PFG 9000

I'm not much of a reviewer, but here are my thoughts on AvP: Performance-wise, Alien Vs Predator is one of the most impressive games on the Lynx. Perhaps the closest thing to it that's widely available is Xybots, which is already an impressive game. But AvP features awesomely smooth pseudo-3D scrolling that you would not expect from a platform released in 1989. You can only turn in 90 degree angles, just like in Xybots, but the walls scroll past you smoothly, not like in Xybots where the walls scroll one room at a time. The few missions available in the "demo" version have you wandering maze-like levels as the Marine or Predator. The environments mostly look the same, IIRC...they all look like you're on the Alien ship, although some of the mission briefing screens tell you you're on the Predator ship. You basically wander around completing objectives like finding a bomb or finding the exit. There's an auto-map feature that shows you all the places you've seen so far in each level. There's humans roaming around the levels too, and you can shoot at them but you can't kill them for good - apparently the sprite work wasn't quite complete in this version. There's also a motion tracker on-screen, but I think it's just there for decoration. You can switch weapons too, but the only ones available are the pulse rifle and flame thrower for the marine and the combi-stick and disc for the predator (I could be wrong about the disc, it's been awhile since I played the game thoroughly). I once played about five missions into the marine game before I got stuck. I was surprised at how complete the soundtrack is. There's seven completed tracks, which is pretty far along for a game as early in development as the rest of the demo appears to be. If you want a better idea about what the game is like, why not look up some gameplay videos on youtube? Avoid the emulator ones though...they make the game look and sound a lot choppier than it actually is.

Good Luck, gang! 29,340

I wasn't allowed to take my Lynx to school when I was a kid, but I would sneak it out anyway to make the bus ride more bearable. Some of the "big kids" (high schoolers at the time) used to make fun of the "Vegetable Game" (Kung Food). Now I mostly just play around the house. I do have the sun visor, and while it's not too effective at making outdoor play more feasible, it's fantastic as a screen protector. I've had this Lynx for some 16 years and there's still not a scratch on the screen. My first two Lynxes got several scratches over a few years just from taking them in and out of the Lynx Pouch.

This article will rock, I can't wait to read it!

Awesome! I've only played this game twice, but I remember being pretty impressed last time. Hopefully this will give me the incentive to give the game the time it deserves.

It's hard for me to say, because I kinda binge and purge with my Lynx. I play lots of Lynx for a month or two, and then I'll go periods of several months without touching it. And some of the games that I think have held up very well, like Lemmings and Shadow of the Beast, don't get played that much because I played them to death back when I got them, but that doesn't mean that they aren't brilliant games that still impress today. That being said, the games I play most often these days are Joust, Rampart, Slime World, and Scrapyard Dog.

Final score: 115,100 I didn't pick up Xybots until I was in college, and I've never had much time to sit down with it and play more than 20 min or so...until tonight. Brilliant game. The difficulty really ramps up around level 18 or so. The Xybots start moving around the maze on their own, and they shoot at you before you're close enough to see them. The levels open up so that you're fighting in big rooms instead of cramped corridors. And you start getting into shootouts with more than one enemy at a time. The hardest thing about the later levels is that your energy doesn't refill after each level, so if you clear a level with 6% energy, that's what you'll have when you start the next one. This makes it really important to save your cash for the later levels. The earlier levels are easy enough that you really don't need stuff like faster walking speed, more powerful shots, or higher energy limits. Some tips: As early as this game is, you can use the same tactical "room clearing" strategies as in modern shooters like Call of Duty. Instead of walking around a corner and then turning to see what was hidden from you, you'll be safer strafing/sidestepping around it. In other words, if you're walking down a hallway that bends to the right, instead of walking forward and then turning to the right, you should face to the right, and then sidestep to your left so that you can see what's around the corner as soon as possible. If you're coming to the end of a hallway where there's open gaps to your right and to your left, you're best off doing a "quick peek" in each direction. Turn to your right, strafe into the new area just far enough to see what's ahead, then strafe back the way you came. Turn around, clear the other direction, and then you'll be safe to explore further. That way you won't be ambushed by an enemy hanging out in a corner behind you. Always keep your Slow Energy Loss maxed out. Energy is the most important thing in the game, as it's a combination of your life and your timer, and the game ends once it's gone. Always keep an eye on your energy percentage. Energy capsules will give you either a 50% boost or a 100% boost. Never pick one up if your energy is over 50%, unless you're heading right for the level exit.

I was at 42,500 when my batteries died. I was at the level before the first boss, which I've never beaten, but I know I can do better. I'll get a pic when I get my batteries replaced.

That's exactly what I did when I first played through the game around 1997, and I think I enjoyed it all the more because of it. Just like the original Metroid. Having no reliable map makes you feel that much more lost in the game, which is a good thing in atmospheric exploration-based games like AvP and Metroid, and Todd's Adventures in Slime World if you're a Lynx fan. Making your own maps will help you find your way around, but you still feel like an explorer mapping out areas where there are no other living humans. (Or Aliens, or Predators, if you're playing their campaign. )

I guess this game comes back just like riding a bike. 182,650. I know I can get further than this, but this is about my 6th game tonight and my batteries are toast. I'll keep trying though...the next level is the last one. EDIT: I wish I was more adept at computer stuff...I would like to record a Youtube video of this game, but I just don't have the time to learn how. I usually tend to get a pattern down when I play games like this over and over again, so that I can breeze right through the game the exact same way each time. It's more noticeable in Scrapyard Dog than in Toki, but I still have a set way of playing through the game, and it's usually a good combination of the quickest and the most complete path through the game as far as I know. For example, I always used to use the football helmet in the first level to destroy half of that machine miniboss. You wouldn't think it would work that well, since you have to jump through the machine twice to do so, but the helmet actually protects Toki as long as you do it a certain way. It's easily the quickest way through that part, but it also makes it easy to destroy every part of the machine before it falls off of the vine, thus giving you the highest score possible for that part.

Wait, what's different between the "old" (or Old!) Retro Gamer and the current one, besides the lack of the DVD with the newer issues? It's the same magazine, isn't it? They've already done their Atari features, just like they've done their Nintendo and Sega features and all the other ones. And now they don't always focus on a single console each month, because they've covered every retro console in past issues, one by one. But it's the same magazine through-and-through, so why demand that the newest issues re-tread the same ground as the originals?

Dang it, I forgot all about this part of the forum. I realize I'm too late for this portion of the competition, but I think I might be able to beat that 153,300 mark. Back in the day I got pretty far in the game, and now that I've looked at some youtube videos, it looks like I was just seconds from the final boss when I finally gave up on the game some 15 years ago. I played it again today and a lot of it came right back to me, so I'll have to give it a shot.

Im glad you enjoyed it As for it being expensive if you be patiant and wait you can get it for a good price. I think 6 or 8 months ago I paid about $30.00 for it and the box is in rough shape though. Good luck Ah, thanks so much for letting me play that. The game was pretty cool, and I found it very encouraging talking to a fellow Jaguar fan. So many of my videogaming friends love to bash all things Atari, so it's nice to talk to another enthusiast. I will definitely pick up IS2 when I can.

I played a little Jag there too. One kind soul who was hosting that portion allowed me to play Iron Soldier II (CD) for awhile. I've been hoping to play that game for a long time, and didn't see it there last year, so I was very grateful. If only it wasn't so expensive.

Recently I acquired a Paperboy game card. I hadn't played Paperboy since I was a young boy wandering around the Roller-Rink ( ) 20-some years ago, but I was looking forward to trying the Lynx version. I've played it several times now, but the collision detection is just killing me! Obviously I've grown up with older games, and I have no difficulty with most of the Lynx's arcade conversions, but I just can't get over the hit detection in this one. I frequently crash into items when there's several pixels of space to spare. The game seems incredibly solid except for this one little problem. But when I look up reviews for the game, everybody praises it and rates it highly. Does anybody else have this issue? If not...anybody want to talk about Paperboy?

I don't know where you live, but if you can make it to the Midwest Gaming Classic in Milwaukee, WI this weekend, you should be able to try almost every Lynx title there. That's how it was last year, at least.

When I made those Lynx Music Rips, I hooked up my Lynx to my computer with a cable from the headphone jack, and I used Audacity (It's a fantastic free online music editing program) to record the music, cut each track down, adjust the volume, and fade out the ends. It's not terribly difficult to figure out. I don't have the Checkered Flag cartridge though, so I couldn't do that one. It is possible to record from the rom with Audacity, but it's incredibly frustrating and time consuming because of all the horrible sound glitches in Handy. I did the music from Blue Lightning and Super Asteroids/Missile Command from the roms by request, but there's a distinct difference in sound quality because I didn't use the original carts for those.

If you're after awesome graphics and sound, the best on the system in my opinion are Shadow of the Beast and Lemmings (though Lemmings is rather pricey now). Of the four you mentioned, Klax probably has the best combination of good graphics and sound.

If you can just clarify what you mean by "SOL right off the bad," I would greatly appreciate it. As for losing a shot, that's true, but it doesn't make the game unplayable. Nor is the clown thing a bug that is so serious that it must not have been tested by Telegames before releasing it, as several people have alleged. (Read the review of Krazy Ace at www.allgame.com.) If you could do it on your first try, it baffles me that so many others say it can't be done at all, even after "a gazillion tries." What's up with that? SOL means "shit outta luck," another way of saying you have no chance. And by "right off the bad" they meant "right off the bat," which means from the start. So they meant "If you are second player, you have no chance from the start." Lots of USA idioms.

I can't comment on Ms PacMan, as I haven't played the Lynx version. Scrapyard Dog was the second game I got for my Lynx back in the day. It was actually the first I wanted, but things didn't work out that way. I think it's an excellent title to introduce you to the Lynx, because it's quite the solid little platformer. It has lots of depth for its time, with tons of different weapons and powerups you can find and purchase, lots of secrets in every board, and seven levels with four worlds and a boss level each. There's also a bunch of minigames and a secret warp system. It could've used a little more music variety, but that's about the only bad thing I can say about it. Klax is a must-play game. It's got some of the greatest sound effects on the Lynx. And while it's a classic and it'll give you plenty of replay, I don't know that its gameplay is deep enough to really show off the Lynx. It is one of the best ports of the arcade version, but gameplay wise it's nothing you cant find in any of the other conversions. Crystal Mines II is a good puzzler, but I don't think it's as essential as Klax or Scrapyard Dog.

http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/107173-lynx-soundtrack-rips/page__st__25

I never had an issue with the Lynx II. The DS kills my hands though, they fall asleep after about 20 min.

Hey, thanks for the info...I didn't know I could start up this Collectors Account thingey by deleting the file. There's a bit of a language barrier; apparently rapidshare isn't designed by a native-English speaker. Anyway, the link should work again, and I think I've gotten rid of the download limit now.

I believe that site is only for midi's. Unless I'm mistaken...? You guys are welcome to distribute these as much as you can. Before I made these, I was dying to find some Lynx music for download, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. I have Jaguar rips too, but they're really poor quality since I didn't have RCA cables for my Jag at the time, and had to use the TV's headphone-out jack. If somebody has an actual rapidshare account, feel free to host these there. I tried to make one, but the site wasn't working for me for some reason.

Finally found those files again and got them uploaded. Apparently these can only be downloaded 10 times though, so get 'em quick. http://rapidshare.com/files/341823161/Atari_Lynx_Rips.zip.html