Sabertooth

Here's gameplay only footage of Saboteur including the AA cart, XP LE cart, VCS standalone ROM and VCS Vault version. I compared the four different versions of Saboteur head-to-head and cross-referenced against the information on AtariProtos.com. It looks like the version on the Atari VCS Vault Vol 2 is the 9/2/1983 version of the ROM. The version in the Atari VCS store appears to be the final build and is the same as the XP LE cart and the cart in the AA store. The cartridge footage was captured using my LHE modded 7800. This accounts for the slightly lower audio in one channel on the cart version. The LE cart wouldn't fit my UAV modded 7800 (daily driver).

I "love" I LOVE. This is a fun overview of the issues.

Atari Mania has moved from "Summer" to "Fall." The new gameplay footage looks nice! What mash-ups do you see?

Congratulations @Marco1019 ! Amazing score. And well done to the rest of the gang! I've had to sit out of the last few main challenges. Hope to get back in for Burgertime!

Out now in the VCS Store!

Yes, it's a strategic part of Arcade Mode. I am useless with them but if you want to give it a shot, go for it!

@RickR- when you click into Arcade Mode you'll see an option for modifiers: Hyper, Hunger and Heavy Cannon. You can select any or all of them for an end of game score boost (2.5% each).

They definitely should include a digital manual and scoring guide. At least Yars starts with a tutorial, which is a first for the Recharged series. Someone can correct my if I'm wrong but my understanding is that scores are really about time and health. You will get the same score for clearing each level. But you get a bonus for clearing it faster and not getting hit. These bonuses are applied at the end of play so they're not apparent from level to level. There are also the score modifiers that provide a stackable 2.5% bonus at the end of play.

99,760 with a Modern. I was crushed when that final came up and it wasn't 100k+.

They are also replacing Aquaventure manuals in the LEs due to a print error.

I did note another print error. This time with the box on the LE version of Saboteur. The back of the box erroneously credits Dennis Debros and Curt Vendel in addition to HSW. Neither were involved in Saboteur. 🙄

Here is Atari's solution to the Standard Edition cart issue.

I really like it too. Whatever mistakes Atari made with the SE - and its not at all acceptable - they did a good job with the LE packages. I'm not too worried about the carts wearing. I'll probably use a Gemini or Jr. to play these since they have the most clearance in the carts slots. I'll share Aquaventure and Yars photos too.

I'll watch it BUT I won't be happy about it! 😉

Here are some photos of my XP Limited Edition copy of Saboteur. With all of the discussion surrounding the Standard Editions and the assembly errors there hasn't been much discussion of the LE package. It's actually pretty nice.

My LEs arrived today. They were also very tightly wrapped. I removed the shrink wrap immediately to prevent warping. I tested in the following: 7800 (x2) 2600 Jr. (x2) Coleco Gemini 4-Switch Woody 4-Switch Video Arcade Retron 77 They did not work in a Retron 77. They did not fit my daily driver 7800 but DID fit my spare. They were a little tight in my Video Arcade. All other consoles worked fine for all three titles. I don't have any impressions yet aside from the acrylic tops are neat.

Email from Atari Re: SE carts.

From an Atari rep via Discord:

Here's a great review of the digital copy of Aquaventure from @Mockduck. Unfortunately, he's reporting issues with his physical copy of the Standard Edition cart. As noted above, it appears Standard Edition carts were assembled with the PCBs flipped.

Curious, is anyone using bonus multipliers as a strategy?

So apparently some Standard Editions have the PCB flipped. 🤔 Atari is aware of the issue. From Discord: Let's see how they handle it. LTD editions seem fine.

First few unboxings are popping up. Check out @BHG_Gamingunboxing Aquaventure Ltd. and GenXGrownUp with Yars' Return Ltd.

Hi @LeeJ07- Sorry, I moved these out locally when I didn't get any interest here. Thanks for looking!