Classic Space Invaders themed birthday goodies, and questions about gaming on Google's Nexus 7

[Emperor Megas]

Hi guys. My girl got me a few things for my birthday (which was actually a month ago, today), and I thought I'd share a some of the cool gifts I got and ask a few questions about getting some classic gaming apps for my new tablet. The things I received were:

• A Space Invaders Hoodie that's really heavy, with a cool laser cannon zipper pull and Invaders in the hood
• A Green Invader Keychain with REALLY bright LED eyes (they were advertised as red, but the eyes are actually white)
• A Space Invaders Coffee Mug the graphics change replacing the missing invaders with different, tier-coloured ones when it's hot
• A Space Invader inspired Mini Cake and a silicone Retro Arcade Cake Mould (unlicensed, so it looks more like a Mooninite)
• A Google Nexus 7 Tablet with a blue tooth mini-keyboard and a few extra (screen protectors, an extra wallet, styli, etc.)

I've never owned a tablet before and I was wondering what was available in terms on classic game emulators, gaming peripherals and such. I may upgrade to a snazzier one next year, but for now I'd like to learn the classic gaming ropes on this thing (assuming there are some to learn). I suppose I should start by learning if there's an active Space Invaders background/theme.

I also got an dual VHS/DVD player for my Retro gameroom/drawingroom winter project (I always wanted one of those). My collection has become too robust for my current set up, so I'm going to expand into the connected room section for my older stuff.

Here are a few pictures of the things I got:

[Horsehead]

Happy belated birthday! And congrats on the birthday loot. I'm especially jealous of the hoodie.

EDIT -
I did a Google search for emulators for the Nexus 7, and one of the first sites that popped up suggested "RetroArch". The guide that suggested it listed these as the types of games you can run on the app...

•PlayStation 1 (emulator: PCSX ReARMed)
•Super Nintendo (emulator: SNES9x Next)
•Nintendo Entertainment System (emulator: FCEUmm / NEStopia)
•GameBoy / GameBoy Color (emulator: Gambatte)
•GameBoy Advance (emulator: VBA Next)
•Arcade (emulator: Final Burn Alpha)
•Neo Geo Pocket Color (emulator: Mednafen NGP)
•Virtual Boy (emulator: Mednafen VB)
•Sega Genesis/Mega Drive (emulator: Genesis Plus GX)
•Sega Master System/Sega Game Gear (emulator: Genesis Plus GX)
•Sega CD / Mega CD (emulator: Genesis Plus GX)
•PC Engine / PC Engine CD (emulator: Mednafen PCE Fast)
•WonderSwan Color / Crystal (emulator: Mednafen Wonderswan)
•Cave Story (game engine: NX Engine)
•Doom 1 / Doom 2 / Ultimate Doom / Final Doom (game engine: prBoom)

You can get "RetroArch" straight from the Play Store.

Edit2-
If you don't care to use the on screen buttons to play your games, the same guide that suggested "RetroArch" also suggested another app that allows you to use a ps3 controller with your tablet. https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...ntroller&hl=en

Hope I was helpful!

[Emperor Megas]

Thanks! I'm just getting the hang of using the tablet's OS. It's all pretty new to me, and I'm starting to feel old. I'll see if I can figure it all out. I wonder if there's an iCade like cabinet dock like the one for the iPad? That would be awesome.

And the hoodie is pretty sweet. There was another one from splitreason.com I had on my wish list that was sold out over a year ago, so I'd given up on hoping for one. I was happy and surprised to get the one I did though since I hadn't ever seen it before.

This was the one I originally wanted, which I'm still on the lookout for:

[Horsehead]

How are you liking the Nexus? Would you recommend it? I have a birthday coming up myself pretty soon and I was thinking of treating myself with a tablet.

I actually prefer the one you got for your birthday over the one you wanted. Do you happen to know where she got it?

[Emperor Megas]

The Nexus seem pretty fun, horsehead, but the thing is I know nothing about these things so my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt. I've really only used it to play Angry Birds (for the first time, believe it or not) and Candy Crush, check my email, and facebook, and eBay a little. I hate using the onscreen keypad, so I always use the bluetooth one I got. I guess my only issue is that it's only like 7" (insert dirty joke here), but again, I knew to using a device like this, so the size may not bother the next guy.

Honestly, I just get a kick out of there being an mobile app for everything that I do online already. I don't have a smart phone either though, so once more, little shit like that that tickles me is just "Meh, welcome to 2005" fodder for everyone else.

As for the hoodie, the only think I think the other may have over the one I got is that the one I have has a heavy vinyl-ish graphic that I know it's going to start to break down as soon as I wash it a few times. It could look cool and weather like my favorite Sonic shirt does now, or it could just look a mess.