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Awesome Games

Why Are Game Controller Buttons Like That?

Why Are Game Controller Buttons Like That?

You probably know that Nintendo came up with the A and B buttons in video game controllers. But did you know that they were not the first to use Start and Select? Or that we have Sega to thank for the ergonomics of the Xbox controller layout? Learn all that and more from YouTuber Lextorias’ deep dive into the origins of video game controller buttons.

Miniature Virtual Pinball Machines

Miniature Virtual Pinball Machines

Scott Sloan builds 1:6-scale digital pinball machines that are fully playable. The 3D-printed systems can play many games using Visual Pinball X and are powered by a GMK 5105 mini-computer. They have a 7″ playfield and a 5″ backglass display. Want one? Contact Scott on Facebook. Glen’s Retro Show has a demo video here. Images courtesy of Scott Sloan.

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Balatro

Balatro

Balatro is your next gaming addiction – but not because it’s a poker game. It merely uses the card game’s hands as a starting point, and then it quickly goes off the rails. Like fellow indie hit Vampire Survivors, this fast-paced roguelike keeps you hooked with lots of shiny rewards that will help you rack up scores on the edge of math.

Empire of the Ants (Gameplay Trailer)

Empire of the Ants (Gameplay Trailer)

Inspired by Bernard Werber’s eponymous fantasy novel, Empire of the Ants is a photorealistic real-time strategy game. You play as 103,683rd, the heralded savior of their ant colony. Build and expand your anthill, conquer other territories, and befriend and fight other forest creatures. Coming to PS5 in 2024.

NIDUS (Gameplay Trailer)

NIDUS (Gameplay Trailer)

This fast-paced arcade game asks players to control a flower and a wasp to fight off various enemies in their otherworldly ecosystem. Caleb Wood, one of the concept artists behind the exceptional sci-fi series Scavenger’s Reign, created the game. It’s out now on Steam for Windows and supports single-player and local co-op modes.

Contra: Operation Galuga

Contra: Operation Galuga
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Konami dusts off the ’80s run-and-gun classic for today’s generation. While Contra: Operation Galuga mainly offers new graphics and audio to the NES arcade shooter, it also has a few new stages and enemies and adds a four-player arcade mode. It’s time to steal lives from your kids.

Virtual Pinball Machines by The Pinball King

Virtual Pinball Machines by The Pinball King
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Play all your favorite pinball games on one cabinet with a virtual pinball machine from The Pinball King. Their premium models have a 43-inch 4K playfield, an HD backglass, an analog plunger, a shaker motor, haptic feedback, a real DMD (dot-matrix display), and more. They also make a 32″ model. Save $300 on any Kings Choice system with the code “awesomer”.

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Xbox Series X SpongeBob Edition

Xbox Series X SpongeBob Edition

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? SpongeBox X-Pants! Microsoft’s game console is the ideal canvas for SpongeBob’s boxy yellow body. The special $699 bundle comes with a colorful cartoon character controller and the game Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 packed in. Grab one starting 3.7.2024 via Best Buy Drops on the Best Buy Mobile App.

Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator (Gameplay)

Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator (Gameplay)

We used to play the hell out of the Sega Dreamcast game Crazy Taxi. The ride-and-drive simulator Taxi Life is a far more sedate take on the same. The sim puts you behind the wheel of a cab to pick up passengers in Barcelona, Spain, and also to create and manage your own taxi company. The game hits PS5, Xbox, and Steam on 3.7.2024.

Harold Halibut (Gameplay Trailer)

Harold Halibut (Gameplay Trailer)

This upcoming adventure game from Slow Bros. features artful animations that started as real-world miniatures, transformed into 3D digital models. Players take on the role of Harold Halibut, a resident of a spaceship submerged in an alien ocean on a quest to find a permanent home for his shipmates. Download and play a PC demo of the game on Steam.

Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story (Trailer)

Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story (Trailer)

Jeff Minter is the mind behind video game classics like Gridrunner, Attack of the Mutant Camels, Tempest 2000, and Polybius. Known for his offbeat and psychedelic style, 42 of his games have been collected into this interactive documentary, which lets you learn about their creator then play the games. Coming to Switch, Xbox, PS4, PS5, and PC 3.13.2024.

Rainbow Six SMOL

Rainbow Six SMOL

Ubisoft and Netflix just dropped this lighthearted take on Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six franchise with a cartoony Roguelite shooter. Build your squad and head out on stealth missions to save the world of SMOL by defusing bombs, freeing hostages, and taking down baddies. It’s free to play but requires a Netflix subscription. Available now on iOS and Android.

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Super Banjo Bros.

Super Banjo Bros.

Because the theme song from Super Mario Bros. never gets old, here’s a banjo cover version by the trio Foggy Mountain Spaceship. After bringing their twangy styling to World 1-1, they head down the warp pipe for a banjo version of the Underworld theme. But it’s not all bluegrass here, and things head down a psychedelic prog-rock path by the end.

MyArcade Atari Gamestation Portable

MyArcade Atari Gamestation Portable

After releasing its Atari Gamestation Pro retro console, My Arcade is now working on a handheld version of the 8-bit gaming system. In addition to coming with more than 200 classic Atari 2600 games, the Gamestation Portable will have a 7″ display, joystick, paddle, numeric, and mini-trackball controllers built right in. Drops Q4 2024 for $149.

Hyperkin x Oscar Mayer Hot Dog Game Controller

Hyperkin x Oscar Mayer Hot Dog Game Controller
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My joystick has a first name, it’s O-S-C-A-R; my joystick has a second name, it’s M-A-Y-E-R. Hyperkin teamed up with an unlikely partner to create the wackiest game controller of the year. The hot dog-shaped Bluetooth controller works with Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac, Android, and iOS and is decorated in shades of bun gold, mustard yellow, and hot dog red.

Son and Bone: Gameplay Teaser

Son and Bone: Gameplay Teaser

Developed by TeamKill Media, the first-person shooter Son and Bone follows a sheriff who is transported to a world filled with angry dinosaurs while chasing down a gang of bandits. While the story premise sounds silly, a game of kill-or-be-killed with T. Rexes and raptors looks like good fun and like Turok Meets DOOM. The game hits PlayStation later this year.

Atari 400 Mini Game System

Atari 400 Mini Game System

The Atari 400 Mini emulates all of the classic Atari 8-bit systems, including the 400, 800XL, and Atari 5200 game consoles. The modernized system has an HDMI video output and USB controller inputs. It comes with 25 games, including Berzerk, Millipede, Miner 2049er, M.U.L.E., and Star Raiders II, and you can load more via USB. An Amazon UK exclusive.

Super Mario Warp Pipe Can Koozie

Super Mario Warp Pipe Can Koozie
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1up your drinks and warp your thirst to another level with this Super Mario Bros.-inspired can koozie from Toynk. The insulated foam cooler holds cans or bottles in style and is guaranteed not to contain any dangerous piranha plants. Its base is stable enough to use it as a pencil caddy or a small planter, too.

World’s Largest Pinball Factory

World’s Largest Pinball Factory

Ten years ago, we visited Stern Pinball in a small suburban Chicago factory that made up to 100 pinball machines a day. Since then, interest in pinball has grown substantially, and they’ve moved twice. Between the two buildings of their new factory, they now have almost 250,000 square feet of space and are the largest pinball factory in the world.

Making a Nintendo PlayStation

Making a Nintendo PlayStation

In 1994, Sony and Nintendo collaborated on an unreleased video game console that birthed the PlayStation name. While there is a rare prototype of the system, James Channel thought it would be fun to build his own. His Frankenstein’s monster of a console has the body of a Super Famicom, the brains of a PlayStation, and a sketchy exposed CD-ROM drive.

ANICORN x SEGA Genesis/MegaDrive Watches

ANICORN x SEGA Genesis/MegaDrive Watches

Celebrate classic 16-bit gaming with these SEGA Genesis and MegaDrive watches from ANICORN. The limited-edition watches come in US, EU, and JP versions to celebrate each region’s game console. The watches have a black PVD finish and a visible movement beneath a mineral glass back. Packaged in a special edition console box with a numbered metal plate.

Xbox Series S Toaster

Xbox Series S Toaster
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Lots of us think that current-gen Xbox consoles look like appliances. After launching the Series X mini-fridge, Microsoft has licensed Ukonic to make an official Xbox Series S toaster. The boxy 2-slice toaster looks just like the game system, has an extra-long, wide slot that works for bagels, and burns an Xbox logo graphic into your bread.

How Video Game Graphics Work

How Video Game Graphics Work

It’s easy to take the high-fidelity 3D graphics in today’s video games for granted, but a lot of artistry, hardware, and software goes into every frame you see on screen. Branch Education provides an in-depth yet understandable explanation of the processes and technology at work when rendering video game graphics.

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