Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! The Mega Drive is a legendary console we’ve revisited in many ways throughout the history of the show—but what’s it actually like to buy one and start a collection today? Are the games easy to track down, is there a best controller to seek out, and should you even bother with the Mega CD or 32X? Trev and Stu are here to guide you on your Sega journey!

In this episode:

Stu tries out Sega Rally Anniversary Edition on PC

Which model Mega Drive should you go for?

The obscure hardware variants like the Nomad and Multi-Mega

Why 50Hz vs 60Hz matters

The controllers you should hunt down

What’s the deal with light guns on the Mega Drive?

Flash carts – play ROM files on real hardware

Mega CD & 32X – worthwhile add-ons or pointless indulgences?

Game collecting – where to buy and what’s a fair price Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Turn The Page (Tutorial Theme) – Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998) – Sony Playstation – Composer(s): Hiroshi Okubo

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! We’ve hit a milestone — episode 150! And to celebrate, we’re welcoming back retro magazine collecting (and now magazine writing) legend Paul Monaghan for his long-awaited return! What’s he been up to over the last few years? How did he become a contributor to two of the UK’s top retro mags? And yes… what does he think of 90s boy band Let Loose? Strap in for a nostalgic deep dive into magazines, music, and memories from the golden era of gaming and pop culture.

In This Episode:

Paul’s latest work with Amiga Addict and Pixel Addict

Thoughts on Perifractic’s purchase of Commodore

A look back at the vibrant UK comic scene of the 80s & 90s

Remember when Sky TV cost a fortune in the 90s?

Reflecting on premium 90s gaming mags like Maximum

The high price of PC gaming in the mid-90s

Beyond gaming mags: Star Trek, NME, and more cultural touchstones

GamesMaster – the mag that outlived the TV show by decades!

Our personal favourite gaming mags of all time

Bonus nostalgia: the long-forgotten UK computing mag PC Plus! Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Turn The Page (Tutorial Theme) – Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998) – Sony Playstation – Composer(s): Hiroshi Okubo

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! It’s been a turbulent few weeks for Xbox. From announcing major job cuts to dropping hints about Windows playing a bigger role in the platform’s future, the brand finds itself at its most uncertain crossroads yet. What lies ahead for Xbox? Trev and Stu dive into the speculation… Topics covered:

A look back at Microsoft’s early years in gaming

Xbox’s historic struggles against its biggest rivals

Could a 3DO-style open hardware approach for Windows-based Xbox consoles actually work?

Does SteamOS offer a blueprint for how Windows could handle console gaming? How console-like could a future Windows experience truly be?

Would a Windows Xbox play nicely with third-party stores like Steam?

Could it deliver a hassle-free, plug-and-play experience for console gamers? Pricing pressures — can Microsoft keep a PC-based Xbox in line with traditional console pricing?

If a Windows Xbox can run everything a PC can… should Sony be worried? Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Turn The Page (Tutorial Theme) – Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998) – Sony Playstation – Composer(s): Hiroshi Okubo

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! Stu’s got his hands on the Nintendo Switch 2 and gives us his honest review — no over-the-top YouTube theatrics here! Plus, the long-rumoured Microsoft x ASUS collaboration is finally official: meet the Xbox ROG Ally, a new handheld console. But will this be the Steam Deck killer, or is the real story the custom gaming-optimised Windows OS it runs? Here’s what we’re covering:

How does the Switch 2 launch compare to the original Switch?

First impressions of Mario Kart World

Did the Switch 2 really need groundbreaking innovation?

How do Switch 1 games perform on the Switch 2?

External controller support: Switch 2 vs Steam Deck

Where the Steam Deck still outperforms Windows-based handhelds

The most exciting part of the Xbox Ally: a gaming-optimised Windows OS

How will the new custom Xbox Windows handle launchers, UI quirks, and game libraries?

Is Xbox Ally’s branding confusing? Does the average gamer think it’s a portable Xbox console, not a Windows handheld?

Gaming-optimised Windows vs SteamOS performance speculation

Will Xbox Windows support all generations of Xbox titles? Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! Trev’s finally done it — he’s bought a PS5! The big question is: why now? Is a PS5 still worth it in 2025? Can it coexist peacefully with a Steam Deck, or is a showdown inevitable? We dive into all that and more in this week’s episode.

Also in the mix: Stu shares his thoughts on Deliver At All Costs for PC.

First impressions of the PS5 — what stands out, what falls short, and what surprised.

Trev gets hands-on with PS5 YouTube streaming. First impressions of Space Marine 2 — and a nostalgic look back at the original.

Can the Steam Deck keep up with today’s heavy-hitting games?

Would the Steam Deck make a good PS Portal alternative?

PS Plus Premium vs Xbox Game Pass — which service comes out on top?

And is the Xbox still worth it now that its exclusives are creeping onto PS5? Hit play and join the conversation. Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Turn The Page (Tutorial Theme) – Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998) – Sony Playstation – Composer(s): Hiroshi Okubo

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! In the latest instalment of our “Saving the System” series, we turn our attention to our all-time favourite gaming platform — the legendary Commodore Amiga. Its fate was sealed the moment Commodore collapsed, but can Trev and Stu breathe new life into this classic machine? Join us as we dive into what could have been, what went wrong, and what should have been possible. This episode includes:

Thoughts on Oblivion Remastered

Could the Amiga 1000 launch have been handled better?

Why the Amiga 500 was pure perfection

Should Commodore have canned the CDTV and CD32 to focus on CD-ROM add-ons?

Did the Amiga 1200 arrive too late?

Why the 68020 CPU was already showing its age in 1992

How the unreleased AAA chipset might have kept the Amiga competitive

Imagining what successors to the A1200 and A4000 could have looked like Fire up your Workbench disks — it’s time to rewrite history. Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Turn The Page (Tutorial Theme) – Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998) – Sony Playstation – Composer(s): Hiroshi Okubo

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! We’ve been speculating for months, but now the Nintendo Switch 2 has been fully revealed! We break down the announcements, react to the hardware, and ask the big questions — is this the upgrade we were waiting for?

Did Nintendo nail it or miss the mark? We talk expectations, surprises, and what we’re still hoping to see.

£75 for Mario Kart World — are you kidding?! Is this the new normal for premium Nintendo titles, or just a launch shocker? Whatever happened to pre-order deposits? Back in the day, a fiver held your spot. What changed?

Smart move or safe play? We debate whether building on the original Switch design was the right call. A deep dive into the tech specs New hardware features, chipset, display — we’re getting into the weeds.

A true generational leap? Where does Switch 2 stand compared to the original — and the competition?

Can it really do 1080p handheld and 4K docked? We discuss frame rates, resolution promises, and real-world expectations.

Switch vs PC handhelds Steam Deck, ROG Ally — how does Nintendo’s offering stack up?

OG Switch games on Switch 2 What kind of backward compatibility are we looking at?

Switch 2 launch lineup thoughts Our reactions to the confirmed games — what’s hot, what’s not?

GameCube emulation is here! Yep, it’s official — GameCube classics are coming to Switch Online. Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Turn The Page (Tutorial Theme) – Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998) – Sony Playstation – Composer(s): Hiroshi Okubo

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! #marchintosh is here! Trev and Stu join in the annual YouTube tradition of Marchintosh, dedicating an episode to all things Apple Mac in March! This year, we’re flipping through a couple of Macworld UK back issues from 2004 and 2005, reminiscing about an era when Apple was transforming into the tech giant we know today. Join us as we dive into:

Stu’s new obsession: Robocop: Rogue City

Were 80s and 90s movie-licensed video games actually better than we remember?

Was Macworld UK just a reprint of the US edition?

Trev’s 20th anniversary as a Mac user!

The long-forgotten Apple eMac desktop. Apple’s simple pro vs. consumer product matrix in 2004.

The never-ending saga of gaming (or lack thereof) on Mac.

A look back at iPods and the entire iPod family. Remember when buying Mac OS X meant getting a massive box?

Where did Brits buy Macs before Apple Stores? A look at Mac retailers in the UK.

How mid-2000s Apple computers still hold up today. And more! Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Turn The Page (Tutorial Theme) – Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998) – Sony Playstation – Composer(s): Hiroshi Okubo

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! Nvidia has just unveiled its latest generation of RTX graphics cards, and the prices are absolutely eye-watering. But is it really worth dropping thousands on a gaming PC when a £350 second-hand PS5 could deliver a great gaming experience? Let’s dive into the debate! In this episode: Looking back & ahead – We reflect on the podcast’s journey and where it’s headed. GPU sticker shock! – Are the astronomical prices of modern graphics cards justifiable? Console vs. PC – Is a £350 pre-owned PS5 better value than a high-end gaming rig? Upscaling & frame-gen – Have these technologies narrowed the image quality gap between PCs and consoles? The PS5 Pro conundrum – Is the PS5 Pro a true alternative to a high-end gaming setup? A blast from the past – How gaming PCs like the Commodore Amiga stacked up against their console rivals. PC gaming on a budget – Do cheap digital games offset the high cost of hardware? Handheld revolution? – Are low-end gaming PCs, like those from Valve & ASUS, the real value champions? What do you think? Team PC or Team Console? Let’s discuss! Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Turn The Page (Tutorial Theme) – Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998) – Sony Playstation – Composer(s): Hiroshi Okubo

Retro and current gen gaming chat, with Trev and Stu, its the Console Shockcast! Are console generation leaps becoming less significant? Back in the day, each new system felt like a revolution—but have we reached a point where improvements are harder to notice? Has graphical fidelity gotten so good that new technologies struggle to stand out?

Trev and Stu look back at console generations from the 90s to today, breaking down whether the leaps were truly bigger in the past or if we’re just seeing things differently.

Stu’s been streaming Call of Duty on our channel

Trev’s revisiting Donkey Kong Country Returns on the 3DS—was the 3D effect actually worthwhile?

Wind Waker on Wii U—a timeless classic or just a glow-up?

The massive shift from 8/16-bit to 32-bit 3D—was this the biggest leap in gaming history?

Stu breaks down his four distinct eras of console gaming

When do console generations truly begin and end?

Is there anything on PS5/Xbox Series that last-gen couldn’t do? Do most gamers even care about ray tracing?

Why are console generations lasting longer than ever? Check out Trev and Al’s other podcast where they reminisce about a different episode of Star Trek every month! : https://longrangesensors.com/episodes Intro/Outro Music – Turn The Page (Tutorial Theme) – Ridge Racer Type 4 (1998) – Sony Playstation – Composer(s): Hiroshi Okubo