NFS II SE Running on Windows 11 (...and its FREE!) MN12BIRD 2022-11-22 | Need for Speed II SE running on Windows 11 for FREE!!!! Download the game ISO from archive.org and this new wrapper will allow you to run it in a modern OS. Just have to copy two folders from the game and run the new nfs2se.exe. There's no resolution options in game I think it only runs at whatever your Windows resolution is. So I think it's running at 1440p? Looks sharp but I don't think there's any AA.Download the ISO from here and extract it just to get the two required game folders (instructions on the github page)archive.org/details/need-for-speed-2-se_202105Download the win32 7z from here and extract it, copy the two folders to here and run the nfs2se.exe to playgithub.com/zaps166/NFSIISE/releases
Buying Cheap Japanese Nintendo Games! MN12BIRD 2022-11-15 | I found an Ebay seller in Canada who has a huge selection of Imported Japanese Nintendo games that are mostly all in very good shape and at reasonable prices. Some of these games like Popeye and DKC2 cost me quite a bit less than it would have to just buy the local NA versions here and in the case of DKL3 I simply ended up with a better GBC version for the same price as the non color version here would have cost me here. So in the end I either got cheaper copy of a game or a better versions by going with these Japanese imports! Nice! I'll have to keep an eye on this seller in the future.
Explore the slums in Stray (RX 5600 XT) (1440p High) MN12BIRD 2022-11-11 | Exploring the "slums" in Stray. No more humans in sight, just AI leftover who have evolved over 100's of years. They wanted to be human so badly they even envied our system of class divide so it seems. Lots of sad robots in the ghetto down here. They seem to know of a "level" above them and we learn of some robots who used to dream of escaping the dead city. Running it maxed out here at 1440p High. There is no Ultra in this game High is the highest.
The Need for Speed for the... Sega Saturn? MN12BIRD 2022-11-08 | Yeah it's just the Sega Saturn disk inside the PS1 longbox! I remember playing "Road and Track presents The Need for Speed" on 3DO back in the day. The Sega Saturn port isn't exactly the same game. Well, it is but it runs a lot faster. It's a little more arcade like BUT it still has some simulator chops and requires some serious track memorizations to get good. The AI opponents are brutal too as they'll get in front of you or push you off the track any chance they get. I love the selection of cars and the physics fell just modern enough along with the controls shifting gears with the Saturn's clicky L and R buttons just feels right! For some reason I could only get the Honda NSX to load once (tried a dozen times) so maybe my CD is just scratched but all other cars I tried loaded no problem. Anyway, this game is very impressive considering it came out in 1994 (on the 3DO) and I'm sure happy I ended up with the Saturn version here.
Are You Buying Form Over Function? (Durgod Taurus K320) MN12BIRD 2022-11-04 | Looking for a retro 80's (cough IBM) style keyboard? Worried about the poor QC and build quality of modern Model M production? Meet the Durgod Taurus K320! Okay seriously I've been looking at these for awhile now as they have really good reviews on Amazon. This TKL model with Cherry MX Blue switches is selling for $139 CAD and has a 4.5 out of 5 rating based on 2,800+ reviews! The popularity and price certainly got my attention and it looked like a great option for someone who wants a solid keyboard but doesn't care about RGB.This is just a simple, clean design that's solidly built and has good visibility considering it's not backlit. Minimal front print legends other than a little bit of media control on the F-keys. I appreciate having media controls but do not like it when every damn key has front print legends like many Ducky keyboards do for example. I find this really clutters the looks and it's also pointless if you ever plan on swapping the keycaps. This has nothing you don't need and the few options you expect on a keyboard are easy to toggle such as Win lock for example simply being FN + Win key with a clean array of white LED's to show status. I also like the fact the USB type-C port is recessed as that's one thing I complained about on my Ducky One 2 SF. This is just simple, solid and clean. I like! Actually makes me wish keyboards like this were more common in retail. I mean once you get past the common stuff from Logitech and the gaming brands (Corsair, HyperX, Razer, SteelSeries etc) you're left with low end stuff like Redragon (who do make some decent simple mechanical keyboards for the price) and then maybe on the higher end side you have Ducky or Keychron if you're lucky. I like Ducky in terms of price and quality BUT they mainly do %60-65 with some full size and very few TKL and they're usually mixed with some random color keys (not ideal for a business keyboard) and those cluttered front printed legends are a little much. Keychrons are also good BUT they make mainly wireless models and I don't want wireless. I think there's a market for well built, simple, clean mechanical keyboards like this. I mean Daskeyboard used to be popular. What happened to them I wonder?Durgod sells many variations in different color themes with most of the popular Cherry MX switch options. Obviously I wanted the IBM Model M theme BUT they have black, blue etc. Oh and they even have a full size version if you REALLY want something to match your old Model M!This video is not sponsored in anyway (who would actually sponsor my lazy ass videos?) the video isn't even monetized for what that's worth! I have a lot of good to say about this keyboard because it is a solid product. I know the fact I'm downing custom %60 keyboards will offend many keyboard snobs. Oh well. Many of you chose form over function and you know it. Sorry. But this keyboard is more useful as a keyboard than many of those cool looking custom jobs I see on content creators desks these days. Think about it. You know it's true. I fell for the custom keyboard trap myself. But I'm done. TKL is what's right for me and I think if many of you admit it to yourself it's probably better for you to (if you're using a %60 because it looks cool)
Whats Wrong With My PC? Watch a Complete IDIOT Play RE4! MN12BIRD 2022-10-31 | Yeah, so I'm playing RE4 on my HTPC (integrated AMD Radeon Vega iGPU) at 1080p and it was running fine at first but once I got into the village it REALLY started to run super slow to the point it was unplayable. I tried changing some settings, changing my computers vRAM allocation in BIOS etc but couldn't figure it out.That is until I realized when I leaned back in the couch it would start running slow BUT when I leaned forward it ran fine! WTF? OMG it's the Bluetooth controller range!Anyway, regardless of all that the game is great! I mean what a perfect game for the season. I'd forgotten some areas as it has been awhile since I played this game and I have to say considering the age of this game it still holds up graphically. Yes, this 2014 Steam release is technically an HD Remaster. But like... barely! There is a setting for "HD textures" and the difference is underwhelming. In fact many couldn't tell the difference as that was a common complaint in the Steam community even back in 2014. I think they're a little bit better sometimes. But not all textures seem to be changed and the ones that are are only slightly sharper and they still look very blurry when you get up close to them. But aside from that the game looks amazing. The color really puts it over the top. It really sells the atmosphere.
Donkey Kong Country on GB Color is Impressive! MN12BIRD 2022-10-25 | Great graphics, animation, music and responsive controls. What an amazing 8-bit port of a game that pushed the limits of the 16-bit SNES!
Upgrading HTPC from Ryzen 3 2200G to Ryzen 5 5600G! MN12BIRD 2022-10-23 | The fact is I didn't need the 5600G. My HTPC spends most of its life just playing video. 4k Youtube, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video were no sweat for the little 4 Core 2200G! But the Thanksgiving weekend sales on many of the AMD 5000 series processors was too good to pass! I mean $139.99 CAD (apx $100 USD) for this CPU is just insane. This is like glory day pricing on the 2200G or 3200G and those were Ryzen 3 class parts NOT Ryzen 5! This CPU will never be this cheap again. Mark my words once supply starts to dry up the price is only going to go up. You can't even get a Ryzen 3 3400G for less than $300 now. Getting a Ryzen 5 for less than half that is nuts! So I bought the CPU. Now what? Well, I need to update the BIOS on my older B450 motherboard. I had to update it in several steps as I was so far behind and hadn't realized it. But once I got it up to date it's literally a matter of swapping the chip and going.I have to say I went in knowing that the 5600G was a MUCH more powerful CPU. But I wasn't convinced its Vega based Radeon Graphics would be THAT much faster than the old 2200G. Well, turns out I was wrong. Tomb Raider 2013 saw a fairly big performance bump. Granted it's only one game. But an older game that shouldn't have been CPU bound on the quad core part. That difference in performance is definitely more than I expected to see so that's great.
Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword HD (Switch) MN12BIRD 2022-10-18 | I recently picked up a used copy of Skyward Sword on Switch. I only saved $20 but the fact was it was in mint condition. Honestly it looked like new so I figured why not? Anyway, I'm really enjoying this game. I love the fact I'm playing a 3D Zelda game on my Switch that isn't BotW! This one's a little more traditional. The gameplay and dungeons are what you'd expect from any other 3D Zelda game! I think the motion controls of the original Wii version might have turned many gamers away from this one. But now on the Switch you can play it with more traditional controls using the right analog stick to control the sword instead. You can still use motion controls for other things in game like aiming weapons (sling shot etc) as moving the Switch around will move the aim. I like this for fine tuning a shot in 1st person. Other than that though you can still tell this was a Wii game and not a native Switch game. For example the touch screen does nothing even in menus/inventory screens where it would come in handy. Still it's a nice HD remaster of the game with the ability to play without those motion controls! Maybe it's worth checking out if you skipped past the original release.
RetroSix: Separating Quality of Product with the Company. MN12BIRD 2022-10-14 | Recently I found a lot of people on Reddit talking bad about RetroSix. Many of them were saying the quality of their shells are shit. One going as far as saying they're all shit and have shitty fitment between the halves, shitty fitment of the battery cover and that the soft touch finish will turn to goo quickly. I couldn't believe how many people hated RetroSix! My experience with their shells has been the complete opposite of what people are saying. Fit and finish was the best of the best I've seen and while I don't play my soft-touch DMG a lot I have had it for just over 2 years and it still looks and feels like the day I got it. I asked around to find out why so many people hate RetroSix and it seemed to be common knowledge in the retro modding scene that RetroSix is a bad company who steals other peoples designs and sells it as their own. This is the first I've ever heard of this and obviously if true, that's not good! But I still say the quality of their DMG shells anyway is top notch.
Cyberpunk 2077: The WORST Looking BEST Graphics Ever? MN12BIRD 2022-10-11 | I mean on one hand the color and atmospherics are top notch but the pop-in and LOD transitions are just bad. Does the game always look like this or is it because my GPU only has 6GB of vRAM? I'm not sure but you'd think Medium would look better than it does and there's really no difference between Medium and High that I could see. It's just weird. To give the game credit, during indoor sections where the majority of gun fights have happened (so far) the game is very smooth and responsive. Anyone playing on the last gen refresh (PS4 pro etc) or current gen consoles let me know if the pop-in is this bad too.
LSDJ Makes the DMG Game Boy Jam! MN12BIRD 2022-10-04 | Download LSDJ here...littlesounddj.com/lsd/index.phpDownload music from RoccoW as heard in the video on soundcloud here...roccow.bandcamp.com/album/-
ASL Skydrive 2022 w Nikon Z50 (was it worth the $ to upgrade?) MN12BIRD 2022-09-27 | Went to the local Airshow this year as I do every year but decided to buy a new mirrorless camera (Nikon Z50) to replace my DSLR (Nikon D5300) as the newer camera would offer a higher frame rate (pictures it can take per second), better low light performance, better Auto Focus features and better video capabilities. The Nikon Z50 body cost $1,049 ($CAD) but I also needed the FTZ II lens adapter to use my existing E-mount DSLR lenes on the newer Z-mount mirrorless camera. The mount has no glass inside, it's basically a straight mount adapter with passthroughs for the electronic communication (AF, VR etc) and therefore shouldn't effect image quality in any meaningful way. The mount costs $200 but in theory would allow me to use all my existing lenes including my $1,000 Tamron 150-600mm G1. I also bought a 2nd battery for $75 as that's pretty much a requirement with any camera and I bought a Nikon brand camera backpack for $100 that can hold multiple camera bodies and lenses including my big Tamron. This is something I should have bought a long time ago as up until now I only had two smaller camera bags that could carry one body and one lens tops. All in all I was out about $1,600 after taxes if I recall correctly. But so far I was still under the impression I would be using my existing Tamron G1 lens. But when I got home to test it out I discovered the G1 lens doesn't work on the Z50 (even after the latest firmware was installed on the camera)Fuck. I just assumed this lens would work! It's not THAT old and it's a fairly popular budget telephoto option used by a lot of people. But it turns out only the newer G2 version of this lens works on the Z50. This is in part my fault for not checking before buying. But again, I assumed it would work and I should not have done this. So now I either return the Z50 and continue to use my DSLR or buy the newer G2 lens. The G2 lens does offer a slightly sharper image than the older G1 but it costs $1,600! I didn't really want to spend the money but on the other hand part of me kinda wanted that slightly sharper lens! The only reason I could even justify spending $3,200 is because I had a very good previous month at work and made an apx extra $3,000. This is not the norm by any means so don't get any wrong ideas. I'm certainly not making that kind of extra cash every month! But the fact I had a good month was in the back of my head during this entire fiasco. I guess I could justify it to myself enough to get my hands on that G2 lens that I kinda wanted anyway.So here's the thing. I can't genuinely say it was worth spending $3,200 as an amateur photographer to get slightly better pictures at an airshow. But if you were starting from scratch and didn't already own a good DSLR or telephoto lens I can definitely say the Nikon Z50 and Tamron G2 is a great starter setup. The G2 may cost $600 more than my old lens BUT the fact is $1,600 for a 600mm lens is still in a budget class. There are professionals out at these kind of airshows rocking lenses that cost 5-6 grand easily!
COD4 is now as OLD as Sonic 2 was to COD4... MN12BIRD 2022-09-20 | I'm not sure why, but the other night I was thinking about Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare and how old it was. I wasn't so much thinking about the game itself but more so reminiscing about what PC hardware I was running at the time and thinking about how that compared to the PS3. I'm still not sure exactly how it compared BUT it also got me thinking about the fact the game is 15 years old now and that means it's as old today as Sonic 2 on Sega Mega Drive was to it when it came out if you get what I mean. 15 years before Modern Warfare there wasn't even Doom yet!15 years made a HUGE difference from 1992 to 2007. Has graphics tech evolved as much since then?
Corvette on GBA is VERY Impressive! Full 3D Need for Speed Clone. MN12BIRD 2022-09-13 | This game really reminds me a lot of the original Road & Track Presents Need for Speed on 3DO. Very similar look and feel. Even the music reminds me of some of the older EA games like Road Rash on 3DO! This is certainly a pleasant surprise on the GBA here.
I Loved This Way More Than I Thought I Would! MN12BIRD 2022-09-06 | Resident Evil 3 Remake impressed me. Perhaps because I had little recollection of the original and I had heard bad things about this game so I went in with low expectations. Granted it looks and plays a lot like Resident Evil 2 Remake and I loved that. This game is short but the story and boss fights seemed solid. I've heard it's missing some areas from the original game and considering that it is a short game that is defiantly bad look. I can see if you paid full price for this game you'd be disappointed by the length and missing content but as it has been so long since I played the original I didn't know what I was missing and as part of the Humble Bundle I paid only paid a small fraction of the games normal price. I paid $38 CAD for 10 Resident Evil games making this dirt cheap.
I Am a Crazy Person (shell swapped my GBA) MN12BIRD 2022-09-02 | After doing my co-workers GBA a few weeks ago I liked the shell and button combination so much that I ordered it again for my own GBA! Keep in mind I'm not just talking about looks here. I prefer the clear shells plastic over the rubberized coating on mine and the d-pad and membrane combo was much better. My d-pad required an unusual amount of force to actuate and I wanted to fix that issue alone. It also turned out that the lack of a required screen mounting alignment bracket solved my small backlight bleed issue! The bracket was simply putting pressure on one specific spot on the back of the LCD panel causing the light spot. This new shell doesn't need the bracket as the LCD panel fits snuggly into place, aligning itself in the shell. This issue was only noticeable when a game displayed a mostly black screen so it was rarely an issue and even then only a slight annoyance but the fact this shell swap fixed it is a bonus. Oh and also a bonus that the GBA can actually slide in and out of the protective sleeve without getting stuck due to the rubberized coating having more grip. Again, some of you might prefer the grippier finish. But in general I prefer the clear shells slightly textured plastic.
The NES Can Speak! (Big Birds Hide and Speak) MN12BIRD 2022-08-30 | I remember my Sister renting this game back when it came out and thinking it was actually pretty cool because of all the clear speech. Not something you typically hear from an NES game (or even the SNES!) and all this somehow fits into a 384KB ROM (apx 3 Megabit)
This Wonderboy Collection Kinda SUCKS! MN12BIRD 2022-08-23 | WTF were they thinking? Having a limited edition is one thing but stripping out MAJOR games from a series collection like this is just wrong. Not to mention all the versions of the game (Master System vs Arcade etc) means in some cases I'm not getting the game I want at all! This went too far to make an exclusive for Strictly Limited as it should have been more important to preserve and celebrate the series rather than make a rare limited game for collectors to pay more for. Feels like I got ripped off and not even monetarily speaking as yeah, this did cost less but I got ripped off out of celebrating the series that many Sega fans adore.
F-14B Tomcat in MSFS2020 MN12BIRD 2022-08-20 | I bought the F-14A/B Tomcat for MSFS2020 recently as there was a sale on many of the jets in game. It still ended up costing like $35 or so IIRC but it was at least a little cheaper than usual and it was worth it for such an awesome plane.
Zelda Themed IPS GBA Build MN12BIRD 2022-08-16 | Turned out a treat. The GBA originally had a questionable power switch but seems like a cleaning fixed that issue. The yellow aftermarket membranes feel great to my surprise and overall the fit and finish on the shell is great. I really like this one. So much in fact that I almost want to keep it for myself!
Resident Evil 3 Remake (RE Humble Bundle!) MN12BIRD 2022-08-13 | Taking a quick look at the Resident Evil 3 Remake on PC that I got from the Resident Evil Humble Bundle (10+ games for under $40 CAD!)Game is running at 1440p Native (no FSR/Scaling etc) with everything set to High. The game runs much better when I'm not recording as is sometimes the case on games where I don't use V-Sync or any kind of fixed framerate. My monitor is Freesync 170Hz so I typically turn off V-Sync. Playing the game half the time recording and half not recording the AMD drivers are saying the game has been running at 90 FPS average. Since that's an average over the time I've been playing it's possible it was higher while not recording and lower when recording. So I'm not really sure what my actual frame rate is when playing the game. The game does have that narrow FOV and slow mouse response (by default) as all the modern Resident Evil games. Turning up mouse sensitivity in these games is always a must otherwise they feel way too slow.Edit: After playing for over 3.5 hours my average FPS is 80 so it's lower than I thought but still perfectly fine. I'm really loving the game a lot more than I thought I was going to.
Damned Cold is Too Damned F*@KN Hard! (but a solid game for those who want a REAL challenge) MN12BIRD 2022-08-09 | Damned Cold was developed by Unlikely Rouge (AKA My Co-worker!) and it's a hard as balls twin stick shooter with some roguelike (random item spawns) and stealth elements. The game is SUPER hardcore, very challenging and will push anyone's patience. But I honestly think it's a solid design. The level and enemy AI can be fun at times and the premise is great. The game is hard and it's hard on purpose. One hit deaths and no save points, no check points. It's get shot and start all over. and over. and over. and over...The game will be a treat for anyone who likes a serious challenge. So is anyone up for it?store.steampowered.com/app/543720/Damned_ColdMy co-worker has no idea I'm making this video. I'm just thinking that maybe if a few people buy the game it will be a pleasant surprise for him. But again don't buy the game if you don't think you'll like it. This game is seriously hardcore!
Testing Doom Eternal (RX 5600 XT) (1440p High) MN12BIRD 2022-08-04 | Playing Doom External for the first time on my PC. Native 1440p (no adaptive scaling, RSR etc) everything set to High except shadow detail is Ultra. Running at apx 100FPS average, higher indoors! Not bad for an RX 5600 XT but this is a very well optimized game.
My Retrobrite DMG Just 3 Years Later! MN12BIRD 2022-08-02 | The first (and only) item I've even done a Retrobrite to (and the first DMG I ever modded!) has really yellowed again just 3 years later and this has been stored out of any sunlight for most of the time.
Better Than Link to the Past? (I finally beat Links Awakening!) MN12BIRD 2022-07-26 | I recently beat Links Awakening on Nintendo Switch and it's the first time I've beat this game. I gotta say overall I absolutely loved this game. The world, level design and powerups feel very similar to Link to the Past and the modern graphics and controls really help the game feel new. There are still some parts of the game that are a little too vague and I did cheat (looked up hints online) a few times but for the most part, especially the dungeons, I wanted to go through the game on my own.
Midtown Looks Awesome in Stray (RX 5600 XT) (1440p High) MN12BIRD 2022-07-22 | Midtown. Now this is what I'm talking about! Lots of neon signs and wet streets to reflect them. Glorious! Running at native 1440p (upscaled to 4k) on High. There is no Ultra in this game, high is the highest setting.Beat the game in about 6.5h (I knew it wouldn't be super long) but it holds your attention the whole way through. Not to mention for such a small developer to craft this much detail into a world. The fact everything has been perfectly placed exactly where you want to see it. Like they wanted you get up close with everything so every detail had to be perfect. The world was just so perfectly crafted as was the story. The gameplay is mostly exploring, talking to characters and finding items to trade or use in the correct circumstance. But there's a little bit of action. You get a kind of powerful UV flashlight that kills the face hugger type enemies that will swarm you. Typically you can outrun them or shake them off if one or two grab on to you. But too many grab you and they'll take you down. The flashlight kills them if you point it at them but it overheats VERY fast and so can only be used in short bursts. When if overheats you have to wait for it to cool back down before you can use it again. There's also a lot of MGS style stealth segments where you have to avoid being detected by the police drones. They will one shot kill you if they see you! That said the game is not really an action game and that's fine. I think most of you would have expected this. What action there is though is fun and usually over with quickly as you proceed back to traversing to your goal. The game was not a full price game either ($36 CAD at launch on Steam) so it was somewhat expected that it wasn't going to be a 20+ hour game or anything. Again, the story, pace and world/atmosphere is superb.
Wonder Boy The Dragons Trap on Game Gear Rules! MN12BIRD 2022-07-19 | Wonder Boy III The Dragons Trap was originally released for the Sega Master System in 1989 and continued in the Action RPG style of the 2nd game. This time with multiple characters to unlock all with their own unique abilities that will get them to areas on the map other characters can't get to. The game was ported to the Game Gear in Japan and Europe in 1993 but never saw release in North America. I only recently learned of its existence thanks to a Wonder Boy article in the latest issue of Retro Gamer magazine. From what I gather it's not a direct port of the SMS version either with some level design changes being make to better suite the smaller resolution/cropped viewport. The Game Gear version is very colorful with large sprites, good music, tight controls and overall is a great showing on Sega's little portable.
PC is OFF! (turn on ErP) MN12BIRD 2022-07-14 | I've always hated how my keyboard (and other devices) stays lit up when the computer is off. Today I'm going to fix it and show you how.
Playing Silent Hill on Duckstation MN12BIRD 2022-07-12 | Running in Duckstation with Vulkan at 6x scale (1440p*) widescreen. playing with a Bluetooth Xbox One controller.*Video was only recoded at 1080p but game was running at 1440p
Will Faster RAM Improve iGPU performance? (HTPC Upgrade) MN12BIRD 2022-07-07 | I've always wanted to upgrade the RAM in my HTPC as I've said 2,400MHz is less than ideal for an AMD APU like my Ryzen 2200G. So today I picked up 16GB of DDR4 3,200MHz. I knew that the Ryzen 2200G may not be able to run 3,200MHz but figured it could probably manage 3,000MHz. The store didn't have any 3,000MHz in stock so this was the cheapest thing next to 3,600MHz (and even that was only a few bucks more!) Truth is it did make a noticeable difference. Just not as much of one as I expected. Perhaps my expectations were too high? I will admit the 2200G ran TR better than I was expecting even with the old RAM! I partially underestimated the APU while overestimating how old this game really is. While we only saw a small performance gain I need to remind myself this was mainly a test of RAM speeds and not capacity. I did also double my RAM from 8GB to 16GB here and that has made a bigger difference in other metrics.On top of the RAM upgrade I also considered upgrading the CPU to a Zen 3 based Ryzen 5 5600G. The price has really come down on these Zen 3 processors lately but looking into it more the graphics performance isn't that much better than what I have. The CPU performance certainly is much faster (newer cores, more cores) but the Vega based iGPU is really just bump in clockspeed basically. So I decided to skip on that CPU upgrade for now. Maybe in the future when RDNA based desktop APU's are available I'll consider upgrading but for now it's not worth it for the tiny bump in iGPU performance. Like I said small performance gains aside the 2200G here did perform better in TR than I initially thought. So I have decided to play it a little more and I ended up having more fun than I expected! This is the first time I've played a TR reboot using a game controller (using a SNES style 8bitdo SN30 pro) and while I can't aim quite as fast/easily as I can with a mouse it's still fun running around, jumping, drawing the bow etc using the controller. I've played all 3 TR reboots on my main gaming PC using a KB/Mouse setup but again never played them using a controller. Perhaps I should play more older games on the HTPC!
Mortal Kombat Arcade Edition Attract Mode MN12BIRD 2022-07-05 | Mortal Kombat Arcade Edition is a ROM patch for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive version of Mortal Kombat. The patch doubles the ROM size of the game from 16 Megabits to 32 Megabits vastly improving the amount and quality of audio samples and visuals making this quite possibly the definitive 16-bit era port of the Arcade game! The Sega-CD version still has more animation frames (this can be seen in the character stance animations at the very least) but this version has no loading times and better audio samples.
Feature or Design Flaw (Im going on Vacation!) MN12BIRD 2022-07-03 | Going on Vacation to the UK for 10 days and Im super excited as it's my first time outside of NA in my life! Bought this tiny travel plug adapter and noticed something funny about it. Anyway that's all for now see ya later!
Steel Talons: Full 3D Attack Heli Sim on Sega Genesis! MN12BIRD 2022-06-28 | Steel Talons was a sit-in arcade machine from Atari in 1991 that used the same board/hardware as Hard Drivin' and was ported to the Sega Genesis by Polygames the following year.
Ducky One 2 SF MX Blue + Epomaker XDA Profile Keycaps MN12BIRD 2022-06-21 | Replacing my Redragon Chinese blue switch TKL keyboard (with Corsair keycaps and o-rings) with a Ducky One 2 SF with Cherry MX Blue switches and Epomaker XDA profile keycaps in 1979 vintage computing BROWN! I really like the way this turned out. The aesthetics fit me much better and it feels and sounds great. I kinda like the fact it's a %65 with dedicated arrow keys, page up/down and del. While the keycaps don't have transparent fonts (the RGB doesn't shine through the letters/numbers) that's fine as I don't actually look at my keyboard while typing anyway.
More Than You Can Afford Pal - Ferrari Circuit Challenge PP700 (GT7 Base PS4 Upscaled to 4k) MN12BIRD 2022-06-19 | Manual Transmission, no visual aids (race line, brake zone etc), Traction Control set down to 1. 2006 Ferrari F430 tuned to just below PP700.
Watching a GBA commercial on a GBA! MN12BIRD 2022-06-17 | Fairly high quality. I ripped the commercial off Youtube and cropped it to the proper aspect ratio for the GBA before converting it to a ROM.Link to the ROM file if you want to download it onto your own flashcart or just try watching it in an emulator...drive.google.com/file/d/12SgWpF99fAFzRHw3wUdPl2mxS0ItHQzh/view?usp=sharingHere is a link to the instructions I used to convert a video into a GBA ROM file. It's actually not that hard just follow these steps...gbatemp.net/threads/guide-how-to-convert-youtube-videos-to-game-boy-advance-rom-files.520954
New Way to Watch YouTube on the Go? (Wulff Den GBC FMV) MN12BIRD 2022-06-11 | Wulff Den recently did a video about FMV on the GMC and managed to compress his ~15 minute YouTube video into 3x 3MB ROM files that you can download and run on a real GBC!Check out his video for more info!youtube.com/c/WulffDen
Road Avenger was a Fun FMV Rental (Road Blaster Sega CD) MN12BIRD 2022-06-07 | Road Blaster was a Laserdisc based FMV game released in the Arcades in 1985. 8 years later it was ported to the Sega CD under the name Road Avenger (in North America at least) as there was already an Atari game called Road Blasters here. This is one of the many Sega CD games (along with the system itself) that I rented back in the day and it was impressive to see the hand drawn animation moving around the screen to the awesomely cheesy theme song with vocal lyrics! I remember hooking the Sega-CD systems audio into my parents Technics receiver and cranking the music impressing class mates from school who came over to see the game. Yes it was still an impressive game to see in 1993 (must have been REALLY impressive in the arcades in 1985!) but did you want to buy it at full price?
Castlevania II: Belmonts Revenge MN12BIRD 2022-05-31 | Checking out Castlevania II for Game Boy. For the longest time I didn't even know there were Castlevania games on Game Boy. The first one has a few major issues that were fixed in the second one. Overall not a bad game at all with great graphics and great music too!
Getting Intimate with the Q5 IPS GBC MN12BIRD 2022-05-25 | Let's take a closer look at the system, the quality of the shell, buttons and the screen while playing both GBC and GB games.
The Retro Pixel 2.0 Q5 IPS Display for GBC is Glorious! MN12BIRD 2022-05-17 | Bought all the parts from Retro Modding shipped from within Canada so for me the shipping was fast and affordable! The screen is amazing! Easy to install with the matching shell requires no cutting or aligning the display. Just drop it in and go! The aftermarket buttons feel good too (with a D-Pad spacer) and the whole thing came together very nicely.
Dont Underestimate the Ford Focus RS! (GT7 Base PS4 Upscaled to 4K) MN12BIRD 2022-05-13 | 4 door, 4 banger? Yep, and I beat the World Touring Car 600 Championship in this car! The car will change direction on lift off quickly and the AWD system is rear bias so it will oversteer a little powering out of corners. I like it! This one is at 421 HP so it's not fully tuned on power (stock turbo) but it has all the bolt ons, suspension and brake upgrades you'd expect. Sounds great with racing exhaust (burble burble pop) and while I could tune it for more power I think it's perfect right here! Oh, it also has Nitrous because... well it's basically cheating since it doesn't increase PP even though it gives you more power when you need it on the straights! Again, I came in 1st overall in the WTC 600 Championship (Menu Book 33) with this car.
Checking Out Doom II and Duke Nukem Advance (and More) on GBA MN12BIRD 2022-05-10 | Just checking out some games on my GBA using my EZ Flash IV flashcart now that it's running better with a bigger/brand name mircoSD card I have more games to try on it.
AMD Fanboy Builds a Budget Intel PC! MN12BIRD 2022-05-03 | Budget Intel PC build for a very basic user (no gaming, no video editing, basic daily use web browsing etc) Intel Core i5 10500 6-core/12-thread processor (with iGPU)Gigabyte B560M DS2H V2 mATX MotherboardT-Force VulkanZ 16GB (8GBx2) DDR4 3,200MHz RAMWD Blue SN570 500GB NVMe M.2 Gen3 3500MBs SSDCorsair CX650M 650 Watt 80+ Bronze Semi-Modular PSUDeepcool Matrexx 30 mATX Tempered Glass case While some aspects ended up in slight over-kill territory it all came down to pricing and availability. AMD no longer makes 4-core APU's like the 3200G and 3400G meaning the cheapest APU they currently sell is the Ryzen 5 5600G at apx $280 CAD! Intel does still make 4-core APU's in the Core i3 lineup however they can sometimes be a little harder to get in stock. This Core i5 10500 was a great price and while we don't need 6-cores it was $100 cheaper than the 5600G would have cost. Sometimes Intel actually is the cheaper option these days! AMD prices since Zen3 (5000 series) are typically HIGHER than the equivalent Intel. Don't believe me just compare the best AMD Ryzen 9 5950X to the Intel Core i9 12900K. They're both 16 cores, the Intel is typically FASTER and costs $200 CAD less! Things have really flipped around the last several years haven't they? That said I'm still an AMD fan (not actually a fanboy) myself. There are certain things they can claim best at. The 5600G may cost more but the integrated graphics are MUCH faster than the equivalent Intel. The Core i9 12900K may be cheaper than the Ryzen 9 5950X but strictly for gaming the Ryzen 7 5800X3D for example comes very close in most games, even beating it in others (like MSFS2020 for example!) There are simply setups where Intel is better in some cases and AMD may be better in others. Depending on the price range and if it's mostly for Gaming or productivity. The fact is AMD and Intel as far as performance goes are closer now than they've been in over a decade! You can't really go wrong with either these days.
Segas Outrun on Nintendo Switch MN12BIRD 2022-04-26 | Done by M.2 so you know it's going to be a good conversion. Very good port of the Arcade with some extra display options, custom control options, difficulty options and some new music too!
Titanic: Honor and Glory is an Impressive Looking Unreal Engine WIP MN12BIRD 2022-04-23 | www.titanichg.comThis is a very cool WIP project to build a lifelike 3D Titanic to explore. The devs want to eventually add VR support and turn it into a simple walking simulator of sorts with lots of areas to explore. So far the demo is already looking great! Oh and it's not too big to download (~11.6GB), doesn't require any install (unzip and run the exe!) and even supports RTX Ray Tracing if you have a capable GPU. It's definitely worth checking out!
Nuby LightBoy and Magnifier for GameBoy Dont Suck! MN12BIRD 2022-04-19 | Niether of these items suck as bad as I remember or imagined. The light actually works great all things considered back in the day it would let you play your GameBoy in the dark. I had one since they came out and remember not liking it but looking at it now I'm not sure if that was just because I rarely had extra batteries to spare? Yeah, the thing takes 4x AA's on top of the GameBoy! I'm thinking it's possible that I just didn't have enough batteries to use it very much. Heck, maybe I did use it more than I remember? The magnifier on the other hand I think if anything back in the day it would have just blocked what little light was already getting to the screen and gotten in the way more than anything. But on a modern IPS modded GameBoy today it actually looks really sharp!
