Shaggy the Atarian

While it does sound crazy, I'm absolutely sure it was 2600 Pitfall 2. The reason being, when I started getting back into Atari when I was 16, one of the cartridges I wanted the most was Pitfall 2 as I wanted to get to the 2nd level to play it again. We'd made it there once, but not again. My friend had already sent his collection to the thrift store so I ordered Pitfall 2 from B&C. I didn't know at that time that there was only one level on it, so when I got it I played it till the end and when I got there, I expected my guy to jump up and down to open up the blue portal to the 2nd level but it didn't happen. I was so disappointed that I almost called B&C back to order a different Pitfall 2 for the 2600, thinking that I just got the watered down version by chance. I had expected it to have a second level since I'd played it before on the 2600(my friend didn't have a 5200 and didn't have 8-bit Pitfall 2) and we played it alot. I'm being as honest as I can be here...like I said, it may have been a very rare version of 2600 Pitfall 2, and it sucks that it's lost now to my knowledge...unless Activison made a few more of that kind that are floating around somewhere

Actually an old friend of mine had a huge collection of 2600 games that we played when we were kids. One of our favorites was Pitfall 2. And I remember there being a second level on his cartridge, mine however, didn't have one. I'm guessing he had a very rare version of Pitfall 2 for the 2600, but it did have a 2nd level, that I'm sure of. It sucks that he got rid of his collection before I asked about it though. Now that I hear that the 5200 version is like that, I'll have to get it

I do have one book on 6502 programming, but I don't understand it too much. I'd thought that it was only for the Atari 800, but I see how it can go beyond that. Maybe I'll have to get it out again...

Well it's good to know that the 7800 isn't 'abandoned' and that there are a few working on some games for it. I wouldn't mind seeing an update to Dark Chambers or like I said Adventure 2. Like I've said many times however if I knew how to program, I'd make a game for any Atari system, probably 5200, 7800, or Lynx. Of course I may be able to take a programming class soon at school which would be good.

What abou tany other releases? After looking at the 'In development' list I noticed that the 7800 has the least new games coming out for it. Is it due to difficulty in programming for it or the encryption, or just a lack of interest? I think that Adventure II would make a great game on the 7800 as well.

Funny thing that Threshold was brought up. I found a copy the other weekend at a garage sale for $.10. I went home and couldn't play it though. Apparently my 2600jr. power adapter is shot and won't work any more, and the Threshold cartridge won't go into my 7800 without breaking it. Hopefully I'll be able to play it soon though. And it was nice to find such a rare game just lying around for $.10!

Sure looks like a puzzle game to me...well, close enough. And it's good to hear about another Jag game in development (I hadn't heard that you were developing a Jag version). Good luck on that, keep us informed. I sure wish I knew how to program a Jag, then I'd start working on a game myself

I always get pissed off whenever I see or hear about Tetrisphere for the n64, knowing that it was supposed to have been on the Jag. Anyways, I enjoy Flip Out. I've never played Zoop...Vid Grid is fun, too bad there's not a score to get or something. I wonder why Telegames never finished Ultimate Brain Games or released it while they were on their kick of releasing games like IS2 and such. I wonder if they'd be interesting in releasing a limited edition of UBG or not?

Thanks for the info. As soon as I can get a controller, I'll be sure to play SD first Another question though. How many games utilized the 4 game ports on the 5200? I know that if there were any, they were few and far between.

I had thought that my River Raid was fried as well yesterday, it wouldn't even show the title screen...I just used some hydrogen peroxide and some q-tips, cleaned the metal edge connector, now it works flawlessly. Of course I do have a few fried 2600 carts, and my pwr supply for my 2600jr. is now dead I also have a fried 2-port 5200...not sure when I'll ever get that fixed however.

SD requires 2 joysticks then? Hmm, I didn't know that. Thanks for the tip however. Unfortunately I only have one joystick at the moment and I'm not sure where's a good source to get one. I'm afraid to go down to a thrift store and get one, as that most likely means it doesn't work. However they wouldn't even have one most likely. I'd really like to get another controller for my 5200 though. I also forgot to add Galaxian to my list of games. I think I also have Defender lying around somewhere. I'd love to get Montezuma's Revenge, I used to play that a lot as a kid for the 800 and I loved it. Joust is awesome, I have it now for every Atari system (except the Jag since Dactyl Joust was never released). :wink:

Yesterday I finally was able to play the 5200 for the first time after fixing my controller myself. I've actually had both a 2-port and a 4-port 5200 for about three or four years now, but the 2-port is broken and I just recently got the special RF adapter and the joystick...had to fix the joystick though. In the long time I've had the 5200, I'd pick up any games i could find for it and so I was able to play for a while through my collection yesterday which was nice. I'm impressed with the 5200. It doesn't seem so much like the Atari 400/800 as I thought it would be. River Raid is cool although the control is a little sensitive...unfortunately I couldn't figure out Space Dungeon, it just fires constantly in one single diaganol direction and it wouldn't move to the right very well although on other games moving to the right was no problem. Anyways, Moon Patrol is also a fun little game and I enjoyed the version of 5200 Joust. Total I have: Mario Bros. Space Invaders joust River Raid Space Dungeon Super Cobra Frogger 2 Countermeasure (x2) Pole Position Jungle Hunt Ms. Pac-Man Qix Blue Print Star Raiders I can't remember if I'm missing something...but anyways, any suggestions for some other games to get?

I just got VF yesterday...it's good to have if you're a collector and have always wanted to see what this game was going to be like. Well worth the $20. The Jag needed a game like this to back up AvP and Doom, I wonder if they planned on adding networking since you can switch between different team members (which you can actually do on the demo, I just didn't realize it until playing it for a little while and if you press B it seems like you're transported to another place where you're actually just switching to a different team member. You can have up to 4). I haven't found any enemies though and you have no gun It had the potential to be a great game. I do hope that someone can obtain the source to this game and finish it. It's really cool to watch the psych test videos of each team member. It's fun to have some psychotic killers on your side when fighting aliens

That was looking to be a fine looking game, that's for sure. James had a lot planned for the game...stunts and a killer storyline. In some ways it dis seem somewhat loosely based on BI/WN but much better. James knew he could make a good game for the Jag, he just lacked the back up support of some good artists. As for his other projects, like Dark Guardian I think it was, I didn't hear anything about that until recently. I agree with you though, The Assassin was something to be excited about, and honestly I'm very disappointed that it never got any farther then a title screen and some pre-production stuff. Had he had the time and extra help it could have turned out to be one of the best Jag games released, IMO. I don't blame James for it though, I understood why he couldn't go on with it. But who knows, it could always be resurrected, perhaps after he's done with Native I just got VF in the mail yesterday. And since we're on the subject of unfinished games that would've been really killer, I'll mention VF. There's not a whole lot of gameplay, although you have at least one level of endless hallways with weird/warped textures and stairs. Had the game been finished I'm sure it would've looked great. The best way I can describe what they were trying to do was like a cross between the AvP engine and Doom. You can watch the psych test videos on all of the team members which is really entertaining. They went to a lot of effort in producing the FMV's and real-person videos for the game, it's just too bad they didn't get that far in the game's production. Very nice part that shows off some voxels though (not sure if it's real-time or not, but it could have been). I got Aircars too...it's basically Cybermorph but instead of colelcting pods you blow up buildings and die a lot more. Not as bad of a game as I thought it would be(definently not the best Jag game though).

Very true. One thing I'd love to see on the Jaguar are some more RPG's. Towers 2 isn't bad, but more quality RPG's would be great. I like RPG's as they keep you involved in a storyline and can take forever I think I remember seeing that Daggerfall was at one time in development for the Jag CD, the prequel to Morrowind, which would be really cool on the JagCD as well. James sent me a lot of stuff on the Assassin...pre-production drawings and all. It was going to be very cool

Doesn't the original BS have a version of Rocks on it? I can't remember if it did or not.

Hopefully I can get mine 1 controller fixed soon. It only partially works, with the analog stick working fine, but my keypad doesn't work at all, nor does the fire buttons. Start, Reset, and Pause work however. I figure that it's a back flex circuit...I ordered one from B&C so hopefully it's the cure to my problem. I have several games that I'd love to play on the 5200 (like River Raid and Space Dungeon) but I have to wait util I can get this controller fixed Other than that I think it's a rather good controller, I was expecting it to be worse from what people usually say.

Much more is available than I originally thought. I was trying to count them, but I couldn't remember all of the easter egg games. Has anyone ever found the rumored easter egg game on the T2k cart? Other than that, that's a pretty complete list. I guess we couldn't count Robinson's Requiem (yet). (BTW- Jaysmith2000, how close are you to obtaining the rights to that game??)

I was wondering, who do you think would have made the best 'mascot' character on the Jag from Atari history? Atari was never good at mascot characters, but there has to be something they could've used(I really don't care that they never had one).

Yeah, perhaps not 'cool' but at least better than Mario or anything else Atari was cooking up at the time

Hey all! I thought I'd add in my part to this thread, but I'm just cutting and pasting some reviews I wrote at http://staticgamer.com. I have a few other Lynx reviews (and Jag Reviews) over there as well with more coming sometime soon, I just need time to write them! Anyways, here it goes: Joust for the Atari Lynx "You don a suit of armor, chose your weapon- a worn but sturdy lance. You climb onto a cyborg ostrich, grab the reins of your faithful mount and fly off to wage battle against the enemy. In the distance you see an enemy vulture appear on a creator pad. You ready your lance and prepare to do battle. As you draw close to the enemy Bounder, you rise above him and prepare to defeat him with a quick swooping attack. You sweep down from the sky and dismount the enemy rider with a powerful blow. You have defeated the enemy...this time" Ahh, Joust. One of those classic games that brings back good, nostalgic memories. And it's on the Lynx as well, a very killer version I might add. This is one of several arcade games that are on the Lynx, and so far, it's one of the best I've played. I felt it was better than the arcade(due to the fact that the only arcade I've played Joust on was not well taken care of). Although it doesn't have as much detail due to the smaller screen, it still looks and plays really well. For newbies, the opening description should give you the gist of the game. Dismount all enemy riders and you win. After you dismount one(by landing on top of them with your bird), they turn into an egg which you can collect for extra points. If you take to long to collect an egg, it will hatch with a new rider, one who is smarter and faster than the one you previously put out of commission. Also if you are taking to long, a pterodactl will come after you, and he's very difficult to kill. The enemies get smarter and faster as the game goes along, in pure classic style . Eventually(well, after three levels the bridge on the bottom burns up, and the Lava Troll can get you. All of these elements add on to each other to make the game increasingly difficult as well as fun to play. Every so often you get to an 'Egg Wave' where there are no riders on the screen, just eggs, sort of a bonus round. Other specialty rounds include Survivial(earn 3000 extra points if you never die during the wave) and the Ptreodactyl Wave(start off with a p-terry on the screen) The Lynx version has everything the arcade has - great, colorful graphics, phenominal classic gameplay(easy to learn, difficult to master), easy control, etc. Although there are more animations on the Lynx version, it includes a few different sounds than the arcade, but it's certainly nothing to complain about. This game is also ComLynxable up to two players. Overall, a great game to have in your collection. and... BattleWheels by Beyond Games The Story "In the year 2019, Humankind turned to more and more dangerous games for its entertainment. Fight in high-tech cars armed with missles, machine guns, flame-throwers, and more through dead cities and desert wastelands; a sixteen arena battel royal! Fight as a team or go solo! Custom build your from the ground up or buy one from the Bodyshop. You can even go on foot! Fast paced 3-D six player action like you've never seen before!" That's a basic summary of one of the coolest Lynx games around, BattleWheels. Your goal, enter the arenas, and come out alive. Anything goes basically. One of the coolest things about the game is all the options you have. There about 8 or so different drivers, you can set how many kills to get to victory, the color of your car, how much money you start with, etc.You can also chose "Action" or "Custom" mode. In Action mode, you're given a pre-built car so you can get started right off as well as not worrying about the costs In Custom mode speaks for itself. You can completely customize your car, from how many struts, how much armor, where the guns go, and how much ammo they hold.The bigger and badder your car is, the more it costs to maintain. Unless you're a pro at the game, you'll end up using your cash to keep your car running. Either way, it's still quite fun to play. And there's still more. You can also chose the intelligence of the other cars, and how tough your car will be(in Action mode). Or for the insane, you can forget the car and go out on foot, hehe. Not to worry though, you can still get out of your car and go out on foot if you like. If you're lucky enough, you can steal an enemies' car. There's lots to do when you're in the car. You can look front, side to side, or behind you, and you have different guns for each view. in the front you have the machine gun or missle launcher. The sides are equipped with flame-throwers, and for the rear you have spraypaint, mines, and missles. The whole object of the game is to kill all of the other players and reach a certain limit that you set. Sort of how Quake 3 or Unreal Tournament works. The graphics rock, some of the best done on the Lynx. While everything is done using sprites, it creates a very good psuedo-3D look. There are tons of colors everywhere, and there's no slow-down even when sprites are filling the screen. You have a radar (not on-screen) so you can locate your foes easier. Your windshield will be pecked with bullet-holes and cracks after your car is hit so much. Sound is pretty good too. There's no in-game music which is fine, and the sounds for the weapons are cool. Mostly just the sound of your engine. The menu music is one track, which has a good beat to it, but that's about it for sound. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to deathmatch yet, as none of my friends that have Lynxes has this game yet. I hear it's a blast though, (it's essentially what the game was made for) with even more options to keep things entertaining. If you can find BattleWheels(costs about $30), I would certainly go for it if I were you, as BW is a very addicting and well-thought out game. It is an even better game if you can play against friends that also have the game. Overall - A+ More soon

Hey guys, I was just browsing around trying to find the OMC Games website...I'd heard that James Garvin had put it back up to keep us informed about his work on Native, but I can't find any URL for OMC games. Is it under something else or just doesn't exist at the moment? It's too bad he never finished The Assassin. I used to communicate a lot with James back when he was programming it and he told me alot about what he wanted to do...very ambitious and would've made a killer RPG. It's really too bad I lost all of those e-mails he'd sent me, although they wouldn't be of much use now anyways.

LOL! Actually, it almost reminds me of Major Havoc. Would have made a great mascot nonetheless... I'm puzzled as to why Atari didn't use a mascot they'd already had - Bently Bear. A 3D version of Crystal Castles on the Jag CD would've been pretty cool IMHO, they should've just done that...and maybe given Bentely a sword or something as a weapon. Would've been better than that alligator/lawyer thing they were cooking up

It's possible :wink: There's a manual you can download online (I kind of forgot where it's at) that tells you, I can't remember of the top of my head, but I believe you select the gun in your menu then press A+B. There's also a way to get a ton of money so you can go and buy some powerful guns, which isn't in the manual Here's how I did it. I went to the "weird character elevator" building, where it'll load up most of the characters you can find somewhere else wandering around. It only loads one character at a time, loading a new character after a minute or two(I just ran around in a circle in the room and it seemed to load them faster). Talk to each one, I believe it's after the second character appears that you can do this(it's been a month or two since I've done this, I'll have to try it again and give a more definitve answer). Anyways, after the second character loaded I went through a door in that room(not the door to go outside) but you go down a hallway that's orange colored. Go to the end and you'll find a kidnapped scientist. Bring her back to the "elevator" room that goes through the characters. She'll follow you around everywhere you go, but stay in the room and talk to every person that shows up. One of them(I forgot which one) will be this womans husband and he'll pay you something like $23000 for rescusing her. Then you can transport yourself to one of the gun shops (I've found a couple more than are in the manual) and then you can go through and buy almost whatever you want. Not all the guns were implemented, but it's worth trying some out, I think I bought a submachine gun that worked I've still got a lot of exploring to do in that game, I think it would have been awesome had they completed eveything. Anyways, that's how you make a quick buck!

Well, I was kind of getting it for collectors value anyways. I'd much rather have another copy of BSphere to play, but I guess I'll have to settle for Aircars and Doom for now. VF is a 2-disc set for $20. One disc is just the videos I believe and the other is a demo of the actual gameplay. Bruce at B&C said he played it some and just was able to explore without finding much and he didn't say much else about it, I suppose it's not much different from BI/WN where you wander aimlessly forever trying to find someone. I've found a few interesting things on BI/WN, like the gangsters hideout where two guys with machine guns sit there and fire at you tirelessly until you kill them. Anyways, I'll just be happy to have VF even if it is a demo. Bruce hinted that there are some levels to explore though, maybe even some big ones, the way he briefly described it sounded like VF was going to be some sort of advanced Doom. It would be cool if there are some enemies in the demo but I guess I'll find out. I always thought that the opening video sequence as I saw it over at atarihq was cool though. And it's only $20 so it's not a big investment. Now someone needs to find the demo for Legions of the Undead and release it! :wink: