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which arcade ports got it "right" ?


godzillajoe

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The 2600 Asteroids in its own right is a good game. However, as a port I cannot shake the fact that the arcade is vector and along with the audio effects and degree of difficulty it is a totally different experience that the 2600 port cannot measure up to.

 

While definitely not as difficult as the arcade, Thomas' Asteroids DC definitely improves upon the original 2600 game with the vector graphics look, asteroids that move in more extreme angles, and the ship counter display.

 

 

What bugs me about Amidar is how slow our guy moves. I would love to see someone do an "Amidar Arcade" - if anything just to speed things up around the same pace as Pepper II.

 

check out the hacks :)

 

 

I love Jr. Pac - but what p155ed that guy off that he to make the game so difficult? I think I've made it to level 2 only three times out of 500 tries.

 

500 times? Man you need to get practice your sk1llz :D

Edited by NE146
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i think they did a decent job at the time with space invaders, missile command, pole position, dig dug, phoenix, wizard of wor, vanguard, venture, battlezone, jungle hunt.

 

but the one that stands out for me as a 'how did they do that on a 2600' is millipede. that was impressive considering the limitations.

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So it seems like everyone gave pretty good answers.

I'll have to agree with:

-Galaxian

-Space Invaders (impressive!)

-Frogger

-Q-Bert

-Star Wars Arcade and Star Trek were very impressive.

-War Lords

-Megamania!

-DK. Now, I have to say, the graphics may not have been the best, DK may look more like a gingerbread man than an ape.. and it was indeed missing two screens (which I believe Coleco did on purpose, like the horrible abomination that was DK on Intv.) Buuut, I found it enjoyable to play, and the controls felt pretty accurate (especially compareed to Intv's :| )

 

-Mario Bros Does not seem to be lacking too much. Lets see, all the platforms and pipes in the right spot, got fireballs, pow block, turtle, crab, firefly, icer.. Its there, and the gameplay is enjoyable 1 player(except maybe the walking fx), and a great 2 player!

 

-Gyrus, oh lets not forget Gyrus wasnt bad!

 

How about ones that failed miserably?

 

-Burger Time

WTF!? What is that? Am I being chased by? Wtf?

 

-Crystal Castles. Now if you didnt already play the arcade version, you would be thinking, wow, this is a great game that really pushed the VCS's limits. But then you play the arcade, and it just doesn't do.. it just doesn't do..

 

-DK jr.

Ok, as if your ears being raped by the sound of that goofy looking excuse of a monkey wasnt bad enough.. there are no fruit for killing the alligators, which look more like staples.

Now, before setting this game aside as a disgrace, give it a good play, because it does actually have playability. It is pretty fun, addictive, and has three screens which I find impressive. All you have to do, is pretend that it is not supposed to be DK jr.

 

-Battle Zone. Just does not feel like battlezone. But re-releasing it as "Robot Tank" is just fine ;)

Edited by jeremysart
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How about ones that failed miserably?

 

-Crystal Castles. Now if you didnt already play the arcade version, you would be thinking, wow, this is a great game that really pushed the VCS's limits. But then you play the arcade, and it just doesn't do.. it just doesn't do..

 

 

I dunno how they could have made it any better.

 

The only thing missing are the warps

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Battle Zone. Just does not feel like battlezone. But re-releasing it as "Robot Tank" is just fine ;)

 

Robot Tank is not a re-release of Battlezone. Robot Tank is by Activision, and while it is similar to Battlezone, you can't even call it a clone, as it has drastically different gameplay.

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I'll add Popeye. The gameplay was all there, I think the graphics are better than average.

 

I'll agree with that as well.

 

The more I think of it, Parker Brothers, CBS, and Atari all had some pretty great arcade translations. Coleco...not as much, but I like quite a few of their games too. I guess I'm just a sucker for 2600 versions of arcade games, even when they weren't really all that good. Hell, I love 2600 Defender :)

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Dig Dug is a really great port. I also like Asteroids, Jungle Hunt, Berserk and, of course, Centipede. Okay, Centipede's graphics are very "basic", but it has the great gameplay of the arcade.

 

Don't forget Kangaroo. It's fun to play and has all the things from the arcade: different fruits, the bell and monkeys throwing apples. You also have 3 different screens, which are really challenging.

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They really did get a lot of arcade games right...

 

Asteroids was a nice repro.

 

And I never understood why Defender gets so much flak...I always loved it.

 

Missile Command was pretty good, too, although it's missing airplanes. (To this day, though, I've never played the arcade version.) I might have mentioned this before, but the weekend after my brother and I got our 2600 for Christmas, we went to K's Merchandise Mart in Bradley, Illinois because they were having a sale on Atari carts. My brother wanted Missile Command and Superman. I wanted Defender. We ended up getting Outlaw instead of Superman....and we got Missile Command instead of Defender, because it was cheaper.

 

Tac-Scan, IMHO, is BETTER on the 2600 than the arcade version.

 

Jr. Pac-Man is probably the best I've seen, along with Crystal Castles and Tapper.

 

But...the best arcade-to-2600 conversion I've seen: Lady Bug. I know, that's a homebrew, but still, it's amazing. Seriously -- play the arcade version, then the 2600 version. Now, tell me which one's which. Betcha can't.

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Tac-Scan, IMHO, is BETTER on the 2600 than the arcade version.

 

But...the best arcade-to-2600 conversion I've seen: Lady Bug. I know, that's a homebrew, but still, it's amazing. Seriously -- play the arcade version, then the 2600 version. Now, tell me which one's which. Betcha can't.

 

Ummm... I can see a difference: 2600 version is horizontally spread out and the gate movement is mirrored unlike the arcade :-)

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Stargate, Jr Pac-man, and Crystal Castles.

 

While all three had to make concessions to the limitations of the VCS, all of them capture the charm and gameplay of their arcade big brothers quite well. Stargate is fantastic, and blows VCS Defender out of the water. Jr Pac is THE definitive pac game on the system, and challenging as hell (just like the arcade). Crystal Castles, while graphically vastly different, plays very well indeed, and has dozens of levels to boot.

 

My current favorite is Crazy Climber, which I like BETTER than the arcade. Sure it's missing a couple of things, but I like the controls much better, and it's just plain fun.

 

All four are excellent games, and well worth tracking down if you don't have them. :)

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How about ones that failed miserably?

 

-Crystal Castles. Now if you didnt already play the arcade version, you would be thinking, wow, this is a great game that really pushed the VCS's limits. But then you play the arcade, and it just doesn't do.. it just doesn't do..

 

 

I dunno how they could have made it any better.

 

The only thing missing are the warps

 

Im not saying its bad, it is just not like the arcade, which I could play for hours.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f01M2l9oGJI

compared to

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ytu2AUPhavs

You see? But thats just my opinion, so please dont get offended! :)

 

Battle Zone. Just does not feel like battlezone. But re-releasing it as "Robot Tank" is just fine ;)

 

Robot Tank is not a re-release of Battlezone. Robot Tank is by Activision, and while it is similar to Battlezone, you can't even call it a clone, as it has drastically different gameplay.

 

You are right, the gameplay mechanics are a little different, and battle zone looks nicer.

Strange thing though! My copy of Robot Tank, is actually Battlezone with a Robot Tank label!!! I must make a video to show you! I dont know how that could have happened, that is why I got mixed up.

Does anyone else have a copy of Robot Tank that is actually battle zone?

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How about ones that failed miserably?

 

-Crystal Castles. Now if you didnt already play the arcade version, you would be thinking, wow, this is a great game that really pushed the VCS's limits. But then you play the arcade, and it just doesn't do.. it just doesn't do..

 

 

I dunno how they could have made it any better.

 

The only thing missing are the warps

 

Im not saying its bad, it is just not like the arcade, which I could play for hours.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f01M2l9oGJI

compared to

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ytu2AUPhavs

You see? But thats just my opinion, so please dont get offended! :)

 

I'm not offended I just disagree. For a system initially designed to play Pong and simple games like Combat, I thought they captured the feel of the arcade game quite well.

 

It suer doesn't look as pretty but it plays nicely.

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It suer doesn't look as pretty but it plays nicely.

 

Oh, I totally agree with you there! I wasnt saying it was bad, because I have spent good time playing it! I guess saying failed miserably was a little harsh :P

 

It seems I was also mistaken about my copy of Robot Tank.. I played that last night for about a half hour, only dying into the 4th day! The reason I got mixed up is because I gave my mother an Atari Flashback 2, which I played on last time I was over there, and I was playing Battle Zone :|

I stand corrected.

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Defender II/Stargate is definitely the best looking IMO.

Missle Command

Ms. Pacman/Jr. Pacman

Phoenix

Wizard of War - someone here needs to add the voice to it!!!:):)

Dig Dug

Berzerk - VE version is wicked!

Millipede

Jungle Hunt

Space Invaders - although the 2600 version had a soul of it's own. SI dlx hack is fantastic.

Breakout and Surround, assuming most people here are old enough to remember them in the arcade, Surround was called something different.

Space War

Asteroids - minus the colours

Frogger

Warlords - one of my favourites

 

Oh, and that newer release of Seawolf is really cool.

Edited by ToughGirl
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My favorite is Ms. Pac-Man, by far.

 

I think there are a lot of other good ones though, such as Lady Bug, Galaxian, Frogger, Centipede, Phoenix, Pole Position, Spy Hunter, Donkey Kong, and Missile Command.

 

I think all the ones that you listed are excellent games ported to the 2600.

 

But, what are we defining as "right?" Is it "as good as it can get" graphically with exceptional game play?

 

Did they "get it right" with Donkey Kong? The gorilla looks hideous, the fireballs on the second level only move left to right and the gorilla only moves when you go up and down ladders (not a bad idea versus a static "bitmap" at the top left of the screen). But, despite all this it's playable.

 

Pole Position is OK but complaints have always been about the graphics of the oncoming cars. Also, I'm not a big fan of the "stock" audio effects that are re-used. I prefer the 7800 version but this one still sees action on my system occassionally.

 

The SuperCharger version of Frogger is excellent. The 2600 cart is good as well.

 

Galaxian Arcade is even better. CV version is the best but Galaxian Arcade is even better than the 5200 version or that POS released for C64.

 

I would add Q*bert to the list. The speed of this game is better than that found on the ColecoVision and the game play in itself makes up for the graphical shortcomings.

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OK, I know I am really biased, but I think Galaxian's port was actually better than the arcade version. True the yellow box on the outside is kind of ugly, but the game itself was a technical marvel on the 2600.

 

Right-on, what was up with the border on that game? Total nonsense if you ask me. It's supposed to take place in outer space,

not inside a spoiled pumpkin ;-)

I wonder if they had some kind of technical reason for that-- something related to the way so many sprites are generated per line? (Something that could show up around the edges of the screen that they wanted to cover up?) But even if that were so, you'd think they would have made the playfield box black instead of orange.

 

Michael

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