Convert Me: Why Should I Get a Jag?

[Astropuff]

Because its fun and myusterious

[JAG4EVER]

Hey guys.

 

Well, I've got a rebuilt (and soon to be modified with S-video) 5200, and just bought a Lynx off eBay.

 

I'm curious about the Jag. I've done some reading on it, and while it seems like a cool system, it doesn't really jump out at me. Am I missing something? I'm an Atari fan (obviously) and a fan of the era when the Jag came out but I need some persuasion.

 

In short, why should I get a Jag? (And please don't tell me the boxes look cool! )

1011645[/snapback]

 

Hey there youngster!

 

With a little dose of the "Cat™" you would forget all about your saccharin habit!

 

The awesome power of the Jaguar64™ is contained within 5 blistering processors on 3 chips. With proper programming, all 5 processors can run in parallel - lets see a 3D0 do that!

 

Here is an exerpt for you from the morning recitation which will soon be enforced in schools across the nation. (Consider yourself lucky - you can get a head start on all the other kids! Won't they be jealous when Saccharin "lays the Jaguar64™ smacketh down!"):

 

"Tom"

- 750,000 transistors, 208 pins

- Graphics Processing Unit (processor #1)

- 32-bit RISC architecture (32/64 processor)

- 64 registers of 32 bits wide

- Has access to all 64 bits of the system bus

- Can read 64 bits of data in one instruction

- Rated at 26.591 MIPS (million instructions per second)

- Runs at 26.591 MHz

- 4K bytes of zero wait-state internal SRAM

- Performs a wide range of high-speed graphic effects

- Programmable

- Object processor (processor #2)

- 64-bit RISC architecture

- 64-bit wide registers

- Programmable processor that can act as a variety of different video

architectures, such as a sprite engine, a pixel-mapped display, a

character-mapped system, and others.

- Blitter (processor #3)

- 64-bit RISC architecture

- 64-bit wide registers

- Performs high-speed logical operations

- Hardware support for Z-buffering and Gouraud shading

- DRAM memory controller

- 64 bits

- Accesses the DRAM directly

 

- "Jerry"

- 600,000 transistors, 144 pins

- Digital Signal Processor (processor #4)

- 32 bits (32-bit registers)

- Rated at 26.6 MIPS (million instructions per second)

- Runs at 26.6 MHz

- Same RISC core as the Graphics Processing Unit

- Not limited to sound generation

- 8K bytes of zero wait-state internal SRAM

- CD-quality sound (16-bit stereo)

- Number of sound channels limited by software

- Two DACs (stereo) convert digital data to analog sound signals

- Full stereo capabilities

- Wavetable synthesis, FM synthesis, FM Sample synthesis, and AM

synthesis

- A clock control block, incorporating timers, and a UART

- Joystick control

 

- Motorola 68000 (processor #5)

- Runs at 13.295MHz

- General purpose control processor

- Rarely, if ever, used.

- Is not a bottleneck, it's only there to read the controllers.

 

 

Jaguar64™ - Now who's your sugar daddy?

[Saccharin]

Yeah, brutha! U so sweet u gonna give me insulin shock! I ain't used to the real stuff!

[justclaws]

Hello,

I'm curious about the Jag. I've done some reading on it, and while it seems like a cool system, it doesn't really jump out at me. Am I missing something? I'm an Atari fan (obviously) and a fan of the era when the Jag came out but I need some persuasion.

In short, why should I get a Jag? (And please don't tell me the boxes look cool! )

It was the first 64-bit console, and true Atari's last console.

It's been so denegrated over the years, it will surely delight you with it's games,

it having a great set of unique games as well as some pretty lame stinkers, like

any console. Mine has been hooked up since I got it in 1994 and I'm still playing!

What is there to lose, get some of the best games, have some fun you can't get

from any other console, and if you think it stinks you can always sell it again...

there is rarely a problem passing on a Jaguar from what I've seen. If you are

a programmer, it's legally open, so you can quite easily get into programming

it and it's a real metal hitter in that regard, you can reinvent the wheel for fun.

Cheers,

JustClaws.

[masschamber]

some great things about the jag

1 raiden, wolfenstein, tempest 2k and Iron soldier are all great games that aren't expensive either,

2 Alien v predator, missile command, and defender 2k are all great games, though alittle pricey are definately worth the money

3 the controller isn't nearly as bad as some people act like it is, infact I'd say it's a very good controller, not as good as the 2nd saturn pad, or the genesis 6 button, but definately as good if not better then the playstation pad

4 same power supply as the genesis and rf unit if your using one, no extra cords cluttering up the place

5 no one is forcing you to buy club drive, checkered flag or kasumi ninja

6 buy club drive checkered flag and kasumi ninja

why?

want to clear unwanted guests out of your house, checkered flag should take care of them,

if that fails club drive will definately work,

 

and kasumi ninja, come'on it's the fighting game with the scott that shoots the fireball by lifting his kilt

[Foxsolo2000]

The major advantage to the Jag is that the buld of its games are pretty cheap to buy and easy to get hold off. Another advantage is that new games are being made by the homebrew developers and old prototypes are being discovered and released. The last advantage is that in my view it is a much tougher system than the 3DO which is prone to breakages if accidently dropped

[JagFan422]

i forgot about Tempest 2000, that is a great game.

 

I still think though, in overall quality of games, 3do is the better choice, Jaguar only has a couple of exclusive titles that are worth playing, Iron soldier and AVP, even Tempest 2000 is not exclusive and can be played on the Saturn. But the 3do, if you do any kind of research on the system knows that it had more good games, and also had games like Road Rage and Street fighter II.

[Atariman]

...

6 buy club drive checkered flag and kasumi ninja

why?

want to clear unwanted guests out of your house, checkered flag should take care of them,

if that fails club drive will definately work,

 

Hey! I just happen to be one of two people on the planet that liked Club Drive (a little bit) Sure, as a racing game it wasn't fun, but hey - ever drive those cars up that big red ramp in the building blocks level? My friends and I would see who could do the coolest looking spins and flips off of that thing... at least it doesn't crash like Baldies (another one of my old favorites for the Jag)

[Gorf]

The boxes look cool! 

1011649[/snapback]

Hey no fair, that line is reserved for Odyssey 2 collectors. Don't take that away too, they have so little

1011759[/snapback]

 

 

 

I love those O2 boxes.

[Albert]

The boxes look cool! 

1011649[/snapback]

Hey no fair, that line is reserved for Odyssey 2 collectors. Don't take that away too, they have so little

1011759[/snapback]

 

 

 

I love those O2 boxes.

1014469[/snapback]

I do, too, just wish they didn't get crushed so easily.

 

..Al

[doctorclu]

Reason to get an Atari Jaguar?

 

I think for me it is just the uniqueness of it all.

 

Guess I could could enjoy about any system, however, finding people with a Jaguar and more than five games is fairly unique in the gaming world. And with at least five games you can have hours of fun.

 

Best thing to do, as I did, see if you can find a Jag user in your area, or something along those lines, and try out some of the games. Or visit one of the video gaming conferences.

 

I picked up Club Drive and Missile Command 3D after someone showed them to me. Trying it out helps a lot in my book.

[+davidcalgary29]

Price: a basic system with T2K and a few other classics will cost you little more than one of those dedicated "TV games" systems. It's a great value for any gamer.

[Godzilla]

because you can paint it white and pretend it's dentists' hardware?

[Saccharin]

and  kasumi ninja, come'on it's the fighting game with the scott that shoots the fireball by lifting his kilt

 

LOL! That alone is worth getting a Jaguar!

 

The last advantage is that in my view it is a much tougher system than the 3DO which is prone to breakages if accidently dropped

 

From my understanding, the original 3DO (FZ-1) was built MUCH better than the later version, the FZ-10. The FZ-1 looks as if a 300-pounder could easily use it for a step stool. Unfortunately, I ended up getting the FZ-10, albeit with some games. Got it for a relatively cheap eBay price. I couldn't find any "new" 3DOs so I just went for one on the cheap. I'm really excited about the 3DO. There's some mouth watering titles I want to take a crack at.

 

i forgot about Tempest 2000, that is a great game.

 

I still think though, in overall quality of games, 3do is the better choice,  Jaguar only has a couple of exclusive titles that are worth playing, Iron soldier and AVP, even Tempest 2000 is not exclusive and can be played on the Saturn.  But the 3do, if you do any kind of research on the system knows that it had more good games, and also had games like Road Rage and Street fighter II.

 

Speaking of a Sega Saturn, I just snagged one of those on the cheap too. I immediately purchased an Action Replay 4-in-1 adapter to play the Japanese imports, since those are the best games for it. I also picked up Super Robot Wars as a christening for the Saturn!

 

Reason to get an Atari Jaguar?

 

I think for me it is just the uniqueness of it all.

 

Guess I could could enjoy about any system, however, finding people with a Jaguar and more than five games is fairly unique in the gaming world.    And with at least five games you can have hours of fun.

 

Great points. I'm big on uniqueness, charm, nostalgia, etc. This system is starting to sound more and more appealing.

 

Well guys, as you already know I scooped up a Saturn (I've got a woody for Super Robot Wars) and a 3DO.

 

My next system is between a rebuilt NES from OSG +72-60 adapter or a Jag. Since I've just purchased 2 "newer" generation systems in a row I'll likely go for the NES. I've been dying to play the Famicom version of Mappy and other classic arcade ports.

 

Of course eventually I WILL get a Jag—if anything out of sheer curiousity. One good thing about having multiple systems is that you can enjoy console exclusive titles.

 

Speaking of the Jag, some of you mentioned it being the first 64 bit console. That would place it years ahead of its time. How do the graphics compare to an N64? My friend had one back-n-the-day and I really dug the graphics.

 

I would still love to see more takes. Keep 'em comin'!

[JAG4EVER]

Speaking of the Jag, some of you mentioned it being the first 64 bit console. That would place it years ahead of its time. How do the graphics compare to an N64? My friend had one back-n-the-day and I really dug the graphics.

1015497[/snapback]

 

 

A friend recently invited me over to see his "hot" new N64.

 

Now my eyesight is admittedly not the greatest but, frankly, I couldn't

make out anything on his big screen TV other than fuzz when he loaded up

StarFox64. "Look at the amazing graphics", he proclaimed. I strained

hard. I tried to focus my eyes. No picture. Nothing. Just blurry

fuzz. I told him, "I see nothing but fuzz".

 

Oh, he said, "that's the bilinear filtering. One of the N64's amazing

features. It makes N64 games look great even though the resolution is

only 270 x 180" OH, I said.

 

Then, unfortunately, he cranked up the sound. Cheesy music was

thankfully broken by the occasional bleep or blip. Once in awhile an

annoying static filled voice would make some childish proclamation.

 

To add insult to injury he then started talking about "force feedback".

And how it would "revolutionize" gaming. Neat concept, I thought.

"That could really improve gaming in the future", I told him. "Well the

future is NOW!", he proclaimed. And proudly handed me the N64 Rumble

Pack.

 

Once in a great while I felt the controller make an almost indetectable

buzz. Perhaps to 3 or 4 year old hands, I thought, this is force

feedback. To me however it seemed more like a child's imitation of a

Norelco electric razor run by a watch battery.

 

To say I was glad to leave and get back home to my Jaguar64™ and

Tempest 2000 is a great understatement. Tempest 2000 doesn't need a

"Rumble Pack". It rocks gamers with an intense soundtrack, mindblowing

crystal clear graphics, and gameplay to die for. And only Atari made it

possible.

 

In summary all I have to say about the N64 is: Fuzz, Buzz, Beeps, and

Blips. This low rez child's console is no competitor to the Jaguar64™.

 

Jaguar64™ - Over 50 NEXT GENERATION titles and countin'. Watcha' waitin' for? GET the POWER!

[Isgoed]

Ha! That's fun reading!

 

I also own a N64, and you are right about the blurry graphics, it doesn't make things any better really

 

Most of the time I play the Jaguar, good stuff

[ZylonBane]

I wonder who's alt-nick JAG4EVER is?

[Saccharin]

Speaking of the Jag, some of you mentioned it being the first 64 bit console. That would place it years ahead of its time. How do the graphics compare to an N64? My friend had one back-n-the-day and I really dug the graphics.

1015497[/snapback]

 

 

A friend recently invited me over to see his "hot" new N64.

 

Now my eyesight is admittedly not the greatest but, frankly, I couldn't

make out anything on his big screen TV other than fuzz when he loaded up

StarFox64. "Look at the amazing graphics", he proclaimed. I strained

hard. I tried to focus my eyes. No picture. Nothing. Just blurry

fuzz. I told him, "I see nothing but fuzz".

 

Oh, he said, "that's the bilinear filtering. One of the N64's amazing

features. It makes N64 games look great even though the resolution is

only 270 x 180" OH, I said.

 

Then, unfortunately, he cranked up the sound. Cheesy music was

thankfully broken by the occasional bleep or blip. Once in awhile an

annoying static filled voice would make some childish proclamation.

 

To add insult to injury he then started talking about "force feedback".

And how it would "revolutionize" gaming. Neat concept, I thought.

"That could really improve gaming in the future", I told him. "Well the

future is NOW!", he proclaimed. And proudly handed me the N64 Rumble

Pack.

 

Once in a great while I felt the controller make an almost indetectable

buzz. Perhaps to 3 or 4 year old hands, I thought, this is force

feedback. To me however it seemed more like a child's imitation of a

Norelco electric razor run by a watch battery.

 

To say I was glad to leave and get back home to my Jaguar64™ and

Tempest 2000 is a great understatement. Tempest 2000 doesn't need a

"Rumble Pack". It rocks gamers with an intense soundtrack, mindblowing

crystal clear graphics, and gameplay to die for. And only Atari made it

possible.

 

In summary all I have to say about the N64 is: Fuzz, Buzz, Beeps, and

Blips. This low rez child's console is no competitor to the Jaguar64™.

 

Jaguar64™ - Over 50 NEXT GENERATION titles and countin'. Watcha' waitin' for? GET the POWER!

1015526[/snapback]

 

LOL Great stuff. You're the ultimate Atari Jaguar propagandist!

 

Ha! That's fun reading!

 

I also own a N64, and you are right about the blurry graphics, it doesn't make things any better really

 

Most of the time I play the Jaguar, good stuff

1015686[/snapback]

 

Hmmm. "Blurry" graphics. I don't really recall that. Then again, back in those days I stayed quite high off the ganja so I suppose everything looked cool. I remember being enthralled by titles like Mortal Combat 4 and no loading time or choppy gameplay like gay-ass PS1.

[sku_u]

You shouldn't. You should buy my 3DO System + 20 games instead.

[Saccharin]

Sorry, already scooped one up. Thanks anyway.

 

I should also mention that I bought a "Family Boy". It's a NES/Famicom clone. I'm not big on clones but I read some good reviews about them and they were dirt cheap so I decided what the hell. Anyone else here got one of these?

 

 

Family Boy Vol. 4

[Isgoed]

No, never saw one of these before.....

 

 

Luckily enough, I have an Atari Jaguar, so it's okay

[Pete5125]

I have a JAGUAR/JAG CD and I like it, but the forums will very much miss lead you and rate games higher based on comparisons to other Jag games not how much fun the game is in todays world. You will find games such as Checkerd Flag, Trevor McFur, Club Drive, Dino Dudes, and Cybermorph that are incomplete (no music or very bad control). That if released for your Nintendo 64, Saturn, or PS1 would be considered crap(Actually most games on the Jag look good in screen shots but once you play them you find if Atari would of made the game companies finish them they could of been very good games). The Jag also has 30% of its library or direct (SNES, Genesis ports w/ slightly better colors and animation), this was a problem when released because your buddies would laugh thear assses off at your supposed 64 bit system handling substandard 16 bit games.

 

Jag Pluses....DOOM, Wolf 3d, Alien Vs Pred.(best game ever made for any system),Iron Soldier 1 and 2, all the Atari 2K series, Theme Park, Rayman, Super Burnout, NBA JAM TE

 

JAG MINUSES...every Jag you get on E-Bay will include Trever Mc Fur, 2 copies of Cybermorph, Checkerd Flag, Dino Dudes, and Club Drive...Being that you get these games and 2 others sound like a bargain but they will make you hat your poor Jag...

 

3DO is the same way all 3do games have great music and great graphics...but be very selective because 3do has 300+ games but their may be only 30-40 good games for the system. (buy only Arcade and Video Games you have heard of, and Studio 3do Games)

also as stated above 50% are FMV games because at that point in time that is what video game makers thought was the next leap also you may need to see video running of Polygon games because if memory serves me right the system was less built for polygons then the Jag and also I know THE 3DO CONTROLLER SUCKS you must find a rare 3rd party Genesis rip off controller cause the controller doesnt look bad but it is if you have a 2 to 8 player game then the controller must plug in the top of the other their is only 1 joystick port on the system(the controllers daisy chain this is 100 times worst than you could ever imagine) lastly if you do choose to go the 3d0 route please get a GOLDSTAR unit the controllers work better and the system is better overall.

 

 

In conclusion I would buy a Jag bundle and be very selective w/ the games I bought or if you are one of those people that needs every game category represented then get a Goldstar 3D0 (if you get the 3D0 try to buy this weird party game call TWISTED if you get a group of 3 or 4 People over you can play that game forever and have a great time )

[The_Laird]

Sorry Pete5125 but most of what you have wriiten about the Jag is crap. You can get all sorts of bundles of e-bay, only last week I picked up a mint in box complete with 16 games which were all boxed in mint condition and included stuff like Doom, Powerdrive, Ruiner and Cannon Fodder. In fact the only game I got with it out of the ones you mentioned is Cybermorph. None of those games you mentioned were incomplete (there are a few games you could accuse but not these) Cybermorph's contols are spot-on and it does have a tune on the title screen. Out of the others; Checkered Flag need better controls granted and Crescent Galaxy could have done with music but no major worries as these arn't the greatest of games in the first place. There are plenty of Jag games that would be great on other consoles but its a bit unfair to state machines that came out several YEARS after the Jaguar. Even if you do there are several games that are superior on the Jaguar to the PS1 and Saturn such as Rayman (more colours), Myst (faster and more colours), Tempest 2000 (original and best by far) and Theme Park (more rides & shops + less slow down). There are many great games worth getting a Jag for that still stand up today as great games, the ones you mentioned are all great games but there are plenty of other stand alone titles such as Powerdrive, Battlemorph, Missile Command 3D, Protector: SE, Hoverstrike CD and Ultra Vortek. Out of all my machines that I own and its a hell of alot including Nintendo's, Sega's and others the Jag is still my second fave after the Lynx.

[legeek]

Well for me, I recommend getting a Jag and Tempest 2K. I have flirted with having more or less on the system, and for me it's really the only must have. That said I also recommend:

 

Club Drive (flawed but unique)

Defender 2K

Iron Soldier

Rayman

The Jag CD for VLM.

 

 

 

 

 

That's it.

 

But if your itching for more read on...

 

 

 

 

Games that are pretty good, but not great:

Ultra Vortek,

Val d'Isere Skiing & Snowboarding,

Flipout,

Dino Dudes,

Painter,

Power Drive Rally

 

Doom is cool, but it may crash on your system (it did on mine)

 

Battlesphere is cool and all, but by the time it came out I had already played Colony Wars.

 

Many of the other titles were fun when the came out, but have aged badly due to low framerates:

Cybermorph,

Alien vs. Predator,

Battlemorph,

Skyhammer.

 

Game that will always suck:

Blue Lightning

Checkered Flag

Kasumi Ninja

Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy

Super Burnout

 

There are a lot of games for Jag that were first available on the Amiga. As I have an Amiga, I was never interested in buying them twice. However, Cannon Fodder, Flashback, Pinball Fantasies and Worms are pretty cool games.

 

Cheers,

Ben

[The_Laird]

I don't think the framerates on AVP, Battlemorph or Skyhammer are that bad at all. Especially given the amount of textures these games use. They are also 3 of only a few games that really push the Jag's hardware (others being IS2, Hoverstrike CD and Missile Command 3D). And there is no way that Super Burnout sucks, this is easily the Jag's best racing game with a super fast frame rate, cool tunes, 2-player mode and that wonderful night to day transistion.