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1970 chevelle transmission explodes on the dyno

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Dyno operator got really fucking lucky 😂

Ah, the early Chevy Chevelle – the car that looked like it spent weekends pumping iron and guzzling gasoline by the gallon, because who needs fuel efficiency when you’ve got muscle? Imagine a car that gets parked in front of a diner and instantly becomes the coolest thing on the block, leaving every other vehicle’s headlights green with envy.

The first Chevelle, born in 1964, was Chevrolet’s response to the muscle-car craze. It had the subtlety of a brass knuckle in a velvet glove. It came in various flavors: mild, spicy, and “don’t-try-to-drag-race-this-beast.” By the time the SS 396 rolled out in 1965, it had enough horsepower to launch a modest-sized boat… or at least enough to let everyone in a five-mile radius know it was nearby.

This was a car with a “don’t mess with me” front grille and a roar that said, “I may be going straight for now, but corners are for weaklings.” The steering had a mind of its own, and driving one was like arm-wrestling a bear on a caffeine high. But boy, did it look good while it did it. The Chevelle was ruggedly handsome with chrome for days and a stance that said, “I may be mid-sized, but I’ve got big ambitions.”

And yes, the early Chevelle wasn’t built to handle like a European sports car or win any eco-friendly awards, but if you were looking to have a blast at the stoplight and wake up the entire neighborhood on a Sunday morning, the Chevelle was your ticket to horsepower heaven.

Featured, System Reviews, Mobile & Handhelds

Chromatic Review: Game Boy for the Elite?

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My review of the Chromatic by ModRetro: a premium handheld for Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges, featuring a custom display and magnesium alloy shell. But at $200, is it worth it, or are there better & cheaper options?

Here are five lesser-known Game Boy Color (GBC) games that are often considered hidden gems by retro gaming enthusiasts:

1. Shantae

  • Developer/Publisher: WayForward
  • Year: 2002
  • Why it’s a gem: Released late in the GBC’s lifespan, Shantae is a colorful action-platformer with Metroidvania elements. Its vibrant graphics, catchy music, and unique gameplay (Shantae transforms into animals to solve puzzles) make it a standout title.
  • Fun Fact: Due to its low print run, physical copies are rare and highly sought after.

2. Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 (Tara’s Adventure / Cobi’s Journey)

  • Developer/Publisher: Enix
  • Year: 2001
  • Why it’s a gem: Often overshadowed by Pokémon, this monster-raising RPG offers deep gameplay, a robust breeding system, and expansive worlds to explore. The level of customization in building your team is immense.
  • Fun Fact: It allows players to breed unique monsters with specific abilities, making each playthrough different.

3. Wendy: Every Witch Way

  • Developer/Publisher: WayForward
  • Year: 2001
  • Why it’s a gem: This gravity-defying platformer is simple but highly polished. Players control Wendy, the Good Little Witch, using her powers to flip gravity and solve clever puzzles.
  • Fun Fact: It’s one of the earliest games by WayForward, who would later become famous for Shantae.

4. Survival Kids

  • Developer/Publisher: Konami
  • Year: 1999
  • Why it’s a gem: A survival adventure game where players must navigate a deserted island, gather resources, and find a way to escape. It features multiple endings and a focus on crafting and exploration.
  • Fun Fact: This game is considered the precursor to the Lost in Blue series on the Nintendo DS.

5. Bionic Commando: Elite Forces

  • Developer/Publisher: Nintendo
  • Year: 2000
  • Why it’s a gem: A unique spin-off of the Bionic Commando series, this game combines action-platforming with a grappling hook mechanic for puzzle-solving. It’s challenging and offers satisfying gameplay.
  • Fun Fact: The grappling mechanic remains a defining feature of the Bionic Commando series.

These games showcase the GBC’s impressive library beyond its most famous titles. Have you tried any of these, or are you looking for something similar?

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Dreamcasts Game Prices: These 25 Dreamcast Games Increased the Most in 9 Months

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Since the start of 2024 I tracked every Dreamcast listing from pricecharting.com to see if the prices went up, down or stay the same. I identified 25 games that increased the most, decreased the most and tracked 28 games from my subscribers as well.

The Sega Dreamcast is like that friend who’s a little too ahead of their time—amazing to be around, but destined to fall flat in a world that just wasn’t ready. Released in 1999, it came loaded with wild features: internet connectivity, a visual memory unit (aka a mini Game Boy in your controller), and graphics that made the PlayStation look like it had some catching up to do. It had some of the weirdest and best games, too—like Seaman, where you raise a talking fish with the voice of Leonard Nimoy, and Crazy Taxi, which teaches you that the best way to drive is with complete disregard for traffic laws. The Dreamcast was quirky and full of promise, but it was the kid who wore neon at a black-tie event; everyone stared but didn’t quite get it.

Unfortunately, the Dreamcast had the lifespan of a fruit fly. Sega threw everything into it, but the PlayStation 2 was waiting in the wings, ready to bulldoze anything in its path. The Dreamcast didn’t stand a chance and ended up as the world’s most charming console ghost, haunting gaming memories with wistful “what ifs.” Ask any Dreamcast fan today, and they’ll get misty-eyed talking about the sheer potential of that little white box. It may have gone out with a whimper, but the Dreamcast left an indelible mark on gaming—a brief, shining moment where Sega was just a bit too cool for the mainstream to handle.

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New Games for Old Consoles 6

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Game Sack – They’re still releasing new titles for these 30+ year-old consoles. Many of them are incredibly professional. Isn’t it fantastic!

 

Game Sack is like that buddy who knows way too much about old video games and isn’t afraid to tell you, with an infectious enthusiasm for consoles that most people forgot about (or never knew existed). Hosted by Joe, with the occasional cameo from his longtime friend Dave, it’s a retro gaming show that dives into obscure game consoles and asks hard-hitting questions like, “Why did anyone buy the Sega 32X?” and “How many obscure Japanese exclusives can we fit into one episode?”

Joe’s humor is dry, sarcastic, and somehow perfectly timed to counterbalance the sheer nerdery of the show’s deep dives. Every episode is packed with crisp editing, skits featuring props from your uncle’s garage, and gameplay footage that’ll make you nostalgic for the days when games came on cartridges the size of bricks. Joe’s critiques of retro hardware and his impressions of Dave (who, rumor has it, may still live on as a disembodied spirit haunting Game Sack) are worth the watch alone. Whether you’re in it for forgotten consoles, bizarre peripherals, or just to hear Joe roast the Virtual Boy yet again, Game Sack has enough retro gaming gold to keep you glued to the screen, wondering, “How does he even know all this?”

Music

Hated Albums In My Music Collection

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Brendon Snyder – Not all albums can be the best, that’s for sure. But sometimes the sound and direction is such a misstep that for me I can’t stand even having it in my music collection. However, I’m a completist and at times still want to try these “hated” albums and see if my opinion has changed. So join me as I run through some hated albums from my music collection.

*St. Anger* is Metallica’s version of a mid-life crisis—complete with a new snare drum that sounds like it fell out of a toolbox. This album has all the angst of a band trying to reconnect with their roots, but somehow ended up with a sound that’s, well, divisive, to put it politely. The production feels like they recorded it in an empty warehouse, left the reverb on max, and decided “Hey, what if we make Lars’s snare sound like he’s banging on a trash can?” It’s a bold move, for sure, and one that has since been lovingly referred to as the “ping of doom.”

The lyrics are like a mix of therapy session notes and heavy metal fortune cookies, with lines that range from “I’m madly in anger with you!” to “My lifestyle determines my deathstyle.” James Hetfield is trying to exorcise some serious demons, and you can tell he’s really feeling it—even if he’s not sure what “deathstyle” actually means. And while *St. Anger* lacks guitar solos, Kirk Hammett’s here for moral support, probably wondering where his chance to shred went. Love it or hate it, the album is like a car crash you can’t look away from—noisy, chaotic, and oddly fascinating.

Featured, Travel, Recent Pickups

Is video game collecting as bad as they say?

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We’re heading to Columbus, Ohio, for TORG, the Ohio Retro Gamer Expo! In this video, I’ll focus on deals you can find at these events. I’ll ask vendors—who buy and sell games daily—what they think are the best deals today. I’m also working on my Sony PSP collection, and I’ll show you everything I picked up at the end.

The Sony PSP (PlayStation Portable) is the cool kid who showed up at the party with the swagger of a console and the size of a big smartphone (back when phones weren’t that smart yet). It’s like the Swiss Army knife of gaming, trying to be your gaming console, your MP3 player, and even your Netflix (though streaming wasn’t quite ready to party yet).

The PSP flexed its muscles with a gorgeous 4.3-inch screen, boasting graphics that made you say, “Wait, this is portable?!” It had Wi-Fi so you could school your friends in multiplayer—if you could convince them to lug their PSPs around. And let’s not forget the UMD discs, those quirky little Frisbees that carried your games and movies. They looked futuristic but were basically mini-CDs with trust issues.

Sony even tried to make the PSP your entire life: it had a web browser (sort of), a photo viewer (but no camera), and music playback (for when your iPod forgot its place). The battery life was decent—unless you were watching UMD movies, in which case it gave up faster than a kid in a math test.

The PSP was like that overachiever friend who insists on doing everything, and honestly, it nailed a lot of it. Sure, the controls felt a little cramped, and the proprietary memory cards were pricier than gourmet coffee, but the PSP brought portable gaming into the spotlight, and it did it with style. Plus, it gave us Monster Hunter marathons and the ability to watch Spider-Man 2 on the go—what more could you want? (Except maybe fewer smudges on that glorious screen.)

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A Week Later…Is the PS5 Pro REALLY worth $700?

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Modern Vintage Gamer bought a Sony PlayStation PS5 Pro for $700 including an $80 disc drive add-on – so you don’t have to. It does exactly what its advertised to do. Enhance Visuals and Performance for PS5 games. The question is – is the PS5 Pro really worth the money? In today’s episode I give you my thoughts on the brand new PS5 Pro console. Impressive? Yes, worth it? Check out today’s video to learn more!
Here are the Top 5 PlayStation 5 games….cuz we need another list, right?

1. Elden Ring

Dark Souls’ Meaner, Open-World Cousin
Elden Ring is that friend who invites you on an “easy hike” but conveniently leaves out the fact that it’s uphill both ways, through poison swamps, while dragons throw lightning at you. It’s a game for those who enjoy the thrill of finally killing a boss after 273 tries, only to find an even scarier one waiting around the next corner. If you’re into pain and beautiful landscapes, it’s like paradise… with lots of death.

2. Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Slinging, Swinging, and Still Broke in New York
Ever wanted to live the life of a superhero? You know, save the city, wear a cool suit, and… scramble to pay your rent because even spider-powered heroes struggle with NYC prices. Miles Morales is here to show you how to look cool in the middle of a snowstorm while fighting crime and dealing with the personal issues only a teenage superhero could have. Just don’t ask him how he keeps his mask so clean.

3. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

The Ultimate Pixar Movie You Get to Play
You’re a fuzzy space raccoon thing with a robot backpack, and your whole job is to travel through intergalactic portals like it’s nobody’s business. It’s colorful, it’s crazy, and there are more explosions than a Michael Bay movie. Plus, this time you get to play as Rivet, a female Lombax who’s got just as much sass and weaponry. Warning: You’ll have the urge to adopt a raccoon and name it “Ratchet” afterward.

4. Returnal

Groundhog Day Meets Alien Horror
In Returnal, you play as an astronaut who’s stuck in a “death-loop” on a creepy alien planet. Every time you die (which will happen a lot), you wake up again… just in time to make the same mistakes! It’s like reliving Monday mornings but with acid-spitting aliens and lots of guns. Perfect for players who love a challenge — and who don’t mind talking back to their screens.

5. Demon’s Souls

Because “Easy Mode” Was Never an Option
This is a “remake” of a notoriously difficult game from 2009, but with graphics so beautiful you almost forget you’re being crushed by yet another giant demon. Playing Demon’s Souls is basically signing up for self-punishment and somehow loving every second. The whole point? To prove you have the patience of a saint or, at the very least, the perseverance of a person who just really hates losing.

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Ranking all 61 Stephen King novels in 19 minutes or less!!!!!

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YouTuber Jimmy Mango  is a massive Stephen King fan and read all of his books. This is his ranking of all 61 main Stephen King novels, minus the collections of short stories (so no The Mist)…and I have to admit it’s a great ranking! I haven’t read every single book like he has…but it made me want to add several to my backlog. Check it out!

Stephen King is like your eccentric but endlessly entertaining uncle who can turn even the most mundane trip to the grocery store into a spine-tingling horror saga. His novels have a special knack for making you terrified of everyday things—cars, clowns, hotels, even your own dog. With over 60 novels to his name, it seems he’s either tapped into some dark, supernatural well of storytelling or has just accepted that his brain is wired for creepy, whether he likes it or not. Somehow, this master of horror also manages to look like the world’s friendliest librarian. You just know he’d be the guy at a family barbecue spinning a ghost story by the grill, saying, “Don’t worry, it’s fiction”—but you’re still sleeping with the lights on that night.

Music

Vinyl Oddities: The Weird Side of Record Collecting

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This video from reccollect  highlights some of the coolest, craziest and weirdest vinyl record releases in the past 50 years. Some truly amazing gems here.

Music has seen its fair share of unusual releases, where artists really put their creative hearts (and possibly sanity) on the line. Here are five of the strangest ways people decided to distribute their music:

1. The Frozen Record (Shout Out Louds)

Swedish band Shout Out Louds released a single made out of ice. Yes, ice. Fans had to pour water into a custom mold, freeze it, and then play the fragile record before it melted. Listening quickly became a race against time. “How’d you like it?” “Well, I think I heard the chorus before the puddle on my turntable shorted out my speakers.”

2. The Chocolate Record (FC Judd)

In a rare attempt to combine auditory and digestive experiences, avant-garde electronic musician FC Judd created a playable record made of chocolate. This one hits that sweet spot: you can listen to it once, then chow down on it when you’re done. The downside? It sounds great until you reach the drum solo, where a suspicious crunch indicates you’ve just bitten off half the bridge.

3. The X-Ray Record (Soviet Bootlegs)

During the Cold War, enterprising Russians recorded banned Western music onto used X-rays because vinyl was strictly monitored. They called them “Bone Records” because they were literal X-ray images of skeletons. These were like the mixtapes of rebellion, complete with visible femurs. Imagine trying to explain to your friend, “Here’s that Beatles album… oh, and also, that’s Olga’s broken leg.”

4. The Blood Record (Kiss)

In true Kiss fashion, the band decided to mix their own blood into the red ink used to print their comic book in 1977, but Gene Simmons later hinted it ended up in a vinyl pressing too. So, yes, die-hard Kiss fans can say they literally own the band’s DNA. Just don’t expect it to pass any basic health inspections if you accidentally scratch yourself with it.

5. The Urine-Infused Record (Matthew Herbert)

For his 2019 release, experimental musician Matthew Herbert pressed vinyls using the sounds of his bathroom breaks, from the actual flush to… well, you get the idea. Yes, the album cover practically screams, “Sanitize after handling.” This was one record release that truly had fans divided: collectors loved it, but hygienists… not so much.

Music may be timeless, but these records prove that sometimes, it’s also best enjoyed on regular vinyl!