What have you actually PLAYED? Weekly Top Ten for 2009

[Atarian7]

159 minutes of 2600 Kaboom! this week

[Kurt_Woloch]

I enjoy playing on the actual hardware also but the intent was to emphasize the games. I enjoy reading the commentary that Kurt provides with his list each week so I'd much rather include emulated games then not have him post at all. We've had enough homebrews make the top 10 that aren't available on cart yet (to my knowledge) that I assumed people knew that at least some people were using emulators.

 

Um... OK, I think this calls for an answer.

I mean, I do have some classic systems here (the TI-99, the C-64, the Atari 2600, the Amiga 500, the G7000 and some handhelds), but most of the time I don't use them for playing nowadays. I dug out the TI-99 to play its version of "Burger time" last year when I was on a "Burger time" spree trying out all possible versions of it... but there are some flaws with those old systems. For the TI-99, the only thing working is the antenna output, and I don't get a very clear signal on that. For the Atari 2600, I do have about 30 games, but I don't have most of those who appear in the High Score Competition. The C-64 has the problem that if I connect it to the Amiga 1081 monitor, which is my only full-size video screen, it loses color most of the time... always has been this way. The G7000 doesn't have too many interesting games, and the Amiga 500, in my opinion, is out of the scope of this thread since it's clearly a post-crash system (apart from the fact that I haven't played any Amiga games lately). And arcade games generally are impossible to come by or acquire... I don't know which arcade near me would still have a Jr. Pac-Man machine, and even if it had, it would be prohibitely expensive to play it for 5 hours... that would have cost me about 30 Euros, minimum. On the other hand, that's what I would have to spend for a full-price PC game too.

 

Yes, I know I sound like a cheapskate now... I should spend much more money for those classic games, even if I can theoretically get them for free from the Internet.

 

Maybe I should tell why I played the games I did lately...

 

Jr. Pac-Man got a shot because it was the Arcade/MAME HSC game of that week. Of course the times I spend on this differ, sometimes I get into a game, and sometimes I don't. Sometimes it's enough to play 3 games in 20 minutes and get so frustrated that I know I won't be willing to put any more time in that game. Other games were more motivating.

The same goes for Frogger (2600 HSC) and Galaxy Wars (Arcade/MAME HSC). "Miniature Golf High Resolution" and "Stacker" were some games I read about here in a forum thread and downloaded the binary of in order to try them out. In any case, I admit I don't own any of those games in their original fashion (in this case, as a 2600 cartridge or an arcade cabinet) - though some of them really haven't been released like that (yet).

 

A slightly different story would be two games I played for a long time recently... "Toyshop trouble" (2600) and "Park Patrol" (C-64). I got into Toyshop Trouble when it was the 2600 HSC game around Christmas, and with Park Patrol, I just remembered reading about it in a magazine back in the day, but never having played it. These two really turned out as games I felt motivated to play for so long, and I deeply feel that playing them for so long should also warrant buying them. In the case of "Park Patrol", this would be difficult, however, since I don't think I'd find a legitimate copy that the actual manufacturer (Activision) would profit from if I bought it... if I find any, it would probably be a used copy, so the money would just change hands, but the original manufacturer wouldn't profit from it anyway. The closest thing probably would be to send € 50 directly to Tony Ngo who designed the game back in 1984 (actually, he deserves at least double that since he also worked on "Bandits" and "Squish 'em", which I also played for a long time some years ago without ever buying them)... but something in my head (must have implanted there by my parents) says I shouldn't spend money on games I can get for free anyway. And apart from that, it would be highly unusual to do it this way since Tony Ngo really doesn't beg for any money being sent for playing his old games.

 

In the case of "Toyshop trouble", however, it's a bit different... this one would be still available, and the author would profit from it... maybe one day I can bring myself to actually spend money on games I like even if I could get them for free.

 

Actual times for this week will follow shortly.

[sandmountainslim]

Add for 2600:

 

 

 

Fall Down 50 minutes

 

Space Invaders Deluxe 40 minutes

 

Ms. Pac-Man 35 minutes

[Ransom]

We completed our tour of our Genesis library today...

 

Golden Axe II - 30 minutes

Sonic the Hedgehog - 10 minutes

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - 10 minutes

Streets of Rage - 10 minutes (Wife doesn't like this one...I don't blame her, but it has nostalgic value to me.)

ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron - 5 minutes (A bizarre game we got as part of a group of games we bought cheap.)

RBI Baseball 4 - 10 minutes (Just to show my wife what it's like; she's far more likely to play it than I am.)

Tyrants: Fight Through Time - 10 minutes (Again, just to show my wife that it's the type of game she likes so she can play it whenever she wants.)

World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck - 15 minutes (Gonna have to take time to figure this one out, surprisingly!)

 

Next up on our tour o' systems will be the 5200...

[Wickeycolumbus]

Homestar Runner RPG Demo (2600) - 5 minutes

[Kurt_Woloch]

OK, here are my times for this week:

 

Jr. Pac Man (7800) 71 minutes in 5 sessions (trying out different versions)

Galaxy wars (Arcade) 66 minutes (this was the HSC competition game)

Frogger II - Threedeep (2600) 40 minutes (another HSC game)

4K Pac Man (2600) 12 minutes (to see if cornering also helps here - but it doesn't)

Jr. Pac Man (Arcade) 5 minutes in 2 sessions (to compare it to the 7800 version and to record the music from it)

[Mountain King]

My 3 year old Daughter and I have been playing Frankenstien's Monster and we like to hide under a blanket or the behind the couch when we lose. We also play Stargate/Defender 2 and she is in charge of the Smart Bombs, invisos and Hyper space. It makes for some fun and interesting games.

[+cvga]

My 3 year old Daughter and I have been playing Frankenstien's Monster and we like to hide under a blanket or the behind the couch when we lose.

 

That sounds like fun. Cool story

[+cvga]

Opening night for baseball and a chance to play some 7800 with a friend.

 

Plutos - 40 minutes - extremely impressive game. Great graphics and super gameplay. Reminded me of Blazing Lasers for the Turbo Grafx. Probably my overall favorite 7800 game!

Sirius - 10 minutes - side scroller. Very difficult even on the easy level. Good game but nowhere near as fun as Plutos.

Xevious - 20 minutes - earlier 7800 game and it shows. Similar gameplay to Plutos but not in the same leauge graphically or playability.

Realsports Baseball - 15 minutes - holy cow! this game is pure crap. Is there a way to get rid of the delay on my swing? We were losing 14-0 after 4 or 5 innings and didn't have a hit yet. Yuck!

Pete Rose Baseball - 45 minutes - much better after you get the hang of the funky control scheme. Why does my first baseman have to come over to pick up a ball that stops just short of 2nd base? My friend and I alternated innings. After falling behind 7-0, we clawed our way back to within 2 runs after 7 innings and after a big 8th inning ended up winning 19-16. I definitely enjoyed this game more as the innings rolled on and I got more comfortable with it.

Robotron - 20 minutes - good port

Ace of Aces - 10 minutes - I only played one training session. I'm not a big fan of this type of game.

Commando - 10 minutes

Rampage - 10 minutes - I know some people really like this game but I'm not one of them

Klax - 5 minutes

[brojamfootball]

Been building my little 2600 library for a few months now, and finally really digging into some of my more recent purchases, and of course a few old faves to round it out. Got in some good 2600 play over the last several days:

 

Snoopy and the Red Baron 1 hour--new game for me and surprisingly good, esp. on 2nd difficulty level.

 

Pitfall EXACTLY 20 min--stayed alive for the full 20 for first time since I was a young'n. Didn't make it to the end, though.

 

Montezuma's Revenge 30 min--good game, pretty hard. Don't know if I'll beat this one.

 

Phoenix 15 min--I loved this game in the arcade and love a quick play or two on this version also.

 

Asteroids 30 min--game variation 10, high-speed asteroids w/shields and free man at 5000 pts. Ahh, Asteroids...

 

E.T. 30 min--actually read instructions here at AtariAge and gave this game its first real chance. A little frustrating so far.

 

Joust 20 min--still impressive how much of the arcade game they fit in, but Sega Genesis Joust is still king to me.

 

Towering Inferno 30 min.--I WILL BEAT THIS GAME! YAAARRRRRGH!!

 

Commando 30 min--I just hope to make through one whole round of this.

 

M.A.S.H. 20 min--recent buy. Pretty fun, but simple and repetitive. This game needs a 3rd playscreen or something.

 

Megamania 15 min--still a very nice 'invaders'-esque shooter. I just can't play it for hours like when I was younger.

 

Gopher 20 min--first play since probably 1982, didn't remember this game until I played it. Fun but not fantastic.

Edited April 6, 2009 by brojamfootball

[pis]

galaxian 10min

demon attack 140min

[Ransom]

Berzerk (5200): 20 minutes

Qix (5200): 20 minutes

[VectorGamer]

Popeye (CV) 15 mins

Ladybug (CV) 30 mins

Pepper II (CV) 15 mins

Donkey Kong Jr. (CV) 30 mins

Zaxxon (CV) 15 mins

 

Asteroids (7800) 30 mins

Centipede (7800) 15 mins

Ms. Pac-Man (7800) 15 mins

[Wickeycolumbus]

Pressure Gauge (2600) - 10 minutes

[+cvga]

Wow! A big week of game playing. Over 40 games were played for the first time taking us over 500 games overall. We also logged over 4,000 minutes for the week to become the #3 week of all-time (25 weeks). Here is the Top Ten for Week #14...

 

1. Demon Attack (2600) 340 minutes

2. Kaboom! (2600) 169

3. Baldies (Jaguar) 120

3. Halloween (2600) 120

3. Pepper II (COLV) 120

6. Colony 7 (2600) 105

6. Mouse Trap (COLV) 105

8. Donkey Kong (2600) 100

9. Centipede (5200) 90

10. Jr. Pacman (7800) 71

 

Pacman (5200) and Pacman (2600) took the #11 and #12 spots. Next week will mark 26 weeks or a half year for the Top Ten. If there's interest, I'll list the Top 50 All-time and some additional stats.

[Ransom]

I was too tired to play much last night...

 

Pitfall (Intellivision): 5 minutes

Demon Attack (Intellivision): 20 minutes

[VectorGamer]

Pacman (5200) and Pacman (2600) took the #11 and #12 spots. Next week will mark 26 weeks or a half year for the Top Ten. If there's interest, I'll list the Top 50 All-time and some additional stats.

 

Yes, please! And if you could post either a monthly report or YTD report (I forget what you submitted last time) that would be tasty...

[Ransom]

Next week will mark 26 weeks or a half year for the Top Ten. If there's interest, I'll list the Top 50 All-time and some additional stats.

 

That would be really cool!

[midnight magicman]

Centipede 5200 - 30 min

Missle Command 5200 - 15 min

Satan's Hollow 5200 - 15 min

Berzerk 5200 - 20 min

 

Peace

[Wickeycolumbus]

Pressure Gauge (2600) - 20 minutes

[sandmountainslim]

Add For 2600

 

 

Space Invaders Deluxe 45 minutes

 

Fall Down 45 minutes

 

Pac Man Arcade 30 minutes

[+cvga]

OK, Here's the Top Twenty-Five for the first quarter of 2009...

 

1. Park Patrol (C-64) 2,736 minutes

2. Kaboom! (2600) 2,368

3. Adventure (2600) 2,168

4. Buck Rogers - Planet of Zoom (2600) 871

5. Ram It (2600) 768

6. Jack and the Beanstalk (2600) 744

7. Medieval Mayhem (2600) 735

8. Toyshop Trouble (2600) 663

9. Reindeer Rescue (2600) 598

10. MisAdventure (2600) 495

11. Demon Attack (2600) 480

12. Space Invaders (2600) 410

13. Mouse Trap (COLV) 405

14. E.T. (2600) 386

15. Galaga (7800) 375

16. Asteroids (7800) 330

16. Galaxian Arcade (2600) 330

18. Doris (2600) 326

19. Jr. Pacman (Arcade) 305

20. Centipede (7800) 290

20. Trick Shot (2600) 290

22. Dragster (2600) 265

23. Fatal Run (2600) 264

24. Galaxian (2600) 259

25. Space Invaders Deluxe (2600) 253

[VectorGamer]

Centipede 5200 - 30 min

Missle Command 5200 - 15 min

Satan's Hollow 5200 - 15 min

Berzerk 5200 - 20 min

 

Peace

 

Satan's Hollow, eh?

[VectorGamer]

Food Fight (7800) 30 mins

Dig Dug (7800) 15 mins

[VectorGamer]

OK, Here's the Top Twenty-Five for the first quarter of 2009...

 

1. Park Patrol (C-64) 2,736 minutes

2. Kaboom! (2600) 2,368

3. Adventure (2600) 2,168

4. Buck Rogers - Planet of Zoom (2600) 871

5. Ram It (2600) 768

6. Jack and the Beanstalk (2600) 744

7. Medieval Mayhem (2600) 735

8. Toyshop Trouble (2600) 663

9. Reindeer Rescue (2600) 598

10. MisAdventure (2600) 495

11. Demon Attack (2600) 480

12. Space Invaders (2600) 410

13. Mouse Trap (COLV) 405

14. E.T. (2600) 386

15. Galaga (7800) 375

16. Asteroids (7800) 330

16. Galaxian Arcade (2600) 330

18. Doris (2600) 326

19. Jr. Pacman (Arcade) 305

20. Centipede (7800) 290

20. Trick Shot (2600) 290

22. Dragster (2600) 265

23. Fatal Run (2600) 264

24. Galaxian (2600) 259

25. Space Invaders Deluxe (2600) 253

 

Thanks for posting this - I am a stat freak, after all.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if 405 minutes of Mouse Trap were all mine. It's interesting that Colecovision is only represented by one game in the top 25 and that game is Mouse Trap.

 

Would there be any difference if this thread were moved over to the "Classic Gaming General" forum given that this top ten is not limited to the Atari 2600? I think it would be more suitable over there, regardless.