insertclevernamehere

While visually very similar I think I read or heard somewhere something along the lines of Circus Convoy is a bit more complex and has puzzle solving whereas Casey's Gold will be a bit simpler and more arcade like.

April Fool, right?

Me too. At this point, I'd rather get a refund and order the standard edition from amazon but I think this order was non-refundable. There should be a law that stipulates a refund can be requested if the service/product paid for hasn't been provided within a certain time frame from date of payment.

I got some suggestions based on your faves to at least check out in emulation. If you like Demolition Herby, check out Bank Heist. Another top down view, drive a vehicle around a maze while being pursued type game. I probably slightly prefer it to DH but both are good. If you like Mario Bros., another really fun platform game is Fast Eddie. Not as difficult as Mario Bros either. A REALLY good Pac Man for the 2600 is Pac Man 8K. Way better than the original Pac Man for the 2600. Maybe even better than Pac Man Jr and not as hard but still arcade level tough.

Original hardware. I have a 2600+ and a Retron 77 but not played it on either of those. Not sure if it will work. I have played Dionoid’s previous game, Amoeba Jump on the 2600+ though. Another great game I’d recommend.

I'm still adding to the collection and so anything new is what gets played the most. The most recent are Spacechase and a repro of the double speed hack of Amidar. Spacechase isn't nearly as bad as most reviews say it is but it's still far from one of the best. And Amidar, despite me having a faster version still isn't all that great either. Demolition Herby is a better colouring in the squares game. So I've been playing my homebrews more instead. A lot of Champ Games and last night, a bit of Tower of Rubble. All unbelievably excellent games.

My wife has made me see the error of my ways. I realize that, in her words, I come across as a “know it all” and “rude and condescending”. I must admit I have a tendency to do that in things I’m passionate about. Therefore I apologize for my tone.

Whoa there cowboy. “Hostile” is a bit of an exaggeration. Yes, I have played Gas Hog, I have it in my collection and I will have to disagree with you on your opinion that they do not compare. Unless you’re talking about quality, which you weren’t. While I criticized it as not being an appropriate suggestion for someone who’s just starting collecting, and gave good reasons why Moon Patrol is a better alternative, I did say I have an affection for it so not entirely anti-Gas Hog like you seem to think. And I did make suggestions. Just not specific games. I advised him how he could go about making up his own mind, which I think is sound advice. Nothing hostile about that.

Best advice I can give you is check out videogamecritic.com. He can be unfairly harsh BUT readers get to give a rating too and the more votes each game gets, you get a more accurate idea of the quality of each game. Plus you get a convenient go to site that has almost every 2600 game reviewed in one place. Make a list of the ones that appeal to you the most and maybe check out some gameplay videos to make sure they're definitely for you. That way you get to make your own mind up without, shall we say, "eccentric" recommendations like the guy above who recommends "Gas Hog". That's NOT a game you should start your collection with, if at all. While I have an affection for that flawed title, anybody with any sense would recommend "Moon Patrol" over that one. The games are similar but "Moon Patrol" is clearly more polished, should cost you a lot less and be easier to find than "Gas Hog". Honestly, the above game recommendations are all over the place. Just do what I suggest and you're less likely to purchase any games you end up disappointed with.

I know the question states "or" rather than "and" but I just wanted to suggest games that fitted BOTH criteria rather than just one. As for some of the "underrated" games suggested in this thread, I DID state "universally disliked for good reason", hence objectively bad and most definitely NOT underrated and NOT worthy of re-evaluating. Just want to protect some from disappointment who might purchase them based on what they read in this thread.

Too many suggestions above are only obscure but reviews tend to be largely positive or are unanimously disliked for good reason. Two that come to mind as being both relatively obscure AND underrated are Challenge of Nexar and Space Cavern. The ratings based on reader votes on videogamecritic are only C+ and C respectively for these two and a lot of other reviews online tend to be middling or negative, so they fit the bill for being under appreciated. I think Nexar is a fast, furious and fun shooter and while Space Cavern is too easy on the lower settings, it provides a fun challenge on the higher ones. Two games that deserve an overall rating somewhere in the B range. Definitely not C.

My invoice is dated June 24th. Still waiting. Only 10 days to go for the wait to be the equivalent of a full term pregnancy.

Did I dream this or did it really happen? I swear I heard on a video, maybe an earlier ZPH, that this was going to get a physical release from AtariAge and I even think I saw it listed on an AtariAge flyer as a future release in the same video. But they declared on the latest ZPH, that it's going to be released by Audacity. If I didn't actually dream that first video and it really happened, and ZPH are correct that Audacity are now releasing it, I'd be interested to know how a planned AtariAge release moved to Audacity. Did Audacity steal it? An audacious move if so. See what I did there? Is there now bad blood between AtariAge and Audacity as a result? Genuinely curious to know.

Had to rewatch. The clip is so brief, I couldn't take it all in and had to pause just at the right time. Looks like a fake Space Invaders. Why they couldn't use the real thing, I don't know. Actually, I can guess why. As it is a crt tv, he probably isn't actually playing anything when they filmed it and had to add a game onto the crt screen in post production, otherwise the picture would've looked terrible. They probably didn't really care much about 100% accuracy.

I bought it for all the same reasons as many above and for the most part, I'm glad I got one. I do find the slight lag is an issue with some games though. For many, such as shooters, it's not so much of a problem but for some games that require very precise timing, I really notice the slight lag. And this is with my hdtv in game mode. Without that, it's even worse. Take the homebrew "Spies in the Night" for example. Some times you are required to stop behind a wall that is exactly the same width as your character. I had gotten better over time playing the game on an original 2600 connected to a crt tv. With the instant response of the original hardware, I was able to stop at exactly the right time and be behind the wall to avoid being shot by the sniper. If I stop at the same time playing the game on the 2600+, my character will end up a millimetre or two beyond the wall and get shot. I therefore have to completely re-learn my timing and pre-empt when I should stop. Consequently my performance playing the game is way worse when playing it on the 2600+ and as a result, it makes it a less satisfying experience. As I stated before, it's not every game. Some are more noticeable than others but the problem is, especially with Atari 2600 era games, precise timing is SO important. Maybe I'll get used to it but while I play on both original hardware and the 2600+, that's going to take quite some time I think. Maybe it's an issue that can be fixed with future updates or maybe it's just an unavoidable feature of emulation.