Just in time for Christmas!

Armchair Arcade is proud to present a spanking new game from Matt Barton: Thrust Lifter!
Download Thrust_Lifter.zip

Thrust LifterSpace. For most people, it's just an abstract concept, like Hollywood or an honest politician. For you, it's a day job. Sure, you won't find "rescuing trapped space miners" on your resume, but that's because you don't have a resume. You're known in this galaxy simply as "The Captain." Most folks think you're a hero. Others think you're just plain nuts. But one thing's for sure--they all call YOU when it's a matter of life or death.

You see, mining has never been the safest occupation, but multiply it by ten--make it a a hundred--when you're talking space mining. The rewards are great, but so is the danger. When all you've got is a half centimeter of neoprene-coated nylon between you and vacuum, though, it's nice to know that someone like you is up there watching your butt.

It's never been easy, but I don't have to tell you that, Captain. But now we're getting reports of unidentified flying objects in sector 42--aliens, if you can believe it. All the other pilots are too spooked to even enter the sector. I need you go there, Captain, and rescue those Chilenoids. Get'em out of the tunnels and mountains and bring them back to their home base.

I suspect this is a one-way mission, Captain. So I'll just say goodbye, and it's been an honor serving with you.

Sincerely,

Admiral Blount

Thrust Lifter is a game of timing and precision. Guide your lander into narrow tunnels, avoiding collisions with walls, fires, lava, electricity, and all manner of aliens. Get to the Chilenoids before they run out of oxygen and bring them back to the home pad before taking off to your next destination.

Features:

• 15 beautiful, massive levels for you to navigate
• Five original songs composed by Matt Barton with keyboards and real electric guitar
• Amazing fire, lightning, and particle effects
• Sprites built from 3D graphics made with Blender
• Two boss fights
• Compete to finish levels in the shortest time
• High score list

What the heck are you waiting for? Download it right here from Armchair Arcade today!
Thrust_Lifter.zip
If you like the game, please purchase a registered copy--starting at only two bucks!

Dungeons & Dragons: Order of the Griffon for the NEC TurboGrafx-16 (via Retro Uprising)I'd like to provide the latest update to my list of working emulator and simulator sites for various platforms and games. All of these enable play directly within your browser, so there's no sticky business of downloading software and finding the necessary game files to get it all going. These are all great sites and we should all show our support. This is the "December 2011" edition of the list and, naturally, I'd love to keep adding to it, so suggest away. Here goes:

• 2600online.com - Play various Atari 2600 Video Computer Systems games
• Another World (aka, Out of this World; 1991)
• Armchair Arcade - Our own hosted simulations
• Atari.com - Play select Atari 2600 and Atari arcade favorites
• BBC Micro News - Parrot - News stories and a speech synthesizer directly from a cluster of BBC Micros
• c64s.com - Play various Commodore 64 games
• Classic Atari games on IGN
• Spacewar! (1962) emulation
• First-Person Tetris (NES version)
• Freearcade.com (Scott Adams section) - Play various Scott Adams/Adventure International text adventures
• Google Pac-Man - The popular browser-based re-imagining of the classic arcade game
• Play Halo 2600 - Atari 2600 interpretation of the popular FPS
• Virtual GameBoy - Play a huge selection of GameBoy and GameBoy Color games
• JEMU - Emulate and play on the Acorn BBC Model B, Amstrad CPC464, Dick Smith VZ-300, Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48K, Sinclair ZX80, and Sinclair ZX81
• JPC x86 PC emulator - Play classic DOS games like DOOM and Linux demos
• JSGB - GameBoy emulator
• JSVecX - Play GCE/Milton Bradley Vectrex games in your browser
• Mocha - The Java Color Computer Emulator - Emulation of the Radio Shack Color Computer
• nintendo8.com - Play Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)/Famicom games
• Pica Pic - Play amazing simulations of classic LCD and related handhelds
• Play Infocom Adventures Online
• Retro Uprising - Play a wide range of videogame and computer systems (arcade, Atari, Coleco, Nintendo, Sega, etc.) in your browser and through a custom software interface
• Sandy White's Ant Attack
• Sarien.net - Play Sierra adventure games
• SC-3000 Survivors - Play Sega SC-3000/SG-1000 games
• Timex/Sinclair 1000 Emulator
• Virtual Apple 2 - Play Apple II and IIGS games
• Virtual Atari - Play Atari 2600 games
• vNES - Play Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)/Famicom games
• World's Biggest PAC-MAN - The World's Biggest PAC-MAN (really)

I'd like to provide the latest update to my list of working emulator/simulator sites for various videogame and computer platforms. All of these enable play directly within your browser, so there's no sticky business of downloading software and finding the necessary game files to get it all going. These are all great sites and we should all show our support. This is the "January 2011" edition of the list and, naturally, I'd love to keep adding to it, so suggest away. Here goes:

In episode 5 of the Armchair Arcade Radio podcast, Chip Hageman pointed out a great piece of software called 'Armalyte'. I ordered a copy and decided to check it out and capture it on video. Check it all out below.

Back by popular demand here at Armchair Arcade, we have Neave Frogger, Neave Asteroids, Neave Pacman, and Neave Tetris N-Blox for play directly in your Web browser! Just click on Games on the left-hand menu. All we ask in return is that you provide feedback and comments for the great content we provide, like Armchair Arcade Radio, and occasionally click on an ad or two (also see our special offers). Have fun!

Please enjoy these free games, courtesy of Armchair Arcade and Neave Games:

Thrust LifterThrust Lifter is a game of timing and precision. Guide your lander into narrow tunnels, avoiding collisions with walls, fires, lava, electricity, and all manner of aliens. Get to the Chilenoids before they run out of oxygen and bring them back to the home pad before taking off to your next destination. Features 15 beautiful levels and an original soundtrack, available as a separate download. If you like the game, purchase a registered copy.


Jeepney JeepersJeepney Jeepers is an homage to classics block-busting games like Arkanoid and Breakout but with a crazy twist! Blow up blocks, roast the invaders, rescue your fellow humans and--above all else--get to the last level and take on the awesome might of THE GORFINATOR. Collect upgrades and unleash the unbelievable block-busting power of the five-pronged MULTIBALL. Bust that crit bubble for the amazing SUPERBALL. Bounce up them balls as much as YOU want, no more, no less! If you have trouble downloading the game, try right-clicking on the link and use "save as." See the original announcement page for the game here.


MayhemMayhem is a combination platform and shoot'em up game that is playable in your browser. Shoot the aliens, snatch the power-ups, but don't fall to your death! Features destructible terrain, lots of power-ups, a variety of aliens, and of course, a menacing end-game boss. This game was made with Gamemaker HTML 5 edition. If you have issues with Firefox, try using a different browser or hit enter or space after clicking on the game window.

Neave Frogger | Neave Asteroids | Neave Pacman | Neave Tetris N-Blox

If you find these games of value, please consider supporting us by clicking on one of the advertisements or checking out our special offers.

I just saw this amazing video on Kotaku called "Making Metagun." It shows you exactly what went into making an entire game from scratch. Here's a link to the finished game, which is playable in a browser. As far as I can tell, it was built using Java and Eclipse.

Xbox Indie games are still not available in the Netherlands. It is unclear when they will be available in the Netherlands. Dutch Microsoft spokesman, Thijs van Doorn, says "...it is a matter of resources...". Probably they just don't think it is economically viable to pay for license fees in the small country of the Netherlands.

The same happened with the Video store not being available in the Netherlands. Of course there are a lot of games on the service not worth the download, but there are some gems that the Dutch are missing out on dearly.

Alcazar - The Forgotten Fortress
(Activision, 1985; ColecoVision)
via Retro UprisingI'd like to provide the latest update to my list of working emulator sites for various platforms. All of these enable play directly within your browser, so there's no sticky business of downloading software and finding the necessary game files to get it all going. These are all great sites and we should all show our support. This is the "July 2010" edition of the list and, naturally, I'd love to keep adding to it, so suggest away. Here goes:

* 2600online.com - Play various Atari 2600 Video Computer Systems games
* Another World (aka, Out of this World; 1991)
* Atari.com - Play select Atari 2600 and Atari arcade favorites
* BBC Micro News - Parrot - News stories and a speech synthesizer directly from a cluster of BBC Micros
* c64s.com - Play various Commodore 64 games
* First-Person Tetris (NES version)
* Freearcade.com (Scott Adams section) - Play various Scott Adams/Adventure International text adventures
* Google Pac-Man - The popular browser-based re-imagining of the classic arcade game
* JEMU - Emulate and play on the Acorn BBC Model B, Amstrad CPC464, Dick Smith VZ-300, Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48K, Sinclair ZX80, and Sinclair ZX81
* JSVecX - Play GCE/Milton Bradley Vectrex games in your browser
* nintendo8.com - Play Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)/Famicom games
* Play Infocom Adventures Online
* The Gallery of Zork - Play the Infocom games online
* Retro Uprising - Play a wide range of videogame and computer systems (arcade, Atari, Coleco, Nintendo, Sega, etc.) in your browser and through a custom software interface
* Sandy White's Ant Attack
* Sarien.net - Play Sierra adventure games
* SC-3000 Survivors - Play Sega SC-3000/SG-1000 games
* Timex/Sinclair 1000 Emulator
* Virtual Apple 2 - Play Apple II and IIGS games
* Virtual Atari - Play Atari 2600 games
* vNES - Play Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)/Famicom games
* ZX81 Software, Books and Hardware Collection - Play ZX81/Timex Sinclair 1000 games