☆ My Top 5 Arcade Racing Greats ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite #Arcade

Growing up I was exposed to a number of the car racing game greats that came out of the arcade.

These great games were easy to slot a 20p into them and just get on with playing as you didn't really need to understand complex controls or an in game upgrade system.

They are just classic arcade games that made racing so much fun.

Some were pure racing others were a mix of racing and combat.

☆ My Playstation Disc Collection Gets A New Lease Of Life! ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

I've recently started listening to the cool Retrogaming Podcast called the Retro Asylum....

You may have heard of it as the dudes who present the podcast really know their stuff.

Whilst listening on my way home on Friday I was given a really awesome tip that i'd never heard before and i'm really surprised that I didn't already know this.

☆ Graphical Wonders From 8 & 16 Bit Past ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite #C64

When I was a young inexperienced gamer in the mid 80's to early 90's graphics were one of the first things that I looked for in a game.

Maybe that's a superficial mindset but you have to remember that I was only 8 years old and having been brought up on Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Atari visuals that were hit n miss in terms of quality, any advancement in graphics were always met with an open mouthed disbelief as I witnessed either the latest hardware blowing my mind or maybe an example of someone being ultra clever and resourceful with the current hardware of the time.

☆ Awesome News From Super Awesome Quest ☆ @boomzap #GameDev #IndieDev #IndieGame

I bring YE awesome news from Super Awesome Quest!

BoomZap games have just released a new update for the brilliantly addictive and great to play Super Awesome Quest!

☆ Essential Sonic The Hedgehog Viewing ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

If like me you are a MASSIVE fan of Sonic The Hedgehog you are going to love this.

It's a FULL LENGTH Sonic The Hedgehog YouTube Documentary.

Yes that's right a FULL LENGTH documentary.

☆ My Top 3 Games For All The Systems I've Ever Owned ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

Everyone has their top games of all time lists and I've talked about mine a fair few times on here. 

Then I started to think about all the systems I've owned down the years and what the best games I've ever played on those systems were.

It's a tough ask to sum up your favourite video games from a lifetime of gaming on various machines but here's how I got on.... 

☆ My 80s Cartoons Heaven - Top 10 ☆ #80skids #90skids

Remember when Saturday morning kids TV ruled the world!?

It was a time when there wasn't 24 Hour Kids TV.

 

It was pre Nickelodeon. It was a time when your body clock was set by the time the cartoons came on in the mornings. 

☆ Pixel Art Perfection From Puffin Pixels ☆ @PuffinBooks #Retrogaming #PixelArt #GamersUnite

Puffin Books have a great new twist on some of the classic books from down the years that will excite gamers like me. 

It's called the Puffin Pixels Series.

Puffin Books have released some awesome new book covers to adorn classic books such as Treasure Island, Swiss Family Robinson, King Arthur & The Knights Of The Roundtable, Robin Hood and Tales Of The Greek Heroes.

The new reimagined covers for these classics are pixelated 8 Boy video game cover artwork. The 8 Bit designs have been lovingly created by the awesome artist Michael B Myers Jr and look at adding a fresh new look to the cover art for these legendary books.

☆The Games Freezer Sunday 7 Day Retrogaming Roundup ☆ #GamersUnite #Retrogaming

Another busy week of video games, geekness and retro gaming comes to a close in The Freezer.

It's time to look back at all the goings on from the last week and bring them to you in a nice easy to digest morsel of Gaming Greatness....

Put your feet up and take a look at the last 7 days in the World Of The Games Freezer

☆ The Games Freezer 5 Links Video Games Roundup ☆ #GamersUnite #RetroGaming #GameDev

So Many Things To Tell You All About And So Little Time!

So Here's A Whistle Stop Tour Of All the Video Game Awesomeness That I've Discovered Over The Last Couple Of Weeks.....

Strap Yourself In For Another Games Freezer Video Games Roundup !

☆ A Geeks Christmas List 2015 - Part 1 ☆ #Retrogaming #Geek #GamersUnite

It's that time of the year when my mind turns to Christmas and in particular my Christmas list....

Yes i'm 36 and yes I still write a Christmas list.....BUT the point is you don't want people to waste their hard earned cash on stuff you don't actually want so make a list and make everyone's life that bit easier at Christmas....

☆ How Do You Save A Stranded Astronaut? ☆ #IndieDev #GameDev #iOS #Android

As I sit here and wait for him to get back to me I fear for his safety on his first night in the unknown wilderness.....

He got in contact with me on my iPhone on Thursday morning and told me his story via text....

His name is Taylor...

He asked me for advice on how to proceed...

He wanted to know what to do next....

I had to put myself in Taylor's shoes and think what would I do next if I was Taylor?

I've just advised him on where he should sleep on his first night stranded alone.....I hope I've told him the right thing....I've never been in that situation so I don't know what to advise but I did advise him on what I thought was truly his best option....

I keep checking my phone to see if he has got in contact with me but nothing yet....

Oh god I hope he makes it through the night......What if he doesn't?!

☆ Kevin Toms Talks Torquay, ZX Spectrum & Kickstarter ☆ @KevinToms #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

A lot of my inspiration for what I do today with Games Freezer comes from my early video games years experience with a certain football game that for me became an obsession....

This obsession led me to searching for it immediately on whatever console or computer that I owned. When i owned my beloved Atari 800 XEGS I would visit LOGIC Computer Shop in Cheshunt or Rossi's Toy Shop in Chingford and search through the masses of cassettes preying to see a copy of it for Atari XE/XL....

Alas I never saw it on my beloved Atari.....

In the 80's & 90's it constantly dominated my thoughts and led me down the road to becoming a purveyor of all things Football Management Simulation...

That game was Football Manager by Kevin Toms....

☆ Built In Video Games from The Third Generation ☆ #retrogaming #gamersunite

As I think about entering into the world of the 8th Generation of consoles I cast my mind back to the 3rd Generation of consoles.

The thing that sticks out in my mind is the two consoles that I owned from that generation and the fact that both consoles had some really cool built in games.

☆ The Mother Of Gaming Markets Comes To London ☆ @ReplayEvents #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

London gets it's very own Gaming Market and boy am I excited about this!

THE FIRST EVER LONDON GAMING MARKET BEGINS TRADING IN NOVEMBER 2015

Buy and Sell Video Games, Board Games and Merchandise All in One Place Right in the Heart of London....

☆Sensible Soccer And Microprose Soccer Have A Child ☆ @outofthebit #GamersUnite #GameDev #IndieDev #IndieDevHour

I've always been a massive fan of the 80's & 90's football games.

Those games were made with play-ability in mind with a simple but sharp aesthetic to the graphics.

Super Arcade Football seems to be trying to recreate that era and improve on the things that made those retro games so awesome.

☆ The World's Smallest C64 Emulator Looks Great ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

The World's Tiniest C64 Emulator Is A Work Of Art.

I have been admiring this little beauty for a couple of days and thought I should share the details of this awesome Kickstarter....

Take a peek it's worth a few minutes of your time...

🎲🎲 Board Games That Will Never Grow Old 🎲🎲 #GamersUnite #BoardGames

Video games have turned into a massive industry. Playing the original Nintendo in the mid-80s could not have prepared you for the onslaught of excellent titles released today. Just looking at joystickgaming.io, it becomes clear how expansive the industry is with so many different styles and categories.

Growing up as a kid I not only loved video games I also developed a deep love for board games.

Board games for me were associated with great times with my friends, mum, dad and sister at times of the year like Christmas and the Summer Holidays.

We still play Monopoly every Christmas to this day. It's a shame I rarely get the opportunity to play any other time of the year as I never seem to have enough time.

Truly good times and great memories were created by playing some of the coolest board games during my youth.

⬆️⬇️⬅️➡️🕹️"UP-DOWN-LEFT-RIGHT-Y-B-X-A" My Top Five Cheat Codes 🕹️⬆️⬇️⬅️➡️ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

We all remember the days of the hints, tips and cheats that we would find in video games magazines or be told about in the playground by our mates. 

The cheats normally consisted of a combination of joypad movements and button presses to unlock some kind of infinite lives or amendment to the gameplay.

Back in the '80s and '90s, we were mega hungry for this kind of stuff.

★ Two Of My Favourite NES Revelations ★ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

I've recently discovered the Geeks Guide To The Galaxy podcast and i'm getting my fix on a daily basis on my commute into the office.

Luckily for me this podcast has been running for years so I have stacks of content to delve into...

While listening this morning to episode 114 which was dedicated to the NES I stumbled across two cool NES revelations that I was totally unaware of.......

☆ Soda Dungeoneers For Hire ☆ #Retrogaming #PixelArt #GamersUnite

Another Pixel Art surprise from the vast expanse of the App Store has made its way onto my iPhone.

Soda Dungeon is an interesting twist on the mobile dungeon crawling genre that we have seen so much of recently.

Basically you play a cowardly dude with an interesting business idea.

Instead of you being the dungeon crawling monster slayer why not coerce others to do the crawling whilst you reap the profits....

☆ Your Chance To Become The Combo King ☆ #iosreviewtime #GamersUnite

App Store Curiosity
A couple of weeks ago I was nosing around the App Store looking for a cool game to get stuck into when I stumbled across Combo Quest. 

It was the App Store Free Game Of The Week and I just loved the awesome looking pixel art graphics so I had to download it like any self respecting retro gamer would. 

Once downloaded I was treated to a game rhythm action that I have grown to love more and more each time I play it!


"Take A Minute And Sit Right There And I'll Tell You How I Became The Combo King"

☆ All 7 Awesome Fallout 4 SPECIAL Videos ☆ #GamersUnite #Fallout4

The Time Is Almost Upon Us.....

Not Long Till The Day When We Can Step Back Into The Wasteland....

It's Almost 10.11.2015.....

It's Almost Time For Fallout 4........

☆ My Top 10 Video Games With Their Own Film or TV Cameos ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite #Arcade

When I think of video games from my youth I instantly smile.

But do you know what really used to make me smile and still does to this day?

Video Games Cameos in Films & TV...

☆ Amiga Cases For A New Generation ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite #Kickstarter

Amiga 1200 Cases Make ME Go Weak At The Knees...

Amiga 1200 Cases Combined With A Kickstarter Make Me Explode With Joy!

Yes It's Another Cool Retrogaming Kickstarter That I Want To Tell You All About..

We Have 9 Days To Make It Happen So Let's DO THIS!

☆ Two Of The Biggest Football Games Of The 80's Make A Revival ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

Growing up as a football mad video games geek in the 80's and 90's meant that I was obsessed with two games throughout that golden era.

Those games were....

Kick Off 2

&

Football Manager

☆ What Games Would YOU Play If Video Games Didn't Exist? ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite #BoardGames

As I stand here waiting for a delayed train home on a Friday night after a day in the office my mind starts wandering.....

What If Video Games Didn't Exist? (I ask myself)

What Games Would I Play?

☆ A Love Letter To Platform Games ☆ @superaxeboy #Retrogaming #GameDev #Kickstarter #GamersUnite

I've grown up playing some of the greatest platform games of all time and now i'm getting excited about this brand new upcoming Kickstarter which is aiming to be a love letter to the platform games from down the years!

Let's open up this letter and see what it says.........

☆ Mario & Me - 30 Years Of Happiness ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

My good friend Mario turned 30 this year.

He's been one of my best mates since I was around 6 years old so we go back a long way, in fact we go back to when he was born.

This guy has been there for many ups and downs in my life and we've shared so many fun moments together.

Who could forget the time we went to the wrong castle?!

☆ Video Games Graffiti From The Soul ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

Game Art is the ultimate expression of the essence of a video game and normally consists of those characters or moments in a game that captured the minds and hearts of the gamers who have played the franchise or series.

I love trawling the internet for cool images to capture on my Pinterest or Instagram

The images I fall for every time have to be the awesome video games graffiti......

☆ The Lads From The Lair Treat Us To More Gonarch Balls ☆ @gonarchslair #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

Greetings Freezer Followers...

Last Time I Spoke To You About My Favourite Podcast Was Back In Early September <HERE> Where I Broke The News That Gonarch The Testicle Spider Was Getting Its Very Own Podcast!

Well since then the boys in the lair have been busy and have produced yet more podcast gold with 4 more episodes.

☆ The Warehouse Of Retro Gaming Goodness ☆ @ReplayEvents #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

The Play Expo Manchester 2015 has been and gone but don't despair, let me tell you how cool this event was as I give you 5 of the coolest things about this years Expo!

☆ I Was A Pirate In A Previous Life! (a video games one) ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

Back in 1993 I owned a beautiful Amiga 600 with 1 Meg of RAM.

It was my pride and joy.

I loved the way it looked and I loved my my beautiful disk box full of blue disks.

The only thing was that collection of blue disks I kept locked in my disk box were 95% copied games!

I WAS A PIRATE!

I am ashamed ..... but I had my reasons.

☆ My Heart Strings Have Been Tugged By Valiant Hearts ☆ #GamersUnite #iOS

It's been on my to play list for a long time now.

Finally today I got to play Valiant Hearts on my iPhone and i'm in love with this beautiful and touching game.

☆ Famicom Box Art From Heaven Above ☆ @bitmap_books #Retrogaming #Nintendo #GamersUnite

 

It feels like we are currently being spoiled with all these awesome retrogaming books that are around at the moment.

 

As I've mentioned before, there are tons of great examples of these out there and each one gets me more and more excited to own it!

☆ I Love The Thrill Of The Retrogaming Hunt ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite #SEGA

While strolling through my local town on Saturday, kit bag over my shoulder on my way to play football for the mighty Norsemen FC from the Southern Amateur League, I came across the local market stalls that were setting up for the Saturday market.

Naturally I had a quick peek at the car boot sale style stalls to see if I could see any video games related items.

 

It was around 10am and I was one of the first people to walk through the market and I noticed a guy who had a couple of Master System games on his stall.

☆ Made In 1960 BM (Before Mario) ☆ @beforemario @donkeyking64 #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

I'm a sucker for video games books. I get excited at all the Kickstarter campaigns for video games related books.

I love all the Bitmap Books that have come out or are due to be released and I'm always on the lookout for another one to spend my cash on.

Yesterday an email came into the Freezer that got me excited and intrigued all at the same time....

★ My 365 Days Of Video Games ★ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

I currently own a calendar (front page news!)

My calendar was created by my Twitter friend c64reloaded and is a c64 themed game a month style calendar.

I love it and I intend to get another from Mr C64 Reloaded next year too as the nostalgia factor always brings a smile to my face each month of the year.

But I've been thinking.......

☆ Beware The Night Time In 'Kingdom' ☆ @noionl #pixelart #gamedev #gamersunite #retrogaming

After my first encounter with Kingdom at EGX 2015 I wanted to point you all in the right direction for a chance to sample some of the awesome pixel art visuals and atmospheric gameplay of Kingdom.

The original flash version of Kingdom is available to play right now at kingdom.noio.nl

☆ All Aboard! Next Stop PLAY EXPO Manchester! ☆ @ReplayEvents #GamersUnite #Retrogaming

So EGX has been and gone (you can read all about it here) so where to next?

Do we have to wait until next year to get our Video Games event fix?

The answer is ...........

HELL NO ......... PLAY EXPO MANCHESTER 2015 is coming!

☆ Kickstarters & Game Devs A Plenty! #IndieGame ☆ #GameDev #Kickstarter #GamersUnite

I am currently knee deep in great video games related things I want to tell you about.

Each 'thing' could warrant its own article but there's only one of me and I am just bursting to tell you about these awesome things which range from cool Kickstarters to gorgeous new games.

So let me unload my email inbox into your mind so as you can see some of the exciting things in the video games world that you may not have stumbled upon yet....

Eyes Down For A Full House!

☆ It's Your Turn To Control A Leviathon Mech ☆ @TreseBrothers @corytrese #GameDev #GamersUnite

The Templars Have Arrived On Steam And It's Time To Kick Some Xenos Arse!

Strap yourself into your Leviathan Mech and get ready......

☆ A Video Games Party Like No Other ☆ #EGX2015 #GamersUnite

I've just recovered my senses from my very first visit to EGX at the Birmingham NEC and to say I was blown away would be an understatement.

I've been looking forward to my first visit for a long time and ever since I had been accepted for my press passes i'd been marking the days on my retrogaming calendar!

☆ My Top 5 Video Games That I Need To Play At EGX 2015 ☆ #EGX #GamersUnite #GameDev

The EGX fairy has been and it's Day 3 of the awesome video games event EGX 2015.

I'm off to Day 4 on Sunday 27th September and it will be my first ever visit to EGX and boy am I excited.

I'll be going there hoping to cover everything that I think Games Freezer readers will want to read about so it should be a busy day and I can't wait to get to the NEC to experience it.

Let's have a look at all the cool things i'm getting excited about which includes my TOP 5 video games that i'm looking forward to playing and probably being crap at....

✴ Thunder Clap To Let The World Know All About Templar Battleforce ✴ @TreseBrothers #GamersUnite #GameDev

Recently I discovered the joy of the Trese Brothers latest instalment of Video Games perfection Templar Battleforce and have been playing the Beta ever since.

This is a game worth shouting about and we will all get a chance to shout as loud as possible if we join together during the upcoming Thunder Clap!

☆ Let Battle Commence In "Templar Battleforce" ☆ @TreseBrothers #GameDev #GamersUnite

The Triple Trese Brothers (there's 3 bros now) Are Back With Possibly Their Best Video Game Yet!

My favourite Indie Game Dev's Are Preparing To Launch Their Latest Video Game Onto Steam Next Tuesday 22nd September.....

Are You Ready For : TEMPLAR BATTLEFORCE?

I AM.................

☆ The Golden Era Of Wrestling Video Games ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

As I don my rose tinged spectacles and hook myself up to my freshly filled bottle of nostalgia fluid I take a trip down memory lane to a time when colourful wrestling characters filled my thoughts and events like Summer Slam and Wrestlemania defined my year.

☆ This Is Retrogaming Present & Future ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

Since starting Games Freezer 2 years ago I have seen the landscape of retrogaming change quite considerably in that short space of time and I think it's for the good of retrogaming.

It feels like the status and profile of retro gaming has increased beyond what it was 2 years ago and the retro gaming communities seemed to have swelled to a large online presence.

I can't quite ascertain why exactly but I think it has to do with the following key factors that have contributed to the growing presence of what feels like a fully fledged retrogaming movement.

☆ Vault 111.Com Is My Current Home From Home ☆ #Fallout4 #GamersUnite

As the wait for Fallout 4 continues the anticipation heightens i'm grabbing onto anything Fallout 4 related and and pawing over it.

I've just come across this awesome site that let's fiddle around with building a Fallout character from scratch and assigning your character with 'Special' points.

☆ If Ye Enter My Maze Ye May Never Leave! ☆ @HyperLiger #Retrogaming #GameDev #GamersUnite #PixelArt

I know exactly the video game you want to play right now......

It's all about Pixel Art Characters and Mazes.....

Wanna Play?

☆ Why Doesn't London Get Much Video Game Love? ☆ #GamersUnite #retrogaming

 

As I walked through London this afternoon I started to think about the video games that I had played that featured London as its key location

Surprisingly I couldn't really think of many.