Gabriel

OK. The following is merely my opinion. If everyone else likes Robotech Battlecry, then that's cool. I'm just saying that I don't, and I'm not trying to diss anyone else's opinion of the game. First off, I was VERY disappointed with the graphics. While they move well, I don't think the imagery is very good. The backgrounds are very plain, with the various starships lacking nearly any kind of detail (and the SDF-1 in particular looking very bad). The city backgrounds remind me of Iron Soldier, which isn't a bad thing in and of itself, but I expect a bit more graphic performance out of my PS2 than the simple cubes of the Jaguar. Another thing is that I HATE cel shading. In this game it makes everything look like a cutout. I feel like I'm watching mecha South Park or something. Worse yet, a lot of things look like they're made out of some kind of day-glo type of substance, particularly the Battle Pods. Next, I have to make a mild complaint about the gameplay. To me, it's just boring. There is never enough action going on, and I constantly feel completely separated from the action as a player. Even the Force of Arms mission, which should be an action packed blowout, feels plodding and dull with no clear goal. Speaking of goals, there is a definite problem with goals in the game. I still have no idea how the hell I got past Bursting Point. As a Robotech fan, I must also take issue with the storyline of the game. I think that many opportunities for really cool missions were ignored, and I think it might have been a better choice to put the player in the role of Rick Hunter and allow the play of missions throughout the show. Or better yet, ditch the character identification altogether and have the player go through the entire Macross series sequentially. A really big thing I dislike is the control. It really seems like effort was taken to make the game as totally unplayable as possible, and there isn't even any option to change the godawful control scheme. At the very least, mode change should be on the shoulder buttons. To add insult to injury, the controls are slightly unresponsive. It feels not so much as flying an ultra-high performance aircraft as navigating a bicycle through thin mud. As for extras, the game lacks. The game should have allowed the color swaps at will, ala Shadow Squadron for the 32x, and allowed a greater selection of mecha to be played. As it stands, the unlocks are not really worth the effort. What did I like? It was cool to hear the original voice actors. And it was cool to hear the original Robotech theme for about the first 30 seconds (before it became apparrent that it was about the only piece of music in the game). It was also cool to be able to play the series (until you realize how boring they've made the missions). Altogether, I'd have to say that for me it was a waste of the $30 I paid for it. But I had to have it because of my being a big time Robotech fan. When all is said and done, I think that the demo of the American suppressed Macross VFX-2 was a much superior game. Perhaps if there is a sequel, it won't have the problems that Battlecry had. Rumor has it that the next game will be Mospeada based, so that will be cool (unless they make the game exclusively Cyclone based). There have been a lot of complaints about the mission structure, so if the developers are listening, then that will change. With any luck the graphics won't be that horrible cel shading stuff on the next game, but opinion is split pretty evenly in the Robotech community as to whether the cel shading looks good or not, so that one is definitely a toss up. Customizable controls are something that MUST be added. And it's not going to happen, but support for the PS1 dual analog flight stick would be awesome. Anyway, my apologies if my opinion of the game offends anyone. If you like it, keep on playing it. And blow some Zentraedi scum up for me and my old Robotech RPG character.

Most of them are pretty crappy for gameplay purposes, unless you feel the need to make the game insanely difficult. Sometimes I play Laser Blast or Demon Attack with the rotating screen feature. Seaquest is interesting when played on the 3d rotating cube. Fishing is kinda fun with distortion turned on. The only really good playable ones that I've unlocked so far are the scrolling starfield, the v-hold, and disco features. The multiple screen one is pretty fun, but the graphics become too small for my tastes. I play SeaQuest pretty much exclusively with the scrolling starfield now. The v-hold feature combined with the black and white switch is good for some nostalgia.

Robotech Battlecry didn't do anything for me. I was very disappointed with that game. But if you enjoy it, then rock on. For your future purchases I'd recommend the following: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 = A very good arcade style racing game with a vast number of cars and interesting tracks. GunCon Games = I recommend either Time Crisis 2 or Ninja Assault. Time Crisis 2 if you prefer accuracy and a kind of strategic sort of gun game, and Ninja Assault if you'd prefer frenzied action instead. Namco Museum = PacMan Arrangement is worth the price alone. Out of fondness, I call that particular game "Psycho Pac Man" or "Dope Trip Pac Man". Ace Combat 4 = If you like flight sims at all, then you must have this. Mere words cannot explain how fucking awesome it is. It's only flaw is that it doesn't support the old PS1 dual analog flight stick. Tekken Tag Tournament = It's $20 or less, and its still one of the best fighting games out there.

I only saw the NeoGeo portable once. (At least I think that's what it was) I saw it in Best Buy. It looked neat, but they didn't have a demo of it. To make matters worse, they didn't have any games for it at all. I made a note to check on the system in the future. The next month I was in there and saw that they had games. I seem to remember some Pac Man game, and something else I wanted. I looked for the system and... couldn't find it. They didn't have any and they weren't going to order any more. In my case, the system just didn't reach its audience. Best Buy was the only place I ever saw anything for it. I asked about it at Toys R Us and Circut City and got a resounding "what's that?"

I didn't really like FF9, but it was good in the aspect that it returned the game to its more classic feel. FF9 also struck me as being hard. Other's mileage may vary. It's very possible the massive number of ridiculously easy RPGs of recent years have made me soft. FF6 is definitely my favorite, but FF7 is a close second.

Can anyone give me an estimate of the quality of the current PS1 remakes (the little white ones)? I have 2 of the older PS1s. One is part of the earliest run (with all the ports on the back) and the other is of a more recent vintage, requiring the AV adaptor and not having the s-video. Both work fine, but the youngest one sometimes exhibits the problems requiring the system to be flipped. I'm wondering if the most recent PS1s are more durable and reliable, much like the last run of the NES was the best one. If so, I was thinking of picking one up and keeping it in the box until such time as needed. Any observations?

Woo Hoo! Today I finally found a copy of Tactics Ogre: Knight of Lodis for the Gameboy Advance. I had looked all over the place for this game and was about to resort to eBay, and on a chance wandering into Circut City, there it was! Probably no one here thinks it's that spectacular of a find, but I'm happy as can be. And since happiness is contagious, I wanted to let everyone know so that maybe they can get infected.

I've been messing around with my NES all day and figured I'd list what I have as my current collection. Feel free to rate. NES Top Loading Console with appropriate hookups 2 Dogbone controllers (1 is in bad shape and missing the start button) 2 NES Advantage Sticks 2 Spectravideo QuickShot Jet-style control sticks Games (all are loose) Xevious = Bandai Gyruss = Ultra Lifeforce = Konami Marble Madness = Milton Bradley Tiger Heli = Akklaim Spy Hunter = Sunsoft Castlevania = Konami Archon = Activision Blades of Steel = Konami Roadblasters = Mindscape Q-Bert = Ultra (title screen says Konami, weird huh?) Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord = Nexoft Wizardry: Knight of Diamonds = Asciiware Gemfire = Koei Romance of the Three Kingdoms = Koei L'Empereur = Koei (with instructions) Might and Magic: Secret of the Inner Sanctum = Sammy The Bard's Tale = FCI Ultima: Exodus = FCI Ultima: Quest of the Avatar = FCI Pirates = Ultra (with instructions and 2 maps (?)) 2 x Dragon Warrior = Enix Dragon Warrior 3 = Enix Dragon Warrior 4 = Enix (with instructions and fold out in extremely shitty shape) 2 x Final Fantasy = Nintendo (with instructions and both fold outs for one copy)

I liked FF7 more. I found it possible to actually sympathize with the characters while I was on the railroad tracks. Plus, it was a good train ride. And the actual game elements, while sparse, kept my interest. Personally, I hated FF8. To me, it seemed a shame that such nice art design and character design had gone to absolute waste. I couldn't empathize with the characters, the story was boring, and the magic system had been completely ruined.

I love Space Duel. It's the only game in the Asteroids family that I really really like. I dunno. It's just kewl. I vaguely remember reading in some magazine of the time that it was destined to be ported to the Atari 5200. Looking back on it, I think it was best that there wasn't a home version at that time. Nothing back then could do the vector graphics games justice. And the vector graphics were the spiffiest thing about Space Duel. Without cubes constructed out of crisp bars of neon, it just wouldn't have been the same.

Currently, I'd have to say the GBA. That little thing kicks ass. Previously, I would have said the Nomad. The main problem with the handhelds is that none other than the Gameboy stand any chance of being supported. Therefore, a good selection of games never grows for them. The Nomad avoided this because of its compatibility with the large libary of Genesis games. Of course, the Nomad drains batteries at a rate of 6 in 3 hours or less.

The Laser Blast unlocks listed are in error, at least IMX. The laser blaster patch unlocks at 10,000. The one million patch unlocks at 100,000.

I didn't include FFT in my previous assessment. It has a significantly different enough feel that I don't really consider it a Final Fantasy game. But what I do consider FFT to be is downright cool. I've wasted many an hour with that game. I didn't like the story very much. I hurried through most of it because I found it bland. The excellent combats were the only reason I stuck with the game. As far as tactical RPGs go, I'd probably rate Shining Force for the Genesis and Front Mission 3 for the PS1 as better than FFT, but those are the only two that can touch it.

I don't know what it is, but that's the same art as is on the Atari 5200 Countermeasure cart.

I sometimes ask stupid questions. Sometimes sellers don't list their shipping charges or payment method in the body of the item description. As a customer, I look at the other parts where that information can be found. But when they don't mention it in the body, I e-mail and ask about it. The reason being that I had a bad experience with a seller who listed money order as an acceptable option and then when I won the item he proclaimed that a cashiers check would be the only acceptable mode of payment. This was confirmed in his item body text, but the part up at the top where it listed payment methods said money order as 100% acceptable. Since then, I ask whenever there is the slightest confusion in my mind.

I've played: FF1 FF4 (FF2 american) FF5 FF6 (FF3 american) FF7 FF8 FF9 I have to say that of those, FF6 is the best. Playing it as FF3 on the SNES is the best play experience. There are a few access time issues and minor emulation issues with playing it in the compilation disc for the PS1.

Call me a fuddy duddy, but I liked the early ones with the guy pretending to be an old lady and promoting macaroni art instead of the EVIL game of Sonic the Hedgehog. That commercial did its job. It caused me to eventually buy a Genesis.

For Fishing Derby, just beat the computer player. This unlocks Distortion Mode. For Skiing, the commercial unlocks with a time of 38 seconds or so on game 1. The activision ski team patch unlocks on game 3 with a time of 36 seconds or so. For Ice Hockey, the commercial unlocks when you score 4 points on game 1. The All Star Hockey patch unlocks when you can defeat the computer on game 1. Ice Hockey rocks, BTW. For Spider Fighter I got the patch. This is what I think happens: the last two digits of your score (tens and ones digits) have to match the current minutes on the PS2 clock. My score was 4520, and after letting the game sit on attract mode for a while, I got the patch. I went to look at the PS2 clock after a couple of minutes and it read 2:22. There's my theory on the matter.

Hey! I disagree with the thumbs down rating of Metal Head. I'd give it a It's not that bad. The rest seem to be pretty good assessments. Except I'd give the Star Trek game a

My system collection has been damaged by a period of abject poverty and a move. But it has been recovering since then. Top Loading NES (looks like its been through hell, but still works fine) Genesis Model 1 Sega CD Model 2 (kinda flakey. I need to get a new one) 32X Nomad SNES Panasonic 3DO (the backup save memory is flakey. Otherwise this thing is a tank. It has been through hell, and roaches infested it in storage, but it still works perfectly.) Jaguar Saturn Playstation (2 units, one with the RCA jacks and one requiring an adaptor) N64 Dreamcast (a dead unit that I bought for $20 when they were $200 and cleaned up. It works fine, but you can tell the poor thing has been mistreated because it just gives up sometimes.) Playstation 2 X-Box (I've had it about 2 months. I'll probably be taking it in for service soon. Good thing I got the service plan.) GameCube Game Boy Advance I don't think I have any notable perhipherals. However I do have the big Dual Analog jet-style control sticks for the PS1. I understand that it's kind of unusual to find. It kicks ass for Ace Combat and Battlezone. In the semi-near future, I'm thinking of trying to acquire an Atari 7800 and perhaps a Commodore 64. Way down the road, I intend to get an Atari 5200 to replace the one I had many moons ago.

Tries to think of a really goofy way to unlock something. Do you remember what time it was? Maybe the patch is unlocked based on the PS2 clock. Have you played the crap out of it? Maybe the number of plays also has something to do with it. I dunno though. Maybe its entirely random.

Last night I sat down with Activision Anthology and committed myself to attempting something I hadn't tried since the early 80s, scoring 1,000,000 in Laser Blast. Last time I tried I got to 500,000 or so points and then Michael Jackson's Thriller came on the radio and screwed my rhythm all to hell. The game patch unlocks at 10,000. The 1,000,000 patch unlocks at 100,000. There is a commercial that unlocks as well. For me it unlocked after a particularly horrid game where I only scored 2,700. Anyway, I can now proudly say that I finally beat game variation 4. After a VERY LOOONG game (I never used pause), the score turned all into exclamation points after I killed one more enemy past the 999,990 mark. Dragster just seems to give the patch for free. I have yet to even get off the start line in that game. I've already got the stuff unlocked for Seaquest. Damn, if I had known that game was that much fun I would have definitely tried to get it back in the day. Spider Fighter is being elusive for me too. But I think Spider Fighter kicks ass, so I'll keep trying. Its another game I wish I had gotten way back when. Kaboom has unlocks at 150 or so (commercial) and 300 (patch). This is good because I was never very proficient at the original and the emulated version is basically unplayable. Get your bucket in the corner for a second and then try to move it out, you'll see what I mean. Freeway unlocks a patch if you play difficulty 7 and get 10 points. I don't know how you unlock the commercial. I have several other things unlocked. I can't seem to get anything unlocked for the race type games though.

I kind of liked Pitfall I. It's a decent game, playable, and somewhat fun. I never owned it. It was just one of those games I never got around to begging for at the time. I did get around to begging for Pitfall II, though. I remember harrassing my aunt for it one fine day in Target. She popped for the $25 cartridge (I think that was how much it was), and I thought I was a happy camper. I have to admit that after the begging got me my prize I never really liked it much. In one aspect, it was ludicrously easy. After all, you never died and the only challenge was memorizing the location of all the treasures. The music grated on my nerves horribly. Plus, I've never been one that really likes the games where you goal is to roam everywhere and explore all the pixels (Adventure being a notable exception). Add to the fact that the level design was a massive gauntlet of slow tedium, and I just didn't find it very fun. About the only challenge to the game was to get through it with a perfect score. I never accomplished that. I'd always screw up somewhere on the way up that long tower toward the cat and get tapped by one of the vulture things. Another problem is that it took a long time to play. In the end, I played it a lot because it was the last video game that I was able to weasel my family into buying me for some time. I figured that I might as well get some enjoyment out of it. And the goal of a perfect score was a goal that I pursued with some regularity because of its maddening elusiveness. I particularly remember long afternoons of playing in anticipation of watching Knight Rider later on.

I own the entire monthly run of the series, plus the one special issue. I think I still have the Star Raiders graphic novel. I wish I owned the ones that came with the cartridges. I know one came with Defender, and another one came with Star Raiders. Weren't there other ones in Galaxian, Phoenix, and Berzerk? I never had those games. There were also the Swordworld series books. (Being a newb here, I have to state the blatantly obvious to all the people here that are much more knowledgeable than I) Can you believe that back in the glory days of Atari I returned Swordquest: Earthworld and traded it in for E.T.? I went from bad to worse! I like those old monthly Atari Force books, though. I remember they were fun to read back then, and they had a visual style that no other comic had back in those days. I still break them out from time to time and read them. Hukka versus THE BOB always brings a smile to my face.

I left 'em with the neighbor lady's kids. Looking back on it, I regret it. But I was in a bit of a hurry at the time. I didn't have much time to get out of that place, and in that last trip a few boxes had to stay behind. Sadly, the Atari 2600 box was one that I decided that I'd do without. Even more sadly, I've since found that I had more than enough room in my new place to keep all those boxes I left behind. They were mostly systems. I had 2 of the really old 6 switch machines, and 4 of the 4 switch models. All of them worked with varying degrees of eccentricity, but I only had 1 RF box and one AC adaptor. I only had one working controller (a Wico stick), and about all I ever played on them were Missile Command and Empire Strikes Back. One day I'll get another 2600. There's a local used game shop that I can get a lot of the common games from. I hope I'll be able to find a RF box.