Welcome to the first edition of Retro Newsflash, the bi-weekly column where we will be covering news and current events on the retro gaming scene. There is not even a subscription fee for this rag, folks, and find out at the end how you can participate in future installments. Bring on the briefs.

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Retro City Rampage Releases

The long-awaited open-world action parody game with a retro-chic art style finally released on PSN and PC download on October 9, with other platforms to come. Developed by Vblank Entertainment, this send-up of vintage pop culture references and general gaming tropes purports to meld new-fangled fun with old-school looks. Clouty outlets such as Ars Technica and Joystiq have given Rampage strong reviews, although Polygon’s reaction was more tepid, along with others. Heavy Metal Gamer even did a video review right here on RetrowareTV.

 

 

Patrick Scott Patterson Developing New Gaming Culture Video Series

Regardless of your familiarity with or opinion of Scott, the man has been heavily involved with video games for a few decades now, and showing no signs of stopping. In fact, he is ramping up his efforts to influence the arena towards the ambitious goal of putting gaming further into the mainstream spotlight. Part of this effort will be a new gaming culture video series on YouTube, where the trailer has already garnered more views than, for example, each installment of the much-heralded (though perhaps rightly so) Press Reset series about the founding of still-to-come website Polygon.

 

RetrowareTV Unveils New Article Contributors

Not to go all “meta” on you, but when one of the top-shelf retro gaming websites takes on a dozen new regular contributors for article content, the result is a newsworthy trove of new features from a variety of points of view on a diverse array of topics. One of those new columns, of course, is this Retro Newsflash piece you are reading right now. The other stuff is pretty good, too, of course, so keep checking us out.

 

Amiga 101

Racketboy Releases Their Commodore Amiga Beginner’s Guide

Speaking of influential retro gaming websites, Racketboy may not be on your radar, but they should be: Their longform guides on particular consoles and other subjects are among the best and most exhaustively informative on the web. If you do not know anything about Commodore’s Amiga line of computer systems, Racketboy’s new guide may now be the best place to start. Seriously, I am not kidding when I say “exhaustive,” as the piece is over 7,500 words long, complete with images, bullet points, statistics, specifications, and links to further information.

 

1 More Castle Introduces Newest Contributor With A Bang

I would not have considered a new contributor on a very young, up-and-coming retro gaming website to be newsworthy in this space, until Tom Hall’s N64 Connoisseur: 5 Games That Need Current-Gen Sequels list went semi-viral on N4G and gained several hundred views within its first couple hours of publication. Maybe readers are just naturally attracted to list-based formats anyway, but Nintendo 64 fans still may want to consider keeping an eye on Hall and his bi-weekly column at 1 More Castle.

 

Trailer Released For New Retro-Style Game Dudebro II

Appearing as a scrolling run-’n'-gun platformer in the vein of Contra or early Duke Nukem with a bit more mechanical polish, this humorous game seems to be aiming for the last notch on the badass meter. For example, the official full name is Dudebro – My Shit Is Fucked Up So I Got to Shoot/Slice You II: It’s Straight-Up Dawg Time. To see what I mean, just watch the trailer for yourself, or check out the official website for more information.

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That wraps up the premiere edition of Retro Newsflash and some of the top stories from the last couple weeks in the retro gaming world. If you have any news tips, please send them to me. Seriously, newshounds: If you have a lead on something, let me know, because I want to report it! Thank you for reading.