HOT FIVE #5
BIG DUG
Evercade VS
While modern consoles have all the design flair of a wireless router, the glory days of gaming were quite different. Cartridge slots and controller ports gave early consoles that bit more personality – and while from the wrong angle Evercade’s VS does look a bit likea printer, its plug-in carts and wired controllers will be a welcome hit of nostalgia in most living rooms.
Compatible with all existing Evercade games – which means you get access to classics like Worms, California Games and Speedball 2 – the VS comes with a new telly-optimised interface that lets you quickly browse plugged-in games and choose from a selection of screen filters (including, presumably, one for those fiends who insist on stretching classic games to fill a widescreen display).
Progress is saved to the carts, so you can start a game on your VS and continue on the bus later with your Evercade Handheld (£60), plus there are four front-mounted USB ports that also support third-party controllers – perfect for taking on a friend at Sensible Soccer before smacking them over the head when they score a last-gasp winner. Try doing that over Xbox Live.
As hot as… a new high score on Galaga £90 / evercade.co.uk
Star lustre
With its 1.5Ghz quad-core processor, Evercade reckons the VS is the first retro games console to output native 1080p resolutions. Earthworm Jim never looked so realistic.
Fasteroids
The VS features two cartridge slots. With each one containing up to 20 games, you don’t have to keep getting up to switch them around. OK, some things about modern gaming are better.