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F ew games of the era captured

THE FIRST CONSOLE WAR ENDS

Atari acquires Intellivision in a surprise deal

Watch what you do

Who is Iain Lee? Iain Lee is a

High alert

Who is Paul Rose? Paul is probably better

Paul Murphy

A quick chat with the founder of Ninty Media

THE LATEST NEWS FROM DECEMBER 2007

DECEMBER 2007 – Mario reaches for the stars,

Guzzler

IT’S NO ROBOCOP

THE IMPACT OF METAL GEAR SOLID

KONAMI’S METAL GEAR SOLID INFILTRATED THE PLAYSTATION IN 1998, POPULARISING A GENRE WITH ITS BLEND OF TACTICAL ESPIONAGE ACTION AND CINEMATIC STORY TELLING. FROM CLONED BROTHERS AND CYBORG NINJAS TO EXCLAMATION MARKS AND CARDBOARD BOXES, RETRO GAMER DECODES THE MULTITUDE OF WAYS THAT HIDEO KOJIMA’S GAME LEFT ITS ENDURING FOOTPRINT IN THE SNOW ON THE GAMES INDUSTRY

Batman

ULTRASONIC ACTION

THE EVOLUTION OF GAUNTLET

WHEN ATARI ADAPTED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS FOR THE ARCADES WITH GAUNTLET, IT POPULARISED FOUR-PLAYER CO-OP GAMING AND PAVED THE WAY FOR A SUCCESSFUL FRANCHISE. BOB FLANAGAN, MIKE HALLY AND JOHN ROMERO EXPLAIN HOW THE SERIES EVOLVED

Barbarian II

BIGGER DOESN’T MEAN BETTER

DEAD OR ALIVE 2

AFTER DEAD OR ALIVE GRABBED THE WORLD’S ATTENTION BY COMBINING BOUNCY BOOBS WITH BRUTAL BEAT DOWNS, TECMO HAD LOFTY AMBITIONS FOR THE SEQUEL. WE LOOK BACK AT HOW TEAM NINJA HARNESSED NEW TECHNOLOGY TO CREATE AN UNFORGETTABLE FIGHTER

Pokémon LeafGreen

PROUDLY UNEVOLVED

Eledees

GIVE IT A WHIRL

THE MAKING OF Booty

YO HO HO AND A BOTTLE OF RUM! RETRO GAMER FINALLY CATCHES UP WITH JOHN F CAIN, CREATOR OF THE FINEST PIRATE BUDGET GAME ON THE ZX SPECTRUM. FROM THE ISLE OF MAN TO THE HIGH SEAS, THIS IS THE ENTERTAINING STORY OF BOOTY. ARRR!

THE HOMEBREWER'S KIT

SPEAKING SNAKE

RETROBATES MULL OVER THE SCENE’S MOST INTRIGUING ISSUES

READERS REACT

What are your favourite moments from the original Metal Gear Solid?

SUPER COMPUTER COLLECTING

READERS TAKE US THROUGH THE RETRO KEYHOLE

BARGAIN HUNT

Your guide to the rising world of retro prices

UNLICENSED AND UNWANTED

PERSONAL STORIES ABOUT OUR SHARED PASSION

DODGY DE ALS

Readers share the products, legitimate or otherwise, that almost put them off retro gaming

MAILBAG

HAVE YOUR SAY… SEND US A LETTER OR MAKE YOURSELF HEARD ON SOCIAL MEDIA – TWITTER.COM/RETROGAMER_MAG

Twin Famicom

Twin Famicom fact ■ There are two revisions

THE MAKING OF TRON

EVER WISHED YOU COULD BE IN LIKE FLYNN AND ENTER A VIDEOGAME? LEAD PROGRAMMER AND DESIGNER BILL ADAMS TELLS US ABOUT PUTTING ARCADE GOERS ON THE GAME GRID

STAR WARS RETURN OF THE JEDI

WITH ITS EPISODIC NATURE AND PLENTIFUL ACTION, RETURN OF THE JEDI SEEMED LIKE A PERFECT FIT FOR A MOVIE TIE-IN, BUT HOW DID ATARI’S COIN-OP FARE? JOIN US AS WE BRING YOU THIS INFORMATION – AND TRY NOT TO END UP LIKE MANY BOTHANS

OCEAN SOFTWARE LICENCES

Few companies in the embryonic days of gaming showed as much mastery and understanding of licences as Ocean Software. Equally adept at adapting film, TV and arcade licences, it left behind a rich legacy that still manages to impress today. Here are our favourite examples

221b SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

Sheffield has always been a fertile breeding ground for the UK videogames industry. Former Software Invasion cofounder David Vout moved to the Steel City in the late-Eighties facing an uncertain future. The solution to his dilemma turned out to be elementary

LOST IN TRANSLATION

How the rest of the world experienced your favourite games

THE MAKING OF CAPTAIN PLANET AND THE PLANETEERS

ON CHRISTMAS MORNING OF 1991 MANY LUCKY KIDS WOULD WAKE TO FIND THE AMIGA’S CARTOON CLASSICS PACK UNDER THE TREE. ALONG WITH LEMMINGS, BART SIMPSON VS THE SPACE MUTANTS AND DELUXE PAINT III WAS CAPTAIN PLANET AND THE PLANETEERS, DEVELOPED FOR MINDSCAPE BY ANTONY CROWTHER, JASON KINGSLEY AND THE LATE BEN DAGLISH

PLAYSTATION SHMUPS

The Saturn is well known for its vast array of excellent shmups, but the PlayStation’s library isn’t too shabby either. Here’s a selection you should definitely consider seeking out if you enjoy the genre. Just be sure to bring your wallet…

Baku Baku Animal

ANIMALS IN THE WILD

DVD Movie Playback Kit

DVD Movie Playback Kit fact ■ Like many

MARK WEBLEY

In the chair with

System Shock

A SHOCKINGLY GOOD REMAKE FROM NIGHTDIVE STUDIOS

RETRO ROUNDUP

PICK OF THE MONTH