While we had a previous poll and some thoughts and speculation on the next Xbox here at Armchair Arcade (among many other thoughts from staff and other commenters), it's now time to discuss the reality from today's #XboxReveal, with Microsoft the last of the three to play its next generation hand. As you no doubt already know, Nintendo's Wii U is struggling mightily, while Sony's PS4 has a lot of positive buzz so far and will be released around the same time as the new Xbox (Xbox One). With all that said, let's take a look at what was just unveiled.

I'm back this week with part three of my interview with Neal Hallford, designer of Betrayal at Krondor. In this installment, we chat about why Ron Gilbert's Cavedog company failed followed by a discussion of Neal's book Swords & Circuitry, the best-ever guide to creating your own computer role-playing games.

Download the mp4 here.
Sadly, Neal's Thief of Dreams kickstarter failed, but a third party has emerged to back him anyway.

I was recently invited to be a guest on TPG Cast with Adam Ames and Phil Cordaro, and though Adam sadly had to miss, Phil and I had a great discussion on how I got started with Matt Chat, academic gaming, DRM, where the industry is headed, and much more. These guys are a hoot, so please check out their other episodes if you like this one.

Well after a long time (longer for many!!) Sturmwind arrived today. Certainly from the off- the hype around how this game looks seems to be well deserved - particularly when played through the VGA box. It isn't full screen - I guess the hardware - now getting on really - needs some help - but the borders are small - not really an issue.

On May 10th I got the chance to take a look at the soon to be available TEK807D Android Gaming Handheld. I take a look at the JXD S7300 and the Archos Gamepad for comparison and show what's better in this new TEK807D device. This video is a hardware overview and a look at the specs as well as seeing the device in action in a sneak preview of it. It is going to be sold in various places in the world under a different brand name. Yet inside the device is the same. Sellers can brand the unit and customize how the specs are. Like a rear viewing camera, battery size etc. It's expected to launch in Europe this summer for €150 or under $200 US.
Read more about the hardware specs below.

Just took delivery of a Japanese N64. I've been putting this off for some time. The plan is to upgrade those PAL games that got butchered in PAL (M64, MK64, Pilotwings, Waverace64) and others that got some PAL optimisation but are still slower and it is significant (e.g. F Zero X).

In my second installment of my interview with Neal Hallford, we chat about his masterpiece, Betrayal at Krondor. Famous among CRPG aficionados for its epic story and superb writing, BaK is set in the fantasy world of Raymond E. Feist. Unfortunately, Neal did such a great job mimicking Feist's style that many people wrongly assume that it was Feist who penned the game script! The interview also covers why a proper sequel to the game was never made.

Download the mp4.

Amiga Forever DesktopHot on the heels of Amiga Forever Essentials for Android, Cloanto has just released the latest "2013" versions of their popular and easy-to-use Amiga Forever and C64 Forever emulators. This is great news for old and new fans of the greatest Commodore platforms, including all versions of the Amiga series (inclusive of the CDTV and CD32), and most of the 8-bit line, including PET, VIC 20, C-64/128, and C-16/Plus4. Around here, it's among our absolute favorite emulation packages and used as pack-ins with various devices, including the MCC, so you know it has to be great.

The full press release details are below, along with all the links to the various packages available: