Mind Master

IT'S ALIVE!!! The Q-tips and alcohol didn't work alone, but after the pencil eraser it did! I was shocked. I used a tiny mechanical pencil eraser so I didn't have to take the game apart. Thanks guys! Mind Master

...what game did you most feverishly anticipate receiving? You know, when you wanted the game so bad you went queasy thinking about it. For me it was Defender. A disappointment to be sure, but waiting for it sure was fun in retrospect.

THANKS!

...mine's a copy of Survival Island. After that I don't have anything more rare than Threshold and Trick Shot. How about you?

Just bought "Atari Arcade Classics" for SNES from Game Stop - so of course it doesn't work. Any tips on how to clean these games?

Just bought a copy of Atari Arcade Classics for SNES from Game Stop. Of course it doesn't work. Don't have the time to return it. Any tips on how to clean these things? Any help appreciated. Thanks!

I tried playing it without the center cannon and it did improve things. Maybe it will grow on me.

I've got it!!! SCUBA PAC MAN That would explain the blue background, the "floaty" controls, and the jellyfish-like flickering appearance of the monsters.

We all know it wasn't really Pac Man. What should it have been titled?

I seem to only see a "flea market" by accident. Anyone have any tips for finding out where and when they're going to be?

Yes, OTHELLO, the "other" strategy game for the VCS! I hear lots of references to Video Chess and occasionally Checkers on these boards, but nobody talks about Othello. I've never seen it. Does it have a one-player mode? If so, how tough is the computer? Is there more than one difficulty level? What do you think of the game overall?

Nice one. Life IS a lot like asteroids. And every so often a UFO comes along.

Is life like Adventure? Or is life more like Space Invaders or Asteroids? What Atari 2600 game is the best metaphor for life - and why?

You could make a pretty big cartridge by gluing an old copy of Flag Capture to the ground, putting the glue on the cartridge's top end. This would effectivly add the earth's mass to that of the cartridge, creating a cartridge the size of planet earth. My guess is the game would still be bad, though.

...sorry for the abrasive subject line, but I have to get something off my chest that's been simmering for 20 years now... I've never understood how Atlantis is fun. Can someone explain the appeal of this game to me? My complaint is the wimpy firepower at the player's disposal. You can't guide the missiles, you can't even move! You're stuck with three cannons in fixed positions. Even Air-Sea Battle gives you more offensive flexibility. It feels like you're fighting the aliens with one hand tied behind your back. Am I missing something about this game? Because I understand it's pretty popular...

Threshold was right! The other one is Kaboom!.

Super Breakout as the pack-in for the 5200? How short-sighted could Atari get? They obviously wanted to give away the only game they figured nobody would buy. A far cry from the modern strategy of selling the console packed with a great game at a loss just to gain market share, then make a profit on selling more games. Atari was spoiled rotten by the success of the 2600. They thought the customers would just go on buying forever...

Atari played the Pac Man card all wrong. What they should have done was release Pac Man for the 5200 FIRST, then for the 2600 a year or so later. "Pac Man Fever" was so intense back around 1982 or so that it would have given the 5200 a great launch. Instead, Atari put out Pac Man for the 2600, made a lot of quick bucks in a short spurt and then went in the tank afterwards as the 2600 faded with nothing to take its place. There was no compelling reason to buy the 5200. No Space Invaders to send sales skyrocketing a la 2600. All the great arcade games were already available for the 2600. There was no "killer app" for the 5200 - just suped-up versions of the same ol' stuff. That's why Atari should have held the Pac Man card back and used it as a carrot to sell 5200s. When the 5200 sales plateaud, they could release the 2600 version (and a better one at that as it wouldn't have been so rushed). If Atari had done this, there may not have been a crash. Pac Man was that powerful.

...it seems the 2600s huge market base just didn't make the transition to the 5200. Why is that?

The best arcade translation is probably Stargate. The most feared video villain has to be either Evil Otto or Rhindle from Adventure. The adrenaline rush comes from Kaboom!. And the coolest sound effect is probably the hum of the mothership in Cosmic Ark. Isn't there a game called "California Games" that has incredible graphics?

Let's cut to the chase! Here are the categories. What are your nominees? (Atari 2600 only, please) - Best Arcade Translation - Best Graphics - Best Adrenaline Rush - Best for Taking out your Frustrations - Most Feared Video Villain - Coolest Individual Sound Effect

I find it curious that the Intellivision is sometimes characterized as more complex yet somehow "slower" than the 2600 for arcade game purposes. How can that be? Isn't more processing power more processing power? Is the intellivision actually "slower" in some sense than the 2600?

You got the first one! Yes, it's Skiing. Here's a hint about the other two: one is made by a company that begins with A, the other is made by a company that begins with T (not necessarily in that order).

I thought this thread was going to go in the tank after the first couple of posts - but I see I was wrong. I of course don't have any "hatred" for Intellivision these days - I'm talking about when I was a kid. Back then I worshipped Atari and didn't like that rat George Plimpton slamming my favorite toy in his condescending way. If intellivision had knocked Atari out of the market, I don't know if my folks would have bought me an intellivision - so my videogame future just might have hinged on the success of Atari. I still carry a bit of this Atari loyalty with me down to this day - although I'm getting curious to see intellivision, as I've never played it before.

I remember "back in the day" that I was fiercely brand-loyal to Atari and hated Intellivision with a passion. I've actually never seen Intellivision then or now, but back then I hated it as it was the natural enemy of my beloved VCS/2600. Anybody else have similar experiences with console rivalries with friends?