Xero shifts into top gear for his latest review, leaping into a Team Hornet branded racing car and taking Daytona USA out for a spin.

“SNAP”. Take a break you! Put your feet up and relax, you have earnt it. Whether you have been the bastion of the shop shelves or organising the ledger for the past few hours,  it is now time to explore the world of games you can play for absolutely free. All we ask in return is for your well earned Free time!

For Type Racer click here.

Track Mania..Lights out!

And for the all important heads up on what we are playing next month: Clicky Click!

“Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye” Sometimes music is just weird and other times it is pretty bloomin’ good. Sometimes it attracts our attention and others it is just playful in the back ground. Sometimes it is probably best to  ignore music and other times we should be pulling it all apart and interviewing all the members of the InRetroSpect team in a special extended video game music special. Those other times be right now!

After crash landing back on earth Strider gets into a tight space with psycho-historian Henri Ebel, examining Medal of Honor in a bid to see if the claustrophobic ‘wall of criticism’ surrounding Germany at the end of WWI has found its way into gaming.

Straight from the arcades of old comes Virtua Cop, an early light gun shooter. But is it worth a shot, or is it a misfire all over? Xero gives the definitive verdict on this SEGA classic.

What did you do when you reached double figures for the first time? Have a party? Realised the sanctity of the mortal coil? Or get togther and have a look at all the wonderful gaming you can do for free? We all did the latter and loved it! This month we even have a special guest along for the ride. So settle back, get on the download and plug us in your lug ‘oles and let the belly wobble!

Here is where you can find Record Tripping.

And Home is available for free on every PS3.

And for all of the games we will be playing next month just click me!

Computer Games have an image problem. What you and me try to take seriously others may liken it to wandering around naked, crawling along the floor dribbling. To some it is childish, to others it is adult and to a small minority they are proud to be childishly adult. So is it about time we all just grew up?

After fleeing the law in Liberty City, Strider escapes to a galaxy far far away. With his resilient Ratchet (Clinical Psychologist Avner Faulk) and his trusty Clank (Marconi) Digital Wanderlust boldly goes where no one has gone before in a bid to see whether it is possible to truly escape mother earth.

It’s time for Sonic The Hedgehog to take a back seat for a moment as the chief mascot of SEGA, as the InRetroSpect Review Show dusts off Ristar from the collection to see whether you should be adding it to your games collection. Is this relatively forgotten SEGA platformer a shining star when reviewed 15 years later, or does it burn up on re-entry? Xero investigates.

With all this sporting action going on I bet you haven’t left the house in a while. Or you’ve been naughty and spent a lot of your beans on drinking noxious substances and maybe fattening up the waistline as you watch the people run around hitting stuff. So here comes the ultimate sollution, it’s Free, Fun and Enjoyable. It’s July’s Free Play!

Here is where you can play Auditorium.

And here is where you can play N.

And to get ahead of the game, the games for Episode 10 are here.

It’s not nice being lost. It wastes your time, my time, and the time of many others as you flap around in a panic. However, there is no reason to worry cause in the world of Video Games getting lost is never an option. Look in the right places you’ll always have a walkthrough to rely on and a friendly hand to guide you. But if you use them are you cheating? Should you be straddled in dishonour for just getting a little help? Marconi finds out.

With our feet back on terra firma, Strider and French Marxist theorist Guy Debord take us on a drift through Liberty City “The Worst Place in America”, to find its places of interest. Is it possible to play Grand Theft Auto 3 without breaking the law? Find out in the latest episode of Digital Wanderlust.

Xero takes a look at this Super Nintendo Japanese Role Playing Game ‘classic’, trying incredibly hard to not make any bad time related puns. Is it just the same as any other JRPG? Does its focus on choice offer anything new? Tune in to find out!

Put your wallets away! Put down the cheque book and pen! Stop begging your dad for money! You’re dining with the InRetroSpect crew from now on and we don’t like charging you a bean. Even more so we want you to be enjoying things for free even when you’re not fortunate enough to be around us.  So here we go with another Freeplay, where Xero (Pete), Dan (FrostieDee), Kris (Strider), and Sam (Marconi), tell you how to enjoy your time for free!

This month we look at the fun that comes from not shooting stuff, shooting stuff, and why we should be shooting stuff at all.

Test your ability not to shoot here!

Test your trigger finger here!

And to get ahead of the game, the games for Episode 9 are here!

Knowledge is power and a power many of us don’t have the time to access and wield. We could read books, speak to people and download the entirety of Wikipedia, but maybe the solution to the power already lies in our hands. Could the Video Games we play give us the knowledge and intelligence we need to get on in this world? Marconi pulls himself away from the works of Tolstoy to look at the world of knowledge and whether computer games are the next encyclopedias to train up our minds.

Follow Marconi on Twitter! Click!

I can see the pub from ‘ere! From walking along the mosquito biting plains of Bolivia, Strider now teams up with French sociologist Michel de Certeau in the second of a series of podcasts, this time examining the digital city from the omnipresent views of the sky above our heads, as he takes Sim City into his care. What could psycho-geography say about this one? Avoid listening if scared of heights…

Featured music by A Fine Day For Sailing

and more by Strider just a click or a tweet (@DigitalStrider) away!

InRetroSpect is not responsible for content on external sites.

Flying reptiles, lazer weapons, tribal warfare, it’s a weird world that Panzer Dragoon paints, but is it one you should spend any time in? Xero investigates this Sega Saturn classic.

Dry your eyes, pack up for the weekend, celebrate or commiserate, cause the election is over and the bindweed of politics is grasping for your attention no more. However the InRetroSpect crew are still after your ears, so join us for the month of May!

We take pleasure in looking at the games that only cost you your precious time on earth, and also this month we’ll be casting our mouths off at how you behave online! Naughty, Naughty!

The mind bending Continuity be here!

Play along to Quake Live here!

and for more clicking action get a heads up for the edition next month HERE!

It is almost considered cool these days to assume that violence in video games is influencing our youth. Though how come many of us have never been affected by what we have played? Marconi delves into his past to see why many of us sympathise with the industry rather than joining in with the attack!

Join Marconi on Twitter! Clickedy Click!

Why do we explore? Strider puts Tomb Raider on the psychoanalyst’s couch in the first of a series of walks that attempts to answer this question. Featuring music from ‘A Fine Day For Sailing’.

The return to the world stage of the most beloved 2D fighter series of all time, but is this a superb addition to the Street Fighter stable or one one-on-one brawler to avoid? Xero investigates…

Another new month can only mean a few things!  More pinching and punching of your close friends and family. A new chance to start that diet and once again the InRetroSpect guys have mashed their heads together and taken a critical eye over the games you can play for free! Separating the wheat from the chaff once again is; Xero (Pete); Marconi (Sam); FrostieD (Dan); Strider (Kris); and Loz (err…Loz)!

This month we’ve been toiling in the fields of;

• Just Cause 2 [PS3/360]
• Miami Shark

And also recount our adventures on the Freeplay game of the month: Free Realms

Play the Flash game of the month: Miami Shark

Play the Freeplay game of the month here.

Get a head start on next month’s podcast here!

It is nice to be rewarded and recognised! Nice to be spotted on the street and hailed as the champion of your field. That same feeling is now in our home, now available with every game we buy! However, are the trophies and awards we get whilst playing games just a case of “all that glitters is not gold”?!

Follow Marconi on Twitter!

Habits can become the root of all genius! The guys getting together to record another Freeplay within a month, is certainly a good habit indeed. Once again Xero (Pete), FrostieD (Dan), Marconi (Sam) and new inductee Stryder (Kris) straddle the burning fence of critical games debate. As usual they will be examining exactly what you can do with all the fluff hanging around in your pocket. It could only be Freeplay!

This week we take a look at the demos for:

• Aliens Vs. Predator [PS3/360]
• Battlefield Bad Company 2 [PS3/360]
• Sonic and Sega All-Star Racing [360]
• Heavy Rain [PS3]

And discuss the Freeplay game of the month: Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

To play the game of the month for Free just go here!

And to play next month’s Freeplay game of the month just go here!

The future of the gaming landscape is nearly upon us. It’s time to take the controller out of your hands and put those inactive limbs into action. Will it be all that though? The peripheral is in Marconi’s sights.

Everything seems to be being rebooted at the moment, Batman, James Bond, Battlestar Gallactica, now prepare yourself for the reboot of Freeplay. It’s still all about the gaming you can do for free but we got Pete (Xero), Dan, (FrostieD), Sam (Marconi) and myself (Balaenidae) all together to talk about it.

This week we take a look at the demos for:

• Modnation Racers (beta) [PS3]
• Soul [360]

And discuss the Freeplay game of the month: Grand Theft Auto

If you wish to download Grand Theft Auto for free just go to this page and sign up.

Why do we do it? Why do we make love to the console? Spend hours and hours on the same game, playing it over and over!? Self gratification or self mutilation?

Good ole’ FrostieD has been working hard to catch up videos for old episodes of InRetroSpect Reviews, and to that end has finished his video for our first episode: InRetroSpect Reviews: Mortal Kombat.

So If you haven’t heard it yet or fancy seeing it again in sparkly new video style, check it out, Don’t forget to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

It’s time for FreePlay, the (mostly, sorta, kinda) monthly show about  all the gaming you can do for free.

This episode Xero and Loz take a look at  the difference in demos that appear on both consoles, some demos which are exclusive to each console, and of course some free independent games you can find on the Internet. Plus they find out what UFC stands for and  discuss why Vin Diesel is so awesome.

This months demos are:

• Red Faction
• UFC
• Guitar Hero Metalica
• Zen Pinball
• Vin Diesel’s The Wheelman

And the Games of the Month are:

• Mirrors Edge 2D
• Windowsill
• Feed the Head
• Dad and me

As usual any comments or questions are welcome, just e-mail them to xero@inretrospectpodcast.com or loz@inretrospectpodcast.com, alternatively send a reply to our twitter @inretweetspect.

**UPDATE**
The PlayStation Blog has just answered why there is a difference between the 360 and PS3 demos

So the multi-player version will hopefully be up at some point for PS3 peeps to enjoy.

You can now WATCH InRetroSpect Reviews on gametrailers [on the site - 26/11/2009]! Thanks to our new member of staff FrostieD for putting this together.

We should be putting out a new video episode a few days after each new InRetroSpect Reviews. Plus FrostieD is working hard to put together videos for backcatalouge shows so watch this space.

So take a look and let us know what you think!

This month Xero reviews Street Fighter 2 Turbo, the things that made the series so popular and what’s changed for the better.

Comments? Questions? Send them to xero@inretrospectpodcast.com, join in on the InRetroSpect Facebook group or follow us on twitter.

A new year, a new review, this time with an old friend Sonic. But does Sonic 3 belong in your collection? Xero finds out.