Sabertooth

This looks incredible. I've always been disappointed that EverDrive products overlook Lynx and Jaguar.

AtariAge user SainT recently launched his LynxSD cart. I signed up on the interest thread when the project was announced and finally got mine about two weeks ago. I have to say, it's one awesome accessory for your favorite Atari handheld. I now have the vast majority of games on a single game card. The cased version fits the Lynx II. If you have the Lynx I, you'll have to go with the uncased cart. Check it out on his website or visit the AtariAge thread:
 
http://www.retrohq.co.uk/the-first-review

AtariAge user SainT recently launched his LynxSD cart. I signed up on the interest thread when the project was announced and finally got mine about two weeks ago. I have to say, it's one awesome accessory for your favorite Atari handheld. I now have the vast majority of games on a single game card. The cased version fits the Lynx II. If you have the Lynx I, you'll have to go with the uncased cart. Check it out on his website or visit the AtariAge thread:
 
http://www.retrohq.co.uk/the-first-review

AtariAge user SainT recently launched his LynxSD cart. I signed up on the interest thread when the project was announced and finally got mine about two weeks ago. I have to say, it's one awesome accessory for your favorite Atari handheld. I now have the vast majority of games on a single game card. The cased version fits the Lynx II. If you have the Lynx I, you'll have to go with the uncased cart. Check it out on his website or visit the AtariAge thread:
 
http://www.retrohq.co.uk/the-first-review

I have a soft spot in my heart for the Jaguar. In fact, it's the only Atari console that I have a complete retail collection for. I bought my first Jaguar with Wolfenstein 3D and Raiden in 1994. Twenty years on, a Jaguar is always hooked up to a tv and regularly played. But what is it about the Jaguar - the last true Atari - that makes it so endearing?

As much as it was an epic commercial failure, the Jaguar also signified wide-eyed hope and optimism. It was Atari's 64-bit Hail Mary pass. You get the sense in reading the interviews with Sam Tramiel that Atari Corp. genuinely believed that they would be dancing in the end zone and send Nintendo, Sega and that upstart 3DO back to the lockers. I loved that about the Jaguar and I was on board.

As it was, the dream wouldn't materialize. Atari would become a logo for officially licensed product and Jaguar would be unduly maligned by countless adolescent you tubers hoping to be the next AVGN. But if you can get past the hate, there are number of great games on the system - many exclusive to the Jag.

Indeed, for every Checkered Flag or Double Dragon V there is an Iron Soldier, a Tempest 2000, a Rayman or an AVP. Better still, many great games continue to come out on the Jaguar twenty years later. Games like Skyhammer, Iron Soldier 2, and Zero 5 are all fantastic post Atari releases. Plus, there are a handful of active developers like Reboot, MD Games and Orion that are showing this cat has many, many more lives.

So Jaguar fans, what do you love about the last true Atari?
 
 

Why did I get a Jaguar?  It is a very stylish system, games are unique and most exclusive to the Jaguar, and I actually like the controllers.  I don't like how they fit to the console because I feel that could be a bit more snug.  More gaming power for the money.  $225 got me a system with two games, an extra controller (since I was the only one that played it served as a spare should something go wrong with the first one), and the A/V cable.  No other console at that time offered that much for that kind of price.  I spent $200 on the Genesis and barely got a game although Altered Beast would not have been my first choice.  
 
Most of all, I grabbed a Jaguar because it was Atari.  Atari had been a huge part of my childhood so I was surprised to see the Jaguar flyer I got in the mail and I already knew I wanted one.  I just couldn't afford it at the time.  And if it hadn't been for my dear Grandmother I might not have every had one.  
 
Great gaming memories that can only be played on the Jaguar and Jaguar CD.  I mean, a perfect port of Myst and Baldies (never found the PC version of Baldies), Tempest 2000 absolutely blows away the competition...and your mind, Iron Soldier is an awesome blast-the-he**-out-of-everything mech game, Syndicate will entertain for hours if not make you laugh by setting your enemies on fire, Wolfenstein 3D, DOOM, and Alien VS Predator fill the need for much needed first-person shooters.  If that's not enough try Power Drive Rally, a top-down racer in a similar fashion to R.C. Pro-Am...on steroids!  Think your an expert at Defender???  Defender 2000 will retrain you or hand your butt back to you.  I*War and Cybermorph are easily the starts into the 3D gaming perspective we take for granted on modern consoles as is Hover Strike.
 
The Jaguar played an important part in gaming history.  16-bit consoles were delivering good 2D and 2.5D games.  No doubt about it.  And just before the popular 32-bit consoles hit the market the Jaguar was setting standards.  Games that were true 3D and hardware that could handle it.  The Jaguar's specs were unheard of when it was released and are still impressive.  It will always remain a remarkable console in my book.  Now I just need to find Tempest!  

Here is one of the most decent Jaguar video reviews I have come across. It's from a guy named Dan Wood from the site kookytech.net. Despite one or two inaccuracies, on the whole this is a good overview and his assessment of the Last True Atari is right on.
 

Here is one of the most decent Jaguar video reviews I have come across. It's from a guy named Dan Wood from the site kookytech.net. Despite one or two inaccuracies, on the whole this is a good overview and his assessment of the Last True Atari is right on.
 

Here is one of the most decent Jaguar video reviews I have come across. It's from a guy named Dan Wood from the site kookytech.net. Despite one or two inaccuracies, on the whole this is a good overview and his assessment of the Last True Atari is right on.
 

Truth be told, the Jaguar didn't need games texture mapped to death gaming - it just needed the VR headset released with some solid, fast-paced polygon/gouraud shading goodness going on and I still think it would have had something to truly set it apart from the rest of the consoles at the time.

I never even gave much thought to the possibility of an AVP VR game but that would've been intense!
 
@atarilbc - I'm sure the lack of music in Doom helped a bit as well, since you can certainly hear and focus on the demons creeping up behind you! =)
 
So after HS:UL - you can always go for something a little more vomit inducing ;-) Checkered Flag in cockpit seating lol

If the hype is to be believed, 2016 is the year of VR. Oculus, Samsung, HTC and Sony are all poised to launch projects that will take gaming and entertainment to new levels. Many consumers are eagerly awaiting the new tech while others dismiss modern VR as a gimmick. We'll just have to wait and see how this new phase of VR pans out but this isn't the first time we've been down this road. The early to mid-90s saw a rash of VR projects and peripherals promising a more interactive gaming experience. Most of these were utter failures. Atari, for their part, partnered with Virtuality, a firm specializing in immersive arcade games, to develop a consumer level head mounted display (HMD) for use with the Jaguar - Jaguar VR.
 

 
The Jaguar VR was shown in '95 and one Jaguar game, Missile Command 3-D, was developed with the unit in mind. Two versions of the prototype were built; a low-res version and a high-res version. The tech was notable for its utilization of IR headtracking . Ultimately, Atari pulled the plug on the project as it was clear that the Jaguar was failing and the cost and quality of the VR platform left much to be desired. Of the handful of prototypes produced, only three are known to remain in existence today. However, the display technology that Virtuality developed for Atari was soon licensed and repackaged into two products that eventually made it to retail; the Philips SCUBA and Takara Dynovisor. Released in 1997 for about $300, the SCUBA and Dynovisor could be used with any composite video source. The units did not feature headtracking; instead, users used standard game controls to guide the action on screen. Worn on the head and supported by straps, both the SCUBA and Dynovisor are somewhat cumbersome and uncomfortable to wear. An automatic shutoff interrupts viewing every 30 minutes to help avoid eyestrain.
 
I recently received a Japanese market Takara Dynovisor in good working condition. Over the next week I am going to play some Jaguar games that I think may be suited for this kind of device and provide some notes on my experiences. These won't be full reviews, but just a summary of my impressions of the effectiveness of the Dynovisor in providing an enjoyable and immersive experience. I'm going to start with Missile Command 3D since that game was designed for HMD. Other games I'm considering are Tempest 2000, Zero 5, Doom, and Hoverstrike:UL. If you have other suggestions or want to share your own impressions of the Dynovisor or SCUBA, feel free to post here.
 

 

What can be said about id Software's Jaguar port of DOOM that hasn't already been said? Famous for being the best console port available upon its release in late '94, the game features full screen action, 24 maps, great use of color and textures and full weapons access via that wacky Jaguar gamepad overlay.
 
I spent about 40 minutes tooling around the world of DOOM using the Takara Dynovisor. I played the game in a darkened room so no light crept into the helmet from the bottom of the facemask. This enhanced the Dynovisor's isolating effect and I'll probably use it like this moving forward. The sound effects, particularly the growls and gurgles of the monsters around you were much more pronounced and impressive than when run through a TV. In fact, this has been the case for the few games I've played with the helmet. I think Takara really nailed the audio. Visuals on the other hand were less impressive due to the helmet's low-res display. That said, once my eyes adjusted it wasn't much of an issue. The helmet prevents you from referencing the overlay so if you're not familiar with the keypad's button layout, this could cause some fumbling. I did get a little queasy from the speed of the game but I've had this issue before with both DOOM and Wolfenstein 3D so I don't want to pin it on the Dynovisor. I'll have to see how I do with other games.
 
Because this is DOOM, the game was as fun and frenetic as ever. What the Dynovisor added to the experience was a sense of immersion. With the outside world blocked from view, I did feel a little more connected to the game. Unlike Missile Command 3D, DOOM was not designed with the HMD in mind. Still, the game's first person perspective lends itself well to the technology and it's no surprise that John Carmack is onboard for the Oculus project. For me, the Dynovisor was a fun way to play DOOM. Gimmicky? You bet. But the kitsch of using the Dynovisor is part of the appeal.
 
Next up: Hover Strike UL

What can be said about id Software's Jaguar port of DOOM that hasn't already been said? Famous for being the best console port available upon its release in late '94, the game features full screen action, 24 maps, great use of color and textures and full weapons access via that wacky Jaguar gamepad overlay.
 
I spent about 40 minutes tooling around the world of DOOM using the Takara Dynovisor. I played the game in a darkened room so no light crept into the helmet from the bottom of the facemask. This enhanced the Dynovisor's isolating effect and I'll probably use it like this moving forward. The sound effects, particularly the growls and gurgles of the monsters around you were much more pronounced and impressive than when run through a TV. In fact, this has been the case for the few games I've played with the helmet. I think Takara really nailed the audio. Visuals on the other hand were less impressive due to the helmet's low-res display. That said, once my eyes adjusted it wasn't much of an issue. The helmet prevents you from referencing the overlay so if you're not familiar with the keypad's button layout, this could cause some fumbling. I did get a little queasy from the speed of the game but I've had this issue before with both DOOM and Wolfenstein 3D so I don't want to pin it on the Dynovisor. I'll have to see how I do with other games.
 
Because this is DOOM, the game was as fun and frenetic as ever. What the Dynovisor added to the experience was a sense of immersion. With the outside world blocked from view, I did feel a little more connected to the game. Unlike Missile Command 3D, DOOM was not designed with the HMD in mind. Still, the game's first person perspective lends itself well to the technology and it's no surprise that John Carmack is onboard for the Oculus project. For me, the Dynovisor was a fun way to play DOOM. Gimmicky? You bet. But the kitsch of using the Dynovisor is part of the appeal.
 
Next up: Hover Strike UL

What can be said about id Software's Jaguar port of DOOM that hasn't already been said? Famous for being the best console port available upon its release in late '94, the game features full screen action, 24 maps, great use of color and textures and full weapons access via that wacky Jaguar gamepad overlay.
 
I spent about 40 minutes tooling around the world of DOOM using the Takara Dynovisor. I played the game in a darkened room so no light crept into the helmet from the bottom of the facemask. This enhanced the Dynovisor's isolating effect and I'll probably use it like this moving forward. The sound effects, particularly the growls and gurgles of the monsters around you were much more pronounced and impressive than when run through a TV. In fact, this has been the case for the few games I've played with the helmet. I think Takara really nailed the audio. Visuals on the other hand were less impressive due to the helmet's low-res display. That said, once my eyes adjusted it wasn't much of an issue. The helmet prevents you from referencing the overlay so if you're not familiar with the keypad's button layout, this could cause some fumbling. I did get a little queasy from the speed of the game but I've had this issue before with both DOOM and Wolfenstein 3D so I don't want to pin it on the Dynovisor. I'll have to see how I do with other games.
 
Because this is DOOM, the game was as fun and frenetic as ever. What the Dynovisor added to the experience was a sense of immersion. With the outside world blocked from view, I did feel a little more connected to the game. Unlike Missile Command 3D, DOOM was not designed with the HMD in mind. Still, the game's first person perspective lends itself well to the technology and it's no surprise that John Carmack is onboard for the Oculus project. For me, the Dynovisor was a fun way to play DOOM. Gimmicky? You bet. But the kitsch of using the Dynovisor is part of the appeal.
 
Next up: Hover Strike UL

If the hype is to be believed, 2016 is the year of VR. Oculus, Samsung, HTC and Sony are all poised to launch projects that will take gaming and entertainment to new levels. Many consumers are eagerly awaiting the new tech while others dismiss modern VR as a gimmick. We'll just have to wait and see how this new phase of VR pans out but this isn't the first time we've been down this road. The early to mid-90s saw a rash of VR projects and peripherals promising a more interactive gaming experience. Most of these were utter failures. Atari, for their part, partnered with Virtuality, a firm specializing in immersive arcade games, to develop a consumer level head mounted display (HMD) for use with the Jaguar - Jaguar VR.
 

 
The Jaguar VR was shown in '95 and one Jaguar game, Missile Command 3-D, was developed with the unit in mind. Two versions of the prototype were built; a low-res version and a high-res version. The tech was notable for its utilization of IR headtracking . Ultimately, Atari pulled the plug on the project as it was clear that the Jaguar was failing and the cost and quality of the VR platform left much to be desired. Of the handful of prototypes produced, only three are known to remain in existence today. However, the display technology that Virtuality developed for Atari was soon licensed and repackaged into two products that eventually made it to retail; the Philips SCUBA and Takara Dynovisor. Released in 1997 for about $300, the SCUBA and Dynovisor could be used with any composite video source. The units did not feature headtracking; instead, users used standard game controls to guide the action on screen. Worn on the head and supported by straps, both the SCUBA and Dynovisor are somewhat cumbersome and uncomfortable to wear. An automatic shutoff interrupts viewing every 30 minutes to help avoid eyestrain.
 
I recently received a Japanese market Takara Dynovisor in good working condition. Over the next week I am going to play some Jaguar games that I think may be suited for this kind of device and provide some notes on my experiences. These won't be full reviews, but just a summary of my impressions of the effectiveness of the Dynovisor in providing an enjoyable and immersive experience. I'm going to start with Missile Command 3D since that game was designed for HMD. Other games I'm considering are Tempest 2000, Zero 5, Doom, and Hoverstrike:UL. If you have other suggestions or want to share your own impressions of the Dynovisor or SCUBA, feel free to post here.
 

 

RoadBlasters: Power that Rules the Road!
 
I love many of the mid to late-80s Atari Games releases but this is easily among the best. In fact, it's one of my Top 5 Atari branded titles.
 
You hit the nail on the head with the Mad Max reference. I was a huge fan of the second Max movie, Road Warrior. This definitely captures that high speed car combat feeling in a way that other games have not. As you say, the Lynx version is missing the steering wheel and pedal but it was a tremendous port at the time. It wipes the floor with other contemporary home versions and its on a handheld! Just amazing.
 
I'm looking forward to the arcade block. Stun Runner, XYbots, Xenophobe, Hydra, Joust, Robotron, Super Asteroids/Missile Command, PacLand, Guantlet, Ms. PacMan, PaperBoy... So many great conversions on the Lynx! If you were an arcade fan, it was definitely the handheld to own.

RoadBlasters: Power that Rules the Road!
 
I love many of the mid to late-80s Atari Games releases but this is easily among the best. In fact, it's one of my Top 5 Atari branded titles.
 
You hit the nail on the head with the Mad Max reference. I was a huge fan of the second Max movie, Road Warrior. This definitely captures that high speed car combat feeling in a way that other games have not. As you say, the Lynx version is missing the steering wheel and pedal but it was a tremendous port at the time. It wipes the floor with other contemporary home versions and its on a handheld! Just amazing.
 
I'm looking forward to the arcade block. Stun Runner, XYbots, Xenophobe, Hydra, Joust, Robotron, Super Asteroids/Missile Command, PacLand, Guantlet, Ms. PacMan, PaperBoy... So many great conversions on the Lynx! If you were an arcade fan, it was definitely the handheld to own.

It's Friday - who's ready for some RoadBlasters?!

I figured it was about time i contribute to this thread. Tell me what you think

I played DOOM on the Dynovisor tonight. No time to write it up now but I wanted to share my wife's observation. Now, my wife doesn't share my enthusiasm for gaming or retro life but she generally tolerates it. Upon walking in the living room she announced, "I can't believe this. This is the most ridiculous thing you've ever brought into the house. No one can know about this." So, in my overall analysis of the Dynovisor, I'll have to take into account spousal reaction. I haven't decided whether it will count as a positive or negative.

I played DOOM on the Dynovisor tonight. No time to write it up now but I wanted to share my wife's observation. Now, my wife doesn't share my enthusiasm for gaming or retro life but she generally tolerates it. Upon walking in the living room she announced, "I can't believe this. This is the most ridiculous thing you've ever brought into the house. No one can know about this." So, in my overall analysis of the Dynovisor, I'll have to take into account spousal reaction. I haven't decided whether it will count as a positive or negative.

I played DOOM on the Dynovisor tonight. No time to write it up now but I wanted to share my wife's observation. Now, my wife doesn't share my enthusiasm for gaming or retro life but she generally tolerates it. Upon walking in the living room she announced, "I can't believe this. This is the most ridiculous thing you've ever brought into the house. No one can know about this." So, in my overall analysis of the Dynovisor, I'll have to take into account spousal reaction. I haven't decided whether it will count as a positive or negative.

I played DOOM on the Dynovisor tonight. No time to write it up now but I wanted to share my wife's observation. Now, my wife doesn't share my enthusiasm for gaming or retro life but she generally tolerates it. Upon walking in the living room she announced, "I can't believe this. This is the most ridiculous thing you've ever brought into the house. No one can know about this." So, in my overall analysis of the Dynovisor, I'll have to take into account spousal reaction. I haven't decided whether it will count as a positive or negative.

I played DOOM on the Dynovisor tonight. No time to write it up now but I wanted to share my wife's observation. Now, my wife doesn't share my enthusiasm for gaming or retro life but she generally tolerates it. Upon walking in the living room she announced, "I can't believe this. This is the most ridiculous thing you've ever brought into the house. No one can know about this." So, in my overall analysis of the Dynovisor, I'll have to take into account spousal reaction. I haven't decided whether it will count as a positive or negative.