Play against other retrogamers online (2)

Almost immediately after writing the last post in my blog I found another site with a gaming league.
It is more active than my previous link, and I have already played some games in season 17. The games played season 17 were:

Week 1 : Bubble Dizzy (ST)
Week 2 - Gribbly's Day Out (C64)
Week 3 - Boulderdash (C64) :
Week 4 - Pleiads
Week 5 - Insects in Space (C64)
Week 6 - A Day in the life (spectrum)
Week 7 - Superfrog (Amiga)
Week 8 - Frostbite (Atari 2600)
Week 9 - Psycho Pinball (Megadrive)
Week 10 - Vigilante (Mame)

A very nice variety of games from old systems and the ones I have played play great on my GP2X.
New season starts Januari 10th, but you can join whenever you want.

Here is the link to the league.

Play against other retrogamers online

I have recently bumped into an old link I had in my favorite list. For years now a league is organized at the yakyak forums. You just have to register there to join a retrogaming league.
When there is a competition, everybody can suggest a game and the game most voted for will be played. Mame is probably the most chosen format, but also C64, CPC, Speccy etc.
Reply with a screenshot of your hiscore of the game and your score will be added. Most (all?) games are playable on the GP2X and you probably have a good chance on the Wiz and Dingoo too.

With gshot you can make screenshots of games on the GP2X. There is a Wiz version too.

Yakyak.org is the Jeff Minter fan forum. Jeff Minter is well known for some of the most entertaining psychedelic shooters like gridrunner and llamatron. He is still active developing software.

It is not only Jeff Minter software that is being discussed there. Main interest is retrogaming.

Here the direct link to the league.

Have fun :)

Game Video: Warcraft 1 - DOS

There are not a lot RTS (real time strategy) games you can play on the GP2X. If you're not familiar with the term, look here. Most RTS games are for more recent consoles and therefore can not be emulated well on the GP2X.
Fortunately the two that started the popular genre, Dune 2 and Warcraft Orcs & Humans are both playable and still pretty fun. Might add a game video of Dune 2 later.

If you're into a lower paced but mesmerising strategy game, Warcraft is great. Don't compare this with later versions of Warcraft that had faster gameplay and better graphics for PC. You should judge this based on what it can provide on the GP2X.

Warcraft plays surprisingly well on the GP2X. Don't play it with dosbox but install the statically recompiled executable for GP2X MH-T has created here. He has added some functionality that makes it even work better than the original version.

To enjoy Warcraft the most, you should change the configuration file that contains the button mapping. The default settings are missing some functionality like one click action and selecting groups. I have copied the settings from Maanju that makes the game play a lot better. Source here
All the info you need, is included in the readme-GP2X.txt. Underneath is the button lay-out I use, you can change it to what works best for you. You can use the touchscreen on the F200 for mouse movement as well.

Adjust latest part in file Warcraft.cfg after this line:

" # Action_combo_mouse_left_button_select_group - acts like left mouse button, when mouse is moved during click, switches to select group "

with:

Button_Y=Action_combo_mouse_left_button_select_group
Button_A=Action_macro_key_m_mouse_left_button
Button_B=Action_macro_key_a_mouse_left_button
Button_X=Action_macro_key_h_mouse_left_button
Button_Select=Action_key_esc

Button_R+Y=Action_key_enter
Button_R+A=Action_key_s
Button_R+B=Action_key_backspace
Button_R+X=Action_key_f2
Button_R+Select=Action_virtual_keyboard

Button_Vol-=Action_volume_decrease
Button_Vol+=Action_volume_increase

Button_R+Vol-=Action_key_f5
Button_R+Vol+=Action_key_f8

A random players review here

Game Video: Super Pinball -SNES

You probably know by now I like pinball, but to make sure you will not forget here is another pinball game video :)
Super pinball for the SNES is the most realistic pinball game you can play on the GP2X.
This pinball doesn't have bonusstages (as far as I know), creatures walking on the playing field or power-ups. Just a plain pinball simulation.. but a very good one!

You can choose between 3 pinball tables Pirate,Wizard and the Joker. It is possible to beat the tables (didn't manage this yet) The Joker should be the easiest of the three so start there.
Physics in this pinball game are very good and add to the feel of realism. After some practice it is possible to hit the targets and as in a real pinball table you can also nudge. Ruleset is also quite nice on these tables.
For a real pinball addict like me, this is a great game for the GP2X and right now one of my most played games.

Here is a review.


It plays well on PocketSNES, but you need to overclock as high as you can to get the most fps. I set cpu speed to 270 and sound to 8000 mono to get 37 fps.

Dingoo: How good is it?

I was interested in buying a Dingoo, price is low, battery life is good, d-pad should be ok and booting time is fast.
Linux can be installed and should attract more developers and programs to the system.

But... what can you do with it now. Personally I'm not that keen on spending money on a handheld that will be great "one day...".
I already own a GP2X F100 and F200 and to buy a Dingoo it should at least have some emulators that work better on it than on the GP2X.
Spending time on forums trying to get answers to this question didn't help.

The best emulator right now is probably Mame4All Dingoo V1.0. I've seen reports that it lags with some games.
Not everything you can download from the file archive seems to be working properly (link to the Dingoo library) and basically there isn't a lot ported yet.
GP2X has got a huge library with a lot of optimised software. Picodrive is absolutely amazing and full speed on it. Haven't seen reports of the Dingoo getting there.

How long will it take for the Dingoo to reach that state? If it ever will...
So still got my doubts, the Pandora will probably arrive long before the Dingoo has reached maturity.

[Edit July 28th]

Good and bad news for Dingoo owners.

Good: Picodrive (Sega Genesis emulator) has just been released and seems to be working great.

Bad: On screen tearing on the Dingoo is probably not solvable with software according to booboo (creator of Dingux)

Game Video: Gem Smashers / M&M's break 'Em - Gameboy Advance

Gem Smashers is a fun and entertaining action puzzler with more than 100 levels for the gameboy advance. In this game you are a creature that smashes gems and rocks while bouncing up and down. Because you are bouncing all the time you need to make sure to avoid the less friendly attributes in the game like skulls.
By clearing the field of all gems you unlock a door to another field or other level.

If you like PopCap type of games that are very popular for PC and often played by women and casual players, I'm sure you will have a great time playing this.

Here is a good review and description of the game.


M&M's break 'Em is pretty much the same game, it just has another theme. I personally like Gem Smasher better but unfortunately there isn't a video on youtube to show it to you. I did find a video of M&M's break 'Em.

Runs very playable without overclocking though seems to be a bit smoother with some overclocking on GpSP (240 Mhz),

Link: neogeoforlife

If you like games with fantastic graphics, most Neo Geo games will not disappoint you.
The system has a couple of the most attractive games you can play on the GP2X.

Graphics only will never be good enough though. A great game needs good gameplay. Fortunately there are quite some Neo Geo games that combine both qualities.

You've probably noticed I don't review a lot of fighting games and might wonder why.
Well... to be honest..... {whisper mode} I don't really like them that much.... {/whisper mode}
Neo Geo has a lot of fighting games, so when you are into these games, you should definitely try some for the Neo Geo (Garou: Mark of the Wolve).



Not only fighting games though. Metal Slug (platform), Magical Drop (puzzle), Neo Drift Out (racing), Blazing Star (shmup). Each of these games are worth a review and a game video and I might add them to the blog later.

If you don't want to wait (and why should you) this site has got some good reviews for a lot of Neo Geo games. Worth checking out.

Game Video: Uniracers - SNES

3rd and last review
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I really enjoyed the pocketsnes release and tried some snes games that I have played before. I remembered playing uniracers in the past and tried it on pocketsnes v2. It plays rather good on it , you can get full speed on 240 mhz (I can't overclock more than that)




The game:

In this game you are a unicycle with the ability to twist, turn, flip in an incredible speed. You can play against the clock or against the snes. There are many tracks you can compete in and the tracks are really challenging and fun.

This is not a 'normal' racing game. The twisting, turning, flipping bit is really important to gain speed and complete a level. The first time you'll compete in a new track you will probably lose, you need to learn how the track is build to make the right decisions. Because of the speed you'll mostly not be able to make the right choices right away.

Graphics

Great graphics! Colourful and really add to the appeal of the game.

Score: 9/10

Sound

Superb music that pumps up the action, with the right sound effects.

Score: 9/10

Gameplay

Love it. There are not many games that give me an adrenaline boost while playing. This is one of the few.
If you like fast racing games, and don't mind the lack of realism and the camera view, you will have a great time playing it.
You will have to learn how to make the moves, but I don't think it's really hard and the learning curve is exactly right (for me that is.. )

Score: 10/10

Overall

What can I say more... an almost perfect game.

Score: 9.5/10

The game in action

Game Video: Killer Bees! - Odyssey 2

My 2nd review:

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This time I'm reviewing a game for Odyssey2 / Philips videopac / G7000/74000 Killer Bees!

The games for Philips Videopac are graphically rather basic and the sounds could be described as "bleep bleep". So the developers of these games had to put all their effort in making a game packed with as much gameplay as possible in limited lines of code.
In some cases they succeeded and made terrific games that we can still enjoy many years later. One of the best examples is Killer Bees!.

The Game

In The Killer Bees you are a swarm of bees that needs to destroy some robots that run around the screen. You destroy them by attacking them. The robots will not die immediately, first they will lose power and run increasingly slower (as long as you attack them) until they are destroyed. Once you've destroyed a robot, a nice gravestone will appear. Your mission is to destroy all robots, if that succeeds a new level starts.

Fortunately there are some baddies that will make this a little harder to accomplish. The baddies are swarms of bees as well. If you touch an enemy swarm, a couple (or all) of your bees will be killed, that way your swarm decreases in size and will have less attacking power. It's possible to attack and kill the enemy swarm with an electric force-field. The force field needs to be recharged so you need to use it wisely.
You will die when all your bees are killed. Every new level you start with a renewed full sized swarm of bees.

Sound

Bleep bleep

Graphics

Well... not very good, but very clear sprites with no distractions (if you play the G7000 version)


Gameplay

I think it's a great short break game, that I tend to play a lot lately. Because the game will rapidly become harder to play, it's not boring and will not last for ages. You can finish one level in a couple of seconds, so very rapid gameplay. Even though the quality of sound is bad compared to more modern games, I prefer playing the game with the sound on. Guess I like the bleep, bleeps.
The game is really original and feels and plays fluid on the excellent o2em port from Spoyser here. The emulator has save states, great compatibility, it's fast and integrates well with gmenu2x.

Overall 8/10

And a very nice video of the game:

Game Video: Super Pipeline II - C64

I have done 3 reviews on the GP2X forum. 3 games that play like a charm on the gp2x and are great fun. This was my first. Copied and pasted the content and added a youtube link.

______________________________________________________________________________
Here's my first review, I thought as I hoped for more emulated games reviews I should take a plunge and write one myself (copied a part from another source) . Hope you like it, keep in mind that English is not my native language.


Super Pipeline II: C64 tested on Vice

The game:















Your objective on each level is to fill the barrels at the bottom of the screen. So long as the pipeline is intact, oil will flow slowly down it and fill the barrels.

However, MEANIES are here to prevent you from completing your task! When facing left or right, you can shoot these meanies with your gun (Press fire to shoot). Lobsters are impervious to bullets from the front, but can be shot from behind... and nails just can't be shot at all.

Sometimes meanies will make a hole in the pipeline, causing your precious oil to escape. This is where your mates come in play. Clad in green, these guys will wander around the pipe aimlessly until you collect them, after that they will follow you. When you've got one following you, you can lead him to a hole in the pipe, and he will fix it for you.

Graphics
















This games graphics are crisp and funny, you can't really expect more from a c64 game like this.

Score: 8/10

Sound

If you can't stand repetitive music it's probably better to mute the sound. I don't really mind and the sound effects are oke.

Score: 7/10

Gameplay

The most important part of a game of course is the gameplay. And the gameplay is great! Our hero moves and shoots fluently on the gp2x screen like he's been waiting since 1985 to do just that. It's easy to get into, but hard to reach higher levels. Can get frustrating if you can't reach the level where you're aiming for. However because you know you can do it, that's a sure sign of good and addictive gameplay :)

Score: 9/10

Overall

As already stated this is a great game. Just pick a d64 of the game and autostart the image with Vice. No need to overclock it or anything else to play this terrific game.

Score: 8/10

And a very nice feature of vice is the ability of making a screenshot
Yep, this impossible to beat score is mine :)














___________________________________________________________
And last but not least... a video :)

Wiz and Dingoo A320 info

In this article (updated october 11th 2009) I want to give some links and information about the Wiz and Dingoo A320. Although I will probably not buy one of them, they share software with the GP2X and can both be used for retrogaming.
I will add a link to this article on the frontpage and adjust this with new infomation and new links whenever that is needed.

The Wiz is the official successor of the GP2X from GPH. Just as the GP2X it is a handheld video game console and media player. It is smaller than the GP2X and has a clear praised but small OLED touchscreen. Battery life is a lot better than the GP2X.

For an overview of some of the most important capabilities of the Wiz look here

The Dingoo A320 is the Chinese and less expensive brother of the GP2X and the Wiz. Just as the Wiz it doesn't have a keyboard.The Dingoo also lacks a touchscreen. According to some people the gamepad of the Dingoo is better than the Wiz.

For a good overview of some of the most important capabilities of the Dingoo A320 look here

There is a lot of interesting development for both handhelds and I'm pretty sure they both will be able to have a great softwarelibrary. So when you think the Pandora is too expensive and you can live without the keyboard, you could buy one of these. The stuff that I am reviewing can hopefully be played on these handhelds as well. Right now that is not always the case though.

In some cases emulators and games are working pretty good, but more development is necessary. Be sure to check how your favorite emulator works on of them before buying.
If you compare the old GP2X with the GP2X-wiz and Dingoo, good old GP2X still wins hands down. GP2X has an amazing software library, the Wiz/Dingoo are catching up, but the quality and quantity does not come close. Of course that is not very surprising, both are relatively new handhelds.

So if you want to play the most emulators and games full speed without too much hassle you might try to buy a 2nd hand GP2X F200. Eventhough development for GP2X is very low I think it is still the best buy. They are not very easy to find anymore though.
If you like the very good OLED touchscreen and small form factor of the Wiz go for that one.
If your budget is tight go for the Dingoo, you can get a pretty good handheld for less than 100$.


Other links:

Small GP2X-Wiz review. The discussion underneath the review is interesting.

Dingoo A320 forum. Most active forum for Dingoo users, lot of discussions about new releases.

GP32X forum. Discussions about the Pandora, GP2X, GP32X, Wiz, Dingoo. Very active forum but for Dingoo discussions you'd better go to the Dingoo A320 forum.

Open handhelds file archive. Large amount of homebrew, apps and emulators for open handhelds.

Dingux.com Here you can find the information regarding porting linux to the Dingoo.Very exciting stuff for every Dingoo user.

Game Video: Devil's crush - PC Engine

Another pinball game, this one is for the PC engine / TurboGrafx 16. Physics are not as good as Psycho Pinball for Genesis, but the fun-factor compensates that. 6 bonus stages and a lot to discover in this great pinball game. You can choose between slow and fast speed, IMO the fast speed is a lot better and plays more like real pinball.

Review from someone I totally agree with is here

Plays without overclocking on Temper

Game Video: Galaga - Arcade

One of the most well known arcade games of all time and probably played by almost all visitors of this blog. A true classic: Galaga.
Goal is to kill swarms of aliens. One of the best ways to do that is obtaining a double shooter. You are an easier (bigger) target, but the better firing power outweighs that.

This game is in my top 3 for sure, never stopped playing it. Why it is so good?

The graphics - colourful graphics with a black (with some dots/stars) and not disturbing background. You see what you need to see, nothing more nothing less. Everything that moves has to be shot.

Shooting is not an automatic fire, you have to work to kill the baddies. To survive more advanced levels you need adrenaline. Shooting is working and to avoid being hit you need a lot of concentration.

The bonus levels (challenge stages) . You can gain extra points by shooting a perfect score on the bonus levels. Can be frustrating when you miss one alien, but that's part of the fun.

Balanced gameplay. The first levels are pretty easy but soon the levels get more difficult and then you have the bonus levels to keep you sharp and alert. The creators of the game did build up the gameplay perfectly, sometimes playing a longer game feels like a game of sports.
There are a lot of great conversions to consoles. IMO the best is still the original arcade version. There are also some sequels that are not that bad (e.g. galaga '88), but still do not compare to the feel of the original.




Plays without overclocking on MAME4ALL

Game Video: Taz - Atari 2600

Taz or Astrix (the same game, other character) is a simple but fun game. Avoid hitting the dynamite and get the goodies. Like a lot of games from this era, it starts slow and will increase in speed.
After completing a level, speed increases, goodies change and you will get more points for them. The first couple of levels are not too hard, but after a certain level the speed is increased a lot. The game is then in insane mode and only the best will survive (and I'm not one of them ;) )

It's a fast game you play in a couple of minutes, so great for a quick game when you are in a hurry.



Plays without overclocking on GP2X-2600

It's been quiet :)

Yes, I have been lazy lately and haven't updated the blog a lot. Not that I don't play games anymore, just a bit less and also played Nintendo DS more frequently.
I like the little machine, it has some advantages compared to the GP2X.
There are more up-to-date commercial games, better battery life and the one I probably like the most: a fast boot up time.

That doesn't make the GP2X obsolete *yet*. The GP2X has got a bigger screen, great homebrew and fantastic emulators. If you want an impressive retro-games collection on a 4 gb sd-card the GP2X will serve you well.
A week ago I played my good old GP2X again, installed some new homebrew and it was pretty fun playing it again.
Animath is a great Zookeeper clone made by Ruckage. Quality of the game is outstanding, it gives the GP2X users a commercial quality game for free. If you play the game please support Ruckage with a small (or big) donation. He deserves it, and we really should embrace his effort. He is one of the few homebrew developers that is capable of making really good games with awesome graphics.

Maybe even more amazing is the fantastic work of senor quack / djwillis and Orkie in creating Open2X. Its first official release is near. Very nice!

Game video: Revenge of the Gator - GB

There are a couple of pinball games on the Gameboy as well. Revenge of the Gator is a nice one, that is not very difficult. For the random, shoot don't aim player you can still play for a while without losing the ball and score some points.
I think the game is fun, but the physics are not very good. If you are looking for a pinball simulation, this is not for you. It never stopped me from playing, because there is a lot to discover in this game.

Here a review.

Plays without overclocking on GnuBoy2X or Lemonboy2x

Game Review: Psycho Pinball - Genesis

If you like pinball and want to play it on the GP2X, you really should try Psycho Pinball. There are other great pinball games, but Psycho Pinball has all the elements that make pinball so much fun.
If you ask a pinball enthusiast what is the most important aspect of a good pinball game, he/she will probably say "flow". And that's what Psycho has, it has great flow.

Psycho Pinball has 4 tables. You can play the tables separately, but when you play the Psycho table you can reach the other 3 tables as well. That's an awesome feature that makes this game even more impressive.
Another aspect of a good Pinball table is the ruleset, you need to have a good ruleset. Only shooting for 1 goal and reaching amazing scores is not a good thing. Also here Psycho Pinball doesn't fail, it has a great varied ruleset that is interesting and challenging.
The colourful graphics are superb and the sounds are cheerful and entertaining.

I always like to add a nice youtube video of a game, but couldn't find one. I think that is amazing, for a terrific game like this.

Well for a month a video was present... but the user already deleted the video.


More detailed description here.

Plays smooth as butter on Picodrive without overclocking.

Game Video: High Speed Pinball - NES

One of my most enjoyed type of games are pinball games. I love the recreations and original pinball tables made possible with visual pinball for PCs. On the GP2X it is also possible to play some fun pinball tables. One of them is High Speed Pinball for the NES. Graphically not very great, but it plays very good. If you keep in mind this is the old NES and you can't compare it with a modern PC, the physics in the game are excellent. It has some nice surprises, so don't give up too fast. The game has a high replay value.

Here a review.

Plays without overclocking on GPFCE.

GP2X will no longer be produced

The end of the GP2X did not come as a big surprise, but it was sooner than expected.

Here the thread were the news was announced.
RIP GP2X, but don't worry. There are a lot of developers that are still supporting the GP2X.

Link: Atari-ST homebrew preview PicocrossST

Another great homebrew puzzle game is on its way for the Atari-ST. Not finished yet, but that should not take long (expected release date end of april). I hope it will be compatible with OutcaST.

Looks great! Link with a preview video of PicocrossST

[Edit] Works like a charm on Outcast! Great music, great game.

Use the MSA disc version here




A very good GP2X original picocross game is the exellent Max in Ghostpix
Here you can download Max in Ghostpix