Room 34 Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 My very first Atari 5200 system arrived today, and tonight I got to play an actual 5200 system for the first time in about 18 years. Here are some of my impressions... (First off, many thanks to Vectrex-Atari for making this happen. He gave me a great deal on the system and threw in a bunch of games to boot!) THE SYSTEM: Man, this thing is huge. Much bigger than I remembered, and I REMEMBERED it being huge. But it makes sense, with the controller storage area. Too bad I found that I can't get my controllers to fit in there, with the amount of cord attached to each. THE CONTROLLERS: The non-centering joystick feels weird, but I am 100 times more comfortable with these than I am with the damnable Intellivision disc! Seems the keypads are a bit of a waste for most games. But overall the controllers just feel like there's a level of quality there... something that's definitely missing from the pathetic 7800 "ProLine" joystick. THE GAMES: I tested out six games. Here are my thoughts on them, in the order I played them. PAC-MAN: I have played this enough in Jum52 to know it's good. I had some trouble getting Pac to go where I wanted him to with the non-centering joystick, but I think with a little practice I could get the hang of it. (Unfortunately, these days, with a pixel-perfect recreation of the original available in MAME, I'm not sure it's worth the practice.) SUPER BREAKOUT: Blecch. I think the 2600 version is better in every way. More colors, more interesting sounds, and better controllers! (At least, if you have non-jittery paddles.) I think Atari seriously shot themselves in the foot by making this the pack-in. Coleco drove that lesson home. GALAXIAN: It may just be my joystick, but I had some weird control issues with this game. The aliens are too small and not detailed enough, and the squashed-down shooter looks kind of silly. The game's not horrible, but not as good as I had expected. CENTIPEDE: Wow! I really liked this one. I think it may be better than the 7800 version. It just felt really smooth, like the arcade version. I haven't noticed that smoothness in any other port of this game. Well done! QIX: Nice. This game was always intriguing and tantalizingly out-of-reach for me. The only home console or computer version I had EVER played was Barrack for the Mac. This seems to be a fairly faithful adaptation (although I don't remember the arcade original that well anymore). I found the sound a little irritating though, especially between rounds. POLE POSITION: Pretty well done. Seems on-par with PP2 for the 7800, but again the 5200 just seems to have a smoothness and sense of quality that the 7800 lacks. Everything about the 7800 seems cheap and rushed to me now, comparing it to the 5200. OVERALL IMPRESSION: Nice system. Could've been really big if it had better controllers (perhaps switchable centering/non-centering joysticks would've done it) and a better pack-in game. But in general, I am very glad I own it now, and I think apart from the controllers it was probably Atari's best effort for a home video game system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigferret Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 If you like Centipede, you MUST get a 5200 trackball. That combination is why my 5200 still gets play time. Aside from a TV screen not being vertical like the arcade machine, it feels just like being in an arcade in the 80s. Really good stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveW Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 I remember channel surfing years ago, and seeing a little bit of the show SeaQuest DSV. They had nailed the 5200 Trackball to a wall and was using the trackball as a power button for an electric chair! I love seeing old computers and video game hardware re-used in goofy ways in movies and TV shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetset Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 If you like Centipede, you MUST get a 5200 trackball. That combination is why my 5200 still gets play time. Aside from a TV screen not being vertical like the arcade machine, it feels just like being in an arcade in the 80s. Really good stuff! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ What he said.....AND You MUST get the joystick coupler and get Robotron and Space Dungeon. SIMPLY AWESOME imho!!!! Robotron is one of the best arcade ports on any system. Also for the trackball you need Missile Command. Definetly a must! Dont bother with the Activision titles...they are all about 99% exactly the same as the 2600 counterparts with slightly tweeked graphics. Actually, almost all of the arcade ports are great. The 5200 is the BEST! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vectrex-Atari Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 The controllers are funky for Pacman, but if you play it enough, you will get use to it. I took me awhile. Have you tried both controllers yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigferret Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 What Jetset said! Forgot about the joystick coupler. It's great with Space Dungeon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 Dont bother with the Activision titles...they are all about 99% exactly the same as the 2600 counterparts with slightly tweeked graphics. 5200 River Raid is improved from the 2600 version, with new enemies (shooting copters, tanks), jagged riverbed edges, and the ability to start at different bridges. There is nothing quite as satisfying as sinking a tank when you blow up the bridge in 5200 River Raid. 5200 Pitfall 2 has twice the levels as the 2600 version (or any other version). Oh, and concerning 5200 Centipede, read my page on it. It's got 2 of the developer's points of view (plus my own ravings, hey the game is excellent): http://cafeman.www9.50megs.com/atari/5200c...0centipede.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted September 24, 2003 Author Share Posted September 24, 2003 Very interesting stuff! As for the Activision titles... yeah, I think they did a pretty half-assed job with most of them. But River Raid and Pitfall II are certainly interesting to me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inky Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 Very interesting stuff! As for the Activision titles... yeah, I think they did a pretty half-assed job with most of them. But River Raid and Pitfall II are certainly interesting to me... Dreadnaught Factor rules! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeybastard Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 I don't think the 5200 Activision titles are half assed at all. What would anyone expect except a graphically superior version of the VCS games? Granted, I would have loved more levels, more features but I think consistency across consoles was their goal. The 5200 games are definetely consistent with the 2600, CV, C64 versions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetset Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 I don't think the 5200 Activision titles are half assed at all. What would anyone expect except a graphically superior version of the VCS games? Granted, I would have loved more levels, more features but I think consistency across consoles was their goal. The 5200 games are definetely consistent with the 2600, CV, C64 versions Well, maybe not half-assed.....but they could have done more. I remember back in the day getting Kaboom for the 5200. I was so pumped...then...ZZZZZZzzzz!!!!! It's the same game! Yes, the pitch and catch was a cool twist, but I still to this day enjoy the 2600 version better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted September 24, 2003 Share Posted September 24, 2003 Yep.. a lot of the criticism towards Activision even back in the day was their next-generation ports were almost always just slightly tweaked versions of the 2600 games. It gave you the feeling of.. 'why'd I even bother?" Pitfall is the one main offender that comes to mind. Pitfall 2 is another story however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannon Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 POLE POSITION: Pretty well done. Seems on-par with PP2 for the 7800, but again the 5200 just seems to have a smoothness and sense of quality that the 7800 lacks. Everything about the 7800 seems cheap and rushed to me now, comparing it to the 5200. Finally someone who realises the difference. I just go nuts when people sing the praises of 7800 specific titles. Although good in their own right alot of the titles lack a certain attention to detail that you find in the 5200 (and 8-bit computer titles). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted September 25, 2003 Author Share Posted September 25, 2003 I don't think the 5200 Activision titles are half assed at all.... ...ZZZZZZzzzz!!!!! Exactly my point! This is the same reason the 7800 faltered a few years later. Did we really need yet another, slightly graphically-tweaked version of these games? I look at 5200 Pitfall!, Kaboom!, Megamania, H.E.R.O., etc. and say, OK, the graphics are a LITTLE better (not as much as I'd have liked), but why bother? That may be part of what doomed the 5200. Too many people already had 2600s and couldn't see enough difference in a lot of the games to justify a new $250 console! (Plus, I'm sure a lot of people -- i.e. clueless parents -- were looking for the titles only... since most of the games were available in a 2600 version, why get another system?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy the Atarian Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 5200 Pitfall 2 has twice the levels as the 2600 version (or any other version). Actually an old friend of mine had a huge collection of 2600 games that we played when we were kids. One of our favorites was Pitfall 2. And I remember there being a second level on his cartridge, mine however, didn't have one. I'm guessing he had a very rare version of Pitfall 2 for the 2600, but it did have a 2nd level, that I'm sure of. It sucks that he got rid of his collection before I asked about it though. Now that I hear that the 5200 version is like that, I'll have to get it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 Shaggy: are you sure it was 2600 Pitfall? I've never heard that the 2nd level was in anything except the 5200 version. Tempest, speak up here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy the Atarian Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 While it does sound crazy, I'm absolutely sure it was 2600 Pitfall 2. The reason being, when I started getting back into Atari when I was 16, one of the cartridges I wanted the most was Pitfall 2 as I wanted to get to the 2nd level to play it again. We'd made it there once, but not again. My friend had already sent his collection to the thrift store so I ordered Pitfall 2 from B&C. I didn't know at that time that there was only one level on it, so when I got it I played it till the end and when I got there, I expected my guy to jump up and down to open up the blue portal to the 2nd level but it didn't happen. I was so disappointed that I almost called B&C back to order a different Pitfall 2 for the 2600, thinking that I just got the watered down version by chance. I had expected it to have a second level since I'd played it before on the 2600(my friend didn't have a 5200 and didn't have 8-bit Pitfall 2) and we played it alot. I'm being as honest as I can be here...like I said, it may have been a very rare version of 2600 Pitfall 2, and it sucks that it's lost now to my knowledge...unless Activison made a few more of that kind that are floating around somewhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 Again, this is the only time I've ever heard anything like this. Could your friend have been using a 5200 with the 2600 adapter, and hence the 5200 Pitfall 2, and maybe you always assumed it was the 2600 game? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted September 25, 2003 Author Share Posted September 25, 2003 There's no way there was a version of 2600 Pitfall 2 with the second level. I don't think it would even be possible, and if it did exist, the community here would know about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeybastard Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 There's no way there was a version of 2600 Pitfall 2 with the second level. I don't think it would even be possible, and if it did exist, the community here would know about it. I agree, it was 5200 P2 and Shaggy's memory is playing tricks on him. Happens to me all of the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy the Atarian Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 No my memory isn't playing tricks on me, and my friend didn't have an Atari 5200. I know that for sure, as the first time I'd ever played one was last week. It was 2600 Pitfall 2, and it did have a second level. The how or why is beyond me, but like I said, when I got my own P2 for the 2600, I seriously expected it to have a second level as well. That was before I'd learned that it shouldn't have a 2nd level on it. I don't know how to explain it either and unfortunately I can't really prove it since my friend got rid of it a long time ago. I wish I did have it, then I'd have an ultra-rare cart on my hands. Otherwise, there's no point in me making this up [/u] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyranthraxus Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 I'm skeptical there could be a 2600 version with the 2nd level however I bet that most modern collectors do not invest much time in playing their games. Especially those with large collections and suped up computers with emulators. Just how many people have played all the way through Pitfall 2? Its possible it exists but I doubt it. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted September 25, 2003 Share Posted September 25, 2003 If I recall correctly, the second level wasn't even written until after the 2600 version was released. Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted September 26, 2003 Author Share Posted September 26, 2003 I'm skeptical there could be a 2600 version with the 2nd level howeverI bet that most modern collectors do not invest much time in playing their games. Especially those with large collections and suped up computers with emulators. Just how many people have played all the way through Pitfall 2? Its possible it exists but I doubt it. John I have played all the way through mine (once) and it did not have a second level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeybastard Posted September 26, 2003 Share Posted September 26, 2003 I have played all the way through mine (once) and it did not have a second level. Ditto. No second level and I've played thru it a few times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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