Category: Hardware

PC Engine CoreGrafx Mini review

Published on by Chris Scullion3 Comments

You can’t move for mini retro consoles these days. It’s a good job they’re so small, really.

Ever since Nintendo launched the NES Classic Mini three and a half years ago, we’ve been swimming in chibi versions of vintage video game systems.

The NES, the SNES, the Mega Drive, the Neo Geo… even the Commodore 64 was miniaturised (until someone saw sense and just re-released a full-sized one with a working keyboard).

Even Capcom decided to get in on the action, clearly revealing that they have no idea what ‘mini’ means by releasing a massive fuck-off arcade stick with a bunch of old coin-op classics on it.

Now it’s time for a dinky do-over of a system I desperately wanted to get the mini treatment, but didn’t actually expect we’d get: the NEC PC Engine. Well, a version of it, at least. Look, it’s confusing, but I’ll explain all in a second.

The EU version, the PC Engine CoreGrafx Mini, was supposed to launch back on 19 March, but then there was some sort of virus thing – I think I saw it briefly mentioned in one of the papers – and by pure chance one of the tiny handful of buildings shut down as a result was the Chinese factory that was manufacturing them.

Although there’s still not a set date, I’m reliably informed a release is now imminent, which is why I was sent one of them for review purposes. Let’s get stuck in, then, and find out how the CoreGrafx Mini performs and where it fits into the bigger (smaller) picture of mini consoles.

UPDATE: Amazon UK is now finally sending out units to customers. Continue reading “PC Engine CoreGrafx Mini review” →

The C64 (full size) review

Published on by Chris Scullion8 Comments

In March 2018, British company Retro Games Ltd launched THEC64 Mini, a dinky version of the classic Commodore 64 hardware from 1982 repurposed for the modern era.

Although it was undoubtedly great to see the ‘mini’ treatment being dished out to a home computer that was big in the UK back in the day, it’s fair to say THEC64 Mini had some fairly major issues (and not just the awkward way it was spelled).

Now Retro Games is back with a distinctly less mini version of THEC64 – which I’m now going to refer to as The C64 for my own sanity – and what it loses in charm it gains in functionality. This is exactly what I was hoping for the first time around. Continue reading “The C64 (full size) review” →

Capcom Home Arcade review

Published on by Chris ScullionLeave a comment

We’re very much living in the age of the mini system, with practically every relevant company eagerly miniaturising its consoles and computers in the hope that lightning will strike again with the same intensity of the NES Mini.

These mini systems almost always come with full-sized controllers, which makes perfect sense: after all, it’s all well and good shrinking a Mega Drive down to a fifth of the size but the technology doesn’t exist yet to shrink our hands to the same degree.

What happens, though, when the original control method wasn’t that small to begin with? What if the system was, say, a dirty big arcade cabinet? Cue the Capcom Home Arcade, the ‘mini’ system that’s bigger than pretty much every full-sized one.

Containing an interesting selection of 16 Capcom arcade titles spanning from 1988 to 2001, the Capcom Home Arcade is huge in plenty of ways, from its dimensions to its price tag, to… okay, it’s huge in two ways.

Does it justify dropping £200 on the bastard though? Let’s find out. Continue reading “Capcom Home Arcade review” →

My Arcade Pixel Player review

Published on by Chris Scullion2 Comments

With retro gaming all the rage these days, there are plenty of companies keen to appeal to the old-school gamers out there with products that appeal to their childhoods.

California-based My Arcade is one such outfit looking to tap into that vein with its Pixel Player gizmo, but it’s gone one step further by securing something others often fail to acquire: an official licence.

Whereas most of these retro handheld thingies tend to chuck a bunch of unofficial, homebrew and bootleg games on there and slap a price on it, My Arcade has teamed up with Data East to include eight of its classic games on the system.

Granted, it does still have said unofficial, homebrew and bootleg games on there too – there are 308 games in total – but at least you know there are some legit offerings.

Just to clarify before we get into more depth, we’re talking NES emulation here. Although most of the Data East games included in the Pixel Player had arcade versions, it’s the ports released on Nintendo’s 8-bit system that you’ll find instead.

That said, let’s break it down a bit more. Continue reading “My Arcade Pixel Player review” →

GCHD Mk-II (GameCube) review

Published on by Chris Scullion6 Comments

Retro gaming is bloody lovely, but trying to get your old games looking nice on a modern TV is a far less pleasurable experience.

Thankfully, there are a bunch of companies making all sorts of gadgets, gizmos and doohickeys designed to take the hassle out of this and make retro games look as impressive as possible on today’s HD and 4K televisions.

The GCHD MK-II, the latest offering from tech company EON, attempts to do this with the trusty Nintendo GameCube, and the results may impress you: as long as your expectations are realistic. Continue reading “GCHD Mk-II (GameCube) review” →

Atari 2600 Retro Handheld Console (Blaze) review

Published on by Chris Scullion3 Comments

If you’re an old dick like me then your first gaming experience wasn’t with the Wii, or the Game Boy Advance, or the PlayStation: it was the Atari 2600.

While the NES was my first true love, my dad owned a 2600 – it launched in the late 1970s – and so that was my first exposure to this glorious hobby. Its games may look like cave paintings by today’s standards, but they were immensely important to the history of gaming.

Retro specialist Blaze is attempting to keep this history alive with this officially licensed handheld, but how do its 50 games hold up today, and does this £35 gizmo do a good job of replicating them? Let’s get stuck in. Continue reading “Atari 2600 Retro Handheld Console (Blaze) review” →

SNES Mini review

Published on by Chris Scullion6 Comments

The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is one of the finest games consoles ever created.

Of the 783 games officially released for Nintendo’s 16-bit console in the west, an impressively high number are now considered classics.

The SNES Mini takes 20 of these games, adds one that was never released, and bundles them all in a self-contained miniature tribute to that glorious grey box that shaped the ‘90s for so many gamers.

The result is a solid piece of kit that does a good job of showing what the SNES was capable of… even though the number of games included does sort of undersell that a bit.

Continue reading “SNES Mini review” →

New 2DS XL review

Published on by Chris Scullion6 Comments

Hello Chris!

Oh, hello there, Completely Fictional Person Created For The Purpose Of Livening Up A Review Of A Minor Hardware Iteration! I haven’t seen you since the days of the PS2 Slim.

What’s that you have there?

This? Oh, glad you asked. This is the New 2DS XL. It’s the latest in Nintendo’s 3DS family. Continue reading “New 2DS XL review” →

New 2DS XL unboxing and first hands-on impressions video

Published on by Chris Scullion4 Comments

Nintendo will be releasing the New 2DS XL on 13 July in Japan and 28 July in the US and Europe.

The latest member of the 3DS family, the New 2DS XL is the budget offering in the ‘New’ range, clocking in at £50 cheaper than the New 3DS XL.

But how does it look, and is it worth the money? Yer man Scullion will be giving a full written review next week, but until then here’s a 12-minute video of me unboxing it and pointing out some of the key good and bad points. Continue reading “New 2DS XL unboxing and first hands-on impressions video” →

Nintendo Switch hardware review

Published on by Chris Scullion5 Comments

The big day is here. Nintendo has finally released either its seventh home console or its sixth handheld console, depending on how you look at it (I’ve already made my stance clear).

The Nintendo Switch is a hybrid device that can be played both on your TV and on the move, and Nintendo is hoping it’ll get things back on track after the Wii U’s disappointing sales.

Yer man Scullion was fortunate enough to receive one from Nintendo ahead of launch, so now it’s here it would be downright rude of me not to give my needlessly in-depth thoughts on every aspect of it. Continue reading “Nintendo Switch hardware review” →