Atari Retro card - brief review *now with funky pics!*

[liquidcross]

I'm sure everyone's heard of this by now. Anyways, I just received the card today, and I'm playing on a Palm Tungsten C. It's got the 5-way navigator (aka "nipple") for control, so they're great for games. Plus, since there's a button in the center, and the 2600 games only use one button, you can play one-handed! The card will also work in Pocket PCs and certain Nokia phones.

 

All the games look and sound great. All the classic bleeps are there (though they sound a bit different), and the control is tight. The only thing that takes some getting used to is controlling paddle games like Breakout, Pong, and Missile Command; using digital buttons doesn't give you precise control like the analog paddles did. But for games like Adventure, you're golden. That game's my personal favorite, and I was most pleased to see it translated so well to my handheld.

 

The cost may put some people off ($30 for seven common 2600 games), but Palm's got a special offer going on right now where if you order any Palm or MDM card, you get a second card for free. For the freebie, you can choose Atari Retro Card, Merriam-Webster Crossword and Word Challenges, Rayman, Sega Classics, Game Essentials, or PopCap Puzzle Pack. Not a bad deal.

 

Regardless, I think the Atari Retro card is a worthwhile investment. I'm enjoying sneaking in games while my boss isn't around.

[liquidcross]

Here's some pics, if anyone's interested:

 

The cool monstrous case the card comes in

 

Adventure

 

Yars' Revenge

[+Nathan Strum]

The only thing that takes some getting used to is controlling paddle games like Breakout, Pong, and Missile Command; using digital buttons doesn't give you precise control like the analog paddles did.

 

Actually, Missile Command for the 2600 used joysticks, so it should play the same (although it never worked as well as a trackball would have).