sloth-machine

Wow really? Even if you only use the one controller and ignore all the power-ups, Stargate is still awesome (especially considering Defenders smartbombs and hyperwarp were incredibly awkward to use when the difficulty ramped up). Just keep the second controller in your lap or on the ground and tap it with your toe for smartbombs, that's all you really need. Anyway, I love both. Defender for the classic Atari feeling, and Stargate for the arcade-like feeling.

My thoughts are exactly the same as what you wrote. I find nostalgic fun in 2600 Pacman, it has a very 1st generation 'Atari' feel, which I like. When Atari started outsourcing 2600 game development to General Computer Corp, the console took a huge leap in quality (Ms Pac Man, Moon Patrol, Jungle Hunt, Centipede, Joust, etc.). If I was introduced to 2600 PacMan today, with mame and perfect console ports steadily available, I would probably think differently. I feel similar to 2600 Defender, a shadow of it's arcade counterpart, but still fun and enjoyable in a nostalgic 'Atari' way.

This is awesome, I love windows into the past like this. Thank you for sharing. I have fond memories of playing 2600 games with my brother

My 5 year old son has been playing 2600 pacman lately which in turn makes me play it too, however I've never had a problem with 2600 pacman. I like it for what it is, and regardless of accuracy, it's still fun. To my son, pacman is pacman so he enjoys it, and he also likes the arcade (my dad has the cab), just as I did at his age. Here is a pic of him playing, I couldn't resist taking a picture.

Yep, My son who is 5 loves Atari. I first show him Atari when he was 4, and now he associates pixelated images and graphics with 'videogames', but he also understands and knows about modern video games (he plays Wii and Computer games from time to time). However he never once berated Atari 2600 graphics, in fact he likes them (whenever he see them on a random piece of merchandise). It all has to do with exposure. We grew up on Atari, so back then it was fine, and it's fine now. Introduce your young children to small amounts of Atari and they will think that's how it is.

Awesome tees, I've been wanting to get this one for awhile. Just have to take the plunge and spend the $20 bucks for it as a belated gift to myself.

Michael Jackson's Thriller, a timed rhythm game.

That Galax game in your profile pic looks interesting. When will it be done?

Crazyness, makes me second guess the efforts to play.

Well it's a new account, but I've been using various accounts since about 2000-2001. However I am new to playing Sword quest. I have the Earthworld comic and loose cart in storage since the late 80s though, never bothered with it...until now of all days.

Yeah that is weird if true, since the Fireworld manual tells you flat out to refer the in game number clues to the comic. Plus fireworld received the most correct contest entries out of the 2 contests held. So everyone just solved the word puzzle by combing through the comic? I've been playing Earth world and I don't find the game boring at all, I feeling like I am playing a board game, actually. I do think it's a bit too ambitious for the Hardware, but every console has games that overstretch the system capabilities.

Probably due to the accessibility, not everyone had a touchpad. Although, they could have easily made it compatible with both. Ill take 2 joystick over the limited controls on the first defender.

The Swordquest games where something I always just looked over, never bothering to play them for decades since they seemed to be programmed entirely around the contest, sending clues to Atari in a chance to compete with others. However was there ever an obtainable goal or score to achieve? If not, then it was interesting that 2 of the games where released in Japan officially by Atari, and as far as I know the contest was never eligible for international players (unless they were planning to). Also the games relied heavy on the comics, I wonder if they actually translated them to Japanese.

Blade Runner! Atari was advertised in the film, so where is my Blade Runner game? They could have used the Superman/Adventure code.

Gravitar knows it's difficult, which is why there is a variation that gives you 100 lives. It's a great coin op conversion, even the difficulty is retained. Although I think the game is easier without a joystick (using a keyboard with Stella is preferred to simulate the arcades button controls). I remember hearing an interview from an Atari programmer (who's name I cannot recall) saying the game received criticism during play testing for being too hard. This is why the game only saw a limited release in the beginning (exclusive to Atari Club members). Gravitar reminds me of what makes Dark Souls so popular. The difficulty is not cheap. It's a game that requires patience, skill and practice. If you master it, you can complete it without losing a single life. And yes I have to also agree on Double Dragon. I can't even make it past the first few fighters.

Gravitar is a pretty brutal experience.

I played Joust last, so I'd be riding on an ostrich and donning a suit of armor, sounds interesting to me.

Thanks, I've been a forum lurker for over a decade. Finally decided to make an account recently and give HSC a go I look forward to more.

Silver label does look cool, despite the questionable data inside (hey, I still like it).

Damn, I tried all weekend to get in the ranks...could only get around 47,000. Good fun though, I usually never select the Atari track. In fact I would just play the default.

I have emotional attachment to the gaming memories more so than the games, however one day I was at my parents house and found a single 2600 game in storage. 1 survivor out of many. It was Joust, one of my most played games, both single player and many deathmatches with my brother. It was bittersweet to find, knowing this was the exact cartridge I enjoyed about 30 years ago.I am very glad to have it.

Your colors are off, are you playing in NTSC mode? And do you have a good ROM?

My son is 4 and loves Freeway. A simple version of Frogger. Simple up and down motion of getting a chicken across traffic.

2600.emu in the Google play store is fantastic and well worth the 3 bucks. It holds its own against Stella. You can customize the touch controls or use a plug in controller through USB (I use a real Atari joystick with an adaptor through my tablet). It supports Bluetooth as well.

Kangaroo is so bad that it's good. The main player is just jumping and moving to the right even when blocked by the wall, until death. This is repeated infinitely. Visually impressive is Moon Patrol, Dig Dug, and Centipede. All of these are very 'arcade-like' in their attract mode.