Virgin Hardware: CX-80

[Mindfield]

In a recent set of auctions I was fortunate enough to win 3 brand new, sealed Atari CX-80 Trak-Balls, along with four NIB copies of Joust (much to my utter amazement, I realized I didn't have Joust! So, good find there, too)

 

I decided I'd keep one sealed, open one, and trade off the third (whom I already have someone in mind).

 

Now, it's been many, many years since I've had the opportunity to crack open some virgin Atari gear, so I thought I'd post my impressions, from opening to playtesting.

 

The Box...

I picked the middling condition box, since I'm trading the least minty of the three (which has a hole in the box anyway) and keeping the most minty (which is almost pristine save for some adhesive residue from a sticker on the front) sealed. It had a little extra adhesive residue and one corner was ever so slightly bent in, probably from storage.

 

I decided I wanted to handle this carefully, so I first attempted to wiggle my fingers under one flap to try and get it to open cleanly. The attempt failed. Miserably. This was no ordinary adhesive. Plan B: Heat gun. Ironically, I picked one up yesterday; working for Black & Decker/DeWalt has its advantages, and the boss just happened to offer the chance to buy a bunch of ACC items (buybacks from stores that overstocked that we bought back from cheaply) for $5 a pop. The heat gun was among the ACCs I bought. Plugged it in and put it on the highest heat setting, attempting to pry it off gently. It was slow going. Very, very slow going; I noticed the flap was sealed by means of a thin, wide, black strip of double-sided adhesive tape -- but this was no ordinary adhesive. This was medical strength. And it just wasn't happening.

 

Impatience got the best of me. I ripped it off.

 

The Unveiling...

 

I removed the top styrofoam bracket to reveal a nice, minty-fresh CX-80. Small pebbles of loose styrofoam clung by static to several portions of the surface, which I blew off when I removed the unit. Ball felt good -- less fluidity than I thought -- I'd expected a fairly nice, free-moving ball. This was a little more stiff than I expected, rolling a little less freely than I'd hoped. But hey -- it's cool. The buttons were nice -- I like the positioning and size. Very easy access and good tension.

 

The Testing...

 

I pulled out the Jr. from its hiding spot and hooked everything up. I chose a lineup of games that would obviously be best suited for the Trak Ball, plus one or two that I thought might benefit. Since only one game really makes use of the Trak Ball in Trak Ball mode, and I don't have it, I had to use it in Joystick mode.

 

Centipede: Obvious first choice. Took me a moment to adjust to the mechanics of playing this with a Trak Ball for the first time, but pretty soon I'd gotten a good grip and pleasantly discovered that even though the game is still reacting the same as it would with a joystick, the free-rolling movement of the Trak Ball allowed a level of precision and ease of gameplay I wasn't quite prepared for -- I actually thought it wouldn't be much different than a standard joystick. I was wrong. Being able to roll around makes gameplay eminently more enjoyable and precise, allowing much quicker and more responsive movements with the game. I found I was racking up points like I never could with a joystick. Very cool!

 

Millipede: Yeah, same game, more features. Mechanics are pretty much the same as with Centipede -- which is to say miles better than when played with a joystick.

 

Missile Command: Sadly, it's not Thomas' TB version, but all the same I had far more accuracy and quick movement with the Trak Ball than I ever did with the joystick. It felt far more natural, and again I found myself consistently getting much better scores -- I cleared 10 levels without losing a single city. I could never do that with the joystick. (Yeah, I suck)

 

Crystal Castles: If ever a game was ill-suited to joystick play, this is it. I had this game back in the day and remember really hating it because I could never get used to playing it with a joystick. It just didn't work. At all. But with the CX80? It's night and day. Seriously. Forget that it's playing in joystick mode -- this game was made for the CX80. It's so much easier to play this way.

 

Taz: Given the play mechanics, I figured this might actually work well with the Trak Ball. Turns out I was only half right. Taz rocks with it. Manoevering through the levels and avoiding TNT has never been this easy. I imagine this would also work well with Asterix and Megamania, too.

 

Spitfire Attack: This one just arrived in the mail today, and since I had to test it anyway, I thought I'd try with the Trak Ball. Now, you might not think so, but this game is actually really good with the CX80! Movement is responsive and aiming actually works better and more accurately I find than with the joystick. I'm impressed! I think this will be my controller of choice for this particular game.

 

Q*Bert: Another one that just arrived -- a red-label Atari-branded Q*Bert. Um ... forget it. Stick with the joystick tilted at 90-degrees.

 

Overall I'm very impressed and love the gameplay on most of these! So much better than with a joystick. Definitely earned a place in my "frequently used" section. :-)

[bjk7382]

Nice score on the boxed CX80's. I just recently got Missile Command Amiga Mouse version. And I just love it. I can imagine that it is almost the same with a trackball, but then again I have never played with a trackball in joystick mode so, I couldn't tell you for sure. I have a whole new respect for Missile command for the ol' 2600 now.

[holygrailvideogames.com]

It is pretty hard to find a 20 year old virgin these days. Nice score.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Nice score on the boxed CX80's. I just recently got Missile Command Amiga Mouse version. And I just love it.

So you finally got your Amiga mouse too?

[NorbytheRobot]

Hope you didn't pay too much, because B&C has unopened CX-80s for $9.95. I picked up two at a CGE 2K2 for $5/piece.

 

http://www.myatari.com/bc2600.txt

 

-Billy

[Mindfield]

Hope you didn't pay too much, because B&C has unopened CX-80s for $9.95. I picked up two at a CGE 2K2 for $5/piece.

 

http://www.myatari.com/bc2600.txt

 

-Billy

 

I paid slightly more (about $50 for all 3, including shipping) but I'm not complaining. I still think it was a good deal, and I'm quite happy with them.

[bjk7382]

Nice score on the boxed CX80's. I just recently got Missile Command Amiga Mouse version. And I just love it.

So you finally got your Amiga mouse too?

 

Yes, And it works very nice. I commend you on another great game with your name on it

[Brad2600]

Spitfire Attack: This one just arrived in the mail today, and since I had to test it anyway, I thought I'd try with the Trak Ball.  Now, you might not think so, but this game is actually really good with the CX80!  Movement is responsive and aiming actually works better and more accurately I find than with the joystick.  I'm impressed!  I think this will be my controller of choice for this particular game.

 

I agree on Spitfire Attack.

 

However, the TrakBall works best when it moves fluidly and there is no buildup of dirt or anything.