Colecovision or adam which do you recommend

[Jim Pez]

I am interested in purchasing a colecovision or adam. i never owned the adam but i did have the colecovision when i was a kid. which would you recommend?

[NIAD]

If all you are interested in doing is playing ColecoVision carts, then I would go with a CV and the AtariMax Ultimate SD Cart.

 

The ADAM has a limited software selection of game titles due to it's short lifespan, but I find myself using it more than my modded CV even for just playing cartridge based games. If you go the route of an ADAM, there will be two additional purchases that you will want to make:

 

- Mini Power Supply by AtariAge member Rey (sold out but more may be made)

- Virtual ADAM Disk Drive (SD Drive) by MicroFox/A.N.N./AtariAge member ADAMCON (sold out but another run is in the works)

 

Do yourself a favor and download the Virtual ADAM emulator and ADAM Software Archive from Joe B.'s website linked in the footer of this message. Spend some time with the emulator to see if an ADAM setup is the way to go for you, otherwise go with a CV.

[Pixelboy]

And don't forget: The ADAM Super Games have been converted to cartridge format, but you need a Super Game Module to play them on the ColecoVision.

[JamesD]

Look through the ADAM games and see if there is anything that won't run on the Colecovision that you would like to play.
Anything that has to save games, or requires the keyboard?

[NIAD]

Look through the ADAM games and see if there is anything that won't run on the Colecovision that you would like to play.

Anything that has to save games, or requires the keyboard?

 

 

And don't forget: The ADAM Super Games have been converted to cartridge format, but you need a Super Game Module to play them on the ColecoVision.

There are a number of Coleco made ADAM specific titles that have not been / could not be converted such as The Best of Electronics Arts, The Best of Broderbund (although those games are available as CV carts), Family Feud, Jeopardy, 2010 - The Text Adventure and Troll's Tale.

 

As far as 3rd Party game titles, check out Diablo, ADAM Bomb I and II, MicroChip, Temple of the Snow Dragon, Dragon - The Chinese Challenge, Electronic Game Pack I and II, Dinosaur Dig, Pity, etc., etc.

 

Most of all, go the free and easy route of using an ADAM emulator to see if your interest in the system is peeked.

[+adamchevy]

I've been seriously thinking about buying an Adam Computer. I used to have a colecovision, but sold it to buy an 800. Now I'm wanting to get back into playing some colecovision games, but I'm also interested to know if programming on the Adam computer is very usable or at least interesting. I thought with a built in printer I could print out my code. Is their a basic or assembly editor for the Adam?

[NIAD]

Coleco included SmartBASIC 1.0 free with each system and released SmartBASIC 2.0 to the public domain. However, the best Basic Interpreter to use is called SuperBasic+ 3.0 by TPR Software.

 

There weren't any Aseembly Editors released for the Adam in it's standard Operating System called EOS. Almost all programming by 3rd parties was done thru a Basic Interpreter and more advanced programmer POKEd machine language routines into memory and then CALLed them when needed.

 

Very few developed strictly in M.L. (Walter Software, AJM Software), but they never shared their development tools with the community.

 

There is an EOS program called MacADAM (macro assembler) that was released by CBS Electronics in Europe that you could try via an emulator.

 

CP/M is available for the Adam and that opens up a huge world of Assemblers and Editors and a number of past programmers have developed their EOS programs in CP/M... but above my scope of knowledge.

 

Do the legwork using an emulator and all the freely available software and mewsletter PDFs to help you decide if getting an ADAM is for you.

[+lawdawg710]

I have both colecovieion and Adam....I really like the Adam and although use it for mainly game play, I like to tinker around with it for other purposes. I say you couldn't go wrong with either!!

[Hannacek]

You should definitely start collecting for the ColecoVision. Its a lot easier to use, and much cheaper and more reliable than the Adam. If you like the ColecoVision, and then decide you want more, you can move onto the Adam.

The Atari and Commodore 8 bit computers are far easier to collect and get into than the Adam. The Adam seems to me to be for hard core collectors only. I would probably recommend getting into those other 8 bit computers before the Adam, because they are a lot cheaper, and easier to use, and have a much much larger selection of games.

[The Evener]

I am interested in purchasing a colecovision or adam. i never owned the adam but i did have the colecovision when i was a kid. which would you recommend?

 

This is a really interesting question, one that I never considered before! My family "upgraded" from the ColecoVision to the ADAM back in 1985, so I've used the system as a successor plus all the "computer" things you could do (eg. writing school essays, using the modem to call BBSes, etc). I never rose to the challenge of trying to program on the system, and since it was discontinued early into its life cycle, I wasn't exposed to a great deal of other possibilities with the ADAM - I only clued into the existence of third-party companies via mail order years later.

 

I use the ADAM almost exclusively despite having a CV as well. It basically boils down to the fact that I used the system a lot back in the day, I have a lot of old public domain software titles on data pack, I have several Super Games, etc. If you came across a system that had a batch of data pack titles, that would give you a decent start to tinker. Otherwise, I'd probably opt for the ColecoVision, play that for a while, and see if that meets your needs or if you're still interested in the "computing" side of Coleco.

Edited February 4, 2017 by The Evener

[mozartpc27]

Had a CV growing up, and bought another one online when that one finally started to die. Then the one I got online died. So I decided to switch to using the Coleco ADAM, which we've had in the family almost as long as the ColecoVision. The ADAM has worked flawlessly. Produces beautiful pictures for all my CV cartridges. I've even added a couple of games on tape that were ADAM exclusives (Super Donkey Kong Junior and Super Donkey Kong), and they both run just fine.

 

In short, I recommend the ADAM - the cartridge portion, at the very least, seems stronger and more reliable to me than the "straight" ColecoVision.

[+RangerG]

I use an Adam to play games. I don't have a keyboard and I took out the data drives. I got tired of Colecovisions breaking. Get an Adam and Rey's power supply. It is built like a tank compared to the Colecovision.

[Osgeld]

growing up we had a cv, one of my buddies at church had an adam

 

my take on it is yes the games made for adam are a bit more fleshed out, but damn that's a beefy chunk of machine to play dragon's lair and a slightly better buck rogers, even if you replace the printer with a 3rd party power supply

 

never ran any disk games, they didnt have the drive

 

so today I would say colecovision, and hey if you decide you want the slightly bigger brother, its not colecovisions are being given away at the moment, probably easily recoup your cost on a wise buy and use it for an adam

Edited February 21, 2017 by Osgeld

[Vectorman]

ADAM is the better choice, no contest.

1. built like a tank compared to the CV

2. has composite audio/video output, you just need to make the cable and it's easy to do. No need to mod the system for A/V out like CV requires.

3. cleaner RF output

4. no on/off power switch video/problems like plagues CV's

5. Far less RAM failures/corrupted video

6. plays SGM games, ADAM Super games on cart

7. Easier access to joystick ports

8. there are flash discs for the ADAM now, instant access to entire ADAM library

9. programmable

10. expandable, internal expansion ports

 

You can get ADAM's dirt cheap if you avoid ebay and actually take 10 minutes to look around at flea markets, craigslist, classified ads etc.

You can use a cheap PC power supply or arcade power supply to power the ADAM. The ADAM is not unreliable, the cassette tape drives were. Since you won't be using them, it's a non-issue.