Arcade Attack Retro Gaming Podcast

Xbox owners, it's time to pay homage to the man who led the team that created the first ever iteration of the console. Microsoft/FireAnt supremo Ed Fries joins our Adrian for a chat encompassing the early gaming days at Microsoft, bringing life to the Masterchief and acquiring dev houses like Bungie, Rare and Ensemble to ensure Xbox's success. The video game crash, Flight Simulator and so much ret...

Dragon's Lair is the game that put the Quick Time Event genre firmly on the map whilst Space Ace was its plucky younger sibling. Rob's done a lot of research, so him, Adrian and Dylan sit down to discuss the game's inception, the weird and wonderful tale of Don Bluth (and his many companies) and what sort of legacy both games have left. Fancy discussing this podcast? Fancy suggesting a topic of co...

A few months ago The Retro Hour kindly invited us on for a chat, it's about time we returned the favour! Dan and Ravi join Adrian and Dylan for a lovely gaming discussion covering how they got started, who their favourite guests are, how great the Atari Jaguar/Jag CD is and what awful games they love (time to pay them back for the Rise of the Robots question) as well as much much more. And there's...

The Atari Jaguar CD and SEGA Mega CD were both made to give their consoles a new lease of life. Adrian owns a Jag CD and Dyl own a SEGA CD and decide to continue to chat about these legendary and divisive console add-ons. Well, the time has come for Dyl and Adrian's final chat about these legendary CD peripherals (mainly because Adrian has run out of Jag CD games).  This week takes focus on the Ja...

The Syndicate creator and outstanding Bullfrog employee (Populous, Hi-Octane, Magic Carpet, Dungeon Keeper - to name a few) chats to our Adrian about what it was like working for Bullfrog, the birthing of Syndicate, the eventual demise of the legendary company and much much more. Fancy discussing this podcast? Fancy suggesting a topic of conversation? Please tweet us @ arcadeattackUK  or catch us...

As many of you will know we had quite a big dig at EA a few weeks ago because of their current day practices but it got us thinking, how much do we actually owe them as a company (see what I did there)? We had an off-the-cuff chat about our Electronic Arts memories and dig up more great games than you can shake a stick at. And, as a treat, long time listener (and newest Arcade Attack writer) Tim W...

Something a bit different today. To mark national poetry day here in the UK Adrian caught up with upcoming poet (who The Sunday Times described as the new Seamus Heaney) Stephen Sexton to talk about his book titled "If All the World and Love Were Young". Why is this important for retro gamers? The book is a wonderful compilation of poems about Stephen's late mother that mirror the levels in Super...

Keith played a "what's in the box game" with us which we've kinda given the surprise away to via the title of the pod... Nevertheless, we introduce our first ever 3DO chat but is Keith happy with his purchase? You'll have to listen to find out and don't worry. plenty of fact and initial opinions there are (and Dylan also saying poohed a lot - sorry, not sorry)! This will not be our last 3DO chat b...

Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Raiden... We have one man to thank! John Tobias co-created Mortal Kombat and helped change fighting games forever! Enjoy this exclusive and in-depth interview with a true gaming legend. As we promised last week here is 80 minutes of pure retro gaming gold chat between our Adrian and the MK legend that is John Tobias! How did the Mortal Kombat phenomenon come about? John goes in...

On the 26th (yes, we're crap at planning stuff) anniversary of Mortal Monday we finally discuss the fighting game that would be king. The history, the facts, our memories of the original game all discussed at length. And we've totally got an interview with John Tobias for you to look forward to next week. I guess there's nothing left to say except MORTAL KOMBAAAAATTTTT!!!! Our Q&A with Master Dani...

So a few weeks ago we rounded on EA for their current business practices and it seems we're not alone in feeling that way. Of course there was a time where the company meant a lot to us, so who better to quiz about all of this than gaming pioneer, and EA founder, THE Trip Hawkins! How he got started, working at Apple with Steve Jobs, the glory days at EA, launching the 3DO and what he really think...

Bullfrog's Syndicate truly put Cyberpunk on the gaming map, but how has it stood the test of time? Our Rob wants to tackle this one so he's brought out the big guns... From persuadatron to exploits in Mongolia, this podcast has it all. And a back-of-the-box-jingle-off between Rob and Adrian I hear you cry? Our apologies in advance... Fancy discussing this podcast? Fancy suggesting a topic of conve...

Introducing Sensible Software stalwart, retrogaming legend, Stoo Cambridge but this time for a podcast chat with our Adrian!! What did we tell you about him being a lovely bloke? Cannon Fodder, Sensi, life after Sensible Software, Ade quizzes him about everything. Our previous Q&A with Stoo. Fancy discussing this podcast? Fancy suggesting a topic of conversation? Please tweet us @arcadeattackU...

What indeed. Growing up in the 90s anything (well, almost anything) by Electronic Arts was as good as a seal of quality. These days they appear to be a punchbag for the modern and retro gamer but why? We pick apart the whole thing, from loot boxes and the FIFA Ultimate Team thingy to the other fiscal barriers they're putting up to the gamer. Was it worth it? Or is this ultimately where all gaming...

A Saturday morning cartoon show featuring some of your favourite video game characters such as Donkey Kong and Mario sounds like a great idea, right? Wrong! Rob tells the tale of Saturday Supercade, spawned in 1983 for CBS, the show attempted to take advantage of the video game boom but missed spectacularly. Think of the scenarios you'd place these characters in, now picture the exact opposite and...

This is indeed the Mark Webley, he of Bullfrog, Lionhead Studios (which he co-founded) and Two Point Studios which he's having phenomenal success with Two Point Hospital (Theme Hospital being the first of course). Black & White, the Fable games, the list goes on and on. This is a really fun interview that reflects on an amazing career. Our Adrian quizzes him about everything and it's a fantastic l...

It's time for episode 2 of our "Lost Games" series (Warcraft Adventures being the first of course) and boy is it a humdinger. You'll need a strong (ish) stomach for Thrill Kill on the original PlayStation, a four player fighting game as gruesome as it is grotesque.  Adrian delights (maybe a bit too much) in telling the story of a game which our favourite publisher kiboshed for reasons that will so...

Rare's finest moment? GoldenEye N64 truly brought multiplayer FPS action to the home console and how! Developed by a team who'd never embarked on this type of project before it's a mini miracle it turned out as good as it did. Or was it? Our Rob is a massive fan (and also damn good at the game) so he literally bit off my finger/jumped at the chance to wax lyrical whilst giving us lots of lovely fa...

Late last year we asked for podcast suggestions and this week's comes courtesy of listener and friend of the show Dan Driver. What kind of legacy do gaming consoles/microcomputers leave and which ones will really stand the test of time out of the current crop? Lacking any kind of structure but hopefully lots of listening pleasure. The episode also marks the inception of the Legacy Bucket, which is...

The PlayStation 2 (PS2) came into our lives in 2000 and life has never been the same. The highest selling console of all time is arguably the most loved, but why? The gang (including the return of AA's prodigal son...) celebrate the life of Sony's second console now that the closure of the last online servers means it is officially dead. But is it? Are you even listening to this podcast? What is t...

The Origin Systems legend had a chat with our Adrian about the many, many games he has developed. Directing Ultima Online and being QA lead for the revolutionary BioForge are just two of his countless achievements. Named regularly as one of the most influential figures in the MMO scene there's not much this guy doesn't know. Was an honour to have him on the show. Enjoy. Check out Starr's latest pr...

How amazing was the SEGA Master System?! We've mentioned it in passing on many other podcasts but SEGA's first successful console has never gotten an AA outing, until now! We've pretty much done the Game Boy episode again but with a different console! Lots of stories, lots of facts, and a shout out to all babysitters who own(ed) Master Systems (you'll see what we mean). Fancy discussing this podca...

We've set about resolving a lot of things this year at Arcade Attack and this one has been on the redemption list for quite a while... The world's most beloved handheld console (Nintendo Game Boy) has never featured on an AA podcast, until now! Adrian, Dylan and a long lost friend/former AA podcaster drink and get merry whilst telling tales of the fabled console. But beware, not all of them are ha...

It's here! The Mega Drive/Genesis Mini and its three variants have had their full lineups announced! But what do we think? Better have a listen... That Nintendo Life article Our bad predictions/dream lineups Fancy discussing this podcast? Fancy suggesting a topic of conversation? Please tweet us @ arcadeattackUK  or catch us on  facebook.com/arcadeattackUK All copyrighted material contained within...

An instantly recognisable face for our UK-based listeners, maybe even our British listeners abroad, TV and radio celebrity Iain Lee is also a massive retro gaming fan! He spoke to our Adrian about his major gaming loves (namely the Saturn and the Dreamcast), what happened with his TV career, working with the likes of Ricky Gervais and Sacha Baron Cohen, his new home on talk radio and what he reall...