As much as I love the sound of NES hardware, I’ve found myself really enjoying chiptunes from a broader array of systems recently. The latest in my rotation comes from 505 (Nils Feske). His new album, Interlude, mixes classic Atari sounds with subtle use of modern instruments and effects.

Feske is no stranger to the Atari scene and it shows. With contributions to YM Rockerz and a number of solo albums already under his belt, Feske was able to use his experience to create a diverse sound set out of aging hardware. You can grab Interlude on (where else?) Bandcamp right now for four euros (that’s just over $5).

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Have you been enjoying the funky chiptune albums from Ubiktune lately? By now you must be all danced out. What better way to relax and slow things down than with Ubiktune’s latest release. Strange Light Under My Bed is a free original album by Yerzmyey in the style of Berlin School. That means you can expect a blend of trance, ambient, and experimental styles that come together in some pretty unconventional ways.

Strange Light Under My Bed was made using a variety of retro computers including the ZX Spectrum 48k/128k, Amiga 500, Atari 520 ST, and Atari Falcon 030. You can see a full breakdown of every computer and chip used as well as which retro software and effects were used along with the download link (for multiple audio formats) on the album’s release page.

Source: Ubiktune

Remember when everybody begged and pleaded for a reboot of the 1982 Atari classic, Yar’s Revenge? Neither do I, but here we are. Much like the upcoming Kid Icarus: Uprising, the new title looks like it has less to do with the concepts of its predecessor and has more in common with games like Sin & Punishment, Panzer Dragoon, and Star Fox.

It’s this genre change that had my interest piqued. The move to a third person rail shooter, regardless of its franchise branding, seemed right up my alley. After all, games in this genre aren’t particularly common, especially now. But sadly, the only thing waiting for me in the new XBLA Yar’s Revenge was disappointment.

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“Friday Old Games” is a series of articles in which we review a game from the older generations of consoles, share why we picked it, and whether or not it holds up with time.

Looking back on the history of video games, there are key points where any life-long gamer remembers getting sucked in. As a child of the 80′s with three older brothers in the house, my first experiences were on the Atari 2600.

We never bought an Atari new, but my brothers had a knack for finding lots of old games and systems at garage sales. Most games sounded amazing. Play as Spider-Man and stop the Green Goblin? How could that not rule? (Spoilers: It didn’t).

Then there was a little game called Pitfall! that showed me games could live up to the box art.

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The moment I first picked up a controller, I knew games were for me, firstly because of the way that solid black and red joystick fit snugly into my hands, and then the way the console pumped out those crunchy Atari melodies. My first experience with a video game was a sensory one. Enjoying this new experience, I basked in the frame of my TV for hours, transfixed in equal parts of awe and wonder. I was four years old and over 20 years later very little has changed.

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This may come off as grumpy old man complaining that “Back in my day, we only had Combat on Atari, and we liked it!”, but it is something that has been on my mind a lot lately. I’m warning you now this is a full on opinion piece.

Do we, as gamers, complain too much? Do we take into consideration everything that goes into making the games we play in the first place? And do we, or should we, care?

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