Update 10.0 of The Lord of the Rings: Age of the Ring, a fan-made total conversion mod, has been released for free. The update adds fifteen new missions, expanding the project's campaign content at no cost to players. Age of the Ring is built on an existing real-time strategy game engine and reworks it with Middle-earth content and lore from Tolkien's works. via gamingbible.com
Amiga developer 'lifeschool' has released TinyBench 0.5c, a lightweight file manager and program launcher written in CanDo. It is designed to use as little Chip RAM as possible, letting users launch games and programs directly without Workbench first consuming memory. The tool can launch WHDLoad games and other executables, open music modules, sound effects, images and text files directly, and supports filenames of up to 254 characters instead of the usual 30-character limit. via amiga-news.de
YAPG, short for Yet Another Puzzle Game, is a new AGA Amiga port of Packabunchas, a puzzle game originally created by Mattia Fortunati. The game casts players as space rangers who pack up and rescue creatures by fitting various shapes into available space, in a style inspired by Tetris. Unlike Tetris, YAPG has no time pressure, letting players experiment freely to find solutions to each challenge. The developers used Claude AI during the Amiga port's creation and are asking for donations to help cover the associated costs. via amiga-news.de
AmiGTA, a project to recreate the original Grand Theft Auto as a native Amiga engine with the help of AI, has reached version 0.7.0. The update adds a native MorphOS PowerPC build alongside existing AROS and 68k support, and now includes all six original levels across Liberty City, San Andreas and Vice City. Other changes include per-city map and style files, arrest behaviour matching the original game, a frame cap that no longer spins the CPU, and the El train running on its tracks with stations. The engine requires players to supply files from their own copy of the original game. via amiga-news.de
Games That Weren't has added three previously unpreserved Commodore 64 games from 1983 to its archive, crediting Håvar Bruvold Hojem for supplying the files. The recovered titles are Stargate 64 by Tec Software, Amphibian by Syrinx Software, and X-Bert by Computer Education Center. The site says more recoveries may follow. via gamesthatwerent.com
Preservation site gamesthatwerent.com has published a feature on Dallas Petrol, an obscure Commodore 64 game from Turkey. The game dates from around 1985 and was reportedly created by Alp Kaan Akal, with the find credited to Tanaydin Sirin. Dallas Petrol was a Turkish-language strategy title, and the writeup serves as an update on its preservation after its rediscovery in 2018. The Commodore 64 had a notable following in Turkey during the 1980s, making surviving examples of local software rare finds for collectors and historians. via gamesthatwerent.com
Preservationist Allan Pinkerton has continued his work saving lesser-known Commodore 64 educational software, recently uploading Word Games from Minnesota Educational Computing Corporation (MECC). This brings his total of preserved MECC titles to four, with Friendly Computer expected to follow once a copy arrives from the UK. He has also found Ducks, a title that appears to be missing from the GameBase64 database, and Glass Computer, which also saw release on the Commodore 128. via gamesthatwerent.com
Playmaji, maker of the modular Polymega console, has posted a cryptic message on its X account hinting at upcoming support for Sega's Master System, Mark III and Game Gear. The post uses flowery, riddle-like language about a city built over a hidden "cobalt river" and a "mark of its heritage awaiting rediscovery," widely read as a teaser rather than a confirmed announcement. No specific module, release date or pricing was given. Polymega is known for its swappable module system that lets a single console read original game discs and cartridges from multiple retro platforms. via timeextension.com
Nagoshi Studio, the Tokyo-based developer founded by Yakuza and Super Monkey Ball creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, has officially been dissolved. A notice in Japan's government gazette Kanpo states the studio was dissolved through a shareholders' resolution on October 31, with the filing published November 2. The studio was established in November 2021 under NetEase Games. Its closure casts doubt over the future of GANG OF DRAGON, a game it had announced, which now seems unlikely to ever release. via segabits.com
AYN has released new official images giving a closer look at its upcoming Odin 3 Portal handheld. Alongside the pictures, the company confirmed a change to the device's charging specification, with the previously stated 60W fast charging now lowered to 45W ahead of shipping. The Odin 3 Portal is part of AYN's Odin line of Android-based retro gaming handhelds. via retrohandhelds.gg
A remastered version of Llamasoft's Minotaur Project has been released. The project comes from Jeff Minter's Llamasoft, a studio known for its distinctive abstract shoot-'em-ups and visualizers dating back to the 1980s home computer era. The remaster brings the original title to a new release. via reddit.com/r/thisweekinretro
A native Amiga port of LucasArts' 1993 adventure game Day of the Tentacle has been detailed, offering both 32-color and 256-color versions to suit different Amiga setups. The port runs natively on Motorola 68000 hardware and is compatible with the Amiga 1200, and it supports Roland MT-32 audio. The project aims to bring the classic point-and-click adventure, a sequel to Maniac Mansion, properly to Commodore's platform. via console-classics.com
