Beyond the new AAA games, the hype, the vague hints of new consoles, the cinematic trailers, and the awesome looking Cyberpunk 2077 (Keanu!), there’s also a fair wallop of retro gaming related E3 goodness to sift through. Check out our E3 2019: A Retro Gaming Roundup for the gaming news and videos that you need to check out.
E3. New games. Big hype. Cinematic trailers. Cyberpunk 2077. Keanu Reeves. Dogs. Cinematic trailers. Cyberpunk 2077. Keanu Reeves. Dogs. Rinse. Repeat. Okay, Cyberpunk 2077 is number one on my not so retro related gaming list for early next year, I’m rather hyped for it. BUT, additionally there’s some retro gaming gems you’ll want to check out (some good, some ‘meh’, your mileage may vary). This is the first of our E3 2019 articles; there’ll be more news, analysis, and thoughts to come in the coming days and beyond.
New Battletoads game trailer released.
The hyper-stylised animation of the new Battletoads game may or may not win you over. But there’s just enough here in the first trailer to suggest that perhaps a decent amount of effort and fair reverence for the original NES source material has gone into this game. The introductory beats in the trailer, the toads’ names (Rash, Zitz, and Pimple are back for three player action!), the moves, some subtle throwbacks to the original are all there. Let’s hope the gameplay, the scrolling levels, and the challenges remain and build upon what we all expect rather than a hollow homage to the NES and arcade predecessors. While you’re at it, check out this short video compilation (with too much emulated footage unfortunately) that shows just how many games the Battletoads have appeared in.
[Source: Rare Ltd YouTube]
Limited Run Games and Lucasfilm Games to release Collector’s Editions of classic Star Wars games and more.
As someone who owns almost every Star Wars game, this one grabbed my attention immediately. It could be considered a positive move by Limited Run / Lucasfilm Games; if you don’t already own physical copies of these games (e.g. the PC, NES, N64, Game Boy etc copies of some of the games), or want a physical copy of a currently downloadable game (e.g. Star Wars: Bounty Hunter on the PS4), why not have at it. It’s great that Limited Run Games are going to re-release games for numerous ancient platforms. On the other hand, is there any point, or are these games ‘collectible’? If they’re still downloadable on current platforms or easily / cheaply purchased second hand for all the variants that are being re-released, why go crazy on Limited Run games when each release will probably sell out in approximately 1.3 seconds? Still, buried beneath the Star Wars news is word of four Monkey Island titles being released in physical form again…wow! For the full list of games, check the source link posted below; we’ll have more to say in the not too distant future.
[Source: Polygon]
Now, THIS is podracing! We're pleased to be working with Lucasfilm Games to release definitive Collector's Editions of classic @StarWars games and more. #E32019 pic.twitter.com/V44sfqrwKP
— Limited Run @E3 (@LimitedRunGames) June 10, 2019
Devolver Bootleg containing eight ‘original rip-offs’ of Devolver Digital games out now.
Firstly, the trailer for the game is fantastic; it’s accessed by going to devolverbootleg.com (a STEAM game page), is full of self-referential gaming brand and 80s synthwave aesthetics, and it has no problems with being hyper-enthusiastic about their “off-brand” official demakes. It’s rather inexpensive, and is currently (and probably permanently) on sale at 1% off. Kotaku rightly sums up the game (and the whole thing really) as a shit post, but it’s tempting to purchase to try out the the menu, the achievements, and (of course) the games: Hotline Milwaukee, Luftrousers 3, Shootyboots, Enter the Gun Dragon, Ape Out Jr., Catsylvania, PikuBiku Ball Stars, and Super Absolver Mini: Turbo Fighting Championship. Okay, it might likely be a bit average at best, but check out the reviews; it could be worth being in on the joke for a a day or three.
[Source: Kotaku]
Commander Keen for mobile announced.
First off the bat – mobile games can be fine. That said, the Announce Trailer has zero gameplay and a soon to be memed “get Uranus to Mars” pun. Yeah. The gameplay trailer doesn’t look particularly great (unfortunately), but you never know…
There’s loads of reports about this one scattered around the web, but here’s the official links [Sources: Bethesda, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube]
The final Xbox One backward compatibility games (original Xbox and Xbox 360) titles announced.
Whilst it’s a shame that this will be the final bunch of ‘retro’ games to be released for the Xbox One, there’s now over 600 Xbox / Xbox 360 games playable on the Xbone! Microsoft have stated that Project Scarlett, the next iteration(s) of Xbox hardware will maintain backward compatibility and their teams will “help make the games you love playing on Xbox One compatible with future Xbox hardware.” This somewhat substantial final tranche of games includes titles from franchises / series / games including Indiana Jones, Splinter Cell, Far Cry, King Kong, Prince of Persia, Super Puzzle Fighter, Too Human, Syndicate, Unreal, and more. We shouldn’t complain really.
[Source: Kotaku]