Ron_Albanese_Again

I was just looking at that 02 pic -- are those the American detachables?! Man, they were cool. I don't care what anyone says -- the 02 is a decent machine! Great character, no flicker ... Ron!

Thanks for the replies ... I don't know what it could be! I have another 02 in storage that I'm going to grab today, and try it out. I wanna be killing bees tonight! Eating dratapillars! Picking axe! Ron

Thanks for your reply! I forgot to mention that I do have one of those beige boxes, and it didn't work, either! Still got the snowy screen, with the glimmer of "Select Game" in the background. ???? Ron

Hey guys! After years of apartment hell, I've finally moved into a new house (gaming room: coming soon). I came across one of my ODYSSEY 2 systems, and the older multicart. I was psyched! I had the power cord, etc. As fasr as I can remember, the system was working. I went to Radio Shack, and bought an adapter (i.e. the one to hook up the old-style antenna lines to a cable-ready plug). When I plugged it in, I got static. Fidgeting the TV plug around, I did see through the snow on screen to read the famous "SELECT GAME" message. Still, it was not clear! I was so mad ... I tried the TV upstairs, but no luck. What am I doing wrong? Again, what I am doing is: Taking the 02 cord, and plugging it into an old (I think it came with the 2600) adapter, and then scrweeing the wires into a VHF cable-ready adapter and plugging it into the back of the TV. Then, I'm plugging in the 02, putting the TV on channel 3, etc. Any help would be truly appreciated! I wanna play KC Munchkin with my kid! Feel free to mail me as well! Ron ron@ronalbanese.com

= utter bliss! While it's a bit flat with the hues, I loved this one as a kid -- very playable! The two player mode made for great early '80s competition. It also really sticks out, being an Atari programmed Ninentendo game and all -- and one with Mario! Ron

Pal is America, right? It's definitely an American one ... "Squish 'em!" Ron

Dude, I know! I wish I had a 2600 handy ... the best I can say is that Pitfall and Bobby look pretty darn good, while Applevision needs a little ... polish. I also have a Squish 'Em Sam for Coleco that I will be listing soon. I have the box, but it's squished. I'm not kidding! But the cart works great ... that, I play all the time! Ron

Hey there! I've listed Bobby is Going Home, Pitfall and an Applvision cart for auctions on eBay. It's definitely a "hate to, but have to, sell kind of thing!" http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?View...&sort=3&rows=50 Thanks, Ron!

Great "screenshots"! I would LOVE Donkey Kong 3 homebrewed fro the 2600 or any classic system at all ... A couple of years ago, I wrote about the coin-op, when I used to have time to write. Whenever the game even remotely comes up, I drag out my link and post it: http://ronalbanese.com/articles/97.shtml If you happen to read, lemme know what you think! I always thought Kangaroo would be a cinch to hack into an Xmas game, Ron

This is great! Please consider a Mac version! Even if you don't do it, this is like the coolest product! Good luck, Ron

No news here, I'm afraid, but I've been dying for someone to finish/make this game! Kickman is one of those holy grail games for me -- and it's like the coolest hybrid game ever! Ron

Oh, yeah, I'm a major Kiss fan. They're unique, wrote great pop/had rock songs with great themes about being yourself -- what's not to like? I'd take a dozen Kisses over bands that were self-impotant and wrote lyrics about mysticism and all that junk. As for the marketing, who cares? You'd think that more 2600 fans would be into Kiss; like the 26 they're simple and direct , and much cooler than similar but more sophisticated things (ex. Colecovision, etc.) It's also why I love the Ramones, Ron

Great topic, and one I've thought about often! I think a Kiss cart would have been a natural, given Kiss' cross-pollination marketing, and foray into gaming, albeit of the pinball variety. One major reason I feel it didn't happen is timing; though the 26 hit during band's heyday, the machine and licensing didn't go full-tilt until after Kiss was a super-dead issue in the States (1982-3). Though I love the Journey game, Kiss would have made for a better hit product. Journey WAS huge, but most of the fans were teenage girls, who at the time were not playing video games ... This would make for a perfect homebrew (like we need another homebrew idea -- ha ha) -- Kiss' faces, characters, and respective colors would tranlate well! Ron, Kiss Army Member since 1976

I said this before, but I'd really like to set up a page on my site for the Sears ads .... maybe this summer I'll make it happen! Seriously, I'm teaching summer school, so that might be a good time to post this stuff ... Polyester-era Pixels to All, RON!

Ya know, I'm nowhere near an expert on the "early days," but man is it fascinating! And, I always think 1978 for the debut, but it's really '77 ... Wouldn't it be cool to see store photos of displays at the time of the launch, etc.? You know there has to be something, somewhere! Maybe the Sears archives (ha ha)? Maybe John Hardie? I DO have the 1978 Sears catalogs -- Spring, Fall and Christmas, and at least one has a beautiful full pages Sear Arcade layout. Ron!

I think that since Atari had been so huge, it was just a little played out. People WERE ready for something new -- maybe not just Atari? The Colecovision seemed so fresh, and when DK was seen, forget it. The ol' 52 looked a little bulky old school, with mostly upgrades from the late '70s and early '80s. I mean, I think the 5200 BURIES the CV, but it may have been a victim of of not making enough of unique splash ... Ron!

I would want to have: 1) Frostbite -- for the challenge and a reminder of snow 2) Crackpots -- it has a cityscape to remind me of civilization 3) Jr. Pac-Man BONUS: I'd like a good shooter to vent my frustrations, like Demon Attack .. Ron!

Small Update: I did go outside before. My car is totally covered in snow! There's nowhere to put the snow on the city streets, and if the cops see you putting it in the street itself, they yell at ya. The local A&P closed, and there's an official emergency declared, etc. I have not seen snow like this since 1978 (the last big blizzard thing in Jersey). So, in a little while I'm going to play Frostbite, return to Crackpots and maybe hit a little Demon Attack Is there an "unlocakable" in Crackpots? Ron

So, it's snowin' like nuts here in Hoboken, NJ, right? So, the mind wanders to snow days of yore, staying home from school. Circa 1982-3, the thing to do would be to play some serious Atari. So, today, I've been through a heap of Anthology (unfortunately, I don't have any real systems set up). My wife even jumped in and played a little Pitfall ... and threatened violence at the prospect of hearing "Walking in L.A." again. I for the first time seriously enjoyed Crackpots, and here's my vote to emancipate it from the inferior reverse Kaboom category. I even played Decathalon, and had to take extra time to type this post (it really is a waggle fest, huh?). A little River Raid, some Stampede, and a quick crash or two in River Raid II for good measure. This snow tornado really brings me back -- how about you? Tennis, anyone? Ron

Wow ... I had Tac-Scan! You see, back in the day, I bought all my cartridges myself, with my own money from delivering newspapers, etc. If a game was a little cheaper (in the low 20$ range), it has a chance of being picked up. Dunno if it was the "-Scan" that allured me (it's kinda similar to "-Man") or price, but I bought this -- and enjoyed it! The paddle control is kinda neat ... I've never seen the arcade version to this day. And, wasn't there another "-Scan" from Sega? What's next, and Airlock appreciation thread (ha ha), Ron

Okay ... who's droooling (ha ha) ... that makes sense about DK3, and how it doesn't share code ... as the for others, I'd buy them all! Your enthusiasm in appreciated! Ron

Yes! I also suggested DK3 earlier in this thread. I'd buy all the Dk remakes in cart form, with boxes, etc. I'm also intrested in seeing games that were announced but never happened -- it kinda satisfys the inner child! And, I'll ask this question again: Wasn't DK3 planned for the CV, and given a cart number? Ron

Yeah, but maybe that was a timing thing; maybe Activision chickened out on the maze craze around the time of the K.C. Munchkin wars? Also, Mouse Trap and Lock 'n' Chase were hardly high-profile games, in the arcade or otherwise. I would think that Activison had to have considered doing a maze game at some point -- it's one of the archetype game styles. They certainly followed the shoot aliens above you concept with Spider Fighter, Megamania, Bridge (only kidding about that last one) ... Ken Love, where are you? Ron!

I've often wondered about Acitivision's lack of a true, one-screen maze game. The above examples to me are not maze games, really a series of screens with dead ends and means of entering and exiting. Wait. isn't that what a maze is? Anyway, it is quite a mystery why Activision never had a maze game, where a main character is in hot pursuit while trying to chomp away at objects. It makes you wonder if there was some kind of agreement with Atari, or maybe just fear of being sued ... maybe there was a protoype of some kind made? I could just picture some kind of cool Activison main character, with a blue background, maybe even that horizon ... Ron

C'mon, that's a fake, right? (ha ha) Never thought a Stampede shirt would exist ... it just rocks ... a cowboy infused with Activision rainbow™ power! Signed, One of the white dogs from Stampede (Ron)