Nothing says I love you like a large piece of hard candy in the shape of a NES cartridge.
These cartridge/controller combos, offered up on video gaming auction site ChasetheChuckWagon.com, are from the same guy that made the chocolate cart a couple years ago. Strawberry pictured, but also available in tropical punch, grape, mixed berry, orange, and lime flavors.
Welcome to a Friday link love, I’m no longer working in shadows edition!
The guys from Giant Bomb take a twenty minute look at the under-appreciated and under-selling Valkyria Chronicles. Gosh, that game is purty.
Play reviews the Madcatz regular ol’ FightStick. I was wavering, but I think this is the one I’m settling on. Bang for the buck, and all that.
Greenland, a browser-based game where players manage neolithic tribes, has entered open beta. It’s part of the synthetic worlds initiative at Indiana University, and they are looking for feedback.
Lastly, and sadly, Classic Gaming Expo 2009, just like last year, has been cancelled. Is it time for a new retro gaming show in Las Vegas?
Jeff Rothe, founder of the arcade collector’s site CoinOpSpace, is kicking off the first of a series of developer open chat sessions this Wednesday (Feb 4th) from 6:30-7:30pm PST in the CoinOpSpace chat room. This first session will be with Tim Skelly, formerly of Cinematronics and Vectorbeam, and creator of such arcade releases as Warrior (arguably the first fighting game), Rip-Off, Armor Attack, Reactor, and the vector rarity War of the Worlds.
If you aren’t familiar with Tim’s work, Jeff has posted a slew of additional information covering his history in the industry, so check that out, make yourself a CoinOpSpace account, and drop by the chat on Wednesday night!
Sega, call me. Let’s chat.
Robert Ashley, freelance writer and one of the numerous victims of the 1UP meltdown, has released the first episode of A Life Well Wasted, a video game podcast that is, unlike many others out there, remarkably well-produced and edited. Looking to Ira Glass’ This American Life for inspiration, A Life Well Wasted weaves multiple interviews and musical interludes, guided by short bits of infrequent narration by Ashley, the host of the show.
This inaugural episode recounts the life and death of Electronic Gaming Monthly, and I highly recommend listening to it. Even if you’re the sort that can’t stand podcasts, take the time to check this one out.