Cocktail Mode: Retro Games, Cocktails and Banter

This week, in celebration of the release of GTA6, the Cocktail Mode podcast is dropping back to 1997 and the top-down carnage that is the birthplace of modern sandbox crime: DMA Design’s pioneering classic, Grand Theft Auto! We’re taking a tour through the original versions of Liberty City, San Andreas, and Vice City long before the 3D open-world boom. We'll be chatting about the frantic top-down perspective, public phone missions, and the sheer thrill of hijacking random cars. As usual, we’ve shaken up a pair of cocktails to keep our hands steady through every rampaging multiplier spree.   Andy’s Cocktail: https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/6856/ Dave’s Cocktail: https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/28392/     Friends of the show (Not sponsored or affiliated): www.DiffordsGuide.co.uk www.ConsoleMAD.co.uk www.Anstream.com https://retrocomputermuseum.co.uk/ www.amigalive.com https://turbospirit.world/   #GrandTheftAuto #GTA1 #DMADesign #RockstarGames #RetroGaming #PlayStation #PCGaming #90sGaming #CocktailMode #VideoGameCocktails #OpenWorld #NostalgiaPodcast #GTA6

This week on the Cocktail Mode podcast, Andy and Dave are revisiting the true granddaddy of open-world driving: Durell Software's 1986 classic, Turbo Esprit! Joined by special guest David ‘Sprex’ Spreckley, we reminisce about an 8-bit technical marvel that pioneered free-roaming city driving long before Grand Theft Auto made it a global phenomenon. Mike Richardson’s masterpiece gave gamers fully navigable city maps complete with working traffic signals, pedestrians, fuel management, and high-stakes car chases. Plus, Sprex fills us in on Turbo Spirit: Cruise Anywhere - his upcoming love letter to Turbo Esprit that lets you drive down virtually any real-world road, arriving on PC later this year.   Andy’s Cocktail: https://www.instagram.com/p/Da_jNU7vaob/ Dave’s Cocktail: https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/36052/ Sprex’ Cocktail: https://makemeacocktail.com/en/cocktail/7650/   Friends of the show (Not sponsored or affiliated):  DiffordsGuide.co.uk ConsoleMAD.co.uk Anstream.com Amigalive.com https://retrocomputermuseum.co.uk/ https://www.youtube.com/@skydivedparcelproductions   #CocktailMode #VideoGameCocktails #RetroGaming #TurboEsprit #DurellSoftware #ZXSpectrum #Commodore64 #AmstradCPC #LotusEsprit #8bitGaming #RetroGamer #OpenWorldGames #CruiseAnywhere #TurboSpirit  

This week on the Cocktail Mode podcast, Andy and Dave are strapping into the anti-gravity rig to revisit the game that 90s post-pub gaming: Psygnosis’s 1996 masterpiece, WipEout 2097 (aka WipEout XL)! We’re taking a break-neck lap through the title that brought full-on club culture to the original PlayStation. We break down the game's brutal airbrake mechanics, The Designers Republic’s iconic visual style, and a soundtrack stacked with The Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, and Underworld. As usual, we’ve shaken up a pair of cocktails to keep our hands steady through every plasma bolt and track wall. Andy’s Cocktail: https://cocktailwhisperer.com/tag/industrial-revolution/ Dave’s Cocktail: https://clinkclinkdrink.com/2019/02/28/fire-starter/   Friends of the show (Not sponsored or affiliated): DiffordsGuide.co.uk ConsoleMAD.co.uk Anstream.com www.amigalive.com https://retrocomputermuseum.co.uk/ Dominik Diamond http://turbospirit.world/    #Wipeout2097 #WipeoutXL #RetroGaming #Psygnosis #PlayStation #PS1 #90sGaming #CocktailMode #VideoGameCocktails #DesignersRepublic #Prodigy #AntiGravityRacing  

This week on the Cocktail Mode podcast Andy and Dave are putting on their trench coats as they dive into Bullfrog’s 1996 cyberpunk tactical classic: Syndicate Wars! We break down the grim fight between the EuroCorp Syndicate and the Church of the New Epoch. We reminisce about modifying cyborg agents with heavy ordnance driving tanks through rain-slick neon streets and the sheer chaotic satisfaction of firing off a Persuadertron into a crowded plaza - then contrast it with the 1993 original and see how its bleak vision of the future holds up today. To match the cold high-tech dystopian atmosphere we’ve shaken up a pair of sharp dangerously smooth cocktails.    Andy's Cocktail: https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/335/ Dave's Cocktail: https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/1002/   Friends of the show (Not sponsored or affiliated): DiffordsGuide.co.uk ConsoleMAD.co.uk Antstream.com retrocomputermuseum.co.uk AmigaLive.com http://turbospirit.world/   #CocktailMode #CocktailModePodcast #RetroGamingPodcast #CocktailsAndGaming #SyndicateWars #Bullfrog #BullfrogProductions #PeterMolyneux #DosGames #Playstation1 #PS1Classic #RetroGaming #Cyberpunk #TacticalStrategy #PCGaming #90sGaming #CyberpunkVibes #RetrogamingCommunity #CraftCocktails #CocktailRecipes

This week on the Cocktail Mode podcast, Andy & Dave are braving the Sultan's dungeons and racing against the clock in the 1989 cinematic platforming classic: Prince of Persia! We’re diving into the game that revolutionized video game animation through Jordan Mechner’s groundbreaking rotoscoping technique, bringing unprecedented fluidity and life to every leap, ledge-grab, and sword clash. We discuss the sheer panic of the ticking 60-minute time limit, the brutal precision of the spikes and chomper traps, and why landing a successful counter-attack in a duel feels so intensely rewarding. We also celebrate the game's atmospheric minimalism, cinematic storytelling, and its immense legacy that paved the way for modern action-adventure gaming. Obviously there’ll also be two "dungeon-defying" cocktails to help you survive the sands of time!   Andy’s Cocktail: https://www.today.com/recipes/ubiquity-cocktail-recipe-t294314 Dave’s Cocktail: https://www.boxesandbooze.com/cocktails/white-mouse     Friends of the show (Not sponsored or affiliated): DiffordsGuide.co.uk ConsoleMAD.co.uk Antstream.com retrocomputermuseum.co.uk AmigaLive.com   #PrinceOfPersia #RetroGaming #GamingHistory #JordanMechner #CinematicPlatformer #DOSGaming #80sGaming #CocktailMode #VideoGameCocktails #NostalgiaPodcast #Rotoscoping #1989Games #AppleII