pocketmego

Hmmm... The Atari Wii. I toally agree and this was going to be the one I was going to say as well. The 7800 would have been the next gen that would have had the kind of power that gamers wanted 2 years before the NES came anywhere near the States. -Ray

Welcome aboard, man. The NES is a FINE system to collect and maintain a strong interest in. Do you go after the Famicom stuff too? -Ray

If you'd actually read the article, you'll notice that only half of the 16.000 "software titles" are games. Also, many of those games are on other computers too. Come to think of it, many of the titles listed in the article are also on C64. The C64 was SO big that MOST major titles would be produced for it either first or in tandem with other systems. I read a copy of EA's original launch proposal and their entire first year or two of success HINGED on the C64. -Ray

<<Shut it you muppet. Cor blimey, luv a duck... >> That's more like it , guys. I mean if you wreck my fasley created stereotypes, what do you leave me with? There used to be this AESOME spy show on in the 70's and 80's called the Sandbaggers. Great shot on video Beeb show, and one of the characters was supposed to be an American CIA agent. This actor that played him was clearly an Englishman and played the part so over the top, it was hilarious. Whenever he came on screen my roomate would do this really over the top impression of him... "Hi Ray, would ya like a Hotdog or a good old can of All American soda?" -Ray

Yeah he was freakin' creepy. He even made the camerra go all weird once. I just think he knew deep down that everyone else on that show would become a famous person in the history of video games, except him. I don't even remember that King Arthur game even coming out. -Ray

I 've heard it called that once before by UK members. Did they call it Pac-Land there? If so I wonder why? -Ray

No need to get insulted about it.. I'm just saying that for all that 2600 Space Invaders has in common with the arcade game, if Intellivision got the SI license and called Space Armada "Space Invaders" instead.. it'd pretty much be the exact same thing Hey I'm a 70's kid who went out with his mom on a year+ long trek to FIND a home Space Invaders (the first one I got was an electromechanical Attack Invader by Bandai) so when I literally found 2600 Space Invaders at Sears it was like manna from heaven. I know it's a good game IMHO one of the all time 2600 cornerstones and a personal all time favorite. But even then at 10 I knew it was pretty darn generically distant from the real thing Though not my intention for this to become a which is better kind of discussion, i have to go with NE on this one. The original Space invaders is a work of simplistic art. The arcade version captures you ina way that makes even the longest marathon games interesting and continuously different and intense. As I've said before about the 2600 version, for a system famous for having very random and unique gaming experiences even playing the same game again and again, Space Invaders was not so. After the 5th Wave of Invaders on ANY variation of the game, the game play stays EXACTLY the same. if you have any idea of how to play you can play indefinately from that point on. -Ray

My problem is not so much the burial or even the game, which isn't really even that bad. My problem is that with both ET and PAC-Man they made more copies of each then were existing 2600 units. WTF??? How stupid do you have to be to make more games than there are systems to play them on? -Ray

Ever feel like he's watching you while you type? I still think Dig Dug is better and not nearly as creepy. -Ray

Because its more fun to pick on ninjas. -Ray

It's not just Spider Fighter. It's the cheap ass glue on the Activision labels. 'Acti' - plaque! Oh, well that would explained why its called that wouldn't it. DUH! -Ray

I am just wondering if anyone knows or has a guess as to why space Invaders is so different from its arcade source material. Now, I'm not saying its bad thats it's different, I'm not saying it's good that it's different. All I want to know is why it is so? It can't possibly be a graphics issue. The arcade Space Invaders didn't have any better graphics than the VCS was capable of and frankly the VCS could add color. If nothing else the VCS version is actually MORE graphically complex with some of the ships having individual moving parts and that weird looking tank/ship you use in the 2600 version. I know there are not as many ships per line as in the arcade version, but part of that is screen ratio. So what's the deal? Anyone know? Any guesses? -Ray

Anyone else notice how uncomfortable the Atari guy looked on camera. I think it might have been a bad choice to have them at the same table, especially back in the middle of the Atari vs Activision thing. You can also see that Kassar sent one of his computer guys while Activision did their demo on the 2600. VERY INTERESTING. -Ray

LMAO!!! That is why I love this place. -Ray

I love seeing stuff like this. Old companies that never went away. Very cool. -Ray

I love Chopper Command, and I'm pretty good at it. I can't understand all the hatin' , yo. -Ray

Must be something about Spider Fighter, because I have one like that as well. -Ray

I was never exposed to the Mr. Do arcade games as a child. Only recently have I discovered the games and their various home counterparts. The C64 version, with its heightened graphics really reminds me of what a creepy bastard Mr. Do is. I mean you play a little freakey clown man that lives underground or in a castle depending on which game. Throws exploding bouncy balls and has that eerie blood red smock covered in polka dots. BRRRRRRR Add to that he looks like a little wind up toy clown and it just gets more creepy. Thoughts? -Ray

I was REALLY tempted to include the Beeb in my poll. But, then I thought that the Amstrad was probably pushing it in terms of machines known outside of the UK. I know a bit more about British computers than most US gamers both do to my interest in Retro Gamer magazine and a great book I have on the history of gaming which has an entire section dedicated to the development of gaming by way of Europe. -Ray

Huh, an on topic post. I was too caught up in all the British guys fighting. You know it isn't at all like it is in the movies. I was hoping for a few Sod Offs, maybe a Ye Bloody Wanker or something. -Ray

'Course that's the proper description of the 2600 version (which is why I always say it's not a good port). But you always have people saying that the 2600 is so much better than the arcade version since it has so many variations and whatnot.. but of course they generally have zero clue of even how to play the arcade game well 2600 Asteroids is only really boring if you're playing the "non-fast" variations and without UFO's. My vote for overrated 2600 game goes to Pitfall. It's the first "pretty graphics, boring gameplay" game to me. Yeah the graphics were amazing back then.. but I really hate the timed game thing. Not to mention it just seemed to go on and on with no reward. Anyway, just my opinion Oh.. and Barnstorming! I just remember thinking "wtf kind of lousy game is this??" while playing it as a kid, and that sentiment holds to this day Yeah that might true looking back on the history of the console. But I challenge you to name what other 2600 games that were like it when Demon Attack was released on the market. About the closest was Space Invaders. Yeah, I agree with barnstorming totally. LOL Even as a kid, I'm like ....uh...is this it? -Ray

The supercharger was this large cartridge (a little larger than a Xonox double ender) that had a handle on it and a plug coming out of it. You plug the plug into the headphones jack on any cassette player. Then you insert the supercharger into your Atari and hit play on the cassette game that you put into your cassette deck and you play the game. There should be pics on the Atari Age site. They were able to get more memory this way. 6KB of ram instead of 4KB of ROM, broken up into 3 2k sections. That's how you're able to play fireball with little or no flicker, with 6 balls on the screen at once. Wow, that is pretty freakin' cool. A memory upgrade for the 2600, I didn't even know these things existed. -Ray

I posted another thread earlier which has the opening for Saturday Supercade and most of the inidividual openings for the shows. No Kangeroo on that on though. -Ray

Well... I dunno. Don't get confused with the maker of that hack which was done years ago vs. the guy who uploaded that video. I think is a nifty hack by the way... albeit somewhat limited. Of course it can't be done on a real 2600 (although the guy who uploaded the vid sounded like he thought it would), but that doesn't take anything away from it I think. I mean did you think the 2600 hacks on Mame were any less cool? I personally love the "2600" hack of MsPacman and Pacman. They got all the arcade gameplay with the 2600 looks MsPac 2600 Pac 2600 Those Pac images are V ERY cool. I guess if it's done as an homage with the understanding that they are cool translations of existing games made to resemble the graphical style of the 2600, and everyone knows this. Then, yeah, that is cool. I especially like the names of the ghosts Flickery, Sluggish...etc. That is pretty funny. Apparently the guy who uploaded the video was the only one that thought you could get a 2600 to do that. -Ray

Another one that I think belongs on this list is Ghostbusters. It was a mainstay on ALL the major 8 Bit machines From the C64 to the NES and the VCS got its own version as well which holds its own just fine next to its counterparts. A feature or agraphic might be missing here and there, but it is just as much fun to play as any other version of the game on any other system and that really says something about the VCS. -Ray