Atari 8-bit newbie here

[Stage_1_Boss]

Hey guys!

 

I got to tinker around with an Atari 800 XL (and a bit with a 400) when I was quite a bit younger, so I decided to add an XL to my collection to try out things like 8-bit Miner 2049er, Adventure Creator, Caverns of Mars & River Raid again. I don't know too much about the PC, compatibilities, etc. But I have a modded 600 XL with composite monitor port and 64k RAM. I was able to get a bundle of 8-bit carts through trading today and there's a few in here I have questions about. I have read Demon Attack will have issues with some of the system models and most of the Gorf carts I've seen are in light brown shells, unsure about this yellow one with a hand written label lol. I'm assuming it's just a different release of Gorf that lost it's label at some point? Also, I'm psyched to have HERO, but I only recall playing it on 5200 and 2600.

Thanks for any feedback or comments, guys! = )

 

 

[+davidcalgary29]

Nice haul! Activision didn't really upgrade any of the gfx for the A8 line, though gameplay is intact. Demon Attack is a pretty good 2600 game, but I find the A8 version to be underwhelming. All of your Atari releases are good to excellent. A8 Defender is the bomb, and that port of Joust is my favourite Atari release before the XEGS era. If you like Pac-Man, though, you should spring for tep392's Pac-Man Arcade, which is amazing.

 

If you have compatibility issues, it'd probably only be with your Roklan carts.

 

If you enjoy your system, do think about upgrading to some type of SD cart so that you can play and enjoy the commercial releases from the XEGS era and European releases from the '80s onward. Many of those games are leagues beyond the NTSC early '80s scene and, in the case of something like Yoomp!, spectacular.

[+DrVenkman]

I don’t know if that version of GORF will run on an XL machine. It’s always on the list of titles that weren’t updated to work with machines after the 400/800. I don’t know if yours is a handmade version someone put together on an EPROM with a fixed ROM or not. Anyway, nice collection of carts to get going with. Joust is a favorite of mine going back to my own teens playing on my 800 in the 80’s. Donkey Kong is probably the best home version of the day.

[+orpheuswaking]

The Roklan carts came in different color shells I have various multiples of their games all in different color shells. Depending on the label they tend to fade really easily so what you have is likely a legitimate cart that just has a completely faded out label.

 

Here is an example of my Deluxe Invaders and Gorf Carts

 

http://orph.atarinet.com/gallery/main.php?cmd=image&var1=Atari+8bit%2Fa8+Carts%2FRoklan+Deluxe+Invaders.jpg&var2=0_0

 

http://orph.atarinet.com/gallery/main.php?cmd=image&var1=Atari+8bit%2Fa8+Carts%2FRoklan+Gorf+1-29-11.jpg&var2=700_85

Edited July 31, 2017 by orpheuswaking