LOADING

C oming from a one-parent family meant that

PLAY HAS LIMITS

Sony plans to kill its physical discs and gamers aren’t happy

Flow state

I have always been an introvert. I was

HOWELL IVY PASSES

PAYING TRIBUTE TO A GAMING PIONEER

PHONE HOME

The recent announcement of Commodore’s new Callback phone

WORMS GET UPDATED

W orms creator Andy Davidson recently revealed that

This could be our year

1 982 was the best year ever and

The end game

E very generation of gaming is actually the

Pixel Arcadia

Alasdair Hibberd on a new online game show that’s dedicated to retro

MARCH 1980

Atari ventures out and Acorn splits the Atom

40 Years Cade Masters

CODEMASTERS WAS LAUNCHED AS ‘ANOTHER’ BUDGET-GAME PUBLISHER IN 1986, BUT THE FIRM WOULD SOON ESTABLISH ITSELF AS A UK DEVELOPER OF DISTINCTION, EXPANDING INTO THE CONSOLE MARKET AND STILL GOING STRONG TODAY, FOUR DECADES ON. JOIN US AS WE REMEMBER THE ERAS THAT DEFINED THE STUDIO

DAVID DARLING

DAVID WAS THE COFOUNDER OF CODEMASTERS ALONG WITH HIS BROTHER, RICHARD, IN 1986

PHILIP OLIVER

PHILIP AND ANDREW OLIVER PRODUCED MANY SIMULATORS FOR CODEMASTERS AND MANY MORE GAMES BESIDES

ANDREW GRAHAM

ANDREW WROTE MICRO MACHINES FOR THE NES AND WORKED ON THE GAME GENIE CHEAT PERIPHERAL

GAVIN RAEBURN

GAVIN HEADED UP THE DIRT, GRID AND F1 SERIES OF GAMES AND IS NOW CEO AND HEAD OF STUDIO AT LIGHTHOUSE GAMES

ROD COUSENS

ROD WAS CEO OF CODEMASTERS FROM MAY 2005 TO MARCH 2015.

Sensible Soccer

FITTING IN WITH FOOTBALL

Kirby’s Pinball Land

» RETROREVIVAL » GAME BOY » 1993 » HAL

MARATHON

TODAY, BUNGIE’S NAME IS SYNONYMOUS WITH FIRST-PERSON SHOOTERS. IT DIDN’T BEGIN WITH HALO OR DESTINY HOWEVER, BUT RATHER AN ICONIC SERIES OF MAC GAMES THAT DEBUTED IN 1994. THIS IS THE STORY BEHIND THE FIRST MARATHON GAME BY THE PEOPLE THAT MADE IT

MULTI-MARATHON

20-ODD YEARS OF BUNGIE SEQUELS

Mario Party 2

HUDSON SOFT LEVELS UP

Afrika

IT’S GONNA TAKE A LOT TO DRAG ME AWAY FROM YOU

AMSTRAD ACTION #74

COVERTAPES LET YOU TRY ALL KINDS OF INTERESTING GAMES, FROM SMASH-HIT ARCADE CONVERSIONS, TO SLOWER ADVENTURES AND BIZARRE EXPERIMENTAL ONE-OFFS. ALL OF THOSE, AND A COUPLE OF KILLER APPLICATIONS, ARE ON SHOW FOR THE AMSTRAD IN THIS MONTH’S COVERMOUNT CORNER. ENJOY

ROWAN SOFTWARE

Starting off as a small developer and publisher of educational games for the 32K BBC Micro, H&H Software evolved into the UK’s leading developer of 16-bit flight simulators. Learn how Rowan Software took off and conquered superiority in the air

GAMES TO DISCOVER

FROM CONVERSIONS TO FLIGHT SIMS

FISH

HAVING ESTABLISHED ITSELF WITH FANTASY-BASED ADVENTURES, MAGNETIC SCROLLS DIPPED ITS TOES IN ABSURDIST COMEDY WITH THIS PISCINE TALE OF INTERGALACTIC INTRIGUE. WHO BETTER THAN YOUR SINCLAIR’S CHIEF PUN WRITER PHIL SOUTH TO HELP BRING IT TO LIFE?

MEGA DRIVE ARCADE CONVERSIONS

SEGA’S 16-BIT CONSOLE NOT ONLY OFFERED ARCADE CONVERSIONS THAT FELT ON PAR WITH THE ORIGINAL ARCADE EXPERIENCE, BUT SOMETIMES EVEN OFFERED SIGNIFICANT EXTRAS. IF YOU’RE ABLE TO ADD THE FOLLOWING TEN GAMES TO YOUR COLLECTION YOU WON’T BE DISAPPOINTED

ULTIMATE GUIDE PUNCH OUT!!

LIKE SO MANY OF NINTENDO’S BEST GAMES, SUPER PUNCH-OUT!! BUILDS A COMPELLING EXPERIENCE FROM A SIMPLE GAME MECHANIC. CARRYING THE ORIGINAL ARCADE GAME’S PUZZLE-LIKE BOSS-RUSH DESIGN INTO THE 16-BIT ERA, IT REMAINS ONE OF THE CLEAREST EXPRESSIONS OF NINTENDO’S GAMEPLAY-FIRST PHILOSOPHY TODAY

THE CONTENDERS

FROM ARCADE EXPERIMENT TO NINTENDO LEGEND

EAT LIGHTNING, CRAP THUNDER!

TIPS AND TRICKS FROM THE COACH’S CORNER

WRESTLING EMPIRE

PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING AS A VIDEOGAME GENRE IS AS RICH AND AS OUTRAGEOUS AS ITS SOURCE MATERIAL. THIS N64-INSPIRED OFFERING ENCAPSULATES THE CREATIVE ELEMENTS OF THIS UNIQUE SPORTS SUBGENRE, AND A SOLE DEVELOPER SITS BEHIND THE DESK OF THIS WRESTLING EMPIRE

THE MAKING OF COLONY WARS

PSYGNOSIS WAS ONE OF THE MOST PROLIFIC STUDIOS ON SONY’S FIRST CONSOLE, TURNING ITS ATTENTION TO ALL SORTS OF GAMES AND GENRES, OFTEN WITH GREAT SUCCESS. ONE OF ITS MOST MEMORABLE IS AS INTERESTING AS IT IS AMBITIOUS AND WAS INSPIRED BY ONE OF THE ALL-TIME GREATS, ELITE

THE MAKING OF Perfect Dark

SOON AFTER COMPLETING THE DEVELOPMENT OF GOLDENEYE 007, ITS TEAM STARTED PUTTING TOGETHER IDEAS FOR AN FPS WITH AN ORIGINAL IP AND A FEMALE PROTAGONIST. PERFECT DARK CREATORS MARTIN HOLLIS AND DAVID DOAK EXPLAIN HOW THEY BETTERED BOND

ARMED & DANGEROUS

BASIC TRAINING ON SOME KEY PERFECT DARK WEAPONS

MISSION BRIEFING

TOUGH ASSIGNMENTS SET FOR JOANNA DARK IN PERFECT DARK

INTRIGUING INFLUENCES

THE CORE INSPIRATIONS THAT SHAPED PERFECT DARK

The Sims

ZANY WORLDBUILDING CAPITALISM SIMULATOR THE SIMS HAS BEEN A MAINSTAY OF POPULAR CULTURE FOR MORE THAN A QUARTER-CENTURY. A CORE ELEMENT OF THE SERIES’ SUCCESS IS JERRY MARTIN’S DIVERSE ARRAY OF PLAYFUL, KOOKY MUSIC, WHICH HAS SERVED AS THE SOUNDTRACK OF MANY CHILDHOODS AROUND THE WORLD

THE MAKING OF PATAPON

SONY’S FIRST HANDHELD WAS AN AMBITIOUS ACHIEVEMENT THAT MIXED GAMING WITH MULTIMEDIA PLEASURE. IT WAS ALSO FULL OF WEIRD AND WONDERFUL GAMES, WITH PATAPON BEING A BRILLIANT EXAMPLE OF THE CREATIVITY THAT COULD BE FOUND ON THE CONSOLE

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

SECOND TIME’S A CHARM

Star Fox

NINTENDO’S CLASSIC GETS A SHINY NEW REMAKE

R-Type Tactics I•II Cosmos

IT’S R-TYPE, BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT

RETRO ROUNDUP

WE LOOK AT THE LATEST RETRO-RELATED RELEASES

THE HOMEBREWER'S KIT

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

MEICHNPP

After owning an MSX2+ since 1989, Meichnpp

RETURN TO BLACKTOOTH: A HEAD OVER HEELS ADVENTURE