It's better on the 2600...

[Gregory DG]

Name a game that you detested in the arcades (or other game console) that appeared on the 2600.

 

Mine has got to be Xenophobe. I absolutely hated that game in the arcade but the 2600 version is a ton of fun! The arcade game seemed too slow to me and there were (I think) too many controls to remember. The 2600 version is simple, elegant, and enjoyable!

[Brian R.]

While I may still be amazed by the fact they even tried to port Xenophobe to the 2600, I'd hardly consider it a good game. (Yes, I have it.) This game was really out of the 2600's league.

 

The 7800 version is OK, but Xenophobe doesn't really shine on an Atari system until you get to the Lynx, IMO.

 

I remember the arcade machine. It was quite an impressive beast - very large, with the split screen.

[NE146]

While I may still be amazed by the fact they even tried to port Xenophobe to the 2600, I'd hardly consider it a good game. (Yes, I have it.) This game was really out of the 2600's league.

 

Imagine if it was never ported and someone today said they were thinking about doing Xenophobe on the 2600.. I wonder how many people out there would chime in with the old "It's impossible" or "Xenophobe on the 2600 would be so crippled and crappy, it's not even worth it to try". etc.

 

The same could be said about Crystal Castles

[Gregory DG]

Name a game that you detested in the arcades (or other game console) that appeared on the 2600.

 

That should read:

 

Name a game that you detested in the arcades (or other game console) that you actually LIKED BETTER on the 2600.

 

Of course I know you have it Brian. You got it for a buck!

[Inky]

Name a game that you detested in the arcades (or other game console) that appeared on the 2600.

 

That should read:

 

Name a game that you detested in the arcades (or other game console) that you actually LIKED BETTER on the 2600.

 

Of course I know you have it Brian. You got it for a buck!

 

I would say... Pac-Man. I always hated the fact that the Ghosts didn't flicker in thearcade version.

 

Seriously though... I'd say Mouse Trap. I didn't care for all the buttons on the arcade game, but the 2600 version really got around that in a brilliant way!

[+Random Terrain]

I can't think of one game. The arcade versions were almost always better because of the great graphics, the crap your pants sound quality, the superb controls, and the excitement of being in a large room full of cool arcade games that gave the whole place a magical feeling.

 

Arcades from 1982 to around 1984 were great and then things started to slowly go downhill because most of the games got "Nintendo-ized" so it was basically nothing but punchy-kicky games, Super Mario-looking stuff, and generic racing games. There were a few gems thrown in, but in the NES and Super NES years, that's when I could say I'd rather play the games at home since the magical feeling at the arcades was gone, the games looked almost as good at home anyway, and you could cheat with the Game Genie and have invincibility, unlimited ammo, and other amazing things never available before.

[Brian R.]

Name a game that you detested in the arcades (or other game console) that appeared on the 2600.

 

That should read:

 

Name a game that you detested in the arcades (or other game console) that you actually LIKED BETTER on the 2600.

 

Of course I know you have it Brian. You got it for a buck!

 

... wow, I had almost forgotten I wrote that. It's weird reading something I wrote, but feeling like I'm reading it for the first time. Looks like in that I was more complimentary to the 2600 version than I was here. Of course, I haven't played 2600 Xeno for a while.

[+SpiceWare]

The arcade versions were almost always better because of the great graphics...

I think that's a big part of why arcade systems lost their appeal. Why go shove quarters into a machine when you can get the same, or even better, at home? Are any arcade systems using HDTV quality displays? All the ones I've seen still use NTSC.

[rasty]

Hi!

The arcade versions were almost always better because of the great graphics...

I think that's a big part of why arcade systems lost their appeal. Why go shove quarters into a machine when you can get the same, or even better, at home?

For me, most of the appeal of arcade games is currently about exotic hardware solutions: rythm games for example.

But not the graphics anymore, that's for sure!

 

Anyway back on topic, I definitely second Mouse Trap!

Space Invaders is also a title I don't quite like very much in the arcades, but enjoy on the 2600.

 

Oh and Carnival for sure! Choppy as hell in its Arcade counterpart, smooth and fun on the 2600.. if only it had the Bear level or at least a 6-digit score display...

 

Regards,

Rasty.-

[Voch]

I was never any good at the arcade Asteroids but I like the 2600 version a lot.

 

Voch

[JB]

The arcade versions were almost always better because of the great graphics...

I think that's a big part of why arcade systems lost their appeal. Why go shove quarters into a machine when you can get the same, or even better, at home? Are any arcade systems using HDTV quality displays? All the ones I've seen still use NTSC.

A few use higher-resolution monitors.

 

Earliest example I know of is Hard Drivin'.

 

Unfortunately, a standard JAMMA cabinet uses a standard resolution monitor, and most modern games are JAMMA.

[Godzilla]

actually i almost always liked the 2600 version better than the arcade games, i enjoyed the game play more. Solar Fox is tops in this category though, for I feel it really improved on the arcade game.

[Scooterb23]

My first thought was Defender. Even though it flickered badly, I felt that the controls of Defender on the 2600 were so much better than the arcade (it wasn't until last year that I was able to play more than 1 level on arcade Defender...)

[Brad2600]

I think the 2600 version of Tapper is nice..though I've never seen the arcade version.

[ubersaurus]

The arcade versions were almost always better because of the great graphics...

I think that's a big part of why arcade systems lost their appeal. Why go shove quarters into a machine when you can get the same, or even better, at home? Are any arcade systems using HDTV quality displays? All the ones I've seen still use NTSC.

 

Well, home systems were getting good arcade ports ever since the colecovision and 5200 era. No, what the arcade had over home systems was that you had a social atmosphere to hang out with other people who loved games. Problem is, most arcades were so nasty that you just didn't want to go in there, period, or they didn't take good care of their machines, and whatnot.

[+Random Terrain]

ubersaurus, I never interacted with anyone in an arcade, I just went to play the games. Never had a Colecovision or a 5200, so if you wanted good graphics and sound and only had an Atari 2600, arcades were your only choice. My ideal time at an arcade back then would have been to rent it out after it was closed (with no other people there). That would have been great.

[D.Yancey]

Arcades that were owed/managed by game players were so much better. These folks went around each day and tested each game to make sure all buttons and controllers functioned and that coin slots were not jammed etc. They had high scores verified and logged for each machine and sometimes had contests and prizes. Players had incentive to show up and play. Today, I see a striking similarity in Pool/billiard rooms. None seem to be sucessful unless a player runs the show. He knows what everyone wants and how to challenge the players. He knows how to maintain the equiptment, so poeple will retrun to play again. The cloth and house cues are in good condition and clean. Competitions are held! Enough rambling.

 

Many of the very very early arcade games are as good or better on Atari. Like Space Invaders that was mentioned. Maybe Crossbow too. Bowling is another. Very early versions of bowling don't match the Atari version. Old sports games were not as good as Real sports versions..... Lunar Lander was not as good as the landing sequence of Cosmic Commuter on the 2600!

[Osbo]

ops

[Osbo]

Reactor it's a very nice port... Moon Patrol it's another one with Centipede, Missile Command, those are the ones I can think of right now, oh of course... Frogger

[King Atari]

Name a game that you detested in the arcades (or other game console) that appeared on the 2600.

 

Mine has got to be Xenophobe. I absolutely hated that game in the arcade but the 2600 version is a ton of fun! The arcade game seemed too slow to me and there were (I think) too many controls to remember. The 2600 version is simple, elegant, and enjoyable!

 

Thank you (but I did like the arcade, too).

[PaulEMoz]

Pitfall II. It's the same game on the Commodore 64 as on the Atari, but amazingly the music is better on the 2600, making the game more enjoyable to play.

[Inky]

Pitfall II.  It's the same game on the Commodore 64 as on the Atari, but amazingly the music is better on the 2600, making the game more enjoyable to play.

 

But the home version came before the arcade version.

 

But, Gregory didn't specify WHICH should come first, so yeah, I would agree with you.

[PaulEMoz]

Pitfall II.  It's the same game on the Commodore 64 as on the Atari, but amazingly the music is better on the 2600, making the game more enjoyable to play.

 

But the home version came before the arcade version.

 

But, Gregory didn't specify WHICH should come first, so yeah, I would agree with you.

 

Is there an arcade version? I know the 2600 version was first, because I remember being furious with my "friend" at the time, when we were in a shop selling Atari cartridges for a fiver each, and they had one copy of Pitfall II which I hadn't seen, and he bought it JUST BECAUSE HE KNEW I WANTED IT!!

 

Anyway, the Commodore 64 conversion has a dull, lifeless version of the original tune, which really spoils the game for me.

[Inky]

Pitfall II.  It's the same game on the Commodore 64 as on the Atari, but amazingly the music is better on the 2600, making the game more enjoyable to play.

 

But the home version came before the arcade version.

 

But, Gregory didn't specify WHICH should come first, so yeah, I would agree with you.

 

Is there an arcade version? I know the 2600 version was first, because I remember being furious with my "friend" at the time, when we were in a shop selling Atari cartridges for a fiver each, and they had one copy of Pitfall II which I hadn't seen, and he bought it JUST BECAUSE HE KNEW I WANTED IT!!

 

Anyway, the Commodore 64 conversion has a dull, lifeless version of the original tune, which really spoils the game for me.

 

Yep, Pitfall 2 by SEGA. The rom is available for MAME...

[Room 34]

These have both already been said, but I liked both Space Invaders and Defender for the 2600 better than the arcade versions. Of course, I played the 2600 versions of each before I had played them in arcades, too. But I really hated the clunky way the invaders inched across the screen in arcade S.I, and although arcade Defender had better graphics (and just very cool-looking ones, at that), I found the controls to be ridiculously difficult, making the game almost unplayable.

 

Of course, I was a little too young to hang around arcades back in the 2600 era, so naturally I played most games at home first, and then occasionally my dad would give me a quarter to try the arcade versions if we happened to see one at a hotel we were staying at, etc.