Daniel Thomas

There are a few games that use more than 16 colors at one time. Roadblasters, for instance, is another game that pushes more colors (around 24). Really, I never thought this was an issue. 16 out of 4096 was perfectly fine for a portable 8/16-bit with a 3" screen. There are lots of games that look terrific and mirror their arcade cousins brilliantly. Good graphics are a product of good art skills more than anything -- look at the NES or Gameboy for examples.

If you want to get busy making Atari computer games, then by all means, use BASIC. Sure, it is a slow language, but it works very well on the Atari, and there were loads of homebrew BASIC games back in the day. I've actually seen some terrific games (including a few I made myself) made this way.

Yes, there is a version of the emulator called Atari800Win Plus that has online support. The latest version, 3.1 (or wherever the dot goes) can be found here: http://www.a800win.atari-area.prv.pl/ Now all we need is a GBA version of MULE to take on the road! That would just rock.

I'd say Loopz is the best of the three. It's really a very good puzzler that only needed a tweak or two before release. Too bad it was never finished. Road Riot is another solid arcade conversion, but I really hate the way the car keeps crashing all the time. Still, it's okay. Lynx Centipede has its fans here, but it's completely lost on me. Is the final version as painfully slow as the preview ROM is? The game is way too slow and just doesn't look very good. Maybe I need a couple beers to fix that.

The android is always considered the best player to use if you're trying to finish all 40 levels, thanks to his immense storage space. Personally, I have a affinity for the weirder characters in Gauntlet 3, like the Pirate (who throws his parrot), the Punk (who kicks his boots), and the Nerd (who throws his books). Who wants to be a boring Wizard or Warrior?

I would love to help you out, as I'm still a fan of MULE. Unfotunately, I don't have any classic Atari consoles. If anybody wanted to post any questions or problems on this board, I'll be glad to help as best I can.

You know, I was thinking about that intro when writing the review. I alwasy enjoyed the loading intros that Lucasfilm Games put into their early games -- Rescue on Fractalus is another great one. Of course, with modern emulation, those loading sequences are now lost. When writing a review, there are so many things to highlight and talk about, that it really comes down to focusing on your main points. You'll notice that I'm trying to structure my game reviews differently than the norm. The typical videogame review follows the same pattern of "the graphics are..." and "the sound and music are..." and "the gameplay is..." It's game reviews by Mad Libs. My style is closer to Pauline Kael's, which gets at the marrow of what makes a videogame tick. Is this a legitimate part of the pop culture, ala movies, music, and television? If it is, then we need some better writing. Eventually, I plan to publish a collection of these reviews in a volume, not unlike Roger Ebert's "The Great Movies," a wonderful book of film reviews from his bi-weekly Sun-Times column. Again, thanks for the kind words. It means a lot.

Just wanted to let everyone know that I have a new review/essay for Ballblazer on my website. Let me know what you think. I'm sure that there are some fans on this board. Thank goodness for the wonderful Atari versions, and not that horrible NES version. And did anyone try out Ballblazer Champions on the PSX? www.danielthomas.org/pop/classics/ballblazer.htm

Personally, I never cared very much for Lynx Casino. Maybe it's because I'm over 21 -- really, what's the point? I can gamble in the real world and make some money while I'm at it. This game is fine for what it does, but is it really any different than the video casino computer games from 20 years ago? For $39.99, I'd pass and put that money towards a trip to Vegas. Crystal Mines 2, however, is much better. I want to say it's a gem, but then the pun police would be all over me. It is very much a ripoff of Boulderdash; think of it as the modernized version. CM2 is based on a little-known game on the NES by Color Dreams, which later copied the formula for the Ned Flanders-friendly Exodus and Joshua. Good fun.

There is, I think. Version 3.1 of Atari800Win included network play... it would supposedly let you play multi-player games over the internet with each person using one of the four joystick ports. I haven't tried it yet, but I want to get a multi-player game of MULE going with some buddies soon! Thanks for the tip. I think my version of 800Win is 2.6 or something. Time for an upgrade. One of the things I really love about these emulators is the ability to play these games online. Why they aren't prepackaged with every computer is beyond me. Also, did everyone have a chance to see my review? Just curious what y'all thought. Also, this week's review is Zelda 3 (snes) -- I need a bit more info about Ballblazer before I write that one. Thanks a lot. www.danielthomas.org/pop/classics/mule.htm

Well, I'm guessing that you're playing on an actual Atari computer and not an emulator. But if I'm mistaken, it shouldn't matter. First, make sure you have the joysticks plugged in; this is where you hope you have an Atari 800, which has 4 joystick ports. At the title screen, Option and Select are used to select the number of players and level of difficulty -- "tournament" is the one you want, as the other levels are merely practice for the real thing. When everything's ready, hit the joystick button. When you see "joystick" on the screen, that is the game acknowledging that you're now a player. When all the players have hit their buttons, you go to the next screen. On this screen, you are choosing colors, which cycle around. When you find the color you want, hit the button again. You get to choose one of the aliens to control -- use the flapper bird if you're a rookie, and the human if you're an expert, and the rest are all the same -- and you just use the stick and button for that. Easy as pie.

How many fans of MULE do we have here? I'm still playing this game on the Atari800Win emulator on my PC. I wish there were a way to play this game online. It really would be perfect for that. Also, not to toot my own horn, but I have a review of MULE on my website. I hope everyone takes a visit and let me know what they think. I add a new "classics" review every week, just so you know. I think I may do Ballblazer next week, but I can't yet say for certain. Anyway, there ya go.

Do you know that Spindizzy was eventually ported to the Super Nintendo? That was a real surprise back then. BTW, did this game come out before or after Marble Madness? Just curious.

There isn't much confusion about my favorite Lynx games being among the early launch titles. I feel that Epyx did an exemplary job with those games; there really wasn't a dud among them. Atari had their collection of brilliant Atari Games titles, which helped a lot, as well as some of the other arcade games like Robotron, Joust, and Battlezone 2000. Atari's original efforts, however, often ranged from mediocre to just lousy. Maybe that just came from their inability to hire more experienced developers; there was never anyone on par with a Konami or a Capcom. I think the Lynx would have performed far better in the hands of the big names. I'm thinking of games like Viking Child, Switchblade 2, Dirty Larry, Scrapyard Dog, Basketbrawl, Batman Returns, Fat Bobby, Gordo 106. I realize that those games have their supporters, and that's fine. But these titles were just plain lousy in my book; certainly nowhere near as good as the big-name titles on the GameBoy. Then you have titles like Robo-Squash, Zarlor Mercenary, Turbo Sub, Ishido, Hockey, and Ninja Gaiden 3. Games that were either too slow, too cramped, or just awful to listen to. Too many Lynx games with simple graphics and sound effects that were practically stolen from the Atari 2600. As much as I still dig the Lynx, there just wasn't any great modern games like on Nintendo. Mario, Zelda, Contra, Castlevania -- those are the styles of games that were needed the most, and they never appeared.

Oh, just for the record, I always dug Gauntlet 3. Epyx really gave that game a real sense of irreverence. Where else can you be attacked by shark fins and chewing plants? All the early Epyx games were terrific. Blue Lightning is, of course, on everyone's list of fave Lynx games. It was an amazing thrill ride in 1989, and time hasn't aged it one day. Why is it that there still isn't a game like this on GBA? Even though there are few puzzlers on Lynx (compared to GameBoy), the ones available are excellent. Klax plays and sounds (!) amazing, Loopz has a real charm, Chip's Challenge is maddening and addicting, and Shanghai may very well be the Lynx's finest hour. After that, throw in the terrific arcade conversions, like Roadblasters, STUN Runner, Paperboy, Zenophobe, Rampart, Rampage, Ninja Gaiden, Xybots, blah blah. Anyway, here's my final top ten list, in no real order: 01 - Shanghai 02 - Blue Lightning 03 - Klax 04 - Roadblasters 05 - Electrocop 06 - Xenophobe 07 - Slime World 08 - Warbirds 09 - Xybots 10 - Gauntlet 3 And, oh, I'll put California Games on #11. Too bad the original Lynx games were so awful, but that's the way it goes.