Tag - magazine

Amiga, Commodore 64, Gaming

It’s been a long time since I bought a copy of Retro Gamer magazine so kudos to the person who decided to offer a Rob Hubbard CD in a C2N wallet as a covermount this month. Your marketing ploy worked on me! As I browsed through the magazine rack in my local WH Smiths the unmistakable image of the C2N immediately caught my eye and then when I looked closer and saw ‘Rob Hubbard’ it became an instant impulse purchase.

Retro Gamer Magazine with Rob Hubbard ‘Remixed’ covermount CD

My love of synthwave music can be traced right back to the chip music created using the C64’s SID chip and Rob Hubbard was one of my favourite composers back in the day.

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The music on the CD is terrific, a whole bunch of Rob’s tracks that have been given a little bit of a modern make-over. However the magazine is actually a pretty fine read too. Obviously with it covering pretty much every retro system on the planet it’s not wall to wall Commodore content but there is a good amount and lots of non machine specific articles that are still really interesting.

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Commodore Content

I thought I’d highlight the Commodore content here for the benefit of anyone wondering if they should get a copy

4 page article about Rob Hubbard
6 page look at the history of Ocean software
4 page article looking at the making of Space Taxi
4 page article looking at the making Road Runner
A brief look at Shadow of the Beast
4 page spread dedicated to the CD32 covering the likes of Guardian, The Chaos Engine, Pirates! and several other games

To be honest there was a lot of great content, not just for the Commodore but Megadrive, PlayStation, original Xbox and so on. I think I’ll be checking this magazine out regularly from now on.

Amiga User 6

20th March 2019

There’s certainly no shortage of reading material this month as Amiga User 6 arrives alongside K&A Plus magazine. This is another twice a year publication and is also an equally weighty tome packed with interesting articles.

This is definitely a mag devoted to the more serious Amiga user. Although games do get a mention occasionally, the bulk of the pages are devoted to applications, utilities and the like.

There’s a great piece that looks into exactly what areas of the Internet you can still access on old Amiga systems and how to do so. There’s also part 2 of an article delving into the intricacies of MUI and a interesting article looking into the history of Sid Meier’s Silent Service.

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There’s tons more to read, far too much to list here so if you fancy getting hold of your own copy take a look at the Bitronic.pl website. Like K&A Plus, Amiga User 6 is also produced in Poland but again the English is excellent and delivery to the UK is pretty quick.

K&A Plus Issue 12

20th March 2019

Amiga, Commodore 64

2 Comments

K&A Plus magazine is only published twice a year but is always packed with great content and issue 12 is no exception. Weighing in at 81 pages there’s plenty of content to get stuck into over the coming weeks.

What a great cover!

Although the magazine supports all Commodore machines (even MorphOS and AROS systems) the bulk of the magazine is devoted to the good old C64 and original Amiga systems and that suits me just fine.

Here’s a look at the contents page showing the breadth of articles

The magazine is packed with interesting articles and reviews of new games for both the C64 and Amiga computers.

The rise and fall of Psygnosis

As a scouser, one article that immediately caught my eye was ‘The rise and fall of Psygnosis’. This deals with how the company sprang into existence and what they got up to before being engulfed by Sony and ultimately, closing. There’s even some photos inside their old Liverpool offices where they used to work.

Expedition to the world of Dune

Another fascinating article is ‘Expedition to the world of Dune’ which is a in depth look at the transition from book, to movie and ultimately the games.

Gunship 2000

As a big Microprose simulation fan the article about Gunship 2000 for the Amiga also warranted my immediate attention.

If you want to find out more, or order yourself a copy, head on over to the Komoda & Amiga Plus website. The magazine is produced in Poland (but the English is great) and shipping to the UK only takes a few days.

Retrokomp – A brand new Retro Computer Magazine

11th March 2019

Amiga, Commodore 64, VIC 20

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I originally spotted Retrokomp Magazine a few months ago. I thought it looked interesting but sadly it was only available in Polish at the time. That’s changed now though so I ordered myself a copy for €10 plus postage last week and it arrived today.

A technical article looking at diagnosing issues with the Commodore 64

So what exactly is it?

Retrokomp Magazine is a brand new retro computer magazine that focuses on 8-Bit and 16-Bit machines and is published by Bitronic.pl in Poland. Although it covers other makes and models of machine there is a lot of Commodore content covering everything from the VIC20 though to the Amiga. The other machines covered include Atari, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC and the old Apple computers. It’s produced in full colour to a high standard on A4 glossy paper and there are 74 pages in total.

Detailed look at the long lost methods of interacting with 5.25″ floppies and how you can convert them to .D64’s

The first thing that struck me as I flicked through it is that it’s not like most of the other magazines in circulation right now. This is not a game-centric magazine, it’s very text heavy and it contains a lot of articles and information. This is a good thing in my opinion as there are plenty of other magazines that cover games already.

I’ve read a few of the articles in full and they’re well written, interesting and informative. They’re the sort of articles that I will either refer back to in the future or prompt me to start experimenting with a particular piece of kit or write a program. They remind me a little bit of the sort of articles you used to get in Amiga Shopper magazine (RIP).

Making a VIC20 sound generator, complete with type-in listing

A quick run-down of the Commodore-centric articles in this issue:

Transferring data to the C64 (looks at converting real floppies into .D64 files)
Controlling the floppy disk drive (in depth look at floppy disks usage on the 64)
Expansion cards for the C16 – Plus/4 family (everything from adding more RAM to sound cards)
Diagnostic info for repairing Commodore 64’s
Better sound for the VIC20 (how to write your own sound generator – complete with listing to type in!!!)
Hardware expansions for the CD32 (looks at several devices you can get to expand the capabilities of the machine)
Devices supported by handlers (a look at Amiga DOS handlers and what you can do with them)
Tandem IDE controller (a look at the Tandem IDE CD-ROM drive controller for the Amiga)

CD32 Expansions

Verdict

Although I’ve not read all of the magazine yet, what I have read so far impressed me. Even the non Commodore articles look interesting, so if I ever pick up one of those other machines there’s plenty to come back for.

Basically if you are interested in using your old computers for anything other than simply playing games on then I’d definitely recommend giving this magazine a try. It’s clearly targeted at hobbyists and tinkerers like myself and has plenty to offer. If, however, you are only interested in games then this probably isn’t the magazine for you.

Happy days – a program listing to type in! This alone made the purchase worthwhile. (yes it’s deliberately blurred)

Amiga Future #137

9th March 2019

Once again, just in time for some weekend reading, the latest issue #137 of Amiga Future was posted through my letterbox this morning. I was reassured to see that it’s packed to the gills with great content as usual with a particular focus on reviews this time.

Amiga Future Front Cover

There’s several game reviews including Powerglove Reloaded, The Kiwi’s Tale, Trap runner and more. A review of SMBFS which allows the Amiga to access NAS drives using the Samba File System (might do an article about setting this up in the future). There’s a great review of Amiga Forever 8 from Cloanto, latest Amiga news, Aminet uploads and plenty more to read. The coverdisk includes a full release of NemacIV plus lots of other goodies too.

I also received a notification that my 12 month subscription was about to expire, certainly doesn’t seem like 12 months since I last renewed! Anyway, at under £63 (€69) for another 12 months (including coverdisks) it was an easy decision to renew it.

Here’s a little peak at some of the pages of Amiga Future #137. If you’d like to purchase a copy then take a look here.

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Freeze 64 Issue 25

5th March 2019

Commodore 64

I have been eagerly awaiting Issue 25 of Freeze 64 for ages… I’m sure my postie must have travelled via the Bermuda Triangle to get to me!

Anyway it finally arrived today and as usual it does not disappoint. This issue’s featured game and interview is Herobotix and its’ programmer, Steven Collins. There’s also a tongue-in-cheek look at toilets that feature in C64 games, and the making of Rupert & The Toymakers Party plus all the regulars such as The Mouldy Cupboard, Secret Squirrel and much more.

Freeze 64 Issue 25 pictured with this months Cheat Card (#22) and Herobotix, this months featured game.

This is a particularly special edition for me personally because I’m actually in it!!! Vinny (the Editor) did a little interview with me about my C64 game collection for the regular “My Commodore 64 Heaven” feature. The following copy of the article is only reproduced here with his kind permission.

My Commodore 64 Heaven Interview (reproduced with permission).

As always, if you’d like to get your own copy (this magazine is only available in print form) then please head over to the Freeze64 website and show your support by buying a copy.

Fusion Issue 4 has arrived

22nd February 2019

Gaming, Playstation

This morning the latest edition of Fusion magazine, issue 4, dropped onto my doormat. There’s quite a variety of interesting gaming content including a look at the Picade, PlayStation Classic and reviews of Spiderman and Hollow Night. There’s also articles about the Robocop arcade game, the history of Super Monkey Ball and even a ‘Retro Man Cave’ article looking at the Pioneer LaserActive.

There’s quite a bit more I’ve not covered too, but despite all that, I can’t help but feel short changed by the complete lack of Commodore related content this month. There’s simply nothing about my beloved machines at all. The most relevant thing I could find was an article about joysticks. Still, that’s the chance you take with any multi-format publication I guess. Hopefully in the next issue they will redress the balance!

Should any of those subject areas I’ve mentioned sound interesting then you might like to visit their website to order your own copy. However, if you’re mainly interested in reading about Commodore related stuff then I wouldn’t blame you for wanting to skip this issue.

If you’ve never heard of this magazine before then you might like to take a look at my overviews of the previous 3 issues here: Issue #1, Issue #2, Issue #3.

Interesting article about retro Joysticks

CD32 Scene Issue 2 – Out now!

7th February 2019

Nearly six months after its debut, CD32 Scene Issue 2 is finally out. It’s lost the coverdisk, it’s a little thinner but it’s also cheaper too. Best of all I’m happy to report that the quality of the writing has vastly improved. It’s not perfect and there are a few printing errors near the front but it no longer spoils the content of the magazine.

Reviews

Speaking of content… Review wise we’ve got Zerosphere, Heroes of Gorluth, Tiger Claw and Power Glove. There’s a look at some of the recent PD releases and the next part of the A-Z of CD32 games.

A look at recent PD releases

There’s also an interesting overview of expansion cards available for the CD32 (both old and new), news, an interview with Richard Löwenstein and some game previews.

Expanding the CD32

As the author is quick to acknowledge, the CD32 scene is quite small at the moment and there isn’t a massive amount of new content that can be covered. However I enjoyed everything CD32 Scene Issue 2 had to offer and think it was well worth the £3.99 asking price. I feel it’s worth pointing out that most of the games featured work on regular Amigas too, so even if you don’t yet own a CD32, the content is still mostly relevant.

Freeze 64 Issue 24

15th January 2019

Commodore 64

After a tiring day at work it’s always great to come home to a nice surprise in the post. When I saw that familiar A5 envelope on the worktop as I hung up my coat I knew exactly what would be inside – Freeze 64 Issue 24! Really looking forward to settling down and reading through it all later this evening.

Amiga Future #136

11th January 2019

Just in time for some winter weekend reading in front of the fire – Amiga Future #136 dropped onto my doormat this morning! Looks like it’s going to be a very interesting read as usual. Here’s a quick peak at some of the content…

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Fusion Issue 3

7th December 2018

Commodore 64, Gaming, Playstation, Retro