Gaming in the 70’s & 80’s

Gaming in the 70’s-80’s hold so many memories so for millions of people and rightly so too! With the development of games we still play today such as Tetris, Mario Bros, Pacman, Bubble Bobble, Donkey Kong, Contra, Metal Gear, Zelda and so many others I couldn’t possibly name them all, there is no wonder the 80’s was such a revolutionary decade for video gaming.

Here is a look at some of the arcade games in the 70’s and 80’s.

Asteroids

Starting in the late 70’s and early 80’s is the game Asteroids. It was one of the biggest selling games released in its era, released in 1979 and proving to be a huge hit across the world for the Atari 2600 Console.

Other Free Online Asteroid Game Versions

Official Atari Asteroid Game – Play Official Atari Asteroid Game

Official Atari Asteroid Deluxe – Play Official Atari Asteroid Deluxe Game

3D Asteroid Game – Play Asteroids Online Free

Free Asteroid Game - Play Asteroid Game Free

Battlezone

Battlezone is also an Atari game released a year after Asteroids in 1980. It uses such old fashioned graphics that really shows just how much gaming has developed over the years. Vector Graphics instead of Raster Graphics are used and the game was a big hit in its time. Simply move the aim from left to right and shoot the enemy which is also shooting at you. An intriguing game to play.

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Official Atari Battlezone Game – Play Official Battlezone Online Free

More information on Battlezone

Joust

As a child i remember playing Joust on the GameBoy Colour. It was one of my favourite games as a child and you played the game as a knight armed with a lance on a ostrich (player1) or a Stork (player2). The aim of the game is to fly and keep from landing in the lava below you, only walking on the platforms provided above whilst trying to kill all the enemies and move onto the next ‘wave’.

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Nintendo Joust Online- Play Nintendo Joust Game Free Online

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Tetris

Tetris is one of the most simple yet most popular games of the 80’s decade. A challenging game that has collected many hours of effort and concentration by millions of people all around the World. I will hog no more of your time explaining this game, and let you get on with having a go yourself…

2D Tetris Online – Play 2D Tetris Online Free

3D Tetris Online – Play 3D Tetris Online Free

Various Tetris Games – Play Multiple Tetris Games Online Free

More information on Tetris

To play the most popular Atari games free online, click the link – Play Atari Games Free Online

To play various different games from the 80’s, click one of the links below:

Free 80’s Games Online - Play 80’s Games Online Free

Free Retro 80’s Games Online – Play Retro 80’s Games Online Free

80’s Arcade Games Online – Play 80’s Arcade Games Online Free

Gaming in the 90’s

The 1990’s were a decade full of development in terms of video gaming. It was the decade that evolved from pixelated games to 3D graphical gaming. We saw the decline in arcade games as the incease in home consoles became inevitable. First-Person Shooter (FPS),  Real-Time Strategy (RTS) and Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMO) were the main three genres to rise in the 90’s thanks to the release of the Nintendo Gameboy and others.

Games such as Sonic, SimCity, Gran Turismo Racing, Metal Gear Solid: Stealth, StreetFighter2: Turbo Hyper, Super Mario 64, Doom and Legend of Zelda are just some of the popular games to be released in the decade.

Here is a look at some of the video games from the 90’s.

Super Mario 64

Released in 1996, this game was brought out and published as a game for the Nintendo 64. Extremely popular at the time and still to this day, it was played by people all over the World. Newer versions have been brought out since by Nintendo to take advantage of the new graphics and gaming technology with it being brought out for handheld consoles such as the Nintendo DS.

“Super Mario 64 has been commercially successful; it was the best-selling Nintendo 64 game. As of May 21, 2003, the game has sold eleven million copies. At the end of 2007, Guinness World Records reported sales of 11.8 million copies. As of September 25, 2007, it is the seventh best-selling video game in the United States with six million copies sold. By June 2007, Super Mario 64 had become the second most popular title on Wii’s Virtual Console, behind Super Mario Bros.“- Wikipedia: Super Mario 64

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Super Mario 64  - Play Super Mario 64 Online Free

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Sonic The Hedgehog

Sonic the hedgehog was released in 1991 on the Sega Megadrive and quickly became the leading game for Sega. Over the years multiple different versions of Sonic have been released with new characters being brought out for different consoles throughout the years. This is one of the great games that has managed to be developed through from the 90’s until today.

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Play Sonic the Hedgehog Online : Play Free Sonic Online

The Legend Of Zelda

The Legend of Zelda is a truly legendary game selling over 57 million copies worldwide. The game published by Nintendo is a mixture of action, adventure, puzzle solving and role-playing. One of the most talked about things about Zelda is its timeline. Discussions all over the net have brought many arguments and disagreements over it. Here is a video that explains Hyru’s timeline better than I can, so you can decide for yourself.

Play Legend Of Zelda free Online

Play The Legend Of  Zelda Online- Play Free Online Legend Of  Zelda

Play Legend of  Zelda without pop-ups- Play Free Legend of  Zelda Online

Play Zelda Online- Play Zelda Free Online

Play Various Zelda Games Online- Play Zelda Games Online Free

Gaming in 2000-2009

The 2000s in video gaming was a decade that had been primarily dominated by Sony, Nintendo, the newcomer Microsoft, and their respective systems. Sega, being Nintendo’s main rival in the 1980s and 1990s, left the console market in 2002 in favor of returning to the third party company they once were. Overall the decade has seen the last of the low resolution three dimensional polygons of the 1990s and has entered the realm of High Definition games, and has often focused on developing immersive and interactive environments, implementing realistic physics, and improving artificial intelligence. (source: wikipedia)

Nintendo have dominated the 2000 decade holding the top 5 best selling games of the decade. Games including Wii Sports, Wii Play, Halo, COD, Nintendogs along with the new Super Mario Brothers and the versions of Pokemon. Microsoft brought out the X Box consoles with Sony rivalling with the PlayStation consoles.

Top 50 selling games of 2000-2009

Halo 3

Halo 3 was and still is one of the most popular games of this decade, gaining over $300 million in its first week, Halo 3 had 4.2 million units in retail outlets the day before it was released. Playing as the Master Chief, a cybernetically enhanced supersoldier, you wage a war in defence of humanity along with Human Marines and an allied Alien race called the ‘Elites’ against the Covenant Alien Races.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

GTA:VC is a game published by Rockstar Games which followed on from GTA:III and uses a tweaked version of its game engine allowing huge cityscape, fully populated with people, vehicles, and buildings.

Vice City is modelled on Miami with the story being revolved around Mafia member Tommy Vercetti just after a drug deal went wrong. He is released from prison and seeks revenge on those responsible. During this time he builds a criminal empire and seezes power from all the other criminal organisations in the city.

GTA Vice City on X Box Gameplay Video

More information on Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Wikipedia

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Official Website Homepage

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Radio Online Info

Pokemon

Pokemon is a role playing game developed by Game Freak and Creatures Inc and produced by Nintendo. Extremely popular with the younger audience primarily, Pokemon not only was a game but was a huge hit with the Pokemon playing cards. The first Pokemon games were actually released in 1996 but it was only when the new developments were made in gaming in the 2000’s did the graphics and gameplay become a lot better on the Pokemon games.

List of Pokemon Games

Handheld games

• Generation I (Game Boy)
  • Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green (^JPN 1996)
  • Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue (^US 1998)
  • Pokémon Yellow (^JPN 1998)
• Generation II (Game Boy Color)
  • Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver (^JPN 1999)
  • Pokémon Crystal (^JPN 2000)
• Generation III
• (Game Boy Advance)
  • Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire (^JPN 2002)
  • Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen (^JPN 2004)
  • Pokémon Emerald (^JPN 2005)
  • Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team (^JPN 2006)
• (Nintendo DS)
  • Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team (^US 2005)
  • Pokémon Dash (^US 2005)
  • Pokémon Trozei! (^US 2005)
  • Pokémon Ranger (^US 2006)
• Generation IV (Nintendo DS)
  • Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl (^JPN 2006)
  • Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time (^US 2008)
  • Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness (^US 2008)
  • Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia (^US 2008)
  • Pokémon Platinum (^US 2009)
  • Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky (^US 2009)
  • Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver (^JPN 2009)^[16]
• Generation V (Nintendo DS)
  • RPG (^JPN 2010)

Console games

• Generation I (Nintendo 64)
  • Pokémon Stadium ( Pokemon Sutajiamu^?) (^JPN 1998)
  • Pokémon Stadium 2 (^JPN 1999) – known as Pokémon Stadium in US and Europe (^US 2000)
  • Pokémon Snap (^JPN 1999)
  • Pokémon Puzzle League (^US 2000)
  • Hey You, Pikachu! (^US 2000)
• Generation II (Nintendo 64)
  • Pokémon Stadium Kin Gin (^JPN 2000) – known as Pokémon Stadium 2 in US and Europe (^US 2001)
• Generation III (Nintendo GameCube)
  • Pokémon Colosseum (^JPN 2003)
  • Pokémon Box: Ruby and Sapphire (^JPN 2003)
  • Pokemon Channel (^JPN 2003)
  • Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness (^JPN 2005)
• Generation IV (Wii)
  • Pokémon Battle Revolution (^JPN 2006)
  • My Pokémon Ranch (^JPN 2008)
  • Pokémon Rumble(^JPN June 16, 2009)
  • Poképark Wii(^JPN December 5, 2009)
    

(List of Pokemon Games Source: Wiki Pokemon)

Gaming in 2010!

Now, this is where the list I’m afraid stops. Although we are only a few months into the new decade of 2010, the future looks brilliant for gaming. With motion sensor gaming becoming increasingly popular, could the iPad’s multitouch screen revolutionise gaming on the move?

I personally can’t see the iPad being a console to be played at home as much as on the move as it cannot compete with the likes of the PS3, X Box 360 and Nintendo Wii. But it isnt trying to is it?

With the iPad including such brilliant gaming features like amazing high resolution, large screen, multi-touch features and so on, Disney may be right! (read earlier Disney Post) The iPad may well just be a ‘game changer’. Well if 2010 is going to continue to progress its gaming technology as we have come to expect now, I hope this is the start of a new era of gaming on the move in 2010!

complex.com’s Top 100 Games 2000-2009

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Disney have already worked with Apple developing many different Disney iPhone games with brilliant success. The relationship between the two companies stem deeper than just that however, with Apple CEO Steve Jobs serving as the largest individual shareholder on Disney’s Board of Directors. Disney have also been touted as a possible lead partner to Apple in the rumored plans for an online television subscription service.

Aswell as games though, Disney are also looking to capitilise on the added iBook App. With the interactivity of the iPad being so advanced and with such high quality large screen space, I’m not surprised Disney have been inticed into developing so many new products for the iPad.

Disney are also looking to update their ESPN Scorecentre iPhone app to the iPad. The fairly basic information service currently provided on the iPhone will have its doors opened by the iPad. This is in terms of the ability to create a new depth to how the ESPN Score Centre is conveyed to the user.

“ESPN Score Center which is a great App on the iPhone and provides relatively rudimentary information scores basically suddenly we have an opportunity with a platform we can really make the scores come to life.” -Disney CEO Bob Igor

With Disney being a mainstream games publisher, it hardly takes brain surgeon to conclude why they would focus so closely on the Apple App Store. It does spring to mind though, that with so many ties to Apple already, such as the CEO of Apple being the main shareholder on Disney’s Board of Directors; is it really a surprise that Disney are hyping the iPad as a ‘game changer’? I mean it would certainly benefit them to do so right?

This being said, I’m not so sure Iger would be so eager to take such a big step in the direction of iPad gaming, if he didn’t think it was actually capable of returning his enormous efforts with worthy results.

All in all, I’d say even the most cynicle minded of us will have to give this food for thought and wonder, could the iPad really be a “game changer”? Or perhaps it’s all just a load of Media hype. Maybe im naive, but I’m giving the iPad a chance to prove itself. But hey, what do i know?…I’ll leave it for you to decide.

Walt Disney- iPad could be a ‘Game Changer’ is a post from: iPad Games 4 U

It seems 2010 is the year of the tablet. With Apple making some serious omissions with their iPad (which I feel was part of their marketing plan) Google and other companies are planning to take advantage of Apples shortcomings by making their own tablets. We all know that the iPad is missing vital things such as USB support, Flash support, multitasking, and a camera. So it’s not really a tablet as you can not write on it it’s more of it’s own breed of handheld device. In the meanwhile, Google plans to cash in on Apples mistakes by making a tablet with their Chrome OS which will support multitasking and all of the above.

To be honest I feel as if Apple knowingly left out certain components for 2 reasons – to keep their price level down – and to make faithful Apple consumers want a model with all of the above aka the iPad 2 or whatever. It’s a shame that we’re already talking about the iPad 2 when the original iPad has not even made it to our store shelves yet.

Google May Release Chrome OS Tablet is a post from: iPad Games 4 U

Looks interesting – I wonder if we’ll see improvements to games like Assassins Creed, additions to the market like W.O.W and more Strategy and role playing games hitting the market now they can be more enjoyable on the iPads bigger screen.

A phone without an Accelerometer now is just not a phone. Nowadays it’s a must have and most future touchscreen smart phones with an eye for gaming and landscape texting will definitely need to have one installed. With new products come a whole new line of accessories and the iPad is no different. The iDrift is pretty much a steering wheel attachment to the iPad which allows you to play racing games a bit more realistically..Don’t get too carried away though.

It could be useful but you’d only find the hardcore gamers using this. I’m quite happy just tilting my iPhone. What do you think about the iTable? Could the iPad compete gaming wise? Would you use the iDrift?

A Possible Glimpse of Gaming On The iPad is a post from: iPad Games 4 U

Crosswords iPhone version

Stand Alone Inc has signaled their intentions to be first modified game for the Apple iPad. They have clearly stated that the iPhone version of the Crosswords game is in development for the iPad. “We’re dedicated to innovating the most efficient, fun and intuitive Crossword App,” says Stand Alone’s President Ben Gottlieb, “and that certainly extends beyond the iPhone.”

The iPad app library will be added the App library with the iPad game apps  simply high-lighted to show you it is an iPad game app.

The Crosswords for iPhone currently allows you to:

• Download new daily puzzles from newspapers such as; the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Village Voice, and many other.
• Download puzzles from secure websites directly to your iPhone.
• Keep tabs on how much of a puzzle is finished and how much time you’ve spent on each puzzle.
• Take a sneaky peek at clue letters from the Hints system and get hints from OneAcross.com if you get stuck. You can also look up definitions from Answers.com, Wikipedia, Wiktionary and Reference.com once you’ve solved a clue.
• Puzzle completion timer with leader boards to compare your solving speed. There is then a Facebook and Twitter support for auto-posting your time.

For a full list of current iPhone version features, check  Stand Alone’s Crossword for iPhone page.

Gottlieb quoted: “The goal is to utilize the larger screen, but keep the functionality and the sleek, intuitive, custom design that our users love.” From this, I gather the new Crosswords for iPad will try to keep the strong central ‘functionality’ of the game, which has been developed for many years. This being said, Stand Alone will definately utilise the new bigger real estate with a 9,7″ screen, making it a lot easier for the users to view the whole puzzle, just as you would on a newspaper thus giving it authenticity.

Stand Alone’s Crosswords. First iPad Game? is a post from: iPad Games 4 U

The iPad comes standard with a nine and a half inch wide screen whilst flaunting a 1 GHz Apple A4 (chip) cpu and flash memory of 16, 32, or 64 GB. From a purely gaming view point, this brings a World of opportunity for game devs to dive into.

Canabalt’s Adam ‘Atomic’ Saltsman is particularly excited about the whole concept and new capabilites of the iPad, commenting very optimistically on the “big multitouch space”. This opens up the market for the more average gamer, by interceding the fat finger, tiny screen situation.

Republic of Fun president Mike Rasmussen is more exited about the “additional resolution and horsepower of the device”.  Interested to start “understanding the 3D performance of the A4 [chip].”  Speaking purely from a gaming viewpoint, this is brilliant news as we can now start to expect some modifications to their gaming apps, in order to utilise the new brilliant gaming capabilities of the iPad.

Apple chose EA Video games, the no 1 worldwide publisher for mobile games and Gameloft to present two of their modified iPad games at the iPad launch.

Travis Boatman for EA Video Games presented their modified version of Need For Speed Shift. They have modified the iPhone game to suit the new components of the iPad. They wanted to focus on the performance of the iPad game and were particularly impressed with the 3D graphics, as well as it being “like a hd television” held right to your face.  With the game play being so fast, the iPad’s light weight frame makes it easy to manouver and makes the gameplay a lot more smooth. This can only really be taken advantage of fully, when the games operates from the iPad’s engine, rather than the iPhone games’ old engine.

NFS:Shift on the iPad

Gameloft presented their FPS N.O.V.A at the iPad games launch. Gameloft focused mainly on the multiple touch feature, developing a “mulitple target acquisition”, which allows you to shoot multiple targets at the same time. The improved graphics and smooth gameplay allows for a much better performance on the iPad game that the iPhone games will not be able to utilise.

N.O.V.A gameplay at the launch

So apart from the new improved features; wider screen, incredibly fast CPU, upto 64GHZ flash memory and 3d compatability, there really isn’t much point in buying the new games. Oh and also if you don’t like to be at the cutting edge of the gaming industry’s newest technology, then the new iPad games aren’t for you.

Why buy modified games for the iPad? is a post from: iPad Games 4 U

If you’re on this website then you’ve probably taken an interest in Apples “latest creation” the iPad. Starting at $499 it’s about as pricy as iPhones when they were first released, so it’s actually not that bad. In essence, an iPad is a big iTouch (iPod Touch) – some people may not agree but that’s pretty much what it is. Shipped with a 1Ghz processor and your choice of a 16gb,32gb, or 64 Gb flash drive, a choice between a pure Wi-Fi version or a Wi-Fi & 3G version, and many more features. But one thing is missing…

The next iPhone is rumored to be capable of video chat, but in order to do video chat effectively the phone would need to have a front facing camera. The iPad would have been the perfect opportunity to test that capability out. Maybe they are waiting on the next model. An iSight camera on the iPad would be great but I guess we’re just going to have to wait until the next iPad. Think a business conference on the go – set your iPad on the table on at a cafe (assuming you have a dock or keyboard connection dock) and talk to your business partner via iChat or Skype. They added a microphone so why not a camera?

Maybe it’s just me, but I feel as if something is missing, how about you?

Update: New information on the iPad camera discussion!

I have recently read a post: Does Apple patent claim show iPad with built-in camera? which backs up my thought that the iPad should have a camera. Apparently, Apple have submitted an “image capturing device” patent application in the latter weeks in January, rendering a conclusion that Apple may indeed heed the advice of so many including myself, that the iPad should have a Camera.

iPad Patent Link

“The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20100020222, Image capturing device with touch screen for adjusting camera settings.”

Shouldn’t the iPad Have a Camera? is a post from: iPad Games 4 U

Need for Speed Shift game on Apple iPad

With the iPad having backwards-compatibility with the iPhone apps library, there will be over 25,000 of your favourite gaming apps directly playable from the iPhone apps library. This is great news for those of you who have already spent a small fortune on iPhone games such as Gamesloft’s FPS NOVA, and Need for Speed: Shift, and don’t want to leave them all behind.

The iphone games will unfortunately be displayed in its original size however, leaving a black gap where the iPad’s nine and a half inch wide screen is so much bigger than the iPhone or iTouch. This can be altered by using the iPad’s “pixel double” mode; which increases the game play size of the original unmodified iPhone/iTouch game you are playing.

N.O.V.A game for iPad

You won’t get those same pin-point graphics that the Apple iPhone is renouned for, but your favourite well loved games will still be easily playable on the iPad.

Even though the games from the iPhone library will be playable on the iPad, you can definately expect to start seeing amazing iPad versions of many iPhone games later on in the year. I’m sure if you are an avid gamer like so many, you will be very excited to get your hands on the latest iPad games and take full advantage of the iPad’s wonderful new components.

Look out for my next post on the new MODIFIED games for iPad.

Play iPhone and iTouch Games on iPad is a post from: iPad Games 4 U

Apple has been known to revolutionize the game. First, they brought out the iPod which completely revolutionized MP3 players and the way we know them. Then came the iPhone which is leading the way in the smartphone industry. And now comes the iPad, the newest creation from Apple. Tablets are not exactly new but they’re definitely going to take a rise in popularity with the new release. Apples new release not only brought a new wonderful piece of technology into the market, but it also brought a brand new gaming platform  into the world and we’re really excited about that.  On iPadGames4u.com you’ll be able to find information on the latest games released for the iPad and we’ll review them for you so you’ll be sure to only buy quality games for your iPad.

Welcome To iPadGames4u.com is a post from: iPad Games 4 U