Atari 5200 Guy
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Blog Comments posted by Atari 5200 Guy
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On 1/4/2024 at 3:33 PM, sramirez2008 said:There are several controller options available today, so the non-centering CX52s are no longer an issue. Btw, the 5200 port of Defender is excellent and plays extremely well with the CX52s. (I have four of the Best Electronics upgraded CX52s and they continue to work as new after several years of use).
As others have stated, you can go the Wico controller and pad route or connect a Masterplay or MP Clone type adapter for use with any number of DB9 connector controllers.
My top five original games:
Defender
Gremlins
Missile Command (Trak-Ball)
Rescue on Fractalus!
Space Dungeon (Console exclusive twin-stick shooter)
Note: Qix also works really well with the CX52 controller and I prefer to play Space Invaders with the trak-ball.
At this point in the life of this console, I feel that the only people making a big deal about the controllers are YouTubers looking for clicks or people that have not put an ounce of time into researching the console.
I have a 2 port and a 4 port as well. Neither one is modded, but both have new/old stock motherboards and the RF output is really good on each console.
Game on!
I don’t have Rescue on Fractalus yet. I need to remedy that.
- sramirez2008 and RickR
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You guys have made me rethink the 5200 when I was starting to lose all hope. I never thought I would hear others, besides myself, say they like the CX52s. My confidence in the system has been perked up. Thank you.
- sramirez2008 and Justin
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I have to say I am genuinely surprised and impressed at the responses I’m getting from other 5200 owners. It has been unexpected. For many, many years now I’ve heard others who have or had a 5200 complain about the controllers. Even its sales showed issues with the controllers. But I never expected to hear people say they actually prefer the original controllers over anything else. I was not expecting to hear that.
I dearly love my 5200. Like some others I have at least 40 years experience with it. Without internet to guide me I spent lots of time with used systems trying to repair faulty controllers not really knowing half the time what I was getting myself into or how to fix them. I do have to thank my Mother for all those Atari finds in those garage sales and Salvation Army store visits. She always grabbed them up. I use to have a stock pile of replacements. When she passed the house got broke into.
And I wasn’t talking bad about the system. On the contrary I was thinking a “what if” scenario. Like what if the games were given the ability to check what type of controller you was using? You connect an adapter and can use any Atari 2600 compatible joystick combined with the 5200 controller. You’re given the option to use analog or digital controls. You then play the game using whatever controller you’re comfortable with.
I'm not going against the standard controllers as I feel they are what make the 5200 unique. I was, instead, wonder If Atari knew they had an issue with the controllers they didn’t just make a quick fix like a controller adapter? It would have made more business sense.
3 hours ago, RickR said:And lets not forget the awesome Trakball they made for 5200. It feels like a real arcade controller.
Yes!! The Trakball controller is pretty awesome and works with a lot of 5200 games. You should try using it with Pole Position sometime. That’s a real challenge! And unlike the Colecovision trackball it doesn’t need a separate power supply.
So maybe I have been looking at the 5200 all wrong. I was under the impression most people really disliked the system due to its controllers. 🤔 Maybe I need to do my own gold upgrade and see what happens.
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I would probably add like 15 more games. The ones mentioned, Life Force, I can’t believe Contra was not in the original 30, possibly Galaxian,
I’m even more surprised is there is not a single SNK game on the thing and I remember Ikari Warriors being hard to find in my area. I could only rent it and there was a waiting list for that. I ended up renting and eventually buying Guerrilla War because it was there when Ikari wasn’t.
I’m only after a few games. I don’t want to put tons on there…just a few without losing too much of the benefits its OS offers. I like the save states on some games. Those come in handy getting past those trouble spots I always managed to get stuck at in games. Other games it’s not necessary.
With that said my added games would be:
Zanac, Guardian Legend, Life Force, Contra, Galaxian, Lunar Pool to start.
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If I’m not mistaken PS games have a small amount of security somewhere. I could be wrong.
im going through four PlayStation game consoles and six games now to see if they work or not.
What all games do you have?
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I have a few disk games in those plastic sleeves from Datasoft, Epyx, Main Street, and Keystone. One of the Main Street titles didn't even include a dust sleeve for the disk. Just wrapped a box label, which is a low quality print on standard paper cut to fit, around the disk and jammed it inside a clamshell. I can't remember if it is Moon Shuttle or Magneto Bugs but could you imagine if the cartridges for the 2600, 5200, or 7800 were done that way?
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On 8/19/2023 at 5:17 PM, RickR said:I've got the Lynx pouch! It is very nice quality.
That's what I use. Very nice pouch. And if you turn the games just right you can fit a lot of games in those two pockets. Now that I think about it you can take more games than you can battery oower. That makes sense.
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10 hours ago, Jinroh said:
The most vocal collectors seem to be Youtubers who want fancy games to look good on camera or in their shelf. So that probably drove things that way.
Im guilty of this but I'm trying to remedy that. I may have a channel but I haven't posted anything in a long time. My need for games to be in fancy boxes is nothing more than a want for a complete in box game. It is easier to obtain the game by itself and get the PDF version of the instructions but I all about the physical contact and trying to experience areas I missed as a kid. I am referring to old stock new in box and complete in box games. I am not referring to homebrew games.
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Atari is the sole reason why I wanted to get into programming. To hear all of this from an insider perspective is priceless. Thank you for sharing.
- Sabertooth, Video 61 and Justin
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My first Jinks high score.
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On 8/4/2023 at 10:41 AM, RickR said:
ANY game with a real-looking crossbow controller was going to get some serious attention from us kids! Lets be honest, the games with sweet custom controls were the best games of all. Sit-down Pole Position, Battlezone with two sticks and the periscope, Stunt Cycle, even Tron with its black-light enhanced controls....
I played the hell out of the full sized ride on Hang-on game and don't even get me started on G-Loc. At least I think that was what game it was. Full motion ride, spin, turn, rotate, twist...I honestly believe it was the only game I ever seen with that much movement.
- DegasElite and RickR
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I will have to find it for the 7800. So far I love the game. But, it's true, Crossbow I have never heard of until I started collecting video games a decade ago.
- RickR, Justin and DegasElite
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I'll have to hunt that one down.
- DegasElite and Justin
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7800 got Xenophobe? Holy cow! And, yes, Food Fight of course. I forgot to put that one on my list. I especially love the replays when they happen. I've been playing Donkey Kong a lot since I recently scored a 7800 copy. I'm not a huge DK fan but something about the 7800 version is just pleasing to play. Who knows. I don't understand it either.
Choplifter I played on the SMS first. I never knew of the game on any Atari until maybe 10 years ago. So when I popped the 7800 version in for the first time I was shocked how much stuff was "missing" before I learned Sega added all those extras. I like the 7800 version better but it's tough.
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I always thought that car was really nice.
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If I remember correctly, once integrated sound chips became a standard, most DOS games took the hit. My little Compaq has an ESS sound chip in it with legacy support. No DOS game can find the settings and setting them manually does nothing.
Words of advice...if you can opt for it, and are trying to repurpose an old computer, get a true Sound Blaster. You'll have less headaches 😉.
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On 11/13/2022 at 11:33 PM, Justin said:
Looking forward to it! It's funny you did this, a few weeks ago I found a copy of Lotus 1-2-3 for DOS that I've had since probably 1990 and I've been tempted to find a way to use it. Not much fun, but I've been working with spreadsheets quite frequently and it got me thinking about Lotus. You never forget your first.
I got that same Lotus package I believe along with Corel Suite of office apps. All for Windows 95/98 which is why I have held on to the little Compaq Armada I found. Still runs and plays well but battery no longer holds a charge and it doesn't have wifi or Ethernet support...so no internet for it.
I like hearing stories of old computers finding a new purpose. And there are tons of literally free abandoned software for the out there.
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Nice. And Doom to boot! Quake was a power hungry game when it came out. I remember the AMD K6-2 500mhz CPU I had at the time struggled a bit. Quake and Hexen...but I could play Final Fantasy 7 without problems. Once I installed a Diamond Monster video card it could play anything seemed like.
Very nice all-in-one setup for sure. Can you add more RAM if you need it or is it maxed already?
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Gateway. There's a brand you don't hear about much anymore. Nor Packard Bell. Nice all-in-one you have there. Does it even boot up?
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On 2/23/2022 at 1:09 PM, RickR said:
Nintendo Wii
Again, 2 consoles in 1 with the Gamecube compatibility.Mine doesn't have GC abilities but it is still an interesting console I have a lot of fun with.
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6 hours ago, RickR said:
I love this game, but I always have a hard time remembering the name of it. They should have called it "La Cucaracha", which is the part I remember.
PS - they say "We Gotcha!" when you die.
Oh. That's what they say. Much better than what I thought they were saying.
THAT'S the name of that starting tune! I couldn't remember it. Thank you.
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11 minutes ago, RickR said:
I'm sorry you are disappointed. On the bright side, your review is excellent and I enjoyed reading it. I'll steer clear of this game!
Thank you for the compliment. That's why I try to review games and I see no point in sugar coating it. It is not a Star Raiders game. At least not a SR game we are use to. I would rather let you guys know not to waste your money on something than to stay hush hush. I know Atari also revamped Yar's Revenge. I wonder how bad they messed that one up?
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Atari 5200 Thoughts
in Channel 3 Reviews
A blog by Atari 5200 Guy in Atari I/O Magazine
Posted
I need to find myself one. Just for Centipede and Missile Command. I played Pole Position with it a few times BITD. That was a challenge.