atarilovesyou

..I agree, early arcades in my hometowns were dens of smoking, drug dealers and other scumbags...and there I was, all crazy playing Defender and Asteroids!...yep, they were seedy places, but you learned alot about THE STREETS if you could survive!...hahaha!.. ...I loved arcades right up till their demise in the mid nineties...and the reason was, drumroll please: STREET FIGHTER 2 Yep, this lil game single handedly ended all original thought and new games in a mad dash to crank out as many shitty fighter clones as possible...mind you, I still remember when I LOVED playing SF2 in the arcades, but soon that's all you had! ...then began the downward slide of the fancy sit down games like Daytona...and by the time the Playstation got off the ground, arcades were fininshed. Unfortunately, it's not like an old console we can find on Ebay and re-live those bygone days...unless you go to Videotopia, that is. Too bad, cause I used to love arcades. Two bucks never went further in my life than it did in those days!!! HOURS!!!

...now what I'd like to know is if it's possible for someone to mod a rotary controller for the PS2, to use with their Atari Anthology Tempest...I'm pretty sure it can't be done, but what do you think?

I'd love to own these two gems: Black Knight 2000 Medieval Madness ...then again, just about any old Williams pin would be great!

...Contra wasn't too bad challenge wise...two player it could be done with no continues... ...funny thing I think is LIFEFORCE...now that game was too friggin' tough!...thank God for that code, cause even with it is no guarantee you'll succeed!...anybody who can finish Lifeforce with no continues gets mad respect from me!

I ended up trading in all my pristine PS1 stuff for an instore credit and picked up a GBA sp, and I found it to be a good trade..even though I got the shaft more or less on the value!..I had 2 Guncons, good controllers, 10 games or so... ..still, I just didn't play the thing!...the Residents were my fave, until 3 came out, and I thought that licked. Gran Turismo for sure was good, played the hell out of it (by the way, DON'T challenge somebody who's good at GT for the PS2 if you were the MAN at ps1 GT...they're far too different!)... ...I vowed never to buy another new system as there just wasn't enough reason to...I wasn't interested in many of the games...and original ones were few and far between... ...but I just picked up a new slim PS2 just to play all the retro complilations*...oh well....it's claim to fame will be that NO NEW GAME will EVER be played in it*...ha!...

....I remember having the Artillery Duel and Chuck Norris double end game for my Coleco...I never could figure out how to get out of that last damn room!...some buddies used to say you could kick the candles and something would happen...man, what an old memory!...I remember I got pretty good at that game, least till the end. I didn't give up easily since we had the same problem with Tarzan for Coleco..you'd get to the end level, and wonder, what the hell?...what do I do now?...so once, out of frustration, while a friend of mine and I were playing, I just pressed a number on the keypad...LO and BEHOLD, Tarzan screams at the top of his lungs, and this in turn triggers a sequence to get to the next level!!!..we were so stoked...only to find all it meant was the levels recycled... ...but I couldn't figure out SuperKicks. Artillery Duel was pretty damn sweet...simple game, nice little opening tune! ...anybody remember the Chuck Norris thing for the Coleco?

...quick one, does the Atari Trakball for the 2600 actually work like the arcade for games like Millipede and Centipede?...that is, the faster the ball is rolled, the faster the onscreen dude moves?...I wouldn't think so, especially not for Centipede since it was an early 2600 game, but I was just wondering.

...man, I must be too new here, cause I've always believed in the landfill story with the ET carts...I've seen the story printed so many times, I just never questioned it....and so it goes, I STILL BELIEVE IT.

I had a buddy back in the eightees and his NES trick went like this: Blow one end of cart to the other, just once...then back...then, he TALKED to the damn thing like he was Dr. Phil, trying to CONVINCE it to play?..."...come on, now, Pro Wrestling!...you know you're one of the best games, don't you?...then work for me, okay?..okay?...alright, you're the best, you know that..."...this would go on a couple times and SURE AS SH*T, the damn thing worked. Although the talking bit didn't work for me, I had the whole 'flick the reset button' to fix the flash trick down pat.

I'm calling from eastern Canada...the only place I found the Activision Anthology for the GBA was in a two game plus carrying case package at Walmart last week, in the bargain bin!...the other game being the Konami action pack...it was like 40 bucks after tax...totally worth it. The Konami one can be found pretty much anywhere, but Toys r Us is where I see it most.

What a freakin' mess! Good luck!

Thanks, guys.

....I just realized how tough it can be to get a working VCS by point to point sale...maybe it's just better to try to order one off the web from one of the better distributors, a refurbished console. I'm trying to clean up one console I just got, and man...what a pain...still haven't paid for it (it's from a buddy) and I don't think I will...the games for the most part are in crummy condition, the paddle jitter, and no original sticks...the only things going for it are a good power supply and RF switch. Unless you spent a lot of cash on it, I'd say just try to find another one from a distributor found under the FAQ on this site.

...man, thank god for the internet. I had this game years ago without rules, just trying to figure it out (I remember seeing the tv commercials for the game years ago, and I always remembered how great it looked...I knew it had something to offer)...definitely a tough game. In a lot of ways, that game, Adventure, and a few others are really so ahead of their time...the programmers really had to work within the confines of the technology....it's almost like ROTLA could have been made 10 years after the fact, and still incorporate many of the mechanisms of play from the VCS and be a great game...just much more user friendly with today's platforms.

So I picked up another 6 switch console, and it's a lot of work...quite dirty, only plays a few games consistently... ...but the RF switch and power supply are in great shape...even though they're not original...so I compared the labels on the original and the newer one...and I see the they are not identical in a technical sense. The atari supply has a 120V input...and the other supply has it's input rated at 117V...yet both put out 9 volts DC. Could there be a possibility that this 117V supply may damage a console in the long term?...it seems to work just fine. Another question: If I put games which I suspect are dirty (considerable amounts of build-up) and try them on my 'pristine' six switch, is there a chance I could dirty up the console itself?...I know the NES was pretty famous for that. I'd like to know before I start testing new games in my nice machine vs. the not so nice...it seems like cleaning the inside of the cartridge slot would require dissassembly of the chassis which I don't want to do... ...any comments by those in the know would be great!

After tinkering around with Activision Anthology for the GBA sp, I got to try Skeleton+ and Okie. I think they're great, and just might pick them up from the store here. First, Okie is tough:...any tips without giving away too much info?...I got level 2, but stumped on the first one!...love it though. Second, what other good homebrews do you recommend, and I mean ones that, if they were released back in the day, you'd consider buying. ....and are the hacks worth the time? Thanks!

I think that for us, the older guys here, we have a connection to those old games because before that, it was like Board Games, and then all the sudden, BOOM you have video games. I still remember the first time I ever saw a 2600 game (Chopper Command, even that was relatively 'late')...and a lot of the appeal is the connection to the past, memories, that kind of thing. I remember how gaming was chugging along, I was a HUGE NES fan...that was the first 'retro' thing I and some friends started to collect, around mid nineties. At that time I started the whole Atari backlash collection, and even though at times it's like "what the hell am I doing?"...hey, it's a hobby! The thing about the NES is, for some reason, even with my buddies huge collection, we just don't haul it out often. I feel that this is for the same reason that I first fell in love with NES style games: Atari was largely about SCORES, and NES was mostly about 'wrapping' games, games with endings. But the thing is, very few of those 'ending' games have that long term, ten years plus appeal...even one of my all time faves, Ninja Gaiden, can only be so much fun over the years. But when I rediscovered Atari, it's like, DAMN, you're always playing these simple, colorful, FUN games, and every now and then you're on a roll and hit up a super high score! ...and if you have competitive friends, fuggedaboutit!...you're always battling for bragging rights! This is something that can't be said for Ninja Gaiden or games like that. They're marketed towards a single player, which I don't fault. Atari will never die, and as it gets older, it gets even more retro cool. I'm lucky I don't get razzed about it at work (although it took some explaining to this guy at work whom I just picked up another 6 switch and fifteen games..."Why the hell would you want to PAY for this stuff?..."...oh well!). Collecting Atari is sweet, and not so eccentric as, say, still collecting (or worse, ACTUALLY PLAYING WITH IN PUBLIC) GI Joe or Transformers... ...and I apologize in advance for any hurt feelings of collectors (and players with) GI Joe or Transformers*

...I remember that too about my Jr. I kept in on for a few years, then removed it...if you're Ob/Comp, then still take care with the shiny aluminum, I find it does fade if you let it get dusty. Here's another tidbit, the power supplies also have that plastic....I just peeled it off a 20 year old supply, and went from crap to sweet immediately.

...The need for Speed was, at the time, the best driving game out there, not really for the controls, as it was pretty lunky (you had to use the interior view for best results)...but, at the end of each race, this FMV dude would come out and let you know how you did...and after you got really good at it, he'd basically kiss your ass...which was no small feat (both due to the size of said ass AND the difficulty of the game)...get this one for sure. Stay away from the Doom port, though ....STINKS.

...damn, I remember seeing that thing in Sears like 20 years ago, easy!...I remember looking at the controllers, and tried to 'spin' them like paddles (which they certainly looked a lot like)...of course, it wasn't turned on due to the crowds that would have swarmed it, but I remember checking out the graphic advert for the unreleased Mr. Turtle...yep, the good ol' days..

..wasn't bad, compared to...what?...oh well, two talking cars (kinda like a MEGASUPERKNIGHTRIDER*) appeals to all sorts of folks...catchy theme song, though.."..POLE PAH-ZI-SHUUUUUUU----UUUN!...something something something something!".... ...I too remember that ad for the 007 game...I still remember the 'quote' from a happy gamer...."..my heart skipped a beat while jumping between the train cars..."...gees, pal....

...I've really tried to like this game!...but I just can't get into it. If I had to choose, I'd go Haunted House over this one. I just don't see the appeal. Oh well, off to go give it another try!

..just as a side note, what would you call the second run six switch console?...the one I just picked up is actually not all that heavy...yet in great condition...I consider it a good buy!... ...after doing some research, it seems that this "light sixer" was only made for a year as well, being replaced by the 4 switch model (the one I remember playing as a kid)...anybody know the year in which the light sixer was produced?...trying to date the one I have now.

...you guys are nuts!...I remember having the hardest time playing Asteroids as kid on the Atari...I couldn't quite figure out the whole thrusting thing...back then, it was so new to me, I couldn't understand why the ship wouldn't go where I was moving the joystick to, ala Chopper Command! Ha! But really, the arcade version is sooo much better. Better sound, vector graphics....my all time favorite, come to think of it. I can't even really say I like to play the 2600 version nowadays, really. I stick to the Atari Anthology version of the arcade....and Major Havoc!...

...I have a good question...well, anyway: Why is it that I had a post removed which was a 'separated at birth' post between a sans beard Nolan Bushnell and Ted Bundy? We can discuss rape and General Custer's cactus shenanigans but Nolan is No-go??? OH well....find out for yourself, if you can...and QUESTION EVERYTHING***...well, a couple things at least.