Getting an Atari XEGS; 8-bit game suggestions?

[7800Knight]

I managed to snag an Atari XEGS from Ebay!  While it does have its own games, I know it is backwards compatible with the Atari 8-bit library.

 

So what games do you recommend?  What accessories would also be good for the Atari XE?

 

Already on my list are the Atari 8-bit port of Donkey Kong as I understand it has all four levels from the arcade game!  The Atari 2600 only has 2 while the NES, Colecovision and Atari 7800 ports (I own the 7800 version) have only 3 of the levels.

[bfollowell]

Star Raiders is a classic must-play.

 

Also, it's not that it has it's own games or that it's backwards compatible. It can run all Atari 8-bit software, just like any other Atari 8-bit can run all Atari 8-bit software. There are no XE exclusive titles. Anything made for the XE was made for all Atari 8-bits, assuming the machine in question had enough memory for the later, more demanding titles. There was never anything that required more than 64KB that I can recall though. The XEGS is basically just an Atari 65XE in a different case with a detachable keyboard a different ROM and no PBI or ECI port.

 

[bfollowell]

Just now, bfollowell said:

Star Raiders is a classic must-play.

 

Also, it's not that it has it's own games or that it's backwards compatible. It can run all Atari 8-bit software, just like any other Atari 8-bit can run all Atari 8-bit software. There are no XE or XEGS exclusive titles. Anything made for the XE was made for all Atari 8-bits, assuming the machine in question had enough memory for the later, more demanding titles. There was never anything that required more than 64KB that I can recall though. The XEGS is basically just an Atari 65XE in a different case with a detachable keyboard a different ROM and no PBI or ECI port.

 

 

[eightbit]

It has been YEARS (maybe close to 15) since I have owned an XEGS. Congrats!

 

If I were you an SDrive Max (or some other way to run software over SIO like this) would be my first purchase.

 

I use an old SIO2PC serial interface myself and host all of the apps/games from my PC to my 600XL.

 

[tkarner]

I like playing the arcade classics on my XEGS. Most are fantastic. Some, not so much (Asteroids). You already mentioned Donkey Kong. I'd throw in Defender, Robotron, and Moon Patrol from Atari. Frogger and Q*Bert from Parker Brothers are excellent. If you like Space Invaders I'd recommend Deluxe Invaders instead of Atari's own version. You already have Missile Command since it's built in to the system. Joust, Dig Dug, Ms. Pac-Man, and Centipede are all ok but I think they're better on the 7800.

 

River Raid is a great version. Plays just like the 2600 version but with better graphics. If you like top down racing games, try Rally Speedway.

 

If you want to get into the the games that were big on home computers back then, there's Lode Runner, Jumpman, Choplifter, and Blue Max.

 

Also keep in mind there are a few cartridges that are not compatible with the XEGS. Gorf and Demon Attack come to mind.

 

My favorite homebrew is Scramble but it was removed from the Atariage store. You might also want to check Video61 for other homebrews and prototypes.

[+davidcalgary29]

Almost all of the XEGS label Atari releases are, in fact, excellent and certainly worth playing. All of the light gun games (yes, I'm looking at you, Bug Hunt) are actually lots of fun to play if you can get past accuracy issues (translation: there is no accuracy) on the XG-1. Crystal Castles is an excellent port of the arcade classic. And most of the unreleased XEGS protos, such as Deflektor, Tower Toppler, and Xenophobe, are stellar. But Atari's finest A8 effort is probably MIDI Maze, which tragically went unreleased but features real-time chat in a FPS with excellent graphics. It's too bad that you'll need a friend with a copy of the game and a modem to experience the full fun of the game, although you can play against the compuer. It also worth noting that you could play against a ST user running their port of MIDI Maze as well.

 

There are a number of games that used the expanded memory of the 64K+ computers to speed up loading times and such. And I second the motion to get an SDrive or some other SD cart so that you won't have to hunt down individual cartridges, most of which sell for extortionate prices these days. I bought my first cartridge of Crystal Castles for $5 at a flea market in 1988...but it took me another twenty years to find another one in the wild. I can't imagine what a boxed copy of that one would sell for today.

 

And I'm going to give a final plug for DataSoft's A8 lineup. Some of those games are just outstanding in terms of gameplay (if not graphics): their port of Mr. Do! is excellent, and Pooyan is woefully underplayed.

 

 

[Mark2008]

My favorite accessories are the XF551, because it matches and it is also a higher spec'd drive for the 8-bit line, and a printer, I have an Epson fx-80.  But if I had to do that over again, a matching grey printer, might've been nicer, I saw a grey spectrum lx-80 on e-bay the other day, I think it'd be a nice match.  I know game tastes vary wildly.  I like the one you mentioned, Donkey Kong, and also Beef Drop (Burger Time).

[+slx]

If you want to keep the cartridge feeling there are lots of flash carts you can use and some of them are even able to play a significant number of originally floppy disc based games through some nifty loaders. SIO (peripheral bus) floppy emulators or the slightly more expensive but vastly more capable FujiNet will allow you to play almost everything ever made for the system as most original cartridge games have been converted to (virtual) disc versions over the years, usually including fixes to make older games work on the XL/XE machines).

 

Star Raiders is a must, it was the "killer app" of the original Atari home computers the XEGS is based on.

 

Other good games I'd give a try:

• Archon (a battle between the forces of Light and Dark, played on an always changing chess-like screen, but all the battles between pieces are fought in real time on a separate screen - even if you should know the C64 version, this is graphically superior)
• M.U.L.E. (unfortunately never released on cartridge, so requires a multicart or bootleg cart - a planetary colonisation simulation with real-time dealings between up to 4 players)
• Miner 2049er and Bounty Bob Strikes Back are two of the best platformers for the Atari (the former is frequently sold on the original cartridge, the latter is rather rare) 
• Jumpman (another great platformer, the original 30-level version was a disc release but there is a Jumpman jr. release with fewer levels which IIRC are original)
• Lode Runner (unless you know it from another system already). Archon is a very fine game with a chess 
• almost everything from Synapse Software, although original cartridge releases probably won't work
• if you like vertical shooters there are several rather recent homebrew games, some of them still available on cartridge (e.g. "The Last Squadron")
• Spelunker (also floppy only BITD) is another favorite of mine, a very long "dungeon" (actually a mine) exploration

[bfollowell]

2 hours ago, tkarner said:

Joust, Dig Dug, Ms. Pac-Man, and Centipede are all ok but I think they're better on the 7800.

 

 

Joust is an excellent suggestion. I'd forgotten how much I loved that game in college. Also, I can't believe I , and no one else has mentioned Rescue on Fractalus! That is an excellent game.

 

[+MrFish]

Here's a thread on Top 5 Atari 8-bit Games (from 2014)

You can find more similar threads here too by using the search function.

 

Here's a thread on Favorite Atari 8-bit Homebrew Games (from 2019)

I posted a compilation for all of the games later in the thread.

 

[mimo]

I agree with @eightbit some sort of modern storage device would be the best way to go unless you really want to collect cart games but you will really be limiting your selection.
My favorite is the AVG cart which can be used for cart, disc and cassette games.
Whatever you do, enjoy !!

[Beeblebrox]

@7800Knightt personally I'd get either an avg, side3, or fujinet which have sd card mediums, or if budget is an issue, the cheaper a8pico carts where you can cram around 300 games on it. 

 

For me multicarts like side3, avg and the amazing fujinet, (latter SIO based but also connects you to the Internet), all win hands down over other ones imho. 

 

Cart based mediums are super fast compared with SIO based ones like a drive max or sio2sd, sio2pc, etc. They are also much easier to navigate. I started off on a sddrive max and quickly sold it when I discovered the side3. Make sure if you are getting the latter, you get side3, and not side2. Side3 allows you to mount car images, so you can mount up to 1mb car files. (Avg and subavg also allow this). 

 

I personally own side3 which has a very easy menu loader, and equally many own and love the excellent avg cart. 

 

Plus of course the successor to avg, subavg gives you a lot for your money. 

 

As others have mentioned there is also the Atarimaxflash cart system. Plus you also have ultimate cart and uno cart. 

 

Depends what your budget it to be honest. 

 

Remember xegs has 64k so if you wanna run some of the excellent 128k plus games, (ie Prince of Persia, Time wizard), you probably won't be able to run them. Some games of this size can run off some carts, depending on how they are coded. 

 

For example you can run the 1mb games space harrier, Atariblast!, Onescape, and Flob, off side3 and avg/sub avg carts and also burnt to a standalone Atarimaxflash 8mbit (1mb) cart. These will run on 64k machines because they all use the cart to run the extra content off them and because they are coded that way.

 

Whereas Prince of persia and Time Wizard, because they require 128k to run, you can't run them on anything less than this, even with the aforementioned multicart systems. It's confusing I know. 

 

Flob is an amazing game, as is Onescape.

https://bocianu.atari.pl/blog/flob

https://www.indieretronews.com/2022/12/onescape-post-apocalyptic-adventure.html

 

Atariblast! is a must, as is The last squadron. 

 

Also Binary parasite, plus old classics Alley Cat and Henry's house. 

 

There is a cool 64k FPS called Final Assault. 

https://atari8.dev/final_assault/

 

I highly recommend you try the wip Doom engine which is great fun and runs on 64k machines. 

https://www.indieretronews.com/2023/08/adoom-brand-new-port-update-of-classic.html#more

 

Most games you'll find on the indieretronews website under the Atari XL/XE section, which link back to Atariage a lot of the time. 

 

https://www.indieretronews.com/search/label/Atari XE

Edited December 21, 2023 by Beeblebrox

[7800Knight]

Thanks for the advice so far.  For now, I plan to stick with cartridges (Atari XEGS and 8-bit).  Perhaps later I will seek out the disk games and some of those accessories.  I don't have an arbitrarily large bank account to grab loads of accessories for the console and at least I want to get familiar with the system.

 

While I own some of the games mentioned already for the Atari 2600 and 7800, some of them do interest me like River Raid or Donkey Kong (complete with all 4 levels).

[zzip]

The Atarimania top 100 page has lots of good suggestions:

http://www.atarimania.com/top-atari-atari-400-800-xl-xe-_G_8_7.html

 

Not everything is on cartridge, but to get the most out of any A8 system, you are going to want to go past carts anyway.

[zzip]

5 minutes ago, 7800Knight said:

While I own some of the games mentioned already for the Atari 2600 and 7800, some of them do interest me like River Raid or Donkey Kong (complete with all 4 levels).

If you are sticking with carts for now, I'd recommend Spy Hunter...   I'm trying to remember what other cart games I owned..    Qix was fun but weird compared to the 5200 version,  Jumpman Jr was fun.   Also enjoyed Mountain King, Popeye, Pac-man, Q*Bert, Joust, Pole Position, Frogger..   Some of those games have been improved by homebrewers and/or are just decent (but not necessarily exceptional) arcade ports and don't necessarily showcase what the system can do.

[Beeblebrox]

One thing to add. If you are sticking to sourcing and buying single commercial carts it could get very costly. 

 

Whereas 99% of games, old and new are available for free to download in either car, xex or Atr formats. These can then be run from the various cart or SIO methods mentioned. 

 

Buying 5 to 10 x old commercial carts could cost you the same as investing in a side3 or avg cart for example, but you have 5 to 10 games, as opposed to 1000's.

 

Don't get me wrong, I love and own many boxed Atari carts, (my original boxed Rescue on Fractaus I've had since I was a kid will be with me always).  BTW Rescue on fractalus is a must cart own IMHO. Amazing game.

 

Just thought I'd mention it.

 

Edit: personally in terms of Lightgun games I'd probably say crime buster or Barnyard blaster are safe bets. 

 

As for Bug hunt.. we'll, I'll withhold my comments on that game. 😉

Edited December 21, 2023 by Beeblebrox

[Flyindrew]

WOw, I also bought an XEGS this week (to complete my console collection), though Ive had a 130 XE for the past 38 years.

 

Id recommend an Atarimax cart. I bought one off off ebay and it has a total of sixty XE,XL,5200 and homebrew titles.

 

Other XE period games I recommend:

 

Star Raiders 2 (this one gets an unfair rap)

 

Davids Midnight Magic Pinball-Takes some getting used to, but quite addictive.

 

Donkey Kong-Aside from NES version, the best home port

 

Karateka-XE/XL version is awesome. Avoid the 7800 port like the plague.

 

Hardball-Cutting edge graphics for late 80's baseball game. Cool music also.

[tkarner]

4 hours ago, zzip said:

If you are sticking with carts for now, I'd recommend Spy Hunter...

I was going to suggest Spy Hunter (and Zaxxon) but both have gotten pricey.

[Beeblebrox]

16 minutes ago, Flyindrew said:

 

Karateka-XE/XL version is awesome. Avoid the 7800 port like the plague.

 

So true. I love the Atari 8bit Karateka version. So when I got my 7800 I eagerly purchased the 7800 version in anticipation of enhanced graphics and fluid gameplay. Big mistake... damn it sucks!!!

 

BTW check this out :

 

 

 

Edited December 21, 2023 by Beeblebrox

[Flyindrew]

3 minutes ago, Beeblebrox said:

So true. I love the Atari 8bit Karateka version. So when I got my 7800 I eagerly purchased the 7800 version in anticipation of enhanced graphics and fluid gameplay. Big mistake... damn it sucks!!!

LOL so true. When I purchased my 7800, the owner included Karateka and I was so happy (thinking it was like the 8 bit version). Once I tried playing the game though I was like the Angry Video Game Nerd cursing up  a storm at it.

[mimo]

6 hours ago, 7800Knight said:

 

While I own some of the games mentioned already for the Atari 2600 and 7800, some of them do interest me like River Raid or Donkey Kong (complete with all 4 levels).

Donkey Kong is well worth getting.

River raid and H.E.R.O you might as well play the 2600 version.

Zero effort in upgrading these two unfortunately 

[+MrFish]

9 minutes ago, mimo said:

...H.E.R.O you might as well play the 2600 version.

TBH, I like the minimalist upgrade path they took with HERO on the 8-bit computers. There's just enough texture to make things look organic, rather than big huge blocks of whatever you want to call it that they used on the 2600 version. They carried upgrading the backgrounds further on the C64 and Colecovision versions, and I think they both ended up looking like crap.

 

[tkarner]

2 hours ago, mimo said:

River raid and H.E.R.O you might as well play the 2600 version.

It's true, Activision's 8-bit games play basically the same as on the 2600 (Kaboom is the worst offender). But I do like the higher resolution backgrounds/textures. I guess it depends on what you're willing to pay for a cart. River Raid can be found for $20 (well worth it I think) but HERO will cost you $150+.

[7800Knight]

Down the road, I will invest in an SDrive Max and/or an Ultimate Cart for access to all the cassette, disk and rarer cartridge games.  I've found some places online that even sell them!

 

I'm aware of Bug Hunt's reputation; Crime Busters and Barnyard Blaster both look like fun games.

 

One caveat: the EBay seller said that the keyboard included is very iffy.  What are some good keyboard alternatives to use with the XE?

[adam242]

19 minutes ago, 7800Knight said:

One caveat: the EBay seller said that the keyboard included is very iffy.  What are some good keyboard alternatives to use with the XE?

 

The TransKey II is an excellent inexpensive alternative to the XEGS keyboard. Allows you to use any PS2 keyboard with the console. I have one myself.