gyruss review

[jnice]

I believe I've finished all the planets on Gyruss with the stock controllers. I didn't find the moving around on the screen to be a problem after some practice, but my hand hurt from pushing the fire button so much! I don't remember there being an auto-fire option available in the game, and I think holding down the fire button didn't allow you to shoot more than once.

 

I also didn't like how there were some cheap deaths (sometimes the game would get stuck once all enemies were cleared from the board and you'd have to run into an asteroid in order to advance).

 

Once I finished the game, I haven't really had much interest in playing it again. Just too much fire button mashing...something the stock controllers weren't made to handle.

 

I enjoy reading the material on the Video Game Critic site, but I disagree that the game is worthy of an "F" rating. The music is really good (J.S. Bach), and it IS fun to play.

Edited October 12, 2007 by jnice

[JamesD]

I guess I've been lumped into the 5200 fanboy group. Yeah right. Funny thing though, I've never owned one... ever.

[Atari5200]

yeah when you compare the controllers to the rest that was out there, suddenly there not so bad. I would take a 5200 controller over Colecovision or Intellevision any day.

 

But lets pretend the 5200 was released by Nintendo. I bet the same people on this board would then hail the controller as a technological marvel.

 

Bashing a new console in a thread about a twenty five year old console... that's just dirty pool.

 

I'm not bashing anything, i'm simply stating that the people of today who think the Wii-mote is such a revolutionary piece of technology, looking back at the 5200 stock stick as the first analog stick controller, these same people would think that controller would be a marvel of technology back then, had Nintendo and not Atari developed it.

 

People seem to forget what's already been done and tried.

[phuzaxeman]

I don't see how it's a matter of opinion. VGC's opinions have nothing do with the fact that for me this game does not work with the stock controller. You can take issue wish with whatever else he has to say, but it's an unequivocal fact that for some of us this game behaves exactly as VGC describes with a stock controller. Yes, I understand that some of you do not suffer this problem. Lucky you. But that doesn't alter the reality of what others are experiencing.

 

I guess I can't speak for VGC's 5200 setup, but as for myself, as I've already mentioned, I've done everything I can think of in an attempt to make the controllers function properly when playing this game. The pots in all three of my consoles are dialed into the factory specifications as indicated in the service manual. I've tried all six of my rebuilt controllers and all of them perform just as VGC describes with this game, yet they function perfectly well with every other game I have. Clearly, there must be some other factor in operation here.

 

I've used this game with a Wico, the standard controllers, the 7800 Redemption as well.....I can honestly say the control sucks. Just sucks. And its a shame, because its one of my favorite 80's arcade games. Its actually a ton better on the 2600, though it looks like crap. I got so frustrated with it, that I ended up selling it, and for a loss no less.

 

Now Berzerk on the 5200 is just incredible.....and damn tough.

i don't know what's wrong with your game/controller but the 2600 version vs 5200? omg....it's not even close.

[phuzaxeman]

yeah when you compare the controllers to the rest that was out there, suddenly there not so bad. I would take a 5200 controller over Colecovision or Intellevision any day.

 

But lets pretend the 5200 was released by Nintendo. I bet the same people on this board would then hail the controller as a technological marvel.

 

Bashing a new console in a thread about a twenty five year old console... that's just dirty pool.

 

I'm not bashing anything, i'm simply stating that the people of today who think the Wii-mote is such a revolutionary piece of technology, looking back at the 5200 stock stick as the first analog stick controller, these same people would think that controller would be a marvel of technology back then, had Nintendo and not Atari developed it.

 

People seem to forget what's already been done and tried.

 

sorry, i dont agree. different systems in different eras.

 

and for the sake of arguement, if the 5200 controllers were going to break down as often as the stock 5200 controllers did, it wouldn't have matter who made them (atari or nintendo). people would have complained.

[Jess Ragan]

Seriously, Atari5200... let it go already. We know you hate the Wii... you make that a point in literally every post you make. You've gotten so preachy and melodramatic about it that at least three other posters regularly mock you in their own signatures.

 

But seriously, let's get back to the topic at hand. Gyruss on the Atari 5200 certainly isn't as rough as the 2600 game, but it's got some problems. Problems like distorted sound effects during the bonus rounds, and big huge pixelated sprites that are difficult to dodge in the later stages. And let's not forget the game stalling bugs... if you leave the power-up satellites on the screen after destroying all the other ships, the stage just won't end until your own ship has been destroyed.

[Atari5200]

Seriously, Atari5200... let it go already. We know you hate the Wii... you make that a point in literally every post you make. You've gotten so preachy and melodramatic about it that at least three other posters regularly mock you in their own signatures.

 

then it's doing it's job.

[Jess Ragan]

If that job is being obnoxious and trollish, then mission accomplished!

 

My best score in the 5200 version of Gyruss is 206,500. I came incredibly close to reaching Earth in that game... I was just three warps away, dagnabbit! Just three warps away... (snif)

[jetset]

Seriously, Atari5200... let it go already. We know you hate the Wii... you make that a point in literally every post you make. You've gotten so preachy and melodramatic about it that at least three other posters regularly mock you in their own signatures.

 

then it's doing it's job.

 

Which is what exactly?

I mean, are you seriously boycotting Nintendo over that? I could see boycotting it over being the orst console name ever, which it certainly is. But it's not Nintendo's fault that happened.

[bmulligan]

On 10/9/2007 at 7:21 AM, jetset said:

Those of you having trouble with Gyruss shoud try the Comp Pro controller. Though I truly have no problems with the stock controllers on Gyruss, I find the Comp Pro does work better. I wonder if those of you having problems with Gyruss and the stock controller (and with Galaxian) need to adjust the controller pot inside the unit. I did mine mostly to help a friend who was having trouble with his controllers so I adjusted mine so as to set the controllers just right. Just a thought.

Bringing this back from the dead because it's the thread that led me to fixing my recently re-acquired 5200.  Analog games worked fine for me except Gyruss and I had no idea about recalibrating the pokey pot on the motherboard.  

If I had known about this 20 years ago, I probably wouldn't have abandoned my 5200 back in 2002

 

This fix, literally, took more time to unscrew the screws than the actual fix itself with a squirt of De-Oxit, a slot screwdriver, and a copy of Missile command. Turned the pot 8-10 times and re-centered the reticle, put in Gyruss, and the controls now work perfectly.  It's a fantastic game and a great forearm workout pressing fire 5000 times in a row.  

[SoundGammon]

I wish someone would hack Gyruss and do vector like graphics! 

 

Be a lot like Tempest!

[bmulligan]

If it's vector graphics, I'd like to see a Tac-Scan port.  That game has never gotten a proper port.