he watches the carriage and horses. So you find the tavern, and go back to the carriage, but the coachman is gone! If you like an old school text adventure, Curse of Rabenstein is worth a look, and also available on multiple other platforms. Available as: Download / Diskette Assembloids Basic Author Luca Carrafiello Genre Puzzle Launch 2017 Assembloids was based on a web browser game called Quartet and was released for the C64 and, of all things, the Watara Supervision. Assembloids Basic is the same game, but written in BASIC and using PETSCII for graphics. The aim of the game is simple – make faces from the pieces you are given in the centre. If the face you make is all one colour, you get more points, than if it is a mix of colours. Good fun, and completely impressive for a game written in BASIC. Available as: Download The Lands Of Zador Author Bauknecht Genre Platform Launch 2016 The Plus/4 has been blessed with some awesome platformers in recent years. This one is the sequel to Majesty Of Sprites, which came out in 2015. The graphics are beautiful and really showcase what the Plus/4 is capable of. Available as: Download / Diskette Xplode Man Author Assassins Genre Maze / Action Launch 2014 Xplode Man is obviously inspired by Bomber Man, but with one main difference, you have to destroy everything before reaching the next level. For some reason, despite all the exploding, it feels quite a relaxing game. Available as: Download Adventures in Time Author Kichy / Luca Genre Platform Launch 2010 Another gorgeous looking platformer. This time a flip-screen platformer, where the aim is to work your way through all the rooms until you get to the end. It’s a tricky one, and the game requires pixel perfect jumps and excellent timing. One for the more patient player. Available as: Download / Diskette CarTed Author Mad / Kichy / 5tarbuck Genre Racing Launch 2019 Sadly this game was never finished but a demo is available, and shows how an arcade racer like Outrun or Lotus could look on the Plus/4. It looks and play beautiful. Download it and enjoy what could have been. Available as: Download Sgt. Helmet Zero Author Assassins / Kichy Genre Run and Gun Launch 2013 Another Mojon Twins conversion. This one is a run-and-gun style game. The premise is simple, blast the baddies and save the refugees. Available as: Download Bomb Runner 2 Author RKSoft Genre Maze / Puzzle Launch 2017 Detonate a bomb, and reach the exit. That’s all you need to do. The trouble is, the bomb has a time limit before it explodes, so you’d better get a move on. Watch out for the guards – if you get caught in their torchlight you get sent to prison. A fun little puzzle type game, with a sense of urgency. Available as: Download If you’re interested in the latest Plus/4 games, be sure to check out Plus/4 World.

Soul Force – Sarah Jane Avory’s highly anticipated horizontal shooter for the Commodore 64 is now available to pre-order from Protovision. The game – which was inspired by Thunderforce IV and a prior Avory game, Soulstar – is a horizontal scrolling shoot-em-up with twenty different levels, each with their own distinct graphical theme. Other features include: A dedicated bitmap screen and music for each level Seven in-game bonus items to collect Four individually upgradable weapon systems General ship upgrades Lots of boss fights Four difficulty settings Password and flexible save game system Progress automatically saved to cartridge Fully PAL & NTSC compatible You can see some gameplay in the video below posted by RGN:

Evercade have announced the latest cartridge for their handheld console. The new cartridge was teased on social media last week with the tag-line ‘The next cart is BIG” Teaser promo for the new cart. Worms was originally released on the Amiga in 1995 by Team17, and then ported to pretty much every single platform you can imagine. The new cartridge features three games: Worms (1995), Worms Armageddon (1999) and Worms Blast (2002). Worms Collection 1 will be available in May 2021, with pre-orders opening in the next few months. Other upcoming Evercade cartridges include The Jaleco Collection, Piko Interactive Collection 2, and Indie Heroes. As Evercade are now working with Team 17, maybe we can hope for a Alien Breed, Super Frog and Project X cart?