keithbk

Okay, for fun, I just did a video of 10 games I think are fun and largely under-rated for the Atari 2600. http://youtu.be/T8CU2NtIcBk

I want to include as an under-rated piece of genius the M-Network game "Frogs and Flies" (only when played on difficulty A, where you can leap off the lily pads). First, the sounds, the sequential day-to-night action, the graphics, and the 1-player vs. computer difficulty level all make this an entertaining and unique game. As a 2 player game, it is just as entertaining. If you have only played this game on emulation, you need to change the difficulty settings to A, as B only lets you jump from the middle of one lily pad to the other--no fun. The great fun is being able to make unusual jumps that land you in the water to get the best results in this game. Never played it? Go try it!!!

Yeah, I think I would have to say Ssssnake, Karate, Miniature Golf, and Star Ship should be on the list (even if you think Star Ship is historic, it simply is not fun). The Swordquest games may look good, but they absolutely suck as far as games go (they need an on-screen objective; something to really play for...not just clues in a comic book). I put them down as disappointing more than simply awful. I'm one of those people who despises Spike's Peak. There are other games I typically rank low, but don't know if they qualify for the 10 worst games ever: Slot Machine, Desert Falcon, Ghost Manor, Demons to Diamonds, Fun with Numbers, Laser Blast, Zaxxon, Picnic etc. While I admit Firefighter is simplistic, it does pull off the graphics in an amazing way. For this reason alone, I can give it kudos. I remember it coming out back in the day and thought it was pretty cool for what it pulled off.

Well, I have done one game (Another Adventure) and have suddenly been inspired to work on a new title (Beyond Another Adventure). In the real world, I own Who North America ( http://www.whona.com ), online retailer of Doctor Who merchandise. I also write as a hobby.

I posted this elsewhere, but here was my thought... If you were going to make an adapter for the Intellivision that would work with an existing Atari 2600 joystick, you would need to make it a splitter (goes into one port and splits for 2 accessories). On one end, you would hook up your joystick and this would function in place of the thumb control and primary firing button. On the split, you would allow the original keypad to hook up. This way, you could easily switch between pad and joystick mid-game by having both the pad and joystick mapped properly to the different ends of the splitter.

Okay, if you were going to make an adapter for the Intellivision that would work with an Atari 2600 joystick, you would need to make it a splitter (goes into one port and splits for 2 accessories). On one end, you would hook up your joystick and this would function in place of the thumb control and primary firing button. On the split, you would allow the original keypad to hook up. This way, you could easily switch between pad and joystick mid-game by having both the pad and joystick mapped properly to the different ends of the splitter.

I was definitely an Adventure kid back in the day. I will shamelessly admit that Another Adventure is the game I wanted the originally Adventure to be, so I'm going to plug my own game in spite of how self-serving that sounds (it's out of print, so I'm not plugging for sales). Other than that, I am still a Superman fan and I also really love Jammed and Blip Football.

My first thought was it was "kit-bashed," taking 2 different controllers and making 1 out of it (the rubber and/or stick from a 2600 controller with the body of a generic C64 joystick). Speaking of kit-bashing, has anyone ever successfully kit-bashed a joystick for the Intellivision system? I would love that silly thumb pad to be an actual joystick.

I was pretty excited when I visited the Game Exchange (Indianapolis area) and found a copy of Thunderground (Sega) and Private Eye (ActiVision) in the wild. As I did not have either, I picked them both up for a total of $18. I have a pretty big collection of games, so it is getting rarer that I find games in the wild that I don't have. I know, I could hover over Ebay and pick up copies of many I am missing, but that just seems to take the fun out of discovering missing cartridges.

I agree; am I the only one who was disappointed that it wasn't a real maze? I mean, you couldn't go backward into a room you just left...made no sense to me as a kid. Just frustratingly illogical.

I have to totally agree that Maze Craze is completely under-rated. What makes Maze Craze particularly great is not only the amount of maze you get on screen, but the great game variations that lead to lots of 2-player fun and interaction. I find the games where you get stunned particularly challenging in 2 player mode.

Okay, looking back at which games I constantly go back to, here are mine.... Over-rated Yar's Revenge - sorry, but boring for me. Don't find it entertaining at all. Missile Command - really, never enjoyed this one that much. So repetative. Joust - I DESPISE this game. Really, I do. Ick. Under-rated Superman - for some reason, people seem to dislike this game, but I love it. Enduro - excellent driving game; so totally smokes Pole Position. I would also agree that Warlords is one of the best party games ever, but since that is its reputation, I would suppose it is not under-rated. Similarly Adventure is worthy of its reputation. I want to list a couple of really great games that probably get very little recognition because they are homebrews (and currently available for sale on Atari Age)... Blip Football - just like a handheld electronic football game, with the sounds! Jammed - like the little tabletop game "Traffic," but it sets itself up! Get your car out of traffic by moving the other vehicles around. Fun puzzle game.

Fewer than 10 days left to join my novel Kickstarter, and ALL 3 Atari 2600 "Another Adventure" cartridges are still available as pledges for Atari fans! Please, please, PLEASE, if you have ANY interest or mercy, consider pledging! Normally, I wouldn't beg, but my Kickstarter is really lagging...

Here is a video comparing Another Adventure to Adventure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P326z1aQ13I

For those of you unfamiliar with the Atari 2600 "Another Adventure" game cartridge I designed, only 100 cartridges were made of this title. I have held 3 back until this time as a special Kickstarter tie-in with a fantasy novel I have written. I am targeting June, 2014 as the release date for the novel (Heir of Katan). If you want to get one of my last 3 copies of the game, support my book project, and (in June, 2014) receive an autographed hardcover copy of the novel, please visit the following link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/676468266/bring-a-fantasy-novel-to-life-the-heir-of-katan-ne

Well, early 1983 would also have legitimate relevance regarding the increasing glut of games on the market. Ms. Pac-Man, in particular, should have outsold the original Pac-Man 2-to-1 based solely on quality, but of course it vastly undersold the original Pac-Man game cartridge. Why? The glut on the market was in full-force.

The © on the cartridge is 1982, that's why I listed it as that date. Was 1982 the date of the arcade game for Ms. Pac-Man?

I have been doing all these cartridge reviews on YouTube, and I am convinced that it is all the CRAP cartridges that were released in 1982 that led to the crash of 1983. Yes, ET was overproduced, as was Pac-Man, but there are SO MANY 1982 titles, and so many that are HORRIBLE or just not fun that the market could not handle all the new companies trying to jump on the Atari came cartridge bandwagon. There were plenty of good cartridges, but there is a thing called market saturation. Bermuda Triangle Dragonfire Grand Prix Cosmic Ark Turmoil Ms. Pac-Man Nexar Mega Force Amidar Picnic Cosmic Creeps Fast Food Demons to Diamonds River Raid Donkey Kong Frogs and Flies Phoenix BurgerTime Atlantis Gopher Megamania Vanguard Wabbit Towering Inferno Pole Position Gorf Space Jockey Trick Shot Chopper Command Fast Eddie Berzerk Venture Astroblast Piece o' Cake Spider Fighter Demon Attack Centipede Gangster Alley Wizard of Wor Beany Bopper Carnival Fire Fighter Lost Luggage Encounter at L-5 The list goes on, and that does not even include ANY of the sports games. That's just 1982. No wonder the game market crashed in 1983. Please forgive any dating errors...it's possible I got a handful of the dates wrong, but I'm pretty sure they are mostly correct.

I saw it and I wanted to cry...it's so beautiful! I'm a sentimental dude, after all.

Should we start a thread on what we would like to see fixed with Sssnake (Data Age)?

Perhaps a portable 7800 with an output to a larger screen and left and right optional ports for real joysticks/paddle controllers. Of course, I'm not talking about salvaging old equipment, but thinking it would be nice to have a new piece of equipment similar to some of the kit-bashed mods out there. Of course, it would have swappable power supplies (so you could power it from a cigarette lighter and play it in vehicle). If you had a new piece of equipment like that, I think new cartridges would be close behind (I'm talking new shells).

Video Checkers...am I red or white? I may never know. muahahaha No, really, I've been playing through a lot of Atari games (making videos) and I think there are a lot of things I was never aware of until I took the time to actually look up the instructions online... Beany Bopper --- had no clue about catching the falling items or they would turn into Beanies...thought I was supposed to avoid them. Stellar Track --- must read the manual for that one. Space Shuttle --- need the layout cards and manuals for that one (which I have). Mega Force --- didn't know I needed to protect the "home" city (I kept blowing it away). Mouse Trap --- couldn't figure out why sometimes I used a bone, other times I opened doors...it all depends on how fast you push "fire." Outer Space --- could not believe that was all there was to this stupid game. Read the instructions...yep, that's it. Towering Inferno --- I was so focused on putting the fires out, I didn't even realize I was supposed to save people in the building. Riddle of the Sphinx --- A very good game, if you have read the manual and learned what you are trying to do. Raiders of the Lost Ark --- Meaningless without the booklet. E.T. --- Definitely requires the instructions. Sky Skipper --- I didn't get it until I looked the instructions up. Ghost Manor --- The whole opening part in the graveyard...what is going on? Had to read that one. Cosmic Creeps --- Again, that first screen...what??? Made sense after I read the instructions. Kool-Aid Man --- This one makes no sense without instructions. Piece o' Cake --- You have to know about the cherry on top, otherwise you have no clue.

Some friends of mine here in Indy passed the $900,000 mark on a kickstarter campaign for their new fantasy miniatures game "Myth." It got me to thinking, what's the possibility of producing a handheld Atari (something like Technabob's creation) with a Kickstarter Campaign? Does the Coleco Gemini mean that an Atari-compatible handheld would not run into licensing issues? Could a successful campaign result in an economical handheld? Has all this been postulated before? http://technabob.com/blog/2011/02/25/atari-2600-portable-flashback-2/

In case anyone was interested, I did a video that compares the Easter Egg in Adventure with the one I put in Another Adventure. Please note that the video also discusses other gameplay issues as well.

Just in case you were wondering, I have been making a video of each game I own and then putting annotations with it (descriptions of the game, my opinions, a little game history if I can find it, etc). Once I have posted it on YouTube, I link it to an HTML page within a forum I set up: http://atari.simplygaming.org/Keith-s-Corner-h1.htm I set up the page for several reasons. 1) I couldn't keep track of all the games I had on hand, and 2) my retired parents are big Garage Salers and they would frequently call me about games they found. It was easier to answer from work with a page listing the games I owned (and whether I had the manual). I put it all within a forum in case anyone wanted to talk about the games after I posted them, but also because I did not want to clutter up the forum here with all my videos.