David Kudrev
(Edited by Jen Shadski)
Lately there has been an increase in news surrounding revisions of old iconic computers for future generations such as the ZX Spectrum Vega+ series and The ’64’ Computer and portable. It appears that a brand new computer was announced at a presentation at Play Expo in the UK (which was held last weekend) called the ZX Spectrum Next.
The Next is based on FPGA technology and is intended to be compatible with original and new homebrew software, as well as with backwards compatibility with peripherals. The Next wouldn’t be revised hardware if it didn’t incorporate modern technology standards like HDMI and SD Card support, along with RGB and VGA connectivity, more RAM, an expansion slot, and two CPU modes (3.5Mhz and 7Mhz).
At the present time the full details are in the video above recorded from Play Expo. You can also sign up to the mailing list to stay in the loop on when the crowdfunding will commence for the Next over at specnext.com
Source: retrogamer
Now for some news surrounding the crowd-funded spiritual successor to Mega Man. Mighty No. 9 has been causing a bit of stir the past 12 months due to many people complaining about the multiple delays this game has had.
Creator Keiji Inafune has also come out and apologised to his fans stating that “I would like to say again how sincerely sorry we are for how long we have kept all of our fans waiting”. Here’s the good part though: Mighty No 9. is completed and has gone gold – meaning it’s off to the presses and digital stores for preparation.
The big question now is when “will the game be coming out”? It will be available from June 21st for PlayStation 3, 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One, OSX, Linux and Windows with the 3DS and Vita ports released later on.
May the 4th was two days ago but that doesn’t mean that you can’t celebrate Star Wars all year round. This week Good old Games (re)released the classic 3rd person shooter Shadows of the Empire which originally came out in 1996 on Nintendo 64 and Windows. For those of you who haven’t played this game, it takes place during and between the events of Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. You play as Dash Rendar – a smuggler who assists Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia to fight against Prince Xizor and his crime syndicate plotting to overthrow Darth Vader.
The game takes you through a variety of well known locations from the classic universe; including the first level featuring the battle of Hoth where you take down AT-AT walkers in a snowspeeder. Shadows of the Empire is available now on Good old Games for Windows.
Wrapping up this week’s Retrospektive is news from the upcoming re-release of the renowned 1993 JRPG ‘Romancing SaGa 2’. A new trailer has been dropped by Square Enix showcasing gameplay footage and features for this release.
Original features include the Freeform Scenario System (which allows you to respond in multiple ways) and being able to plan where your characters are positioned in battle. This port also includes new content like a brand new dungeon, classes, as well as going New Game+ which starts a new game after finishing it first time round but is much more challenging in a similar manner to the Dark/Demon’s Souls games.
No release date has been announced yet for Romancing SaGa 2 but it has been confirmed to be coming out on both iOS and Android. An interesting fact about the localisation of this series: although Romancing SaGa did get translated and released on PlayStation 2 in the US in October 2005, it is the first time Romancing SaGa 2 has been translated in to English.