The annoying thing about the Amiga is that people will recommended games that had better versions on the PC. I need a list of Amiga exclusive games.
This isn't as big a list as you'd think given how much overlap there is with the Atari ST...
A "best on amiga" list would probably be better. Generally I'd say that would be anything that ran at a smooth 50 FPS on the system, because that usually meant actually tapping into the custom graphics chips that did not exist on other platforms.
+1
augustwhere you come from is goneRegistered Userregular
In the Amiga's heyday, PCs simply were less powerful in the ways that mattered for games. It was fairly typical for the games of the era to be best on Amiga, second best on ST, and third best on PC, at least until about 1992 or so when PC versions were catching up, and VGA and soundcards were becoming more common.
The ST tended to be a little better at 3D games though, the Amiga's custom graphics hardware was designed around 2D and the ST's CPU ran at a slightly higher clock speed, allowing for better framerates. But there wasn't a lot in it.
Yeah. I am not experienced with the 286 and 386 days of computers. Got in with a 486DX2. Even that was starting to get old. Still remember playing PC Gamer demo discs on it. Playing Phantasmagoria and The 11th hour. Somehow, we played through the entirety of The 11th hour at my friend's apartment.
Yeah. I am not experienced with the 286 and 386 days of computers. Got in with a 486DX2.
The slowest machine I have ever owned (back around the year 2000, I rescued from being someone's literal doorstop) was a 286 clocked at 12MHz with 2MB of RAM and a 21MB hard drive.
Wolfenstein 3D ran ok-ish as long as you stayed next to walls.
It is pretty interesting how the Amiga and Atari ST were the cool computers before the PCs got better graphics and sound.
Certainly here in the UK, they absolutely were. Once the 8-bit computers (like the Sinclair ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64) that had dominated the early-to-mid-'80s started to fall behind as the '90s arrived, the Amiga and ST took over, both as "general" home computers, and as the primary gaming platforms*.
I had an ST from '89 to '93, and as well as being a huge jump as a gaming machine, it taught me to do a lot else besides, such as navigating a GUI (the ST's desktop was remarkably elegant, borrowing heavily from what Apple was doing with the Mac - and this in an era where PCs were still primarily MS-DOS-based), desktop publishing, word processing, sound sampling, and even some basic 3D animation and rendering, not to mention actual typing.
(* - the 8-bit consoles, NES and Master System included, had been largely footnotes in the UK by comparison - the SNES and Mega Drive (Genesis) made very substantial inroads in the early '90s, however. The PlayStation's immediate and near-total takeover of the console market roughly coincided with the latter part of the PC's belated takeover of the computer space.)
Okay, so I got my Retroid Pocket 2+ last week, and I've had a little bit of time to set it up and play around with it.
So this thing is Android based, so if you've ever used emulators on your phone, you'll have a good idea of what to expect from this device. Even though my phone is more powerful, there are a few reasons I prefer it over my phone. Built-in controls, not wasting my phone's battery, and a dedicated launcher for gaming.
For console emulation, it can handle everything up to Dreamcast pretty well. DC is where you start to notice that things are a bit off, but it still performs well enough that it doesn't hinder your fun. Handhelds go up as far as PSP. Though if you have a 3DS or Vita, I'd still recommend playing DS and PSP games there, since playing dual screen games on a single screen is kinda awkward, and the Vita has a much nicer screen than the Retroid.
I will say, do not get this device to play anything like PS2 or Gamecube. While there are plenty of YouTube videos that talk about how great it is playing those games on such a small and cheap device, you have to accept major compromises to resolution and framerate. Also, the lack of clicking joysticks means some PS2 games will be awkward to control too.
I actually really love that they went with kind of a GBA/PSP style design. A lot of these off-brand handhelds either go for a super tiny size, and feel more like a novelty than something you would want to spend any real amount of time playing, or they're going big, like the Switch or the Steam deck (and those are usually more powerful and more expensive). The Pocket 2+ is the kind of handheld that's big enough to get a good grip on, but small enough to slip in your pocket.
The buttons seem responsive enough, and the left analog seems decent as well. The right "stick" is actually an analog slider, which isn't great, but outside of a few PS1 games with Dual Shock support, you're really not going to use it much. The screen is 4:3, which is actually pretty perfect since most of what you'll play on it is from the 4:3 era of gaming. It's not a very high resolution, but again, neither are the games you'll be playing on it. I would like it more if the backlight was brighter on high and dimmer on low, but it gets the job done.
Man, I was just planning to put some quick thoughts up here, but that turned into a short essay.
Yu Suzuki's new, totally-not-Sega-nostalgia-bait game has been announced. Also its Apple Arcade for now meaning few here will play it, but watching the trailer alone is enough of a trip.
Evercade has announced its next handheld. Looks like a solid upgrade from the original version, an allegedly better screen, and USB C charging. And an interesting way to hold it vertically for games with that orientation.
Yu Suzuki's new, totally-not-Sega-nostalgia-bait game has been announced. Also its Apple Arcade for now meaning few here will play it, but watching the trailer alone is enough of a trip.
Yu Suzuki's new, totally-not-Sega-nostalgia-bait game has been announced. Also its Apple Arcade for now meaning few here will play it, but watching the trailer alone is enough of a trip.
The problem with emulation of recent consoles is that the disc formats are locked up. They are a proprietary format.
That is going to become more of a problem in the future. Making a PC port is becoming the way to preserve a game.
Then, you have the problem with computer OSes becoming more like smartphone OSes and locking away your drive space.
Microsoft already pulls that with it's Microsoft Store.
Over the last few years, I've been thinking, in what time frame are the handhelds and console peripherals that use rechargeable batteries gonna wear out and how often do they need to be recharged? I've tried to charge devices like once a year or so, but I haven't done well to stick with that. Yesterday and today I charged my original 3DS (which I rarely have used ever since I got the 3DS XL when it came out), and I've been charging my 4 WiiU pro controllers yesterday and today which I probably haven't charged in at least 2 years (and boy, do they take forever to charge, we are talking several hours). My DS Lite also doesn't get much use, but I used it a ton very recently to finally play through Front Mission DS (which I completed yesterday) like 12 years after buying it. At some point, unless they are easily replaceable, we're gonna have to be plugging in a bunch of peripherals just for them to work. Lots of old phone chargers will be put to use (and have been, by me). This is why I haven't minded devices that use common batteries (AA, AAA) since the shelf life of the device is much longer (although obviously not as convenient). All the Wii remotes uses AAs, so I have no concerns there. I suppose it depends on the battery. I have a portable battery I bought for charging my smartphone and 3DS (using a USB to 3DS cable) like 7-8 years ago, charged maybe 3 or 4 times since then, and a few weeks ago used it to power my Raspberry Pi 3+ with no issues without having had recharged it (I remember the battery claimed to be built in such a way to minimize discharging). For my WiiU Gamepad, as the Switch was coming out, I bought the extended battery, but that thing discharges fairly quickly (I also kept the original battery as a type of backup).
Speaking of the WiiU gamepad and pro controllers, the control sticks seems to degrade relatively quickly. The left stick on my WiiU gamepad has been sticky for a few years now, and I've tried multiple different strategies in trying to clean it, but I think it just needs to be replaced (which seems like a bit of a hassle: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Nintendo+Wii+U+GamePad+Analog+Stick+Replacement/12873). The right stick also has this problem, but isn't that bad. I noticed my white WiiU pro controller (if it makes a difference) also had sticky analog sticks, but a random Reddit thread suggested rubbing alcohol and a paper towel, which actually did work (but sadly not for the WiiU gamepad). As older consoles get used less often, these kinds of issues concern me (like how certain older original Xbox models have a capacitor that can leak). For the older console that I have, the equipment has held up pretty well except for all the yellowing (like NES, SNES, and the Dreamcast). Now I'm wondering if Switch Pro, Xbox One, and Dualshock 4 sticks will hold up. The Gamecube controllers I have (of which I have an absurd amount, like 8-9, but some are the Smash Bros re-releases) all the sticks minus the WaveBird have held up well. The WaveBird stick yellowed has a gash in it, but I used it heavily. The WaveBird stick is NOT sticky though, however. Makes me feel like Nintendo went cheap on the sticks used in the WiiU (and the WiiU pro controller is nice, other than the stick placement, in my opinion). Oh and the WiiU gamepad charger is susceptible to the Nintendo yellowing, but that was my fault I think, it got a lot of sun.
Really, the batteries in the PSP are pretty crappy. There is kind of a sketchy third market for PSP batteries now.
They need a battery mod for that system.
Over the last few years, I've been thinking, in what time frame are the handhelds and console peripherals that use rechargeable batteries gonna wear out and how often do they need to be recharged?
As a Steam Deck owner, that's definitely something that I wonder about too. The Deck is designed in a very modular manner to make a huge amount of its parts, primarily its game controls and especially its thumbsticks, easily replaceable if they break down (with iFixit partnering to be the source of replacement parts and the warranty not automatically being voided if you open your Deck up); and people have had successes swapping out its internal SSD as well (despite Valve warning specifically not to do that for assorted reasons). But the one part, besides the screen, that is very obviously not easily replaceable is the battery, so it remains to be seen how that's going to affect the machine later into its lifespan. Its charging is apparently designed to reduce wear on the battery to a degree, by slowing the charging significantly as it reaches the top part of its capacity, but even then it's just the fact that one day, that thing is going to need replacing. Valve as of yet has not announced any official battery replacement program, but given that the machine is only three months out from release I can understand why they might be holding off.
Then, you have the problem with computer OSes becoming more like smartphone OSes and locking away your drive space.
Microsoft already pulls that with it's Microsoft Store.
This is UWP and Microsoft is thankfully backpedaling on that, to the point of deprecating it. If only because their store has been such an abject failure. Windows PC is likely to remain fairly open for a long time.
Then, you have the problem with computer OSes becoming more like smartphone OSes and locking away your drive space.
Microsoft already pulls that with it's Microsoft Store.
This is UWP and Microsoft is thankfully backpedaling on that, to the point of deprecating it. If only because their store has been such an abject failure. Windows PC is likely to remain fairly open for a long time.
It has really turned me off on their store and Gamepass. There is also a weird behavior on some of their games where they will sometimes not start if you are offline.
Yu Suzuki's new, totally-not-Sega-nostalgia-bait game has been announced. Also its Apple Arcade for now meaning few here will play it, but watching the trailer alone is enough of a trip.
Well that certainly was a trailer
I'm not sure how I feel about Queen Panzer Dragoon Space Harrier.
Yu Suzuki's new, totally-not-Sega-nostalgia-bait game has been announced. Also its Apple Arcade for now meaning few here will play it, but watching the trailer alone is enough of a trip.
Yu Suzuki was impressed by Apple's many years of dedication to the gaming industry.
Or he couldn't find anyone else to finance him after Shenmue III....
Well one good thing about Apple Arcade at least, for a mobile title, there won't be any kind of mtx.
Exclusivity is also a question mark, many high-profile games that launched there (Shantae 5, Oceanhorn 2) did end up coming console/PC side after a year or so. Only Fantasian seems to be forever locked to the service, probably because Apple funded it in its entirety.
Posts
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.denofgeek.com/games/the-strange-life-of-captain-blood/?amp
This isn't as big a list as you'd think given how much overlap there is with the Atari ST...
A "best on amiga" list would probably be better. Generally I'd say that would be anything that ran at a smooth 50 FPS on the system, because that usually meant actually tapping into the custom graphics chips that did not exist on other platforms.
Same here, but the Atari ST has the best version and is the one you want to play/emulate.
The ST tended to be a little better at 3D games though, the Amiga's custom graphics hardware was designed around 2D and the ST's CPU ran at a slightly higher clock speed, allowing for better framerates. But there wasn't a lot in it.
Steam | XBL
It's apparently a thing.
Witty signature comment goes here...
wra
https://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/big-bug-bang-le-retour-de-commander-blood/reviews/reviewerId,11326/
The slowest machine I have ever owned (back around the year 2000, I rescued from being someone's literal doorstop) was a 286 clocked at 12MHz with 2MB of RAM and a 21MB hard drive.
Wolfenstein 3D ran ok-ish as long as you stayed next to walls.
Oh yes, this has been going on for quite some time. Botchamania usually features instances in each video now, in fact.
Like Mega Man Legends? Then check out my story, Legends of the Halcyon Era - An Adventure in the World of Mega Man Legends on TMMN and AO3!
Certainly here in the UK, they absolutely were. Once the 8-bit computers (like the Sinclair ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64) that had dominated the early-to-mid-'80s started to fall behind as the '90s arrived, the Amiga and ST took over, both as "general" home computers, and as the primary gaming platforms*.
I had an ST from '89 to '93, and as well as being a huge jump as a gaming machine, it taught me to do a lot else besides, such as navigating a GUI (the ST's desktop was remarkably elegant, borrowing heavily from what Apple was doing with the Mac - and this in an era where PCs were still primarily MS-DOS-based), desktop publishing, word processing, sound sampling, and even some basic 3D animation and rendering, not to mention actual typing.
(* - the 8-bit consoles, NES and Master System included, had been largely footnotes in the UK by comparison - the SNES and Mega Drive (Genesis) made very substantial inroads in the early '90s, however. The PlayStation's immediate and near-total takeover of the console market roughly coincided with the latter part of the PC's belated takeover of the computer space.)
Steam | XBL
So this thing is Android based, so if you've ever used emulators on your phone, you'll have a good idea of what to expect from this device. Even though my phone is more powerful, there are a few reasons I prefer it over my phone. Built-in controls, not wasting my phone's battery, and a dedicated launcher for gaming.
For console emulation, it can handle everything up to Dreamcast pretty well. DC is where you start to notice that things are a bit off, but it still performs well enough that it doesn't hinder your fun. Handhelds go up as far as PSP. Though if you have a 3DS or Vita, I'd still recommend playing DS and PSP games there, since playing dual screen games on a single screen is kinda awkward, and the Vita has a much nicer screen than the Retroid.
I will say, do not get this device to play anything like PS2 or Gamecube. While there are plenty of YouTube videos that talk about how great it is playing those games on such a small and cheap device, you have to accept major compromises to resolution and framerate. Also, the lack of clicking joysticks means some PS2 games will be awkward to control too.
I actually really love that they went with kind of a GBA/PSP style design. A lot of these off-brand handhelds either go for a super tiny size, and feel more like a novelty than something you would want to spend any real amount of time playing, or they're going big, like the Switch or the Steam deck (and those are usually more powerful and more expensive). The Pocket 2+ is the kind of handheld that's big enough to get a good grip on, but small enough to slip in your pocket.
The buttons seem responsive enough, and the left analog seems decent as well. The right "stick" is actually an analog slider, which isn't great, but outside of a few PS1 games with Dual Shock support, you're really not going to use it much. The screen is 4:3, which is actually pretty perfect since most of what you'll play on it is from the 4:3 era of gaming. It's not a very high resolution, but again, neither are the games you'll be playing on it. I would like it more if the backlight was brighter on high and dimmer on low, but it gets the job done.
Man, I was just planning to put some quick thoughts up here, but that turned into a short essay.
https://www.engadget.com/evercade-exp-annoucement-193151272.html?src=rss
https://evercade.co.uk/exp/
And mercifully it does work with cartridges for the original evercade. I had been toying with buying the original, but I think I'll wait on this now.
The screen resolution bump is great, hopefully they provide an integer scaling mode to go with it.
Well that certainly was a trailer
I'm not sure how I feel about Queen Panzer Dragoon Space Harrier.
That is going to become more of a problem in the future. Making a PC port is becoming the way to preserve a game.
Microsoft already pulls that with it's Microsoft Store.
Speaking of the WiiU gamepad and pro controllers, the control sticks seems to degrade relatively quickly. The left stick on my WiiU gamepad has been sticky for a few years now, and I've tried multiple different strategies in trying to clean it, but I think it just needs to be replaced (which seems like a bit of a hassle: https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Nintendo+Wii+U+GamePad+Analog+Stick+Replacement/12873). The right stick also has this problem, but isn't that bad. I noticed my white WiiU pro controller (if it makes a difference) also had sticky analog sticks, but a random Reddit thread suggested rubbing alcohol and a paper towel, which actually did work (but sadly not for the WiiU gamepad). As older consoles get used less often, these kinds of issues concern me (like how certain older original Xbox models have a capacitor that can leak). For the older console that I have, the equipment has held up pretty well except for all the yellowing (like NES, SNES, and the Dreamcast). Now I'm wondering if Switch Pro, Xbox One, and Dualshock 4 sticks will hold up. The Gamecube controllers I have (of which I have an absurd amount, like 8-9, but some are the Smash Bros re-releases) all the sticks minus the WaveBird have held up well. The WaveBird stick yellowed has a gash in it, but I used it heavily. The WaveBird stick is NOT sticky though, however. Makes me feel like Nintendo went cheap on the sticks used in the WiiU (and the WiiU pro controller is nice, other than the stick placement, in my opinion). Oh and the WiiU gamepad charger is susceptible to the Nintendo yellowing, but that was my fault I think, it got a lot of sun.
They need a battery mod for that system.
As a Steam Deck owner, that's definitely something that I wonder about too. The Deck is designed in a very modular manner to make a huge amount of its parts, primarily its game controls and especially its thumbsticks, easily replaceable if they break down (with iFixit partnering to be the source of replacement parts and the warranty not automatically being voided if you open your Deck up); and people have had successes swapping out its internal SSD as well (despite Valve warning specifically not to do that for assorted reasons). But the one part, besides the screen, that is very obviously not easily replaceable is the battery, so it remains to be seen how that's going to affect the machine later into its lifespan. Its charging is apparently designed to reduce wear on the battery to a degree, by slowing the charging significantly as it reaches the top part of its capacity, but even then it's just the fact that one day, that thing is going to need replacing. Valve as of yet has not announced any official battery replacement program, but given that the machine is only three months out from release I can understand why they might be holding off.
Steam | XBL
This is UWP and Microsoft is thankfully backpedaling on that, to the point of deprecating it. If only because their store has been such an abject failure. Windows PC is likely to remain fairly open for a long time.
I really don't understand the lack of enthusiasm for these words!
It's bound to be 300% more fun than Shenmue 3 at least. If you can access it, anyway.
It has really turned me off on their store and Gamepass. There is also a weird behavior on some of their games where they will sometimes not start if you are offline.
Latex Harrier
No...
Panzer Dragoose
Ironically this will NOT be available on the WonderSwan.
twitch.tv/Taramoor
@TaramoorPlays
Taramoor on Youtube
Yu Suzuki was impressed by Apple's many years of dedication to the gaming industry.
Or he couldn't find anyone else to finance him after Shenmue III....
Well one good thing about Apple Arcade at least, for a mobile title, there won't be any kind of mtx.
Exclusivity is also a question mark, many high-profile games that launched there (Shantae 5, Oceanhorn 2) did end up coming console/PC side after a year or so. Only Fantasian seems to be forever locked to the service, probably because Apple funded it in its entirety.
Steam: betsuni7