5200 prototype potential poll

[+Allan]

I don't think a poll of the 5200 prototypes has ever been done before. There are quite a few that really had potential. I thought it would be fun to see what people's opinion is. I would have thrown Stargate in there as well since it needs some speed improvements but it basicly is all there so I left it out.

 

Allan

[Tempest]

I'd say Blackbelt or Meebzork, both are amazing games. Blackbelt probably would have been a bit more "mainstream" though.

 

Tempest

[Gabriel]

I would have answered Spitfire. It seems like something which would have really wowed me back then. But it's not too clear what the actual game is supposed to be about. Meebzork is kind of the same way.

 

Because of that, I think it's safe to say that Tempest is the big draw for me on the list.

[RangerG]

There was nothing done in the classic era that I know of that captured Tempest. Anything coming close would have been amazing (and still would hold up).

[82atari5200]

I had to go with Black Belt. Just because it was an original. Although Tempest will be amazing I'm sure.

[Gabriel]

More in depth thoughts about each title:

 

Frisky Tom =

 

First off, I've played this on my flash cart and it's HARD. It would really have needed some difficulty tweaking before release.

 

Beyond that, the game just doesn't seem to stand out. It seems like any other number of games of the same era. It's of the locomotion, semi-puzzle/action blend which kept rearing it's head during that age. It just seems sort of samey in it's attempt to be different.

 

 

Looney Tunes Hotel, Road Runner, Sport Goofy =

 

None of these would have been particularly interesting to me. Looney Tunes cartoons were something I watched when nothing else was on and there wasn't anything else to do. Goofy didn't have any "cool cache" either. So, from my perspective, these would have just been lame licensed games based off things which were lame in the first place.

 

If memory serves, these seem to have been intended as little kids' titles, further limiting their appeal.

 

 

Realsports Basketball =

 

Even back then, this would have been just another sports game.

 

 

Meebzork =

 

I picked this as something I would have been interested in because of the adventure game nature of it. (I understand there's another variant which is more of a shooter.) It had pretty interesting graphics and also featured a catchy and strange title to make it memorable.

 

 

Black Belt =

 

This one had impressive visuals, but a sort of bland name. Plus, it seemed to be attempting to be a scrolling brawler (ala Karateka) in the days before Double Dragon.

 

I can certainly understand why it seems to be running a distant second in the poll, but I don't think I would have been interested in this one back in the day.

 

 

Battlezone =

 

This one really isn't getting much love in the poll. That might be strange for such a classic arcade game. But Battlezone was old hat even during the 5200's short life. Plus, it's a really slow paced game. The existing prototype shows promise, but it's still Battlezone. It's slow. It's green wireframes. It's still those damn unreachable mountains. Even back then, people were expecting a little bit more.

 

 

Spitfire =

 

At heart, I'm a graphics whore. When I first loaded this game up on my flashcart, I was amazed. The scrolling 3D terrain of this one would have absolutely blown me away back when I was 12 or 13. The flash of that alone would probably have made me beg for the game.

 

The catch is it's nearly impossible to tell what the game was supposed to be about. I refuse to believe it's actually intended to be as shallow as simply shooting the blocks which make up the structure as your plane flies by.

 

In my imagination, I dream it's intended to be something like Silpheed for the SegaCD, only with interactive backgrounds.

 

 

Tempest =

 

And here's the fan favorite. Tempest was big in the arcades and the 5200 was the home arcade machine. As far as I know, nothing until the Jaguar even attempted to do a version of Tempest. Sure, there was Beamrider and Turmoil, but they just weren't as cool as Tempest.

 

Tempest was amazing in the arcades, and despite the simplicity of the visuals, everyone could tell it was something which required a "next-gen" system to attempt. The videogame crash got in the way of that. With Atari's murder of the 5200, and the death of all the home consoles at the time, the hopes of a home version of Tempest went away.

 

If Tempest had been completed and released, I think it could have really pushed the 5200 ahead. I've seen it said the 5200 was beginning to pull out in front of the Colecovision at the time when Atari killed it. Tempest along with the other great protos like Super Pac, Millipede, Blaster, and others would have really made the 5200 shine.

 

I guess that assumes Atari would have done something intelligent. I suppose the reality is they would have released the embarrassing 2600 version of Tempest first and then sat on the 5200 version for a year.

[rayik]

Blaster.

 

It's finished and a blast to play.

[+Allan]

Blaster.

 

It's finished and a blast to play.

 

Your right and I agree that it's a blast to play but my point with the survey was to get people's opinion on what had the most potential of the 'UNFINISHED' games. Otherwise I would have included games like Millipede, Super Pacman, Xevious, etc.

 

Out of curiosity, how far have you gotten in Blaster? The farthest I've gotten is level seven (unfortunetly I don't get to play much.)

 

Allan

[+Allan]

Part of me almost regrets including Tempest because it does look like it's going to be finished and I wonder if people are being influenced by this fact when choosing in the survey.

 

I sure hope that Keithen has been able to work on it over Thanksgiving. It seems like he makes the most progress during holidays.

 

Allan

[Atari5200]

I chose Tempest, I think it would have had the biggest impact back in the day had it been released. Though Black Belt looks real good an would be a close 2nd. I almost thought about Realsports Basketball, but the only good game out of the series for the 5200 was baseball, so more than likely Basketball would have sucked too.

[Foxsolo2000]

I voted Spitfire but it was a toss up between that and Tempest. Wasn't Battlezone for the XEGS the same as the proposed 5200 version or was it totally different?