+LS650 Posted November 19, 2023 Share Posted November 19, 2023 Although my 2600+ is still somewhere in shipping, my Berzerk Enhanced arrived today. I plugged it into my old 2600 Jr. and played it for about 25 minutes. Berzerk is one of my favorite 2600 games, and it plays great on my Junior. The speech definitely adds to the game, and the occasional diagonal shot from the robots adds extra challenge. A few minor caveats: - When you're playing $30 plus shipping for a game, it really ought to come with some printed instructions. I get that a color booklet might be an expense, but maybe include a single sheet of paper explaining what the difficulty switches and level settings do. I guess I'll need to google up the original instruction manual so I remember how to turn on Evil Otto, etc. - The sleeve is a nice extra. However, instead of an Atari fuji, I suggest that the back of the sleeve would have been a great place for a table showing the different settings. - What exactly is the game saying? "Humanoid must not escape" is obvious, but some of the other phrases are really hard to understand... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+LS650 Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 A little googling found this very helpful table. Apparently the A/B difficulty switches do nothing. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tradyblix Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 (edited) I have a copy on pre-order. It's sold out atm (?) I guess. Still, it would have been SO nice to have a third voice sample or 4 voice samples to alternate endings and between rooms. Just having 2 is a bit repetitive. I'll take it tho Edited November 21, 2023 by tradyblix 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tradyblix Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 On 11/19/2023 at 2:01 PM, ls650 said: A little googling found this very helpful table. Apparently the A/B difficulty switches do nothing. Wow I never bothered with difficulty in the 80s. I should have. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vagabondartist Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 10 hours ago, tradyblix said: Wow I never bothered with difficulty in the 80s. I should have. As I’ve been discovering a lot of these games for the first time recently, some games I initially write off get way better changing difficulties. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+LS650 Posted November 22, 2023 Author Share Posted November 22, 2023 The console arrived. Connected it, and for my first game I chose Berzerk. The HDMI looks great! 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leech Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 2 hours ago, ls650 said: The console arrived. Connected it, and for my first game I chose Berzerk. The HDMI looks great! I'm still waiting for Beserk: Enhanced to show up (though have tried out the Berzerk: Recharged, which is awesome). I probably should find time to hook up the 2600+ and Game Station Pro... probably sometime during this long weekend 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+LS650 Posted November 22, 2023 Author Share Posted November 22, 2023 Last night I tried out about a dozen 2600 carts, and three 7800 carts I've bought recently from eBay. (All NTSC.) Since I've been using a Harmony cart in recent years, some of these carts haven't been read in several years. Every 2600 cart loaded, some right away, while others needed a power cycle and reseating. This included the original Ladybug, and Chunkout 2600 (a great puzzle game, BTW). The 7800 carts were more temperamental. Dig Dug and Xevious ran fine, but only after cleaning, reseating, power cycle. Pole Position 2 eventually started up after going through about four Qq tips cleaning it over and over. Once I got a game to load, no issues at all. Nice crisp graphics, great sound, no lagginess or other issues. Overall I am very pleased so far. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LatchKeyKid Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 Stupid question... do the "enhanced" games just add some more modern coding twists and features to classic games that weren't available back in the day (due to restrictions like ROM space specifically?) unlike the "recharged" ones that are modern style remakes inspired by the original? Do any of the "enhanced" games rely on in cartridge hardware upgrades like RAM or chips? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bakasama Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 The new Berzerk game has added voices and robots that shoot diagonally. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 I played the older Berzerk: VE on mine last night. Pretty sure that version has 3 voices at least with Intruder Alert Intruder Alert, Humanoid must not Escape, and if you leave the room with robots still in it, you get the Chicken fight like a robot message. Did they not include all of these on the new Berzerk Enhanced? Although I don't think the robots shoot diagonally in the older VE version I have but the Voices were pretty clear to me through my 2600+. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_q_atari Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 4 hours ago, ls650 said: Pole Position 2 is the only cart I haven't gotten to run, so I'll try cleaning again. It is used from eBay, so may just be a lousy cart. I have come across a nonfunctional PP2 cart in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tradyblix Posted November 22, 2023 Share Posted November 22, 2023 (edited) 3 hours ago, -^CrossBow^- said: I played the older Berzerk: VE on mine last night. Pretty sure that version has 3 voices at least with Intruder Alert Intruder Alert, Humanoid must not Escape, and if you leave the room with robots still in it, you get the Chicken fight like a robot message. Did they not include all of these on the new Berzerk Enhanced? Although I don't think the robots shoot diagonally in the older VE version I have but the Voices were pretty clear to me through my 2600+. No it's just Humanoid must not escape and the welcome to delta city (??) one. From what I've seen on the internet anyway, I don't have the cart yet. Second effect happens on death. Edited November 22, 2023 by tradyblix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+LS650 Posted November 22, 2023 Author Share Posted November 22, 2023 I had today off from work, so I tried a variety of NTSC carts. I tested all the carts in the photo below, and played each for at least 10 minutes to ensure it was working okay. I did not find even one 2600 cart that wouldn't work. I have a Harmony cart, so some of these carts have not been used for several years. Some worked the first try, some required a reseating or two, and some needed a cleaning with Q-tip and alcohol - but they all worked. The left-side column are homebrews I've bought from various sources, including AA. They all worked. BTW, I hadn't played Kite! (by Simon Quernhorst) in years and it's a great game: you fly a kite around on the screen and snag objects mid-air while dodging birds and lightning. There's a thread here on AA somewhere with a downloadable ROM. I recommend checking it out. I also bought three 7800 carts on eBay in anticipation of getting the 2600+. Dig Dug and Xevious work great. EDIT: after giving PP2 yet another cleaning, the cart now runs. The bad news is that because the A/B buttons are swapped around, it's unplayable with a one-button controller (no accelerator). Some of the carts look terrific in HDMI - two in particular are Spider Fighter and Seawolf. They are very colourful and looked good even with RF, but in HDMI they look very crisp and the colours are really vibrant. I'm really pleased. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insertclevernamehere Posted November 26, 2023 Share Posted November 26, 2023 I played mine on my light sixer and I found the robotic voices completely unintelligible. I can't make out what the robots say AT ALL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsiddall Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 Can anyone confirm if Berserk works on the Retron77? Looks like +ls650 has a Retron joystick. I can't get it running on mine (Retron) but it does work on an original 7800. Just curious... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+LS650 Posted November 27, 2023 Author Share Posted November 27, 2023 Just now, rsiddall said: Can anyone confirm if Berserk works on the Retron77? Looks like +ls650 has a Retron joystick. Sorry - no Retron77, I just have a Trooper Joystick. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Android8675 Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 14 hours ago, rsiddall said: Can anyone confirm if Berserk works on the Retron77? Looks like +ls650 has a Retron joystick. I can't get it running on mine (Retron) but it does work on an original 7800. Just curious... Just came here to see if anyone got it working on Retron with Stella 6 latest? I get a loud tone on cart insert. Doesn't seem to want to work. Anyone get their 2600+ with a Aug. 22nd order date or later? (atari.com) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insertclevernamehere Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 15 hours ago, rsiddall said: Can anyone confirm if Berserk works on the Retron77? Looks like +ls650 has a Retron joystick. I can't get it running on mine (Retron) but it does work on an original 7800. Just curious... Doesn't work on my R77 either. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassGuitari Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 Nothing really to do with anything, here...but it still weirds me out to see ESRB labels on Atari 2600 stuff. 🙃 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsiddall Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, insertclevernamehere said: Doesn't work on my R77 either. Not that I'm glad, but at least it's somewhat comforting to know it's not just me. 🙂 Waiting for someone to tell me I have to adjust settings in Stella... Edited November 27, 2023 by rsiddall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rsiddall Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 1 hour ago, Android8675 said: Just came here to see if anyone got it working on Retron with Stella 6 latest? I get a loud tone on cart insert. Doesn't seem to want to work. Anyone get their 2600+ with a Aug. 22nd order date or later? (atari.com) Same...Stella 6. Got mine 11/24. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 Mine just arrived. I too am disappointed there was no manual. I went to eBay and grabbed a cheap manual and comic book that I'll stick inside to "complete" it. I'm definitely unlikely to buy from Atari again if they're going to cheap out on instructions. The least they could do is have a simple printed sheet with basic instructions and the different game modes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thran Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 No manual with Mr. Run and Jump either. If they aren't sending instruction books/sheets out, then I'd rather just have the cartridge in a higher quality sleeve. A plastic snap case with an art insert like PS5 games can't cost that much to make. They could use the same plastic case for all the carts. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Loguidice Posted November 27, 2023 Share Posted November 27, 2023 2 minutes ago, Thran said: No manual with Mr. Run and Jump either. If they aren't sending instruction books/sheets out, then I'd rather just have the cartridge in a higher quality sleeve. A plastic snap case with an art insert like PS5 games can't cost that much to make. They could use the same plastic case for all the carts. Considering the cartridge sleeve is an extra step that they're doing already, it's not too much to ask to have a simple one- or two-sided color sheet that summarizes the key points, especially when a game uses switches or has more than one game mode. I can see them not wanting to do a special plastic case or the like so it blends in better with original releases (and is probably cheaper considering how thin the cardboard is), but either way they should do something to address that obvious issue. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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