©2009 Jamie Woodhouse

Now here’s an interesting homebrew retro game that’s been around the block. The game is called Qwak. It’s been on many platforms: BBC, Amiga, Gameboy Advance, and most recently Windows PC. It’s a fun game that guides the player through a wild assortment of levels. You’ll be collecting fruits, gems, and treasures galore while battling enemies and avoiding traps in the stages. The game also has a two-player mode for joining in on the action. The game has the playful fun of Bubble Bobble, but it’s quite unique in it’s own right. 

(Game collectors be advised: Qwak has a limited run Gameboy Advance version. Only 300 copies were made. Get your copy while you still can!)

©2008 Capcom

If you haven’t heard about Mega Man 9 for Wii and Xbox, please come out of your cave and get this game. Through the development process the developers made many passes at this game to instill a historic and true retro feel.

They purposely limited animation and graphics. They also didn’t shy away from making the game difficult even in this new culture of “easy casual gaming.” It’s just as hard (if not harder) when compared to the original Mega Man released for the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) over 20 years ago.

If you retro gaming “old timers” (like myself) still have some hair on your head, expect to lose some playing this great game ;D