BROKEN SWORD REFORGED

BROKEN SWORD REFORGED

A big brown box arrived in the post for me today and I was baffled to know what I had bought and when I bought it, as I wasn't expecting anything. On closer inspection I see the return address says “REVOLUTION” and think to myself that it sounds familiar but I can't think where from. I put the box down on the living room floor thinking it must be a Christmas present I'd bought someone but I couldn't remember what it was or who it may be for.

Some time passed before I remember where I knew the name “Revolution” from, I don't know how I could have forgetten them, they produced some of my all time favourite games from one of my favourite genres of game, the point and click adventure. Lure of the Temptress, Beneath a SteelSky, Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars and Broken Sword II: TheSmoking Mirror and many others, all best sellers some of which even won awards.

I now remember, at least 12 months ago I backed a campaign on Kickstarter for a remake/remaster of one of my all time favourite point and click adventures, Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars which was originally released in 1996 and was available on Windows, Mac OS, PlayStation, Palm OS, Windows Mobile when initially released, so far there have been five games in the series with a sixth one announced in 2023.

Now back to the campaign I backed, what perks did I request, well guess what I couldn't remember, I couldn't even remember which version of the game I got, PC (DRM-free for Windows, Mac and Linux), PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch or Xbox One/Series X, so I was excited when I opened the box and remembered I had backed the Collectors Edition box with Xbox One/Series X game, which contained quite a few collectable items.

• George Figurine
• Cloth Manuscript
• USB-C Key
• Broken Sword Reforge key (PC or Console)
• Digital Collector's Edition items
• Game Manual
• Physical Game in the Box – I got the X Box version
• Game Box
• Credit in the Game: Templar Seneschal

There were many more perks available but my budget was limited, there was a vinyl record, artbook, bottle opener, key ring etc. all of which would enhance the collection and this was the Ultimate Collector's Bundle.

Receiving the beautiful collection re-igbited my love for this game and the point and click genre so rather than boot up my Xbox to play the game I took a little shortcut and took my Ayn Thor and downloaded the game from the Google Play store and just a few moments later I was playing one of my favourite games on one of my favourite pieces of hardware.

Revolutions new campaign which is due to start on Kickstarter soon is for Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror which I will definitely be backing and I've set a reminder on Kickstarter so that it will inform me on launch.

Michael

AYN THOR

AYN THOR

Well my AYN Thor arrived on Saturday 1st November which I'd ordered on Thursday 29th August, quite a really lengthy wait so was it worth it? I haven't really done a great deal with it yet. Unboxed, then did the usual Android set-up, date, time, location, wi-fi etc. I was also able to order a 1TB microSD card on Saturday and have it delivered same day which I put my ROMS onto for the following consoles: Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, Nintendo GB, Nintendo GBC, Nintendo GBA, Sony PSP, Sony PSVita and Nintendo Switch.

I wasn't quite sure why I purchased this handheld other than I wanted to add it to my collection. Too powerful for Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS but has a dual screen which I don't want to just ignore because I'm playing Sony PSP or Sony PSVita. So where in my collection does this handheld fit? Considering how powerful this is I might even try some Switch on Eden.

I have the Anbernic RG DS on pre-order so I may do a comparison later on but until that time below is a comparison of the specifications.

	AYN Thor	Anbernic DS
CPU	Snapdragon 8 Gen 2	RK3568 Quad Core
GPU	Adreno 740	ARM G52 2EE
RAM	16GB	3GB
Top Screen Size	6"	4" IPS
Top Screen Resolution	1080x1920	640x480
Bottom Screen Size	3.92"	4" IPS
Bottom Screen Resolution	1080x1240	640x470
Memory	LPDDR5x
Wi-Fi	7
Bluetooth	5.3	4.2
Battery	6000mAh	4000mAh
Operating System	Android 13	Android 14
Storage	1TB	32GB
External Storage	MicroSD	MicroSD

I purchased the white model and it looks very pleasing to the eye with a nice matt white and textured finish and thankfully it isn't prone to finger prints or smudging. It is comfortable to hold and the controls are within easy reach and the handheld isn't heavy.

A bit of a break from typing my blog to try Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS emulators to see if I can get the second screen working, possibly need to check out some set-up guides and decide on the emulators to use. Having a Nintendo DS and it automatically accessing the second screen is much different to an Android powered handheld and needing to do some set-up work just for the emulator to recognise a second screen.

So after a bit of Googling I found Joey's Retro Handhelds setup guide and how installing Obtanium first it would help with keeping on top of any updates there may be.

After watching the video and following all the emulator installation sections of the video and before setting up RetroArch I wanted to see if I could get MelonDS standalone emulator working with two screens, I must admit I was expecting it to be really difficult, but guess what, it wasn't and within minutes I was playing a Nintendo DS game on my Ayn Thor using both screens, something I would never of expected 6 months ago.

Now to go away and to tinker a little, setting up RetroArch and the Daijisho front end. The big question is would I recommend this handheld all things considered, when you take into account price per power do you get your bang for your buck? The answer is a resounding yes from me.

I'll probably come back and revisit this subject once I have RetroArch and Daijisho up and running, so possibly watch out for a part 2.

Michael

ARCADE CLUB

ARCADE CLUB IN LEEDS

In August of 2019 I got married, beautiful day, beautiful weather and a great day was had by all so where is the best place for a newly married fifty something to spend his honeymoon? An amusement arcade, called the Arcade Club, seemed the ideal place for the pair of us to go and if memory serves me well we did a whole 12 hour shift, 11am to 11pm on a Thursday (I think) at £16 each, quite a reasonable price and only a short drive from where we live. If you are driving, parking isn't too bad as it has a small car park right outside or if that is full you can always park in Morrisons just over the road.

The £16 entry fee entitles you to play all the arcade games, pinball machines, air hockey etc for free.

There was a small bar serving canned drinks, beer, larger, cider and some spirits. When it came to food both of us were completely catered for, hamburger, pizza, hotdog all of which were also available as meat free options, ideal for the vegan in your life.

But of course our main aim was to play. Some of the earliest arcade machines available to play there are games such as Pong (1972) all the way through to the 80s and my favourite machine, Galaga (1981), there are also imported Japanese arcade cabinets and dancing games among many others available. There are also a great selection of pinball machines. All of these games brought back memories of growing up by the coast where I was surrounded by amusement arcades.

 

Some of the most popular games appeared to be the large arcade boxes containing shooting games, such as House of the Dead which appeared to be one of the most popular as it seemed to always be occupied. We quite often passed the cabinet thinking we'd play only to fnd people in there thinking we'll come back later and try again, eventually we got to play which was good as it's one of our favourites.

House of the Dead, a very popular game

The top floor contains more recent hardware, PlayStation 5s, XBoxes and VR machines are set up, it seems a really popular area but not really my cup of tea so decided to steer clear, so back down to the ground floor and a couple of games of air hockey. The hydraulic games such as Space Harrier (1985), Super Hang On (1987) and Outrun all seemed popular with the visitors.

In 2024 the Arcade Club closed for a short period of refurbishment and then re-opened with a much larger footprint being able to cater for a larger bar area and more food options, but most important is the quantity of arcade machines.

I have visited the Arcade Club in Leeds numerous times since and have thouroughly enjoyed every visit. the Arcade Club is also available as a venue for special events such as birthday parties, stag or hen parties, christmas parties etc.

I would highly recommend the Arcade Club to anyone but to be certain of a good time put plenty of hours to one side, probably even a whole day as you will surely want to stay as long as you can, the time will pass quickly  but you will be a much happier person for spending time there.

If you are not situated anywhere near Leeds/Bradford there are also Arcade Clubs in Bury and Blackpool, which as of now we haven't tried yet.

Michael

CD32

CD32

When I started this blog I did say I would talk about things other than handheld consoles so here we go. A console from the early 90s.

My main passion when it comes to consoles and computers is the Commodore line of computers, mainly Amiga, my favourite of all is probably the A1200, but let's not talk about that, let's talk about the console, some call a variant of the A1200, the CD32 which in itself is a very powerful console and more expandable than was thought it ever could be when it was released on September 17th 1993.

Whilst in developement the CD32 had the codename "Spellbound", and the console was just what Commodore needed at the time as they were floundering financially at the time. Commodore needed a big hitter to enter the market just before the christmas period and a lot of hope was placed on the CD32.

Most people just see the CD32 as an A1200 without a keyboard, floppy drive and hard drive all of which may not come as standard with the CD32 but can actually be added if you wish to tinker a little. The most common add on is the Terrible Fire 328 which has 8MB RAM and a 2.5" IDE expansion which can be used for hard disk drives or CF/SD cards. Another option when it comes to a floppy drive is the AMIFDCD32 which plugs into the rear expansion port on the CD32. There are other variants of the Terrible Fire such as the Terrible Fire 330. Adding a Terrible Fire can cause compatibility issues.

Other peripherals:

Keyboard option: There is a port on the left hand side that can be used for a keyboard. Mice. Connecting to HDTV and the use of third party controllers.

No matter what hardware you attach to a CD32 that can change it into a fully fledged computer, most will always see it as a console, which is not a bad thing, and so will use it as such including myself, my CD32 was purchased as a console and has always been used as a console and probably will always be used as a console, I have an Amiga that I can use for computer work.

My favourite game for CD32 was Zool, probably due to it being the game I played the most (only game I had, for the longest time) but I am also a sucker for a good platformer but I am easily distracted by pretty graphics such as those in virtually every Bitmap Brothers game. Any point and click adventure game such as Simon the Sorcerer.

The question may be, do I still own a CD32? Yes I do, also do I still use my CD32? No because I mainly use handhelds, even my PlayStation 4 and Xbox Series X have been reduced to being Blu Ray players or for  streaming games to my handheld consoles. If you don't have a CD32 but want to play there is always the option to emulate the CD32 on other hardware. There are A1200 emulators which makle it possible to play CD32 games on other OSs such as Windows, Linux, MacOS and Android. Hardware: PCs, Apple, Raspberry Pi, other Amigas. Would people want to emulate the CD32 for that retro feel?

Peoples views and thoughts with regards to the official CD32 controller vary. Most think it very peculiar and shaped incorrectly compared to controllers of the time or if you compare it to todays range of controllers it just seems alien.

Would I recommend the CD32? Only for old school gamers that are willing to have the console plonked in front of the TV or for those that want to tinker and change it's use to a computer and place in front of a monitor. Prices of second hand CD32s vary in quality, bundle sizes anbnd whether they are boxed or not.

There have been various, what many would call retro, recreations of computers available to purchase recently such as the Amiga 500 mini, SNES mini, NES mini and coming soon the Vectrex mini. If the CD32 came out now would it be popular and what specs would people like to see on it? Such as HDMI out, USB ports, WIFI, Bluetooth, things that wouldn't detract from the aesthetic look of the original. Personally, yes I would purchase one but only if I could use my existing catalogue of CD32 games which means a mini variant would not be an option for me.

How powerful is it compared to modern consoles? It can't really be compared these days as 30+ years have passed and there really is no competition. Do the games of the time compare favourably with games that are available on modern computers and consoles? This question on the other hand is depends on the players requirements, a good game and good characters can easily beat the flash 3D rendered images and online play.

Michael

ANBERNIC CONSOLES

ANBERNIC CONSOLES

Anbernic was founded in 2017 and and are in the business of making Linux, Android and Windows handheld consoles, their first handheld was the Retro Game (RG) which was released in the same year. Anbernics first notable handheld was the RG351P released in 2020 with a Rockchip RK3326 SoC 4*1.5 GHz Cortex A35 CPU, not very powerful when compared to todays processors when you consider the latest CPUs being used are the SnapDragon Elite, but you must take into account that the emulators available at the time the 1.5 GHZ processor was being used it was more than enough. Unfortunately I don't have a Retro Game (RG) in my collection.

Anbernic have a very large range of handhelds with varying CPU processing power, varying GPU speeds, varying stick/D-pad layouts (stick above D-pad or stick below D-pad), no sticks, varying triggers (some in-line and some stacked), vertical handhelds and horizontal handhelds, slide open configuration, overall size of handheld, clam shell and now clam shell with dual screens. The dual screen clam shell is not the first to market, the AYN Thor is available and then of course there was the second screen add on from Retroid.

Handhelds tend to be made from varying materials either for cosmetic reasons or for stability reasons, some with plastic bodies, some with metal bodies, some with complete glass fronts. Modding opportunities such as stick replacements, 3D printed cases, 3D printed grips can be useful/cosmetic things people can apply to their handhelds also.

Anbernic are in quite a competitive market and compete with many other makers of handhelds, Powkiddy, AYANEO, AYN, GPD and Switch (I know not an emulation handheld but a handheld non the less), etc all of which seem to aim at different markets that require an Android, Linux, Windows or Switches own operating system.

There is always a fear of flooding the market with handhelds and Anbernic are a bit prone to doing this, releasing a handheld and then a month or so later releasing their next and then a couple of months down the line releasing another that is just a slight upgrade of the first (a repeating pattern). In the eight years since the founding of Anbernic they have released approx 30 handhelds, which to me seems to be a bit too many, however the collector in me has to say "YEAH". Anbernic are not the only producers that are prone to flooding the market it seems to be a side affect of the handhled market.

Some people have preferences for certain operating systems on an Anbernic handheld, mine is Android as set-up and configuring seems the easiest to me.

Which of Anbernics handhelds has the most powerful CPU at the moment? At present they do not have a handheld with the most upto date CPU being used in handhelds, SnapDragon Elite. I would write a list of Anbernics consoles but due to the 30 or so released to date it would be a rather long list, so all I can suggest it visiting my handheld consoles links page. At the moment SnapDragon processors seem to have become a necessity to run such emulators as those for the PlayStation 3 so this may be a little to far out of Anbernics reach at the moment.

Below are three of Anbernics handhelds, taken at random, listing their specifications:

	RG351P	RG505	RG477M
CPU	Rockchip RK3326	Unisoc T618	Dimensity 8300
GPU	Arm Mali G31	Arm Mali G52	Arm MaliG615
OS	Linux	Android 12	Android 14
Battery	3500mAh	5000mAh	5300mAh
Controls	Dual Analogue	No Analogue	Dual Analogue
Screen	3.5" IPS	4.95" OLED	4.7" LTPS
Resolution	480 x 320	960 x 544	1280 x 960
RAM	1GB DDR3L	4GB DDR4X	12GB LPDDR5
Storage		128GB	256GB
Ex Storage	microSD	microSD	microSD
Wi-Fi	N/A	2.4	6E
Bluetooth	N/A	5	5.3

Apart from the three main operating systems there are also third party OSs available too, such as Knulli, GammaOS etc there is also the option of streaming software which would enable you to play XBox, PlayStation and PC games on your handheld. The main benefit is probably playing AAA games in the palm of your hand unfortunately to be able to do this an internet connection is needed there are other downsides to streaming such as quality of streaming, lag, set-up, software available.

The latest iteration of Anbernic handhelds is the, soon to be released, dual screen and this dual screen is priced at under $100.00 which should mean it will be under £100.00. Dual screens seem to be very popular among all handheld producers.

There are emulators for most handheld consoles of the 80s through to present day such as PlayStation 3 which is where most machines top out.

List of some consoles emulated:

Lynx

Game Gear

Nintendo 64

SNES

NES

Game Boy

Game Boy Color

Game Boy Advance

Nintendo DS

Nintendo 3DS

Wii

WiiU

GameCube

Mega Drive

Master System

PlayStation 1

PlayStation 2

PlayStation 3

There is all this talk of consoles that can be emulated but there are many computers that can be emulated, here are some:

Commodore 64

Amiga

Atari ST

ZX Spectrum

Amstrad CPC

PC (streamed)

There are many handhelds other than Android or Linux such as Windows PCs like the MSI Claw, Lenovo Legion Go, also SteamDeck which uses SteamOS, there are also dedicated streaming handhelds such as Abxylute all of which are possibly aimed at a different market to the Anbernic machines.

Michael