Gabriel

Defender can be played with the Trak Ball, but it isn't something I'd recommend. It's very tiring.

I remember when I first got my GameCube. I got it on a whim when two of my friends were with me. The Godzilla game was the system seller for me. So, I got the Cube, a spare controller, a memory card, and brought the system home. I still remember when I took it out of the box. I sat the console down and started getting the cords untied. Then my two friends started laughing and making jokes about the Nintendo Lunchbox system and generally picking it up by the handle and pretending the system was a purse to show how stupid it was. (Yes, my friends are silly, but they certainly had a point here. A handle on a game console is one of the most worthless features I can think of.) Since then, I have seen no purpose whatsoever in the handle. It's like the spoilers on the rice car pictures shown above. It's extraneous and overall stupid. It doesn't enhance the appearance of the console; it detracts from it. But, if you took away the handle, it wouldn't really save any space. The plugs in the back still take up at least as much space as the handle takes. Maybe it's a bumper to keep the GC spaced a certain amount from another surface. But, that would probably ascribe too much forethought and intelligence to the design team of Nintendo. The other problem with the GC is that it's a space sucking bitch. Veritcally, it takes up more space than any other console I own other than the Sega Genesis/CD/32X combo. Vertical space is a premium the way I have to set things up. Because of this, the GC is about 2 times as large as the X-Box. Add the Game Boy Player, and it's even worse. And don't forget that due to the positioning of the fans on the GC, you can't sit anything to either side of it either. The GC isn't the ugliest, but it is certainly poorly designed from a convenience, space efficiency, and aesthetics standpoint.

Just a heads up here for any old time Romance of the Three Kingdoms fans. The other day I got the 9th installment of the series. I've been playing it a bit and I'm fairly well pleased with my purchase. With this installment, the series has drastically shifted away from the micromanagement so prevalent in all the games from 3 onward. In fact, it feels much more like the second in the series, which is a very good thing to me. I have to admit I never really liked the micromanagement, and I just wanted to get down to the business of kicking ass. This version of the game definitely delivers. The battle engine has been replaced. The world map and the battle map are now the same exact thing. People who have played Dragon Force on the Saturn will feel a small sense of familiarity with this new battle system. Basically, each turn, you give orders to your units. After all orders have been given, an "action phase" starts up. During this phase your troops move around the map and your generals go about the business assigned to them. The action phase takes a little time to complete, during which time you are a spectator to the results of your commands. After that, the turn starts over and you assign orders again. The presence of Dynasty Tactics can be felt as well. The "tactics" from that game make an appearance in RotK9 as abilities your generals randomly activate while attacking. Big casualties can be racked up this way. It's probably the most critical part of the new combat system to understand. So far, I think it's the best installment since #2. Only time will tell if it's better. If any of you have been like me and have been a bit disillusioned with the RotK games for a few years, I think you should check this one out.

I found out that my local GameStop has definitely stopped accepting trades on NES, SNES, and Genesis games, systems, and perhipherals. According to what I was told, they will continue trying to sell what they have. The hearsay is that if it doesn't all sell in some arbitrary period of time then the remaining items will be packed off and sent away. Sadly, one of the major reasons I went to that store were those exact games. I have several other options of places to shop for current games. At the moment, I think I'll be taking my business to a local shop called "FX". They've treated me very well in the past. They have a decent classic selection (occasionally even having 2600 stuff). The problem is that their prices are pretty insane sometimes. I could also shop for games at GameCrazy, but the local one is on the claustrophobic side.

Best looking: Atari 5200 Worst looking: Astrocade (looks like a deluxe alarm clock/radio from the 60s.)

Where are they sending them to? Obviously they can't make any money on them if they're not out to the public oh no! Unless... Alamorgordo, New Mexico I remember reading a rumor somewhere on the internet (So it MUST be true!) that Nintendo themselves were buying old NES and SNES games from GameStop and some other major used game dealers and destroying them. The kernel of truth that makes this somewhat believable is that Nintendo has officially stated they feel the sales of old NES and SNES games have diminished the sales of the N64 and GameCube. Nintendo has also tried to prevent the sale of used games by trying to get legislation to proclaim such a sale illegal. Also, many of their current games (especially the GBA library) are just recycles of those old games. The conspiracy theory doesn't explain why GameStop would want to get rid of all Genesis games though.

I guess I'll go in to mine tomorrow evening and see if they've done something similar and/or if they have anything I want.

If you didn't move, you should have been able to use the stairs to exit. If you did move you're pretty much screwed unless you want to bounce against walls for a few hours trying to find the stairs. You might as well start over at your last saved game.

I like the 5200 version of Robotron. It doesn't look pretty, but it evokes the feel of the arcade game. The 7800 version is much better. I just like the 5200 version because its easier for me to keep 2 5200 controllers together in a McDonalds drink tray or something than it is to keep 2 7800 controllers stable. Most of the time with the 7800, I use two Genesis Arcade Fighter Stick SG-6s. That works better, but it's still hard to keep them from moving all over the place while I play.

Atari 2600 "Vader" Intellivision - model 1 Atari 5200 - 2 port Atari 7800 - no problems with Robot Tank here. NES - toploader 2 x Genesis - Model 1 Genesis - Model 3 2 x Sega CD - Model 1 (one works, the other has a burnt out drive) Sega CD - Model 2 (goddamn piece of shit that shaves the surface off of discs) 32X Jaguar 2 x Playstation - one is the early model with all hookups on back, the other is the later model with less hookups and the repositioned laser 2 x N64 2 x Dreamcast = one works, the other doesn't. Both seem to be early models, but the working one might be a later model system. PS2 Game Cube - black X-Box Game Boy Player Game Boy Color - lime Game Boy Advance - indigo Game Boy Advance SP - silver Super Joy III stand alone - Famicom clone with 76 or so games built in.

I could have sworn that it was possible to do the minus world trick on Super Mario All Stars for the SNES. It seems like I've watched someone do it. I've never been able to get it to work on the NES cart in the first place.

Dark Wizard (Sega CD) I'd pick up a remake of this in a split second if it had the following features: 1) Original Gameplay 100% intact. This means keeping it a turn based, hexgrid wargame/RPG, and not removing ANY of the current game elements. 2) Multiplayer team mode (each player picks a ruler and the players combine on the quest) 3) Multiplayer versus mode (with an option for single battle scenarios or the entire campaign) 4) The option to play as Velonese or any of the 4 demons. 5) Option to determine the gender of the human-type units. 6) Redone anime cutscenes with decent voice acting. 7) Improved graphics. Possibly full 3D with improved character models.

Welcome to the 5200 club! If you're like me, you'll probably end up playing the 5200 games more than the 7800 games. But the 7800 will probably get more use because of the 2600 compatibility.

This is what the AC adaptor for mine says: AC-DC AD APTOR INPUT:~110V 50/60Hz OUTPUT:---9V 350mA I am not knowledgeable of such things. All I can do is tell you exactly what is printed there. Please keep in mind that they put a space in the big middle of "adaptor" and also promote the system as having 76000 games. It's not a very trustworthy source. Since buying mine, I've read a few sites talking about this famiclone. Most of them indicate that a standard NES AC adaptor should work.

At least a kidney.

I got a Super Joy tonight. I had wanted one with the cart slot on the back, and the girl selling me the thing assured me it had one. When I got it home, it was a plain ol' pirate NES with built in games. It also cost me $40, so I probably got ripped off. Oh well. I still think it's kind of cool. I've been exposed to Balloon Fight because of this. There's a game called F-1 Race which is kind of like a souped up Pole Position that I like. It also has Contra and Kung Fu on it, which are two games that I've wanted to get for my NES, but either can't find (Kung Fu) or can't find for a reasonable price (Contra). Another bonus was the fact it has Kareteka on it under the name of Tekken. Then there's Space Invaders, and a bunch of mildly amusing shooters. It has a standard Atari 9 pin port on the back. This port can either be used to plug in an included Genesis 6 button style controller or a light gun. But it apparrently the included Genesis looking pad isn't a standard Genesis controller. I tried using a regular Genesis 6 button and a 3 button and both semi-locked the Super Joy up. There's also a light gun. It's OK. But beyond about 3 or 4 feet from the screen/target it won't register any longer. Since it fits an Atari port, I pulled out the only Atari 7800 light gun game I had (Barnyard Blaster) and checked to see if the Super Joy gun might work as a substitute Atari light gun. While the trigger caused the desired result, it seems the light sensor cannot detect the signal no matter how close you get the gun to the screen.

In YOUR OPINION! It's NOT an opinion, it's A FACT! Read it and reap: http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter...=G&game_id=7983 Bah! Some people can't take a joke. I wasn't being serious or attacking you. I just found the most factual statement in the thread to quote in order to poke a little fun at the whole IMO bit. Hence, the smiley with the large grin. Yes, I knew that Gorf had 5 games in one. I used to play it all the time at the local 7-11. At home I played it on my Vic-20. I remember one session where I completely obliterated every pixel of the flagship and the damn level still wouldn't end. For some reason I really liked the Space Warp level. Dunno why.

My collection has grown large enough that I probably need to start documenting it. I'll probably use Excel or Access.

In YOUR OPINION!

Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator is the first one I'll list. I remember first playing the arcade version on a stand up cabinet at Chuck E Cheese's back in the golden early 80s. I begged until I was able to get the version of it for my Atari 5200. I played the holy hell out of that cart. I also was given a version of it for the 2600 and played that one nearly all the time too. Oddly, it seems no one shares my love of this game. It is likely that if I ever buy my own arcade machine, I will make it a Star Trek machine. Another game that never seems to get any love is Battle Arena Toshinden 2. Some of you will know the history of the Toshinden reviews. They're a perfect example of what happens when the gaming press decides they get more advertising dollars for other games. Toshinden as a series is regularly trashed by reviewers nowadays, but the first and second one are very fun to play. I'd much rather play some fun and fast paced games of Toshinden 2 than some of the Capcom and SNK fighters. While my friends and I don't play Toshinden 2 as much as we used to, we do power it up from time to time in order to enjoy the mayhem. I liked Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Death Star Battle the few times I've played it. Hopefully, I'll acquire my own copy someday. Dones reminded me of something about Metal Gear. I remember the gaming magazines raving about how wonderful Metal Gear was in the months before Metal Gear Solid came out. They way they told it, Metal Gear was the BEST game available for the original NES. That certainly clashed with my memories about the game. I had never heard ANYONE say anything good about the game. Quite the opposite, I had heard nothing but bad things about it, and the one game review I remember having read had panned it as well. Of course, nowadays you'll hear nothing but praise for it. Just an example of the gaming press praising whatever a company bribes them the most to praise, and people just following along for the ride.

I got R-Type Final. It looks pretty neat. $30 at Wal-Mart. Personally I prefer shooters to be more twitch and rapid-fire oriented, but this game is still pretty fun. So far I like it a lot better than Ikaruga, which didn't do anything for me.

The expansion pack goes for $20. It's required for a handful of games and supposedly "enhances" others. I'll leave my comments unsaid on whether it's worth it or not.

OK people. I have a question about the X-Box. Why all of a sudden does it show me the copyright warning everytime I try to load up DOA3? Previously I've seen the warning once, and only once, when I first started up the game in a new X-Box. Now, I have to sit and watch it every goddamn time. I'm worried that this is a sign that this X-Box is going to follow the several others I've had which have mysteriously died on me. Only now I don't have the service plan for a free replacement. This irritates me very much, because I've purchased 3 new games for it in the past month. It would be just like one of these POCs to die on me right after I had spent money on it.

Just like memory cards are a requirement for the PS1, PS2, Dreamcast, and Gamecube, the Backup RAM cart is a requirement for the Sega CD if you want to dive into the RPGs and strategy games. And once you have a Backup RAM cart, storage space is not a problem.

It would be interesting to see Joust on the Inty, but I don't think it would be very playable due to the controller. The only reason I find the games which require rapid fire playable is because I turn on their built in autofire feature.