THE RETROBATES

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED MOMENT?

THE RETURN OF PLAY EXPO

Graeme Mason reports on this year’s Blackpool event

GERMANY REMOVES GOLDENEYE 007 FROM ITS BANNED LIST

There was startling news last month when German

Memory almost full

I’ ve been trying to think of

I am retro!

I t urned 50 not so long ago,

Four Quarters

The founders of the popular arcade chain challenge Paul Drury to a four-player game of Gauntlet

THE LATEST NEWS FROM FEBRUARY 2005

FEBRUARY 2005 – The PSP has landed and

THIS MONTH IN…

Cube “However much money it has in the

CHARTS

FEBRUARY 2005

Rainbow Islands

NOW WITH ADDED MUSIC

HALO COMBAT EVOLVED

» [Mac] The very first screenshot of Halo:

HALO'S LEGACY

EDGE’S ALEX SPENCER REVISITS HALO

INNOVATING A GENRE

THE HISTORY OF THE FIRST-PERSON SHOOTER IS A LONG AND STORIED ONE, WITH HALO BEING ONE OF THE MOST IMPACTFUL TITLES IN THE GENRE. THE MODERN-DAY FPS OWES A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT TO THE INNOVATIONS OF BUNGIE’S BEHEMOTH…

A CHAT WITH CORTANA

JEN TAYLOR TALKS HALO, MASTER CHIEF AND FINDING THE VOICE OF CORTANA

MAXIMISING THE MULTIPLAYER EXPERIENCE

NOWADAYS, ONLINE MULTIPLAYER FPS GAMES ARE EVERYWHERE, BUT IN THE NINETIES THERE WERE PREDOMINANTLY ENJOYED BY PC OWNERS, WITH CONSOLE GAMERS ENJOYING SMALLER LOCAL AFFAIRS ON SYSTEMS LIKE THE N64 AND PLAYSTATION. HALO CHANGED THIS, AS IT EVOLVED NOT JUST FPS COMBAT, BUT THE WAY WE ENJOYED PLAYING THESE GAMES WITH OTHERS

BECOME A HOLO MASTER

FRAG YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS WITH THESE HANDY TIPS

AUCMENTING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

MOST WILL AGREE THAT THE RICH, SCI-FI WORLD OF HALO IS ONE OF THE KEY FACTORS THAT MADE IT STANDOUT AND SURVIVE THE TEST OF TIME, BUT IT WAS BUNGIE’S APPROACH TO THE GAME’S AI THAT ULTIMATELY LED TO IT HAVING A TRULY BELIEVABLE WORLD…

ROGUE'S GALLERY

THE CRITTERS AND COMBATANTS MASTER CHIEF FACES

DESIGNING HALO

IN MANY WAYS CONSIDERED TO BE GAMING’S STAR WARS, THE HALO FRANCHISE HAS GONE ON TO BUILD A WHOLE UNIVERSE’S WORTH OF LORE COVERING THE FORERUNNERS, THE FLOOD AND, OF COURSE, MASTER CHIEF’S IMPACT ON EVERYTHING. BUT IT ALL BEGAN IN 2552 CE…

THE WEAPONS OF HALO

TURN THE TIDE WITH THIS DEADLY ARSENAL

HALO'S LEGACY

PLAYSTATION FANS ARE STILL ON THE HUNT FOR THEIR ‘HALO KILLER’, WHICH GOES SOME WAY TO HIGHLIGHT JUST HOW IMPACTFUL THE FRANCHISE HAS BEEN. IT’S BEEN A CONSOLE SELLER FOR MICROSOFT FOR YEARS, BUT HAS BEEN LEVERAGED IN OTHER INTERESTING WAYS TOO…

The Flintstones

YABBA-DABBA-DON’T

Tatsujin

KILL, KILL AND KILL AGAIN

50 THINGS THAT CHANGED GAMING

OUR YOUNG MEDIUM ISN’T QUITE SO YOUNG ANY MORE, AS VIDEOGAMES HAVE NOW BEEN AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC FOR 50 YEARS, SO WE’RE LOOKING BACK AT 50 THINGS THAT HAVE HAD A MAJOR IMPACT ON THE TRAJECTORY OF OUR HOBBY OVER THE LAST FIVE DECADES

Headhunter

“JACK WADE, AS I LIVE AND BREATHE…”

Evercade VS

IS THIS A VICTORIOUS SYSTEM, OR SHOULD YOU BE VERY SUSPICIOUS?

THE EVOLUTION OF Lode Runner

In the decades after Broderbund published Doug Smith’s platformer Lode Runner countless sequels followed. Broderbund’s Doug Carlston and a whole cast of developers and producers who worked on the series explain its ongoing popularity

FESTIVE FUN

The team discuss their favourite Christmas gaming memories

EUROS AND EASES

Peter Riezebos discusses combining two passions

PS2 FOR PENNIES

Embracing the market leader didn’t mean abandoning the underdogs

MAILBAG

HAVE YOUR SAY… SEND US A LETTER OR MAKE YOURSELF HEARD ON THE ONLINE FORUM – WWW.RETROGAMER.NET

ULTIMATE GUIDE TAPPER

IT WASN’T ALL KICKING ASS AND SHOOTING ALIENS IN THE ARCADES OF THE EARLY EIGHTIES. CREATED AS A TIE-IN WITH BEER PRODUCER ANHEUSER-BUSCH, THIS FRANTIC BAR SIMULATOR BECAME EVEN MORE POPULAR WHEN REBRANDED INTO A CHILD-FRIENDLY FORMAT FOR ARCADES. LET’S PULL SOME PINTS!

Intellivision II

» MANUFACTURER: Mattel Electronics » YEAR: 1983 » COST:

THE MAKING OF Nigel Mansell's WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

BEFORE LEWIS HAMILTON (AND JENSON BUTTON), THERE WAS NIGEL MANSELL, THE FORMULA ONE ACE WHO FINALLY WON THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN 1992 – THE SAME YEAR, INCIDENTALLY, THAT GREMLIN DECIDED TO CREATE A RACING GAME IN HIS HONOUR!

Pro Controller

» PLATFORM: Jaguar » RELEASED: 1995 » COST:

THE STORY OF QUAKECON

A LAN PARTY HELD 25 YEARS AGO AT A LA QUINTA HOTEL IN GARLAND, TEXAS, ORGANISED BY FANS OF ID SOFTWARE HAS MUTATED INTO ONE OF THE BIGGEST, BOLDEST AND BLOODIEST GAMER GATHERINGS IN GAMING HISTORY

KEY QUAKECON MOMENTS

THE UPS AND DOWNS THAT SHAPED QUAKECON

EVENTFUL ALTERNATIVES

CAN’T GO TO QUAKECON? TRY THESE INSTEAD

THE HISTORY OF REZ

Twenty years ago, Rez carved out its own unique space in the music game genre, eschewing rhythm, dextrous skill or simulation in favour of a transcendental experience on another plane. Creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi charts the continuously evolving journey of synaesthesia

State Of Art

JAKE KAZDAL RE-REZZES MEMORIES OF HIS DREAM JOB AT SEGA

Musical Mizuguchi

MORE MUSIC-THEMED GAMES FROM MIZUGUCHI’S CAREER

The evolution of Rez

FROM THE SCREEN TO VR TO REZONANCE

Super Mario 64

» PLATFORM: NINTENDO 64 » RELEASED: 1996 » DEVELOPER: NINTENDO EAD

THE MAKING OF DRAKWATCH

VAMPIRES AND VIOLENCE, COWBOYS AND CARNAGE – WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED FOR A GOOD TIME? SADDLE UP AS WE SINK OUR TEETH INTO DARKWATCH, THE GAME FROM HIGH MOON STUDIOS THAT BROUGHT THE FPS TO A HAUNTED WEST. DUCK, YOU BLOODSUCKER!

UNMETAL

THE FIRST METAL GEAR WAS RELEASED IN 1987 AND, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THERE HAVE NOT BEEN THAT MANY COMPARABLE 2D TITLES SINCE: TOP-DOWN STEALTH WITH A MODERN SETTING AND A COMPLEX INTERPLAY OF DYNAMIC SYSTEMS WITHIN A PERSISTENT WORLD ARE RARE. THE EXCELLENT UNMETAL LOOKS TO CHANGE THAT

STEVE MERETZKY

Infocom was a pioneer of the text adventure, and among its talented designers – ‘Implementers’ – was Steve Meretzky. From working with Douglas Adams to the minefield of mobile gaming, he looks back on his lengthy career

Resident Evil 4 VR

RESI 4 AS YOU’VE NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE

GB Operator

» System: PC, Mac, Linux » Buy it from: www.epilogue.co » Buy it for: $49.99