williamc

April 3, 2016

Stargate - 68,650

This is one impressive arcade port on the 2600! Very tough to juggle two controllers though. The only thing I could manage on the second controller was the smart bomb -- never used Inviso or Hyperspace once.

March 27, 2016

Sheesh, I was proud of my score until I saw Klaus's. I only got 474.

I think I can increase mine a lot, but topping 4766 is a tall order. The game must have lasted hours!

March 27, 2016

Zapper - 60

I managed this score after many, many tries. I got really lucky words where the letters were in mostly alphabetical order so I could snag them all on one or two go-rounds.

I liked this choice for the HSC. I remember dismissing this game a long time ago as an interesting idea that didn't really work, but back then I wasn't playing the right variation. At max speed, it's really addicting. It had that "just one more game!" quality.

March 21, 2016

The Guardian Legend is fantastic. For a real challenge, enter the password TGL to play "arcade mode", which is just the shooting segments. You don't get as powered up this way, so it's really tough.

Guardian Legend, Zanac (and Gun*Nac) were all done by Compile, who also did Space Megaforce on the SNES. They were shmup masters. Their Aleste series (of which Space Megaforce is a part, it was Super Aleste in Japan) uses my favorite power up system. The two "Nac" games use a system similar to Aleste's so I really like them. Space Megaforce is my favorite shmup ever.

More info on Compile: http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/aleste/compile.htm

March 21, 2016

Crackpots - 90,180

Big improvement over my 50K high score from earlier this week. I was about to post it when I decided to try again today, and ended up having a great game (for me). Got the Activision patch!

March 12, 2016

The G7400 works from 100v to 240v.

You don't need a step-up converter or a special power supply.

Hey VPB, are you the same person who was selling G7400 modded AV cables a while ago? If so, you seem to know as much about the G7400 as anybody. I'm confused on the power issue. A while ago I worked with Rene van den Enden to put together a G7400 Import Guide. We were somewhat in the dark while doing it... I was in the U.S. without ready access to a G7400 and he was in the Netherlands which has the Euro electrical standard. We knew the standards were different so we thought a step-up converter would be necessary.

Since then I've imported two G7400s. The first I ran through a step-up converter and it blew after about 15 minutes of playing (the internal fuse blew, and it won't power on even after replacing it). The other I ran with just a plug adapter, and it seems to run OK, but honestly I've been afraid to run it for more than a few minutes. Somaybe I should take out the part about needing a step-up converter from the import guide, but at this point I'm not sure which way is safer. I've talked to at least one person in the U.S. who ran his with a step-up converter without issues.

How confident are you that running the G7400 at U.S. voltage is safe for long-term use?

March 12, 2016

It seems like every few months, some new prototype of this game surfaces. In addition to Scott Stilphen's awesome article that timdu linked above, I wrote an article on my Odyssey2 site about this game. I also interviewed Randy Green, the programmer of the ColecoVision proto, and Ed Averett, who programmed about half of the O2 library (but NOT Pink Panther). Based on what they told me and what I've read about the game, I think the 2600 and Atari 8-bit versions are the only ones that were very far along. They seem all but complete. Randy confirmed that he never finished the ColecoVision version -- the proto recently discovered is an early demo with no gameplay. He did say a version with some gameplay existed at one time but it has not been discovered.

At this point I suspect the Odyssey2 version wasn't really started, or maybe barely so if at all. Philips was winding down support for the O2 at this time and pouring their attention into the other systems (and developing the Odyssey3 which never came out). All we know for sure is that it was on their lists of upcoming games but neither Randy nor Ed worked on it. Ed had stopped developing games by this time.

It's amazing how many of these copies have turned up without the game managing to become generally available.

January 6, 2016

Absolutely! I just discovered the other HSCs and am loving them.

January 1, 2016

Dragonfire - 4,820

Just barely improved my best score, right under the wire. Wow is this game taxing at this difficulty! The lack of precision with the disc is just brutal. I'm convinced a 5,000 score is doable but I just couldn't quite manage it.

January 1, 2016

Q*bert - 16,025

Not the highest score posted here but at least I managed to improve on my score a lot. Actually made it to the qubes that require double hops this time.

January 1, 2016

Managing to squeeze in a few last-minute games on the last day. It's not midnight yet on the West Coast where I am.

Lock 'n Chase - 25,780

The cops are brutal at this difficulty, always camping out near the side exits or, it seems, wherever I had gold bars left to pick up. This game is really fun though. I wish I had had the chance to get to it before the last day, I could see spending some real time with this one.

January 1, 2016

Pitfall! - 55,767

I knew I wouldn't be able to complete on this game. I charged in with no plan, went backwards and hoped for the best. I feel I did OK by that standard.

I used to play the 2600 version of Pitfall a lot, but never spent much time with the Inty version. The disc controls OK, but the controller cramps my hand holding it for 20 minutes.

December 13, 2015

Nova Blast - 4,350

I think I need to look up the manual for this game, because I don't think I'm playing it quite right. I take it you're supposed to be defending your cities from the ground cannons, but I wasn't sure what the flying objects were, or the "E" barrels on the ground, or how the ship-damage system worked. The Inty controllers really cause hand cramps on games like this. Cool audiovisual effects though. I have my Inty hooked up to a stereo with subwoofer and this game sounded awesome!

December 13, 2015

Q*bert - 7,025

I've played Q*bert a bunch in the arcade, on the 2600, and even the Odyssey2 (Videopac) port, but I don't think I'd ever sat down and really played the Intellivision version before. Not a bad port at all. Q*bert has such an odd control scheme that I expected the disc controllers to present a problem, but they actually work pretty well here. In a lot of ways it was easier to direct Q*bert with the disc than with a joystick. My biggest problem with this port is that if even a pixel of Coily touches Q*bert, you die -- there's no ability to jump past objects like in the arcade. But otherwise this was a solid qube-hopping experience.

December 13, 2015

Dragonfire - 4,640

It's been a long time since I played the 2600 version of Dragonfire. I had never tried the Inty version before. Such a twitch game! And on this level, the dragon moves so fast and was invisible the third or fourth time through. I'm not a huge fan of the Inty disc controllers but they fit this game pretty well -- at least the treasure room part.

My Inty is set up on a bookshelf more than arm's length away, so I definitely appreciated the ability to start a new game using the keypad buttons, without the need to wander over to the console itself. So many games of this era really could have used that feature.

December 13, 2015

Star Wars: The Arcade Game - 876,195

Full disclosure: I achieved this score on real CV hardware, but using an NES controller that had been modified to work with the system. Is that permitted for the HSC?

This is the first game I ever played for an AtariAge High Score Club. I'm loving the concept... a great way to enjoy some "new" games in my collection.

Although I've played the real arcade game many times, I'd never tried the CV version before. I must say, I could really have done without the inverted control scheme, but otherwise this is a quality port. I was particularly impressed by the tower stage and later trench levels. The R2D2 sound effects were pretty good for the hardware too! The Death Star explosion was a little disappointing though, but that's a minor quibble. A very impressive game. Most Parker Bros. games were really good in this era.

December 9, 2015

1. I'm trying to get CIB copies of all the 2600 and NES games I ever played back in the day. Only have 3 2600 games to go, so I'd like to finish that. NES will take longer, some prices for CIB are crazy.

2. Catalog my collection digitally.

December 8, 2015

Starflight (PC), still my all-time fav. I played it on a slow PC in '87, which increased the time. Years later I played it all summer long, writing down all the alien dialogue and in-game text. Played the Genesis version too. And spent a good amount of time on the sequel as well.

Other contenders:

Dark Souls 2 (PS3/PS4) - my wife and I are both obsessed with this game.

Doom and Doom 2 (PC) - played a lot of randomly generated Slige levels.

Super Mario Bros. (NES)

Pick Axe Pete (O2)

DND (PC) a shareware, text-based roguelike from the 80s with ASCII "graphics"

Lightspeed (PC)

But if I combined all the time spent playing Ms. Pac-Man across all systems, ports and handhelds, that might take the top spot!

December 5, 2015

Years ago, back in the rec.games.video.classic days, there was one other collector in my area who also posted on Usenet. One day I was planning to hit a local indoor flea market where I often had good luck, but it snowed and I decided not to risk the icy country roads. That night, the other collector posted that he found 2600 Crazy Climber at that flea. I hate that I missed it, but am glad it went to somebody who appreciated it.

December 5, 2015

@save2600: fellow Kaos fan here. It was my favorite game growing up and was the second arcade cab I purchased (Pepper II, also kinda obscure, was first). The 2600 or CV could totally handle it. You may be interested to know there are two ROM variations, which I didn't know until I got my cab. The early rev, which I have, has plain dollar signs and not yellow coins. On the fourth screen and higher, the screens don't wraparound and the dragons don't fall from the top. I grew up playing the later rev and it's more fun, buy it was interesting to discover the earlier one.

I've played many obscure games (esp via emulation) but most don't stick in my memory. I'd recommend Naughty Boy (arcade), Spacemaster X-7 (2600), War Room (CV), and Devil World (Famicom). There's a Win 3.11 game called Castle of the Winds that was pretty fun too, despite primitive graphics.

There's an obscure arcade game I used to play on MAME that I've forgotten the name of. It was some puzzle game using playing cards. I can't remember the play mechanic, but it was pretty fun, and I'd like to play it again. The only thing was, it was one of those Asian bartop games that had nude pics every few rounds to get you to keep paying to continue. That's not why I want to play it though... The pics were too low res to be worth looking at. Prob about NES level graphics. Its unfortunate that it was that kind of game because it was actually pretty fun.

December 5, 2015

I've always found Ski Run to be pretty laugh-inducing. It's not the worst-playing game really, but the sound effects are something else. I can't tell if the developer was just bad at sound design or was going for over-the-top goofiness with the effects. Either way it makes me laugh.

https://youtu.be/9XzZ_mFK32c

December 5, 2015

Cool thread. There are at least four coin-ops I played back in the day that I don't think got ports:

Kaos (my favorite back then, thankfully I have my own cab now!)

http://www.arcade-museum.com/images/118/1181242123362.png

Thief (haven't seen one of these cabs for 30 years, would love to see one again!)

http://www.arcade-museum.com/images/118/1181242182294.png

Naughty Boy (an odd game but I like it)

http://www.arcade-museum.com/images/118/1181242139214.png

Gimme a Break (not surprised it never got ported, it requires a trackball and is decent fun for 1-2 games at the arcade but wouldn't hold up to repeated plays at home)

http://www.arcade-museum.com/images/118/118124212015.png

Did Astro Blaster ever get an official port? If memory serves Megamania is pretty similar but not exactly the same.

http://www.arcade-museum.com/images/118/1181242049123.png

August 9, 2015

So these are all carts only, no boxes of manuals?

Correct: loose carts, but generally quite good labels. Only Front Line had a manual.

Couple others I just remembered:

Star Wars The Arcade Game - $30

Star Trek SOS - $20

Nova Blast - $15

Thanks for any input. Most prices felt a bit high to me. Many of the ones I bought were borderline too... but I didn't have to pay shipping, plus it's a rare experience these days to buy CV stuff in the "real" world (not online and not at a retro convention).

August 9, 2015

There's a shop near me that specializes in books, DVDs, and games. They have lot of collectible stuff, and price it fairly close to online prices, sometimes a little more or less. They must have bought out somebody's ColecoVision collection or something because today they had a TON of rare carts, almost all with near mint labels. I picked up the following (all loose):

Motocross Racer: $10

Chuck Norris Superkicks: $10

Dam Busters - $8

Gust Buster - $10

Montezuma's Revenge - $20

Robin Hood - $20

Roller Controller - $15

Front Line (with manual) - $8

These seemed a little expensive to me so I didn't get them, but I'm not as up on CV prices as I used to be. Whaddya think... should I grab any of these before they're gone? These are the prices as best I can remember:

Q*bert's Qubes - $60

Sir Lancelot - $30

Tapper - $20

Choplifter - $15

Aquattack - $40

Crossforce - $30

Dukes of Hazzard - $15

Blockade Runner - $15

Dragonfire - $40

Spectron - $30

Oil's Well - $40

2010 Graphic Action Game - $20

Alphabet Zoo - $15

Facemaker - $15

Brainstrainers - $15

Jukebox - $15

Moonsweeper - $20

Threshold - $40

Bump n' Jump - $25

I already had these so I didn't buy them. Now I'm wondering if any of them would be worth picking up at these prices for later sale/trade?

BC's Quest for Tires II: Grog's Revenge - $8

Campaign '84 - $15

Sewer Sam - $20

Flipper Slipper - $15 (would be a minor label upgrade for me)

Pitstop - $20

Defender - $15

James Bond 007 - Wasn't priced

Frogger II - $20

Wing War - $30

Driving Controller - $25 (The one at the shop had the gas pedal, and mine doesn't)

I'm still shocked at seeing this stuff show up at a local shop. They rarely have stuff this good but occasionally great items come in. They had some boxed NES games yet to be priced that I'm eyeing too.

July 30, 2015

Wow, I can't believe I'm actually seeing this marquee again. number six is correct about this being from that bootleg Pac-Man with the Popeye head sprite. There was actually one of those machines in a grocery store where I grew up (West Portsmouth, Ohio). It was the weirdest machine. It's totally Pac-Man, but with Popeye's head instead of Pac. There's no reason for Popeye to be in it at all, even the ghosts are normal Pac-Man ghosts. And that marquee! No title, no explanation of WTF this game is, just a weird disembodied Popeye head and crude looking ghosts. That marquee has haunted the edge of my memories for 30 years now. I am just in awe seeing it again. It's not often I get to freshly reconnect with a game from my past now, having been into retro gaming since 1994, but this did it. Thanks for posting!

If anyone's curious about the Popeye game, it's a really odd bootleg that must have made the rounds in the Midwest region. Mine was in Ohio, and it's been reported to have been in Indiana and Arkansas too. It seemed to turn up in out of the way places like grocery stores. Mine was in a 2nd-tier grocery called Foodland, which served poorer neighborhoods. I don't really remember the cabinet, but have a vague memory of it having just plain woodgrain sides. My memory of the game is that it played basically the same as Pac-Man but was slightly harder. Popeye's head seemed bigger than the Pac-Man sprite, meaning that sometimes near brushes with the ghosts would get Popeye when they would have missed Pac-Man. I know there is a MAME ROM available of it if if you're really curious.

At age 7 or so, I don't think I really knew what a bootleg was, but I think I knew it had to be some kind of ripoff game. I liked real Pac-Man better.

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