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 HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED MOMENT?
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THE RETURN OF PLAY EXPO • Graeme Mason reports on this year’s Blackpool event
Memory almost full
I am retro!
Four Quarters • The founders of the popular arcade chain challenge Paul Drury to a four-player game of Gauntlet
THE LATEST NEWS FROM FEBRUARY 2005
THIS MONTH IN…
CHARTS • FEBRUARY 2005
Rainbow Islands • NOW WITH ADDED MUSIC
20 YEARS OF HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED • BUNGIE’S HALO TRANSFORMED A GENRE WITH GAME MECHANICS THAT STILL RESONATE TODAY. HERE WE REVISIT THE KEY ELEMENTS THAT MAKE IT SHINE
HALO'S LEGACY • EDGE’S ALEX SPENCER REVISITS HALO
INNOVATING A CENTRE • THE HISTORY OF THE FIRST-PERSON SHOOTER IS A LONG AND STORIED ONE, WITH HALO BEING ONE OF THE MOST IMPACTFUL TITLES IN THE GENRE. THE MODERN-DAY FPS OWES A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT TO THE INNOVATIONS OF BUNGIE’S BEHEMOTH…
A CHAT WITH CORTANA • JEN TAYLOR TALKS HALO, MASTER CHIEF AND FINDING THE VOICE OF CORTANA
MAXIMISING THE MULTIPLAYER EXPERIENCE • NOWADAYS, ONLINE MULTIPLAYER FPS GAMES ARE EVERYWHERE, BUT IN THE NINETIES THERE WERE PREDOMINANTLY ENJOYED BY PC OWNERS, WITH CONSOLE GAMERS ENJOYING SMALLER LOCAL AFFAIRS ON SYSTEMS LIKE THE N64 AND PLAYSTATION. HALO CHANGED THIS, AS IT EVOLVED NOT JUST FPS COMBAT, BUT THE WAY WE ENJOYED PLAYING THESE GAMES WITH OTHERS
BECOME A HALO MASTER • FRAG YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS WITH THESE HANDY TIPS
AUGMENTING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE • MOST WILL AGREE THAT THE RICH, SCI-FI WORLD OF HALO IS ONE OF THE KEY FACTORS THAT MADE IT STANDOUT AND SURVIVE THE TEST OF TIME, BUT IT WAS BUNGIE’S APPROACH TO THE GAME’S AI THAT ULTIMATELY LED TO IT HAVING A TRULY BELIEVABLE WORLD…
ROGUE'S GALLERY • THE CRITTERS AND COMBATANTS MASTER CHIEF FACES
HAIL TO THE CHIEF • WHAT MAKES A SPARTAN SO FORMIDABLE?
DESIGNING HALO • IN MANY WAYS CONSIDERED TO BE GAMING’S STAR WARS, THE HALO FRANCHISE HAS GONE ON TO BUILD A WHOLE UNIVERSE’S WORTH OF LORE COVERING THE FORERUNNERS, THE FLOOD AND, OF COURSE, MASTER CHIEF’S IMPACT ON EVERYTHING. BUT IT ALL BEGAN IN 2552 CE…
THE WEAPONS OF HALO • TURN THE TIDE WITH THIS DEADLY ARSENAL
HALO'S LEGACY • PLAYSTATION FANS ARE STILL ON THE HUNT FOR THEIR ‘HALO KILLER’, WHICH GOES SOME WAY TO HIGHLIGHT JUST HOW IMPACTFUL THE FRANCHISE HAS BEEN. IT’S BEEN A CONSOLE SELLER FOR MICROSOFT FOR YEARS, BUT HAS BEEN LEVERAGED IN OTHER INTERESTING WAYS TOO…
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THE EVOLUTION OF: Lode Runner • In the decades after Broderbund published Doug Smith’s platformer Lode Runner countless sequels followed. Broderbund’s Doug Carlston and a whole cast of developers and producers who worked on the series explain its ongoing popularity
STAGES OF EVOLUTION: COIN-OP CAPERS • WE LOOK AT THE JAPANESE LODE RUNNER ARCADE GAMES
STAGES OF EVOLUTION: COMPUTER CAPERS...