The Upper Memory Block Podcast

Greetings Blockers!

This week we travel back to World War I with the great 1990 Dynamix/Sierra combat flight sim, Red Baron.

Before we get to that, it’s news time:

GameTrailers.com is reporting that the original Wasteland will be included with the upcoming Wasteland 2. Pre-orders are available from the developer’s site.

The Steam Summer Sale is on! Lots of great deals to be had here including quite a few games I’ve covered on the podcast. It runs until July 22nd socheck it out while it lasts.

Finally on to the main topic, Red Baron. As usual, I talk genre, story, gameplay, tech specs and a bit of development story. I also inadvertently provide a lesson on the basic mechanics of flight!

Download Red Baron for free from Wings of Honour.

Buy the Red Baron Pack on GoG.com.

Next week, by popular demand, we return to 1995 to talk about the Descent series by Parallax Software. Hope to see you then!

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/009-UMBCast-Red-Baron.mp3

Hey Blockers!

Time for episode 8, where I talk all about the long-lived Command and Conquer series. But, first things first, a bit of news:

GoG.com has begun selling Telltale games titles. Telltale has done some great work in continuing on some great older adventure franchises like Monkey Island and Sam & Max.

Also, I was able to get my new Roland MT-32 and give you my thoughts on it thus far.

Then on to the main topic, Westwood Studios’ 1995 game: Command and Conquer. I run down the usual suspects (genre, gameplay, plot, dev story) and also talk about a few followup games in the series.

Download the Command and Conquer for free (legally, I promise!)

Buy Command and Conquer: The First Decade on EA Origin or Amazon.

Stay tuned for the next show where we travel back to World War I in Red Baron.

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/008-UMBCast-Command-and-Conquer.mp3

Hail blockers!

It’s time for episode 7! This time around we’re talking Wolfenstein 3D.

But first we talk some news: Both the SpaceVenture and Tex Murphy Kickstarters have funded, but they are both trying to make their stretch goals. Check them out if you haven’t already.

I played through the Space Quest 2 remake from Infamous Adventures. The creators of this remake have a kickstarter named Quest for Infamy, who’s goal is to create a new game in the spirit of the Quest for Glory series.

Then we get to Wolfenstein 3D. As usual, we talk about the genre, story (such as it is), gameplay and the development story. I then read a listener e-mail and I decide if the game holds up today.

Next week, get ready for some RTS action with Command and Conquer!

Listen and enjoy!

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/007-UMBCast-Wolfenstein-3D.mp3

Hey there blockers! It’s yet again time for another show!

This week, something a little bit different. Instead of covering a specific game, we’re gonna get techie and discuss some ways to play all these great old games I’ve been covering on our modern, ultra-fast, multi-core gaming rigs.

But first, some news. I follow up once again on both the Tex Murphy and SpaceVenture kickstarters. Check em out and give your support if you think they’re worthwhile! Also, the E3 show has been going on this week where trailers were released for the next SimCity and the new X-COM: Enemy Unknown game in development.

I wanted to let everyone know about The Blackwell Bundle, a cool adventure series done in the style of classic VGA adventure games that I’ve been playing since the last show. Check it out!

The main topic for the week is how to get old games running well on modern systems. We cover some background, what difficulties we encounter trying to get this all running. Then I start the discussion of emulation, define what it is and where it’s used. I then get into details of two different applications that are used to run DOS games in emulation, DOSBox and ScummVM.

Finally we listen to an audio comment from Dan where he talks about his experience with retro gaming and DOS emulation on iOS.

That’s that! Enjoy the show and see you all next time when we talk about Wolfenstein 3D!

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/006-UMBCast-Emulation.mp3

Greetings Blockers!

Welcome to episode 5! This week I’ve got a big topic to cover, the Space Quest series by Sierra Online!

Since we have six games to cover in a single show, the news is quick this time: Firstly, Jane Jensen’s kickstarter funded, exceeding their 300,000 dollar goal. Secondly, I came across news of a Tex Murphy kickstarter. Tex Murphy isn’t a game series I played, but go check out their project page if you’re interested!

We then get into the main topic, the Space Quest series. I cover how Sierra’s adventure game paradigm differs from the LucasArts one we already covered and then I get into Space Quest’s development story. The bulk of the show is going through each of the six games talking about plot, technology and some fun facts and features of each.

I play a great audio comment from Rick Moyer where he interviews a friend that he used to play Space Quest with. Thanks Rick!

With regard to the future of the Space Quest series I talk about the new SQ2 remake and remind everyone about the Two Guys kickstarter.

To close out the show, I came across a really great cover medley of Space Quest 4 music by Brandon Blume, you can go grab it and see his other work at his site, http://brandonblume.com/ and his YouTube channel.

Next week: A bit of a different show, I won’t be covering a game. I’m going to talk about ways to get old games working on modern systems. General talk about virtualization, DOSBox, ScummVM, etc. Should be interesting! Hope to see you!

Buy Space Quest on GOG or Steam.

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/005-UMBCast-Space-Quest.mp3

Hey there Blockers!

Welcome to episode 4. This time we’re looking at our first turn-based strategy game series, X-Com.

To start, the news: Two Kickstarter projects that have come out since the last show. The first one belongs to Jane Jensen, of Gabriel Knight fame. The second is huge news for me as it’s being put on by the creators of Space Quest! Check it out, it’s looking pretty cool. I update everyone on the DOS gaming box project and finally we listen to a voicemail about last show’s topic, SimCity.

Then, the main topic: 1994’s X-Com: UFO Defense (a.k.a. UFO: Enemy Unknown). We cover all the usual suspects for this unique game, story, gameplay, graphics/sound, development story and some opinions about the first game and the series in general.

Hope you all enjoy!

Next week, a much-demanded topic: Space Quest!

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/004-UMBCast-X-Com.mp3

Hello Blockers!

Episode 3 is here! The big discussion topic this week is Maxis’ groundbreaking game series, SimCity. Before we get into that I talk a little bit about my half-marathon training and my resultant sore legs. Then on to a bit of news, I revisit the Larry Kickstarter which has now reached its funding goal, give you guys some details about finding the podcast on Stitcher Radio and finally cover what’s going on with my DOS gaming box build.

Then we get to our main topic, SimCity! We discuss the genre and the history of both the original game and SimCity 2000. We then do a quick review of SC2000, listen to my very first voicemail and much more! I hope you enjoy.

Thanks for downloading and stay tuned for the next show where we’ll talk about the great strategy game, X-Com: UFO Defense.

Stream the show live:

Direct download:
http://umbcast.com/podcast/003-UMBCast-SimCity.mp3