Jakks Pacific Atari 10-in-1 Game System Review...

[Curt Vendel]

Jakks Pacific's new Atari 10-in-1 Game System:

 

I spent a great deal of time consulting with this company many months ago when they approached me for assistance on the product and while they listened to many recommendations and idea's such as making the game inside an Atari joystick and to really do some impressive packaging, this appears to be all that was heard...

 

 

Sadly, using the old glass of water example.... the glass is definitely half empty, in other words, it seems someone was cutting corners and sneaking sips while no one was looking.

 

The Packaging is spectacular, unique and eye catching, I will post photo's this evening on Atariage. The game system is packaged inside of an exact replica of the original Atari CX-40 joystick and takes 4 AA sized batteries, has a power switch, reset, select and start buttons on the side.

 

The system comes up with a nice and simple menu of games and while some had to be changed to allow for single player action (for example: Pong) the games for the most part stay true to form.

 

There seems to be some sort of programming glitch or refresh issue, where the player and objects on screen have annoying "noise" (background garbage) that appears around them when in motion, this becomes distractive in games like Pong and Adventure, while its not noticable in Asteroids and others.

 

A MAJOR issue comes with the first game, Adventure... sadly is has many errors and issues, first of all Grindle the green dragon has been replaced with Pesty (as I'm calling him) the Purple Dragon, where it came from I have no idea, however I call him pesty as that's what he is, he pop's up everywhere, constantly hounding your every move and seems to have a major attraction to the White Key. This totally exits Adventures true to form reproduction of this cornerstone game.

 

Yorgle the yellow dragon seems to have a problem dying, once killed he does not take the dead shape and during some game play, when exiting a screen where he was dead and then coming back found him alive again. Pesty (Grindle's stand-in) doesn't seem to want to die period, Rindle seemed to do as told and died properly.

 

Now onto the famous "DOT" The Maze in the black castle seems off, I have to go into more detail, but it's definitely not right, also the DOT, instead of hiding as in the original is glowing and bigger, sticking out like a sore thumb, wanting you to get it.... obviously Jakks seemed to want to play on this feature and made a point of it being a big part of the games appeal which leads into this...

 

Now for the biggest disappointment, placing the dot near the far Right wall in the long corridor and fetching another item to allow you to pass, upon entering the hidden room, instead of being greeted with the familiar Warren Robinette credit or perhaps a new credit by Jakks or Infogrames.... the programmer(s) dropped the ball here and there is a tiny glowing word "text" in the room where someone appears to have made a comment to add text there, but never got around to it...

 

The 10-in-1 game system is certainly entertaining, easy to use and most of the games are close to their originals. Many casual video gamers will enjoy it, and those of the Nintendo/Sega/Sony age will enjoy its blast from the past appeal. However many hardcore gamers, classic gaming enthusiasts who cut their teeth on the originals and those in the video game industry who know these games front and back will undoubtedly find its faults to be annoying and show that in an age of 128 bit, muti-gigabyte videogaming hardware... no one seems to be able to reproduce a measly 8bit, 128 byte video game console and its games true to form.

 

 

Curt

[Atari2600Lives]

It's amazing to me how you simply could not just put the orignal Rom of Adventure....how hard would that have been? My lord why would you mess with something like that.

 

It's like getting the original Mona Lisa and adding a mustache...some things just have to be left alone.

 

I for one am down by this news and will probably skip the product.

I wanted so much for this to be something cool.

 

Thanks for the review.

[Curt Vendel]

That's why I put at the end: In this 128bit multi-gigbyte videogame industry, why is it no one can do a measly 8bit 128 byte video game system and its games true to form, sheeez there is a hobbyist out there right now making a 2600 on a chip, so an actual company with multi-engineer/programming resources should be doing it as well and then place the games onto it as well, instead you get a couple of programmers who do an effort to do these games from scratch and while they tried, it just wasn't done right, even Breakout wasn't translated properly and for some reason Circus Atari is not as responsive as it should be. However, while the sound is not great, Gravitar is certainly enjoyable. Yar's Revenge for some reason is sluggish and Centipede's timing and sounds are off. Missile Command is not too bad.

 

 

 

Curt

[Witchfynde]

This is terrible to hear. People who screw up something as mega-classic as Adventure needs to take an "adventure" themselves...to a burning stake.

[Cupcakus]

I was so excited about this product too... Just because it had adventure... Oh well, I guess I'll have to make my own at some point.

[NE146]

I think that is both amazing and tragically hilarious that the secret room in Adventure ended up having "Text" as it's text. I almost don't know what to think... o_O

[Stella'sGhost]

Sounds like its not as good as we had hoped, I'll have to check it out anyways.

 

I'm sure any homebrewer could make it right, and I hope they do.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Any chance to dump the ROM contents? I wonder what (else) they might haved changed.

[Thelen]

Why didn't they use the original roms ? what kind of hardware do they use ? have they re-programmed all the games ?

 

Thelen

[Curt Vendel]

That's my point, this could've and should've been done as a hardware emulation system, I released the TIA schematics onto the net and I would hope perhaps Infogrames may have also had a set as well, these could've been turned over to the firm doing the work and this could've all be done in silicon with some additional coding for the menu and so forth, this would've eliminated coding of the games and kept them perfect and not have messed with the originals. You'd think people would've learned their lesson's after messing with such originals as Coca Cola, Hasbro's original attempt at Centipede, Galaga and other mishaps.... Like someone mentioned previously, they always seem to have to put a mustache on the Mona-Lisa :-(

 

 

 

Curt

[MrRetroGamer]

I guess it looks like this?

[Stella'sGhost]

Are those the actual games in this thing? They are all good games of course, but of all the games out there why Volley Ball, Circus Atari and Video Olympics? Memory constraints? Or just really bad desicion making?

 

Didn't the company at least poll retro gamers to find out what Atari games they would most like to see in this? I guess not.

 

I'm sorry but the fact that they put in Circus Atari, Volleyball and Video Olympics just says to me that those guys are out of touch and well, what could have been something cool is in fact something not so cool.

[mos6507]

Sounds to me like they ported the games rather than emulate them.

[mstulir]

My media evaluation unit showed up via FedEx today. I'll be testing it out over the weekend.

 

I will have to agree with Curt on the packaging. The packaging is BRILLIANT, and there will be very little confusion as to what is inside the box. The color scheme & artwork for the box was taken directly from the "Atari Anniversary" boxes for the Dreamcast, PC, GBA, etc. In the center of the box is a clear plastic window showing the joystick.

 

The promotional photo MrRetroGamer posted above was swiped from my web site. Infogrames provided me with that photo back in the Spring, but I didn't get permission to post it until a few weeks ago. The joystick looks just like the photo. The select, reset, & power switches have been reduced to small recessed buttons on the front face of the base. Thankfully, they fixed the odd looking "Fuji" in the upper right corner of the stick. It looks just like it should now.

 

I'm going to compare these games side-by-side with their original 2600 versions. I've already gotten the JAAKS people to admit to me that there are some changes in the games, so I will be curious to see if the changes are hardly noticible, or if the original games have been butchered like they were in the Activision "10-In-1" unit.

 

I hope to have a review posted at "Back In Time" early next week.

[mstulir]

Are those the actual games in this thing? They are all good games of course, but of all the games out there why Volley Ball, Circus Atari and Video Olympics? Memory constraints? Or just really bad desicion making?

 

Didn't the company at least poll retro gamers to find out what Atari games they would most like to see in this? I guess not.

 

I'm sorry but the fact that they put in Circus Atari, Volleyball and Video Olympics just says to me that those guys are out of touch and well, what could have been something cool is in fact something not  so cool.

 

Somewhere here on AtariAge is another message thread on this device. Many people, myself included, have questioned including "paddle" games in a device meant to replicate the original Atari joystick. I'll know better when I try out my media evaluation sample tonight, but my initial fear was the games like Breakout, Circus Atari, etc., won't play the same as their original 2600 versions. Pong with a joystick sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Maybe I'm wrong, but I just don't see how we will have the original gameplay experience if the controller has been changed.

 

Personally, I could see another "10-In-1" game based on a paddle. In that same message thread, we discussed which paddle games would be good candidates for a "10-In-1" paddle unit.

 

Even if it turns out that this unit isn't very good, I'll bet JAAKS sells a ton of these things. The packaging is absolutely amazing, and people in their 30's & 40's are going to see these things in the store and know immediately what it is.

[Stella'sGhost]

Personally, I could see another "10-In-1" game based on a paddle.  In that same message thread, we discussed which paddle games would be good candidates for a "10-In-1" paddle unit.

 

Even if it turns out that this unit isn't very good, I'll bet JAAKS sells a ton of these things.  The packaging is absolutely amazing, and people in their 30's & 40's are going to see these things in the store and know immediately what it is.

 

I remember some threads about this as well, It's a good idea to have paddle games seperate from joystick games, but I still don't get why they put Circus Atari, Volleyball and Olympics on there, these are, in comparison to so many other excellent games, pretty lame games.

 

Who cares about packaging if what's indside sucks? Isn't this the oldest mistake in electronics and software design?

 

And its true, I'll be buying one of those anyways, I can't pass up anything Atari.

[mstulir]

I still don't get why they put Circus Atari, Volleyball and Olympics on there, these are, in comparison to so many other excellent games, pretty lame games.  

I certainly agree that they did not put enough thought/research into which games to include.

 

Who cares about packaging if what's indside sucks? Isn't this the oldest mistake in electronics and software design?

My point about the packging is that anyone who played an Atari 2600 as a kid will see the package and immediately know what is inside. I'll bet there are a ton of people who will buy one of these for nothing more than nostalga. Or perhaps people will buy them so they can sit down with their kids & say "These are the games I played when I was your age." I've been convinced for some time that these things weren't made for hardcore classic gamers.

[MrRetroGamer]

The promotional photo MrRetroGamer posted above was swiped from my web site.  

 

Mike, sorry about that image, especially if you didn't want that pic posted here. That was from your site, and I should have noted that when I posted it. "Swiped" sounds so malicious, I'd prefer "borrowed" instead - I ain't no thief!

 

As I was reading the thread (and getting very interested) I did a quick search on Google and found your site and the pic. Curt promised some pics but I guess he didn't get to posting them yet. I figured folks would be anxious to see it, that's all.

[Stella'sGhost]

My point about the packging is that anyone who played an Atari 2600 as a kid will see the package and immediately know what is inside.  I'll bet there are a ton of people who will buy one of these for nothing more than nostalga.  Or perhaps people will buy them so they can sit down with their kids & say "These are the games I played when I was your age."  I've been convinced for some time that these things weren't made for hardcore classic gamers.

 

I see your point, the packaging does look authentic in the pictures, it looks great actually! And I would agree that this was not made to please hard-core gamers.

[mos6507]

"And I would agree that this was not made to please hard-core gamers."

 

It's like the people in control behind this have absolutely no idea what's important in a product like this. They are almost going out of their way to make the worst possible decisions on how this thing is going to work.

 

Nostalgia like this is meaningless if the experience is hollow and false.

 

2600 games are primitive as is, but one thing they were well known for is silky smooth gameplay (albeit flickery at times).

 

We don't need stuff with off-colors, jerky framerates, butchered game mechanics, and bad control schemes representing what the 2600 was.

 

It just reinforces the mindset in a lot of pop culture that the 2600 is a synonym for crappy games.

 

We really need that 2600-on-a-chip project to amount to something that gets noticed and hopefully used in a mainstream product. Then at least we'll have something 100% compatible at the hardware level that can be used in a portable (hopefully with its own LCD screen).

[Rob Mitchell]

Yes .. the 2600 on a chip project is the one I'm betting on...

 

With regard to the current project, "where's the beef?"

 

Paddle games with a joystick .. Yeah sure ... I'll stick with my atari stick games!

 

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

`

[mstulir]

Mike, sorry about that image, especially if you didn't want that pic posted here.  That was from your site, and I should have noted that when I posted it.  "Swiped" sounds so malicious, I'd prefer "borrowed" instead - I ain't no thief!  

"Swiped" may not have been the best choice of words.

 

I'm not concerned about it showing up on AtariAge. However, I am a "credit where credit is due" kind of guy. Don't worry about it.

 

Curt promised some pics but I guess he didn't get to posting them yet.

Curt's wife gave birth to a baby girl three weeks ago. I was at Curt's house earlier this week, and believe me, he has his hands full. I'm sure he will post a photo soon. If not, I will have my review & photos available by Monday or Tuesday.

[mstulir]

Nostalgia like this is meaningless if the experience is hollow and false.

 

2600 games are primitive as is, but one thing they were well known for is silky smooth gameplay (albeit flickery at times).

 

We don't need stuff with off-colors, jerky framerates, butchered game mechanics, and bad control schemes representing what the 2600 was.

 

It just reinforces the mindset in a lot of pop culture that the 2600 is a synonym for crappy games.

I agree 100%.

[King Atari]

I'm still getting it. Asteroids and Gravitar on the go is too cool.

[Curt Vendel]

Sorry for the delay on the photos.... I'm kinda in a state of newborn induced sleep deprivation

 

 

My digital camera is on the road with my wife right now, so I snapped these with a cheapo webcam, but they give you a decent view of the controller and packaging, I'll put something better together later.

 

 

 

 

 

Curt

 

[/img]