Non-Nintendo Handhelds – by Patrick Hickey, Jr.

by Patrick Hickey Jr. | Jan 31, 2025 | 1990s, 2000s, Console/Handheld, Magazine Preview

Could you imagine gaming without handhelds? While that section of the market is still dominated by Nintendo today, that hasn’t always been the case. Way before the Nintendo Game Boy, there was a market for one-off handheld games made by Coleco and even Nintendo’s Game...

How Half-Life 2 Forever Changed the FPS Genre

by Matthew Owen | Jan 29, 2025 | 2000s, Console/Handheld

In 2024, just over 20 years ago, Valve created Half-Life 2, a first-person shooter that continues the story of silent protagonist Gordon Freeman. Once a humble scientist, Freeman now finds himself in the middle of a global war against a multidimensional species known...

Grinding: Mindless Filler, or A Different Kind of Fun?

by William Schwartz | Jan 27, 2025 | 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, Console/Handheld, Early IBM DOS, Gaming, Indie Built-Retro Inspired

  With the appearance of the role-playing game on video consoles, a genre less about actual role-playing and more about navigating enemy dungeons via numbers rather than reflexes, we also saw the appearance of grinding. How grinding works is simple enough. If...

Donkey Kong Country: RARE’s Gorilla Turns 30

by Matthew Owen | Jan 24, 2025 | 1990s, Console/Handheld

Donkey Kong is an iconic Nintendo character with a storied history, transforming from villain to hero over the course of his existence. Though he made his menacing debut in arcades, Donkey Kong has since become a goofy character prime for comedic relief, so much so...

The Angry Video Game Nerd Returns in 8-Bit Glory

by Old School Gamer | Jan 22, 2025 | 1980s, 1990s, Console/Handheld

Pittsburgh, PA – Jan. 22, 2025 – Get ready to dive into the world of terrible games once again as Retroware and Mega Cat Studios announce The Angry Video Game Nerd 8-bit, coming to the NES and all modern platforms in Q2 2025. Heavily inspired by classic side-scrollers...

A Review of Inspector Waffles: Early Days

by William Schwartz | Jan 21, 2025 | 2020s, Console/Handheld, Gaming, Reviews

  What first stands out about Inspector Waffles: Early Days is just how cute the idea is. Inspector Waffles is a PC detective game from 2021. While Inspector Waffles also has a retro visual design, it’s more akin to early flash games on the PC in the early...