Tim Lapetino is the author of one of my absolute favorite video game art/history books, Art of Atari (read my effusive post about that book in the link). Announced on Pac-Man’s 40th birthday (under the tentative name 40 Years of Waka-Waka), his and Arjan Terpstra’s follow-up project, Pac-Man: Birth of an Icon, was published a little over two years ago by Cook & Becker, purveyors of luxurious video game-based art books and prints. Though I pre-ordered it and received it upon its release, due to my regrettable lack of free time it’s only been just recently that I have finally had a chance to sit down and read it. I am happy to report that by all standards, Lapetino and Terpstra have once again knocked it out of the park.
Continue reading “Gamers’ Library: Pac-Man: Birth of an Icon”
For most of my life, I’ve chased one seemingly simple goal: 100,000 points on Galaga.
Continue reading “Attainable Goals”
If Space Invaders turning 40 two years ago didn’t make you feel old, how about today? It’s Pac-Man’s 40th birthday!
For a couple months now, I’ve seen cans of Red Bull with Pac-Man on them. Not being a Red Bull drinker, I thought it was interesting, but didn’t pay it any mind, really. But today my curiosity finally got the best of me, and I really got to wondering: what is going on here, and more importantly, why? Continue reading “Pac-Man gets Bullish”
This is the second in the series of Arcade Road Trip 2018 blog entries about a day-long trip I took to three modern video arcades in the midwest on August 2, 2018.
UPDATE: Since I last visited, Level 257 has changed its name to Pac-Man Entertainment.
Located in Schaumburg, Illinois, Level 257 is a Pac-Man-themed concept restaurant/arcade/entertainment venue owned and operated by Namco. I’d been wanting to check it out ever since it opened years ago (I can’t remember or find an exact date, but I recall hearing about it opening), but I didn’t want to drive 3 hours to the Chicago area just for that; I was hoping to tack it onto a trip for some other reason. Well, my visit to Galloping Ghost gave me the perfect opportunity.
As you classic gaming nerds have probably already guessed, Level 257’s name is inspired by Pac-Man’s “kill screen” that occurs at the 256th level. Apparently, after level 256, there’s food and booze and bowling and videogames, because that’s what you’ll find at Level 257. Continue reading “Level 257: Om-Nom-Namco”
I just realized that almost my entire PlayStation Portable library is retro game remakes and collections. Continue reading “Um”
Retro Game SuperHyper 