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SabertoothRetro

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About SabertoothRetro

  • Birthday 08/01/1977

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    CA
  • Currently Playing
    Days of Doom (Atari VCS)
  • Playing Next
    Popeye (7800), Cymatically Muffed (Atari VCS)

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  1. Casual gameplay of Beef Drop for the Atari 7800 on the Atari 2600+. Programmed by the late Ken Siders, this homage to Data East's Burger Time plays very close to its arcade inspiration. Played with a CX-40+.

     

     

  2. Casual gameplay only of Rampage (1989) for the Atari 7800.  Published by Activision, this port of Bally-Midway's arcade monster bash puts you in control of the fearsome George, Lizzie, or Ralph as you destroy city after city.  It's good mindless fun and the arcade game was a childhood favorite.  

     

    My best friend had this on the SMS, and that is a far superior version.  Still, the 7800 version has it's own cartoonish charm.    

     

    Thanks to the future Mrs. Sabertooth, who graciously assisted me in capturing this footage.   Played with a pair of CX-78 gamepads.

     

    Note: You'll have to be on the Rev2 beta or experimental firmware for this to work. It does not load with the shipped firmware.

    1. 7800Knight

      7800Knight

      I love the Atari 7800 port.  I honestly find it stronger than the NES port since you have all 3 characters; the NES game just had George and Lizzie.

  3. Casual gameplay of Donkey Kong on the Atari 2600+. DK - along with Mouse Trap - were the pack-in titles for my Coleco Gemini which I received for Christmas way back in 1983.

     

    Internet rumors abound regarding the quality of this port. Was it a part of a conspiracy to make the obviously superior Colecovision look...superior? Hogwash!

     

    Garry Kitchen did a solid job bringing the game to the 2600 in limited time on a 4K cart. I like it in the same way I like 2600 Pac-Man. If you're a younger GenXer (Xennial, if you will), this was probably your DK.

     

     

     

    1. Show previous comments  2 more
    2. GoldLeader

      GoldLeader

      I don't know that it was hobbled specifically to make the ColecoVision version look good,  I just think they probably had budgets and deadlines such that they didn't care if that happened.  At the time I had a Coleco so knew nothing of the Atari version,  but the magazines seemed to run with that theory a lot...Meanwhile,  I think people enjoyed it at the time.  I'd always heard it played well,  even with inferior graphics and only 2 levels, etc...Has anyone asked the programmer about these theories?

    3. SabertoothRetro

      SabertoothRetro

      Garry Kitchen has indicated that the missing levels were due to constraints of time and ROM size - mostly time - and that he made the best game he could within those constraints.  Here's a great interview with him on the Video Game History Hour where he gets into detail about development of the game.

      https://gamehistory.org/ep-7-donkey-kong-came-to-the-atari-2600-thanks-to-garry-kitchen/

       

    4. LS650

      LS650

      Wow!  That's a great interview!

  4. Casual gameplay of Mouse Trap on the 2600+. This - along with DK - was my first owned game. It came with my Coleco Gemini way back in 1983. Of course, the game was later re-released by Atari after they acquired several Coleco assets.

     

    Played with smart/fast cat settings. Otherwise, we'd be here all day.

     

     

  5. Casual gameplay only of Activision's Spider Fighter (1982) for the Atari 2600.  Programmed by Larry Miller, players protect an orchard from a host of bugs.  

     

    Played (poorly) with a CX-40+.

     

     

    1. GoldLeader

      GoldLeader

      I remember buying that one BITD!  At Pay N Save for $26.95 according to the price tag still on it!  I wonder about the actual release date.  Wikipedia says 1982.  My box says 1982...I notice the screen says 1983....HMMmm...Price charting says January 1, 1983.   (I wondered if I bought it while I was mainly collecting ColecoVision at the time)...I do seem to remember it came out later so 1983 is probably right (January or not)....

    2. GoldLeader
  6. Can't wait to try Ca$h Cow DX on your Atari VCS?  Here's the demo played and captured in PC-Mode.  Hopefully we get a native port!

     

     

  7. Do you think Lunar Lander Beyond should come to the modern VCS?

     

     

  8. The beta firmware update resolved graphics glitched in Pole Position II.  To celebrate, I decided to give the iconic Fuji track a spin. Programmed by the wizards at GCC, Pole Position II was the pack-in title for the Atari 7800 ProSystem. Had the 7800 released in 1984 as planned, this game would have been an impressive step forward from the consoles of the previous generation. However, released in 1986 in a post-NES Super Mario Bros. world, it felt dated.

     

    Still, Pole Position II is a solid arcade racer that looks good and controls well. It's also possibly the most common 7800 game. If you're new to the 7800, be sure to pick one up on the cheap!

    What do you think of Pole Position II

     

    1. jeremiahjt

      jeremiahjt

      I do not think it possibly is the most common 7800 game, I think it for sure is.  At least in the U.S.  I think I might need to give Pole Position II a spin too.  I was just playing Asteroids using my new The Best Joystick I just got from @bent_pin, I might as well give this one a go.  Test will be first though.

  9. @Ben from Plaion - Is there a way to order replacement cartridge guides? The plastic on my right cart guide is chipped.
  10. I want to see Alien Brigade and Planet Smashers. Those two are currently unobtainium. I wonder what the unannounced title is? 🤔
  11.  "It is the nineties and there is time for KLAX..."

     

    I'm celebrating the 2600+ beta firmware v1.1 REV2 with gameplay of the KLAX proto for the Atari 7800. This was one of the games that did not work for me until the update.

    Programmed by David Dentt, KLAX was one of several completed titles that were shelved by Atari late in the life of console. A port of the Atari Games' arcade game, the 7800 version does a fair job of bringing the puzzler home. It's too bad that we didn't get the full release as this is far superior to the 2600 game. If only it had some sweet pokey music to compliment the gameplay...

     

    Is there time for KLAX in 2024?  You bet!

     

     

  12. I'm happy to report that my copies of the 7800 versions Klax, Rampage and Double Dragon are now all working with REV2. Thanks to everyone involved in making these improvements!
  13. Bringing Crystal Castles home to the 2600 was ambitious to say the least.  Some would argue that attempting a pseudo-3D, trackball controlled arcade game filled with bright castles and colorful characters to Atari's (by 1984) seven year old console was an effort in futility.  But when did that ever stop Atari? Programmed by Peter Niday, this port does an admirable job with pseudo-3D castles, a variety of enemies, between level tunes and - most importantly - Bentley Bear! The translation to the 2600 is not all gems and honey. Control with the joystick - particularly a stiff CX-40 - can be a wrist wrecking chore. Still, worth checking out if only for Atari's furry mascot!

     

     

    1. GoldLeader

      GoldLeader

      Nice! I'll always have a soft spot for this game, even if I don't play it much... as I bought it in 1986 (still have it CIB of course), and even though I was into other things like cars and heavy metal etc., and was still sold on my ColecoVision and ADAM, buying this felt like the older days of buying Atari games...bringing back a little of the magic even if it was cheaper ($10.99 @ Kaybee Toys) after the Crash.

       

      ^Left this on YouTube too!

    2. SabertoothRetro

      SabertoothRetro

      Thanks for sharing! I recieved my Gemini for Christmas 1983, so the silver box era is my era for 2600 games. I have a lot of nostalgia for Crystal Castles and many of the '83-'84 titles. They are what comes to mind for me when I think of Atari. I was in elementary school during the crash. All I knew was that games were now affordable for my folks. 😀

  14. The 2600+ Casual Play series returns with the first Activision game to be featured: Seaquest by Steve Cartwright.   I came to Seaquest as an adult.   I love the bright colors and simple but challenging gameplay. I really wanted a patch worthy score, but it was not to be...

     

     

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