Astro Smash

The Rebirth of a Rival: Atari and the Intellivision Sprint The oldest grudge in gaming history has finally settled into a surprising alliance. After decades of competition that defined the first console war of 1979, Atari now holds the keys to the Intellivision brand. This acquisition isn't just a corporate merger; it is a reclamation of more than 200 titles from the Mattel Electronics era, culminating in the announcement of the Intellivision Sprint. This new hardware iteration bridges the gap between the 1970s and the modern living room. The Sprint retains the iconic aesthetic of the original wood-grained beast but upgrades the experience with HDMI output and wireless controllers. Crucially, the unique disc-based directional pads and numerical keypads return, complete with 92 one-sided overlays. These overlays were the original "HUD," sliding into the controller to tell players which buttons triggered specific actions in games like Astro Smash or Shark! Shark!. Modern ingenuity has improved the design by allowing the wireless controllers to charge directly when docked in the console, solving the cable clutter that plagued the original 1979 setup. Combat Evolved Again: Halo's Multi-Platform Future In a move that would have been unthinkable during the original Xbox launch, the definitive icon of the Microsoft ecosystem is crossing the aisle. Halo: Campaign Evolved, a complete remake of the 2001 classic, has been announced for a 2026 release. This isn't a mere upscaling of textures; it is a ground-up reconstruction using modern rendering techniques like ray tracing to breathe new life into the Silent Cartographer mission and the rings of the Halo array. The most jarring shift for purists will be the mechanical updates. To align with modern expectations of first-person shooters, the developers are adding a sprint function to Master Chief's movement. In the original 2001 title, the Chief felt heavy, almost tank-like. While that contributed to the game's unique rhythm, it feels sluggish compared to the frenetic pace of modern titles like Doom Eternal. Perhaps more significantly, the 24th anniversary of the franchise will mark its debut on the PlayStation 5, effectively ending the console exclusivity that once defined the Halo legacy. The Three-Billion Dollar Patch: Counter-Strike's Market Collapse Digital economies are fragile ecosystems built on the illusion of scarcity. Valve recently demonstrated the absolute power of the developer over the secondary market when a minor update to Counter-Strike 2 erased roughly $3 billion in market value overnight. The crash targeted the most elite tier of the CS2 skins market, which had previously peaked at a staggering $6 billion valuation. The mechanics of the collapse were deceptively simple. Valve changed the acquisition path for "Gold Tier" items, such as rare knives and gloves. Previously, these items were locked behind the extreme RNG of random loot boxes. The update introduced a trade-up system, allowing players to exchange five "Covert" items (the tier immediately below Gold) for a single Gold Tier item. By creating a guaranteed path to these ultra-rare cosmetics, Valve effectively flooded the market, destroying the speculative value that "skin sharks" and investors had spent years cultivating. For the average player, it is a democratization of cool gear; for those treating digital knives like treasury bonds, it was a financial catastrophe. Narrative Resurrection: Simon the Sorcerer Origins Point-and-click adventures represent a golden era of PC gaming where wit was as important as a graphics card. Thirty years after the snarky teen wizard first appeared on MS-DOS and the Amiga, a new official prequel has emerged: Simon the Sorcerer Origins. This title aims to capture the specific aesthetic of mid-90s hand-drawn animation, moving away from the awkward 3D transitions that hampered the series in later years. Set just weeks before the 1993 original, the prequel features the voice of Chris Barrie, known for his role as Rimmer in Red Dwarf. The game promises 10 to 12 hours of logic-bending puzzles and the signature "spicy humor" that made the first two titles cult classics. In an era dominated by hyper-realistic shooters, the return of the Simon the Sorcerer franchise is a reminder that there is still a massive appetite for hand-animated worlds and character-driven storytelling. Heavy Metal Chess: The Doom Arena Board Game The carnage of id Software's Doom is making a leap from the screen to the tabletop. Doom Arena, a miniatures-based board game, has successfully cleared its funding goals on Kickstarter. The game splits into two distinct flavors: a 1993 edition focusing on the classic sprites and an edition centered on the upcoming Doom: The Dark Ages. Described as "heavy metal chess," Doom Arena utilizes an asymmetrical combat system where one player controls the Doom Slayer and the others command the hordes of hell. The 30-to-45-minute rounds are designed to mimic the fast-paced loop of the video games, focusing on tactical positioning rather than the grueling, multi-hour sessions typical of many miniatures games. With 20 combat dice and detailed plastic sculpts of Cacodemons and Cyberdemons, it is a visceral translation of the most influential shooter in history.