BSA Starfire

Hi folks, I recently bought a Xbox Crystal console from a car boot sale in box with a extra crystal pad, DVD remote and couple of games very cheap(£5). It works fine and is in fantastic cosmetic condition. However it is really loud, I mean jet plane loud, a constant loud humming from the thing regardless of what it is doing. I want to use the system for both a few games and as DVD player(my old PS2 is having trouble reading DVD movies now, although still plays all games fine), but the noise is drowning out the audio form movies etc. Is there any easy way to shut the old beast up? I can't even figure out how to open it up??? This reminds me of my old 360 consoles, howling piles of s@@t. Thankfully I don't have those anymore. Anyhow any advice on quieting it down much appreciated or even how to open it up! Cheers!

slight & I mean slight improvement! Game 6 b,b Score 965 I need to hit those saucers more reliably!

Game 6 b/b Score 920 no really worth bothering with pic! I need to practice, a LOT.

I'll add a vote for Parasite Eve, it is NTSC only tho, but you can always chip your PS. Ridge Racer Type 4, is awesome, still one of my favourite racers along with Rage Racer. X-COM Enemy Unknown & X-COM Terror from the Deep try and find yourself a PS1 mouse for these brilliant strategy games. Puchi Carat., a Arkanoid inspired puzzle game by Taito. Starwinder. Hilarious space racer with the best cut scenes ever. Sorceror's Maze, another Arkanoid clone, this one is practically free on ebay. Area 51 & Crypt Killer. 2 fun quirky light gun games, you will need a Konami or Predator 2 light gun, not the Namco G-con for these. Muppet Monster Adventure. a really fun 3D platformer.

Few of my favourites are: Bio Hazzard Battle. Arrow Flash. Insector X. All are cheap enough and fun games.

15030 & yes my RF output really is that bad! this game is really tough!

Hi, finally found where I had read that. It's on page 12 of the Atari Book - 40th anniversary special published by Imagine Publishing. Anyone have any further info on this? Best, Chris

Space Shuttle. Yars Revenge.

Good luck buddy! I had to clear out too, 2 years ago, just starting to rebuild now on the super cheap! I'm in UK so it's car boot sales and Cash Generators/CEX for me. Best of luck!

Keep up the good work buddy. Have been listening to these for last week or so when driving. It's nice to learn something new about my favorite games, you clearly do a ton of research. Thanks again!

Just played a bunch of Pole Position, just go a copy again after many years today! Yep this is an cool game, fast responsive and the car looks great. Why the other cars are colored like scrambled egg though is kinda odd, bit of variety would have been nice.

That 400 is great. A friend had one back in the day. We used to play Star Raiders on it. Good memories. Haven't seen one since then.

Warp Speed Megadrive/Genesis. Yep it's Star Raiders with a bit of very cheesy story. But I like this game, it gets samey but has a charm for me I can't really explain. A bit like a 50's SF novel, it's outdated but makes you happy! Shaq Fu Megadrive/Genesis. I got this game for free just this week, it has a terrible reputation, no idea why really. I like the backgrounds, the sprites are pretty, if small. The game controls very well, why does this game take so much stick?? space Cavern atari 2600. All Apollo games get stick, but this is a great game, one of the best "death from above" titles out there. Cool graphics, fast movement and neat that it divides your attention to the sides of play field. Outlander Genesis. This game is beyond good, but seems to be totally forgotten. OK the non driving sections are a little weak, but the driving is superb, the atmosphere too. Sadly they lost MAD MAX license just before development completed and game fell into obscurity. Global Defense Force PS2. Sadly you Yanks never got this game, anyone played Earth Defense Force 2017 Xbox 360 well this is the sequel, you have a character with jetpack who can fly. Need I say more? Fatal Run Atari 2600. another PAL only release. again a cool MAD MAX vibe going on. Game engine is similar to Pole Position but much advanced, the story is cool, difficulty well balanced and one of the few 2600 games with a final objective. Shame it never got the exposure it deserved. Crypt Killer Playstation. Great light Gun game, loads of variety, Has a Indy Jones kinda feel,sadly needs a obscure lightgun(konami or Logic3 Predator). I love this game, have played to complete countless times since release but never seems to get a mention. Shadow Master. Playstation. Possibly the most stylish and fun 1st person shooter of the generation. Balloon Kids Game boy, Completely fun game, never played anything quite like it. Another I go back to again & again. Solar Striker Game boy. Great vertically scrolling shooter from the dawn of the GB. Sound track is awesome! Sabrina Spooked & Zapped Game boy Color. Licensed platform games that are actually good? Who would have thought it? Both are really fun games and will give far more enjoyment than the paltry asking price would suggest. Lady Sia Game boy Advance. another stupidly cheap game that rocks. It was one of the earliest releases but the graphics are great and gameplay really fun. It does have a few bugs but nothing to ruin it. Starwinder Playstation. Great futuristic racer, but it's the cut scenes and atmosphere that make this game awesome. Has more character than most games today. SSX & SSX Tricky. PS2. Both awesome games, forget the sequels these are awesome fun. I care nothing for sports games or snow boarding but these 2 have been played to death in my house.

Welcome to Atari Age. I'll make a few comments on the games in you list first, then get onto my thoughts on some other conversions, there are a lot! Battlezone: Really nice game, the solid graphics work well and the scrolling landscape looks nice on the NTSC version, sadly the pal version doesn't have this just a solid ground colour. Gravitar: I don't like this game at all. Ugly graphics, finnicky awkward controls and not much fun to be had. Never played the arcade game but I belive it didn't set the world on fire at release either. Phoenix : Great graphics, smooth fast movement and animation. Lot of fun. The Atari did well with the "Death from above" type games for the most part. Ms. Pac Man : The best Pac game until the more recent hacks/homebrews. Very playable, less ghost flicker than the original Pac Man & without the guided missile ghosts from Jnr Pac. I still play this game alot. Crystal Castles : Looses most of it's appeal from the arcade with the beautiful hi-res graphics and trac ball being missing. Not one of my favourites. Joust: Solid conversion, controls well and looks ok. On to some others then! Space Invaders : Better than the arcade, the invaders have a ton of personality and the variations make the game, two player simultaneous, invisible invaders, moving bases etc. The first killer app on the Atari. Galaxian: Solid conversion much like Phoenix, again lovely graphics and smooth animation. Does have a bit of flicker but not enough to really impact the game. It's a good-un! Centipede : Well worth a play, one of my favourites. The title screen still looks great too. OK the mushrooms are just bricks and the centipede flickers like a dying neon light but it keeps all the game elements and remains a playable, fun game. Defender : This game has taken some real stick over the years. Well I'll come out now and say I really enjoy it. The complex arcade controls were sensibly and creatively made to work on the 1 button joystick(dropping behind the city for smart bomb) & the gut wrenching difficultly of the arcade is absent. I can actually play this game whereas I failed miserably on the arcade back in the day. You can become invincible by a programing quirk , the ship disapears when you fire and doesn't register collisions, so hammering the fire button means you never die. However just because you can doesn't mean you should or have to. Resist the temptation and the game is fun. Kangaroo : I have never played the arcade game, but in screen shots it looks lovely, the Atari version does not! However I do enjoy this game. Strange because I don't like DK or other similar games on the whole. I will say though, the game is hard. Some jumps are a bl@@y nightmare. Super Cobra : the sequel to Scramble with a helicopter. I love the hilarious scenario on this one. The graphics and scrolling are arse. But it plays well enough and I enjoyed the challenge. Good few hours play for the £1 i paid for the cart. I only have a very small collection these days, so these are taken from what I have and played over the l;ast few months or so. I'm sure lots of others will have plenty to say. I really have only scratched the surface here. he Atari has soooo many Arcade conversions. Anyhow, have fun everyone!

I do remember reading somewhere that the original 2600 casings took some cues from German WWII industrial design. Is there any real basis for this or just another of those urban myths the internet is so good at propagating?

What model 2600 is this, 6 switch, 4 switch, Jr? First thing as you have multimeter is check the power switch. Also check the TV hasn't lost it's tuning position. If your in UK that is usually on ch36. No idea what TV standard you use on the moon however!

I put 2032 batteries in my Pokemon Gold/Silver & Crystal carts. They have been in 5+ years now and still OK.

1. Global Defence force - Playstation 2 2. Timesplitters- Playstation 2 3. Air-Sea Battle - Atari 2600 4. Bio Hazzard Battle - Sega Megadrive 5. Tekken 3 - Playstation 1 6. Pokemon R/B/Y/G/S via link-up Gameboy 7. Super skidmarks - Amiga 8. Micro Machines Amiga or Megadrive 9. Indy 500 - Atari 2600 10. Warlords - Atari 2600 11. Rainbow Islands - Amiga 12. Parasol Stars - Amiga That's all for now, maybe update when I have woken up properly!

1 dead 2600 woody, 1 working 2600 jr, 1 working 7800 with no games apart from built in asteroids, 1 10-1 atari joystick.

I was never a fan of David Crane, his games were always technically brilliant but always felt lacking in gameplay. I have read a few interviews from him over the years and it's clear that technology always came before fun. Pitfall, Grand Prix & freeway are perfect examples of this. As for Laser Blast, could a game be any more bland? Yars' Revenge I have tried to get into for the last 30 years, it just doesn't gel with me at all, yes it's pretty, yes it's original but I just can't get into it. The game doesn't seem to have the same flow as many other Atari releases of the era. Adventure is another title that I don't get along with. As another poster mentioned, the historical significance I appreciate but I just don't like the game. Atlantis on the other hand is one of my favourites, a fine example of fast, twitchy shooting gallery action. I also like Cosmic Ark, but just wish it had an ending. After the rescue of all those animals it would be nice to acheive a positive ending. I do however know that few games back then did.

UK PAL version here. X9383816664

Never seen that before & played this game a lot. I'm in PAL land however so maybe different?

http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/206624-my-vcs-collection-of-completed-companies-for-vcs-the-not-so-complete/ Looking at your collection here it is very clear that oscar stands out from the other CCW games too. Be interesting if anyone has a complete '83 release of Oscar in PAL format. Fantastic collection BTW, love the compumate's particularly,

Ah the plot thickens! Does yours have the waxy paper manual & Taiwan overlay too? best, Chris

Rom, just had another look on atarimania, all the overlay's you have for oscar are made in Taiwan, did a "made in USA" copy not exist?(all my other CCW PAL games have made in USA overlays). Was Oscar's the last release of the CCW games? That may explain things(Fast change to cheaper manufacturing facilities), although clearly it did have boxes and manuals printed in USA originally hence "Taiwan" stickers on my 86 release.