Tom-Lynx

Wow....it sold for $740!!!! Now THAT'S a valuable cart. I haven't seen any Lynx cart fetch that amount on ebay before... this has to be a record. Tom

Wow... it's up to $400 and 4 days to go still on the auction. I was going to make a bid, but not at THAT level! Tom

I actually own a couple Loopz carts and the game plays quite well, even though it boots up with the beta version number. It can comlynx 2 players if you have two carts. Tom

Yep....that's the same game. Several places on the web have the complete game walk-through, and by looking at the walk-through it is obvious the Lynx version is not finished when you play it. The Daemonsgate Lynx cart is pretty cool from the standpoint of it showing the potential of an RPG on the Lynx. The character moves around pretty quickly (not like underwater as in Viking Child) and the single piece of background music is very respectable. The problem of the game (besides not being finished) is that the interface is clunky and the villages are too large and all the little buildings look identical. A bit more variety in the landscape would be very welcome. Oh... and a SAVE or PASSWORD option would be a huge relief! Tom

I thought there were 3 AvP true prototypes out there and they were all identical. This seller claims there are 2 and that this one is more complete. Very interesting.... anyone know the history of AvP on the Lynx and how far it got? Tom

I was wondering if anyone has ever taken the time to catalog the complete list of Lynx lapel pins released? Are they all captured below? The pins I have in my collection are: A.P.B. Bill & Ted's Block Out Blue Lightening California Games Electrocop Gates of Zendocon Gauntlet Hockey Ishido Klax NFL Football Ninja Gaiden Pac-Land Rampage Roadblasters Robo-Squash Rygar Scrapyard Dog Shanghai Slime World STUN Runner Tournament Cyberball Turbo Sub Viking Child Vindicators Warbirds Xenophobe Zarlor Mercenary The pins I know exist, which I don't have, are: Checkered Flag Ms. Pacman What others are out there? The vendors that have been selling these are World Of Atari and Best Electronics. I've been impressed with the quality of the pins.... too bad Atari didn't make more! Since Atari released the Vindicators pin, I've gotta believe this game was probably finished and ready for release. Too bad we never saw it go into production Tom

That's an impressive database...thank you for sharing. I keep a similar one myself. You had "TNT Larry" on there.... I believe it should be "TNT Terry". I didn't compare lists, but I believe you are missing "Dragnet (Rap Sound Demo)", which is fun to listen to. I would put it in the Very Rare (VR) category.... you can get it once again I found. There is also the LGSS cart that can be used with Othello. You can buy that from Video 61. Tom

I have one Hyperdrome cart that came in a baggie with black & white photocopied instructions. My other Hyperdrome carts came loose with nothing. I've never seen a box or CD case created for Hyperdrome. Tom

quote What's Demolition Man? Is that a game for a different Atari platform? Tom

I'm not a big Hyperdrome fan, but it is more fun with Comlynx play. You can play up to 4 people at once if you have 4 carts. It takes practice... the computer AI is pretty good at finishing you off, but you can win with practice (as the game should be). I have always had a hard time getting used to the graphics color scheme... a bit hard on my eyes. Others absolutely love this game... overall I give it about 6 out of 10, but higher with comlynx play. Tom

Harry... Lance at Video 61 once said that you were working on other games that would use the LGSS cart. True? Although I have Lynx Othello and the LGSS cart, it is hardly worthwhile having an LGSS cart for one game. Let me know if you ever do a second run of EOTB Tom

quote How did you get to the 3rd city? I played for an hour last night and managed to hit about every open building in Tormis and Anchor. I noticed that I stopped taking damage after I bought the short sword at the shop in Tormis. In Anchor I bought the chain mail and knives, but it didn't make any difference. I also bought some herbs, but like you, I haven't found any use for them. Here is clearly the place where the instruction manual would be crucial if it lists all the potion recipes. Is there a way to restore your health points? That seems to be another unfinished item (unless there's a potion that does it). One big disappointment with this game....there is NO way to recover the state of your game when you turn off the Lynx. No password, no memory....nothing. If this game is actually playable to the end (which I doubt), you would have to devote a whole day to nothing else. There is an old DOS version of this game released by Imagitec back around 1991. If you search online for the cheats and FAQ, you get a good sense of what the storyline is supposed to be. However, the cheats mention picking up companions right away at the inn at Tormis and taking them with you (including a lock picker), and this is clearly something you can't do in the Lynx version. The more I play, the less finished I think the game is. Some of the critique of the DOS version is that the cities are nice and big, but everything looks the same. The buildings, the landscape, etc. I must agree... the game does get boring. It is a great start of what is possible on the Lynx in the RPG genre, but the game itself was never destined to become a classic. Something with a bit of variety like Zelda or Ultima would be cool. Tom

Picking up Lynx games on ebay can be tricky.... many of the sellers are the same vendors relisting the same stock over and over until a buyer is found willing to pay the high price. There's nothing wrong with this of course.... my hat off to the vendors. As a buyer, however, I built up my Lynx collection by surfing all the online Lynx & Atari vendors FIRST, and found that many times it was cheaper to buy a bunch of games at once at list price and then only pay one shipping charge. Once you know the cheapest price through online vendors, then you can pick up deals on ebay, often using the Buy It Now price within the first day something is listed before others catch it. Thus.... as I built my Lynx collection, I kept track of where I got games and the vendor offering the best price. Too bad those things get outdated so quickly. Tom

quote Well.... whether it is a legal game or not, I bought two carts. I'm a collector and I like to have one plus an extra. I highly doubt this game is as finished as we hope it is. First of all, the original ad Atari published quoted this as 1 - 2 players, and it is most definitely not a two player game. I tried comlynxing the two carts several times and they did not sync up... each ran independently. I did not see any options anywhere to have two players share the same Lynx either. The title screens and music are nice, but then you immediately start the game. Obviously the storyline was never fully developed and included on the cart because there are none of the typical text screens would you see starting a new RPG adventure. As you start, you have a short dagger to kill enemies, a bit like Zelda. I assume as you go through the game you accumulate armor, magic and better weapons. I haven't found any place to get upgraded yet.... hopefully the game is developed more past the initial village ("Tormis")! I would be interested in comparing notes with any other players. Tom

Other games you can add to that list are: Alien vs. Predator Eye Of The Beholder Relief Pitcher Vindicators Some other nice ROMs that are partially completed and available online written by hobbyists include Lode Runner, Puzzler 2000, and Marble Madness. I have many of those old Atari Lynx magazines and newsletters as well. It would be fun to go through all them and write down what was being advertised to Lynx users. Tom

I think you will get a wide variety of responses to this because it is all a matter of taste and what you like to play. Many folks swear by Viking Child, and it was one of my first Lynx games I ever owned, but I find it boring to play. Keeping in mind that this is my opinion, I would say.... Out of that list I like Bill & Ted, Gauntlet, Power Factor, Switchblade and Toki. I think Dracula is well written, but you need to devote the time to finish it. It really is an old fashioned adventure game. It is also the game on this list you will pay the most for. Scrapyard Dog and Paperboy are so-so. Batman got lots of hype, but I never enjoyed it much and found it pretty difficult. Turbo Sub is terrible and if you paid more than $3 you paid too much. Tom

quote: Originally posted by Songbird: Actually, the Lynx has some outstanding sports titles. I think the Jaguar more correctly described as a system lacking in sports titles (no baseball, tennis, golf, or hockey games published). Check out these great sports titles on the Lynx: Awesome Golf California Games JC Tennis Hockey Euro Soccer Challenge Checkered Flag Championship Rally Some solid but not stellar sports games: Baseball Stars (actually Baseball Heroes) Mailbu Volleyball NFL Football (some don't like it, I enjoy it though) Sure, there maybe not be multiple games to choose from in most sports categories on the Lynx, but what's there is very good overall. I would be so bold as to list even more Lynx sports games, although admittedly most will never make even a footnote in history: - Basketbrawl - Krazy Ace Miniature Golf - Ponx - Robo-Squash - Tournament Cyberball 2072 - Worldclass Fussball/Soccer And if you classify martial arts fighting games as "sports", you would have: - Double Dragon - Pit Fighter (I would classify Kung Food, Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden III as more platform than fighting) And if you are including racing games like Champ Rally, then you also have: - Hard Drivin' - Road Riot 4WD - S.T.U.N. Runner - Super Off-Road It's too bad Relief Pitcher never got released. I spoke to a collector that had a finished prototype and he claimed it was much better than Baseball Heroes. Tom

Oops.... I misunderstood where you are in the game. If you are in the "pyramid", that must be the temple on the small island in Egypt 1500 BC, right? Did you get the harp? When you enter the temple, it is off the to right where a dead-end wall is really a secret door. After you get the harp, I assume you were able to unlock all the colored doors with the right keys. As soon as you unlock the red door activate the harp. If you don't, the lion statues come alive and kill you. Hiding behind the lions is an item you will need to grab and give to the leader in Egpyt in 1700 BC. Somewhere on the web I remember seeing a complete walk through, but that's no fun! Tom

Awesome Golf is one of the best Lynx games ever made! I was reading an interview with the developers once and they really polished the game, especially for comlynx play. The comlynx drivers were rewritten by the developers because the standard drivers were not satisfactory. If you ever have the chance to have a multi-player Awesome Golf game, the transitions between characters are perfect. Also, the title screen is one of the only times I have seen the Lynx use more than 16 colors at once. Tom

I'm just going from memory, but if you are still on the Level 1 (the first time zone), those stone rats are actually stone lions guarding and entrance you will eventually need to go through. I think you need to pick up a staff or musical pipe of some kind, which may even be on the next level. If you've collected 16 notes you can go to the next level and then come BACK and collect another 16 notes once you get through the lions. My memory is pretty foggy though! Tom

I have a couple Fat Bobby carts in the Telegames packaging. It's a fair platform game with a sense of humor, but not addicting. Given a choice, I play Shadow of the Beast or Toki. It is a nice cart of have in your stash if you are a collector. Unfortunately, Fat Bobby does not support comlynx play. Tom

The rechargeable battery pack pictured is the one made by NAKI. I have one and it works well. It will only clip on to the back of the Lynx II... forget the Lynx I. I fondly refer to it as the Lynx "Borg implant" because of the way it hangs on the back. There are only two disadvantages that caused me to eventually put it in storage. 1) It adds quite a bit of weight and bulk to the Lynx II, making it more difficult to play, espcially for young kids. 2) the female power connector on the power pack doesn't fit the Lynx very snuggly, so it is possible to lose power once in a while with a good bump. When I pick an extra battery pack to take on a trip, I choose the 6 D cell pack. It is more reliable, and although it is heavy, it can sit on the seat next to you. Finally, the NAKI rechargeable battery pack is from the old days and the battery are NiCD, so you are going to have to live with NiCD issues, like battery memory, shorter life compared to normal alkalines, and a shorter total lifespan compared to LiIon or LiPolymer. Tom

Here is a link to the 24MHz hack. I've had it bookmarked for about 2 years and knew it would come in handy someday http://atarilynx.8m.com/24mhz-hack.html BTW... wouldn't the hack speed up ALL aspects of the game, including some things that you might not want sped up? For example, in Ms. Pacman, everything would be faster including the ghosts coming after you, right? Tom

Well... I finally made it over to these boards and I wanted to check out what's up. I see the list of published games, now all I have to do is find myself one of the few and rare BLL carts to complete my "published title" collection. I know....fat chance What other games are in the works that we can expect other than what Carl is working on? Is anyone else working on titles to be released? Tom