HDN Posted August 23, 2020 Report Share Posted August 23, 2020 Please do ol' Harry a favor. Play Tunnel Runner. Please. It takes a bit to get used to but it's truly fantastic. I love this game so much. MaliciousCarp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrekMD Posted August 23, 2020 Report Share Posted August 23, 2020 I've enjoyed it. If you like it that much, make sure you try Escape from the Mindmaster! You'll need a Harmony cart to play it as it is a Supercharger game. It is an awesome game! HDN 1 Quote 🖖 Going to the final frontier, gaming... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDN Posted August 23, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2020 @TrekMD How much do those go for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrekMD Posted August 23, 2020 Report Share Posted August 23, 2020 @HDN The Harmony cart? Here you go: https://erstwhile-technologies.square.site/ I recommend the Encore cart. It has the ability to play larger games. MaliciousCarp 1 Quote 🖖 Going to the final frontier, gaming... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari 5200 Guy Posted August 24, 2020 Report Share Posted August 24, 2020 Tunnel Runner is one of my favorite 2600 games. Very unique concept. I first discovered this game at a friend's house when I was 11 years old. The sounds the monsters in the mazes made when they were getting close to you sort of frightened me. If the mazes had dots Tunnel Runner could have easily been a neat 3D Pac-Man. RickR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDN Posted August 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2020 22 minutes ago, Atari 5200 Guy said: Tunnel Runner is one of my favorite 2600 games. Very unique concept. I first discovered this game at a friend's house when I was 11 years old. The sounds the monsters in the mazes made when they were getting close to you sort of frightened me. If the mazes had dots Tunnel Runner could have easily been a neat 3D Pac-Man. I was around that age when I first discovered tunlrunr.bin on my Wii. The Zots still startle me to this day! I can totally see your Pac-Man comparison. That would be an interesting ROM hack. It's a shame the game is so expensive compared to other 2600 games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted August 24, 2020 Report Share Posted August 24, 2020 I will give it a try @HDN as soon as I get some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDN Posted August 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2020 2 minutes ago, RickR said: I will give it a try @HDN as soon as I get some time. Please do! I promise you'll enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted September 17, 2020 Report Share Posted September 17, 2020 I finally got time! First thing is a favor to ask: I could not find a PDF version of the manual to download. If anyone knows of a link, please let me know! I ended up perusing an on-line version of the manual, so I'm not sure I fully got the gist of the game. So please correct me on anything wrong in my synopsis below. First impression: This game is awesome! It doesn't look like a VCS game at all. No flicker. A convincing first-person view. Very impressive. Things I liked: They kept it simple. Find the key, avoid the face-balls, find the exit. Those face-ball guys are cool! The menacing sound that gets louder as they get closer reminds me of original Doom. Very very well done. Nice ramp up of difficulty. It starts out easy (which makes it easier to learn). But it ramps up nicely. The map is easy to use and very helpful. Things I didn't like Sometimes, it's hard to stop moving. It can be disorienting. Sometimes you intend to turn 90 degrees but the controls are so twitchy, you can do a 180 without realizing it. Overall: I loved it! This is a game that deserves more recognition. Back in the day, I didn't even know it existed. I wish I did...young me would have spent hours on this fun game. Thank you @HDN for insisting I give it a try. I want to spend more time with this one. I had to emulate due to my game room being occupied by a guest, but I want to play on real hardware for sure. HDN, nosweargamer and socrates63 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDN Posted September 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2020 3 minutes ago, RickR said: First thing is a favor to ask: I could not find a PDF version of the manual to download. If anyone knows of a link, please let me know! I ended up perusing an on-line version of the manual, so I'm not sure I fully got the gist of the game. @nosweargamer did a great job with it in his video. He explained things that weren't even in the manual from what I could tell. 4 minutes ago, RickR said: It can be disorienting. Sometimes you intend to turn 90 degrees but the controls are so twitchy, you can do a 180 without realizing it. I'm not sure if you knew this or not, but there is a little compass on the bottom left corner of the screen where the timer bar is. It is oriented according to the map. That may help. 5 minutes ago, RickR said: Thank you @HDN for insisting I give it a try. I want to spend more time with this one. I had to emulate due to my game room being occupied by a guest, but I want to play on real hardware for sure. Thank you so much, @RickR! I'm so happy you finally gave this one a go! I can stop bothering you about it now! This is such a great game. It legitimately startles me sometimes. Great fun on the Atari VCS and well worth the higher price tag. nosweargamer and socrates63 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted September 17, 2020 Report Share Posted September 17, 2020 (edited) Good idea to watch the nosweargamer review. I'll do that. No, I didn't realize there was a compass. I shall try again with that in mind. I also didn't realize there was a timer! Whoops. Thanks! Edited September 17, 2020 by RickR nosweargamer, socrates63 and HDN 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nosweargamer Posted September 17, 2020 Report Share Posted September 17, 2020 18 minutes ago, RickR said: I finally got time! First thing is a favor to ask: I could not find a PDF version of the manual to download. If anyone knows of a link, please let me know! I ended up perusing an on-line version of the manual, so I'm not sure I fully got the gist of the game. So please correct me on anything wrong in my synopsis below. http://www.digitpress.com/library/manuals/atari2600/tunnel_runner.pdf Yeah, this is a hidden gem of sorts on the system, yet it seems to have a following too. My gameplay video of it is my third most popular gameplay video, only trailing Pitfall and Adventure, and my review is also one of my more popular 2600 reviews, almost pulling E.T. numbers. I have no idea why out of the 100s of 2600 games I covered, it's one of the more popular ones. I never heard of it before I started doing my show. Maybe it has something to do with the remake someone did. It has over 600k views! RickR, HDN and socrates63 2 1 Quote The No Swear Gamer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChtJuo040EOCTVziObIgVcg Host of The Atari 7800 Game by Game Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher and YouTube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDN Posted September 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2020 I should start assigning homework to y'all. Like how I assigned Tunnel Runner to @RickR or how I'm assigning Super Metroid to @socrates63. Everyone's next assignment: Super Mario 64 DS. I want a five-page paper on how it's the best Super Mario game by Monday! Just kidding! About the paper. It's still the best Super Mario game. socrates63 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nosweargamer Posted September 17, 2020 Report Share Posted September 17, 2020 Oh, and if anyone wants to know how to play the game without having to do that whole reading thing, here ya go (plus I think I include a tidbit not in the manual): socrates63 and HDN 2 Quote The No Swear Gamer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChtJuo040EOCTVziObIgVcg Host of The Atari 7800 Game by Game Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher and YouTube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socrates63 Posted September 17, 2020 Report Share Posted September 17, 2020 There’s a compass? I tried it a couple of times but got hopelessly lost. I’ll give it another look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari 5200 Guy Posted September 17, 2020 Report Share Posted September 17, 2020 1 hour ago, HDN said: I should start assigning homework to y'all. Like how I assigned Tunnel Runner to @RickR or how I'm assigning Super Metroid to @socrates63. Everyone's next assignment: Super Mario 64 DS. I want a five-page paper on how it's the best Super Mario game by Monday! Just kidding! About the paper. It's still the best Super Mario game. Best SMB game? Debatable. They are all good but my favorite is the N64 version. For once in the series I could relax for the most part. I didn't have a timer to worry about all the time...I could wander off and explore if I wanted to. I don't know if the DS is the same game or not as I've not had the pleasure of seeing it but for me it was Super Mario 64. It had a few flaws, yes, but still a great step in the right direction for the series. I actually have a close tie as I found Galaxy on the Wii to be a blast! HDN 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDN Posted September 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2020 (edited) 7 hours ago, Atari 5200 Guy said: Best SMB game? Debatable. They are all good but my favorite is the N64 version. For once in the series I could relax for the most part. I didn't have a timer to worry about all the time...I could wander off and explore if I wanted to. I don't know if the DS is the same game or not as I've not had the pleasure of seeing it but for me it was Super Mario 64. It had a few flaws, yes, but still a great step in the right direction for the series. I actually have a close tie as I found Galaxy on the Wii to be a blast! 64DS is a remake of the Nintendo 64 title. It has better graphics, more levels,more stars, and more characters. The problem most have with it is that you have to use the d-pad, but that was never a problem for me. There's also a dedicated run button. It's very fun, and the controls are not nearly as bad as the internet would have you believe. I love Tunnel Runner so much. It's the best game on the system. If @Justin were to choose it as a Squad Challenge someday, I would be so happy. *cough* *cough* Sorry, I had something in my throat there. *cough* *cough* Tunnel Runner *cough* *cough* Edited September 17, 2020 by HDN Justin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickR Posted September 17, 2020 Report Share Posted September 17, 2020 11 hours ago, socrates63 said: There’s a compass? I tried it a couple of times but got hopelessly lost. I’ll give it another look. As a fellow newbie, I can help. Some tips: On the map, you are the little grey ankh. They key is the triangle. The "door" is the part of the maze that goes all the way to the edge. Look at the map. Go get the key. Look at the map again and go to the door. The compass tells you which direction you are pointing on the map. NSG says you can't stop, but you can. Just pull back on the stick once. socrates63 and nosweargamer 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDN Posted September 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2020 37 minutes ago, RickR said: NSG says you can't stop, but you can. Just pull back on the stick once. I'd recommend holding the stick until you slow down. YAHOO! I got some .exe files converted for your game disc, Rick! I couldn't get the one I wanted as it was too big, but I think you will enjoy the games I am sending your way. nosweargamer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDN Posted September 29, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2020 Hey, if anyone has a little bit of extra time and wants to read something, you should check out my newest entry of Games from Before my Time, where I cover this game. I cover my personal history with the game and some fond memories I have with it. Read if you would like to! Many thanks, Harry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Stilphen Posted October 2, 2020 Report Share Posted October 2, 2020 Every VCS manual is on my site: http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/manuals/vcs/manuals.html Here's my interview with Stuart Ross, who was part of the team that made the game: http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/interviews/stuart_ross/interview_stuart_ross.html Here's the commercial for the game, which I archived from Stuart: And lastly, a complete video of the game courtesy of Tunnel Runner master Jeff Adkins': HDN and RickR 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDN Posted October 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2020 WOW. The ending of that longplay is incredibly creepy. I can imagine my sister and I loosing our crap if I got there when we first played the game in the basement that Thanksgiving. That's almost intentionally terrifying. I've never seen a game crash like that before. It reminds me of those "every copy of Super Mario 64 is personalized" videos that were popular from earlier this year. If you haven't heard of them, they were intentionally spooky videos about the Mario 64 '95 beta build. Like video creepypastas. Lots involved the "Wario apparition". The videos weren't really that scary because they were trying too hard to be. But if I was playing this game late at night in the dark when I was maybe 11 and got this far, yeesh. I would've waken up the whole house with my baby screams. I don't take spooks well even now! Thanks for sharing with us, @Scott Stilphen. I had heard about the crashing glitch before but never seen it in action. I have seen that commercial before, but not the rest. I will check those bad boys out later. Oh, and before I forget, here's one of those "spooky" Mario 64 videos. They tried way too hard and it's very fake. But Tunnel Runner, that game doesn't mess around! That game is the real deal! Oh, Mario's old voice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DegasElite Posted October 2, 2020 Report Share Posted October 2, 2020 I have Tunnel Runner. It's a great game. Years ahead of its time for the day. It went 3D before Wolfenstein and Doom. Pretty cool game! :O) HDN 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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