Gnome's Lair

Apr 7, 2007

Proper SEGA Dreamcast emulation

Ahh, yes, the SEGA Dreamcast mentioned one more time... Lovely. Only this time, it's PC owners with retro gaming tendencies that should be more appreciative of this humblest of posts, as it's not about any newly announced Dreamcast shmup, homebrew game or the latest version of ScummVM DC. No, not at all. It's about having the Dreamcast properly emulated on your PC. It's about the release of nullDC v.1.0.0, the best freeware Dreamcast emulator mankind has ever known.

You can freely download nullDC here and expect it to run many commercial games, but know that you will also need the Dreamcast bios and flash files (dc_bios.bin and dc_flash.bin). If you own an actual console, here's how to extract said files. Otherwise, a nice google search will definitely come in handy. Oh, and don't forget to rename dc_bios.bin to dc_boot.bin, for such are the whims of nullDC.

Apr 5, 2007

Nintendo NES online 8-bit love

From the geniuses that brought us the brilliant Commodore 64 C64s online retro gaming treasure trove (already mentioned here) and based on the excellent vNES NES/Famicom web emulator, here comes the utterly fantastic... (drum roll, tadah, etc) Nintendo8. It's a brilliantly presented site offering you the chance to play tons of classic Nintendo games for free, while conveniently browsing for pr0n. Visit it here and avoid wasting those overpriced Wii VC points.

Apr 4, 2007

Necromanthus Web Warcraft

Warcraft II and Diablo were the games that put Blizzard on the map and subsequently helped create the monster that is World of Warcraft. Now, instead of paying monthly fees for a glorified chatroom or hopelessly trying to get a free WoW trial, why not play a free online web based version of Warcraft? Why not indeed. Just click here and expect a fine little RTS somewhere between the original Warcraft and Warcraft II.

Related @ Gnome's Lair: Lone Wolf gamebooks, Goldeneye: Source, Decker, Advanced Strategic Command

Related Tags: Warcraft, Blizzard, Free game, Freeware, Warcraft II, RTS, Web games, Video games, Strategy, Free, Games, Game

Apr 3, 2007

SMILE, it's Super Metroid

Super Metroid was more than a class act. It was an absolute classic. An atmospheric, extremely detailed, ridiculously addictive and masterfully designed game, that -according to countless gnomes- can easily be characterized as the best game the Super NES had to offer. But, surely, there's no point ranting on. You retro obsessed humans know all about Super Metroid, don't you?

What might be of interest though, is SMILE, the Super Metroid Integrated Level Editor, which ...err... let's you edit levels and create some brand new ones all by yourselves. Apparently tinker with items, weapons, sprites and backgrounds too. Download SMILE here and have a look at more Super Metroid goodies here.

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened Walkthrough

Haven't gotten round to reviewing Sherlock Holmes: The Awakend (official site) yet, but I can assure you it's a very interesting, very atmospheric Sherlock meets Cthulhu adventure game with a frustrating first person interface and a some pretty annoying puzzles. Then again, who needs a gnome or an easy game when both Adventure Gamers and Eurogamer have bothered publishing excellent reviews of the thing, while Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened walkthroughs are already available at Softpedia and Gameboomers. Ah, yes, the beauty of the Internet.

Apr 2, 2007

Museum Monday #52

Monday, and I'm pretty sure someone pressed the diarrhea button in the great arsehole up there. Other than that, things can only get worse, dreaded Easter is already here and Gamebrink unearthed some wonderful Nintendo Museum treasures ranging from Nintendo's first video game console, to Gunpei Yokoi designed toys, to early Mario concept sketches, to the brilliant but flawed Virtual Boy. Have a look (then click here for more):