Out of all the video games Atari produced it seems that Pac-Man for the 2600 has been blamed, almost entirely, for the start of the video game crash that happened during the early 1980's. It is also marked as one of the worst games made in video gaming history. By now most Atari 2600 owners, new and vets, know what this game is like so there really is no need to dig into how the game play actually is. But hopefully this little blog post will put the game in a different perspective to where the g
I'm only a few bits away to having what I would consider my ultimate, for the most part, studio setup and I couldn't be much happier! The RolandS50 has proven to be an absolute blast to play with and while loading disks is kind of slow, there's something warming about it. It sounds warm, too! It was pretty awesome to find some Juno and Jupiter sounds make their way to the S50! Still waiting for the draw tablet to arrive but once it gets here, gimmicky or not, it'll be interesting to see what can
I've got a ton of things waiting to be delivered before I can actually make use of the Roland S50 (TSR patch cables, MIDI cables, floppy disks for samples, etc.) but I did manage to find an original Digitizer Tablet for $75 and now basically have the ultimate Roland S50 setup combination as depicted back in the late 80s! I don't know what it is about this keyboard or how I've managed to go so long in my life without noticing its existence but I'm glad to have landed one and am even more thrilled
Purchased my 130XE for $99 many years ago thinking I got a good deal and have only recently had the chance to play some games utilizing the extended memory the 130 is supposed to offer, which is why I decided to get this model after my 800XL keyboard started acting up. Kind of pissed to learn that something is really messed up with it and should have just bought a new one from Best Elec. I can't isolate the problem and don't really want to spend the hours trying to find out and pinpoint the exac
Over the past several months I have been discovering Atari 2600 games for the first time...just like those who owned one way back when the machine was the only console on the market. So far I've discovered Solaris and few others I had never seen or heard of before. The 2600 has managed to surprise me again with a rare title known as Radar Lock.
Radar Lock appears similar to Sega's After Burner but after a few minutes in the game you get so sucked into the on-screen action that you forget wha
I've been in the hardware bug lately and can joyfully claim taking ownership of an amazing new (to me) keyboard:
The Roland S-50
It fascinates me, this once $2,695 sampling keyboard released in 1986 (a solid era for the Atari ST computers!), can now be found for as little as $100 in 2016. This thing is an absolute monster and definitely doesn't come without its own set of quirks. Just under 24-hours ago was this beast delivered to my doorstep but I powered it up and checked it's video ou
That's right... in an unexpected impulse purchase for a very affordable Atari 7800 system, Sally is soon to be shipped and on her way. She's apparently been through some rough times (frayed wires on controllers and power supply, cracked casing) and had a little fixing up but at $30, she's the perfect candidate for what will eventually become my 3D printed Atari projects! Maybe she can even shed a few pounds or gain some modern edges in the process. ;-)
Diving back into the A8 world and while I have an older sio2pc that uses a serial connector (no access to that on my current laptop setup), it can't be used. I was certain that I would have managed to get a nice Indus GT or XF551 by now but so far, null results. I'm still disappointed by the whole fiasco over my last Indus GT purchase, especially since it had such a nice box. Oh well...
I've officially ordered the SIO2PC USB version so I can put one or both of these machines to use in upcomi
It's 2016 and unfortunately, the Blade Runner scene will become anything but reality and Atari isn't even close to how we could have imagined it some 20-years ago but maybe that's a good thing. Never the less, the dreams and memories continue to live on. The games, artwork, music, design and passion behind so many products and games will forever remain. The best part of it all is the community behind it all. The wide range of hardware and software hackers that continue to adapt these machines in
A blog post for the cheap retro-gamer who likes to tinker....
I'd like to introduce the concept of the "Scraptop". It is essentially, a really old laptop, bought for a low price...souped up, and loaded with retro games (emulators) and tools.
Why? What's the point? Well, it all started with an Atari SIO2PC cable, which is a piece of hardware that allows any PC with a serial port to easily emulate an Atari 8-bit disk drive. The function of the cable is probably a good subject for another b
This is just this year and just for the Atari VCS/2600............. 2016
Homebrews released Jan 10, 2016 - Upp! (Jason Santuci "theloon") - self published {sold thru Etsy} SOLD OUT Jan 28, 2016 - Pigs in the Castle (Rudy J. Ferretti) - self published Jan 28, 2016 - Checked Inn (Rudy J. Ferretti) - self published Jan 31, 2016 - Coke Zero <NTSC version> (Thomas Jentzsch) - AtariAge blog Feb 15, 2016 - Upp!+ - Jason Santuci/self published (contains small feature changes and improvements){
This may seem like a strange topic to start off a blog that focuses on my appreciation for my childhood but it's a subject that I tend to dwell on a lot. The year I foolishly gave away my entire toy collection.
First, a little background.
I was born in 1973. My parents divorced when I was six. I stayed with my Mom during the school year and visited my Dad every other weekend and school vacations, including the summer.
I REALLY enjoyed visiting my Dad. Yes, he spoiled me (I'm still sp
My long-term memory is impeccable, at least when it comes to positive memories. My short-term, not so much.
I had been kicking around the idea of starting to document some of these positive memories in a journal, especially the random ones that pop in my head out of nowhere.
Then I thought, why not wrap those memories up in a retro-themed bow and create a blog here. So that's what I'm going to do!
I'll focus on video games, considering the site this is hosted at. But I'll occasionally t
It's been a while, but it's time yet again for a multi-cart review. This time, I'm reviewing the Retro-Link Multicart 64 for the Commodore 64.
Pros
Menu driven - easy to use
Instant load - no disk drive waiting
Socketed - theoretically possible to change the EEPROM for a different set of games.
Inexpensive
Cons
None. I love this thing.
As you can tell by the summary above, I think this thing is pretty sweet. 63 different games and utilities all on one menu-driven
This is just this year and just for the Atari VCS/2600.............
2015 Homebrews released Jan 11, 2015 - Headkicker 2.0 (Retro Lord - AtariAge forum) Jan 12, 2015 - Nutkicker (Retro Lord - AtariAge forum) Jan 12, 2015 - Knight Kuest (Retro Lord - AtariAge forum) Jan 14, 2015 - Pro Football 1770 (Retro Lord - AtariAge forum) Jan 22, 2015 - Crazy Bird (gameblabla - AtariAge forum) Jan 23, 2015 - USSR Supreme Lifting Weights (Retro Lord - AtariAge forum) Jan 24, 2015 - Mallard Hunt (Retro
Ah, the Atari 5200. It's basically the same hardware as the Atari 8-bit computers, repackaged as a gigantic, over-the-top, "Big is Better" gaming system. Consider it an Atari 400 with no keyboard, but with some very "interesting" controllers.
Love it or hate it, it's the perfect system to buy a multi-cart for. The original library is reasonably small -- easy to fit on a multi-cart. But what's really special here is the number of homebrews, and hacked 8-bit ROMS that really expand the library
Hi everyone. How do you all feel about multi-carts?
My thoughts are that they are a really convenient way to enjoy your classic gaming consoles, and experience the games the best way -- on REAL hardware.
These things come in a variety of formats. The very best have an SD card slot that allow you to place the entire library of games on a single memory card, and then enjoy the games via a menu driven interface. Other types include a set/built-in group of games on a cartridge, games selecta
I've been playing the Atari a lot lately. I got some games from a comic store that sells used games. My favorite so far has to be Robot Tank. The reason being, it is amazing in the aspect that it is 3Dish. I can't wait to get more games for the 2600. What's a game you guys recommend?
Hey guys. I think I'm going to utilize this blog platform on the forums. I'm going to post about game development and other gaming stuff (mostly Atari of course). I don't know. I'll see if this takes off.
This is just this year and just for the 2600.............
2015
Homebrews released
Jan 11, 2015 - Headkicker 2.0 (Retro Lord - AtariAge forum)
Jan 12, 2015 - Nutkicker (Retro Lord - AtariAge forum)
Jan 12, 2015 - Knight Kuest (Retro Lord - AtariAge forum)
Jan 14, 2015 - Pro Football 1770 (Retro Lord - AtariAge forum)
Jan 22, 2015 - Crazy Bird (gameblabla - AtariAge forum)
Jan 23, 2015 - USSR Supreme Lifting Weights (Retro Lord - AtariAge forum)
Jan 24, 2015 - Mallard Hunt (Retro Lord
I've been working on a excel spreadsheet of homebrew games that have been designed for the Atari VCS/2600 console. My list has surpassed over 500 titles and I've tried to log the information for each as:
Title
URL/weblink
ROM downloadable (yes/no)
Developer/Designer
Publisher
Year (of release)
Genre
Price
etc (notes/info)
I've been working on this for 2+ years and still finding more titles almost everyday. I figured I would expand on the same idea as the titles ar
