ROBERT

Hello all: My apologies for getting back to the orig posting...never replied to this one yet until now, though I must admit I have enjoyed the follow-up replies to date !! Todd, like myself, generally prefers non-sports titles with the exception of racing games and a few non-traditional sports titles like Boxing and Skiing by Activision. As good as some sports games are, some gamers concentrate on non-sports titles by personal choice. One gamer indicated that a "Tennis" game was not accepted by TG, and that is most likely because the ease of getting 6-0, even on hard difficulty. It's still do-able. As for "Ice Hockey", I'd ask Ron if, for that one, he would be interested in a "biggest blowout" type record (difference between your score and opponent), but that's about all we can possibly track for that title. Todd just LOVES the "Decathalon" title, but hasn't, to my knowledge, embraced the "Summer Games" or "Winter Games" titles. I have them myself but have not gotten around to submitting scores yet. Glad to see "Atari Age" is still thriving nicely...it's been awhile since I posted on this forum !! Robert

Hello all: I think Ron's correct with "Dragster" being just about the oldest, if not the oldest TG score. However, I'd ask this question...the TG date of the scores from so far back in time...are they based on the date of achievement or the date of verification by TG ? Meaning, did Todd's "Dragster" score, when accomplished, occur after a previously submitted VHS score of, say, another title, but the "Dragster" was verified first. I don't think anyone remembers the sequence of events going that far back, but on paper, it's the "Dragster", I think. Robert

Hello fellow gamers: I remembered last evening how to solve the 2nd "Greymoon" card quest task...still can't figure out the correct noun/verb combination to use for getting the ring out of the chair in "Excalibur"...any help would be greatly appreciated as Ron Corcoran, Stephen Knox, Todd Rogers and I are all revisiting this title for the Mar/03 "Snipercade" monthly challenge. Thanks !! Robert

Hello all: Just picked this one up after more than 15 years and wow, did the memories come flooding back !! Definitely one of the top 10 games of all time. I hate to sound like I'm not doing my homework, but there are two things in this game that are currently bugging the heck out of me, and I was hoping that someone could help. The first is in "Exclaibur"...a metal ring is wedged in the Captain's Chair and typing in "Get Ring" gives a message that the crack is too narrow. The next is in I think "Greymon", the one with the peasant who has the sheep, and if you talk business he wants to know what you will give him for the sheep. Anyone know what to type here ? I'll deal with the 3 Egyptian-based level question as they come up, but the peasant is critical because the 2nd Hermit question relies on something the peasant tells you, and all I get as far as responses are "That means nothing to a peasant". Any help would be appreciated. Thanks !! Robert

Hi: I was just wondering, regarding these rarity adjustments based on taking several factors into consideration including the EBay offerings... Just because a cart's title seems to be popping up on Ebay does not imply it's an original...when you all of a sudden see a new listing for "Mr Do's Castle", "Cashe the Chuckwagon" or "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" every few days, you have wonder how many of them are legit and not dupes. I'd surely consider the Ebay offerings, but would use judgement as to how much weight to put on their appearance. Obviously if a title does not appear on Ebay, that goes without saying that no one is even offering a dupe, let alone the original. I also agree that demand should have no bearing on rarity. Last year, I spotted a truly unique one on Ebay...the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" prototype for an alternate version of the game. I sent TG Atari referee Ron Corcoran the link and he saw that the gamescreen looked nothing like the standard version we're all used to playing. Well, rare of not, maybe three persons bid and that was it. The apparent low demand still doesn't change the fact that the game was ultra rare, and personally, I'd rate that one as at least a 9, if not a 10. Just my two cents. Robert T Mruczek Twin Galaxies - Editor and Chief referee Star Wars classic arcade champion rmruczek@doremus.com (work E-MAIL) ******************************

Just a thought... If Todd can get the joystick going at light speed while playing 2600 "Track n Field", could he travel back in time and get younger while he's playing ? True...that was lame. But the REAL game that Todd cannot win is... "Frankenstien's Monster" !! Just ask him...he knows this one is a major pain. Robert

Hello: I found Room of Doom on Ebay many, many months before I finally saw a Mines of Minos for sale...and in the interrim, I saw several more RODs inbetween. I have to say that the Mines is the harder to find title by far. Robert T Mruczek Twin Galaxies - Editor and Chief referee Star Wars classic arcade champion rmruczek@doremus.com (work E-MAIL) ******************************

Hello fellow gamers: A few months back, dor Ron Corcoran's monthly console challenge, I did manage a 699K on the game...just missing 700K, a free man, and a chance at at least 80-100K more points, as I died on my last guy in the stage 20-pattern screen on the very last red radioactive barrier. What a terrible way to go !! Anyway, this is one of the top 10 Atari 2600 titles for sure. The challenge is superb, and the concept itself is refreshing. Reminds me in some respects of the "Caverns of Mars" Atari 800 title in that you are going into a downward complex in search of some goal. But other than that observation, H.E.R.O. stands apart from most other 2600 titles. The graphics are creative, colourful and sharp. The gameplay is extremely responsive in MOST (*) cases, and whoever dreamed up the time limit per stage did an excellent job at cutting it close...especially in the stage 20 pattern. NOTE (*) - to this day I have problems scooting under the red barriers with the necessary maneuver...sometimes I lurch upwards earlier than expected and touch the barrier. Other times I fall on an angle into the lava...either way it's not perfect...but close !! The repeating stages 13-20 are okay, but really, the only challenge is stages 17-20, and even then it's only stages 19 & 20 that are super hard...stages 17 & 18 are passably hard, but easily do-able once you know how. The challenge is to reach each stage 19-pattern with 6 men in storage, and finish each stage 20-pattern with hopefully 3+ men in storage, as the stages 13-18 that follow you will most likely lose no extra lives and gain 3-4 back. I think the most fun part is to see how far you can get on a single life, among other chalenges, like how fast you can finish stage 20, or how many points can you acumulate by end of stage 20 on one life...things like that (proficiency, etc). Until I get 1M, the game will never rest in my house. Just wish there was a sequel...or a REALLY lengthy level which combines all of stages 1-20 in one huge level with an ultra tight time limit. Yeah, that would be awesome !! Robert

Hello fellow gamers: Todd does what many gamers, if time permitted, would like to do...he plays his heart out at whatever titles capture his interest, and I don't just mean an hour here or an hour there, as evidenced by some of his marathons. Twin Galaxies regards Todd as an "Ambassador of Good Will" in the world of competetive gaming, due to his experience, longevity, prominence and sportsmanship in the hobby. Outside of the gaming world, Todd has various personal interests and talents. He's a great conversationalist for those who have had the pleasure, and when it comes to talking about gaming, he's in his element for sure. Now...the big questions...(A) what does it take to "be like Todd", and (B) who is the "next Todd" ? That's not too tough to answer. As far as (A) goes, dedication and perseverance is the key, moreso than anything else. Any gamer, no matter what level of expertise, inevitably gets better via experience. Never giving up is another trait, as evidenced by the great gamers when they are perhaps on their last ship with x-points to go for a personal best...and they hold steady. Hand in hand with my answer to (A) comes the next part...(B). Not to slight any gamers, I won't mention names, but in the world of modern console gaming, I have seen quite a few players determined to achieve a better score, learning from their mistakes and making adjustments to their skills on the title, and quite simply, it all pays off. To be a great gamer like Todd, or Billy Mitchell, or the many, MANY other classic-era gamers out there (I won't make 'em embarrassed by naming them..and the list would be long indeed), you don't have to have several hundred top records out there, and you don't have to be THE best at every title you play. Making a presence in the world of gaming does take time, I admit, but noticing a presence happens on it's own accord, by word of mouth, reports of achievements on forum threads, and maybe even participating in and doing all right in a competition or two. And most importantly, a great gamer must also be a great person. I have to admit that when I used to meet some of the truly stuck up "I'm better than you" gamers in the mid 1980's, that was a major turn off, so I guess a great gamer has to recognize and appreciate that, and not carry an attitude about it. Poise is also a trait among the best gamers. Well, I digress...as usual !! Robert T Mruczek Twin Galaxies - Editor and Chief referee Star Wars classic arcade champion rmruczek@doremus.com ******************************

Hello fellow gamers: My apologies to my good friend Todd for not chiming in now, but things have been ultra busy at my job. I am the chief referee for the Twin Galaxies Intergalactic Scoreboard, and it has been brought to my attention that a thread on the Atari Age site had questioned who Todd was, and apparently generated quite a few responses as to that and his many accomplishments on our scoreboard. Well, time still does not permit me to search for this thread, so I'll start a new one, and hopefully won't sound too preachy in the process. I've known OF Todd Rogers only since Walter first announced on the TG site that a classic era gamer has resurfaced and claimed literally hundreds of top-notch high scores, largely home console, but a few arcade as well. Since at the time I was a player only, and not yet a referee, I was mostly interested in two of his scores, and voiced my opinions to senior TG referee and worldwide Atari editor, Ron Corcoran, with whom I had dealt with extensively for the preceeding year or so on the Atari 2600 front. One thing lead to another, and Todd initiated contact with me and we became good friends since. I have witnessed a few of his gaming feats to date, but Ron has had the genuine pleasure of seeing first-hand some of the eye-popping achievements that Todd had performed from years back, as well as in the here and present. Todd's scores range from the short-duration records all the way up to the double-digit hour marathon sessions, and I do believe that unofficially, Todd holds the record for the most DIFFERENT marathoned world record titles in TG history, and by that I don't mean playing 20 different marathons on the same game...I mean he's marathoned 20+ games, and probably more like 40-50 by now, if not more. He possesses a skillset that only the finest of players does...an intuitive insight into the behaviour of the game AI, and an astute pattern-evaluation ability that most gamers can only dream of. Combine that with the perseverance that is evident in his many, many marathon attempts, as well as the thousands of hours devoted to the hundreds if not thousands of titles that he has tried over the years, and you inevitably have a player who will, by dedication and determination, set dozens upon dozens of stellar world record scores, and in Todd's case, hundreds. Now, onto some specific scores that will give you a very broad picture of what Todd has accomplished. SPEED Todd has mastered some of the fastest 2600 titles out there, including these few gems... -> 1M+ on Dragonfire -> 1M on Fast Food and Kaboom B -> Over 100K on Kaboom A -> 1M+ on Cosmic Ark -> 1M+ (I believe) on Turmoil Great gamers excel at both strategy as well as adjusting for speed, and with that, here are a few of his most impressive strategy scores... -> Over 800K on "Gopher", an extremely hard title -> Maxing out just about all the Activision titles including "Oink!!", "Dolphin" and more -> 1M+ on Dark Caverns And to top it all off, what great gamer doesn't burn the midnight oil on at least a few occassions... -> 40+ hours on Enduro -> 70+ hours on Journey Escape -> 30+ hours on Donkey Kong (2600) And last but not least, I'll bet many of you did not know that recently, he achieved over a half million on "River Raid" on just a single life !! Consider how many people have achieved a half million to date on any number of ships, let alone one. Not too many, I have to say. Todd is a dedicated gamer who is also, I am proud to say, a valuable TG asset, both as an informational resource, as a participating gamer and referee, and as a competitor, and on top of it all, he's a personal friend of mine these past two years. He's the real deal as far as gaming is concerned, and if you ever have the opportunity to visit either the Mall of America, CGE or Funspot in 2003, you might even see Todd at one of these events doing his thing in person !! Just my two cents. Robert T Mruczek Twin Galaxies - Editor and Chief referee Star Wars classic arcade champion rmruczek@doremus.com (work E-MAIL) *******************************

Hi: Phew...for a moment I thought someone would declare that an "E.T." cartridge found in the now famous landfill is discovered to have a miraculous power of giving gamers who touch it incredible gaming skills. Robert T Mruczek Twin Galaxies - Editor and Chief referee Star Wars classic arcade champion rmruczek@doremus.com (work E-MAIL) *******************************

Hello fellow gamers: Not every game will have an earth-shattering or meaningful purpose. Some games in fact will have the lamest purpose of all. In fact, and I can't remember the title of this one, I remember playing a game years back in which the character's hat was stolen, and based on that proposition alone, the chartacter in question embarked on a major odyssey in order to get it's hat back. Not the best premise, but at least there was one. Onto the game(s) in question, now... Let's start with "Dark Cavern". I actually like this game to the challenge of it...anyone that has played it out past the 300K mark knows what I mean. True, it has no seeming purpose, but if you think about it, this is not much different than the much beloved "Berzerk" in some respects, so I'd say just aprpeciate the challenge in this one and turn a blind eye to the purpose. As for "Dark Chambers", this is one of the most plodding 2600 titles of all. I played it out for nearly four hours once, achieving close to 500K, and basically it is a repetetive map which has two (2) key areas in which, if you mess up, can cause your entire game to come to an unexpectedly abrupt end. One has to do with a sort-of trap room. If you enter it with full energy, the doorway once shot turns into a health vial which you cannot pick up to get out, and since there are no monsters in the room, you're game is then over. The other is a significant doorway monster generator which, once you're up to 400-500K, spews out monsters so fast that you do need a bomb to take care of the door or else you will never, ever, be able to shoot past it. And you would be surprised at how fast you can rack up points by standing by the door and firing into it at near point-blank range...it just doesn't help, that's all. I'd say that "Dark Chambers" is worth playing the first go-around, but when the letters wrap back again, the challenge has been met. Next is "Space Cavern". I believe I am maybe the 2nd highest score on this one right now. It is a nice challenge, especially at difficulty 35A and 39A (try it and see what I mean...MUCH harder than 1B !!), but there is no real "purpose" to it. Still, it's a fun challenge, and should be played with that in mind. Someone mentioned "Donkey Kong" as not being a great variant of the original classic. Yes, that may true, but at the time, it did attract buyers and provided hours of fun, so regardless of the fact that two entire stages were missing, it was adequate entertainment for a system of that era and capacity. And for any of you who have bought and played "King Kong" (Tigervision), you know that the "Donkey Kong" for the 2600 is FAR superior to "King Kong" !! There are many other titles out there which have little "purpose", but provide nice challenges. Take "Crackpots"...does this game make any sense as far as what the components (flower pots and spiders) have to do with one another ? Probably not, but it sure is fun playing it !! I say a game should be played for the fun of the challenge or the gameplay itself, and it should be up to a gamer to decide what consitutes a challenge based on their own gaming abilities, and what constitutes a "purpose" and whether or not such is an important factor in their decision to play a particular title. Just my two cents. Robert T Mruczek Twin Galaxies - Editor and Chief referee Star Wars classic arcade champion rmruczek@doremus.com (work E-MAIL) *******************************

Hello fellow classic gamers: Not sure if this was previously brought to the attention of this forum, but his is a link you MUST read...it's worth it !! http://www.ataritimes.com/classics/feature..._adventure.html Robert T Mruczek Twin Galaxies - Editor and Chief referee Star Wars classic arcade champion rmruczek@doremus.com (work E-MAIL) ******************************

Hello fellow gamers: The competition officially ended September 16th, and I waited until September 26th for mail-in arrivals (and there were a few). So, now that it is all said and done, the results of the competition come next. I sent fellow TG referee and worldwide Atari and Intellivision editor, Ron Corcoran, the final rankings and newsletter report of the competition results, and after his review, the details will be posted shortly for everyone to see. My personal thanks to all participants, including everyone who was interested enough to inquire. A future time-based competition will surely be held, but until maybe 6 months has gone by. The next one will most definitely be cross-platform and including the ColecoVision system, and perhaps the Inty. Only time will tell what the next decision's makeup will be...pun intended. Robert T Mruczek Twin Galaxies - Editor and Chief referee Star Wars classic arcade champion rmruczek@doremus.com (work E-MAIL) ******************************

Hello fellow gamers: I have to believe that for that price, considering how cheesy the graphics look in the game link, that any 2600 collector is much better served buying several ultra-rares rather than this one. It looks even cheesier than...dare I say it...E.T. !! Robert T Mruczek Twin Galaxies - Editor and Chief referee Star Wars classic arcade champion rmruczek@doremus.com (work E-MAIL) ******************************