RickR

I'm going to go with Andre the Giant, who was always a wonder to watch. I'll also mention a second place choice: Rowdy Roddy Piper, who got his start here in Portland. Thanks

Exactly. You expect a trakball but it's more of a tippy palm pad.

I should send you one of those for a review because it's a terrible design. The dome kind of tips just a little in each direction. You expect it to kind of "roll". I can't think of a single game that this would work for. It's just too slow and cumbersome. It makes you question whether anyone at Quickshot ever tried their own device. As AVGN would say: WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?

I have a few of those now. I can attest that they are all terrible. Especially those ones with a "dome".

Submit it!

You gotta remember, though....this is the hardest level on the game. Your 50k score here is far more impressive.

Those rumble strips too. They slow you down pretty quickly.

I had plans to play through Legend of Zelda (and finish it for the first time), but I have not yet had time to do so. But I will. I'm current playing "999" on DS, and it's really good. I'll get back to Zelda after that. PS - I will list 2600 Adventure as my favorite game of all time. I think original Legend of Zelda is truly a worthy sequel. The features that I really like about Zelda are the similarities to Adventure. For example, it's pretty much all action -- not a lot of wasted time on cut scenes or reading. You have to figure things out as you go. I love that. Why Atari never came up with a successor to Adventure really shows how badly managed they could be. Most gamers of my vintage will put Adventure in their top 10 games. Yet they just let it languish. The same can be said for a game like Yars', which should have spawned a series of games. How cool would it have been to see a new version of Adventure with better graphics, a new story, and some text on the 5200? A wasted opportunity. That one game would have sold a ton of 5200's I'm sure. This ain't brain surgery, Ray! Sheesh. ET isn't in the same ballpark. The genre and gameplay are similar, but it's missing the typical storyline and elements of Adventure-style games (ie - swordplay, battle, live or die, castles, dragons, mythical beings, etc). I think it's more fair to compare ET to Superman.

I know that mall! I've been there many times. It's huge. The very first Toys R Us in Oregon was the Clackamas store, which stayed open for over 30 years I think. Similar to @Gianna's post, it was a Spirit Halloween store last year, which was sad and ironic. A lot of the failed big-box stores have suffered that fate. I drove by that old Clackamas TRU store today, and it's being converted into a baby-stuff store (similar to Babies R Us I imagine). I guess that's good. Better than having it just sit empty forever.

You do not suck! Keep playing. Read @Justin's tips. I think we've all gotten a lot better over the past few weeks. I'm expecting @Sabertooth to surpass my score any day now.... But you're right. The paddles or driving controller support would have been awesome! And PS - Brakes??? I have no need for brakes! (I play using a 2600 joystick with only one button).

Hey man! I'm glad you decided to join. I have family up in Vancouver BC. I sure do miss being able to visit. Canada is beautiful. Welcome and have fun.

I think it's just lazy journalism. ET isn't a terrible game, but Atari paid too much for the license, rushed the development cycle, and produced too many carts. It resulted in a financial loss that contributed to a gigantic loss in 1983.

Canadian sodas are similar to Mexico -- no "HFCS". What's interesting is that it applies to other Canadian products too. For example, ketchup in Canada tastes a lot different because...no HFCS. But in general, I'm doing as you do. Skipping full-strength and going with a diet soda. But on special occasions, I'll go with the real deal.

Drink too much orange pop, and you'll end up with orange poop.

68,400. I got 2nd place in qualifying this time.

LOVE IT! I probably would have been that kid next to you trying to translate and teach. "Let's work on Whopper Jr. next."

I think you are wise to avoid the sugar, to be honest. The typical can of regular soda has 20-30g of sugar! In general, that's why I'll only partake in these things once in a while.

Great topic. I'm a first gen American. My parents immigrated in the early '60's, and I grew up in a mostly non-English speaking household. I will tell you this much -- ANY chance to sample what the "American" kids loved was always a blessed treasure to me. I distinctly remember trying all those kind of things for the first time. Orange Soda, PB&J sandwiches, ice cream bars, etc. I would usually never let on that I'd never had such things, but I'll bet my raised eyebrows gave me away. I'd be at a birthday party or whatever, and something like that would come out. Orange soda? Yes, please! Root beer? OMG, that was the best thing I ever tasted. Root beer float? Lil' RickR's head explodes! Orange soda rocks, and I will still drink it today if it's offered to me.

I've got a set of those Gemini paddles and used them during our last "Super Breakout" challenge! I can assure you, they are almost identical to Atari paddles. Only the casing is a little different (there's no indentation for the sticker). Internally, they are the same, as I had to open and clean mine to compete in the challenge. Commodore also made paddles for the VIC-20. They also look identical to Atari paddles except that the top part of the casing is white! However, they have a slightly different potentiometer inside. Atari paddles are too touchy on a VIC and the Commodore ones work much better on that system.

I had a TV antenna childhood too (no cable). Most of the time, it was fine. But I remember once we had a new TV channel come into existence, and it was our first "UHF" -- channel 49. They played a special feature as a "grand opening". The Creature from the Black Lagoon in 3D! They'd put 3d glasses in the local newspapers as a special promotion. Long story short -- I couldn't get the 3d effect to work because the UHF reception was too fuzzy! D'OH!

Or it could just be the nosweargamer deploying a giant middle finger after too much pent-up no-swearing. But it's probably a Gemstik.

I saw it on Facebook. Looks good. Have a great day!

I like Donkey Kong best. It's fast and looks good. That's one I'll usually play when the 7800 gets used.

Here is the 5200 paddle!

Yes, the start button.