MildCuriosity

There is a demo available on the eShop if you have Internet access. After playing that, I think that the 3DS version is very close to matching the superb Toadstool Tour (for GameCube). The visuals really pop, and it has an extensive variety of courses and gameplay styles. The full game also has online play, which should fit golf to a tee as lag is more or less irrelevant. The only downside is that at times I found camera control difficult and couldn't track the full trajectory of my ball. I heard afterwards that there is a gyroscopic control option, but I haven't tried that out yet.

I'm not going to vote in the poll, because it wouldn't be fair having not played Shattered Dimensions. But for what it's worth, I highly recommend Spiderman 2 for the GameCube - and this is coming from someone who had no knowledge of, or affection for, the Spiderman franchise. I wasn't expecting much when I fished it out of a bargain bin back in the day, but I was really impressed by it. It's a little rough in places - and some of the gameplay elements are so frustrating that only a madman could 100% it - but the open world swinging, collectable secrets, and interesting story events make it quite a lot of fun and a good time-killer. (It's also great to have Bruce Campbell snark his way through the narration, and Tobey Maguire's dull readings of cheesy lines are hilarious.) I'd say Spiderman 2 is my second-favourite third party GameCube game. I can't speak for how it compares to the Xbox version, but I didn't have a problem using the GameCube controller and it still looks decent for an open-world game of its time. As for other Spiderman game suggestions...well, the Atari 2600 game is pretty good .

The original Sin & Punishment is also available for the Wii as a Virtual Console title in all regions. It's a bit pricey though, but still worth it if you like rail-shooters (from what I've read).

Cheers. That's good to hear. I picked it up at a Garage Sale yonks ago for $2, along with the wonderfully-titled Snail Against Squirrel. I didn't have an Atari 2600 at the time, so I wasn't even sure what it was when I bought it (which made it all the more alluring). No problem. It has the 'Inca Gold' label (as do Dragon Treasure and Time Warp). Luckily, it's also one of the very few games that I also have the box for (which features the art for Frontline - the title 'Beasties' has been stuck on top separately). I was pleased when I found it. I'd researched the whole Zellers labelling thing while trying to puzzle out why two of my games had the same irrelevant cover art, so I recognised the spine (which just says' Game Cartridge') when I saw it in a Cash Converters amongst a bunch of Mega Drive games. Sadly, no - I'm about a twelve-hour drive away (otherwise I would be over there in a heartbeat).

Thanks, kamakazi. The clone isn't much to see in action. The hardwired RF cable doesn't seem to be very good - I've only ever been able to get a grainy B/W picture from it, even when the Colour switch is on. The controllers are also hard-wired and also not very good. The 128-in-1 functions exactly like an Atari Jr. The only physical difference is that the two-way channel switch is replaced with a four-way game bank switch. I didn't even realise it was different until I tried to play a faulty cartridge and Super Ferrari came on the screen instead - and even then I assumed it was a built-in game for all Jrs. Selecting the 128 games is a bit of a pain. You choose between four banks of 32, and then flick the Colour/BW switch to cycle between them. However, it jumps around the games in an almost random order. If I want to play a specific game I could be there all day flicking the switch until it happens to pop up (if it wasn't for this list I would have been completely lost). But it was a nice surprise to unknowingly have so many more Atari games to play, and I've grown to like having a built-in game randomiser. As for the 7800, I believe that rainbow band is the standard for European/Australian consoles (mine is labelled as a 'PAL B' if that helps).

Here's a few more multiplayer-focused recommendations that have yet to be mentioned. Donkey Kong Country Returns - Beautiful, tightly-designed platformer with two-player simultaneous play. Excite Truck / Excitebots - Great racing games with two-player split-screen. The sequel is slightly more madcap but both are adrenaline-rushing fun. Kirby's Return to Dreamland - Fantastic nostalgia trip if you're into the SNES-era Kirby games. Features four-player platforming (though only one person can be Kirby). Rhythm Heaven Fever - A simple, quirky, and catchy rhythm game. I adore it, but admit that it isn't for everyone. It does have a two-player mode, but it seems to work best as a pass-the-controller-around party game. WarioWare: Smooth Moves - Another quirky game that throws in every possible use of the Wiimote you could think off...and then about a hundred more. Wii Party - Overlooked party game. I thought it wasn't much good when I first saw it, but playing with friends really brings it to life. Wii Sports Resort - Twelve excellent motion-control games. Lots of variety, lots of multiplayer opportunities. As for my personal 'top ten', well it would include Skyward Sword, Twilight Princess, Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel, Wario Land:The Shake Dimension, Donkey Kong Country Returns, Rhythm Heaven Fever, Smash Bros. Brawl, Metroid Prime 3 and Kirby's Epic Yarn....in some order or another (don't make me choose).

I hadn't heard about the lockout chip causing problems either, but now things are starting to make sense. A little while ago I disabled the lockout chip on one of my NES consoles so I could play some North American imports, and after I did it seemed to be easier to get games to work on it. (I thought it was just down to how tightly I put the console back together.) A trick I use for loose cartridges is to place my two index fingers on the very edge of the inserted cartridge and nudge it gently back and forth until it is more firmly in place. Whether this is good practise or not I don't know, but it does seem to be effective.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. The majority seem to sort by publisher, and I think that's what I'll stick with because it does look nicer. I just need to put more effort into learning which games come from which companies (though the ones without end labels are still a pain). And cheers for the compliments, but I don't think I can really take credit for it. What you see almost entirely came from two massive garage sale hauls. It's part of the reason I've held off adding to my collection until recently - every Atari game I come across seems very expensive by comparison. But I've started selling off my duplicates (yes, I even got duplicates), which has given me a small pool of money that I'm planning to use to track down some of the games that are rated highly on this forum. As an addendum, here is a photo of my Atari consoles (some of which need a good clean). The jr. console on the bottom-left is actually an 128-in-1, which I didn't realise when I first got it. And the Famicom-shaped thing on the top-right is a Hi-Score-MK1 - an Atari 2600 clone from Bit Corporation.

Here's my Top 10 list: Pressure Cooker Joust Dragonfire Surround Pitfall! Ms. Pac-Man Superman Ghostbusters Human Cannonball Hangman

Two years, and nobody yet has mentioned Wario Land: The Shake Dimension. It's a fantastic 2D platformer with retro-style gameplay and beautifully drawn visuals from Production I.G. And if you're after another retro port for the Wii, Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings features LucasArts' Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis as an unlockable extra (and can probably be found cheap enough to be worth buying for that alone).

I also want to give the Sesame Street games a shout-out. The two I have (Alpha Beam w/ Ernie and Cookie Monster Munch) strike me as being very well-developed. Nice sounds, detailed visuals, solid gameplay, and they have cutscenes. Cutscenes! Oh, and Alpha Beam actually has a really fun multiplayer mode. No joke. Strawberry Shortcake is one of my favourite "bad games". There's a certain pleasure to be had in getting a friend to play it and watching the expressions on their face. Snail Against Squirrel holds a special place in my heart as it was the very first Atari 2600 game I got. It is rubbish though.

G'day all Atari Age members! After a short time lurking I've decided to dive in and make an account. As an introduction, I thought I'd share my Atari game collection. And there's also something I want some feedback on... I've taken photographs of my game shelf in two configurations - one sorted by publisher/shape/label, and one strictly alphabetised. I'm still in two minds about which I prefer. The latter makes it easier to locate the game I want, but doesn't look as 'tidy' to me. Then again, some of my cartridges are in such bad shape that it looks a bit of a jumble either way. So I want to know: how do you organise your games? Can you sway me to one side or the other? Of course, any other questions or suggestions are welcome .