Tag - Retro

Time to take a look through this months Fusion #12 magazine and give a little insight into what you can find inside it.

A look at the cover of Fusion #12.

As I’ve come to expect there’s a broad range of content this month. Topics include (non computer) games, toys, TV shows and of course computer games. Buckaroo is in the spotlight this month and is a game I played a lot with my mates during the 80’s. There’s also a look at merchandise from the TV show ‘V’ (and a look at the associated computer game too). I was glued to the TV every night when that show was on and remember being genuinely shocked when Diana stuffed a hamster into her mouth! Needless to say the article triggered many happy memories and reminded me of my teenage crush on Diana 😉.

Elsewhere there’s articles covering the Frey twins, the 1942 arcade game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a flashback 1999 PlayStation chart and loads more.

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

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

Fusion #12 Contents.

If you want to pick up a copy of Fusion #12 magazine then head on over to their website. The mag is £3.99 plus postage. Use the code ‘LYONSDENBLOG’ at the checkout to get a 15% discount. I will also receive a tiny bit of commission which helps towards the hosting costs of running this blog.

Fusion Amiga Magazine – Special Edition

10th July 2020

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.

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

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.

Fusion 2020 Annual Review

23rd November 2019

Gaming, Retro, Reviews

I’ve been buying Fusion magazine since its inception over a year ago. It’s a great little magazine that covers everything from retro gaming and culture to modern day classics. A couple of months ago they launched a ‘Fusion 2020 Annual’ Kickstarter campaign which I backed without hesitation. The annual arrived fresh off the printing press a couple of days ago so here’s a quick look at what’s inside.

Fusion 2020 Annual Back Cover

The Extras

The first thing you will notice is that the annual is A5 in size rather than the more common A4 format. This is in keeping with the magazine itself which is published in this format. There were a whole bunch of stretch goals added towards the end of the campaign which means that it came packaged with a host extra goodies.

Fusion 2020 Annual & Extras

Included is an A5 calendar that unfolds to A4 and features some fantastic artwork from the magazine. There’s also a special ZX Spectrum themed edition of Fusion magazine that runs to 50 pages covering everything ‘speccy’. Finally there’s a couple of collectable art cards and two badges featuring artwork from previous magazine covers.

The Fusion 2020 Calendar featuring some fantastic artwork

Below is a little peek at the contents pages so you can get an idea of exactly what you will find inside the annual. As you can see there’s a broad range of topics and time periods covered.

Fusion 2020 Annual Contents Pages

Taking a peek inside

As a huge Amiga fan I thought this interview with RJ Mical was especially interesting to read.

An interview with RJ Mical who was part of the team that created the Amiga 1000

There’s plenty of nostalgic trips down memory lane to be found in the annual. Here’s one that struck a chord with me, I’ve still got this up in the attic somewhere!

Frustration!

Another nostalgia hit, this time looking back at a particularly memorable Zzap!64 magazine cover.

Zzap!64 Feature

There’s also a feature I found particularly interesting as a retro game collector – ‘Cheaper in Japan’. This looks into sourcing games from the far east and demonstrates how much cheaper they can be than their western counterparts. Sadly this won’t help with the escalating prices of Commodore gear but something to bear in mind for Sega, Nintendo and PlayStation classics.

Buying retro games cheaper from Japan

There’s some great modern day features too such as this look at the fantastic Logitech G920 wheel and pedal set. (I’m a big racing simulation fan when I’m not playing retro games and this is the wheel I use).

Logitech G920 Wheel review

Verdict

All in all this is a cracking addition to anyone’s book collection and I have no qualms about recommending it to people who are passionate about gaming. There’s literally something for everyone in here, especially if they’re interested in older games and systems.

If you’d like to get hold of your own copy you can buy the annual directly from the Fusion Retro Books website for the bargain price of £9.99. Please bear in mind that you won’t get all the extras described above as these were only for those who backed the Kickstarter campaign.

A look at the new Zzap! 64 2020 Annual

2nd November 2019

Commodore 64, Gaming, Retro

13 Comments

Who’d have thought back in the 80’s that in the far off future of 2020 we’d be getting a new Zzap! 64 annual for Christmas? But that’s exactly what’s happening here as I’ve just received my brand new Zzap 64 2020 Annual through the post following another successful Kickstarter campaign.

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This time around (they released a Zzap! 64 annual last year too) there were plenty of stretch goals that has resulted in a lot of extra goodies to enjoy besides just the annual.

Zzap 64 2020 Annual Goodies

Along with the Annual, for £22 I also received an A3 Tir Na Nog map/poster, an A5 50 page Fusion 64 magazine & collectors card, a Zzap! 64 keyring plus a Zzap! 64 2020 calendar. Didn’t he do well as Bruce Forsyth would have said.

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Below is a little peek at the contents page so you can get an idea of exactly what’s inside the annual this year.

Zzap! 64 2020 Annual Contents Page

As you can see it covers a broad range of C64 topics from past to present including Perifractics ‘Brixty-Four’ off his youtube channel and none other than Vinny Mainolfi creator of the extremely awesome Freeze 64 magazine.

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If you’d like to get hold of your own copy (and if you like the C64 then you really should) you can buy the annual directly from the Fusion Retro Books website for £15. Please bear in mind that you won’t get all the extras described above as these were only for those who backed the Kickstarter campaign.

Retro Gamer Magazine #200 with Turrican CD!

27th October 2019

1 Comment

Another absolutely brilliant couple of freebies with this months Retro Gamer magazine. First off there’s the A2 colour poster which contains the full image used on the front cover of this special 200th issue of the magazine. It’s like ‘Where’s Wally?’ only for retro geeks! I challenge you to find the C64 and Amiga 500 hidden in the poster!

Retro Gamer Issue 200 Cover

Secondly there’s an amazing Turrican soundtrack CD included, featuring 14 music tracks from the game.

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But these aren’t straight rips from the game, oh no. The first 8 tracks have been performed by a full orchestra and sound phenomenal. The final 6 tracks are remixed studio versions of the game tracks which sound terrific too. I’ve listened to this CD twice already now it’s that good. In fact I’d say the CD is worth the price of the magazine alone!

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There’s loads of great content in this months issue but I especially enjoyed the trip through the decades of gaming starting in the 70’s passing through the 80’s and ending in the 90’s. Plenty of coverage of both 8 and 16-bit Commodore machines too. I’d say this months edition is definitely worth a buy, even if it’s just for that epic poster and the Turrican CD!

Retrokomp Issue 2 (1) Out Now!

14th September 2019

Amiga, Commodore 64, VIC 20

Issue two of the multi-format retro magazine has finally been released and I received my copy a few days ago. Just to confuse things slightly this magazine is actually named Retrokomp Issue 1. That’s because the first issue was in fact numbered ‘0’. This is a slightly odd numbering convention that can be found on their other magazines such as Amiga User too.

Retrokomp Issue 1 Cover

This issue is packed with even more Commodore content that the previous one and arrives with a hefty count of 76 thick glossy pages.

A welcome bias towards Commodore in this issues contents

As I mentioned in my look at the very first issue, this is definitely a magazine aimed at the more serious user. There’s a big emphasis on productivity and creative software rather than gaming. This is no bad thing though as there are plenty of magazines offering gaming news and reviews now. That’s not to say the Retrokomp doesn’t dabble with games though. This issue has the first part of really interesting series of articles delving into MicroProse F-19 Stealth Fighter, possibly their finest flight simulation ever in my opinion.

F-19 Stealth Fighter on the C64

Rocket Smash EX Review

Of course there’s no shortage of interesting articles to expand your retro computing knowledge either. I particularly enjoyed the LHArchie GUI guide that shows how to install a GUI for the previously shell only LHA archive utility.

LHArchie GUI

Other stand-out articles for me were the Ray-tracing and Brilliance articles for the Amiga.

Amiga Ray-tracing

Everyone remembers Deluxe Paint on the Amiga but who remembers Brilliance?

A quick run-down of the Commodore-centric articles in Retrokomp Issue 1:

F-19 Stealth Fighter
Data compression methods on the PET
Truths and myths about the Commodore 64
Rocket Smash EX Review
Black Box cartridge: Assembler support
My personal games set for Plus/4
Raytracing on the Amia 500 with 1MB RAM
Amiga Vision
(True) Brilliance: 24-bit on Amiga chipset
Get to know AmigaOS: programs and processes
PowerPC software tips
LHArchie GUI

Plus/4 Gaming

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

Alternatively if you’d like to purchase a copy of Retrokomp Issue 1 for yourself then visit the publishers website here and show your support.

Fusion Magazine #5 just arrived

13th May 2019

Received the latest edition of Fusion Magazine, issue #5, at the weekend. Have to say I’m liking the contents of this edition very much as there’s plenty of retro stuff inside. Stuff like the ‘Top 5 Amiga Games’ article, a look at Space Invaders, Ghostbusters 2, OutRun on Switch and more. A personal favourite of mine is the Retro Man Cave feature looking at old Flight Sims. Simulation games are personal favourite of mine – a genre which used to be massive in the but sadly neglected now.

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

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If you’ve not come across Fusion magazine before then you might like to take a look at my overviews of the previous 4 issues here: Issue #1, Issue #2, Issue #3 & Issue #4.

I think I’ve sometimes been a little overly critical of the magazine in the past purely because it doesn’t always feature Commodore related content. However I think on retrospect this is a little unfair. The magazine caters for so many different systems and eras it’s unrealistic to expect coverage of favourites in every issue.

Anyhooo, if you want to purchase a copy of issue #5 of Fusion Magazine, head over to their website here. The mag is only £3.99 plus postage, a very reasonable amount for such a well produced magazine.

Retro Gamer Magazine with Rob Hubbard CD!

25th March 2019

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.

Retrokomp – A brand new Retro Computer Magazine

11th March 2019