We’ve certainly featured our fare share of Castlevania inspired games over the years, especially the most impressive Castlevania Spectral Interlude for the ZX Spectrum, the upcoming Akumajou Dracula AGA for the Amiga and even Maria Renard’s Revenge, which is yet another upcoming Castlevania fan for the same system. Well here we are with another shout out for this classic, as Saberman has informed us that Thelen is working on a Castlevania game but for the Atari XL/XE with VBXE. To coincide with this news, Saberman has done a new gameplay video which gives us a first look at this early development!

Here is what Thelen says about the early stages of Castlevania VBXE via the AtariAge forums “I wanted to share some sort of demo of what I’m working on for the past few months. I thought, after having my 1st VBXE since 2009, it was time to really do something dedicated with it, I was thinking, such a cool add-on – and not that much support… (I did some tests back in those 2009 days, and ended with a little demo that also worked without VBXE). It’s a funny adventure so far, I’ve learned how to make a scroller, which just doesn’t scroll threw the ram, but with double buffering. Also learning about blit-lists, how to use them properly. Really nice to see how people work with it.

“At first I wanted to use the original NES tiles/gfx and make a sort of replica, but I did a little upgrading, because the VBXE is more capable than that. Also made it so that the scroll engine so far can use levels which are built with the ’tiled’ app so it’s  easy to design a level, If the tiles are ready. And yes, there is a little bug in the scroller, that will be fixed, but wasn’t the main priority so far. Things working so far are the scroller and Simon. I also looked at using the original NES 6502 code, but I thought it would be easier to start from scratch”.

“Staying motivated (and being busy with life) to keep working on bigger projects like this is always a little bit tricky for me. Perhaps starting a something smaller game was better Either way, it’s so far a nice challenge. And yes, there’s a lot of work to do. The random color on top is the place where the score/indicators will be.”

Links :1) Forum 2) Download 3) VBXE

The post Castlevania VBXE – Thelen is working on an upcoming Castlevania game for the Atari XL/XE VBXE appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

Tokimal by the Pat Morita Team is a fabulous interpretation of Toki for our Spectrums as a clear tribute to the Mojon Twins, which in itself was inspired by the Gaelco Thunder Hoop machine. Furthermore the game is not only at a fully playable state which we partially enjoyed in the first demo. But you can now experience the game through 4 playable stages, 2 game modes such as arcade and extended, and finally all of this designed for the ZX Spectrum 128k programmed with MK2 featuring many high-end modifications by the Pat Morita Team!

The post TOKIMAL – Another HOT news story as a ZX Spectrum 128k inspiration to Toki gets a release! appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

During the Second World War, Colditz Castle was a maximum security prison, where high-ranking military personnel and officers known for their escape attempts were held. You are the captain of the Royal Air Force, Rick “Smasherman” Reid and your mission will be the one that nobody accomplished before; escape Colditz and return home safely. The game was coded and graphics by Ariel Endaraues, intro and loading screen by Juan Fernandez and music by Mr. Rancio.

Links :1) Source 2) Game Site

The post The Last Escape – Escape from Colditz Amiga Demake released for the ZX Spectrum appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

Video Link for Mobile Users ( Old Towers also appeared on the C64 and MegaDrive )

Featuring a wicked soundtrack, an awesome loading screen and superb graphics all ported over by Andy for the Atari ST. You play as a little explorer and must traverse ever higher in a tower filled with deadly traps and bats. Beware though as this wont be an easy task, as the only thing to help you is your own quick thinking and the ultimate of tower climbing skills… So good luck!

The post Old Towers – A great game by RetroSouls arrives on the Atari ST as a port by Andy Noble appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

Video Link for Mobile Users

According to the creator, the game compared to the PC version is not only much longer, having more levels, new locations and many new upgrades for your character, but while the ZX Spectrum demo is still extended from the PC version, a new 4-way scrolling engine has been developed specifically for this game, with the speed and performance that are unprecedented on ZX Spectrum. If your ZX Spectrum clone can run the game in turbo mode (7 MHz or more), even better quality graphics will be enabled automatically!

This ZX Spectrum version (code, AY-music, graphics) was created by Sergei Smirnov (aka Gogin) . The idea and original PC version by JoelLikesPigs, original PC soundtrack composed by CactusBear. The fan-art idea used as the game title screen belongs to Kurobina Yuki aka KamaBlackbird.

Links :1) Source (Download/Play Online)

The post Nothing – The speed and performance are unprecedented on a ZX Spectrum 128k in this new game demo! appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.

The plot of the game, simply titled Bruce Lee,  was somewhat similar to the unfinished 1972 film Game of Death, where Lee played Hai Tien. In the film, Lee’s character must fight his way through a five story pagoda to steal to a treasure as ransom for his kidnapped brother and sister. Part way through the filming of Game of Death, Lee received the offer that turned into Enter the Dragon. The unfinished film also became the inspiration for the 1984 Data East arcade game Kung Fu Master.

Developed for the Atari 8-bit family and released in 1984, Bruce Lee was a game that combined both platformer and beat ‘em up elements into one addictive game. It was created by Ron J. Fortier and released by Datasoft. Players controlled Lee as he worked his way through various chambers on his way to defeat an evil sorcerer. Along the way he had avoid various hazards (electrical shocks, explosions, and more), fight off the Black Ninja and his bokken stick, and defeat Yamo, an unarmed, sumo-like warrior who was surprisingly light on his feet. Both Yamo and the ninja appeared repeatedly, attempting to chip away at Lee’s five lives (with each life lasting three hits, but only one explosion or shock). Players also had to collect lanterns throughout the chambers to gain access to different areas. A two player mode allowed players to alternate controlling Lee, or face off head-to-head as Yamo and Lee. Defeat the sorcerer at the end, and you gain infinite wealth and immortality.

The game was popular enough that it eventually made its way to a number of other systems, including the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Apple II, and the Amstrad CPC.

Almost forty five years to the day since he died, Bruce Lee still remains the gold standard by which all other martial artists and martial arts movie stars are judged. At their best, actors like Jackie Chan, Jet Li, or Tommy Jaa still stand in the shadow of The Dragon. For gamers, the video game Bruce Lee is a small way to share in that legacy.

The post Way of the Dragon: Remembering Bruce Lee the Video Game appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.