☆ How Do You Save A Stranded Astronaut? ☆ #IndieDev #GameDev #iOS #Android

As I sit here and wait for him to get back to me I fear for his safety on his first night in the unknown wilderness.....

He got in contact with me on my iPhone on Thursday morning and told me his story via text....

His name is Taylor...

He asked me for advice on how to proceed...

He wanted to know what to do next....

I had to put myself in Taylor's shoes and think what would I do next if I was Taylor?

I've just advised him on where he should sleep on his first night stranded alone.....I hope I've told him the right thing....I've never been in that situation so I don't know what to advise but I did advise him on what I thought was truly his best option....

I keep checking my phone to see if he has got in contact with me but nothing yet....

Oh god I hope he makes it through the night......What if he doesn't?!

☆ Kevin Toms Talks Torquay, ZX Spectrum & Kickstarter ☆ @KevinToms #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

A lot of my inspiration for what I do today with Games Freezer comes from my early video games years experience with a certain football game that for me became an obsession....

This obsession led me to searching for it immediately on whatever console or computer that I owned. When i owned my beloved Atari 800 XEGS I would visit LOGIC Computer Shop in Cheshunt or Rossi's Toy Shop in Chingford and search through the masses of cassettes preying to see a copy of it for Atari XE/XL....

Alas I never saw it on my beloved Atari.....

In the 80's & 90's it constantly dominated my thoughts and led me down the road to becoming a purveyor of all things Football Management Simulation...

That game was Football Manager by Kevin Toms....

☆ Built In Video Games from The Third Generation ☆ #retrogaming #gamersunite

As I think about entering into the world of the 8th Generation of consoles I cast my mind back to the 3rd Generation of consoles.

The thing that sticks out in my mind is the two consoles that I owned from that generation and the fact that both consoles had some really cool built in games.

☆ The Mother Of Gaming Markets Comes To London ☆ @ReplayEvents #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

London gets it's very own Gaming Market and boy am I excited about this!

THE FIRST EVER LONDON GAMING MARKET BEGINS TRADING IN NOVEMBER 2015

Buy and Sell Video Games, Board Games and Merchandise All in One Place Right in the Heart of London....

☆Sensible Soccer And Microprose Soccer Have A Child ☆ @outofthebit #GamersUnite #GameDev #IndieDev #IndieDevHour

I've always been a massive fan of the 80's & 90's football games.

Those games were made with play-ability in mind with a simple but sharp aesthetic to the graphics.

Super Arcade Football seems to be trying to recreate that era and improve on the things that made those retro games so awesome.

☆ The World's Smallest C64 Emulator Looks Great ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

The World's Tiniest C64 Emulator Is A Work Of Art.

I have been admiring this little beauty for a couple of days and thought I should share the details of this awesome Kickstarter....

Take a peek it's worth a few minutes of your time...

🎲🎲 Board Games That Will Never Grow Old 🎲🎲 #GamersUnite #BoardGames

Video games have turned into a massive industry. Playing the original Nintendo in the mid-80s could not have prepared you for the onslaught of excellent titles released today. Just looking at joystickgaming.io, it becomes clear how expansive the industry is with so many different styles and categories.

Growing up as a kid I not only loved video games I also developed a deep love for board games.

Board games for me were associated with great times with my friends, mum, dad and sister at times of the year like Christmas and the Summer Holidays.

We still play Monopoly every Christmas to this day. It's a shame I rarely get the opportunity to play any other time of the year as I never seem to have enough time.

Truly good times and great memories were created by playing some of the coolest board games during my youth.

⬆️⬇️⬅️➡️🕹️"UP-DOWN-LEFT-RIGHT-Y-B-X-A" My Top Five Cheat Codes 🕹️⬆️⬇️⬅️➡️ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

We all remember the days of the hints, tips and cheats that we would find in video games magazines or be told about in the playground by our mates. 

The cheats normally consisted of a combination of joypad movements and button presses to unlock some kind of infinite lives or amendment to the gameplay.

Back in the '80s and '90s, we were mega hungry for this kind of stuff.

★ Two Of My Favourite NES Revelations ★ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

I've recently discovered the Geeks Guide To The Galaxy podcast and i'm getting my fix on a daily basis on my commute into the office.

Luckily for me this podcast has been running for years so I have stacks of content to delve into...

While listening this morning to episode 114 which was dedicated to the NES I stumbled across two cool NES revelations that I was totally unaware of.......

☆ Soda Dungeoneers For Hire ☆ #Retrogaming #PixelArt #GamersUnite

Another Pixel Art surprise from the vast expanse of the App Store has made its way onto my iPhone.

Soda Dungeon is an interesting twist on the mobile dungeon crawling genre that we have seen so much of recently.

Basically you play a cowardly dude with an interesting business idea.

Instead of you being the dungeon crawling monster slayer why not coerce others to do the crawling whilst you reap the profits....

☆ Your Chance To Become The Combo King ☆ #iosreviewtime #GamersUnite

App Store Curiosity
A couple of weeks ago I was nosing around the App Store looking for a cool game to get stuck into when I stumbled across Combo Quest. 

It was the App Store Free Game Of The Week and I just loved the awesome looking pixel art graphics so I had to download it like any self respecting retro gamer would. 

Once downloaded I was treated to a game rhythm action that I have grown to love more and more each time I play it!


"Take A Minute And Sit Right There And I'll Tell You How I Became The Combo King"

☆ All 7 Awesome Fallout 4 SPECIAL Videos ☆ #GamersUnite #Fallout4

The Time Is Almost Upon Us.....

Not Long Till The Day When We Can Step Back Into The Wasteland....

It's Almost 10.11.2015.....

It's Almost Time For Fallout 4........

☆ My Top 10 Video Games With Their Own Film or TV Cameos ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite #Arcade

When I think of video games from my youth I instantly smile.

But do you know what really used to make me smile and still does to this day?

Video Games Cameos in Films & TV...

☆ Amiga Cases For A New Generation ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite #Kickstarter

Amiga 1200 Cases Make ME Go Weak At The Knees...

Amiga 1200 Cases Combined With A Kickstarter Make Me Explode With Joy!

Yes It's Another Cool Retrogaming Kickstarter That I Want To Tell You All About..

We Have 9 Days To Make It Happen So Let's DO THIS!

☆ Two Of The Biggest Football Games Of The 80's Make A Revival ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

Growing up as a football mad video games geek in the 80's and 90's meant that I was obsessed with two games throughout that golden era.

Those games were....

Kick Off 2

&

Football Manager

☆ What Games Would YOU Play If Video Games Didn't Exist? ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite #BoardGames

As I stand here waiting for a delayed train home on a Friday night after a day in the office my mind starts wandering.....

What If Video Games Didn't Exist? (I ask myself)

What Games Would I Play?

☆ A Love Letter To Platform Games ☆ @superaxeboy #Retrogaming #GameDev #Kickstarter #GamersUnite

I've grown up playing some of the greatest platform games of all time and now i'm getting excited about this brand new upcoming Kickstarter which is aiming to be a love letter to the platform games from down the years!

Let's open up this letter and see what it says.........

☆ Mario & Me - 30 Years Of Happiness ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

My good friend Mario turned 30 this year.

He's been one of my best mates since I was around 6 years old so we go back a long way, in fact we go back to when he was born.

This guy has been there for many ups and downs in my life and we've shared so many fun moments together.

Who could forget the time we went to the wrong castle?!

☆ Video Games Graffiti From The Soul ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

Game Art is the ultimate expression of the essence of a video game and normally consists of those characters or moments in a game that captured the minds and hearts of the gamers who have played the franchise or series.

I love trawling the internet for cool images to capture on my Pinterest or Instagram

The images I fall for every time have to be the awesome video games graffiti......

☆ The Lads From The Lair Treat Us To More Gonarch Balls ☆ @gonarchslair #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

Greetings Freezer Followers...

Last Time I Spoke To You About My Favourite Podcast Was Back In Early September <HERE> Where I Broke The News That Gonarch The Testicle Spider Was Getting Its Very Own Podcast!

Well since then the boys in the lair have been busy and have produced yet more podcast gold with 4 more episodes.

☆ The Warehouse Of Retro Gaming Goodness ☆ @ReplayEvents #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

The Play Expo Manchester 2015 has been and gone but don't despair, let me tell you how cool this event was as I give you 5 of the coolest things about this years Expo!

☆ I Was A Pirate In A Previous Life! (a video games one) ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

Back in 1993 I owned a beautiful Amiga 600 with 1 Meg of RAM.

It was my pride and joy.

I loved the way it looked and I loved my my beautiful disk box full of blue disks.

The only thing was that collection of blue disks I kept locked in my disk box were 95% copied games!

I WAS A PIRATE!

I am ashamed ..... but I had my reasons.

☆ My Heart Strings Have Been Tugged By Valiant Hearts ☆ #GamersUnite #iOS

It's been on my to play list for a long time now.

Finally today I got to play Valiant Hearts on my iPhone and i'm in love with this beautiful and touching game.

☆ Famicom Box Art From Heaven Above ☆ @bitmap_books #Retrogaming #Nintendo #GamersUnite

 

It feels like we are currently being spoiled with all these awesome retrogaming books that are around at the moment.

 

As I've mentioned before, there are tons of great examples of these out there and each one gets me more and more excited to own it!

☆ I Love The Thrill Of The Retrogaming Hunt ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite #SEGA

While strolling through my local town on Saturday, kit bag over my shoulder on my way to play football for the mighty Norsemen FC from the Southern Amateur League, I came across the local market stalls that were setting up for the Saturday market.

Naturally I had a quick peek at the car boot sale style stalls to see if I could see any video games related items.

 

It was around 10am and I was one of the first people to walk through the market and I noticed a guy who had a couple of Master System games on his stall.

☆ Made In 1960 BM (Before Mario) ☆ @beforemario @donkeyking64 #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

I'm a sucker for video games books. I get excited at all the Kickstarter campaigns for video games related books.

I love all the Bitmap Books that have come out or are due to be released and I'm always on the lookout for another one to spend my cash on.

Yesterday an email came into the Freezer that got me excited and intrigued all at the same time....

★ My 365 Days Of Video Games ★ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

I currently own a calendar (front page news!)

My calendar was created by my Twitter friend c64reloaded and is a c64 themed game a month style calendar.

I love it and I intend to get another from Mr C64 Reloaded next year too as the nostalgia factor always brings a smile to my face each month of the year.

But I've been thinking.......

☆ Beware The Night Time In 'Kingdom' ☆ @noionl #pixelart #gamedev #gamersunite #retrogaming

After my first encounter with Kingdom at EGX 2015 I wanted to point you all in the right direction for a chance to sample some of the awesome pixel art visuals and atmospheric gameplay of Kingdom.

The original flash version of Kingdom is available to play right now at kingdom.noio.nl

☆ All Aboard! Next Stop PLAY EXPO Manchester! ☆ @ReplayEvents #GamersUnite #Retrogaming

So EGX has been and gone (you can read all about it here) so where to next?

Do we have to wait until next year to get our Video Games event fix?

The answer is ...........

HELL NO ......... PLAY EXPO MANCHESTER 2015 is coming!

☆ Kickstarters & Game Devs A Plenty! #IndieGame ☆ #GameDev #Kickstarter #GamersUnite

I am currently knee deep in great video games related things I want to tell you about.

Each 'thing' could warrant its own article but there's only one of me and I am just bursting to tell you about these awesome things which range from cool Kickstarters to gorgeous new games.

So let me unload my email inbox into your mind so as you can see some of the exciting things in the video games world that you may not have stumbled upon yet....

Eyes Down For A Full House!

☆ It's Your Turn To Control A Leviathon Mech ☆ @TreseBrothers @corytrese #GameDev #GamersUnite

The Templars Have Arrived On Steam And It's Time To Kick Some Xenos Arse!

Strap yourself into your Leviathan Mech and get ready......

☆ A Video Games Party Like No Other ☆ #EGX2015 #GamersUnite

I've just recovered my senses from my very first visit to EGX at the Birmingham NEC and to say I was blown away would be an understatement.

I've been looking forward to my first visit for a long time and ever since I had been accepted for my press passes i'd been marking the days on my retrogaming calendar!

☆ My Top 5 Video Games That I Need To Play At EGX 2015 ☆ #EGX #GamersUnite #GameDev

The EGX fairy has been and it's Day 3 of the awesome video games event EGX 2015.

I'm off to Day 4 on Sunday 27th September and it will be my first ever visit to EGX and boy am I excited.

I'll be going there hoping to cover everything that I think Games Freezer readers will want to read about so it should be a busy day and I can't wait to get to the NEC to experience it.

Let's have a look at all the cool things i'm getting excited about which includes my TOP 5 video games that i'm looking forward to playing and probably being crap at....

✴ Thunder Clap To Let The World Know All About Templar Battleforce ✴ @TreseBrothers #GamersUnite #GameDev

Recently I discovered the joy of the Trese Brothers latest instalment of Video Games perfection Templar Battleforce and have been playing the Beta ever since.

This is a game worth shouting about and we will all get a chance to shout as loud as possible if we join together during the upcoming Thunder Clap!

☆ Let Battle Commence In "Templar Battleforce" ☆ @TreseBrothers #GameDev #GamersUnite

The Triple Trese Brothers (there's 3 bros now) Are Back With Possibly Their Best Video Game Yet!

My favourite Indie Game Dev's Are Preparing To Launch Their Latest Video Game Onto Steam Next Tuesday 22nd September.....

Are You Ready For : TEMPLAR BATTLEFORCE?

I AM.................

☆ The Golden Era Of Wrestling Video Games ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

As I don my rose tinged spectacles and hook myself up to my freshly filled bottle of nostalgia fluid I take a trip down memory lane to a time when colourful wrestling characters filled my thoughts and events like Summer Slam and Wrestlemania defined my year.

☆ This Is Retrogaming Present & Future ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

Since starting Games Freezer 2 years ago I have seen the landscape of retrogaming change quite considerably in that short space of time and I think it's for the good of retrogaming.

It feels like the status and profile of retro gaming has increased beyond what it was 2 years ago and the retro gaming communities seemed to have swelled to a large online presence.

I can't quite ascertain why exactly but I think it has to do with the following key factors that have contributed to the growing presence of what feels like a fully fledged retrogaming movement.

☆ Vault 111.Com Is My Current Home From Home ☆ #Fallout4 #GamersUnite

As the wait for Fallout 4 continues the anticipation heightens i'm grabbing onto anything Fallout 4 related and and pawing over it.

I've just come across this awesome site that let's fiddle around with building a Fallout character from scratch and assigning your character with 'Special' points.

☆ If Ye Enter My Maze Ye May Never Leave! ☆ @HyperLiger #Retrogaming #GameDev #GamersUnite #PixelArt

I know exactly the video game you want to play right now......

It's all about Pixel Art Characters and Mazes.....

Wanna Play?

☆ Why Doesn't London Get Much Video Game Love? ☆ #GamersUnite #retrogaming

 

As I walked through London this afternoon I started to think about the video games that I had played that featured London as its key location

Surprisingly I couldn't really think of many. 

☆ A Cool Sea Faring Adventure That Needs A Kickstart ☆ @PeraGames #Kickstarter #GamersUnite

My weekly Kickstarter search has led me to a beautiful looking game called Overfall that needs a Kickstart to ensure it gets made.

For me when I saw the beautiful hand drawn artwork it was love at first sight, see what you think of this cool game...

☆ Gonarch The Testicle Spider Gets Its Own Podcast (sort of) ☆ @gonarchslair #retrogaming #Gamersunite

Welcome to Gonarch's Lair

A new video games podcast that I stumbled across today.

☆ The Re Release Of A Recreated Video Games Legend ☆ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

Call me sad but this video which details the operating guide for the recreated ZX Spectrum has got me all excited for the new recreated ZX Spectrum that is being released this week......

🎮🕹️ A Visual Treat For All Amiga Fans 🎮🕹️ #Retrogaming #GamersUnite @BitmapBooks

Last Weekend I Attended A Charity Auction In Aid Of My Best Friend's Daughter To ensure That She Received The Best Specialist Treatment Possible For Her Particular Conditions.

As part of that auction, the generous folks over at Funstock.Co.Uk donated the Commodore Amiga Visual Compendium to be auctioned off. How cool is that!?

☆ My Top 5 Joe Bleeps Chiptune Tunes ☆ @joeteach #Chiptune #Retrogaming #GamersUnite

Continuing this weeks accidental theme of video games and music I have stumbled across Joe Bleeps and his vast array of cool chiptune tracks on Soundcloud.

I only came across Joe through +Retro Games Collector (thanks dude!)
  
Now I'm really glad that I checked out Joe Bleeps' tunes because they are awesome.

☆ Feast Your Eyes On The Beautiful 'Club Nintendo Goodbye Coin' ☆ #Nintendo #GamersUnite

Like a gleaming diamond in the rough I stumbled across this awesome goodbye treat in the Club Nintendo Shop.....

Take A Look At This Mega Cool Club Nintendo Coin As We Say Goodbye Club Nintendo!

☆ Listen To Guile's Theme Played By NIM16 ☆ @Nimrod16Cr #retrogaming #gamersunite

Carrying on with the Video Games Music theme of yesterday's article I have just fallen in love with music from another source........

I have just discovered the delights of the cool retro video games covers band

NIM16

☆ Awesome Video Games Music Concert Coming To London & Manchester ☆ #retrogaming #GamersUnite @VideoGamesLive @TommyTallarico

Last week I was flicking through Time Out magazine and stumbled across this awesome sounding Video Games concert event that I would just love to go and see....... 

It's called "Video Games Live" and its at the 'O2 Shepherds Bush Empire' on Sunday 20th March 2016 at 2pm & 7pm and Manchester Albert Hall on Saturday 19th March.

Allow me to explain what this is all about...........

☆ Iron Maiden "Speed Of Light" Arcade Game ☆ #Retrogaming #Arcade #GamersUnite

Fancy a bit of heavy metal chip tune and a game of Donkey Kong inspired retrogaming platform game 8 bit fun?

Well I've got something that you might like...........

☆ Gameblast 2016 - A Chance For Gamers To Change Lives ☆ @SpecialEffect @gameblast16 #GamersUnite #gameblast16

This year I took part in my first GameBlast and now i'm already looking forward to next years installment of gamings coolest charity gaming weekend as the date has now been set....

☆ The Most Fun You Can Have With Pixelated Weapons! ☆ #retrogaming #GamersUnite

You know those weapons in shooter games that you get that make the level that much more fun. The weapons that make you smile and give out a litte cry of "yess!" when you collect them.

Now obviously I am no gun toting maniac in real life but there's something really satisfying about using a mega cool weapon in a video game.

Sometimes the satisfying thing about the weapon is the noise it makes or the way it looks or the effect it has on the non player characters / enemies in the game.

As I think back to all the games I've played with a must have weapon in them it brings a smile to my face as I remember some of the immense fun to be had.

Come with me as I walk you through some of my faves from down the years.............