Vectrex?

[gliptitude]

Just an amazing console. I got my first one about a year ago and have been playing almost nothing but Vectrex ever since. I have cart/overlay for every game, except for the 3D ones.

 

The multi-carts are over-rated in my opinion. It is more important to have a few of the better overlays than it is to have every single game ROM. If you haven't played Web Wars WITH the overlay, then you haven't really played Vectrex, in my opinion.

 

Buy/acquire Web Wars/overlay. Buy/acquire Pole Position/overlay, if you can find/afford. Then choose the others based on their appeal to you.

 

Buy Protector from classicgamecreations.com for about $12. That's the single greatest value in retro gaming.

 

Also available at the same place is GRAVITREX PLUS, for about $25. This is Mr. Dondzilla's clone of Gravitar. It is very well done and there is a lot of game there, compared to most of the other Vectrex games. You can spend a lot of time playing this game.

 

Two player co-op is fun in Rip Off and Armor Attack, if you have a 2nd controller.

 

If you haven't the skill to make your own gamepad mod, you can buy one today from recycledgamer.com, for about $50. For me the original Vectrex control panel is always the most FUN to play with, but I generally require the modded pad to get high scores on hectic games like Protector/Gravitrex/Vector Pilot etc.

 

The games to get, in my opinion:

 

Web Wars/overlay

I,Cyborg (OOP)

Gravitrex

Protector

Pole Position/overlay

Fortress of Narzod/overlay

Cosmic Chasm/overlay

Bedlam/overlay

Vector Pilot/red overlay

War of the Worlds 2011

 

Welcome to Vectrex!

Edited January 22, 2013 by gliptitude

[+JasonlikesINTV]

Just an amazing console. I got my first one about a year ago and have been playing almost nothing but Vectrex ever since. I have cart/overlay for every game, except for the 3D ones.

 

The multi-carts are over-rated in my opinion. It is more important to have a few of the better overlays than it is to have every single game ROM. If you haven't played Web Wars WITH the overlay, then you haven't really played Vectrex, in my opinion.

 

Buy/acquire Web Wars/overlay. Buy/acquire Pole Position/overlay, if you can find/afford. Then choose the others based on their appeal to you.

 

Buy Protector from classicgamecreations.com for about $12. That's the single greatest value in retro gaming.

 

Also available at the same place is GRAVITREX PLUS, for about $25. This is Mr. Dondzilla's clone of Gravitar. It is very well done and there is a lot of game there, compared to most of the other Vectrex games. You can spend a lot of time playing this game.

 

Two player co-op is fun in Rip Off and Armor Attack, if you have a 2nd controller.

 

If you haven't the skill to make your own gamepad mod, you can buy one today from recycledgamer.com, for about $50. For me the original Vectrex control panel is always the most FUN to play with, but I generally require the modded pad to get high scores on hectic games like Protector/Gravitrex/Vector Pilot etc.

 

The games to get, in my opinion:

 

Web Wars/overlay

I,Cyborg (OOP)

Gravitrex

Protector

Pole Position/overlay

Fortress of Narzod/overlay

Cosmic Chasm/overlay

Bedlam/overlay

Vector Pilot/red overlay

War of the Worlds 2011

 

Welcome to Vectrex!

 

Thanks for all of the info! I'm going to keep an eye out for one. What's a decent price for one and what would one need to look for (or look out for) to keep from getting a dud?

[ilovethevectrex]

Just an amazing console. I got my first one about a year ago and have been playing almost nothing but Vectrex ever since. I have cart/overlay for every game, except for the 3D ones.

 

The multi-carts are over-rated in my opinion. It is more important to have a few of the better overlays than it is to have every single game ROM. If you haven't played Web Wars WITH the overlay, then you haven't really played Vectrex, in my opinion.

 

Buy/acquire Web Wars/overlay. Buy/acquire Pole Position/overlay, if you can find/afford. Then choose the others based on their appeal to you.

 

Buy Protector from classicgamecreations.com for about $12. That's the single greatest value in retro gaming.

 

Also available at the same place is GRAVITREX PLUS, for about $25. This is Mr. Dondzilla's clone of Gravitar. It is very well done and there is a lot of game there, compared to most of the other Vectrex games. You can spend a lot of time playing this game.

 

Two player co-op is fun in Rip Off and Armor Attack, if you have a 2nd controller.

 

If you haven't the skill to make your own gamepad mod, you can buy one today from recycledgamer.com, for about $50. For me the original Vectrex control panel is always the most FUN to play with, but I generally require the modded pad to get high scores on hectic games like Protector/Gravitrex/Vector Pilot etc.

 

The games to get, in my opinion:

 

Web Wars/overlay

I,Cyborg (OOP)

Gravitrex

Protector

Pole Position/overlay

Fortress of Narzod/overlay

Cosmic Chasm/overlay

Bedlam/overlay

Vector Pilot/red overlay

War of the Worlds 2011

 

Welcome to Vectrex!

wait, you have every game except for the 3d ones? even minestorm 2 and mr.boston?

[gliptitude]

wait, you have every game except for the 3d ones? even minestorm 2 and mr.boston?

 

Oh sorry. No I am not that sort of collector, and I didn't think it necessary to mention the exclusion of these two games. I have Minestorm 1 (inside of each of my Vectrex units) and I have a couple copies of Clean Sweep (one being boxed).

 

If I had Minestorm 2 or Mr. Boston I would certainly sell them. I can't get past level 6 or 7 on Minestorm 1 and Clean Sweep (Mr Boston) is a crap game.

 

I should have specified though that I was referring to the original GCE library. I do NOT have every homebrew.

Edited January 23, 2013 by gliptitude

[gliptitude]

Thanks for all of the info! I'm going to keep an eye out for one. What's a decent price for one and what would one need to look for (or look out for) to keep from getting a dud?

 

I have bought 9 of them (sold one of those and gave another away as a gift). Several are broken. None are for sale at the moment.

 

I generally try to pay 100 for working, 50 for non-working. It takes some hunting and I won't sell at these prices. If it is in really nice shape and includes the Minestorm overlay, I will pay a bit more. The best one I have is really good and I paid $140 for it. It is very easy to spend more than this.

 

Things to look out for:

 

- Sceen Off-Center - this is very common. I think it is fairly easy for a knowledgeable person to fix this, but I'm not that person. Slightly off center is not that big a deal, but the last one I bought was so off center that the top 25% of the game graphics are off screen (I paid $62 for that Vectrex). When it is that badly off center you really can't even play the games, let alone line up the graphics with the overlays. ... The easiest way to approximate how well the screen is centered is to look at the Vectrex boot screen ("entertaining new ideas"). Look at the rectangular border and make sure there is a semi-consistent margin between that border and the edges of the monitor. A little off center is acceptable.

 

-Controller functionality - Sometimes the springs in the joystick fail, leading to it not returning to center. Also many games entail excessive use of button 4, so that button is the most likely to stop working.

 

-Hopefully the seller has a game on cartridge to demonstrate the cartridge port. I bought one locally (with a small lot of rough condition carts/overlays for $75) which makes a grinding noise when you insert a cartridge. There is one I've seen on ebay that has a Solar Quest cart inserted while Minestorm is playing.

 

-Volume/Power knob and (rear) brightness knob. Make sure both are in tact and work. The volume knob on my everyday Vectrex is touchy (audio crackles and cuts in and out).

 

The easiest way to get a decent deal is to spend $300 to $400 on a large lot with games, on ebay. Often times there is less competition on those bigger lots.

Edited January 23, 2013 by gliptitude

[stc2009]

Hi where would I be able to find a complete list of games for the Vectrex? I'm being tempted to get one.....

[Jess Ragan]

I just feel compelled to say this- there's only one Vectrex logo in my mind, and that's the funky 1970s-flavored one used by GCE when the system was first launched. The Vectrex logo used by Milton Bradley in later systems and exclusively in the United Kingdom has no personality whatsoever.

[ilovethevectrex]

Hi where would I be able to find a complete list of games for the Vectrex? I'm being tempted to get one.....

there is a list on vectrexmuseum.com, and i already know them all anyways :/ there are 28 original games.

[+JasonlikesINTV]

I have bought 9 of them (sold one of those and gave another away as a gift). Several are broken. None are for sale at the moment.

 

I generally try to pay 100 for working, 50 for non-working. It takes some hunting and I won't sell at these prices. If it is in really nice shape and includes the Minestorm overlay, I will pay a bit more. The best one I have is really good and I paid $140 for it. It is very easy to spend more than this.

 

Things to look out for:

 

- Sceen Off-Center - this is very common. I think it is fairly easy for a knowledgeable person to fix this, but I'm not that person. Slightly off center is not that big a deal, but the last one I bought was so off center that the top 25% of the game graphics are off screen (I paid $62 for that Vectrex). When it is that badly off center you really can't even play the games, let alone line up the graphics with the overlays. ... The easiest way to approximate how well the screen is centered is to look at the Vectrex boot screen ("entertaining new ideas"). Look at the rectangular border and make sure there is a semi-consistent margin between that border and the edges of the monitor. A little off center is acceptable.

 

-Controller functionality - Sometimes the springs in the joystick fail, leading to it not returning to center. Also many games entail excessive use of button 4, so that button is the most likely to stop working.

 

-Hopefully the seller has a game on cartridge to demonstrate the cartridge port. I bought one locally (with a small lot of rough condition carts/overlays for $75) which makes a grinding noise when you insert a cartridge. There is one I've seen on ebay that has a Solar Quest cart inserted while Minestorm is playing.

 

-Volume/Power knob and (rear) brightness knob. Make sure both are in tact and work. The volume knob on my everyday Vectrex is touchy (audio crackles and cuts in and out).

 

The easiest way to get a decent deal is to spend $300 to $400 on a large lot with games, on ebay. Often times there is less competition on those bigger lots.

 

Thanks for all of the info! Very helpful!