RickR

Ep 261: BattleZone - 2600

Great reviews, Rick. Roadblasters is a fantastic port on the Lynx and one of my favorite titles. Hydra has a similar vibe so I recommend that if you can get it cheaply.
 
I also really enjoy Kung Food despite its flaws. If someone were to fix the collision detection I would snap up an improved version in a heartbeat.
 
Many of the Atari Games arcade games do really well on the Lynx (Roadblasters, Hydra, XYBOTS, Gauntlet, Stun Runner, Paperboy, etc.). It's fortunate that Atari, Inc. and Atari Games were able to work out licensing deals despite being different companies. If things had worked out differently, I think that a unified Atari could have given SEGA a run for its money with exclusive quality arcade to home conversions. Alas, many Atari Games titles of the period were available across platforms. Good for gamers but bad for Atari, Inc.

Kung Food Review
 
One word summary:  Tums
 
What can I say here?  I really liked this one, but it has a few flaws.  I love the little muscular green giant character.  He's an angry little Hulk in a fridge!  And fighting against food, ice creeps, and rats!  COOL!  This should have been a follow up to "Food Fight" somehow.  Or maybe it should have had power-ups like "Altered Beast".  The concept is really fun.  But there are issues....I dislike how hard it is to line up with enemies.  And it's kind of hard to tell if your punches/kicks have landed.  Oh, and those ice spikes that pop out of the ground are really cheap. 
 
The graphics are great.  Everything is easy to see and moves smoothly. 
 
This game could have been something special.  I wonder if they play tested with real gamers and got some honest feedback -- if that would have helped a game like this. 
 
This game is a fun concept, but a little flawed. 
 
Atari had an arcade platform at the time...the one that played Paperboy and APB to name a few examples.  The Lynx really reminds me of that platform...the graphics and text have that same look and feel. 

Roadblasters Review:
 
One word summary:  Wow!
 
This game is really good on the Lynx.  Impressive graphics, easy controls.  Very responsive. Love the helicopter that drops weapons upgrades. 
 
On the con side:  It's really hard to see the green/red fuel blobs, but maybe that's just my old eyes.  Also, it's super cool that they included some voice effects at the end of each round, but it was kind of hard to understand.  Maybe I should try headphones. 
 
The game is really fun, and looks great. A+. 
 
What do you all think of this game?

I've gotten the Lynx out and wanted to share my collection.  I haven't even tried a few of these games yet (Rygar, Kung Food, Roadblasters).  Reviews coming soon.
 
 

I would honestly have to say Space Invaders. It's controls and gameplay are the closest to the arcade. 2nd place I'd say, is battlezone. Just because of how well they were able to adapt a 3D perspective onto such a primitive console. 

Kung Food Review
 
One word summary:  Tums
 
What can I say here?  I really liked this one, but it has a few flaws.  I love the little muscular green giant character.  He's an angry little Hulk in a fridge!  And fighting against food, ice creeps, and rats!  COOL!  This should have been a follow up to "Food Fight" somehow.  Or maybe it should have had power-ups like "Altered Beast".  The concept is really fun.  But there are issues....I dislike how hard it is to line up with enemies.  And it's kind of hard to tell if your punches/kicks have landed.  Oh, and those ice spikes that pop out of the ground are really cheap. 
 
The graphics are great.  Everything is easy to see and moves smoothly. 
 
This game could have been something special.  I wonder if they play tested with real gamers and got some honest feedback -- if that would have helped a game like this. 
 
This game is a fun concept, but a little flawed. 
 
Atari had an arcade platform at the time...the one that played Paperboy and APB to name a few examples.  The Lynx really reminds me of that platform...the graphics and text have that same look and feel. 

I also have my Sega Game Gear collection out and I'll give that a go once I'm done with the Lynx. 
 
One interesting thing I can say about the Lynx is I tend to forget how big it was.  The thing is BIG, and thick.  I do like how comfortable it is to hold, and it's got a nice big screen. I think Atari should have skipped the ability to "flip" the unit for left/right handers (that would eliminate 3 buttons) to save a little size.  I do love the look and feel of it.  
 
It would look really good next to one of those original American XBOX controllers.  Way too big, yet comfortable to use. 
 

All these ports are good, except for donkey Kong and pac man , but I personally like gyruss, it's pretty good game even though doesn't have sound only background music, but I know it gets repetitive after a while lol

Kung Food Review
 
One word summary:  Tums
 
What can I say here?  I really liked this one, but it has a few flaws.  I love the little muscular green giant character.  He's an angry little Hulk in a fridge!  And fighting against food, ice creeps, and rats!  COOL!  This should have been a follow up to "Food Fight" somehow.  Or maybe it should have had power-ups like "Altered Beast".  The concept is really fun.  But there are issues....I dislike how hard it is to line up with enemies.  And it's kind of hard to tell if your punches/kicks have landed.  Oh, and those ice spikes that pop out of the ground are really cheap. 
 
The graphics are great.  Everything is easy to see and moves smoothly. 
 
This game could have been something special.  I wonder if they play tested with real gamers and got some honest feedback -- if that would have helped a game like this. 
 
This game is a fun concept, but a little flawed. 
 
Atari had an arcade platform at the time...the one that played Paperboy and APB to name a few examples.  The Lynx really reminds me of that platform...the graphics and text have that same look and feel. 

I've gotten the Lynx out and wanted to share my collection.  I haven't even tried a few of these games yet (Rygar, Kung Food, Roadblasters).  Reviews coming soon.
 
 

I've gotten the Lynx out and wanted to share my collection.  I haven't even tried a few of these games yet (Rygar, Kung Food, Roadblasters).  Reviews coming soon.
 
 

I've gotten the Lynx out and wanted to share my collection.  I haven't even tried a few of these games yet (Rygar, Kung Food, Roadblasters).  Reviews coming soon.
 
 

Roadblasters Review:
 
One word summary:  Wow!
 
This game is really good on the Lynx.  Impressive graphics, easy controls.  Very responsive. Love the helicopter that drops weapons upgrades. 
 
On the con side:  It's really hard to see the green/red fuel blobs, but maybe that's just my old eyes.  Also, it's super cool that they included some voice effects at the end of each round, but it was kind of hard to understand.  Maybe I should try headphones. 
 
The game is really fun, and looks great. A+. 
 
What do you all think of this game?

I've gotten the Lynx out and wanted to share my collection.  I haven't even tried a few of these games yet (Rygar, Kung Food, Roadblasters).  Reviews coming soon.
 
 

Roadblasters Review:
 
One word summary:  Wow!
 
This game is really good on the Lynx.  Impressive graphics, easy controls.  Very responsive. Love the helicopter that drops weapons upgrades. 
 
On the con side:  It's really hard to see the green/red fuel blobs, but maybe that's just my old eyes.  Also, it's super cool that they included some voice effects at the end of each round, but it was kind of hard to understand.  Maybe I should try headphones. 
 
The game is really fun, and looks great. A+. 
 
What do you all think of this game?

Basketbrawl Review
 
One word summary:  Blech
 
Anyone else play Arch Rivals in the arcade or on NES?  It's a great game.  Rule-less basketball...you can punch or kick your opponent.  That game is really fun with great graphics and sound.  Plus you will laugh heartily (I guarantee) when you punch somebody in the back of the head.  Well, that's what this game is trying to be, only it's terrible.  There's no jumping or rebounding or passing.  Shooting the ball is totally random.  There are power-ups, but if you take the time to grab them, the computer is going to score easily.  Even the fighting portion is bad.  Button mashing with no real consequence.  This is a game that should have been right up my alley, but it's no fun. 
 
I hate being so negative.  But like I said, this is a game I really thought I'd love due to the concept...it's a huge disappointment. 

I've gotten the Lynx out and wanted to share my collection.  I haven't even tried a few of these games yet (Rygar, Kung Food, Roadblasters).  Reviews coming soon.
 
 

I've gotten the Lynx out and wanted to share my collection.  I haven't even tried a few of these games yet (Rygar, Kung Food, Roadblasters).  Reviews coming soon.
 
 

Found this for a whopping $1.  Missing the battery cover.  It works!
 
Is there an NSG or ArcadeUSA review of this one?  It's not a good plug and play unit.  First of all, it's obviously emulation...graphics and sounds are off.  Secondly, that button is really uncomfortable to use.  Your thumb hits the raised edge around the button...almost painful. 
 
 

I've gotten the Lynx out and wanted to share my collection.  I haven't even tried a few of these games yet (Rygar, Kung Food, Roadblasters).  Reviews coming soon.
 
 

Spoiler Alert!  Sorry about that. 

I have a fat PS2 that only works sometimes.  I'm not sure if it's a faulty power button or what.  But sometimes it will not turn on.  If you'd like it, you can have it for free.  When it does turn on, it works perfectly. 

Some additions to the collection this weekend...
 

 
1) The rare 1986 Atari Corp re-release of Sky Diver with white text in the "new" style font.  I alluded to this release back in my post way back when about the Breakout and Hangman re-releases -- the end label of this one also has the extra large text.  Unfortunately, the Sky Diver cart I picked up had a shredded end label.  Whenever I finally get a clean copy, this one will be for trade/sale.
 
2) The most off-center, crooked print I've ever seen on an Atari cartridge!  Guess whoooo?  Oh, Atari Corp...      RealSports Volleyball is also the only Atari Corp release that has a red title bar that doesn't go all the way across the front of the cartridge.  Bizarre, and makes it look a little like a pirate cart, I think.  Also, the font/text they used for the copyright info on the bottom just seems... slightly off.  Like, the letters are off-kilter, some are raised, some are tilted.  Is it just me?  It can't be just me...
 

 
3) And yes -- I paid actual, real, legal tender for a copy of Combat.    I'd never seen this particular type before, that has the end label text in the "fat" style font.  It's a little out of focus in my photo, but all the letters touch each other and the "holes" inside the letters are smaller than usual.  It's version "S" on the VGV page.

I think I'm gonna be getting a Dreamcast controller, VMU, and AV cable sometime this week. Will update when I know for sure.