[Burger Time]

It's a great game!

Also of note - the Intellivision port of BurgerTime is outstanding.  It's a game that showcases how much the Intellivision was capable of. 

 

[Superman for Atari 2600 | Man of Stella]

Oh, and to answer your question, Adventure is my favorite of the two by far.  A factor of 100 better. 

[Superman for Atari 2600 | Man of Stella]

Having a boxed copy of Superman (and also Adventure) is one of the highlights of my collection.  I love the box art, and the game holds fond memories. 

I think a lot of gamers find the map confusing (and you can see in the graphic of the whole map you have in your blog, it doesn't lay out logically).  But the good thing is how each screen has a different combination of buildings/colors.  So you can memorize how to get to each milestone location if you play it enough.  I like that a lot.

I think the main thing missing from this game is the ability to do Superman things.  Punch, beat-up, freeze, laser-eye, etc, etc. 

And another "what were they thinking?" thought for Atari...why not a whole series of Superman or DC games?  Just another missed opportunity.

 

[Flag Capture on VCS | Hard to Capture in the Wild]

That's very interesting!  My original copy from when I was a kid is the picture label.  But the CIB version I've purchased for my collection is the text label. 

 

[Flag Capture on VCS | Hard to Capture in the Wild]

One of my favorites too.  This was one of the few games that Atari actually retired from their catalog.  Does that make it rare?  Probably a little. 

I like it because it makes you think.  Strategy plays a part.  The misses here mostly have to do with the graphics.  A lot of the other early games have a few graphical surprises thrown in.  Think about the clowns that splat in Circus Atari or the "ouch" in Human Cannonball.  This game could have really used any kind of little animations to make it better. 

 

[SOS | Save our SNES!]

You forgot the most important flaw...Rose and Jack could have BOTH fit on that floating door.  They barely even tried!  Move over, Rose!  Sheesh. 

I completely agree with your movie assessment.  But I understand what they tried to do.  Put some human interest into a story we already know the outcome of.  Still, it's super cheesy.  But the effects of the ship sinking are pretty spectacular. 

[The SNES Tracks | Super Circuit Annex]

Consider it like the older era ports.  For example Asteroids on VCS vs the arcade.  The hardware is less powerful and they had to make compromises.  And sometimes, they go with making "improvements" instead of making it as close as possible.

With game design, time and budget play huge roles in what we get.  Often times, "good enough" is the result.

[Don't go into a dark Alleyway because you won't be able to see your Game Boy screen.]

I like Alleyway a lot too!  Good review.  I think it's a fun game to spend some time with.  And you're right, the controls are pretty great for a d-pad breakout game. 

My friend Scott gave me his childhood Gameboy collection.  It consisted of an original Gameboy, a nice plastic case (like a small suitcase) and a few games.  I refused at first as surely his kids might want it!  Nope.  He said no one was interested and his wife asked him to get it out of the house.  Okee dokey.  It works great, and I paid him back with a case of beer.  I still have it and am proud to have it in my collection!

[Happily Running Win 10 Insiders Preview on old hardware]

I've got a very old single core laptop that runs Windows 7 just fine, but Win10 won't install due to a missing driver for some motherboard component.  It's a really nice PC because the form factor is tiny and it has a really great keyboard.  But it's getting pretty slow, and I think it's mostly that single core CPU.  I've pretty much retired that one to the attic.  It has no value, so no use trying to sell it.

Anything dual core will do Win10 just fine and adding memory does help it run faster IMO.  I've got a Core 2 Duo laptop that's very old but works great.  SSD and 4GB of memory have kept it going, and I use that one a lot. 

 

 

 

[Hair grooming during self isolation.]

My story:  I was lucky enough to get a haircut right before this mess happened in very early Feb.  For whatever reason, I asked the lady for a "2" instead of my normal "3" (which is shorter).  So far, I'm in decent shape.  But I think when this is over, I'll be sporting a "Gaston".  Everything pulled back into a pony of some kind.  My hair tends to grown out sideways....like Krusty the Clown. 

But I have had to trim my wife's bangs once so far.  God help me, it's a lot of pressure.  I think I did ok, and she says so too. 

[Been a little sick (don't worry!)]

I'm glad you are feeling better and able to clear out those sinuses.  It could just be seasonal allergies, but you are wise to take it seriously and be careful. 

[RE: My Tragic C64 incident]

I think that sad story has been repeated millions of times by other kids in every place on Earth.  It's called the "stupid tax".  The price we pay for the stupid things we do.  Hopefully, we all learn from these mistakes the first time they happen!

[It's a SMURFING Day]

I agree with you both.  It's a hidden gem on the 2600.  Really well done.  It's one of those games that's fun for both kids and adults. 

The Colecovision version is a real eye opener.  It's gorgeous.  It's got the same weird controls as the 2600 version, but it's also really fun. 

[You are ALL my children now!!!]

That thing turned out AWESOME.  Nice work. 

 

[The Terminators .45 Long Slide With Laser Sighting.]

Awesome re-creation!  And I agree with you on T1 being the best of the series by far. 

 

 

[Auntie Em! Auntie Em!]

Now THAT'S an aura of foreboding. 

[Atari 7800 - Top 10 Games]

Your list is great.  I'd put "Centipede" a bit higher for one reason:  the two player co-op mode.  Asteroids has this same feature, and it makes an awesome game even better.  

Another of my favorite 7800 games is the Dr J/Larry Bird One on One.  I absolutely LOVED this game on the Atari 8-bit computers and played it to death.  It's amazing the control the designers gave each player using only a stick and one button -- spins, dunks, jumpers, steals, jumps, checks.  The 7800 version plays exactly the same, but has much better graphics.  From your list, it's hard to find any game I'd replace with One on One, but I'd probably choose Choplifter.  Just because the 7800 Choplifter is worse than some of the earlier versions.  

I really love Food Fight, and the 7800 version is absolutely the best home version of that great game.  

I'd say the games that really show off the ability of the 7800 to move LOTS of sprites quickly are Asteroids and Food Fight.

Great post, K -- I really enjoyed reading your thoughts.  Thanks!

 

[Auntie Em! Auntie Em!]

World of Motion!

It made me think of the building in Los Angeles built to look like a stack of records. 

[Auntie Em! Auntie Em!]

Wow!  The fury of nature is incredible. 

 

[Before & After]

The trees here tell their own story.  Some grew, some are gone.  So much to see in these two pictures. 

[Before & After]

I love this.  I agree with @Justin, this blog is one of the best I've seen in a long time. 

 

[Fire Call!]

Very nice video.  PS - your desk is NOT messy! 

[Reader's Choice - You Name The Game]

Doom would be great.  It would be interesting to compare to the PS1 and N64 versions, or even the 32X. 

[Reader's Choice - You Name The Game]

I don't have any suggestions because I'm not familiar at all with the Jaguar line-up.  Are there games that also were made for the other systems of the day?  Like Doom or Quake?  If yes, I vote for one of those. 

[008 - Zoop!]

I've never heard of Zoop.  It looks like fun to me.  Thanks for your excellent review.