DoctorSpuds Reviews Things

It's probably worth mentioning that the excellent 8-bit version is a common cart for the 5200... one of the big reasons that system is worth the trouble. :-)

It's probably worth mentioning that the excellent 8-bit version is a common cart for the 5200... one of the big reasons that system is worth the trouble. :-)

 

Well, maybe, I still don't think the 5200 is quite worth it, especially when for the same price as a working 5200 with controllers and games you can get a maxed 800 and an SD drive. That's just my personal opinion of course, though you'd probably want to go for an XE if you're going to play the 8-Bit games.

I felt the same way about the 5200 for a long, long time. And I certainly wouldn't ever discourage someone from checking out any computer from the 8-bit line... they were awesome back in the day, and they're awesome now. But there's something quite appealing about the 5200 despite its shortcomings (by which I totally mean the original controllers) The look and feel of the console and carts is absolutely fantastic, and as a collector, the low cost and high quality of the limited number of games in its library is very appealing. Unlike the 2600, you can collect a full set without being a zillionaire. Even the Holy Grail of the system, Bounty Bob Strikes Back, can be had for well under the cost any of the dozen or so Grails for the 2600. And unlike those ultra-rare 2600 games, BBSB is absolutely excellent.

 

I wouldn't recommend the 5200 to a casual retro gamer thanks to the need to either find alternative controllers or maintain the original ones, but for a Atari enthusiast or collector, it's actually a whole lot of fun!

One thing lacking vs the arcade is the robots won't collide into each other in the 2600 version. I'm starting to feel the urge to work on Frantic again, which has this feature.

Before I do that I need to update SpiceC to use the new CDFJ version of CDF. CDFJ adds a second Jump Datastream for John, which allowed him to free up ~450 bytes in WoW which he'll be using for sound effect data.

Looking forward to checking out your magic once again with Frantic someday!

 

One thing lacking vs the arcade is the robots won't collide into each other in the 2600 version. I'm starting to feel the urge to work on Frantic again, which has this feature.

Before I do that I need to update SpiceC to use the new CDFJ version of CDF. CDFJ adds a second Jump Datastream for John, which allowed him to free up ~450 bytes in WoW which he'll be using for sound effect data.