Finally, after a lengthy wait, Capcom’s super brawler, Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition, is finally with us. We’ve been waiting for this update for many months now and are delighted with the end results. Get past the horrible smoothing options (why can’t company’s do HD properly?) and you’ll discover that Third Strike is still an amazing fighter. The parry system remains one of the best examples of risk and reward, the roster of characters is full of variety, while the animation throughout is simply glorious.

Fast and furious as a fighter, it has been enhanced by some genuinely solid online bonuses that range from letting you upload fights to Youtube, to playing in 8-player lobbies, and participating in 8-player tournaments. The ranking matches aren’t working as well as we’d like, but that’s bound to be fixed sooner rather than later. If you love fighting games you need to own Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition. It’s that simple. Download it for XBLA at a cost of 1200 points or buy it from PSN for £11.99

Fans of Retro Gamer’s hardware bookazines will be pleased to hear that they are now available to buy for Kindle. The Classic Videogames Hardware Genius Guide is available now for just £5.81 and features in-depth guides to some of the best computers and consoles of all time. The Amiga, Super Nintendo, PC Engine, Atari 2600 and ZX Spectrum are just a few of the machines featured, and all come with the fantastic in-depth information that only Retro Gamer offers.

Editor in Chief Aaron Asadi said: “This eBook is a fantastic resource for all retro videogame fans. Offering in-depth information on some of the iconic consoles from the last 50 years, there are also run-downs of the best games from each piece of hardware, allowing readers to relive the classic videogame moments from days gone by. The is the perfect trip down memory lane, and represents excellent value for money.”

The Classic Videogames Hardware Genius Guide eBook is available now from Amazon (http://amzn.to/iZODFT).

We’re massive fans of Capcom’s 2D fighter, so we’re counting down the days to its PSN arrival (23rd of August). In addition to being an absolutely astonishing fighter, Capcom has included a number of additional features, many of them based around playing online.

You’ll be able to save all your replays, upload them directly to YouTube, live stream the replays of others and even take part in 8-player tournaments.

A number of new challenges have been included, while Capcom has also included hundreds of new challenges to master as well. This is shaping up to be the definitive version of the world’s best 2D fighter and we can’t wait to get our hands on it.

So the finalists for this year’s Games Media Awards have been announced and Retro Gamer is really pleased to be up for Best Magazine again.  

If you somehow missed last year’s awards, we managed to scoop the award for Best Magazine – something that’s still yet to fully sink in.

We just want to say thanks to everyone that nominated for us again this year. By our maths (which isn’t great), if everyone who voted for us to win last year picks up the phone and does the same again this year there’s a really good chance we could come away consecutive winners.

Also, as an added incentive, if we do win again then Darran has promised to change his name to ‘Mr. I romance Strider Hiryu’s handsome smooth face Jones’, via Deed Poll.

…To be honest though, he’s been toying with doing that for a while anyway.  

So with that pathetic attempt at trying influence the vote over, here’s a full list of the categories and respective finalists for the awards ceremony which takes place at the Vinopolis on October 26^th.     

THE FINALISTS ARE…

GAMES MAGAZINE

* Edge
* GamesTM
* NGamer
* Official Xbox Magazine
* Official PlayStation Magazine
* Retro Gamer

GAMES WEBSITE

* GameSpot
* Videogamer
* Gaming Union
* Eurogamer
* The Sixth Axis
* God is a Geek
* IGN
* CVG

SPECIALIST WRITER PRINT

* Matthew Castle – NGamer
* Chris Scullion – Official Nintendo Magazine
* Steve Hogarty – Official Nintendo Magazine
* Jon Blyth – Official Xbox Magazine
* Christian Donlan – Freelance

SPECIALIST WRITER ONLINE

* Jane Douglas – GameSpot UK
* Mark Walton – GameSpot UK
* Keza MacDonald – IGN
* Gillen McAllister – Game Reactor
* Gwynne Dixon – Total Video Games
* Wesley Yin-Poole – Eurogamer

COVERAGE IN A NATIONAL NEWSPAPER

* The Guardian
* The Observer
* The Telegraph
* The Sun
* The Star Sunday

COVERAGE IN A MAINSTREAM MAGAZINE

* BBC Focus Magazine
* Shortlist
* T3
* Nuts
* Wired
* Front

REGIONAL GAMES COLUMNIST

* Steve Wollaston – Sunday Mercury
* Dan Slingsby – Syndicated Regional
* Dave Cook – The Scotsman
* Ed Hill – Derby Telegraph
* Ian Crump – Southern Daily Echo
* Phil Harris – Craigmillar Chronicle
* James Harvey – Cardiff & South Wales Advertiser

GAMES BROADCAST/PODCAST

* Gamesweasel
* GameSpot UK Podcast
* Saturday Edition 5live
* Start/Select
* Gamewank
* SentUAmessage
* OneLifeLeft

GAMES BLOG

* London Calling
* XboxGameZone
* VG247
* Rock, Paper, Shotgun
* Ready Up

RISING STAR

* Johnny Chiodini – GameSpot UK
* Seb Ford – GameSpot UK
* Martin Gaston – Videogamer
* Andrien Gbinigie – XboxGameZone
* Jamin Smith – Videogamer
* Hollie Bennett – Destructoid
* Dan Webb – Xbox360Achievements.org
* Matt Lees – Official Xbox Magazine

Imagine Publishing has launched a new eBook to help iPhone users get the most from their groundbreaking Apple device. Featuring step-by-step tutorials and in-depth features on the secrets of your iPhone, as well as the ultimate guide to jailbreaking, this is a must-have book for anyone looking to extend their phone’s functionality.

Editor in Chief Aaron Asadi said: “This really is the eBook iPhone users have been waiting for. With great tips and easy-to-follow tutorials, it’s not only another excellent addition to Imagine’s digital library but an absolutely essential purpose for anyone who wants more from their iPhone. ”

Written by experts for readers dedicated to getting the most from their products, Tips & Tricks is a series that provides world-beating advice to experienced consumers, offering a variety of intermediate to advanced tutorials and stylish, cutting-edge features. In-depth yet accessible, the Tips & Tricks series offers a comprehensive solution unlike any other.

The iPhone Tips, Tricks, Apps & Hacks eBook is available from online retailer Amazon (http://amzn.to/lBv9hg), priced at just £5.81.

For more in the series, as well as other great books, visit www.imaginebookshop.co.uk.

Now this makes us amazingly happy. Rising Star Games has just revealed that they are bringing DoDonPachi Resurrection to the UK!

The highly acclaimed shoot-’em-up has been available in Japan for some time now, so it’s fantastic that UK gamers will be able to see what all the fuss is about. Region locking prevented more people from importing it, so this new release should ensure it receives a brand new audience.

Rising Star Games promised that more shooters would get released if Deathsmiles performed well, so here’s hoping that DoDonPachi does equally well. The deluxe pack will include the original 1.5 release, two arrange modes and a compact disc of the soundtrack. The Black Label version will be available as DLC. This marks the first time a DoDonPachi game has received a UK release.

If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if the worlds of hip hop and Nintendo were to ever collide, then allow us to direct you to the following link: http://heathmcnease.bandcamp.com, which gives you a pretty good idea of what sort of sound might echo from the impact.

Here you’ll find ‘Straight Outta Console’, a free hip hop mixtape comprising 19 tracks featuring music samples taken from a number of popular NES games, from Paperboy to Super Mario Bros. 3.

The project was the work of indie and touring artist Heath McNease, and came about as the result of the popularity of his song ‘Nintendo Thumb’, which featured on one of his earlier albums. Surprised by the amount of attention the song was garnering from both the Nintendo and hip hop fraternity, Heath decided to return to the studio and create an entire album devoted to his love of all things Nintendo.

Let us know what you think.

Some of you may be aware that I’m a big fan of board games. Well the other week my managing director was kind enough to give me the following awesome little present, for which I’m very grateful.

As you can see it’s an awesome Star Wars game from the late Seventies that has you attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the evil clutches of Darth Vader. I used to have a lot of fun playing this with my granddad back in the day, so it’s going to be interesting to see if it remains of good game.

Fans of Retro Gamer’s hardware bookazines will be pleased to hear that they are now available to buy for Kindle. The Classic Videogames Hardware Genius Guide is available now for just £5.81 and features in-depth guides to some of the best computers and consoles of all time. The Amiga, Super Nintendo, PC Engine, Atari 2600 and ZX Spectrum are just a few of the machines featured, and all come with the fantastic in-depth information that only Retro Gamer offers.   Editor in Chief Aaron Asadi said: “This eBook is a fantastic resource for all retro videogame fans. Offering in-depth information on some of the iconic consoles from the last 50 years, there are also run-downs of the best games from each piece of hardware, allowing readers to relive the classic videogame moments from days gone by. The is the perfect trip down memory lane, and represents excellent value for money.”   The Classic Videogames Hardware Genius Guide eBook is available now from Amazon (http://amzn.to/iZODFT).

The all-new NowGamer is live right now, bringing brand new features to the multi-format gaming supersite.   The NowGamer team has been working night and day to bring gamers a new and improved website with updated looks, better navigation and interaction, and loads more content.   Visitors will find HD images and video spread throughout the site as well as enhanced search functions and more related links to help you find the content you want.   A new Social Hub box links you directly to our Facebook, YouTube and Twitter pages, and user interaction has been greatly improved, with comments and user reviews now making it easier then ever to share your opinions with us – and other readers.   Don’t worry: all the great reviews, previews, news, interviews and cheats that you know and love from our award-winning team are still present and correct – they’re just better than ever, thanks to more images and video to illustrate the games you love.   There’s also much more mobile gaming content on the site – and readers also have the chance to win games, hardware and merchandising worth over £1000 with our readers survey.
What are you waiting for? Hit the link to check out the new NowGamer for yourself right now!