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W hen you’re in an arcade every game

GUNNING FOR SUCCESS

Nick goes hands-on with an incoming AI-powered lightgun

PETER CLARKE PASSES

The website Remix64 recently announced the passing of

House Of The Rat

C huck E Cheese wasn’t just a restaurant,

RETURN OF THE PAC

ATARI REVEALS A BRAND-NEW ATARI 7800 VERSION OF PAC-MAN

RESURRECTING AN ICON

THE COMMODORE BRAND IS RETURNING

A LINK TO THE CAST

Nintendo recently announced its two stars for its

M2 REVEALS A NEW SEQUEL

The coding gods at M2 have revealed they’re

Games are great. You know they are, they really are

I was lucky enough to become friends with

Year of the Spectrum

1 984. It’s an iconic year, thanks

Roguecraft DX

Henning Ludvigsen on updating an Amiga homebrew classic for the Evercade

THE LATEST NEWS FROM MARCH 2009

MARCH 2009 – As the global economy continues

THIS MONTH IN…

Official Xbox 360 Magazine A feature on

CHARTS

MARCH 2009

Bomb Jack

I DON’T KNOW JACK

Megapanel

DELIVERS A PANEL BEATING

Air Combat

DOING IT BACKWARDS

Sonic Adventure 2

ONE EDGY HEDGIE

Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars

CHARITY SHOP GOLD

THE EVOLUTION OF SHINOBI

WHEN NINJAS RULED THE POP CULTURE LANDSCAPE, SHINOBI AMAZED ARCADE-GOERS AND BLEW MINDS ON THE MEGA DRIVE. WITH JOE MUSASHI COMING OUT OF RETIREMENT, WE LOOK BACK AT HOW THIS CLASSIC ACTION SERIES HAS CHANGED OVER NEARLY FOUR DECADES

COMMODORE FORMAT #16

The best way to spend your pocket money

CHAMPIONSHIP SPRINT

IN 1986, JUST FIVE MONTHS AFTER ATARI REBOOTED ITS SPRINT SERIES OF TOP-DOWN RACERS WITH SUPER SPRINT, THE COIN-OP GIANT DECIDED TO RUSH BACK TO THE TRACK. JOIN RETRO GAMER ON THE STARTING GRID AS WE DISCOVER HOW CHAMPIONSHIP SPRINT KEPT THE WHEELS TURNING

DAYTONA USA

THE CHEATS, GLITCHES AND HIDDEN BITS OF THE CLASSICS

THE MAKING OF FRONTIER

THE SEQUEL TO ELITE WAS ANOTHER GIANT LEAP FOR GAMING-KIND, INTRODUCING PROCEDURALLY GENERATED STAR SYSTEMS AND AN ACCURATE RECREATION OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. JOIN US AS WE LAUNCH INTO HYPERSPACE WITH DAVID BRABEN TO EXPLORE THE COSMOS OF FRONTIER: ELITE II

PHIL SOUTH

From the skillo world of Your Sinclair to the Amiga revolution and beyond, the words of Phil ‘Snouty’ South have been entertaining gamers and tech fans since the mid-Eighties. Join Retro Gamer as we catch up with some of the best – and craziest – moments of his career

FINAL FANTASY VI

TINGED WITH STEAM AND REBELLION, FINAL FANTASY’S LAST SUPER NES FORAY IS A CLASSIC THAT DOES THINGS, AND GOES PLACES FEW OTHER GAMES AT THE TIME (OR SINCE) WERE WILLING TO TRY. FROM ITS ENORMOUS CAST, EMPHASIS ON PLAYER AGENCY, AND A TRULY SHOCKING MID-GAME TWIST, FINAL FANTASY VI HAS IT ALL

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

KEY PLAYERS IN FINAL FANTASY VI’S MASSIVE CAST

UPDATING A CLASSIC

HOW DO YOU PERFECT PERFECTION ?

PLAYING TODAY

THERE’S NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO PLAY FINAL FANTASY VI

MEMORABLE MONSTERS

LEGENDARY ARTIST YOSHITAKA AMANO STUFFED FFVI FULL OF CLASSIC BEASTS

THE MAKING OF DESECENT

AFTER THE RELEASE OF DOOM, FOR A WHILE THERE WAS ONE NAME TO SUM UP SIMILAR GAMES: DOOM CLONE. THIS EVEN APPLIED TO GAMES LIKE DESCENT, EVEN THOUGH THE ONLY THING IT HAD IN COMMON WITH DOOM WAS ITS FIRST-PERSON PERSPECTIVE

Future Classic

Modern games you’ll still be playing in years to come

THE HISTORY OF JAY AND DAXTER

AFTER HELPING TO DEFINE PLAYSTATION GAMING WITH CRASH BANDICOOT, NAUGHTY DOG PERFORMED THE SAME FEAT ON THE PS2 WITH JAK AND DAXTER BEFORE TRUSTING THE DUO TO OTHER STUDIOS. FORMER NAUGHTY DOG DESIGNER/WRITER DAN AREY LOOKS BACK AT THE POPULAR SERIES

KEY PLAYERS

CORE CHARACTERS FROM THE JAK AND DAXTER SERIES

COOL CAMEOS

NOTABLE GUEST APPEARANCES

DEAD SPACE

SETTING THE STANDARD FOR MODERN SURVIVAL HORROR GAMES IN 2008, THE FIRST DEAD SPACE ENTRY WALKED SO THAT SPIRITUAL SUCCESSORS LIKE ALIEN: ISOLATION COULD RUN. WE SPEAK TO COMPOSER JASON GRAVES AND LEARN HOW HIS TENSE, ANXIOUS SCORE CRAFTED THE PERFECT ATMOSPHERE OF STRESS AND FEAR

UNSETTLING AND SUBLIMINAL MESSAGING

The uniquely creepy sound design of Dead Space is laced with hidden, horrifying messages

CASTLEVANIA: RONDO OF BLOOD

The Belmont family’s vendetta against the vampires has been taken to many platforms, but the lone Castlevania to hit the PC Engine is considered to be a highlight for both the series and the console. But does the game merit the hefty prices it now commands?

Microvision

» MANUFACTURER: Milton Bradley » YEAR: 1979 » COST: £45.99 (launch), £80+ (today, boxed), £50+ (today, unboxed)

THE MAKING OF NAVY MOVES

DIVING INTO DINAMIC SOFTWARE’S PUNISHINGLY DIFFICULT NAVY MOVES WAS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART BUT ITS CHALLENGING MIX OF FAST-PACED WATER ACTION, FRENETIC SHOOTING AND A DOLLOP OF DERRING-DO HAS HELPED TO MAKE THIS SPANISH GAME SOMETHING OF A CULT FAVOURITE

Evercade Multi-Game Cartridges: Roguecraft DX & NeoGeo Arcade 1

THE LATEST EVERCADE CARTS PACK SOME REAL HEAT

Shadow Labyrinth

PAC-MAN ENTERS A NEW DIMENSION

Earthion

» [PC] This hulking robot isn’t even one of

THE HOMEBREWER'S KIT

< Your monthly guide to everything happening in the homebrew scene />

NINJA NOSTALGIA

Reminiscing about the Shinobi series

READERS REACT

What is your favourite Shinobi game?

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON

Jack and Ronnie Snook have a superb N64 collection

BARGAIN HUNT

Your guide to the rising world of retro prices

HITTING THE ARCADE

Darran and his friends had a blast at Arcade Club recently

Mailbag

» Darran was working on a RoboCop Making

ENDGAME

TOTAL ECLIPSE (3DO, PLAYSTATION, 1994)