Jakks Pacific Atari 2600 Joystick Plug n Play

It seems in recent years there is a bandwagon of sorts to cash in on the ever growing popularity and nostalgic wave of retro games and systems. It seems as if Jakks Pacific rode shotgun in said bandwagon, at least for the plug n play market. At some point I picked up a Jakks Pacific Atari 2600 controllers for $1 in a thrift store, I was aware of the company but I wasn't sure if they could pull of an authentic Atari 2600 experience in just a joystick. [caption id="attachment_1869" align="center" width="300"] ... Read more
Posted 11 years ago

Vintage Gaming Cleaning Kits

In the days when cartridges ruled the world it seemed as if anyone and everyone put out a cleaning kit to keep your systems in working order. Which was a big selling point made all too easy by the NES and its, more often than not, ability to put on a light show rather than play a game. If there is one thing I believe about retro gaming, it has to be the fact that if you keep your systems and games clean they will last longer and give you much ... Read more
Posted 11 years ago

Willow for the NES

Willow was a 1988 film starring Warwick Davis and Val Kilmer, written, in part, by George Lucas and directed by Ron Howard, so did it's video game counterpart suffer the same fate as many other movie to NES titles? Well fans seemingly had luck on their side as the job went to Capcom, the company who brought us the Mega Man series, so it seemed as though everything had fallen into perfect order. But would Capcom be able to translate the story of the movie into an enjoyable game, or slaughter ... Read more
Posted 12 years ago

Sam’s Scores 12: Strange Controllers

4) Ms. Pacman Plug n Play Today we start off with a plug n play, ok it isn't really a controller, but this thing is wireless, which means the top becomes a controller! Flawless Technicality! I love the modern-retro influx of plug n play systems, I still hunt down the original hardware and software, I just prefer to have tons of options at my finger tips, and this thing does just that. Jakks took the Ms. Pacman cocktail design and brought it to a handheld, and with other games thrown in, coupled with wireless, this is quite a ... Read more
Posted 12 years ago

Retro Games and Passwords, why!?

Passwords, the bane of many retro gamers. After a long week of writing things down at school the last thing you wanted was having to write down something from a video game you just rented or bought. No, video games were suppose to be a refreshing exit to your week and made looking forward to the next week a little more sweet. Before the luxury of memory cards or even battery backups, many gamers had to sit next to a pad of paper with their choice of pen or pencil to write down codes to log their hours of hard work. ... Read more
Posted 12 years ago

Radica Sega Genesis Plug n Play Review

When it comes to plug n play systems that look like, feel like or play vintage video games, I must own them! Although to some these systems might seem outdated, the plug n play era is pretty new to me; but I'm happy to dive into any of them that I don't already own. So far, through the many different plug n play systems I have collected, I've been pretty surprised by what they bring to the table. Obviously I prefer to collect the original hardware and software for the classic systems, but when I have the chance to get a ... Read more
Posted 12 years ago

Sam’s Scores 11

Personally I feel as though Sam's Scores has hit a crossroad. I want to continue bringing you cool finds, yet I rarely hunt anywhere other than the Goodwill outlet store. Although I do find a lot of cool stuff there, I feel a bit strange marking prices as per pound. I'll do my best to keep the series going, but hunting anywhere other than the Goodwill Outlet store usually leaves me empty handed. Please bear with me in my continuation with the series and please let me know what you think. Enjoy! 4) N64 Gameshark I was out at a ... Read more
Posted 12 years ago