We’re thrilled that gaming in all its forms is constantly progressing, but we also lament losing the ability to play some of our old favorites. Backwards compatibility is not at all standard, and the physical nature of games (cartridges, compact discs, etc.) limits their long-term usability. The rise of homebrewed emulators in the 1990s was a godsend, and the mainstream has since hurried to catch up as manufacturers release their own licensed versions. Gaming pioneer Atari is bringing its PC title Atari Vault to PAX South 2016. It’s a bundle of 100 classic Atari games with added features and multiplayer capability, according to a statement on PR Newswire.
The collection will be available on Steam and includes some quintessential titles in the rise of video gaming, including Centipede, Missile Command, Tempest, and Warlords. The user interface for these games has been updated to be more familiar to modern gamers, while online and multiplayer features allow fans to experience them in ways that were unheard of when they were first launched. Rest assured that the games’ 1970s and 80s soundtracks will be heard in all their nostalgic glory.
Atari Vault offers Steam Controller support, improving precision and control. Players can also challenge each other on the Steam Leaderboards.
This isn’t the first time Atari has re-released its classics. Its Flashback series of consoles are in their sixth generation, with the most recent one featuring 100 built-in games. We don’t have the full list of Vault games, but wouldn’t it be great to see a fixed version of the legendary console-killing E.T.?
Atari Vault is being developed by Code Mystics and will launch in spring 2016. No price has been announced. Atari will also be providing live insights and hands-on demos for Rollercoaster Tycoon World and the mobile Pridefest at PAX. The expo takes place from January 29-31 in San Antonio, Texas.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.