CD32 XMAS DISC 2017 - A Christmas special with lots of great new demos and games!

Throughout the year we've been mentioning as many demos and new games for the Amiga and Amiga CD32 as possible to keep you keep up to date with the latest developments in the scene to keep it as fresh as a newly opened retro computer. As such it is with great pleasure to give a late announcement to a fully packaged CD32 release of those demos and games that is sure to keep you occupied through Christmas and beyond... Welcome to the 'CD32 XMAS DISC 2017'!

Golden Hornet - Colourful retro blasting inspiration gets a Steam release

With Christmas fast approaching I thought it best to mention a rather fun looking game to play through the festive period and beyond that had appeared on Steam with a retro inspiration to that of 'Choplifter', 'Fort Apocalypse' and Stern Electronics' arcade game 'Rescue'. Titled as Golden Hornet and developed by Hijong Park, this game is a twin stick shooter which puts you in control of a helicopter to rescue hostages from the North Videl army.

LIMBO C64 - A modern indie C64 port reveal as a WIP Christmas treat!

We haven't featured this work in progress C64 game lately, but you'll be pleased to know the modern indie game ' Limbo ' as a C64 game, has been teased again but this time with a rather special reveal trailer as a Christmas treat. What was originally a proof of concept by the creator Søren Trautner Madsen and backing of Playdead, looks to be going into a long term project, with the dark backgrounds and horror overtone kept intact, so yes the BIG spider is there!

Skool Daze - Retro School antics arrives on the Atari XL/XE!

Another hit game which I'm sure you remember was the world favourite of 'Skool Daze'; a ZX Spectrum release from 1984 that featured lots of school antics as you play as a naughty schoolboy named Eric with a task to steal the report card from the headmaster's safe! This rather famous game that also appeared as an Amstrad CPC port this year thanks to Joseman has now appeared on the Atari XL/XE as a conversion from multiple systems.

Pac-Mad - The final version of a great Pac-Man clone for the Atari XL/XE

One of the many different variants of the 1980's Pacman has appeared on the Atari XL/XE, and this one is an updated homebrew called ' Pac-Mad  ' programmed by BOCiANU with music by LiSU. In the original classic you took control of Pac-Man through a maze, eating all the pac-dots, avoiding ghosts or eating them with a special pick up and moving on to the next stage. Pac-Mad however is very similar but instead has a scrolling screen, fast moving enemies with fast moving music, and large dots that can slow down musical time and make the ghosts edible!

Sid Meier's Pirates! - One of the best games I've ever played, Yarrr!

It is incredible to think that the original Sid Meier's retro gaming hit of 'Pirates!', from way back in the late 80's can still be played today and enjoyed by people of all ages. It had you sailing your very own ship such as a fast sloop, capturing other ships, looking for treasure, sword fighting on deck, and marrying a rather pretty lady! In fact it was a highly addictive game that appeared on the Amiga, Amiga CD32, Apple II/IIGS, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and many others. So if you want to play this game right now without setting any emulators up, here's the Amiga version ready to be launched on a home PC!

OpenTTD 1.7.2-RC1 - Open Source Transport Tycoon Deluxe gets a new build!

OpenTTD is one of the most popular open source releases on our site, and that comes as no surprise to us as it's a constantly updated open source version of Microprose's hit game Transport Tycoon Deluxe. A game that's so addictive you'll be spending hours developing your very own transport tycoon company in an all time classic hit real time strategy and management game that has since been updated to the latest version of OpenTTD 1.7.2-RC1 with even more fixes and improvements!

Bounder is back! - One of the best 80's games is coming to mobile

This is boun-der get you excited!

Not only is it Christmas soon, which is exciting enough, but we also have some other excellent news. Bounder, which was originally released for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and other 8-bits is due to be released for Android and iOS early next year! Yes, everyone's favourite tennis ball-based game is back and is coming for you and your phone!

ScummVM v2.0.0 - The best way to play Adventure classics reaches new heights!

If you have a great collection of DOS or Windows based classic point and click adventure games, then the latest update of ScummVM 2.0.0 will do you nicely. I for one have it installed and use it for all my classic adventure games. But what is ScummVM, I hear you ask? ScummVM is a very special program which allows you to run certain classic graphical point-and-click adventure games in the compatibility list with extra added nifty features, provided you already have the main files.

The Art of Point + Click Adventure Games - Bitmap Books announces the next fabulous retro book!

Through all these years I've always been a fan of the point and click adventure genre, from games such as Beneath of Steel Sky on the Amiga, the famous game Legend of Kyriandia, to the rather charming fantasy games of Discworld or even Simon the Sorcerer. Each one full of characters to talk to, lovely pixelated graphics, an engrossing story and the ever present need to find that next item that may or may not blend in with each together just to progress past the next screen! It is one of my famous genres and this month, Bitmap Books have announced The Art of Point + Click Adventure Games, a book which celebrates all of these amazing games and more!

Pinball Dreams CPC - Fantastic Amiga classic previewed on the Amstrad CPC with a fab update!

Before I begin I would like to say a huge sorry to those of you who came to the site during this week and haven't had any updates from myself regarding new game news. That was because I had some awful issues at home which nearly affected myself and the site itself. Thankfully things are settling down now and we can move on with the latest news that the fantastic Amiga pinball game ' Pinball Dreams ' by Digital Illusions CE in 1992, has once again appeared in our news feeds with all four tables shown off for the upcoming Amstrad CPC port by Batman Group.

LuftrauserZ - Paul Koller's magnum opus blasts its way onto the C64

Name: LuftrauserZ
Developer: Paul Koller
Publisher: RGCD
Format: C64 (PAL) Cartridge and Download (from itch.io)
Available: Out Now

Not only is Paul Koller responsible for some of the greatest technical feats on the Commodore 64 (Super Bread Box, C64nabalt, and Micro Hexagon), his C64 demakes are also some of the most fun. Specialising in backwards porting games from modern systems which he thinks would suit the C64 graphics and cpu capabilities, his latest game is an official port of the 2014 game Luftrausers by Vlambeer  (Windows, OSX, Linux, PS3, Vita). It has taken three years to complete, and it’s easily his best yet. Set in an alternative universe's 20th century conflict, you are taken into the middle of a hostile sea in your submarine base. From here you can take off in your basic rauser (experimental sub launched fighter plane), where you instantly find yourself surrounded and under attack.

Zzap's back - Zzap! 64 Annual 2019 announced!

Remember that feeling you had when you were waiting for your favourite computer magazine to come out? We've got that feeling again right now, thanks to Chris Wilkins (The Story of Commodore 64 in Pixels) who has announced that he hopes to bring back Zzap! 64 for a very special annual edition. Although it's early days, Jaz Rignall has confirmed his involvement and we've got our fingers crossed that Gary Penn, and many more of our favourite Zzap writers will be able to help make this project happen.

The Dream Of Rowan - Amiten launches pre-order campaign for Amiga ECS Run & Jump Platformer

Through the last year or perhaps longer we've been keeping an eye on developments regarding Amiten's run and jump platformer of ' The Dream of Rowan ', which was due to be released at some point for the Amiga. Well the good news is, not only has the game come along in leaps and bounds from its first showing, the team behind the game have announced a demo, a pre-order campaign AND all this with a nice trailer or two to set the mood.

Digital Illusions Collection - A Pinball bonanza for the Amiga CD32

It's getting ever closer to Christmas and now we've just found out Amiga Jay has released the second day of Christmas fun with the ' Digital Illusions Collection '; a glorious Amiga CD32 release packed with three fantastic Pinball games and two games that don't require the smashing of a flipper button. Yes indeed welcome to one of the best Amiga CD32 packs released for some time with three of my personal favourites, Pinball Dreams, Pinball Fantasies, Pinball Illusions, as well as Benefactor and Amiganoid!

International Karate Ultimate Released - Feature C64 Roundup!

Following on from last week's preview, you can now play the full release of International Karate Ultimate.  A 30th anniversary homage to theArcher MacLean classic created by JonEgg, Excess and Formby cracking group inspired by a meet up at Syntax '17 demo party in Melbourne.   Here's a look at the features the final release includes.  

Unavowed - Wadjet Eye Games announces 2018 release date with a new trailer!

Wadjet Eye Games, the Studio behind the brilliant adventure games such as Golden Wake and The Blackwell Series have once again contacted us regarding their upcoming supernatural adventure game ' Unavowed ', which tells a story of dark forces and a squad of young blood to protect the mundane world from a threat stronger than any these crime fighters have faced. Wadjet Eye Games has told us not only is the game due to be released in 2018 but a new trailer has arrived that shows off the fantastic design of the game and the possible story to come.

Organism - Isometric Aliens C64 game gets a new tease and it looks fab

During this year we've constantly kept you up to date with Trevor Storey, Achim Volkers and Saul Cross's C64 game ' Organism ', which has that Aliens vibe but looks fantastic as an Isometric action game that is due to be released next year via Psytronik. Well as of today the same game is in the news again, because the team behind the game have announced it as not only 95% complete, but they have released a new teaser to the upcoming release showing not just the intro but in game footage as well.

Knight Hero - Upcoming ZX Spectrum platformer with Chess pieces!

Jaime Grilo has recently announced a new game that is coming to the ZX Spectrum, that is very much inspired by Chess but instead is actually a platformer but using Chess pieces. Titled as ' Knight Hero ', this is a new game in development using Arcade Game Designer that doesn't just look bloody good fun with well timed jumps the order of the day, but the music sounds fantastic thanks to Risky using Musicizer II!

White Light - BBC Micro owners should check this latest game out!

Dave Moore@DaveArcadian has contacted us through our twitter feed about a new game that has launched for the BBC Micro that doesn't just look rather awesome but it's available as a free download and can be purchased as a physical copy on a 5.25in floppy! Tilted as ' White Light ' and developed by Sarah Walker with graphics by John Blythe, comes a new game as an unofficial sequel to FireTrack, which has long been regarded as one of the most technically advanced games ever made for the BBC Micro.