BSA Starfire
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Posts posted by BSA Starfire
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Space Shuttle.
Yars Revenge.
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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!
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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 A bit like a 50's SF novel, it's outdated but makes you happy!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.
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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!
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The first Atari was made in Germany, the allies stole it in 1945.
After almost 30 years of reverse engineering efforts, the Americans finally figured out how to reproduce it.
True story.
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?
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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!
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I put 2032 batteries in my Pokemon Gold/Silver & Crystal carts. They have been in 5+ years now and still OK.
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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!
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1 dead 2600 woody, 1 working 2600 jr, 1 working 7800 with no games apart from built in asteroids, 1 10-1 atari joystick.
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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.
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UK PAL version here.
X9383816664
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Never seen that before & played this game a lot. I'm in PAL land however so maybe different?
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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,
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Wow, mine's the same UK PAL cart as Starfire's, in a USA (made in Taiwan sticker) 1983 box.
I didn't want to open mine as it was sealed (but not s/w), but I noticed that mine was half open at the bottom, so I used a Stanley knife to open it further. Managed to get the cart out via the bottom flap, cart date 1986, P label on the back.
Cool
Ah the plot thickens! Does yours have the waxy paper manual & Taiwan overlay too?
best,
Chris
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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.
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Well I have the full set of CCW games boxed complete in PAL format. Oscar is unlike all the others, we have the following differences:
Box, made in Taiwan sticker, red bottom flap with barcode. Only English on rear description.
Manual, matt, waxed paper, and only English language, Made in Taiwan sticker.
Cart, 1986 copyright, no "P" on end label but on sticker on reverse of cart.
Overlay also carries 1986 copyright & made in Taiwan.
Big Bird & Cookie monster are very common new and sealed on UK eBay, Alpha Beam less so, Oscar however seems very uncommon. Perhaps only had a limited release in '86? All the others are 83 copyright that I own.
Well interesting.
Best,
Chris
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Yes 1983 on back of box, didn't notice the 1986 on cart. I had no idea they re-issued the CCW games, does a PAL '83 version actually exist?
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Hi Rom,
long time no speak! Sadly this is the best I can do today, crappy iPhone 3gs pics, will try and get some scans sorted next week.
However it looks just the same as your scans on mania via the above link.
Best,
Chris
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I've been a stop start collector of 2600 since the mid 1990's so have seen a lot of Atari carts and packaging etc over the years. Well OK I have recently been gathering a set of CCW games for a friend's little girl to play, she visits a lot and I remember my son loving them back when he was the right age. Anyhow, I recieved a new sealed PAL copy of Oscar's Trash Race from eBay today. the game was shrinkwrapped, and dusty as you would expect from a 1983 release. first thing that i noticed as odd was the language on the rear of box is all English, the other PAL CCW games all have multi Euro languages on rear of packaging. Next point is the tiny sticker covering Made in USA that states Made in Taiwan. On opening the box I also had trouble breaking the glue seal on the box flap, this is usually 3 small spots on '83 releases, on this box the glue was a huge smear right across the flap, splitting this left a lot of damage to flaps.
The manual is also odd for a PAL release, the language is all English instead of the multi language as normal, also the paper is completely different to any Atari game I have seen before, not shiny but a matt waxed finish on fairly decent grade paper. The Manual also has the tiny Made in Taiwan sticker on the back covering the old made in USA.
The cart itself is clearly new, the Pins have no scratches from use so I don't belive this is a repro, a "P" sticker is affixed to the rear of the cart. On testing the cart it is definetly PAL, the colours are all correct for a start.
I believe Oscar's is the rarest of the PAL CCW games, Big Bird & Cookie are very common, Alpha Beam a little more unusual, certainly no NIB around anymore. Was there some disparity with the relaease of the four CCW games? The Oscar I have seems almost a patch up of parts rather than a full supported release(NTSC box, pal cart, manual, very weird? The Overlay is a standard USA printed example BTW.
Any thoughts or am I just bored and a little anal today?
Best,
Chris
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apart from my 2600 i have:
7800 because it was FREE, only have the built in Asteroids game, may check some other titles soon.
Gameboy color with about 40 GB/GBC games.
Playstation X2, 1 PAL, 1 NTSC and about 200 games.
PS2 FAT with roughly 60 games.
Gamecube with 7 games and gameboy player.
Wii with softmod and 320Gig HD, i know naughty but what u going to do?
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PAL Long Rainbow.
Made in China
Atari Corporation
Serial No. X7233452587
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The History of Atari Inc.
in Atari 2600
Posted
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