Retro Gamer

Retro Gamer is the only magazine in the UK that’s fully dedicated to the halcyon days of classic gaming. If you’ve ever fondly blasted away at the Bydo Empire in R-Type, swung Bowser by the tail in Super Mario 64, or navigated all 20 levels of Matthew Smith’s Manic Miner, then this is the magazine for you. Created by a dedicated team of experts, Retro Gamer’s mission is to deliver constantly engaging and passionately written articles that cover a wide range of subjects. We offer our readership in-depth looks at classic games and franchises, behind-the-scenes glimpses of the software houses from yesteryear, and one-on-one exclusive interviews with industry veterans such as Archer Maclean and Hideo Kojima. Stylish, entertaining and beautifully presented, Retro Gamer is the ultimate guide to videogaming’s rich and diverse history.

THE RETROBATES • WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE ELITE SYSTEMS GAME?

LOADING…

A SNESATIONAL PORT • Randal Linden on revisiting his astonishing SNES port of Doom and making it even better

Green Yamo and me

NEWS WALL • DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONTLINE OF RETRO GAMING

Simple games for simple people

Shooting sacred cows

Kevin Toms • From the Speccy to Steam, the original Football Manager kicks off again

NEWS APRIL 2009 • APRIL 2009 – Capcom wants you to share the horror with a friend, Creative Assembly wants you to adopt an imperial mindset, and PlatinumGames wants you to see red. Once again, Nick Thorpe is back on the time-travel trail for your amusement

THE LATEST NEWS FROM APRIL 2009

THIS MONTH IN…

CHARTS • APRIL 2009

TOTAL WAR • THE FIRST TOTAL WAR GAME WAS THE BREAKOUT HIT THAT CREATIVE ASSEMBLY NEEDED TO FREE ITSELF FROM ITS WORK-FOR-HIRE SITUATIONSHIP WITH ELECTRONIC ARTS. SINCE THEN THE SERIES HAS GONE FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH, COVERING EVERYTHING FROM THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND THE NAPOLEONIC WARS TO SKAVEN AND UNDEAD LORDS

THE MAKING OF WORLD SERIES BASEBALL • AIMED AT AN AUDIENCE OF GAMERS MORE USED TO FOOTBALL, CRICKET AND RUGBY, WORLD SERIES BASEBALL NEVERTHELESS STEPPED UP TO THE PLATE AND HIT A HOME RUN WITH A FUN ARCADE GAME THAT INITIALLY FRUSTRATED BUT HAD PLAYERS STRIKING OUT FOR MORE

CONVERSION CAPERS • TAKE YOUR BEST SWING ON THESE PLATFORMS

SWINGING FOR GLORY • IMAGINE’S GAME DID ACTUALLY MAKE IT ACROSS THE POND

Power Drift • A TRULY IMPOSSIBLE PORT

THE RETRO GAMER GUIDE TO Elite SYSTEMS • WITH OVER FOUR DECADES IN THE INDUSTRY ELITE HAS MADE AN IMPRESSIVE NUMBER OF GAMES. HERE’S THE HITS AND MISSES THAT SHAPED THE CLASSIC PUBLISHER

MUCH SCOOBY-DOO ABOUT NOTHING • RICHARD WILCOX ON THE MISSING SCOOBY-DOO GAME

GOING BATTY •  JASON BENHAM ON HIS POPULAR ARKANOID CLONE

SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND ENJOY GREAT SAVINGS!

THE MAKING OF THE CHAOS ENGINE 2 • ALTHOUGH ITS SALES WERE DECIMATED BY THE DISCONTINUATION OF THE AMIGA, THE CHAOS ENGINE 2 SERVED AS A WORTHY SWAN SONG FOR THE 16-BIT SYSTEM. THE BITMAP BROTHERS FOUNDER MIKE MONTGOMERY RECALLS HOW THE STUDIO CREATED ITS INVENTIVE SEQUEL

CHARACTER BUILDING • THE MEMORABLE HEROES OF THE CHAOS ENGINE FOLLOW-UP

CONQUERING THE CHAOS ENGINE 2 • HOW TO MASTER THE SPLIT-SCREEN SCI-FI SEQUEL

ST FORMAT #30 • MANY EARLY COMPUTER MAGAZINES SPLIT THEIR ATTENTION BETWEEN GAMES AND CREATIVITY, AND WHILE GAMES WERE THE MAIN DRAW FOR MOST OF US, TRYING OUT DIFFERENT SOFTWARE OPENED OUR EYES TO OTHER POSSIBILITIES. IN CHRISTMAS 1991, ST FORMAT READERS GOT THE CHANCE TO EXPLORE EVERYTHING THE MACHINE HAD TO OFFER

Covermount HIGHLIGHTS • THE BEST OF THE REST

MAGAZINE CRAFT JUSTIN LEEPER • American gaming publications don’t get any bigger than Game Informer, and Justin Leeper was there at the turn of the millennium as its online...