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(Edited by Jen Shadski)

It was only last month that I mentioned news about Warren Spector going back to his roots and directing System Shock 3 with other former Looking Glass staff who have formed Otherside Entertainment. System Shock is without doubt one of the most successful game franchises of the science fiction style, bringing an atmospheric horror setting and storyline; System Shock 2 is one of the most demanded games to be re-released on modern PC operating systems.

ss1enhanceded

System Shock: Enhanced Edition (Steam/GoG)

Many fans have wondered about the game that started it all – and whether that would also get a re-release of some kind. There is indeed a re-release of System Shock, and there is also a re-master in development. The image below shows footage of System Shock Remastered, which is currently in development by Night Dive Studios (who are responsible for System Shock 2 for modern systems and have also re-released other PC shooters like Strife, Terra Nova, and PC ports of Turok based on the N64 games).

Very little is known about this release at present, aside from news that the game uses the Unity engine. The original voice actor for Shodan has returned, and the game has a predicted release date of 2017. For more information on any of the System Shock current and future rereleases, visit nightdivestudios.com.

8bitmagazine

8-bit computing has recently been getting quite popular – as I found out when Paul, Marcus and myself attended the Adelaide Retro Computing Group last week.  There is an interest in classic computing with community organisations, and an enormous volume of homebrew games being developed for older systems like the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, and Apple II (amongst many). If you yearn to pick up a physical magazine and read about the happenings of 8-bit computing as it stands today, you will be glad to know that a new Kickstarter campaign has started for Eight Bit Magazine.

8bitmagcontents

The magazine is aimed at current users as well as collectors of computers from the 70’s to the 90’s.
The campaign is for the first issue thus far, and the magazine will feature gaming and programming, hardware projects, how to guides, and (of course!) bring back that nostalgia of holding physical literature in your hands. The campaign started a little over a week ago, and is very close to meeting its goal of $892.62 so if you are in to 8 bit computers then pledge at their Kickstarter page!

strikecd32

If you’ve been searching for Amiga CD32 games recently on sites such as eBay, you’ll find that it’s quite slim pickings – if not the range, then the high prices. If you are lucky enough to own a CD32 then you’re after ISOs of games, and one source that I’ve been frequently mentioning is unofficial-cd32-ports.  Earok has recently released three new collections with the theme of Helicopter shooters.

The three packs consist of the following games:

  • Apocalypse which is a Choplifter/Fort Apocalypse clone
  • ZeeWolf 1 and 2
  • Desert Strike, Jungle Strike, the Game Gear port of Urban Strike, and Seek & Destroy

All three games are available in one download with artwork in the zip file at unofficial-cd32-ports.blogspot.com.

sneslineup

If you own a New 3DS you will probably know that Nintendo have started releasing Super Nintendo games to the Virtual Console from the beginning of this month. There have been two games coming out each Friday (in Australia), starting with Super Mario World and EarthBound on the 3rd of March, and followed by The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past as well as Super Metroid on the 11th of March.

Today should see F-Zero and Super Mario Kart making their way to the Virtual Console – a treat for you anyone who is up for the challenges that these games have to offer. Each game costs around AU$10.40 but apparently if you buy two in the same purchase you get the second one at half price. Will this trend continue past March? While we hope that this is the case, it will probably depend whether the re-released SNES games are popular amongst gamers.

axiomverge

Finally for this week’s Retrospektive is news about a highly atmospheric and superb 8-bit inspired Super Metroid clone titled Axiom Verge. The game has been out for quite some time on PC and PlayStation 4 with much anticipation regarding a PlayStation Vita release (initially due at the same time). Good news from the official tweet (seen below) that not only is the PlayStation Vita port finally coming out, but it will be making its way to Wii U and Xbox One.

You’re probably wondering how soon is soon? According to the blog post over at axiomverge.com, you’ll be able to grab the game on the mentioned platforms from the 22nd of March – the same date that Day of the Tentacle Remastered will be released. I should add that if you already have it on PlayStation 4, then you can get the Vita version for free.

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