by Marcus Albers | Apr 5, 2026 | 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, Arcade, Atari, Console/Handheld
The first use of the term “Easter Egg” is widely attributed to Steve Wright, then director of software development at Atari, circa 1980. He was, of course, referring to the now classic hidden credit room in Warren Robinett’s Adventure for the Atari...
by Marcus Albers | Mar 29, 2026 | 1980s, 1990s, Arcade, Console/Handheld, Reviews
Set the wayback machine to the early ’80s. While we had recently gotten our first home computer, the Commodore VIC-20, my cousins had been enjoying the Apple II system that my uncle used for writing sermons and the like. One of the first home computer games that...
by Marcus Albers | Mar 22, 2026 | 1980s, C64 Vic20, Reviews
Early in my video gaming life, one of the first computer games I ever played was Dan Gorlin’s classic Choplifter on my cousin’s Apple II. The simple presentation, on that glowing monochrome green CRT, was instantly addictive. When we got our Commodore 64...
by Marcus Albers | Mar 8, 2026 | 1980s, 1990s, Arcade, C64 Vic20
In the world of video game clones, most people will point to Doom as the most cloned game of all time. But, likely that title is held, or at least challenged, by the one and only yellow dot gobbler, Pac-Man. The first time I played Pac-Man outside the arcade was on a...
by Marcus Albers | Mar 1, 2026 | 1990s, Arcade, Console/Handheld
If you were around for the 16-bit console wars, you probably remember the unspoken rule: Neo Geo fighting games were not supposed to be portable to “normal” home hardware without compromises. The Neo Geo MVS/AES was basically the arcade in a box, and it wore that...