karokoenig

A quick comment: The thread title says '71, but I think the tape is from '78. Would have surprised me to see a Star Wars game from '71 at all, let alone with the film music in it :-).

Already seen it. So, you gonna review Barbie Sports or not...?

Well, as I mentioned in the 2012 thread - count me in I'm not gonna have time to play on the weekend, so I might as well give you my stats now. Most of the following are "test" runs I did on newly acquired games. NES: - Super Mario Bros (10 minutes) - Tetris (20 minutes) - Chip 'n Dale (15 minutes) - Duck Tales (30 minutes) If you feel like it, you can count 30 seconds each for Ice Hockey and Nintendo World Cup. Sports games... ugh... For Chip 'n Dale and Duck Tales, on the other hand, expect more gameplay time from me in the future. I kinda like those two. Atari 2600: - Atlantis (20 minutes) - Circus Atari (10 minutes) - Moon Patrol (15 minutes) - Open Sesame (5 minutes) - Pitfall (17 minutes... yeah, I screwed up shortly before the time ran out ) - Vanguard (10 minutes)

Of course, the religious right part of the anti-videogame crowd would have to accept evolution before they can make this accusation.

Tiny circuit boards inside. You'll be surprised how much "game" fits on such a small thing, hehe... Opening original Atari carts takes a bit of practice, so you don't break any of the tabs that hold them together. Also remember or mark how the board was lodged into the cart, because often it fits both ways. Activision carts and carts of most other companies are much easier to open. You'll see what I mean when you do it. You can soap-wash all the plastic stuff. For the board, use the alcohol with Kleenex or Q-Tips. Here's a tutorial on how to open the carts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFRERD1hafA

Now you mention it... we were at least half a dozen kids, trying to synchronize our wishlists so that we maximize the number of different games. But can you believe this - none of us ever had Asteroids. The first time I played it on the VCS was a few months ago when I started collecting again.

I got my Atari for christmas in 83 or 84 - can't remember exactly. My brother, 4 years older than I, got his own tiny portable colour TV the same year. The plan of my parents was that we could use the two together. Only my brother wasn't into videogames too much. Can you believe that he wanted to use that TV for actually watching TV? Interestingly, the TV "timeshare" did work pretty well. We didn't fight over it a lot, though we did fight a lot, as brothers do. The system was delivered with Pac Man back then. I remember being sufficiently fascinated by it during the holidays (in Germany, we get our presents on the 24th), but what really got me hooked to the machine was "Phoenix", which I got from my grandma on the 25th. I still play that one more often than any other game.

Great. I'll join the party there. About my username - you noticed it means King of Diamonds. I use the name as an homage to King Diamond (and Mercyful Fate, of course). Eighties Metal is my thing.

I assume you're gonna do the same for 2013? I would have the occasional playtime minute to chip in as well...

Atari 2600, NES and other similar carts may work just fine after much longer exposure to moisture and/or dirt. You wouldn't believe the condition of some carts I purchased off eBay. What you often do have to do is open the carts and dry/clean them thoroughly inside. Loads of tutorials on YT about how to open Atari and other carts without breaking them.

The Young Turks recently had a nice comparison. Violence in Japan vs. USA. Turns out in Japan it's some orders of magnitide lower per 1000 citizens. And the Japanese are a nation of gamers. So whatever leads people to violence - it's not videogames. Stupid scapegoats for stupid people...

Great video as always. Never played much PS1. Probably should pick one up at the next flea market...

That's fair enuff. What makes me frown hard is the people who do not skip Mike videos without leaving a hater comment and a thumbs down beforehand. When it comes to reviews one can take seriously, I'd go for Mike. Don't get me wrong - I do enjoy James as comedian. But too often, he is acting dumb to make a particular part of a game look worse than it actually is. In a serious game review, I think I can expect the reviewer to have at least taken a look into the manual. To sum it up: James - very fun to watch. But before you adapt a game's bad reputation from his videos, better cross-check other reviews of the same games.

Over 100k points on Smurf...? I thought I am not all that bad, but you guys are sharks.

If the pot is fubar, there is a tutorial on YT how to exchange it with another:

Nice. Do a high score club with Smurf - one of my all-time favourite games. And do it when I am visiting my family, where I don't have a console. I think the phrase I have in mind rhymes with "clucking bell" :-).

NOW I get it. He bought it for his nephew, tested it and got hooked. He is just trying to find an excuse to keep it for himself.

I am not sure he was a troll. More like someone who isn't used to the internet and its customs. Oh, and Nikon... The Bible has people killing LOTS of people.

That statement is about the quintessence of all that was written or will be written in this thread. Most wise words, Sir. Basically, I don't have to read further. Of course I will anyway, for fun.

Nothing wrong with Sky Skipper, quite to the contrary. I like it, too. I just thought the rack could be loaded with other Parker titles as well... Q-bert, Spider Man, Frogger, Return of the Jedi (personal nostalgic reasons) and... Reactor!

And of all the Parker games that should be in there, you chose Sky Skipper. That's creative

And I thought 25 Euro for an Atari 2600 Pitfall II cart was overpriced...

Yeah, I fiddled around with that switch, and searched for a decent signal with my TV in PAL and in SECAM mode. No luck. In any TV mode, with any position of the switch, I only get a B/W picture, albeit a pretty clear one.

Thanks for the detailed instruction. I'll see what I can do. May take a while before I get round to doing it, though.

That sounds suspiciously like the problem I have with my Darth Vader console. Could you point me to some sort of tutorial how to fix it? It should be one for technical dummies like me :-).