Bountybob Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 The games on the Bally Astrocade looked pretty good Their version of Gunfight looked much more faithfull than the 2600 version as did their Pacman clone Muncher.Pity the console never really took off. Intersting it was mail order only and games developed by Jay Fenton of GORF fame Gunfight Muncher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirage Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 What makes you think it was mail order only? I clearly remember seeing them in stores like LaBelle's back then. I actually wanted one until everyone I knew started getting VCS's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almightytodd Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 I had a neighbor who had one in 1981. I recall a version of Galaxians that looked pretty impressive. The gunfight game does look good compared to Atari's first effort (...in 2K of ROM), but I think the Xype release of Gunfight in 2001 is still better... ...and it plays "Ring of Fire"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
classics Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 I'll second that, there were tons of Bally Astrocades available in stores in the Akron area back in the era. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic George 2K3 Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Only one now-defunct videogame store in Westfield, MA I knew of carried any Astrocade games. I don't know if it also carried the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darthkur Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 The Bally Home Library Computer, which is what the first version of the Astrocade was entitled, was only available via mail order in 1977. Later on it was offered in computer stores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bountybob Posted June 9, 2008 Author Share Posted June 9, 2008 I had a neighbor who had one in 1981. I recall a version of Galaxians that looked pretty impressive. The gunfight game does look good compared to Atari's first effort (...in 2K of ROM), but I think the Xype release of Gunfight in 2001 is still better... ...and it plays "Ring of Fire"... It doesn't have the wagon though like the astrocade version had Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y-bot Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 (edited) http://www.ballyalley.com everything you ever wanted to know about the Bally/Astrocade and more y-bot Edited June 10, 2008 by y-bot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaperman Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 it certainly was a nifty controller idea. I can't help but think the paddle/stick could have been executed in a better overall shape though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickHarrisMaine Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 it certainly was a nifty controller idea. I can't help but think the paddle/stick could have been executed in a better overall shape though. It looked odd, but believe it or not, that is the best classic games controller ever! Better than the CX-40 stick, better than Intellivision (duh) better than CV (double-duh), better than the Odyssey 2 (which was pretty good). Just a great controller! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaperman Posted June 10, 2008 Share Posted June 10, 2008 (edited) It looked odd, but believe it or not, that is the best classic games controller ever! Better than the CX-40 stick, better than Intellivision (duh) better than CV (double-duh), better than the Odyssey 2 (which was pretty good). Just a great controller! I've got one around, though it has problems with parts of the screen, so I've never been able to fully enjoy astrocade. I do recall liking the overall stick idea, though the shaft seemed far too long and thin, if I'm remembering right, there was flex. (the stick inside the controller was long and flexing, not outside) But I really loved the idea, and it did have a nice throw. Really it was the pistol/trigger idea wasn't my favorite... it's been a *long* time, so maybe I'm not remembering it quite right, though. We're talking a decade... Really to improve maybe a shorter, stiffer shaft would have done better. Microswitches and an even shorter throw. Remove the 'trigger' concept totally, because I didn't much care for it. In general my vision of the perfect retro controller is an epyx 500xj where the stick spin provides paddle functionality. (because the 500xj is where I lean for my ideal controller.) Putting that knob out there is nothing short of brilliant. Back in the day, every system had radically different control ideas for doing about the same thing. Every system that comes out we wonder what the controller looks like, but already know it's a left-handed pad... (obvious exception being the wii) Edited June 10, 2008 by Reaperman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impaler_26 Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 I had a neighbor who had one in 1981. I recall a version of Galaxians that looked pretty impressive. The gunfight game does look good compared to Atari's first effort (...in 2K of ROM), but I think the Xype release of Gunfight in 2001 is still better... ...and it plays "Ring of Fire"... It doesn't have the wagon though like the astrocade version had 2600 Gunfight has the Wagon, you can select a few different scenarios by pressing Reset. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vrocko Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 I remember the Astrocade. My Sister-in-Law's nephew had one. We played it occasionally but not too much. Some of the games were pretty good as I recall. Wonder whatever happened to it? Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_c Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 I'll second that, there were tons of Bally Astrocades available in stores in the Akron area back in the era. Steve the old Hyperstore (can't remember what the chain was named before that) had a ton of 'em. we bought one there, and a bunch of games...and i don't know what happened to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidsmith Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I loved Gun Fight in the old days! The Astrocade version was definitely the best version - even better than the arcade. I've spent ages searching for a version I could download and finally found a superb remake you can play online! It's on www.scratchpad-cloud.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Mitchell Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Some games were excellent like Gunfight .. Others are pitiful like the version of tanks .. And the control of solar conquerer .. If they had only made it control like asteroids! .. If someone could go into SC and change it to work like asteroids .. That would be the bomb! Dog patch is a lot of fun .. Many games require two players .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatPix Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Intersting it was mail order only THhs point is true only for the first months of the Bally Professionnal Arcade production run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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