Lazy Game Reviews
Season 2025
A show about retro video games and odd hardware by Clint Basinger.
Where to Watch Lazy Game Reviews • Season 2025
31 Episodes
- Pixel x86: A New Mini MS-DOS & Windows Gaming PC!E1
Pixel x86: A New Mini MS-DOS & Windows Gaming PC!Checking out the 2024 models of Pixelx86 computer systems! Each is an aluminum mini PC running DOS and Windows 98 off an SD card, playing tons of classic PC games and software from the 80s and 90s. Sound Blaster Pro and DreamBlaster compatibility, VGA output, ISA and mPCIe and more. - The 1993 Consumer Electronics Show via Computer ChroniclesE2
The 1993 Consumer Electronics Show via Computer ChroniclesCES 2025 happened. So let's go back to the Consumer Electronics Show 1993 instead! A tour of the convention show floor and many of its marvels through the lens of Stewart Cheifet and the Computer Chronicles TV show. 3DO, Sega CD, MiniDisc, Laserdisc, PDAs, DOS games, and much more! - The 40 Year History of the Marine Aquarium ScreensaverE3
The 40 Year History of the Marine Aquarium ScreensaverTo many, SereneScreen Marine Aquarium screensavers are most well known by the versions for Windows XP. Or perhaps the Aquatic Life version on Roku 4K devices. But there were many more releases and editions in the 2000s, plus a whole history going back 40 years to the Commodore 64 and Amiga days! - The Sims 1 & 2 Legacy Collection ReviewE4
The Sims 1 & 2 Legacy Collection ReviewThe rumors were true! EA re-released the first two Sims games for Windows PCs to mark the 25th birthday of the series. And they even fixed them to work on modern PCs! Kinda. Sorta. Ehh, an attempt was made. Still, I'm happy to see these exist on Steam and whatnot, so let's dive in and take a closer look at The Sims Legacy Collections from 2025! - HP Mini 1000: The Windows XP Netbook 16 Years LaterE5
HP Mini 1000: The Windows XP Netbook 16 Years LaterLGR retrospective on the HP Mini 1000, one of the more popular PCs from the short-lived era of the netbook! If you could even call it an era. In hindsight, it was all a bit silly, even though the 45nm processors making it possible were quite exciting at that point in time. So join me in reviewing the Mini 1000 that I had back in 2009 (or close to it) and putting it through its paces 16 years later! - Tamagotchi CD-ROM: The 1997 Digital Pet on PCE6
Tamagotchi CD-ROM: The 1997 Digital Pet on PCI missed out on Tamagotchi in the 1990s but I vividly remember the hype and being curious about them. So when I came across this CD-ROM version for Windows 95 PCs by 7th Level my curiosity got the better of me! So let's dive into some history and context with the electronic keychain toys, as well as the gameplay of this 1997 computer version. - Minisforum X1 Pro: Reviewing this BEAST of a Mini PCE7
Minisforum X1 Pro: Reviewing this BEAST of a Mini PCReview of the Minisforum AI X1 Pro from 2025! A new Windows 11 mini computer built around the beefy AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 12-core processor, with 64GB RAM and the surprisingly capable Radeon 890M iGPU that gives it legit PC gaming possibilities. NEAT! Oh and it also does some Copilot AI stuff I guess. - Crosscountry USA 30 Years Later: Trucker Edutainment Done RightE8
Crosscountry USA 30 Years Later: Trucker Edutainment Done RightLooking back at the 1995 Home Edition of Cross Country USA for MS-DOS PCs! This update to the original 1985 Apple II edutainment game has you traveling from state to state in an 18-wheeler semi truck, picking up and delivering commodities at 90mph. Just don't forget to wear a seatbelt — and maybe body armor. - Building a New LGR Gaming PC! Ryzen 9800X3DE9
Building a New LGR Gaming PC! Ryzen 9800X3DSo after the stupid hurricane last year wrecked my gaming PC (and my home) I've been wanting to build a new rig. And with those new AMD Ryzen Zen 5 CPUs now released, this seemed like the time! So let's pick some parts, assemble and test things, and push the system to its limits with newer PC games at 4K! Oh and do stupid stuff with that LCD CPU cooler, ha. - The 1994 Computer Dealers Expo via Computer ChroniclesE10
The 1994 Computer Dealers Expo via Computer ChroniclesVideo tour of the huge COMDEX convention show floor and its many marvels through the lens of Stewart Cheifet and the Computer Chronicles TV show, with LGR commentary along the way. Pentium laptops, Windows 95, PowerPC systems, PDAs, early wireless tech, odd devices and more! - Sony's Internal PC MiniDisc Data Drive: MDM-111E11
Sony's Internal PC MiniDisc Data Drive: MDM-111Years before Hi-MD, Sony took a stab at Mini Disc storage for computers with the MD Data format. I've covered the MDH-10 on LGR but completely missed the MDM-111 — until now! Let's install it, mess with DOS and Windows 3.x software, and run games from MiniDisc. - The Weird Keyboard 262 Companies REFUSED to MakeE12
The Weird Keyboard 262 Companies REFUSED to MakeThis odd 90s thing is the Datadesk Trackboard. No wait, it's a LittleFingers trackball board? Both are similar yet VERY different! Diving into the rabbit hole of computer history in this LGR episode, plus testing the keyboards on a Windows 9x PC with typing and gaming. - How 1990s Magic Eye 3D Images Were MadeE14
How 1990s Magic Eye 3D Images Were MadeExploring how N.E. Thing Enterprises came up with and created Magic Eye pictures in the 90s! Their 3D illusion books, posters, calendars etc were everywhere for years. But did you know they sold a program to generate your own SIRDS images on a PC? Let's dive into the history of stereograms, how Magic Eye dominated, and how to make your own! - HyperBowl: From Sony Arcade to Windows XP Classic! An LGR RetrospectiveE15
HyperBowl: From Sony Arcade to Windows XP Classic! An LGR RetrospectiveHyperbowl is perhaps most known for being in the Windows XP Plus! Pack and Media Center Edition in the 2000s, but it first was a (literally) huge arcade game attraction created by Sony for use in the San Francisco Metreon Center in 1999. While I've never experienced that machine, I played a ton of it on PC! So let's look at each different home version, including the newer Unity Engine releases. - It's Been 16 Years of LGR! ...now what?E16
It's Been 16 Years of LGR! ...now what?Marking SIXTEEN years of LGR existing! Thinking back on how it's been, how it's been going, and how I hope it might go in the future. Especially the last part cuz things are changing — for the better, I hope! Also some home rebuild updates 8 months after the hurricane. - RG Slide - The Coolest Retro Handheld I Don't Like UsingE17
RG Slide - The Coolest Retro Handheld I Don't Like UsingLGR review of the Anbernic RG Slide emulation handheld thing! There are tons of Android consoles built for emulating vintage games, but this one with its sliding mechanism and big 120Hz 4:3 LCD screen stands out from the rest! With compromises that make it my favorite emulation device I'll rarely ever use. - Capturing Video via Parallel Printer Port! 1997 Was WeirdE18
Capturing Video via Parallel Printer Port! 1997 Was WeirdThis original Dazzle hails from the brief few years where it actually made sense to put an MPEG-1 encoder inside of a parallel port device. But even with its printer-adjacent connections, the LAV-1000 is surprisingly capable! Let's set it up, record VHS and PS2 video footage, and use Windows 98 to edit the resulting video and image files. - I’m Back Film: Is it worth $800 to convert 35mm to digital?E19
I’m Back Film: Is it worth $800 to convert 35mm to digital?Review of the I'm Back Film kit! A bit of modern oddware that goes inside a 35mm camera and replaces the film, swapping it with a digital 20 megapixel Micro 4/3 sensor. Nifty idea but is it any good? Let's set it up, test it with an SLR, compare it to film, and see it it's worthwhile. - History Destroyed in Shipping: Can we save a 1989 HALiKAN laptop?E20
History Destroyed in Shipping: Can we save a 1989 HALiKAN laptop?I did NOT wanna make this video but here we are. This is the Chaplet Halikan LA-30A, or pieces of it anyway! A fascinating 1980s machine, one of the first laptops combining a backlit display, hard drive, and ISA slots into a system that could run entirely on batteries. Neat! Unfortunately, while this rare beast was in good shape before shipping, it did not look so great once it arrived. The plastics on these things are increasingly brittle, so if anything I want this video to act as an LGR public service announcement: USE EXTREME CAUTION WHEN SHIPPING OLD PLASTIC COMPUTERS. Even better, don't ship at all if it can be avoided. - The Forgotten Realm of 1990s PC Barcode Scanning KitsE21
The Forgotten Realm of 1990s PC Barcode Scanning KitsBARCODES! No one cares about 'em. Yet they were once exciting, cutting edge tech. Heck, old computer magazines often had entire sections dedicated to UPC scanning and software. So I finally got a PC barcode reader kit from 1994 and used it with some POS applications! And Duke 3D. - Unboxing a NEW Sharp CD-BA200 Stereo! 25 Years LaterE22
Unboxing a NEW Sharp CD-BA200 Stereo! 25 Years LaterA bit of Y2K era sound system appreciation on LGR! This Sharp was my first "real" stereo as a teenager, and I recently found one still sealed in its box from 25 years ago! So I bought it to relive some of the experience I first had at the turn of the millennium. Unfortunately, I also experienced the expected disappointments of using such a thing a quarter century later. - The eBox: A Tiny, Low-Cost DOS & Windows PC From 2008E23
The eBox: A Tiny, Low-Cost DOS & Windows PC From 2008The DMP EBOX 3300 is a mini PC built for legacy industrial applications, which makes it well-suited to natively running MS-DOS and Windows 98! It's also inexpensive, selling for a fraction of what newer Vortex86 DX projects cost. So what's the catch? Sound, mostly! Let's dive in and try a bunch of games and stuff. - The $1,800 Luxury Walnut Burl Monitor from 1999E26
The $1,800 Luxury Walnut Burl Monitor from 1999Taking a look at the Mitsubishi Oberhofer Edition monitor, a 15-inch LCD from 1999 encased in a glossy walnut burl bezel intended to fit in with fancy '90s executive decor. Hollywood home offices in particular, it turns out. And selling for just $1,800! Considering their previous solid wood monitors were $5,000 this was basically a steal... if you lived in Beverly Hills, I guess. - The Largest Vintage Computer Festival Ever! VCFMW 2025E27
The Largest Vintage Computer Festival Ever! VCFMW 2025Returning to VCF Midwest two years later! And WOW have things changed. This feels like an almost entirely different show now and it is bigger and better than ever! 66,000 square feet of vintage computers, retro hardware, software, and old school goodness of all kinds. Here's what the show was like (for me) in 2025! - ScreenToyz Screensavers: $10 Million Failure from 1994 - An LGR Halloween ThingE28
ScreenToyz Screensavers: $10 Million Failure from 1994 - An LGR Halloween ThingTaking a look at Creative Insights ScreenToyz! Gimmicky mid 90s peripherals that plug into a computer keyboard port letting you control "interactive screensavers"... so, a game then, right? Ha. Yeah they sure tried something, charged $50 for it, failed spectacularly, and that's how you end up on LGR 30 years later. - Cities Skylines 2 - Two Years Later!E29
Cities Skylines 2 - Two Years Later!Taking a look at the first expansion pack to Cities Skylines 2! TWO YEAR LATER. How much do modular ports and new bridges add to the game, is it worth the asking price, and has the base game experience improved much since 2023? Well, I have some thoughts... - Weird Old Computer Mice: Wood, Water, & WheelsE30
Weird Old Computer Mice: Wood, Water, & WheelsUnboxing and testing even more weird old mouse devices on a Windows 98 PC! Checking out a Y2K "frutiger aero" Aqua Mouse, an Oberhofer solid cherry hand carved wooden wireless mouse, and a uh... Chrysler PT Cruiser from 2001 with tires on it. Yep. - Nintendo 64 Fully Recreated in FPGA! Analogue 3D ReviewE31
Nintendo 64 Fully Recreated in FPGA! Analogue 3D ReviewChecking out the new Analogue 3D console! It's a modern Nintendo 64 recreation in FPGA with upscaled 4K HDMI video out, OG controller support alongside Bluetooth, and a claimed 100% compatibility with all commercial cartridges. I really enjoy the N64 MiSTer core and I wanted to see what this was like, so let's test out this review kit!