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 THE MOST TECHNICALLY IMPRESSIVE SPECTRUM GAME?

LOADING…

DIRECTLY RETRO • The latest online shows from Nintendo and Blaze were full of retro goodness

SWITCH’S LAST STAND?

CHOICES MADE EASY

Split Fiction

Pigeon steps

AMY LEE • The superstar vocalist discusses Evanescence’s new Devil May Cry song and classic games

THE LATEST NEWS FROM NOVEMBER 2008

NEWS NOVEMBER 2008

THIS MONTH IN…

CHARTS • NOVEMBER 2008

Bump ‘N’ Jump • RUSH HOUR RELIEF

MASTERING THE ZX SPECTRUM • LATEST ON 21 HOMEAPRIL MICRO, 1982, THE SINCLAIR RESEARCH UNVEILED ITS IDIOSYNCRATIC DEVICE WOULD HELP ZX SPECTRUM. KICKSTARTTHIS THE SMALL UK GAMES AND START INDUSTRY, PROGRAMMING. INSPIRING IN PEOPLE THIS SPECIAL ALL OVER THE COUNTRY TO FROM SOME OF THEM JUST WHAT CREATING FEATURE, GAMES WE ON LEARN MAGICAL YET FLAWED COMPUTER WAS LIKE THIS

THE INTERVIEWEES

TOP TRICKS • WITH LITTLE OR NO HARDWARE SUPPORT, SPECTRUM CODERS RELIED ON THEIR CUNNING AND INGENUITY

IF IT BLEEDS, WE CAN STOP IT • UNSIGHTLY ATTRIBUTE CLASH WAS THE BANE OF SPECTRUM PROGRAMMERS AND ARTISTS – BUT THERE WERE WAYS OF AVOIDING IT…

ESSENTIAL PERIPHERALS • SIR CLIVE SINCLAIR’S DREAM WAS TO HAVE THE SPECTRUM AT THE CENTRE OF A MASS OF TECH. HERE ARE THE MOST ESSENTIAL ADD-ON FOR IT

THIS YEAR’S MODEL • RETRO GAMER LOOKS AT EACH MODEL OF SPECTRUM

HOW DO THEY DO THAT?! • RETRO GAMER’S SEVEN FAVOURITE GAMES THAT PUSHED THE SPECTRUM TO ITS LIMITS

SUBSCRIBE TODAY ENJOY GREAT SAVINGS!

Cheetah Annihilator

A TRIBUTE TO DENTON DESIGNS • FOUNDED SOON AFTER IMAGINE SOFTWARE’S DEMISE, DENTON DESIGNS INNOVATED WITH HITS LIKE SHADOWFIRE, FRANKIE GOES TO HOLLYWOOD AND THE GREAT ESCAPE. FORMER DENTON DIRECTOR JOHN HEAP REMEMBERS THE ACCLAIMED STUDIO’S HIGHLY ORIGINAL OUTPUT

Er*Bert • NO WONDER Q*BERT SWEARS

GAUNTLET IV • A bunch of Japanese students, including a young man named Naoki Horii, fell in love with Atari’s coin-op classic Gauntlet… and a few years later, they just start porting Ed Logg’s hoary dungeon adventure to the Sega Mega Drive and by doing so, created the definitive adaptation

HOW ACCURATE IS IT? • How the Mega Drive version differs from the arcade original

MORE M2 CONVERSION MASTERY • Since Gauntlet IV, beefed-up conversions have become M2’s speciality

QUIZ GAMES • Which quiz videogames do we enjoy firing up from time to time? Do you need to phone a friend or do you just need to take a look at the answers spread across these two pages?

THE MAKING OF SUBWAR 2050 • MICROPROSE UK’S SUBWAR 2050 WAS A UNIQUE BLEND OF SUBMARINE WARFARE, SIMULATION, AND STRATEGY SET IN THE NOW NOT-TOO-DISTANT FUTURE. MANNING AN ADVANCED FIGHTER SUB AND ACTING AS A MERCENARY, THIS MISSION-BASED 3D UNDERWATER GAME FOR THE PC AND AMIGA SENT THE PLAYER BENEATH THE WAVES…

SUBMARINE DEEP DIVES • MEET THE MAIN...