Tag - magazine

Amiga, Gaming

This edition of Fusion magazine is for all us Amiga fans out there. It’s a special edition of the magazine, completely dedicated to all things Amiga (and CD32!). It’s just a little bit thinner than the regular magazine running to 52 pages all in.

Closer look at the magazine cover.

So what sort of things are covered in this issue? Well there’s a mixture of game reviews, several Top 5 ‘best of’ lists, hardware guides and a bunch of Amiga-centric articles from luminaries in the scene.

The top 5’s include CD32 Games, Amiga Utilities and also Point and Click Adventure games. Meanwhile the hardware guide covers each Amiga model from the first A1000 right through to the final CD32 System.

Here’s a little peak at some of the stuff in this new issue:

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Take a peek at the contents page below to see what else features in this issue:

Fusion Amiga Magazine Contents.

If you want to pick up a copy of Fusion Amiga Magazine then head on over to their website. If you use the code ‘LYONSDENBLOG’ at the checkout you will also get 15% off the price! I will also receive a tiny bit of commission to help towards my running costs.

Freeze 64 Issue #37 Fanzine is out now

6th July 2020

Looks like the post is finally getting back to normal after all the disruption brought about by the Coronavirus pandemic. How do I know this? Because I’ve just received the latest issue of Freeze 64, Issue #37 within a week of it being posted out!

Here’s a look at the front cover of issue 37.

Here’s a rundown of the contents of this issue taken straight from the magazines’ directory listing! As always there’s no shortage of interesting Commodore 64 articles to get stuck into.

Freeze64 Issue 37 Contents Page.

If you fancy getting hold of your own copy of Freeze 64, Issue #37 then head over to the Freeze64 website and show your support by purchasing this issue.

Physical copies (it isn’t available digitally) are priced at £3.99 plus postage. There are also subscriptions available which offer the opportunity to save a little money.

Finally, here’s a link to my previews of several earlier editions of Freeze64. If you’re new to Freeze64 and would like to check out what you’ve been missing all this time then this is a great place to find out!

Latest Retrokomp Issue 2 is now out

29th June 2020

Amiga, Commodore 64, VIC 20

13 Comments

Just received my copy of Retrokomp Issue 2, the multi-format retro magazine.

Retrokomp Issue 2 Cover

Once again there is plenty of content with a hefty count of 72 thick glossy pages and over a third of them devoted to Commodore machines. If you are interested in other machines besides Commodore then there’s even more on offer with the like of ZX Spectrum, Atari, Amstrad, Apple 2 and even old IBM PC’s covered.

Contents of this issue

Here’s a few highlights of this issues contents.

C64 Restoration project.

A look at Simon’s BASIC on the C64.

How to clear the Hi-Res screen on a C64.

A look at the Pi1541 disk drive emulator.

Part two of the Project Stealth Fighter article.

Comparison between Atari and CBM BASIC.

A look at file backup on the Amiga.

24-bit datatypes on the Amiga.

A look at archiving software for PowerPC equipped Amiga’s.

Card readers on the Amiga.

Amiga Modula-2 Programming.

A quick run-down of the Commodore-centric articles in Retrokomp Issue 2:

Sysres
Commodore 1541 Drive – Typical Problems
Simon’s BASIC – Sprites mean strange objects on the screen
Raspberry Pi 1541
Commodore PET vs Atari BASIC
Using the USR statement
Clearing the high resolution screen
Commodore 64 Restoration
Modula-2 Programming
24-Bit datatypes for Workbench
Simple file backup
Memory card readers

If you’ve never come across Retrokomp magazine before you might like to read through my preview of the first issue here and the second, here.

Alternatively if you’d like to purchase a copy of Retrokomp Issue 2 for yourself then visit the publishers website here and show your support.

Fusion Magazine #11 just arrived

12th June 2020

Amiga, Commodore 64, Gaming

Received the latest edition of Fusion Magazine, issue #11, a couple of days ago. This little magazine has really grown in terms of content and quality over the past year thanks in no small part to the diverse range of contributors. This issue see articles from Retro Man Cave, Octav1us and Dave Perry to name but three.

A look at the cover of Fusion #11.

I’m focussing on the retro gaming content here but there is more to it than that as it covers a smattering of modern games along with retro toys and memorabilia. All in there’s 60 pages worth of content, which for £3.99 is great value for money and should ensure that even if some of the content doesn’t interest you, there should be plenty that will. I’ve got a discount code for 15% off the price at the bottom of this page too.

Here’s a little peak at some of the stuff in this new issue:

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Here’s a little look the contents page so you can see what else features in this issue:

Fusion #11 Contents.

If you want to pick up a copy of Fusion #11 magazine then head on over to their website. The mag is only £3.99 plus postage, a very reasonable amount for such a well produced magazine. If you use the code ‘LYONSDENBLOG’ at the checkout you will also get 15% off the price making it just £3.40! I will also receive a tiny bit of commission which will help towards the hosting costs of running this blog.

Freeze 64 Issue #36 Fanzine is out now

12th June 2020

I’ve finally just received the latest issue of Freeze 64, Issue #36 – hurrah! Sadly this has been another victim of the Coronavirus situation with the postal services. I remember Vinny informing subscribers that this had been posted weeks ago. Still, better late than never!

Freeze 64 pictured alongside the featured game on the cover. (The game is from my collection).

Here’s a rundown of the contents of this issue taken straight from the magazine. I’m looking forward to reading this over the upcoming weekend.

Here’s a quick peek at the contents of this issue – image take straight from the magzaine.

If you fancy getting hold of your own copy of Freeze 64, Issue #36 then head over to the Freeze64 website and show your support by purchasing this issue.

Here’s a link to my previews of several earlier editions of Freeze64 if you’d like to check out what you’ve been missing!

K&A Plus #15 Magazine has arrived!

28th May 2020

Amiga, Commodore 64

2 Comments

Received my copy of K&A Plus #15 today. This was another magazine heavily impacted by the current Coronavirus situation but it was definitely worth the wait. As with the previous issue I paid an extra €5 for the cover disk. This issue came with a second compilation of 11 super C64 games; ‘Good Old 8-Bit Games #2’.

K&A Plus #15 Front Cover.

I have to say I really love the fantasy artwork on cover of this issue. The illustrated colour disk jacket is pretty awesome too, a really nice touch.

The CoverDisk

Good Old 8-Bit Games #2.

Even better, an extra matching jacket was included for the previous ‘Good Old 8-Bit Games #1’ disk!

Good Old 8-Bit Games #1 wearing it’s snazzy new jacket!

There’s some superb games on the cover disk. Highlights for me are PowerGlove, Bruce Lee – Return of Fury and PO Snake. Amazing value for money for just €5!

Here’s a full rundown of what’s included…

Good Old 8-Bit Games #2 – Disk Contents.

Magazine Preview

There’s a big emphasis on gaming in this issue with game reviews galore. There’s reviews for every major Commodore system from the VIC 20, the C64 through to the Amiga and CD32. The reviews cover a mixture of old and modern games.

Of course there’s some other non-gaming stuff featured too. There’s a look at how to get a C64 emulator running on the Nintendo Wii, RayCasting on the VIC20 complete with (partial) program listings, news and lots more.

Here’s a quick look at the contents page of K&A Plus #15.

K&A Plus #15 Contents.

And here’s a little preview of some of the stuff in this issue:

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If you’ve never come across this magazine before you might want to take a look at some of my previews of previous issues here.

If you want to find out more about K&A Plus #15 or order yourself a copy, head on over to the Komoda & Amiga Plus website. The magazine is produced in Poland but they produce an English language version too. Shipping to the UK (before COVID-19 at least) only takes a few days.

Amiga User 9 (Print Edition) has arrived!

28th May 2020

Amiga

7 Comments

This issue of Amiga User 9 has been a long time coming. Unfortunately due to the inescapable Coronavirus the physical shipment of the magazine from Poland was severely delayed. Anyway I’m glad it has finally arrived as there’s plenty to get stuck into during lockdown.

Amiga User 9 Front Cover

In this issue there’s a big focus on the various FPGA systems and their strengths and weaknesses as modern Amiga systems. Maintaining that theme there’s an interesting article that delves into setting up emulation on a Raspberry Pi device too. Rounding off the Amiga emulation topic there’s also an informative little review of the AmiKit Crystal USB kit. As a long time user of AmiKit I’ve often wondered what I was missing from this kit and now I no longer have to.

Elsewhere there’s a very intriguing article about fitting a CD-ROM drive inside an A1200 case. One day soon I hope to add an A1200 to my collection and this is one mod that I would love to try. There’s also some good guides to creating Zip archives, using TrueType fonts and creating DMS/ADF disk images on the Amiga.

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Here’s a peek at the contents page so you can see what else is covered in this issue as there’s a lot more than I’ve mentioned.

Amiga User 9 Contents

If you fancy getting hold of your own copy take a look at the Bitronic.pl website. Amiga User is produced in Poland but the English is jolly good. Delivery to the UK (normally!) only takes a week or so. If you’d rather get a digital version they offer that option too.

If you’d like to take a look at some of my previous previews of the magazine then please click here.

Amiga Future #144 – May/June edition out now.

7th May 2020

Amiga

The latest issue of Amiga Future (Amiga Future #144) for subscribers has arrived. It features artwork from the game Tiny Little Slug on the front cover.

Amiga Future #144 Front Cover.

What’s in this issue?

There’s a good mix of stuff in this issue with plenty of reviews to get stuck into. I’m a big fan of adventure games so the three page article looking into ScummVM 2.1.1 on MorphOS instantly caught my eye. There’s also a look at the new text adventure; The Curse of Rabenstein which I quickly decided would be my next port of call.

Issue #144’s cover CD.

There’s a healthy dose of new game reviews in this issue and some retro ones too. Titles such as Rotator, Tiny Little Slug and Atomic Bomberman are all critiqued. Software wise there’s a review of AmiCygnix v1.5 and Font Tester v1.05.

For the hobbyist there’s another helping of AmigaOS 3.1.4 tips and the latest uploads to Aminet plus the latest Amiga news across 68K, OS4 and MorphOS.

Index of what’s in Issue #144

The Cover CD

Sadly the cover CD is a bit of a wash-out for me this issue. The main event is a couple of games; Cyber Force and Dan Wilder. I must admit they looked pretty promising and I was looking forward to playing them. However when I loaded them up I discovered that they are both Polish games and all the text/menus are in Polish too. I didn’t have a clue what was going on so quickly quit out of both of them which is a shame. Still, I’m sure there will be plenty of readers in Poland who will have plenty of fun with them.

Full versions of Cyber Force and Dan Wilder on this issues CD.

Below is a little peek at some of the stuff inside Amiga Future #144. If you’d like to purchase a copy then do please take a look here and support what is now the last remaining commercially printed Amiga magazine!

: Latest Aminet uploads.

: A look at what’s happening in the demo scene.

: AmigaOS tips.

: MorphOS news.

: AmiCygnix review.

: Rotator review.

: Tiny Little Slug review.

: Atomic Bomberman review.

: The Curse of Rabenstein Review.

: Matchic review.

: ScummVM 2.1. article.

: Latest Amiga news.

Never come across Amiga Future magazine before? Perhaps you’d care to take a look at some of my other Amiga Future magazine previews here.

Amiga Future #143 – March/April edition out now.

7th March 2020

Amiga

The latest issue of Amiga Future (Amiga Future #143) for subscribers has arrived. It features a fantastic looking cover incorporating artwork from the awesome new Black Dawn Rebirth game.

Amiga Future #143 Front Cover

What’s in this issue?

There’s a big emphasis on gaming in this issue along with coverage of several Amiga shows and gatherings. As always there’s plenty of news, letters and interviews too along with a healthy dose of adverts tempting you to reach into your wallet!

Issue #143’s cover CD.

There’s stacks of game reviews in this issue, both classic and new. Games such as Black Strawberry Cake, Black Dawn Rebirth, Steel Empire, Civilization and more are examined. Software wise there’s a review of AFA-Viewer V1.2. This is a unique program that allows you to sift through the Amiga Future archive DVD to pull up reviews and articles.

Index of what’s in Issue #143

The Cover CD is an absolute belter this time around. There’s full versions of Lure of the Temptress and Insanity Fight + Construction Set on there. Insanity Fight is also reviewed inside the magazine.

The full version of Lure of the Temptress is on this issues CD!

Below is a little peek at some of the stuff inside Amiga Future #143. If you’d like to purchase a copy then do please take a look here and support what is now the last remaining commercially printed Amiga magazine!

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Never come across Amiga Future magazine before? Perhaps you’d care to take a look at some of my other Amiga Future magazine previews here.

Freeze 64 Issue 34 Fanzine is out now

6th March 2020

The latest issue of Freeze 64, issue 34 has just been published and posted out to subscribers.

Issue #34’s featured game and interview is Manic Miner 64DX and its coder, Graham Axten. In the interview he discusses the improvements he’s made to the new DX version of the game. There’s no cheats or pokes in this issue which I initially thought was a little odd. The mystery was solved however when I actually read Vinny’s intro. In it he explains they took a back seat due to the focus on Manic Miner 64X in this issue and that they will return in issue #35.

Freeze 64 Issue 34 comes with a ‘Doc Cosmos’ cheat card (no. 29) .

Percy is the featured game from the Mouldy Cupboard. When I saw that name I was initially surprised as I started thinking of ‘Percy the Potty Pigeon’ which I remember as being a superb little game. No, this game is all about a Penguin called Percy and is far from superb!

In another interview, Stephen Kellet dives into his coding past and reminisces about the games and systems he worked on. Most the fanzine regular sections like Zzapback!, Secret Squirrel and My C64 Heaven also make an appearance in this issue. A special mention has to go to the ‘Games we typed in’ article though. This was a real trip down memory lane for me as spending countless hours typing in listings as a kid is something I can definitely relate to!

Quick peek at the contents of this issue.

If you fancy your own copy then head over to the Freeze64 website and show your support by purchasing this issue.

Here’s a link to my previews of several earlier editions of Freeze64 if you’d like to check out what you’ve been missing!

Freeze 64 Issue 33 Fanzine is out now

21st January 2020