Sometimes in life, you just know if something is going to work or not. But every now and then, something comes along where you think to yourself… ‘is this really going to be any good?’.
As a reviewer, I am always looking for that next big thing, something that makes me say out loud, ‘Now, that’s what I’m talking about, brilliant’.
With my next two products, not only are they both brilliant, but they are perfectly matched in every way. Whilst you can buy the RetroShooter & Retrobeast 2TB light-gun HDD separately, bring them together and you will have so much fun, not only for hours but for weeks and probably many months to come.
Let’s quickly start with the RetroShooter. Basically, you are buying an old-school light-gun made for the modern age. You can buy various packs, from a one-gun PC set-up to a two-gun setup and even their own console that comes jam packed with light-gun games, as well as various retro platforms.
The one I bought (no, this was not provided for free) was a single gun, which came with four sensors, a hub to connect everything into and a foot pedal, ideal for those Time Crisis games where you need to duck.
And, of course, you get the light gun itself, which I have to say, is rather smart indeed. When the package arrives, you need to connect the two parts of the gun together as it is in two separate parts. Very easy to do, just connect the small connector block together and screw both bits together.
The whole process only takes a couple of minutes, though make sure you remember to connect the block; I did not do this at first as I hadn’t seen it….my bad!!
Once everything is connected, you’re ready to go. Firstly, you need to connect the sensors to your TV, four in total: two at the top of TV and two at the bottom. You then plug these into the powered USB port on your television for power.
The gun has a solenoid within it for recoil, which is very strong and very loud. This really does give you that same arcade feeling when you’re shooting; however, your neighbours may not be too happy. The included hub needs to be used in order for the solenoid to work as it needs to be powered separately.
If you aren’t bothered about the recoil, you can plug the gun directly into your PC/laptop. I chose to do this, only because of the noise it makes, though it does take away a little of the nostalgia by doing so.
These light guns do not come cheap, regardless of which one you choose to buy. Sinden light guns are generally the most expensive but really well made. The RetroShooter has the balance between quality and price.
The one-gun package for PC costs around $185, but if you want the console too, it will set you back $234, which is quite good value considering you get two guns, two peddles and the console.
Once the guns are calibrated and set up, they work really well. The sensors pick up movement very precisely, which you will need, especially with some of the faster moving games you will be playing.
That brings me onto the RetroBeast 2TB light gun HDD, put together and sold by Kriscoolmod. Now, I have reviewed a few products belonging to Kris, and I have to say that he is probably one of the best creators when it comes to retro gaming HDD and builds.
Kris is so passionate about what he does, he even offers free updates each month, meaning your HDD, whichever one you buy, will always be up to date with the latest games, fixes and enhancements.
The RB 2TB light gun HDD is not cheap, priced at just over £199, but you do get so much for your money. There are well over 300 games available, and that doesn’t include the non-light gun games. If your trigger finger gets tired, you can sit down with a controller and play one of the many thousands of retro games that are included instead.
There are a number of wheels available, ranging from Wii, PC, PS3 and Sega. But my personal favourite has to be TeknoParrot and Arcade.
These games offer you the full glory of playing the original light gun games from the arcade. Far superior when it comes to some of the other platforms. Graphically, they are absolutely amazing to play. Visually, it’s like playing an original arcade cabinet. But be warned, you need a decent rig to play these games.
Seeing the pictures within this article doesn’t really allow you to see how great some of the games are, as well as how well they play with the RetroShooter.
I’ve put together a video showing some of the games in action, which you can check out on my YouTube channel.
Putting the RetroShooter and the RetroBeast HDD together is a match made in heaven. They just work together extremely well due to the simple setup process that Kris has put together on his HDD.
I did come across a few glitches, such as some of the games playing in a smaller window instead of full-screen. I’m not sure why this was the case as most of the games played full-screen automatically.
Also, some of the TeknoParrot games aren’t accessible unless you have a key for them, which you can only get by going through their Patreon, which costs you money. Whilst it isn’t a great deal to join, after paying almost £200 for the HDD, some may get a bit annoyed by having to do this.
The link that Kris supplied for the Patreon also took me to the JolygimGame&Tech Patreon, which I paid to join, only to be told by them that they didn’t provide the key, I had to then join the TeknoParrot Patreon, which also cost me money. In all, I spent around £11 just to get a key.
And without that key, you can’t play some of the best TeknoParrot games, such as Aliens and Jurassic Park (though Jurassic Park was one of the games that I wasn’t able to play in full-screen).
This is a minor thing overall as the whole package on offer, with all of the shooting games and then the retro arcade games on top, is well worth the money.