my first 5200 at 31 y.o.

[opeygon]

i just got my first 5200 from 4jays on friday night. my buddy was over when ups delivered it (we are both collectors and gamers). man was i stoked! i got a two port console and two rebuilt controllers. i already had about ten common games, plus i got some extras from 4jays. my list of games is as follows:

 

berzerk

super breakout(2)

pacman(2)

galaxian

mrs pacman

counter measure

joust

missle command

centpiede

defender

space invaders

 

anyway, we played for hours that night. man it was great. i never had one of these when i was a kid. we had a 2600, and my mom got us a colecovision in 1983, then we moved on to NES in 86, so the 5200 got overlooked. i have always wondered what it was like since i was a kid.

 

a couple observations. First, i finally understood what all the bitching was about the controllers! man, at first i couldn't believe how bad they stink! i could finally feel the disappointment of millions of 80's gamers, as they first plugged in pac man and quickly died. i could feel the range of emotions as i realized that the game was nearly unplayable because of the shitty design of the controllers. super breakout? forget it! i am happy to say that after a few days, i'm getting better with them. pac man is a cinch now, and the controllers are pretty good for joust, space invaders, and centipede. in fact, i almost like the controllers now! And i'm not too bad at super breakout, though it is frustrating enough to make you wanna hang yourself! i'm still having a tough time with missle command.

 

second, how did they manage to make mrs pacman worse than pac man? i mean, 5200 pac man is everything it should be. it is light years ahead of it's 2600 counterpart. so why does mrs pac man seem so shitty to me? i think the graphics on it suck and they just could have done a better job on it all around.

 

i feel the same about defender. i think that stargate and defender 2 on the 2600 have better graphics than defender 5200. compared to the coleco vision version, there is no contest. CV wins hands down when it comes to defender.

 

third, i heard that berzerk is best with the stock 5200 controller, but i don't know. i'm finding it pretty hard to play! any thoughts anyone?

 

all in all, i love it! i now have a heavy sixer, a sears 4 switcher, a coleco vision, a 5200, and a NES. next up? maybe a sega master system or a 7800, i don't know. i still gotta get a trackball for the 5200 and maybe a wico command control. i already went out hunting for one in the thrifts all day saturday. i know my chances are slim, but who knows?!

 

any of you who have made it this far... what games should i go after next for my 5200?

[+Allan]

any of you who have made it this far... what games should i go after next for my 5200?

 

Blaster, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Castle Crisis, Baseball, Millipede, Space Dunguen, Pengo, Mario Bros., MULE (if you can), Miner 2049er, Boulder Dash, Adventure II to just name some.

 

Allan

[Atari5200]

i got my first 5200 at 26 years old and it quickly became my fav. Atari System. Real sports baseball is absolutely fantastic for it's age, also recommend some 8-bit ports like Spy Hunter and Donkey Kong Jr. but my favorite game is probably The Dreadnaught Factor.

[Jess Ragan]

second, how did they manage to make mrs pacman worse than pac man? i mean, 5200 pac man is everything it should be. it is light years ahead of it's 2600 counterpart. so why does mrs pac man seem so shitty to me? i think the graphics on it suck and they just could have done a better job on it all around.

 

i feel the same about defender. i think that stargate and defender 2 on the 2600 have better graphics than defender 5200. compared to the coleco vision version, there is no contest. CV wins hands down when it comes to defender.

 

OK, you had me up until the point where you dissed Defender. For my money, it's one of the BEST conversions of the game on a classic system, with all the explosions, all the crowds of enemies, and all the smooth gameplay and odd quirks of the original. Ever notice how everything speeds up just before you explode? The arcade game does that. So does the 5200 version. The only thing it's missing is the crazy instrument panel from the arcade game. That's either a good or a bad thing, depending on how you feel about having to use buttons to thrust and reverse directions. I miss that control scheme, but not being chained to it has certainly improved my scores.

 

I have to agree with you about Ms. Pac-Man, though. The graphics are good enough, but the animation and the flow of the gameplay are different stories entirely. It leaves an especially bad taste in my mouth as Ms. Pac-Man was always the superior arcade game... why is it so much WORSE than Pac-Man on the 5200?

[Prodos8]

I just picked one up a few months ago for the first time. Defender is actually one of my favorites on it. It's the same as the Atari 8-bit version, but with two button support. I have a wico and a trak-ball, but don't really care for either of them. One of the first things I did was build my own masterplay device so I could use Atari 2600/Sega controllers.

 

Currently, don't have very many games for it, but I play Pac-Man, Defender, Centipede & Space Invaders the most. Space Dungeon is the game I'm looking to get next, since its supposed to be so good.

[82atari5200]

It takes a certain style to use the controllers correctly. I only ever had a 5200 so the controllers were never a problem. I had a hell of a time switching over to the NES controllers. I still have callouses on the side of my thumbs.

[jetset]

second, how did they manage to make mrs pacman worse than pac man? i mean, 5200 pac man is everything it should be. it is light years ahead of it's 2600 counterpart. so why does mrs pac man seem so shitty to me? i think the graphics on it suck and they just could have done a better job on it all around.

 

i feel the same about defender. i think that stargate and defender 2 on the 2600 have better graphics than defender 5200. compared to the coleco vision version, there is no contest. CV wins hands down when it comes to defender.

 

OK, you had me up until the point where you dissed Defender.

 

LOL!

I agree there. Funny...he hated the controllers until he got in a little practice. Really, thats all it takes. I always laugh at the "5200 contrllers suck..I played them for 10 minutes and hate them". Ya...I hated a lot of games myself until I got in some practice. I still wonder how many people REALLY had a problem with the controllers back in the day. sure for the first hour or two, but back then you had paid $200+ for the system and a few games, so..you practiced. There was no easy way out like now, where crappy websites play the game for 10 minutes, suck at it, then spend 20 minutes writing a review about how bad the "experience" was becauseof the controllers (and no Jess, not your site).

ANYHOOSE...

I don't get the Defender part...Ms PacMan I can *almost* see if you only play up to the first intermission. Yes its' slow and clunky, but in the later rounds it's only slightly below that of its 7800 counterpart. When you couple in the 7800 sticks, (which are like trying to move a tree trunk in 8 directions!) vs the 5200 sticks...I dont know I see the 5200 version as miles better. Defender though....graphics wise it's tons better than the CV version, and the sounds are pretty spot on too. The CV Defender, to me has no heart...I find it adequate at best.

BUT, it's all in opinion though.

You definetly need Robotron and Space Dungeon (with the joystick coupler) Centipede and Missile Command (w/the trak-ball) Adventure2, Castle Crisis, Pole Position, CounterMeasure, Miner 2049er...hell just pick up any games you see. They're all good with rare exception.

[RangerG]

I agree with JetSet. I played my cousin's 5200 and I remember thinking the controllers were different, but not bad. I even remember enjoying James Bond (which is always given terrible ratings). At the time, the graphics on the 5200 was such an upgrade and the keypad was so innovative that you knew you were playing a top-of-line machine.

[Lord Helmet]

any of you who have made it this far... what games should i go after next for my 5200?

 

Blaster, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Castle Crisis, Baseball, Millipede, Space Dunguen, Pengo, Mario Bros., MULE (if you can), Miner 2049er, Boulder Dash, Adventure II to just name some.

 

Allan

 

 

 

Add Super Pac-Man, Jr. Pac-Man, Krazy Shootout, and Qix to that list

 

There is also a great version of Pac-Man Plus out there (hacked from the original Pac-Man)

Edited December 4, 2007 by Lord Helmet

[cyberfluxor]

Another proud 5200 owner I see. There are quite a few great games for the system that are improved over the 2600, just make sure you get that Trac-ball and Wico controllers to be all set. Enjoy those games and keep an eye out for other games awaiting you on thrift, pawn and game store shelves in addition to the occasional garage/yard sale.

[BydoEmpire]

Congrats on the new console! I think Pac Man controls great with stock controllers - it's my favorite port of the game. Pengo is a good port. Qix is excellent. While I didn't like it too much at first, 5200 Moon Patrol has grown on me (just in time for the HSC, too!).

[opeygon]

wow. i didn't know they made donkey kong jr for 5200 or spyhunter, or super pac man jr. i'll be on the lookout for those, as well as some of the others that were suggested. i heard that there were only 80 titles made for the 5200. is that true? if so, i may shoot to get a complete collection one day.

 

as for defender, well... maybe i'll focus on that game alone tonight and see if anything changes for me. i don't know though. maybe i'm just a little biased towards the cv version

[opeygon]

One of the first things I did was build my own masterplay device so I could use Atari 2600/Sega controllers.

 

can you elaborate on that?

 

edit:

do you mean the masterplay interface adapter?

Edited December 4, 2007 by opeygon

[jetset]

wow. i didn't know they made donkey kong jr for 5200 or spyhunter, or super pac man jr. i'll be on the lookout for those, as well as some of the others that were suggested. i heard that there were only 80 titles made for the 5200. is that true? if so, i may shoot to get a complete collection one day.

 

as for defender, well... maybe i'll focus on that game alone tonight and see if anything changes for me. i don't know though. maybe i'm just a little biased towards the cv version

 

Like I said before it's all in your own opinion. CV Galaxian for example is 1,000X closer to the arcade..looks better, sound better, but...if give a choice I'm playing the 5200 version. I don't know why other than that it was one of the first game I had...it's just....IDK more appealing.

Really...'tis all good.

[shadow460]

Reminds me when I got my 5200 last year. lol, I thought I' had it shipped to the wrong address!

 

I had been buying games when I found them, so I had a stack of cart as it was. I played that thing silly for about a week. It still gets used some. My wife had access to a 5200 when she was growing up, so she will probably use it more than I do (at least until we get Miner and BBSB, then it's all mine!)

[SRGilbert]

wow. i didn't know they made donkey kong jr for 5200 or spyhunter, or super pac man jr.

Well, technically, they didn't! There are roms that were Atari 800 computer games that have been ported over though and can be played on a 5200 multicart like the ones from Atarimax.com.

[Prodos8]

Yeah MasterPlay/Redemption, but I did this DIY jobber: http://www94.pair.com/jsoper/gen_2_5200_adap.html

 

One of the first things I did was build my own masterplay device so I could use Atari 2600/Sega controllers.

 

can you elaborate on that?

 

edit:

do you mean the masterplay interface adapter?

[Lord Helmet]

wow. i didn't know they made donkey kong jr for 5200 or spyhunter, or super pac man jr.

Well, technically, they didn't! There are roms that were Atari 800 computer games that have been ported over though and can be played on a 5200 multicart like the ones from Atarimax.com.

 

 

DK and DK Junior are ported from the Atari 800.

 

Super Pac-Man and Jr. Pac-Man are unreleased 5200 prototypes.

[SRGilbert]

wow. i didn't know they made donkey kong jr for 5200 or spyhunter, or super pac man jr.

Well, technically, they didn't! There are roms that were Atari 800 computer games that have been ported over though and can be played on a 5200 multicart like the ones from Atarimax.com.

 

 

DK and DK Junior are ported from the Atari 800.

 

Super Pac-Man and Jr. Pac-Man are unreleased 5200 prototypes.

I guess my point was that he probably shouldn't put to much effort into trying to find those games.

[Lord Helmet]

wow. i didn't know they made donkey kong jr for 5200 or spyhunter, or super pac man jr.

Well, technically, they didn't! There are roms that were Atari 800 computer games that have been ported over though and can be played on a 5200 multicart like the ones from Atarimax.com.

 

 

DK and DK Junior are ported from the Atari 800.

 

Super Pac-Man and Jr. Pac-Man are unreleased 5200 prototypes.

I guess my point was that he probably shouldn't put to much effort into trying to find those games.

 

 

They are quite available...if you know who to ask

[SRGilbert]

wow. i didn't know they made donkey kong jr for 5200 or spyhunter, or super pac man jr.

Well, technically, they didn't! There are roms that were Atari 800 computer games that have been ported over though and can be played on a 5200 multicart like the ones from Atarimax.com.

 

 

DK and DK Junior are ported from the Atari 800.

 

Super Pac-Man and Jr. Pac-Man are unreleased 5200 prototypes.

I guess my point was that he probably shouldn't put to much effort into trying to find those games.

 

 

They are quite available...if you know who to ask

Wouldn't he be better off just buying an Atarimax flash cart? I don't know how much bootlegs cost, but the multicart is a great value for someone that just wants to play the games. The roms are easy enough to find.

[opeygon]

Wouldn't he be better off just buying an Atarimax flash cart? I don't know how much bootlegs cost, but the multicart is a great value for someone that just wants to play the games. The roms are easy enough to find.

 

hmm... that makes since cause i've never seen the dk jr or pac man carts mentioned earlier.

 

so, this multicart...where can i get one? also, do you have to load it with roms yourself, or does it come with roms on it already? i'm pretty sure i've seen a 2600 and possibly a cv multicart around. those looked like they were already loaded with roms and had some switches on the front to toggle between different groups of games. i think the one i'm thinking of was like the 200 in 1 or something

[SRGilbert]

Wouldn't he be better off just buying an Atarimax flash cart? I don't know how much bootlegs cost, but the multicart is a great value for someone that just wants to play the games. The roms are easy enough to find.

 

hmm... that makes since cause i've never seen the dk jr or pac man carts mentioned earlier.

 

so, this multicart...where can i get one? also, do you have to load it with roms yourself, or does it come with roms on it already? i'm pretty sure i've seen a 2600 and possibly a cv multicart around. those looked like they were already loaded with roms and had some switches on the front to toggle between different groups of games. i think the one i'm thinking of was like the 200 in 1 or something

The one I have is from ATARIMAX.COM and they are built by an Atariage member called Classics. It has built in memory that you copy the roms to so you choose what games you want on it. The games are then selected through an onscreen menu.

 

Most the the roms are available right here on AA for download too, even a couple of homebrews. It might seem a little pricy at $135, but it gives you access to some great games that are not otherwise available.