BydoEmpire

One of those games that I always loved, despite really sucking at.

I had no idea. The SMS port of Rampage is one of - if not the - best home ports of that game. Certainly for an 8-bit. It looks and plays great. I haven't played Activision's other SMS titles.

Real thing. I like the way pre-crash games look on a TV better than a monitor. I like the whole console 'experience' - the click of the cartridge into the slot, reaching over to press 'reset', the real controllers, shuffling through my drawers full of carts deciding what to play. Emulators are nice for me to check out various games I don't own, or to play on-the-go or something, but for me nothing beats the real thing. I don't own a multicart, but I would probably use it quite a bit if I had one. The convenience is nice and I still get almost all the things I enjoy from playing on real hardware.

Not sure why you are rolling your eyes - I for one definitely prefer old school systems to any console of the last ten or twelve years! Same here, I haven't played a game on my 360 in ages, but my 2600 (and all my 8-bit systems) get regular use. Okay, back to your regularly scheduled thread... I voted 2600, but looking back over the NES library I could definitely see going the other way. There are a few NES arcade ports I really like (DK Classics, Popeye, etc), but a lot of them just don't play real well. Definitely more variety in genres on the NES. Hm...

Star Wars Arcade for me. For consoles I have a hard time deciding between ESB on the 2600 and Star Wars Arcade on the 5200. Haven't played the latter in a little while.

This is one of those games where the more I play, the worse I get. Oh well, managed to get a few laps in: 2 Laps: 31600 4 Laps: 42500 8 Laps: 42050

Looks really cool, I've been waiting for a classic CRPG for iOS.

TV Sports Football on the Amiga. Never played the TG-16 port. I hate to be "that guy" but I'd probably take one of the newer Madden's. There's just so much to do. For me, a lot of genres haven't gotten any better with advancing technology but sports games are definitely an exception.

2600, for me definitely. I like the NES, but I rarely play it anymore. So many 2600 games are just as fun today as they were 30 years ago, whereas there's no way in heck I'm playing and insanely difficult 2d platfomer now. I'm pretty much not replaying any game I've already beaten, as good as it might have been, whereas the 2600's arcadey games are infinitely replayable. IMHO the library just more timeless. The NES wins for me in terms of sports & RPGs, but honestly, those are two genres I'd rather play on other systems besides the NES anyways so while the NES would "win" for me in those categories I still wouldn't play them much.

After game comes up on screen, press Reset. You can now change tracks with # key and lap settings with * key. Cool, thanks!

Not really. I generally buy games I want to play, although if I see something like a 2600 Data Age game I don't have I'll pick it up if it's cheap just to fill the hole. I don't have the time, money or desire to really go for a complete collection for any system, but I do like looking for, shopping for, buying and playing 8-bit games. I'm just not a completist. A few years ago I sold a few consoles and their libraries that I didn't play much. I'm doing another, smaller round soon because I want to get a little money for something else. If the console has sat in the closet for 4 years I don't think I'll miss it. I found having too many systems a bit of a distraction, too. Too many choices in both playing and buying. All that said, I still have way more than enough to keep me busy on all accounts, I'm just pairing down to what I actually play. Sorry, Astrocade, it was fun but you should go to a good home where you'll get some use...

I made it to the final boss in Wonder Boy III and tried a couple times to beat him, but kept failing. I was getting pretty ticked, so I turned the machine off, got up, and went out for a walk around the block for half an hour. I came home, turned the game on and beat him easily. Lesson learned - sometimes you need to take a step back and relax. I haven't played it in ages, but I spent a lot of time with Ghost House. Definitely my favorite card game back then, I'm curious to see if I'd still like it as much today. I forgot about Rastan, too, another unbelievable arcade port. Right up there with Shinobi for me. I bought the sequel for the Genesis and it's one of those games you just know is going to be terrible but for some reason you still have to buy it. Ever have those? Yup, pretty bad.

I have to break out the instruction book to figure out how to set up all these options. I just played a few default races and did pretty well. I haven't played this version much, but I rather enjoy it. It controls well and I seem to crash a lot less in this version than the 2600, arcade or 7800 PP2.

I love the Master System. I had an NES, and I was happy with it. I went over to a friend of a friend's house and played his Master System - Alex Kidd in Miracle World. That got me hooked and I started looking into the system and realized I wanted it!!! I bought the NES (and 7800) with my own money, so I didn't feel too bad about asking my parents for the SMS for my birthday. I woke up, saw my birthday presents, and noticed none of them were console-sized. I opened a shirt box and inside was a little piece of paper that said "under the bathroom sink." I ran to the bathroom, opened the cabinet and there was a Master System in all its glory! Good stuff. I got the SMS w/ Hang On/Safari Hunt and Afterburner, Of course I was up early, ran to the basement, hooked it up and started playing. My dad came down later (or maybe it was the evening or something), watched me play for a bit, and chatted. That was the only time since the family's Intellivision he ever talked to me about games, or watched me play a game, let alone play one with me. I kept the NES and 7800, and I still got games for them occasionally, but the SMS got the most play time after that. Definitely my favorite 8-bitter of the era. Random Memories: Loved the pack ins, as well as Afterburner. Really solid titles to have with the system for a while. I actually finished Miracle Warriors, with only one call to the helpline - that was to find the final dungeon, which was unmarked to you just had to know where to go. Played a ton of Phantasy Star, but my friend owned it so I never finished until years later when I played through the whole thing on the GBA rerelease. SMS Shinobi is one of the all-time great arcade ports. Looks amazing, plays great. Penguin Land was a blast. Kind of an under-the-radar game, but I spent a ton of time with it. I've played it recently and it's freaking hard. For some reason I got really hooked on Parlour Games as well. Not sure why I even bought it, but it was a blast. Maybe it was just something different... I've said it many times - the Master System has the best array of light gun games of any console. Rescue Mission is brilliant, plus Rambo III, Gangster Town... even Safari Hunt is cool. Never played Missile Defense 3-D, but hey, a 3-D light gun game? It's gotta be at least a little cool... There are too many great SMS games to go through here. About the only dud I can think of is Thunder Blade. I generally like the arcade ports on the SMS, but that game just didn't seem to come across well.

800xl or XEGS because the cartridge slot is on top, the way God intended.

Quick question - what does (busted) mean in the HSC Records section on the first post, and why is my total only my score from Breakout, not the other modes? Just not updated? Not a big deal, just wondering if I didn't do something right.

I love buying from my local stores (Game Traders in Flea World, The Hobby Spot on Fairbanks Ave), I like the fact they're there and I want to support them. I guess I've been lucky and haven't run into the whole "let me check ebay price" stuff. That would tick me off. I picked up a bunch or buy 2 get 1 free 8-bit carts a few months ago. It applied to everything - sealed 7800 games, NES games, 2600 games which were all $1 anyways. Pretty good deal. These stores need loyalty from their customers in order to survive, it's a shame some of them are ticking off the people they really need.

Sega Phaser and Master System. Definitely my favorite console for light gun games because there are a bunch of great titles. Rescue Mission is one of my favorite light gun games of all time.

Prepare to Qualify!!!

Awesome, welcome back aboard! Great story. if you start joining in the High Score club you're going to ramp up your collection in a hurry!

Getting slightly better - tried a few more games, although I didn't replay Progressive. Here are my totals: Breakout: 445 - almost cleared the first board, one brick to go. :'( Progressive: 356 Doubles: 500 Cavity: 373

It's tempting to rip on the lady, but labor can last a long time, and you can be in labor for a long without really serious pain. Contractions don't necessarily come hard and fast, it builds up to that over time. If she knew she was within an hour or so of the ending, why not, she still might have had another 30 hours of labor left. She's probably not going to get a chance to play it for years so might as well see the end of the demo before the baby.