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DoctorSpuds

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    DoctorSpuds

    Posted

    Another factor in these levels that adds another dimension is the cart shell.

     

    Indeed. There are many shells that are used across the board like the Activision style cart, which is used by Activision,Mystique, Absolute, CBS (altered Color), Polyvox(SA), and Froggo to name a few. My guess would be, that since Activision was the most prevalent third party publisher, and also had the hands down best cart design, other companies decided to emulate the design by either designing around it like Tigervision did, or possibly by using the same manufacturer, which wasn't uncommon.

     

    Another cartridge design that seems to pop up in the most unlikely of places is the Panda shell, used predominately by Panda but has also been used by Wizard Video, Sunrise Software,Sega, and Xante (different color) among others.

     

    Other companies that share the same cartridge design:

    U.S. Games, beveled case - Amiga, Simage, Datasoft

    Spectravision - Universal Gamex (right down to the PCB's)

    Sega - American Videogame

    Xonox - First Star Software

    Parker Bros. - DSD/Camelot (Similar shell but modified to add a handle), Star Game (SA)

    Puzzy - Zimag, Bit Corp. (E), Intellivision(SA) (Possibly, it could be an Activision shell though)

    Bomb- Dynamics (E)

    Panda Style - Fotomania (SA), Cosmovision(SA), Digivision(SA)

    Tigervision - Tiger Vision(SA) (In black, a color never used in The States) Carrere Video (E)

     

    I don't even need to mention the Taiwan Cooper S.S. Shells and the V Carts since they show up everywhere in Europe and the U.S.

    DoctorSpuds

    Posted

    I had two thoughts reading this. First is how amazing it is that you have the only console that can take any Atari 2600 game and turn it into an Action52-like experience. Second is that if you found some way to replicate this console and sell it in the forums, you'd make a mint.

     

    Well Phillip is actually somewhat customizable. I have another set of TIA, RIOT, and I/O chips that I can switch around in Phillip to alter what happens. I only have one other TIA chip but it handles sounds far worse than the one that is currently installed, it was the one used for the short video I made. Whatever is wrong in Phillip has to be in one of the other chips since I have replaced every single socketed one multiple times over with only minimal differences. I don't think a creature such as Phillip could be, or for that matter should be recreated.

    • Like 1
    DoctorSpuds

    Posted

    Epyx probably goes there as well, with several years of making games for Atari and Commodore computers etc, and finally deciding to publish something for the 2600 too before that market dried up.

     

    It seems Epyx just had a blanket release for their 'Games' series, just about every console and major computer had a version, and it seemed that with the small revitalization of the Atari brand with the release of the 7800 and 2600 Jr. they decided to release them. It's odd to me though that they released the 'Games' series on the 2600 and not the 7800, which was the newer console, but I suppose more people owned the 2600 than the 7800, and the 7800 was backwards compatible.

    • Like 1
    DoctorSpuds

    Posted

    Xonox

    • Chuck Norris – Chuck has a pinhead now and is very fond of wearing the color yellow. The sounds have been reduced to a bunch of squeals and screeches as per usual, but the gameplay is otherwise sound.
    • Sir Lancelot – I am uncomfortable… The palette has been absolutely tortured, nothing is the right color. The game plays fine until screen two where you will be frozen in place while the console screams the most awful sound I’ve ever heard. The game is unplayable, and that’s probably for the best.
    • Robin Hood – The palette is very off, unless it’s autumn time in Sherwood Forest, because the grass is yellow. The enemy behavior have become highly erratic oftentimes appearing directly behind you, or shooting as soon as they appear, occasionally they will shoot through one side of the screen to hit you on the other side. I can usually get through the game at least once without losing a life but here I can’t get past screen one without losing all my lives.
    • Spike’s Peak – Apart from the customary (at this point) palette issues, the game has been rendered unplayable due to the fact that enemy hitboxes are not where the enemies are, a bear could be several levels above you but you’ll get hit either way. Also you can no longer take cover in screen one so you’d never make it anyway.
    • Ghost Manor – Oh boy, this is bad. The game starts off well enough, when playing tag with the ghost/ skeleton you’ll automatically get the point/spears since the hitbox is the size of Africa now, the castle screen works fine, as it should. Inside you’ll run into the problem of not being able to get to the next screen, the door just doesn’t work properly. With perseverance you’ll get to the next screen, the door works properly here. You cannot beat the game, Dracula moves at 800 miles an hour towards you while screaming and you lose, that’s it… There’s no winning here.

    Sunrise Software/Telegames

    • Quest for Quintana Roo - Apart from a large amount of graphical glitches like the snakes lacking necks and the spacing between the bricks in the room being too wide, the game looks fairly normal. There are a few off-key tones here and there but the game plays completely normally, which is surprising for such a complex game.

    Spectravision

    • Nexar - The game actually goes by Wexar now, the N had a horrible accident. The sounds are god awful and the graphics are scrambled, but the game plays fine.

    Telesys

    • Stargunner - Nothing interesting here sadly.
    • Ram It - The game is also almost completely fine, the only thing that is horrendously wrong is the title screen which has been reduced to a pile of gibberish.
    • Like 1
    DoctorSpuds

    Posted

    Someone was offering a complete Mythicon store display. It was a free standing wire rack and several NOS cases of Mythicon games, all unopened. Don't remember the exact price, but I'm pretty sure it was less than $100. I remember thinking "Wow! Here's something useless!"

     

    I bet you aren't thinking that now, especially since that rack is probably worth several hundred dollars or more, screw the NOS the rack is where it's at.

    • Like 1
    DoctorSpuds

    Posted

    I love your last sentence by the way! :)

     

    The wonderful thing though is that it's also very true. I can't remember the first game I played on 2600... I know it wasn't Combat but it was probably something like Haunted House, or Adventure... Or maybe Radar Lock... I dunno, I was late to the 2600 so I had my pick of titles.

    DoctorSpuds

    Posted

    Were you able to acquire it complete in box, with manual/catalog? (Anyone else look forward to the catalog the most, sometimes?) Only Data Age game I own is Journey Escape. I bought it in sealed condition, if I recall.

     

    I wish I could've gotten it complete, but I didn't want to shell out 80+ dollars for a partially destroyed copy, I just had to supplement it with Bermuda Triangle instead.

    • Like 1
    DoctorSpuds

    Posted

    This was one of the games I bought New back in the day!

     

    I still have it boxed with manual etc. For a long time it was my Favorite game! I used to constantly tell people about it, yet I was the only person I knew who ever bought it...

     

    It was a Great game and seemed very advanced for its time!

     

    You got very very lucky with this one. It's a pity that they waited until the last minute to start releasing higher quality 'good' games, if they'd scrapped their earlier stuff and started with games like Encounter at L-5, Bermuda Triangle, and Frank's Monster, and also stopped nosediving their company with stupid brand deals they probably could have been a force to be reckoned with.

    • Like 3
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