Well, we're nearly into summer now and the blockbusters have already started arriving. Take this week, for example, which saw the release of two hotly-anticipated titles - - 007: First Light, and Mina the Hollower. The 007 game is, of course, IOI's uniquely talented take on a James Bond prequel; while Mina the Hollower represents Yacht Club's (long-awaited) love letter to Nintendo's popular late '90s handheld, the Game Boy Color. And those aren't the only recent heavy hitters.

Also out in the last two months, a new GoodFeel-developed Yoshi adventure (this time for the Switch 2); the 6th and latest (Japan-focused) installment to the ever popular Forza Horizon series, and an all new sci-fi action adventure from Housemarque that expands upon some of the concepts and gameplay elements from their 2021 hit, Returnal. Earn the number, then jump past the break to see more new releases from the last 9 weeks.

Though multiple versions of Neo-Geo mini consoles have been released over the last several years, now Austrian company, Plaion, has announced that something just a little more faithful is on the way. Apparently inspired by the popularity and success of their outstanding 2023 ‘70s throwback, the Atari 2600+, Plaion has decided to do the same thing for SNK’s mythical home arcade console. Dubbed the Neo-Geo AES+, the system will be an HDMI-ready 1:1 replica of the original early '90s gaming machine.

Like the Atari 2600+, the Neo-Geo AES+ will be fully compatible with all original cartridge titles, and Plaion has further announced that they will even be rereleasing physical versions of 10 legendary Neo-Geo classics, such as Metal Slug, Pulstar, The King of Fighters 2002, and Shock Troopers. The console will be available on November 12th of this year in classic black, as well as a new "Anniversary Edition" white. Though we, like most people at the time, couldn't even dream of affording the bonkers $650 price tag of the original hardware, the $250 starting price of the Advanced Entertainment System+ is sounding decidedly more palatable (especially these days). Jump past the break to see the announcement trailer for yourself.

In 1988, after helping to create such notable titles as Moon Patrol and Kung-Fu Master for Irem, and the original Street Fighter, for Capcom, Japanese game designer, Takashi Nishiyama, was invited to join the video game company, SNK. Soon after his arrival, he - - along with close SNK partner, Alpha Denshi Corporation - - would become involved in the development of a new form of arcade system for the two companies. In order to make arcade hardware more marketable in certain countries, Nishiyama came up with the idea of creating a system that could utilize interchangeable ROM cartridges, just like a home console.

Alpha Denshi would handle much of the development for the hardware, and would incorporate some fairly sophisticated sprite scaling capabilities into its design, as well as support for high-data cartridge sizes and (then) top of the line sound hardware. SNK would dub the arcade system the "Neo-Geo", and would release it, in both Japan and North America, on April 26, 1990. While single-slot machines were also sold, the more popular versions of the hardware came with multiple cartridge slots, allowing for game-switching between 2, 4, or even 6 different titles. For this reason, the Neo-Geo arcade system would also soon come to be known as the "Multi Video System", or "MVS" for short.

In addition to the arcade system, a television console with identical hardware specs, dubbed the "Advanced Entertainment System" or "AES", would also be released by SNK. Though it was initially only intended for rental purposes - - as SNK assumed that its incredibly high manufacturing cost would price it well out of the normal retail market range for home consoles - - in response to high demand, it was later made available for sale to the general public as well. While the AES wouldn't end up performing quite as well on the "home" front, largely owing to its (then) astronomically high retail price of $649.99 (US), the MVS would prove to be a fairly massive hit in the arcades - - and would also end up ushering in some of the most popular gaming franchises of the early to mid- 90s in the process. In honor of the anniversary of the Neo-Geo's North American debut, we have assembled a list of some of the most outstanding entries of those storied franchises - - in addition to the other greatest titles to have ever graced the platform - - which we proudly present to you below.

Well, we're three months into the year now and there's been a fairly steady flow of interesting new titles to play, in addition to a few re-released and/or reimagined classics. This past week saw the release of another Marvel collection, this one featuring an assortment of legendary beat 'em ups, including Konami's 1992 X-Men arcade smash hit; as well as multiple versions of Data East's 1991 arcade title, Captain America and the Avengers; and Acclaim's 1994 Spider-Man and Venom 16-bit console release, Maximum Carnage. For those not in the know, these were not only the greatest Marvel titles to come out of the first half of the '90s, but some of the greatest games of that era, period.

Also out in the past two months, a pretty epic-looking high fantasy action-adventure title from South Korean studio, Pearl Abyss; a Tribute-developed follow-up to the(ir) incredible 2010 beat 'em up, Scott Pilgrim vs the World (the game); and a scary-good new entry to the monster Resident Evil franchise. EXperience the definitive retro archive, then jump past the break to see more new releases from the last 8 weeks.

As per usual, the "Big 3" didn't wait long to get into 2026 before each hosting their own presentation featuring some of the biggest titles to look forward this year (and/or perhaps beyond). Also, as per usual, we are doing are due diligence and rounding up the highlights for ease of consumption. So please continue on below and take a gander at some of the most exciting, soon to be arriving titles that Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony would like for you to start getting pumped about.

Happy 2026! Well, its the end of January and the new releases are starting up again, now that the holidays are well behind us. Additionally, we have a few to add in that we never got to in December.

The big new release from this past week, however, would probably have to be the indie title, Cairn. A cel-shaded climbing sim/adventure game, Cairn looks to be one of the first great indie games of the year. And since we got it in January, 2026 looks to be shaping up pretty nicely so far.

Also out in the last 8 weeks: the latest installment to Falcom's long-running Legend of Heroes series; a PS5 (and 4) playable version of Namco's incredible PlayStation 2 classic, SoulCalibur III; and a small bundle of Final Fantasy GOG ports. Embark on the ascent of a lifetime, then jump past the break to see more new releases from the last 56 days.

Well, we vowed to get this year's Games of the Year article out much earlier than last year and we're actually delivering it even later, incredibly. Let's just say it's been a tough year and leave it at that. At least we've got a pretty decent article for you with some incredibly fantastic picks from 2024. And even though we know you can't really trust us at this point, we do solemnly swear that we will endeavor to have 2025's best-of list out in a much timelier fashion. In the meantime, please enjoy our picks for the 12 best titles that 2024 had to offer:

So, no Retrospectives this month  - - though we certainly provided plenty of them for you over the last several months. We do, however, have some Notable New Gaming Releases for you! Just in time to wrap up 2025, too.

This week saw the release of two titles that were surely on a number of gamers radars (they were certainly on ours) - - (Marvel) Cosmic Invasion and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. As you may know, Cosmic Invasion is a Marvel-themed beat 'em up from the incredibly talented crew over at Tribute (Games), the same studio that gave us the 2022 Game of the Year, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge. We don't know about you but Marvel x Tribute sounds like one heck of a combination! As for Metroid Prime 4, the game's been in development so long now that it would be pretty insane if it wasn't good - - but we're definitely looking forward to finding out, either way.

Also out in the last two months - - the equally highly-anticipated follow-up to Obsidian's fantastic 2019 hit, The Outer Worlds; and the first Pokemon title to appear on the Switch 2. A cosmic battle awaits! Jump past the break to see more new releases from the last 63 days.

Although the system boasted some truly fantastic titles, the Nintendo 64 was practically a master class in poor design and bad decision-making. For starters, it's system-standard three-handled controller was hands down the most ridiculously-designed piece of gaming hardware ever conceived by man. In addition to which, their decision to stick with the tried-and-true cartridge format, would single-handedly cause Nintendo to give up the majority share of the home console market to newcomer, Sony, with their vastly superior disc-based PlayStation console. Thus, Nintendo would be forced to make some pretty significant changes for their next console.

That next console, the GameCube, by contrast, would feature one of the more uniquely brilliant controller designs in gaming history. It boasted a unique button layout, arranged by priority, with the A button featured more prominently, and the other face buttons being sized and placed in accordance with their typical use and necessity. The controller also featured a comfortable shape and bright color scheme that would appeal to players of nearly any age.

Additionally, the GameCube was Nintendo's first ever console to feature a disc-reader. However, as opposed to the standard-size DVDs used in Microsoft's and Sony's rival Xbox  and PlayStation 2 consoles (respectively), Nintendo elected to use a proprietary "miniDVD" format instead. While this choice of disc size, and corresponding disc drive, would help to protect them somewhat against unauthorized game duplication and piracy, it would also, unfortunately, mean that none of their customers could ever use the system for playing any other forms of media, like CDs or DVDs.

The upside, though, was that for the first time in a generation, Nintendo's games could offer the same amount of content, and look and sound just as good as the competition's titles - - and did they ever! Though the GameCube may not have been the greatest or most popular console Nintendo's ever released, it did boast some of the greatest games they've ever released; and it's not really worth looking back on a console without looking at the games as well. So please read on, for a selection of 12 of what we feel were the greatest games to ever grace the Nintendo GameCube.