Some 2600 homebrew thoughts

[+Cafeman]

I just bought my first Atari 2600 homebrews! Of course I've played many of them at shows before, and on emu, but being so busy I never got around to ordering any until... this week. Here are some thoughts:

 

1. Space Treat Deluxe. Since Caf Jr and I were already addicted to the ROM of this game via Z26, this was easy to decide upon. I love the multi-color objects and the Frogger/Reverse Frogger Gameplay. Tonight I, Caf Jr (8 yrs old), and Mrs Caf all sat down and tried a few rounds. (Mrs. Caf screamed the whole time as she died ). What excitement! Well, I like this game so much. I got to Level 11 with a score of 17,220 points so far. In a nutshell, it's fun, simple, brief, maddening, with minimal sounds and colorful graphics, and nice game! The manual, produced by AtariCart, reminds me in a few minor ways of the Koffi 5200 manual.

 

2. Skeleton+. I don't understand the rules quite yet -- every 5 kills it seems to advance to the next level. Some skeletons seem to take multiple hits. Do the mazes change? I can't tell yet. Another great game. After getting used to the game, I was zipping all through the maze zapping dem undead guys. I like how you'll see them looking sideways or with their bony backs to you! So far I've only killed 22 Skeletons in one game. Nice game over screen "Got You"!

 

3. Qb. I remember playing Qb back at Philly Classic 2 in 2001. At that time, I didn't even own a 2600. Well, this game has proven to be the most difficult for me to grasp. I need some practice time, to learn to move the platforms quickly and to get the timing down for throwing enemies off-screen. This is one cool little game though, I kind of fell in love with it the first time I saw it at the PC2 show.

 

4. SCSI-cide. I've been meaning to buy this for the longest time. I love the fact it is a paddles game. Tonight I got to really sit down and try my hand at it. My conclusions: wow does it get fast! Great twitch game!

[Big Player]

Hey, I just got two more homebrews as well. Taking advantage of the Labor Day weekend sale at the AA store I see. Me too.

 

I got QB also. Really like this game. A very addicting action-puzzle game. I would have bought it a lot sooner but I had no idea the ROM was released. I always like to try before I buy. But the emulator doesn't seem to do this justice. Well, maybe it's just my ancient laptop that I use. Really need to upgrade it but I do like to hang on to old electronics.

 

My second purchase was the Sythcart. I can see why this is a top selling 2600 homebrew. Damn, I can't believe those sounds are coming out of the 2600.

 

It's a nice cool night here in Cincy (all right, actually 20 miles north of town) so I opened up the screen door to my deck and give a performance to my neighbors. The only reaction I got was the guy across the courtyard closed his door. But he might have just got cold, since he's kept it closed since then, and I moved on to games of Starfire, Space Treat Deluxe and Euchre.

 

What held me from buying this is I wanted to see a demonstration of it first, on a real 2600, and it seems that the shows I attended before never had it on display. Well at AGE, I got a demonstration from Paul Slocum himself. Too cool. If you are at all into music, check this out.

[MeandMyC64]

20 miles north of cincy you say? i am playing my newest game mondo-pong in milford right now...maybe 20 miles northeast of cincy

 

right now i have decided i am not good enough at mondo-pong for a win over my girlfriend to not be luck...i takes some getting used to......and how the ball comes out of the back of the goal insted of starting over- i cant get used to that...but they game is super fun and fast paced!

[EricBall]

2. Skeleton+. I don't understand the rules quite yet -- every 5 kills it seems to advance to the next level. Some skeletons seem to take multiple hits. Do the mazes change? I can't tell yet. Another great game. After getting used to the game, I was zipping all through the maze zapping dem undead guys. I like how you'll see them looking sideways or with their bony backs to you! So far I've only killed 22 Skeletons in one game. Nice game over screen "Got You"!

 

Read The Fine Manual :wink:

 

Depending on the difficulty switches when you start the game, you will either need to kill 5 or 10 Skeletons per level. There are 8 levels in the game. Each level is a different maze, with different styles (long vs short corridors etc).

 

Each Skeleton will take more damage. So the first Skeleton has one life point, the second two, and so on. However, the damage you do is variable as well, so sometimes a Skeleton will take more or less shots to kill.

 

I'm glad that you enjoy playing Skeleton+.

[+DamonicFury]

I also took advantage of the wonderful Labor Day sale (thanks AtariAge!)

 

1. SCSIside... gets fast, fast, fast! Which is great! I've found that keeping a cool head works best even when it gets frantic... so far I've reached level 12 (which is level 19 in normal decimal notation)

 

2. Star Fire - FANTASTIC shoot 'em up! The arcade game was one of the first video games I ever played so it was great to play this cool conversion. And I really want that patch... but I've only been able to score 3200 so far. Must keep trying! :-)

 

3. Marble Craze - The dual paddle control take some serious getting used to! But the game is so unique and interesting that I intend to make that time! I've only gotten as far as the first "no walls" level at which I instantly die. But this is an amazing piece of programming... split screens, music, animated title screen... very nice.

 

4. Thrust Plus Platinum - WOW! What an addictive game. It's quite hard, but the challenge ramps up VERY nicely... you always think "I can do better next time" The graphics are very nice for a 2600 game and the control is very precise. Only reached level 4 so far, but it's nice how beating each level feels like such a MAJOR achievement... especially if you can manage to blow the planet on your way out. :-)

 

I had bought Space Treat Deluxe at this year's Philly Classic and it is quite wonderful as well... simple, addictive fun.

 

So thanks to all the very talented homebrew authors for adding such great games to my 2600 library. As a long, long time 2600 fan I appreciate these new games that take the system to it's limits VERY much!!

[DEBRO]

Reviews, reviews, reviews

 

Some buyers may not read the message boards (I can't imagine that).

[+Cafeman]

I agree, DEBRO. I like to read reviews too. When I've played each of these enough, I'll post reviews at the AA store.

[NE146]

I keep saying that I'll buy some homebrews.. then I end up just playing them on the Cuttle Cart .. Someday I will, hopefully they'll still be around by then

[DEBRO]

I agree, DEBRO. I like to read reviews too. When I've played each of these enough, I'll post reviews at the AA store.

[Xot]

2. Star Fire - FANTASTIC shoot 'em up!  The arcade game was one of the first video games I ever played so it was great to play this cool conversion.  And I really want that patch... but I've only been able to score 3200 so far.  Must keep trying!  :-)

 

You & me both! I had two straight 3200+ games tonight. Thought for sure I had it on the last game and then I took four hits in like seven seconds. DAMN, but that game gets FAST up around Wave 6.

[veganjay]

I've accumulated a bunch of hacks/homebrews as well, with recent additions being Asteroids DC+, Qb, Marble Craze and Jammed.

 

I must note that typically I am satisfied with playing Atari games solely on an emulator. However, I am more inclined to purchase a cartridge for any of the following reasons:

 

1) The game uses paddles/driving controller (Asteroids DC+, Marble Craze)

2) Cool graphics are on the cartridge (all of the above.)

3) Printed instructions are included (Qb, Marble Craze, Jammed)

4) Excellent gameplay (all of the above.)

 

Anyways, here's a quick review of each:

 

Asteroids DC+: Honestly, at first I was not sure if I would like the new "vector-style" graphics. However, now that I have played it on my 27" tv screen, I am impressed. The graphics are a great improvement over the original, with much less flicker. However, the key feature to this release is the optional use of driving controller. I must note that my gameplay strategy is to stay stationary (no thrusting), spin and shoot, using shields occasionally. And that is the only problem I have here: in order to use shields/thrust, you need to use the joystick controller (plugged in the other port). Please someone correct me if there is an alternative controlling method. I haven't quite mastered this combination of driver control/joystick yet, but overall I'd recommend this cartridge if you are an Asteroids fan.

 

Qb: Wow, this game is quite an original concept, and is basically a lot of fun. Don't get discouraged with learning how to play - this is one of the few Atari games where I needed to consult the manual first - perhaps I'm easily confused, but it is not complicated. It's a little difficult to describe the gameplay in text, but in short: you have to arrange blocks in a specified pattern, collect fruit, but avoid bad guys. This game combines old-school action-reflex, with trying to reach a puzzle-like goal. The graphics are impressive for an Atari 2600, and overall this type of game gets me excited about the homebrew scene. Definitely recommended.

 

Jammed: Ever play the puzzle board game "rush hour"? This is the video game version. It is a puzzle solving game, but unlike Qb, there is no reflexes involved here. The interface is intuitive, and if you liked "rush hour", you will like this game. There are about 600 puzzles on this cartridge that will keep you busy a long time.

 

Marble Craze: As you may know, this game has the most unique game control I've seen: you use both paddle controllers at the same time to manipulate the playing field in order to move the marble towards the goal. This will probably be difficult at first, and if you're not patient you might get frustrated and give up. In a couple of weeks, I'll probably be able to glide that ball through, but now I keep banging into walls and running out of time. Another interesting feature of this game is simulataneous two-player play. Unfortunately, I only have one set of paddle controllers, so I haven't been able to test this out yet. However, if you have even one set of paddle controllers (and two patient hands ), I'd recommend picking this up.

 

Anyways, hope I've been informative,

jason

[SS]

Asteroids DC+:  ... in order to use shields/thrust, you need to use the joystick controller (plugged in the other port).  Please someone correct me if there is an alternative controlling method ...

 

 

Foot Controller

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

[Rob Mitchell]

Asteroids DC+:  ... in order to use shields/thrust, you need to use the joystick controller (plugged in the other port).  Please someone correct me if there is an alternative controlling method ...

 

 

Driving Controller mounted inside an Atari Video Pinball deck .. and Starplex 5 button controller nearby makes these spinner games rock!

 

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

[+Cafeman]

I agree' date=' DEBRO. I like to read reviews too. When I've played each of these enough, I'll post reviews at the AA store.[/quote']

 

Okay, I posted brief reviews for SCSIcide, Space Treat Deluxe, Skeleton+, and Qb at their AtariAge pages. All 4 games are great & fun homebrews, there's nothing but positive comments I could ever state for all of them!

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Okay' date=' I posted brief reviews for SCSIcide, Space Treat Deluxe, Skeleton+, and Qb at their AtariAge pages. All 4 games are great & fun homebrews, there's nothing but positive comments I could ever state for all of them![/quote']

Very nice reviews!

 

Especially Andrew will love your Qb review, sinces you didn't mention Q*Bert at all.

[+Cafeman]

Especially Andrew will love your Qb review' date=' sinces you didn't mention Q*Bert at all. [/quote']

 

Yeah, I had a paragraph where I mentioned Q*bert, but there seems to be a hard-wired edit check in the Reviews software, a message popped up and said "Perhaps you'd like to remove that Q*bert comment before submitting that review? followed by 2 buttons, "Remove all Q*bert Comments" and "Remove all Q*bert Comments".

[Cybergoth]

[+Andrew Davie]

Especially Andrew will love your Qb review' date=' sinces you didn't mention Q*Bert at all. [/quote']

 

Yeah' date=' I had a paragraph where I mentioned Q*bert, but there seems to be a hard-wired edit check in the Reviews software, a message popped up and said "Perhaps you'd like to remove that Q*bert comment before submitting that review? followed by 2 buttons, "Remove all Q*bert Comments" and "Remove all Q*bert Comments". [/quote']

 

I asked Albert for that one. Qb reviews that mention Q*bert give me the shits!

[JB]

Especially Andrew will love your Qb review' date=' sinces you didn't mention Q*Bert at all. [/quote']

 

Yeah' date=' I had a paragraph where I mentioned Q*bert, but there seems to be a hard-wired edit check in the Reviews software, a message popped up and said "Perhaps you'd like to remove that Q*bert comment before submitting that review? followed by 2 buttons, "Remove all Q*bert Comments" and "Remove all Q*bert Comments". [/quote']

 

I asked Albert for that one. Qb reviews that mention Q*bert give me the shits!

If only everyone's medical problems were so easily tracable.

[+Cafeman]

Can I assume that Qb has been compared to Q*bert a few times in the past, is that what this in-joke is all about? Is it because of the Q and the b, or the hopping I wonder?

 

Ooops, look out Davie household, Andrew needs the bathroom again....

 

BTW, I laughed when I read the manual's instructions ... something like "insert the Qb cartridge into the Atari 2600 cartridge slot. Assuming it does not catch fire, you will see Qb going into a demo mode..."

[+Andrew Davie]

Can I assume that Qb has been compared to Q*bert a few times in the past' date=' is that what this in-joke is all about? Is it because of the Q and the b, or the hopping I wonder?

 

Ooops, look out Davie household, Andrew needs the bathroom again....

 

BTW, I laughed when I read the manual's instructions ... something like "insert the Qb cartridge into the Atari 2600 cartridge slot. Assuming it does not catch fire, you will see Qb going into a demo mode..." [/quote']

 

 

For some quite bizarre reason, reviewers have tended to say the game is a bit like Q*bert. I like to think Qb is a fairly original game concept, and it's pleasing to see such a positive review refrain from mentioning "that other game".

[rolenta]

In the new edition of ABC To The VCS, QB appears in the chapter on logic games, not in the chapter on Q*Bert-type games.