Sabertooth

I broke out my Intellivision Flashback console for this one. It hasn't seen a lot of play because I'm not a big Intellivision fan. Trying the two controller approach suggested by @RickR. This could be fun with a dual stick controller but with the disk on one hand and the buttons on the other, it's not a lot of fun. Maybe if you could use just the disks - something akin to dual stick Robotron - it would fare better. 5,600 to get on the board.

76,300. Retiring my thumb for the evening!

Congrats, Rick! I drove a LEAF for 8 years and would still be driving today had it not been totaled. They are great cars.

Make that 52,800.

51,200. Justin is right; this is one HARD game. Loving it!

I set my phone to stay unlocked for 50 minutes. Then I was able to grab my phone quickly enough to take a picture. My score isn't worth posting yet. Killer game!

This happened to me too. I die (quickly), cannot pause and then it plays a jingle and asks whether I want to continue. I had no time to grab my phone and take a shot. I'm playing via Mednafen.

Is this the OG Pac4K by Dennis Debro? I believe that's the one in the AA store. Different from DINTAR816's 4K but also great effort!

Ok, I give up. I came within a few points of my last score and gave up the ghost👻. Time for a break! I recalled another attempt at Pac-Man 8K. This was a hack by AA member Nukey Shay using Tod's original code, kernel, ghost AI and maze layout but with improved control, speed, colors and sound. Here's the bin file. This still feels very 2600 but it's interesting nonetheless. Pacman8k.bin

As the kids might say, "This, 💯!"

I think that I'll give this another shot. 🍹

41,790 On a 4-switch Woody VCS via Harmony using a Coleco Gemini controller.

This is a fantastic port of the game and, by far, the best version on the 2600. FYI - Dintar816 is actually on version 8 of the build. The link to the most recent build is here: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/229152-new-pacman-for-atari-2600/?p=4131166 It improves corning and plays even more closely to the arcade. Also, note: If you're playing on a console, the right difficulty switch controls normal and fast modes. Assuming we're playing in the "normal" mode that starts slow? The interview with Tod Frye clearly shows why he was the wrong person to handle an arcade conversion. The deadlines he was dealing with notwithstanding, if you don't get why exits at the top, maze layouts and color schemes are a big deal, you shouldn't be handling an arcade game. I say this as someone who grew up with 2600 Pac-Man and really enjoys that game.

I'll take some photos when I bring them over here and get them sorted. There are a few four switch Woody consoles, a Vader or two, a Jr. and maybe a light sixer. Probably eight in total. I would happily send one for the site.

My main goal for 2019 is to repair and sell/gift several 2600s in the garage. I'm moving them from my house - which is being sold as part of my divorce - to my apartment and I just don't have the room. Other than that, I want to try and play through a game a month after everything settles.

I am a fan of both the original and reboot. The original is just good campy fun. The reboot is much more serious with a deep story and top notch performances. I've watched the reboot series twice over the years. I also enjoyed the spinoff prequel series Caprica. It's too bad they didn't give Caprica a shot at a second season. Sci-Fi (SyFY) cancels so many good shows!

Thanks, StormSurge. I've heard that the community build of the Retron 77 has really improved the product. I love that folks are working on making it even better. Eventually I'll probably break down and grab it. For now, my 4-switch through a RetroTINK is giving me a great picture with no compatibility issues.

I picked up a Hyperkin "The Trooper" controller this week for $15. This is the "improved" version of the controller that shipped with the first run of the Retron 77 last summer. Apparently, Hyperkin took the criticism of their initial controller and improved it for subsequent runs of the Retron 77. In addition, they offer it as a stand alone purchase. I'm not really in the market for a 2600 compatible emulation box but I was interested in the controller. Here are the basic details: Ambidextrous two-button layout Faux "woodgrain" styling 10 ft. cable Angled corners for comfort Traditionally styled joystick I put about two hours on the controller playing a variety of games. For purposes of comparison, I also played the games with an Atari CX-40 (XE version) which I purchased NOS from B&C Computervisions. The games that I played included Berzerk, Ms. Pac-Man, Q-bert, Spider Fighter, Missile Command and Demon Attack. I really wanted to try a cross section of games that put the controller through its paces. Here are my thoughts: Build quality: I've had bad luck with modern 2600 compatible controllers. They frequently break within just a few gaming sessions. The Trooper didn't feel rugged but it doesn't come off as cheap either. The button was more responsive than an Atari CX-40; it felt great. The joystick itself isn't as stiff as a real controller but it didn't feel like it would break. My initial impression is that its a sturdy alternative to some of the other replacements that are on the market. Styling/Design: The first thing I noticed about the control was its angled corners. These are a call back to the Retron itself and its an interesting/handsome look overall. Functionally the corners make the controller slightly more comfortable to hold than a CX-40. The 10 ft. cable is a nice touch and I'm glad to put away my Genesis extensions. The ambidextrous two-button layout is a nice feature but I don't really need it. Its a great inclusion for south paws I suppose. One thing that is a bit off-putting is the faux wood grain. Its a little too orange and doesn't really go with my 4-switch Woody. They might have tried matching the original if they were going through the effort. Control: As I said above, the Trooper didn't feel as stiff as the CX-40. Its a softer overall feeling stick that you don't have to press quite as hard. During my gaming session, I found it to handle diagonals much better than the CX-40. Games like Missile Command and Berzerk were a joy to play. It also fared comparatively well in the shooters Spider Fighter and Demon Attack. The CX-40 had an edge on the 4-way games, particularly Ms. Pac-Man. I found myself missing tight direction changes with the Trooper that I can hit with the CX-40. As I stated above, button response was great; much improved from the CX-40. Overall, I like the Trooper. It seems like a sturdy replacement/spare for 2600 compatible consoles. It stood up well against the CX-40 for most games and the 10 ft. cable and angled corners are a plus. For $15 you can't go wrong. Also, I'm hoping the name is a reference to Iron Maiden. \m/ Have you tried the Trooper? What are your thoughts?

Lunchtime unwind: 87,510.

Lunchtime score: 77,240.

That was a very nice run, Kid A! It's funny that after all of those hazards it was a Bombshell Koopa that got you in the end. I guess it's the nature of old platform games. Who needs boss battles anyway? I'm sure that you'll get past that in another run. Keep it up!

World Tour Racing Published: 1997 by Telegames Developed: Teque London Polygonal racers were all the rage in the mid-90s. At the time of the Jaguar’s release, Sega’s Virtua Racing ruled the arcades. Atari’s answer was the lackluster Checkered Flag; a game notorious for its low frame rate and horrible controls. The innovative but visually bland Club Drive also failed to impress gamers. By 1994, the Sega 32X had an excellent port of Virtua Racing. The release of the Sega Saturn and Sony Playstation brought home amazing versions of Daytona USA and Ridge Racer, respectively. Atari needed a response. Something that would make up for the sin of Checkered Flag and provide Jaguar enthusiasts with a modern polygonal racer worthy of their 64-bit machine. Atari turned to developer Teque London to produce a Formula One licensed racer, complete with real tracks: F1 Racer. Unfortunately, by the time the game was ready in early 1996, Atari was on life support. The ruinous 1995 holiday season brought Atari to the brink and many complete or near complete Jaguar projects were cancelled. F1 Racer was shelved until Atari’s merger with JTS, at which point the title was purchased by Telegames along with Towers II, Worms, Zero 5, Iron Soldier 2 and Breakout 2000. The official F1 license was dropped and the final game, now called World Tour Racing, was released in 1997 on the Jaguar CD add-on. Is World Tour Racing the polygonal racer that the Jaguar always deserved? Let's take the game to the track and see if it qualifies! Gameplay: “Imagine that, a Jaguar polygon racer with decent controls!” Gameplay is straightforward in WTR. Under the default setting, use the controller’s d-pad to steer, B-button to brake and A-button to accelerate. Control is responsive and steering is tight. The brakes and acceleration work as they should. Options for a track map are available in single player mode. This helps tremendously. The C-button is used to toggle through the game’s three standard views: In-car, Chase 1 and Chase 2. The game views can really affect gameplay and your mileage may vary depending on which view you select. I prefer Chase 2 which is behind the car and above. The car looks smaller in this view but it was easier for me to control. Chase 1 probably looks the most contemporary with other polygon racers of the time. The In-car view puts you in the driver’s seat. This looked cool but I found it difficult to take corners in this mode. Other views are available on the controller’s keypad, as are options for track maps, music and road textures. WTR’s three main gameplay modes are Single Race, Championship and Arcade. Both Single Race and Arcade modes have a two-player, split screen option. In Single Race mode, players can elect to race any of the 16 available race tracks. In Championship mode, players race the entire calendar, taking on each track in turn. Both Single Race and Championship mode offer qualifying and free race options. Qualifying will establish your car’s grid-position in the actual race. If you choose to skip the qualifying option, you will automatically get the last grid-position. In Arcade mode, players race each track in turn, scoring points based on finishing place. Among the modes, my favorites are Single Race and Arcade. I enjoy Single Race because you have the option to select any of the 16 available tracks. There is a good deal of variety in the track layouts and its nice that all of them are unlocked from the start. Arcade mode is just easy to hop into. No qualifying, no problem! WTR offers a great deal of customization. In all modes, players can access the “Workshop” which allows tire selection, gearbox ratios, brake balancing and wing angle. I played around with these but they didn’t really enhance my race performance. One thing missing: Color selection! I hope you like a red car because that’s what you’re getting! Note: The action noticeably slows down during two-player split screen. Also, the track map feature is not available. This makes taking tight corners a bit trickier than in single-player mode. I consider the split screen option a novelty. Graphics: Graphically, WTR is a bit of a grab bag. In-game, WTR uses a combination of gouraud-shaded polygons, bitmaps and minimal textures. In still shots and on straightaways where you are the only car, this looks great. Atari-themed signs (“Atari”, “Jaguar”, “DOOM”), buildings, crowds and trees fly by and give you a real sense of speed. However, when there is too much on the scree the slow-down is noticeable. This doesn’t ruin the gameplay but it can be distracting. As mentioned above, the slow-down is even more prevalent in two-player mode. There is an option to turn on a texture on the race track. This option looks really strange and I found that performance improved slightly if I left it off. The information graphics (speed, place and lap) look very clean and are in line with the style of the day. Fonts are modern (for the 90s) and have a slight gradient shading which looks really good. In single player mode, there are three options for a track map. The first shows just a portion of the map in a translucent box. The second is a map of the full track, which rotates with you. The last map option is to have no map at all. I found the rotating full track map to be the easiest to use. The tracks themselves are different from one another but none of the environments really stand out. Is it Britain? Is it Brazil? Is it Hungary? Without the menu, who would know? It would have been cool if the artists incorporated something unique in each track to distinguish one nation’s track from the next. One of the tell-tale signs of a 90s CD-ROM title are the weird CG cutscenes and movies. WTR is chock full of them. These range from the bizarre Teque title-card, to the game intro, to an arcade machine bursting through the wall when selecting Arcade mode. The models here are much smoother than what was capable in-game and was at least on par with what other systems were doing at the time. None of these have aged well but its part of that era and always makes me laugh. Its clear someone was having fun with all of the extra storage the Jaguar CD provided! Sound/Music: WTR really shines in the audio department. Engine sounds and screeching tires sound just as you would expect. In true mid-90s fashion, in-game music consists of high-quality techno that is really fun to drive to. It truly shows off the Jaguar CDs audio capabilities and is some of the best music on the platform. My only complaint is that there are only 3 tunes over the course of 16 race tracks. It would have been great if more in-game music was included. Other Notes: There is no Memory Track support in WTR. Instead, you use an over long pass code. This is CRAZY for a Jaguar CD game. Maybe Teque didn't have time to implement Memory Track support but its a real bummer. Final Thoughts: World Tour Racing is a competent polygonal open-wheel racer. It controls reasonably well, is full of options, has a variety of tracks, and features some of the best music on the Jaguar. The graphics definitely tax the system and there is noticeable slow down during gameplay, particularly in two-player mode. Does it hold up to contemporaries on the Saturn and Playstation? Not by a long shot. That said, it is a fun game and its the best polygonal racer on the platform. If you have a Jaguar CD or are an F1 fan, its definitely worth a look. Thanks for reading and please share your memories and thoughts on World Tour Racing in the comments below! Do you think that it takes the pole position among Jaguar’s racers? The next game is: Primal Rage!

Well, I got back from the office and I'm at it again. I died due to a bad bounce early on but kept playing just to get used to the game. I finally gave up the ghost on World 3-1. Those boulders did a number on me! World 2-3 was a lot of fun. I wasn't expecting a side-scrolling shooter! Looking forward to trying again later this week! I didn't have a Game Boy growing up but I, of course, had friends that did. I don't remember playing this but I did play Link's Awakening. I'll agree with others that there was no beating Nintendo at that time in terms of software. Even today, their original IP is top notch. That said, I tend to like classic arcade games and for that the Lynx (Lynx II) is my hands-down favorite handheld. Joust, Ms. Pac-Man, Pac Land, STUN Runner, Klax, APB, XYBOTS, Xenophobe, Qix, Hydra and Roadblasters are among my favorites. I won't include Super Asteroids/Missile Command as those were updated versions of the originals. We're lucky Atari Corp. and Atari Games (Tengen) still had a decent working relationship or we may not have seen many of those!