Free Fusion Retro Books About Old Skool Gaming

Fusion Retro books have put a number of books and magazine PDFs up on the site for FREE for a period of time on their website. I bought Let’s Go Dizzy: The Story of the Oliver Twins a while ago and thought it was great.

Lot’s of great retro video gaming books are available for free from the Fusion Retro website.

Lot’s of great retro video gaming books are available for free from the Fusion Retro website.

In my original review of Let’s Go Dizzy: The Story of the Oliver Twins, I wrote:

Over 232 pages, Chris Wilkins, discusses their childhood, early interest in coding and rise to video game super stardom. The book is heavy in interviews and quotes from the twins themselves and so isn't just anecdotal but actually from the mouth of the twins. There are a large amount of photos from the time which help to provide context and the screenshots help to break up the large amount of text. Of all the sections, I found their evolution from the micro computers to the 8 and 16 bit era especially interesting as they discuss the Nintendo vs Code Masters Game Genie lawsuit and why certain Dizzy games weren't released on the platforms. The book is honest and covers the highs and the lows of their careers and for anyone interested in the life and works of the pioneering Oliver Twins, this is a must read.

LINK- 1HMPS Oliver Twins Podcast

LINK- Cambridge Museum for Computing History

LINK- An English Geek in Saudi

LINK- Streets of Rage 2 on Vinyl Review

LINK- Manga Exhibition at the British Museum

LINK: Japan: My Journey to the East

LINK- Battle Angel Alita: And So It Ends

LINK- The Moomins 80's Soundtrack Vinyl Review

The Codemasters Archive

Like most children of the 80's I had a huge love of the micro computers scene that was thriving. I had my first real experience with computers in the mid 80's with the ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC 464. I used to love browsing the various video game magazines at WH Smiths (don’t forget, this was the era before the internet) to get hyped about games as the micro computer scene was thriving so often when you’d go to the video game shop you’d be faced with hundred of cassettes with cool cover art and tiny screenshots at the back; it was a real pot luck if you got a great game or a stinker!

Back in the day, before being famed for their racing games, Codemasters used to be a seal of quality. The first real games that blew me away were Robin Hood and later Fantasy World Dizzy. Both games were created by the Oliver Twins for Codemasters and at the time they became almost mythical figures, creating the best games including the iconic Dizzy.

I had a chance to meet the Oliver Twins a few years ago and have also read their biography but that’s by the by. What I want to tell you about is the Codemasters Archive, a webpage where you can play 173 of their classic and iconic games in browser! It’s great as you can play different format versions of the same game but a couple that really stand out to me are the rare Crystal Kingdom Dizzy (as well as all the Dizzy games to be honest), DJ Puff, Micro Machines 2: Turbo Tournament, Ollie and Lissa 3 (where are the other 2?) and Super Robin Hood.

So why not pop over and have a go?

Mystery World Dizzy Cartridge Arrives

I am a HUGE Dizzy fan and have spoken about my love for the series many times before (including meeting the creators the Oliver Twins and getting my swag signed). So when the Kickstarter for a NES working cartridge copy of an unreleased Dizzy game came up I funded that quickly. Now nearly half a year later my cartridge has arrived and I love it. I hope to play it soon but for the moment it's sitting on my pile of shame.

Mystery World Dizzy NES Cartridge Kickstarter

As a gamer in my mid-30's I have fond memories of gaming in the 80's. But there is one series which came out on the micro computers that holds a special place in my heart, and that series is Dizzy, the lovable puzzle solving egg. 

I have always had a soft spot for the good egg so when I heard that there was a Kickstarter to release a new (old found) game from the Oliver Twins I jumped at the chance to get in on the action. I played nearly all of the original Dizzy games on the Amstrad CPC 464 back in the 80's and held the games and their creators in high regard, fulfilling a geeky dream by listening to them at a retrospective of their career, meeting them and getting some of my games signed by them a few years ago. 

For those who are unaware Mystery World Dizzy is the NES game that was never released, even though the Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy had done so well on the platform. The game was discovered in the attic by the Twins and with the help of the online community was fixed and repaired to become playable and free to download online.  I have Kickstarted the physical NES release of the game and hope to get my mitts on the cartridge in February 2018. As of writing the campaign is still on, so if you are interested get on it now!

Mystery World Dizzy © Chris Wilkins, Oliver Twins

Wonderful Dizzy Reveal for Spectrum Next

A new Dizzy game by the Oliver Twins for the Spectrum Next has been announced. With the title Wonderful Dizzy the game is to be set in the world of Oz. These are early days but with the Spectrum Next sailing past its Kickstarter goal the wave of nostalgia might be just what the Dizzy franchise needs. I look forward to seeing how the new game works out!

Wonderland Dizzy

I'm a huge fan of the Oliver Twins, creators of the classic gaming character Dizzy. I got to meet my childhood gaming heroes last year at the Cambridge Museum of Gaming History and they were wonderful enough to sign my retro Dizzy swag. Well last week they were going back to the Museum to make an announcement, unfortunately prior engagements means that I was unable to go but what followed blew my mind- there is a new old Dizzy game! I'll let the Twins explain themselves the story of their re-discovery in the video below:

Wonderland Dizzy is an old game which was planned for the NES but was never released. The game is available free to play through the link below. For old skool fans like me this is amazing news, especially after the Kickstarter for a new Dizzy game failed to meet its targets. Well, onwards and upwards with classic Dizzy!

Play the Dizzy Games In-browser Now

Now it's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Dizzy, the puzzle solving egg. Last year I was lucky enough to meet the Oliver Twins and get my games signed by them (the article is linked below). Now some amazing individual has released the ZX Spectrum version of all the games on a website, the bonus is that they can all be played in-browser. No worries about emulation and downloading. How cool is that! My first port of call will be Spellbound Dizzy as I never had a chance to play the game on my Amstrad CPC 464 as I could never find the thing in shops. Now time to relive some old memories of Dizzy!

I'm excited to be finally playing Spellbound Dizzy!

'From Bedrooms to Billions'- The Story of the British Computer Games Industry

'From Bedrooms to Billions' is a 150 minute feature length documentary movie telling the remarkable, true story of the British Video Games Industry from 1979 to the present. The film was created by Anthony and Nicola Caulfield after being successfully crowdfunded on the site Indiegogo in May 2012. They were seeking £20,000 but smashed through this getting closer to £60,000.

The documentary tells the story of the UK games industry, discussing its amateur beginnings, the heady days of excess in the 80s and following through with the downturn in the mid- 90s. The film includes interviews with such luminaries as Jeff Minter, Matthew Smith, Ian Livingstone and over 150 more important guests in gaming history.

I am in the process of watching the film and will provide a review once I have seen it this weekend, but I am very excited about the film as I feel the 80s gaming scene in Britain was an exciting time and hasn't truly been covered in detail in a documentary. This one could just fit the bill!