lanatrzczka

I've been collecting Atari games since childhood. I prefer boxed with cart/manual/catalog, in good condition, etc... I have 200+ boxed Atari games, maybe another 125 or so cart only. I display them in my home. Of course there are duplicates in there, but I like that because sometimes it helps me to put together a "correct" box/manual/cart/catalog package. I have an almost-complete '77 Gatefold collection (missing Basic Math, of course) in near perfect condition. Most of those still have the green warranty card.

I have two 1977 heavy-sixers (one Atari, one Sears that is boxed), and a 1979 sixer that all work great. I have been kicking around the idea of getting a 4-switch woody and maybe a Vader as well. I'm not too interested in getting the 2600 JR, though maybe I will later on. I prefer the 70's and early 80's stuff.

My favorite Atari game is Cosmic Ark. Another favorite is Astroblast - play it with paddles on a Saturday night, awesome! Are you listening to me? PLAY ASTROBLAST WITH PADDLES! Oh, can't forget Enduro, and Turmoil, and Jungle Hunt, and Night Driver, and Pitfall II, and Superman and... well, there's quite a few favorites, actually.

Let me be vocal about one great game that has gotten a bad rap... Laser Blast. Laser Blast is one of the finest 2600 games ever! Yes, it seems easy/simple/stupid etc... but get to the higher levels and wow! this game is a serious challenge! Great usage of the short-throw of the CX-40. Cosmic Ark also uses the CX-40 in a way that other, modern (sloppy), joysticks simply can't handle.

I prefer the '77 version of the CX-series joystick. The fire button with the larger travel distance feels so much more "in the game". The stick feels better too. They are a bit hard to come by, but I have two. Recently, I got a CX-40 style joystick in a lot I purchased that has the Atari Logo on it in orange. I never saw that before. I looked around and it looks like that style came out with the Atari Flashback. It feels cheap. Nothing beats the '77 joystick. Not even the more popular (and common) stick that followed the '77 with "top" on it (though those were pretty good).

I have never found a good description of the changes made to the CX-series over the years. I thought AtariAge would have it, but I haven't seen it. If anyone could tell me about the different versions of the CX-series that would be really awesome.

I also collect (and play) Intellivision. My Intellivision collection is quite a bit smaller than my Atari collection, but I do have some things I like very much. I think DnD Treasure of Tarmin is brilliant! When I pull out the Intellivision (every couple of weeks) Tarmin always finds it's way into the mix. And Atlanis! What a great game! The Intellivision version of Atlantis stands high as an example of fully utilizing the platform.

I have a small TI-99/4a collection that I like very much. Not too much to say about that, except that I am proud to have contributed to Ed Burns' great Tunnels of Doom tribute website. I did a full-res scan of the manual and some more of the (rare) floppy disk. Tunnels of Doom (TI) and Treasure of Tarmin (Intellivision) are among the best video games ever made, in my opinion.

Here's a link to Ed's Tunnels of Doom tribute page. It's worth checking out:

http://ridingthecres...gaming/tunnels/

So that's it, that's me. Say hello if you're into Atari, Intellivision, TI, or whatever...

LT