5200 newbie questions

[cyberfluxor]

WOW! I wish I lived near there. Great prices for the games and the system. For $80, with six games, that's a steal. I'd grab it if I were you.

Well, I was thinking about holding off on their system because:

1) I dislike the store and doubt they tested the unit properly, however it appears as if the 25 games came from the same trade-in.

2) It didn't say there was a console box, manuals or other paper work included, which I'd prefer to have.

3) Right now isn't the best time to drop nearly $100 on one thing because Otakon is just around the corner, and generally I keep my eyes open for game imports and buy some anime.

 

Any case, when I go back tomorrow I'll ask about the accessories and other things and if it turns out to be exactly (or very close) to what I want then I may jump on it.

 

As for games... River Raid is good, some nice tweaks from the 2600 version; Berzerk is good, but hard; Pengo is good, IMO. Qix is a classic.

Space Invaders is different, but good in its own way. I either don't like or don't know about the others.

Popeye is pretty good.

That's cool. I'll of course sort through and may pass on some of the tattered games but I was interested in most of those. I loved Berzerk on the 2600 as a kid so it is pretty much a must. As for Qix, I own it on the PSX, GB, NES and a few other systems so I figure why not get another and also it might be nice with a trac-ball. Space Invaders is Taito and they're one of my top 5 companies (Bust-A-Move 4 life!) so it's already going in my pocket.

 

Oh, and as a side question:

Baseball has only 1 review at 100% and I read it believing it's pretty interesting and looks nice. Does anyone disagree with it being a great Baseball game? Is it passable?

Edited July 7, 2007 by cyberfluxor

[Brian R.]

WOW! I wish I lived near there. Great prices for the games and the system. For $80, with six games, that's a steal. I'd grab it if I were you.

Well, I was thinking about holding off on their system because:

1) I dislike the store and doubt they tested the unit properly, however it appears as if the 25 games came from the same trade-in.

2) It didn't say there was a console box, manuals or other paper work included, which I'd prefer to have.

3) Right now isn't the best time to drop nearly $100 on one thing because Otakon is just around the corner, and generally I keep my eyes open for game imports and buy some anime.

 

Any case, when I go back tomorrow I'll ask about the accessories and other things and if it turns out to be exactly (or very close) to what I want then I may jump on it.

 

As for games... River Raid is good, some nice tweaks from the 2600 version; Berzerk is good, but hard; Pengo is good, IMO. Qix is a classic.

Space Invaders is different, but good in its own way. I either don't like or don't know about the others.

Popeye is pretty good.

That's cool. I'll of course sort through and may pass on some of the tattered games but I was interested in most of those. I loved Berzerk on the 2600 as a kid so it is pretty much a must. As for Qix, I own it on the PSX, GB, NES and a few other systems so I figure why not get another and also it might be nice with a trac-ball. Space Invaders is Taito and they're one of my top 5 companies (Bust-A-Move 4 life!) so it's already going in my pocket.

 

Oh, and as a side question:

Baseball has only 1 review at 100% and I read it believing it's pretty interesting and looks nice. Does anyone disagree with it being a great Baseball game? Is it passable?

 

I'm not big on the sports games. But Video Game Critic also liked it, giving it an A+.

 

This is, without a doubt, my favorite classic baseball game. It may not have all the features of Intellivision's World Championship baseball, but it beats that game hands-down with superior graphics, awesome control, and impressive voice synthesis. Realsports Baseball gives you uniformed players, a sharp-looking diamond, and a stadium complete with a homerun fence -- and a crowd. There's even a scoreboard that displays the complete line score. The pitching controls are outstanding! You can choose between nine pitches, and even control the ball in flight. Thanks to the helpful shadow, each pitch is visually distinctive. The batting controls are also innovative, taking full advantage of the unique Atari 5200 joystick design. You swing by sliding the joystick left to right, and can even control the height of your cut. Fielding takes a while to get used to, but the computer is surprisingly adept at choosing the appropriate fielder. The whole baseball experience is captured in this game, complete with tagging up, hit and runs, squeeze plays, no wind-up pitches, base stealing, and throwing errors! Thanks to some nifty voice synthesis, an umpire calls strikes, balls, and outs. The menu screen allows you to fully configure the number of players, difficulty, and number of innings. No game is perfect, and waiting for the teams to leave the field between innings gets old after a while. But when it comes to classic baseball, Atari 5200 Realsports is second to none!

1 or 2 players

[cyberfluxor]

Wow, I didn't expect to get the thing so soon but I'll provide pictures tonight. I grabbed a 5200 system with 4 ports.

controllers:

3 Wico stick, 2 of which don't re-center and when the store employees tested them they claimed they didn't work.

1 Wico numeric pad, apparently it works.

CIB Atari tracball

 

As for Games:

Joust, Space Invaders, Moon Patrol, Frogger, Q*bert, Qix

--All CIB

For cables there is an official RC adaptor and 2 official power supplies.

 

Total dent: $52.49 after tax. Not the best EVER deal but certainly withing my price point I've been looking for. I already own a controller that I don't know the state of but will be tested tonight. I'll need to at least own 4 working controllers eventually.

[Brian R.]

Wow, I didn't expect to get the thing so soon but I'll provide pictures tonight. I grabbed a 5200 system with 4 ports.

controllers:

3 Wico stick, 2 of which don't re-center and when the store employees tested them they claimed they didn't work.

1 Wico numeric pad, apparently it works.

CIB Atari tracball

 

As for Games:

Joust, Space Invaders, Moon Patrol, Frogger, Q*bert, Qix

--All CIB

For cables there is an official RC adaptor and 2 official power supplies.

 

Total dent: $52.49 after tax. Not the best EVER deal but certainly withing my price point I've been looking for. I already own a controller that I don't know the state of but will be tested tonight. I'll need to at least own 4 working controllers eventually.

 

For the Wico sticks, did you check the locks switches under the stick?

 

Considering what the keypad alone goes for... I think that's a very good deal, actually.

Edited August 3, 2007 by Brian R.

[cyberfluxor]

For the Wico sticks, did you check the locks switches under the stick?

 

Considering what the keypad alone goes for... I think that's a very good deal, actually.

Wow, must say I didn't know Wico sticks were much of anything to get excited over. I messed with the locks under the sticks and all but one is fine. I'll test everything out either tomorrow or in a few days because I'm going out of town. I actually decided since I bought the 5200 today I'm bringing it and some games on vacation with me to get the family involved.

 

Thanks for the heads up on the Wico controllers!

 

Here's a picture:

 

And here's what I currently have:

Edited August 4, 2007 by cyberfluxor

[cyberfluxor]

I've been fumbling with the back and I can't figure out where to plug my AC Adaptor in. There's a little cover on the back I can't seem to open and believe that's where the power port is. Looking around online I can't find a rear picture of the system showing where to plug it in. Help!

[+Mitch]

The power plugs into the switchbox. The little cover you are trying to remove covers the expansion port.

 

Mitch

[cyberfluxor]

The power plugs into the switchbox. The little cover you are trying to remove covers the expansion port.

 

Mitch

Thanks! I actually figured it out 10 minutes later (been playing it since) and it's not the type of setup I'm use to, plus the system came with two Atari adaptors making it more confusing for a first-timer.

Edited August 4, 2007 by cyberfluxor