The Return of the Commodore 64

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What does it mean? I didn't know then and I don't know now, but it did get me my games.

Long before console gaming really kicked off for me, days were spent click-clacking away on my Commodore 64. "Death Sword," "Zaxxon," "Boulder Dash," "Lode Runner;" they weren't always the best quality, but they were plentiful. I rememebr getting a floppy disk once that had somehwere around 100 games on it. Where did it come from? Who knows. The birth of the modern piracy market.

This was the first real beast of the home PC market. Millions of people had real computers running in their homes. And now it's back.

Ready to cash in in on our ridiculous obsession with all things 80's, the system returns beefed up with a dual core, full HD and surround sound output, numerous card reader inputs and an optional Blu-Ray drive.


There's also a classic C64 emulator to play all those games at a quick press of a button. The games are either included or are to be mailed soon after release.



Ok so, it's obviously just a fancy PC stuck in a retro chassis, there's been a whole scene of hobbyists doing mods like that for years. But what a case it is eh? You can get more info at the official site, and pick one up for $250 to $900 depending on your specs.

Can't really say this is something I would get. It's definitely one of those, "hey that's pretty cool if only I had unlimited money" kind of deals. But with the promise of it making me more alive than ever before.....

Who Remembers Maniac Mansion For Nintendo?

Wow... Jeff Bond really took me back with this one. While I had hundreds of Nintendo cartridges throughout my young life, one of my faves was 'Maniac Mansion'. I loved the wacky adventures of David Miller & his friends trying to save his lost girlfriend Sandy Pantz from the evil Edison family. It's a love letter to B movies and the horror genre, and that makes it even cooler. The game was made by Lucasfilms (yeah, George Lucas was getting guap from all angles back then... #winning!!!) and was a critical success on the Commodore 64 before coming to Nintendo. The cut scenes & comedy were the best part of the game, because as with most Nintendo games the gameplay is meh at best. It was still one of our faves and a blueprint for many games that followed afterwards.

The guys and gals over at Gamervision made this awesome fake movie teaser trailer for the game. I like it for three reasons. 1) The goofiness and comedy of the original game is there. 2) It's well shot and executed. 3) I have a growing desire for girls with dark red hair like this Goth chick, and despite her awful stammer when she talks she could get it (she makes Colin Firth look like a skilled orator). Enjoy the clip:



Check out The Man Cave  right now for a full retrospective of 'Maniac Mansion'. These guys get in there. Thanks for the tip Jeffy. Think I'm going try and download this 8 bit classic from the Wii marketplace right now.