What have you actually PLAYED tracker for 2023 (Season 16)

[carlsson]

Acorn Electron:
Bird Strike - 13 min.
Invaders [IJK Software] - 16 min.
Microball - 26 min.

 

Creativision:
Astro Pinball - 6 min.
Chopper Rescue - 8 min.
Crazy Chicky - 5 min.
Stone Age - 3 min.

 

Epoch Super Cassette Vision:
Astrowars: Invader from Space - 5 min.
Nebula - 16 min.
Punch Boy - 9 min.

 

Interton VC-4000/APVS 1292:
Pinball - 4 min.
Super Knockout - 17 min.
Super Space - 3 min.

 

RCA Studio II:
Berzerk - 2 min.
Bowling - 14 min.
Kaboom - 2 min.
Pac-Man - 8 min.
Pinball - 9 min.

 

Since I'm unlikely to play any retro games on New Year's Eve, I'm posting one day early. Inspired by the query which systems haven't been played this year, I dug out no less than five systems from my collection to cycle through some games. The fact that I played some kind of pinball game on four of these was no coincidence, I wanted to compare the different games. Microball though being of the old school definitely is far superior the even older games. Pinball on the 1292 has the feature that if you use the flipper to hold the ball too long, it decreases your score. Astro Pinball on the Creativision looks the part, but plays very much like a 1978 game despite being made in 1981/82 (and here I compare to the gold standard of its day, Night Mission).

 

I did skip COMX-35 (because it doesn't load anything), CP/M (because I don't have a serial connection for my N8VEM), Oric-1 (because it freezes after a while when certain keys are pressed) and Sord M5 (because I couldn't bother digging that far into the closet) so those will have to wait for another year or someone else to play them.

 

I'm intending to do regular stats on Tuesday evening, could delay it to Wednesday if required. Then I'll do end of year stats in the next weekend. In the mean time, I'll set up the front end (AA thread) for the new, unified tracker and do the back end (Excel) later.

[oyamafamily]

ATARI 2600:

Alien - 145 minutes

Jr. Pac-Man - 70 minutes

Solar Fox - 50 minutes

 

ATARI 5200:

Galaxian - 90 minutes

 

NES / FAMICOM:

Formula One: Built to Win - 5 minutes

 

SEGA SG-1000

Borderline - 20 minutes

Exerion - 25 minutes

Gulkave - 50 minutes

Monaco GP - 35 minutes

Orguss - 20 minutes

Sega Flipper - 30 minutes

Sega Galaga - 10 minutes

Space Invaders - 15 minutes

Star Force - 30 minutes

Super Tank - 15 minutes

Edited December 31, 2023 by oyamafamily

[Kurt_Woloch]

Here are my times for this past week (December 25th through 31st, 2023) on classic systems:

 

Arcade:

Bomb Kick - 34 min.

Bonanza Bros - 16 min.

Bouncing Balls - 19 min.

Brain - 22 min.

Breywood - 111 min. in 2 sessions

 

This week I continued my quest to play arcade games in alphabetical order. Bomb Kick is another game of the formula pioneered by Mario Bros. with levels consisting of single screens where you have to throw bombs at various enemies which turns them into fruit which you then have to collect. One of the enemies is kind of a worm which is hard to eliminate.

 

Bonanza Bros is a game where you have to find various objects in a mostly side-scrolling area. Sadly, I couldn't find my way through the 2nd level already.

 

Bouncing balls is kind of a puzzle game where balls of different values fall down, and you have to find the correct chute for them in order to reach some point value exactly. I remember having played this when it came out in the arcade back in, I think, 1991.

 

Brain is a side-scrolling shooter with some twists. One is that you can fly up and down at well which causes the screen to scroll accordingly and even stops the steady scrolling from right to left.

 

Breywood was the most interesting game of this week. Its concept is similar to Gauntlet, but there are also differences. You have Golems hidden behind doors which you can open to free them, at which point they will join your party, increasing firepower and giving you an additional weapon to choose from. Behind other doors there are armadas of Zombies which, if killed, not only give points but also coins you can collect to replenish your constantly ticking down life energy. The goal of each floor (level) is to pick up a key and open the door to the exit. 

 

Edited December 31, 2023 by Kurt_Woloch

[+thegoldenband]

On 12/30/2023 at 2:05 AM, wongojack said:

Black box Tennis is a game that I have a soft spot for.  I wound up at a point when I was a kid where I would travel with my dad for an extended period of time and stay in a hotel.  I didn't have any portable video games, but one of the shops in the bottom of this (mall adjacent) hotel had a vs. cab with Tennis.  Why they had that game in the cab is a mystery to this day, but I would go down and plunk quarters in it anyway.  I had fun improving and beating the first few levels, so I ended up buying the cart.

 

I can't remember ever beating difficulty level 5 although I guess I may have done it.  Since there's no one else on the internet that I know of who is more likely to have beaten diff 5, I thought I'd dig up this comment and ask you for some tips.

 

Can you recommend any strategies for this much maligned Tennis <cough> simulation.

Oh, jeez. Well, first thing is that I loathe black-box Tennis and have exactly the opposite feeling. Here's what I wrote about it, 21 minutes into 2018:

 

On 1/1/2018 at 12:21 AM, thegoldenband said:

55. Tennis (NES)

 

Maybe it's anti-nostalgia talking, but I've always hated this game ever since, as a curious kid, I put a quarter into the arcade version, double-faulted four times, and was out 25 cents with nothing to show for it -- nearly putting me off tennis games for good. I hate its joyless controls, its backboard CPU opponents, its cockamamie ball dynamics that bear no resemblance to real tennis, and so much more about it.

 

Still, in my quest to beat all tennis games I had to face this one eventually, and after some practice I was able to beat the Level 5 opponent twice in a row, 6-2 6-3 in both matches, to finally put a stake in this childhood nemesis of mine. And in truth, it's a bit more playable than I originally thought -- I even learned to serve aces -- and heck, it's one of the only tennis games out there that actually offers a challenge and can't be completely mastered with simple patterns.

 

I still hate it, though. D.

In 2017, I think the core of my strategy on Level 5 was an attacking, net-rushing approach. The timing on that is quite tight but from memory, if you can drive the CPU back with lobs, it may throw up a relatively weak shot that you can crush with an overhead smash. Then again, when I beat it again in 2022, I wrote something about using a bunch of passing shots, so...???

 

I also wrote this in 2022: "I hate the CPU in this game. Any tennis game where the CPU never hits anything out is fundamentally flawed in a deep way -- there has to be a relationship between shot selection, risk, and court placement that results in errors. At least it double faults or hits volleys into the net sometimes." So...yeah.

[+wongojack]

5 hours ago, thegoldenband said:

Oh, jeez. Well, first thing is that I loathe black-box Tennis and have exactly the opposite feeling. Here's what I wrote about it, 21 minutes into 2018:

 

In 2017, I think the core of my strategy on Level 5 was an attacking, net-rushing approach. The timing on that is quite tight but from memory, if you can drive the CPU back with lobs, it may throw up a relatively weak shot that you can crush with an overhead smash. Then again, when I beat it again in 2022, I wrote something about using a bunch of passing shots, so...???

 

I also wrote this in 2022: "I hate the CPU in this game. Any tennis game where the CPU never hits anything out is fundamentally flawed in a deep way -- there has to be a relationship between shot selection, risk, and court placement that results in errors. At least it double faults or hits volleys into the net sometimes." So...yeah.

Everything you said rings true.  The thing that really gets me in this game is that sometimes you can pass over the computer at the net without lobbing and sometimes you cannot.  There's no real way to control the power of your shot other than to pick lob or volley.  And I definitely relate to your comment about the computer never hitting it out.  It is VERY easy to hit it out as a human - SO frustrating.

 

I will work my way up to level 5.  I'm still trying to beat level 4.  I'll report back on my level of resilience.

[+cvga]

Played my new Analogue Duo some this week...

 

Devil's Crush  45 minutes

Final Lap Twin 52 minutes

Y's Book I & II - 202 minutes

Drop Off - 34 minutes

Loderunner - 26 minutes

TV Sports Basketball - 30 minutes

Galaga '90 - 18 minutes

[DragonGrafx-16]

We really need to make PC Engine/TG-16 HuCard and CD games the top two consoles this first week of the year. (2024 tracker) heh

[+jgkspsx]

Answering the call of the arcade and also of various things I wished I had done more of in 2023.

Arcade:

Gradius II/Vulcan Venture - 35 minutes

Gravitar - 15 minutes

Rabio Lepus - 15 minutes

Scramble - 10 minutes

Tail Gunner - 20 minutes

I got a PiTrex from a Secret Santa this year and so can run arcade games in emulation on my Vectrex now. And other fun things like Bad Apple:

I still feel weird about locking out the Vectrex CPU, but this game is so fun I can't really complain.

 

Tempest - 15 minutes

 

Thunder Cross (International) - 35 minutes

Thunder Cross (JP) - 35 minutes

The international version of this is incredibly dumbed down from the JP original, but oddly Konami shares leaderboards for both on their arcade compilation.

 

Tiger Heli (International) - 20 minutes

Twin Cobra (International) - 30 minutes

Typhoon (European version of A-Jax) - 20 minutes

Weird game. Tries to be ambitious, leaves me wishing I was playing Gyruss instead.

 

Famicom Disk System:

Mysterious Murasame Castle - 25 minutes

 

Genesis:

Psycho Pinball - 20 minutes

 

Intellivision:

Night Stalker - 15 minutes

 

NES:

Tiger Heli - 20 minutes

PC Engine:

Bomberman - 20 minutes

Kyukyoku Tiger - 35 minutes

Awesome port.

 

Virtual Boy:

Hyper Fighting - 35 minutes

Beat the game with Chun Li. She is overpowered in this by an extreme amount.

Jack Bros - 20 minutes

If only I spoke Japanese, I would get a lot more out of the game's direction.
Virtual WarZone - 20 minutes

Not a simple BattleZone clone, but a fusion of BattleZone with Scorched Earth... where it's really challenging to hit enemies.

[Atarian7]

Atari 2600

Kaboom! - 132 minutes

Solar Fox - 33 minutes

 

 

[+thegoldenband]

8 hours ago, wongojack said:

Everything you said rings true.  The thing that really gets me in this game is that sometimes you can pass over the computer at the net without lobbing and sometimes you cannot.  There's no real way to control the power of your shot other than to pick lob or volley.  And I definitely relate to your comment about the computer never hitting it out.  It is VERY easy to hit it out as a human - SO frustrating.

 

I will work my way up to level 5.  I'm still trying to beat level 4.  I'll report back on my level of resilience.

One thing I'm trying to remember is how I was serving aces (something that often marks a sea change when playing any tennis game -- free points are free points). I came to use a quick double-tap motion when serving, hitting the ball on the way up since it's easier than timing the descent, but I can't remember whether I tweaked that to hit aces or if I had to learn a more traditional timing.

 

Also, I'm sure you know this, but remember that you have to win two matches to clear a level, and the second is one tier up in difficulty except for Level 5. If you're playing two matches on Level 4 and almost winning the second, you'll soon have what you need to clear Level 5!

[+thegoldenband]

No gameplay time for me this week. I did play a bit after midnight but I'll count that in 2024!

[Keir]

Week of 12/25/23 - 12/31/23

 

Atari 2600

Mr. Do's Castle - 10

 

Commodore 64

Might and Magic - 300

Miner 2049er - 70

 

Total time = 380 minutes

 

Yup, I'm back to playing Might and Magic! I'm 43 hours in and who knows how many more to go. Maybe if I just wanted to beat the game I'd be done already, but I'm mapping out every square by hand (well, by mouse actually since I'm using Excel and not graph paper like I used to do).

 

I'm also trying to make it through all 10 levels of Miner 2049er. The later levels quire a lot of jumps that need to be done just right so it takes a lot of trial and error. I'm using save states every time I reach a new level so that I effectively have infinite lives, but I'm not using them in the middle of levels so I still have to complete each one perfectly to continue. I've finally made it to level 10 which doesn't seem too hard so I think I'll beat it soon. Level 7 was definitely the toughest (I was beginning to think it unbeatable until I realized that the "RR" at the top of the screen was an item I could get).

[+wongojack]

1 hour ago, thegoldenband said:

One thing I'm trying to remember is how I was serving aces (something that often marks a sea change when playing any tennis game -- free points are free points). I came to use a quick double-tap motion when serving, hitting the ball on the way up since it's easier than timing the descent, but I can't remember whether I tweaked that to hit aces or if I had to learn a more traditional timing.

 

Also, I'm sure you know this, but remember that you have to win two matches to clear a level, and the second is one tier up in difficulty except for Level 5. If you're playing two matches on Level 4 and almost winning the second, you'll soon have what you need to clear Level 5!

Regarding the serve, I can remember hitting the ball on the way up too, but I don't think I got consistent enough with it.  Maybe it works for a while, but when the speed changes you have to adjust.  I'll experiment and report back.  Also, when you win a match, the game gives you the next level opponent.  So if you defeat level 3 then you get level 4 next.  Besides the play speed, the game is helpful enough to change the shirt color of your opponent.  How nice of them.

 

I'm sure as a kid that I beat level 4 and faced level 5 because I remember being blown away by the speed - that's why I think I never managed to beat level 5 back then.  I may have been a little better about knowing my limitations and walking away - lol

[+wongojack]

My times for the last week of 2023

 

NES

• Mike Tyson's Punch Out 425
• Rygar 267
• Tennis 197

 

Yes, I spent time playing Tennis, but I also finally beat Mike Tyson.  After 35+ years, I finally got him.  It took some 2023 tricks as I was able to use the PowerPak to load states and practice against him to perfect my timing, but I've now beaten him several times.  I still need to complete a run at the secret Another World Circuit, but I'll get him on that eventually too.

 

I also finally beat another childhood holdout in Rygar.  Here's a game that really pissed me off when I was a kid.  I didn't like the graphics, gameplay, and repetitive requirements to grind (even though I wouldn't have called it that back then).  However, in 2023 this is a refreshing break and reminder of how an action/adventure game could come to market in a much simpler time.  It's so short that even today as an indie game, I don't think it could bring even a $5 price tag . . . and yet, I had a lot of fun with it last week.

 

Check out my writeup in the completions thread here:  https://forums.atariage.com/topic/345832-games-beaten-in-2023/?do=findComment&comment=5378169

 

[TheGameCollector]

I didn't have time to play at the end of the year so there won't be any more from me in here.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

Last post for 2023! Looks like I'll be finishing Ocarina of Time in 2024 

 

 

Game Boy

Boggle Plus - 29 minutes

 

Game Boy Color

Monopoly - 138 minutes

 

Nintendo 64

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

- 40 minutes

 

[+jgkspsx]

Late breaking addendum:

 

Atari Jaguar CD:

 

Baldies - 45 minutes

I do not know how to play this game. I tried very hard.

 

Highlander: The Last of the Macleods - 25 minutes

I killed the first guard easily and was very confident of my combat abilities. The second one killed me before I even landed a hit.

 

Primal Rage - 15 minutes

I won, uh, one match at least?

[agb]

Atari 2600

 

Asteroids 43

Solar Fox 89

 

[Hwlngmad]

Here are my totals from my family's recent trip to Virginia.  They were:

 

GBC

1) Balloon Fight GB - 15 minutes

2) Uno - 30 minutes

[carlsson]

Here's the summary for Week 52, running from December 25 - 31. We logged 3845 minutes of eligible play, playing 82 games on a total of 21 systems.

 

Top 10:

 

1. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! (NES/Famicom) - 425 min. (#1)
2. Might and Magic (Commodore 64) - 300 min.
3. Rygar (NES/Famicom) - 267 min.
4. Solar Fox (Atari 2600) - 263 min. (#5)
5. Ys Book I & II: Ancient Ys Vanished (US) (TG-CD/PC Engine CD) - 202 min.
6. Tennis (NES/Famicom) - 197 min.
7. Alien (Atari 2600) - 145 min.
8. Monopoly (Game Boy Color) - 138 min. (#7)
9. Kaboom! (Atari 2600) - 132 min.
10. Breywood (Arcade) - 111 min.

 

Pre-NES top 10:

 

1. Might and Magic (Commodore 64) - 300 min.
2. Solar Fox (Atari 2600) - 263 min. (PN#1)
3. Alien (Atari 2600) - 145 min.
4. Kaboom! (Atari 2600) - 132 min. (PN#6)
5. Galaxian (Atari 5200) - 90 min.
6. Jr. Pac-Man (Atari 2600) - 70 min.
6. Miner 2049er (Commodore 64) - 70 min.
8. Gulkave (SG-1000) - 50 min.
9. Asteroids (Atari 2600) - 43 min.
10. Monaco GP (SG-1000) - 35 min.
 

Top 10 systems:

 

1. NES/Famicom (5 games) - 914 min. (#1)
2. Atari 2600 (7 games) - 669 min. (#5)
3. Arcade (16 games) - 452 min. (#3)
4. Commodore 64 (2 games) - 370 min. (#10)
5. TG-16/PC Engine (8 games) - 260 min.
6. SG-1000 (10 games) - 250 min.
7. TG-CD/PC Engine CD (1 game) - 202 min.
8. Game Boy Color (3 games) - 183 min. (#7)
9. Atari 5200 (1 game) - 90 min.
10. Atari Jaguar CD (3 games) - 85 min.

 

The classic tracker of 2023 ends with another knock-out in form of Mike Tyson's Punch-Out, with the pre-NES game Might and Magic on the C64 in strong second place. The Atari 2600 makes a strong comeback from last week but it still 4+ hours away from the NES/Famicom.

 

No changes to the 1000, 5000, 10000 Minute Clubs.

 

Full end of year stats will be posted later this week, as well as a new thread for the 2024 tracker.

[Hwlngmad]

While I am sure this will go on the 2024 tracker, here are yesterday's (1/3) totals:

 

Arcade

1) Pac & Pal - 10 minutes

2) Pac-Land - 10 minutes

3) Pac-Man Arrangement - 15 minutes

[carlsson]

Cool, I will add those figures later.

 

Here is the link to the 2024 tracker:

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/359137-what-have-you-played-weekly-tracker-2024-all-generations/

 

Edited January 4 by carlsson

[Hwlngmad]

10 minutes ago, carlsson said:

Cool, I will add those figures later.

 

Here is the link to the 2024 tracker:

https://forums.atariage.com/topic/359137-what-have-you-played-weekly-tracker-2024-all-generations/

 

Much appreciated, and I will use the new tracker going forward

[+wongojack]

Hey time trackers, last year I did a post where I put all the games I played into tiers.  I thought I'd do it again for you below.  I had fun going back and revisiting the games I played.  For classic "High Score" type games, I only included those that I played more than 200 mins (not many this year).

A 

• Fallout New Vegas - X360
• Mike Tyson's Punch Out - NES
• Shovel Knight - PS4

B 

• Assassin's Creed Chronicles China - XBox S/X
• Battlefield Bad Company 2 (single player) - X360
• Castlevania Symphony of the Night - X360
• Call of Duty: Black Ops (single player) - X360
• Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare (single player) - X360 
• Dead Space 3 - X360
• Fallout Shelter - XBox S/X
• Forza Horizon 5 - Xbox S/X
• Out of Space: Couch Edition - Xbox S/X
• Retro Bowl College - Browser
• Spy Hunter - NES 

C 

• Catacombs of the Undercity - PC
• Escape from Monkey Island - PS2
• Ico - PS2
• Life is Strange - Xbox S/X
• Rygar - NES
• Wandersong - PC 

D 

• Onsen Master - Xbox S/X
• River City Ransom - NES

F 

• Pong Quest - PC

  

Games I didn't finish, but I will give a preliminary rating 

• Infernax - A
• Minecraft - B 
• Dreams - B 
• Hand of Fate 2 - C 
• It Takes Two - C
   

 

If I had to pick a top game for 'S' tier, it would be Mike Tyson's Punch Out.  It took me more than 35 years to beat him, so he wins out.   When I asked my wife which game should be #1, she said "pick one that makes you feel like you are having fun, not one you yell at."  She was down on MTPO and would have gone with Out of Space instead.  There was still a fair amount of yelling with Out of Space, but I guess it was different as a co-op game.  Interesting that she didn't select Minecraft which we played together more than any game in our 20+ year history of marriage.

 

It was an interesting year because I played a lot of games that I can't really rate.  I went through a long stretch where I was playing games in my PC services libraries that are 120mb or less.  I would start them up and play them anywhere from 10 mins to an hour.  This meant I got a lot of variety but not a lot of completions.  I also didn't participate in as many "High Score" contests.  As a result, when I compare to 2022 I have fewer games on the list and A LOT fewer classic games.  Another thing that jumps out when comparing to '22 is that similar games were scored lower last year.  For example, I put Retro Bowl in the C tier last year, but Retro Bowl College is a B tier game in '23.  I also had Blood Stone 007 in the C tier last year, but it is a very similar game to the single player FPS games I played at the end of this year (which I put in B tier).

 

Edit - my XBox One broke this year, so it is hard to decide if a game should be XBox S/X or One.  Technically the S/X does everything the One does.

[carlsson]

Overall summary for 2023

 

In 2023, we played 2004 different games on 76 different systems, for a total of 187,823 minutes of gameplay. Briefly put, we're back to pandemic levels.

 

All-time total number of minutes in the tracker: 2,918,729 minutes (2022: 2,730,906 min, 2021: 2,493,702 min)

All-time total number of games recorded: 11973 games (2022: 11318 games, 2021: 10398 games)

All-time total number of systems recorded: 135 (2022: 133 systems, 2021: 126 systems)

 

Number of games
2016: 2185 games
2017: 2041 games
2018: 1736 games
2019: 1539 games
2020: 1459 games
2021: 2101 games
2022: 2312 games
2023: 2004 games

 

Number of systems
2016: 82 systems
2017: 87 systems
2018: 79 systems
2019: 62 systems
2020: 52 systems
2021: 66 systems
2022: 78 systems
2023: 76 systems

 

Total amount of gameplay
2016: 245,717 minutes
2017: 283,314 minutes
2018: 222,720 minutes
2019: 189,903 minutes
2020: 156,530 minutes
2021: 224,835 minutes
2022: 237,053 minutes
2023: 187,823 minutes

 

All-time top 10 biggest weeks in number of minutes

1. 13011 min (Week 35, 2015)
2. 10622 min (Week 3, 2017)
3. 10282 min (Week 31, 2015)
4. 10157 min (Week 4, 2017)
5. 10140 min (Week 43, 2015)
6. 10079 min (Week 6, 2016)
7. 9996 min (Week 1, 2017)
8. 9134 min (Week 3, 2022)
9. 8763 min (Week 50, 2015)
10. 8499 min (Week 12, 2017)

 

This season's best: 5688 mins in week 1.

 

All-time most games played in a single week

1. 218 games (Week 17, 2017)
2. 213 games (Week 42, 2015)
3. 185 games (Week 44, 2016)
4. 183 games (Week 43, 2015)
5. 180 games (Week 15, 2017)
6. 151 games (Week 1, 2010)
7. 135 games (Week 3, 2022)
7. 129 games (Week 13, 2021)
8. 124 games (Week 30, 2016)
8. 124 games (Week 45, 2023) <- new
10. 122 games (Week 10, 2021)