Kripto

Too bad none of the original team is working on this. I really want to see a home version of H2Overdrive, which is the arcade sequel to HT that they made.

I thought that the section on current games ported to the 2600 was funny (even if it's been done many other times), but the section which veered into pseudo-historical facts on the system was not as well thought out/researched as it could have been.

A little knowledge can be very dangerous, as seen in This Atari 2600 article on cracked.com

An optional, large, arcade-style joystick in a heavy mount would have made the system seriously wanted by every kid around. The non-self-centering analog stick was a deeply stupid idea but they looked damn cool, so I don't think their inclusion reduced sales.

Be still your tongue! I am a recovering Hydro Thunder addict and can honestly say it got the most play time on my Dreamcast when my use of the system was at its height. The real fun comes from having a friend or two to compete with on times against, or in the two player mode. I also love the unofficial arcade sequel H2Overdrive! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfq6--2nd3o&feature=related

Bigger sprites also mean less space/time to see obstacles and enemies before you make contact. This is one of my biggest issues with the libraries of systems like the Super Nintendo and Genesis.

That's pretty cool and the possibilities are amazing, especially if it was combined with an augmented reality vision system or somesuch. The problem with most of the controller-less input systems created so far is a lack of tactile feedback. That's the problem I've been wanting to see solved for years.

There will also be an incentive for companies to never remove titles from their online offerings if suitable emulation is available on their current platform. Why throw money away for work already done and paid for years ago? I would be surprised if the various online game stores have not taken this into account in regards to the licenses agreed to by content developers. The older systems did not have this kind of agreement in place, leading to things such as the near impossibility of ever seeing a fully legal, single disc collection of every game released for the ColecoVision, or 5200, etc. So fully downloadable content could bring a brighter future in which almost all games and other digital media are available commercially forever.

According to some of you, this may well be the first product to fail before being available for purchase. Very impressive that.

If they really wanted Flash to work within the iPad, etc, they could make it so that the Flash plug-in would keep the last active touch point as the mouse's hover position. The method of clicking within Flash would also have to change as in making it a double-click, which Flash would see as a normal, single mouse click. Only through such a middleman interface mod would a moving, hovering mouse be doable. I hate Flash due to it's insane lack of optimization and weird position as a pseudo-programming environment. Thus, I truly hope that Flash gives up the ghost, buys the farm, pushes up the daisies, kicks the bucket, bites the dust, cashes in its chips, croaks, joins the choir invisible, shuffles off this mortal coil, passes away, pays the supreme sacrifice, meets its death, is no more, ends its earthly career, is taken, drops dead, goes to glory, goes up, goes off, returns to the earth, falls "asleep", is done for, catches its death, fades away, rests in peace, goes belly up, is numbered with the dead, goes to its last home, crosses the Styx, passes over to the great beyond, goes the way of all flesh, pays the debt of nature, slides into oblivion, becomes one with nature, awakes to immortal life, joins the great majority, turns to dust, returns to dust, closes its eyes, goes west, shuts up shop, answers the last call, lays down its life, breathes its last, kicks in, goes to its reward, is gathered to its fathers, keels over, conks out, goes home feet first, checks out, kicks off, end its days, etc.

Very cool to see. Congrats on the release Curt!

If not for the massively terrible controls of Checkered Flag, it would have been a really nice addition to the Jag's library. The controls are an immediate stumbling block for any player trying it for the first time, 2nd, 3rd, etc. The situation is so bad that a member on this board has built a custom controller for the sole purpose of overcoming the over sensitive steering. The saddest part is that a few lines of code could have moved this game into the "good" category instead of being "avoid"...

Buying for a platform with a small number of games coming out for it was even worse! Games specifically for the Apple IIGS were hard to come buy so a lot of middle of the road games got purchased just because they existed and were in the store.

The reason I liked Adventure so much was that the player can experiment like mad while running around this little simulated kingdom. I had hours of fun just abusing the bridge and seeing if I could get places I wasn't supposed to go, etc. It's a really amazing achievement when you take into account the limited resources Robinette had to work with.

I have this belief that the player should just be able to click start a few times and get to actual gameplay very quickly. I just thought it would be fun to mention that this morning I was going through various games in the SNES library when I played one that would have gone straight into gameplay, but the default choose above "Play Now" was "Get Advice" ( I kid you not... ). After clicking that I was shown a super-long text and still graphics presentation which could not be stopped or skipped, short of powering down. Awesome!

At least it's not as bad as jewelry shopping for someone where the prices are completely hidden until you select a piece and ask. How can I know what's in my price range for me to choose from? It's a truly rigged system in favor of the seller.

I hate games which force you to go through a long configuration process before you can play at all. Many racing games fall into this catergory in that they force you to outfit your car based on a certain amount of cash you start. It should be optional or required in a career mode, but a quick-race option should always be present.

The 7800 joystick is by far the worst controller I've ever used. I never had a complaint about the N64 stick but have encountered many that have been destroyed, seemingly from being too strongly forced around.

I have one game for the iPhone out at the moment. It's old-school arcade-style but with Tap-To-Destroy. You can see a video of gameplay HERE

I'm actually developing games for iPhone/iPod and they're very impressive little machines. The fact that all controls have to be either touch screen and/or accelerometer-based can lead to some very innovative gameplay mechanics. BTW- There's a free version of Adventure on the app store which is worth a download.

It's amazing how much it costs to develop a console title these days. And even after all that money has been spent, or maybe because of it, many a cliched piece of digital boredom-inducing dreck emerges. As technology progresses I believe it will become easier for much smaller teams and even one-man operations to produce top-level content, leading to games which are more creative and innovative. Hopefully the super-expensive licensing models we're seeing today on the three main platforms will also be changed due to the success of the iPhone's low cost of entry paradigm.

My first game for the iPhone/iPod Touch "Lunar Crisis" has just launched in the App store. It's very much based on an '80's-style arcade, high-tension, formula. You're basically defending different bases on the moon from alien attack. Tap-to-Destroy. You can check it out at on the App Store HERE, and here's a screenshot-

What's the problem with it actually living up to it's name?

Mario has truly exceptional posture in the Vic 20 version. I wanted one just for Omega Race... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpAwCZ6g290

I just installed the current version of MAME OS X and it's very cool. It runs smoothly and isn't anything like the painful experience SDL MAME was. It also allows for Audio Unit effects to be applied to a games audio in addition to video processing. A very nice update, although my Major Havoc ROM isn't running...