oldschooldave Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 So far the only copies I've been able to hunt down on Ebay are from Europe. It looks like a good Roadblasters clone fromt the screenshots I've seen. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 Yes the 7800 version of Fatal Run is available in NTSC format. I'ts fairly hard to track down, but not impossible. Personally I don't think it's very good. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Atari Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 No, it really isn't very good, I play Pole Position II if I want a 7800 racing fix. The combat in FR is weak, hardly exciting, and it's very easy. The best part of the game is the shop screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip_Cannon Posted June 7, 2004 Share Posted June 7, 2004 I think it's worth having... But the other guys are right... There isn't much fun factor after awhile because it's all the same thing over and over again... You can complete the game in a couple of hours time.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susuwatari Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 I have it on hand and I've played it only once. I agree, Pole Position is more fun in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApolloBoy Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Wow, I must be one of the few people who actually enjoys Fatal Run. I've been trying to track it down at a good price for quite some time now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 The only 7800 game that was officially released by Atari but didn't get released in NTSC format by them is SENTINEL. All of the rest were available in North America. I tend to side with the majority: FATAL RUN had the makings of an exciting game, but IMO, didn't succeed as one. It had lots of levels (32 I think), but they're very long, not very interesting and extremely repetitive. The graphics are decent, though I've seen better. The title screen is nice, the animated sequences are cool and I dug the animated ending. The music was good, given the limits of the TIA sound in the 7800. There are other nice touches like the shop and the password save, but they don't make up for the fact that the game itself isn't all that interesting. MIDNIGHT MUTANTS was also done by Radioactive Software around the same time and, was, IMO, a much more fun game. Other titles like SCRAPYARD DOG, COMMANDO, and ALIEN BRIGADE made FATAL RUN seem less "special" too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegaData Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 I thought "Gato" was released in PAL format for the 7800 and not released in NTSC... You can get "Sentinel" for the Atari 2600 in NTSC format, if you don't get the 7800 version that's been altered from PAL. I recall trying to get a good running score on Fatal Run, but couldn't complete it without using a password or a save of some kind... it's been a while since I played it but, it has to have better replay value than some people are giving it credit for. I don't think I completed the game, actually. I have completed Midnight Mutants, Alien Brigade, and have a high score with Commando... my current high score, as I have it listed, is level 7 on Fatal Run with a score of 46,275. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cousin Vinnie Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Fatal Run is best played on the final 4 cities. 'Turtle' is the passcode. It shortenes the game up, makes it tougher since you have a basic car (lack of difficulty is an issue) instead of a rolling whirlwind of doom, and you get to see the cool ending w/o 2 hours of drool stored on the floor. I think the game sucks... but for some reason I like it alot. I think the game captures the mood of an impending apocolypse very well. Cousin Vinnie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Gato was never completed, unfortunately. It's nothing more than a 4 screen demo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Gato only got as far as a 4 screen demo: http://www.atariprotos.com/7800/software/gato/gato.htm Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classic Pac Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Well I own it...but thats all I can say, my guess was that Atari was trying to come out with another version of one of their arcade titles namely "Roadblasters", Like Dark Chambers is a sorta a version of Gauntlet. But in my opion both games just aren't that good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip_Cannon Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 I thought Dark Chambers inspired Gauntlet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 I thought Dark Chambers inspired Gauntlet? Both games are based upon the APX game, DANDY. Dark Chambers, IIRC, is closer to DANDY than GAUNTLET. According to 7800 lore, there's also a completed version of GAUNTLET itself for the 7800. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcprs1 Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Fatal Run is somewhat difficult to find especially with the box. Loose carts tend to float around ebay every now and then. I believe the last few I saw went for about $15. Boxed copied get about $25, although I have seen a few go for less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip_Cannon Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 I thought Dark Chambers inspired Gauntlet? Both games are based upon the APX game' date=' DANDY. Dark Chambers, IIRC, is closer to DANDY than GAUNTLET. According to 7800 lore, there's also a completed version of GAUNTLET itself for the 7800.[/quote'] I've often wondered why Atari didn't just release Dark Chambers AS Gauntlet... Or release Gauntlet itself... It would have done wonders to hype the system... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 I've often wondered why Atari didn't just release Dark Chambers AS Gauntlet... Or release Gauntlet itself... It would have done wonders to hype the system It was probably initially a licensing problem. Tengen (the parent company of Atari Games) was a Nintendo licensee. Even though they rebelled against Nintendo and broke the rules eventually, they didn't initially. If I remember correctly, GAUNTLET was probably an official NES title in the early days. By the time the Tengen dust settled, the Lynx was on the scene and the 7800 was starting to die off. As I said, there were plans to release GAUNTLET and a 7800 version reportedly exists. It has just never been released. It's probably beside ELECTROCOP on some collector's shelf, while they strut around it going, "MINE MINE MINE!!!!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip_Cannon Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 It was probably initially a licensing problem. Tengen (the parent company of Atari Games) was a Nintendo licensee. Even though they rebelled against Nintendo and broke the rules eventually' date=' they didn't initially. If I remember correctly, GAUNTLET was probably an official NES title in the early days. By the time the Tengen dust settled, the Lynx was on the scene and the 7800 was starting to die off. [/quote'] Drac, if you don't mind me picking your brain a little bit more about that issue... I've always been curious what the deal was with the relationship between Tengen and Atari Games and Atari inc... Was Tengen exclusively a Nintendo license? It just didn't make sense to me that Atari Games/Tengen wasn't putting out any of their titles on the Atari 7800 seeing how yes, they were two different companies but... still named Atari... thanks.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geosteve Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Tengen was a subsidary of Atari Games, used on the console sales of Atari Games' coin-op titles. Warner Communications was the parent company. Nintendo was not an excluve lincensee by any means, in fact Tengen and Nintendo went to court several times about the NES lockout-chip issue and especially over the rights to sell Tetris for the NES. Tengen released several games for the Sega Genesis (including an awesome Gauntlet). There was never any relationship between Tengen and the 7800 but they did give all licenses to Atari Corp for the Lynx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 Tengen was a subsidary of Atari Games' date=' used on the console sales of Atari Games' coin-op titles. Warner Communications was the parent company. Nintendo was not an excluve lincensee by any means, in fact Tengen and Nintendo went to court several times about the NES lockout-chip issue and especially over the rights to sell Tetris for the NES. Tengen released several games for the Sega Genesis (including an awesome Gauntlet). There was never any relationship between Tengen and the 7800 but they did give all licenses to Atari Corp for the Lynx.[/quote'] There's a couple of things about this: 1. Tengen *INITIALLY* was a Nintendo-only licensee. Yes, Tengen was oned by Atari Games, but they did not support either the 7800 or the Sega Master System. They went after what made the money, and that was the NES. And Nintendo initial license prevented them from making games on competing systems. 2. Tengen became annoyed with the fact that Nintendo controlled the production, forcing developers to use Nintendo as the manufacturer for their games. Nintendo made them buy games in 10,000 unit alottments, paying Nintendo's high production fees and paying hefty licenses. 3. Tengen subsequently found a way around the lockout chip which forced them to use Nintendo as their manufacturer and released "unauthorized Nintendo" titles. This prompted a fury of lawsuits back and forth and Tengen became Atari's target. The SPA also got involved, as did a bunch of grand juries etc. Nintendo eventually lasped on their restrictive licensing policies, under pressure from everyone. 4. After the dust settled, Tengen branched out and released Tengen titles for the Genesis, licensed games to Atari for the Lynx and did SMS titles in Europe. By the time this happened, though, it was 1989-90 and the 7800 wasn't a viable system any longer. 5. According to Atari lore, a number of Tengen titles were also slated for the 7800, including KLAX, ELECTROCOP, GAUNTLET, TOOBIN' and others. None were officially released, but a number were in the works. Hope this clarifies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent X Posted June 8, 2004 Share Posted June 8, 2004 5. According to Atari lore' date=' a number of Tengen titles were also slated for the 7800' date=' including KLAX, ELECTROCOP, GAUNTLET, TOOBIN' and others.[/quote''] Electrocop wasn't an Atari Games/Tengen game. Atari Corp. owned the rights to it, although the game itself was originally a Lynx game by Epyx. I had always wondered what the 7800 version would be like. I can't imagine it would do the full-screen scaling graphics like the Lynx version did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DracIsBack Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 Whoops - you're right. My mistake. I was thinking of RAMPART, I think. According to a couple people who saw 7800 ELECTROCOP back at that CES of 1991 or 2, it was pretty sharp. A different game than the Lynx one, but quite surprisingly cool. To quote the guy I had spoken with, "7800 Klax was ok. But 7800 Electrocop, that was freakin' awesome." Of all the "lost" titles, it tops my list as the one I hope people find first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyranthraxus Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 I believe the story I read on Tengen was that because Atari Games only had the rights to arcade distribution in order to sell home versions of their games (instead of licensing them out) they came up with the Tengen name since Atari Corp had all rights to 'Atari' as a home brand. Atari sure has a complicated history of the 'name' can any other business be as confusing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Atari Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 Whoops - you're right. My mistake. I was thinking of RAMPART' date=' I think. According to a couple people who saw 7800 ELECTROCOP back at that CES of 1991 or 2, it was pretty sharp. A different game than the Lynx one, but quite surprisingly cool. To quote the guy I had spoken with, "7800 Klax was ok. But 7800 Electrocop, that was freakin' awesome." Of all the "lost" titles, it tops my list as the one I hope people find first. [/quote'] Speaking of which, was Electrocop every advertised? I know Skyfox and GATO were in some earlier 7800 commercials, but I've never seen Electrocop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ApolloBoy Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 I had always wondered what the 7800 version would be like. I can't imagine it would do the full-screen scaling graphics like the Lynx version did. I'm guessing it would have an isometric view like Midnight Mutants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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