As the first quarter of 2024 comes to a close and things start to heat up, well it's high time we followed suit by bringing you more action. While we haven't failed in bringing you the most exciting titles and interesting consoles this side of retro, we make sure to pick and choose just the right kind of flavor for everyone.

This time, we're going from the mean city streets to literal outer space just to taste that action. In the console department, we got a doohickey that looks to challenge the titans of the handheld industry by sprinkling a bit of old-school ingenuity into some beefy modern hardware. So, if you're ready for your weekly dose of action, you've come to the right place!

VIGILANTE

First up, we got an awesome combination involving Neeso Games, the ever-reliable Scorpion Engine, and the Commodore Amiga. Three things that you definitely want in the same sentence. While everyone patiently waits for the upcoming Neeso Games arcade platformer Super Delivery Boy, we got something a bit more gritty and in your face but still makes sure to deliver. And by deliver, we mean epic beatdowns. 

Vigilante is a side-scrolling, fist-fighting good time that sees you enforcing brutal citywide justice against the usual bad guys. Powered by the Scorpion engine, this port from the Sega Master System looks pretty smooth and snappy in its initial footage. As a work in progress, the first two levels and all sprites have been graphically retouched to complete, with spawning enemies and even cutscenes.

According to Neeso Games, we're just waiting on the boss fights and a few more tweaks before we can all go hard on being a bonafide Vigilante. Best to keep your aisles peeled for this.  

JETHUNTERS

Now we're going from punching and kicking goons in the street to shooting up a storm in outer space, but still on the Amiga. Thanks to Coagulus, we're getting an early build preview of their work in progress in the form of some sweet footage. The game in question? A side-scrolling space shoot em up for the Amiga called JetHuntERS.

According to Coagulus, this isn't just a sequel to 2019's JetHunt, but it's also a partial tribute to the classic game Zybex, which came out on 8-bit computers in the 1980s. However, it hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows for JetHuntERS, as the development process experienced quite a few bumps along the way, with bugs to fix and about a year's worth of code getting lost somewhere in between. Still, the initial teaser looks pretty good, and given how well JetHunt was received before, we might just be looking at a nice sequel. Fingers crossed!

PLAYTRON

In a world full of brand new handheld devices, both AAA and Retro, it's quite the tall task just to get your foot in the door. I mean, seriously, it's like the release of a new device every other month. Tech's running wild, you guys. That being said, one plucky little startup might have that golden ticket in the form of a powerful OS. Enter Playtron, the supposed answer for the core casual gamer. 

Looking back, the AYANEO Next Lite was supposed to be the chosen one. This was after news dropped that it would be running on SteamOS. As we all know, we got Windows instead. While emulation was possible, most gamers were left disappointed, but the 18-person team at Playtron looked to challenge the handheld competition by targeting one huge demographic, the casual gamers. And that, boys and girls, includes the retro side. 

The goal is to have seamless emulation of games from the near and distant past, from PS3 to Nintendo FamiCom. Playtron's endgame involves providing a cost-effective OS that can open up more emulation possibilities for other companies. This means more games are getting emulated and, in turn, being played.

At the end of the day, it won't matter which handheld you use because Playtron might just make it possible for you to run just about anything. Interesting stuff, for sure. We’ll, definitely stay tuned for more. 

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