This will be one of the few articles that will continue after Retrogaming Times ends. I plan on doing some more reviews on the website from time to time. So here are a few that will end up in my arcade section down the road!
Rock
Climber
When I first started playing this game, I found it very hard to do well. For some reason the joysticks just did not respond very well. I had it set the same way as Crazy Climber but moving up and down just did not work well. I knew it wasn't my Devastator 2, but I loaded up Crazy Climber just to be sure. Sure enough, Crazy Climber played perfect (For anyone who is debating between a four way and eight way joystick, know that Crazy Climber is among a handful of very popular games that need eight way to play it like the arcade. And you can add Robotron, Space Dungeon, Berzerk, Frenzy, Sinistar and quite a few others to that list. Take my word for it and go with eight way, you can play four way with an eight way controller, but not vice versa). So I tried something crazy, I switched the up and down on each joystick. And know what, it worked! Suddenly I went from getting stuck on every obstacle to being able to blow through the first mountain with no problem. Sometimes the answer is right under your nose. The gameplay is very similar to Crazy Climber. You need to get to the top of the mountain and everything wants to stop you. There are birds, monkeys, a creature that is best described as the purple people eater and more. As you can see by the above photos, you have big white blocks that drop at you and a creature that resembles the sun. You really do not know what twisted thing is up the mountain.
Shark Attack You start the game off as a shark. You can move anywhere on the screen, which is pretty much blank. It is actually blue, but there are no other fish or plants or anything. On each screen are four divers. It is always four divers, no matter how many screens you clear. They do change colors from level to level and more a little quicker, but they are the same four divers. It is your job to eat them before they kill you. That is the whole game in a nutshell. Soon you realize that it gets very boring to just swim around the same drab level and fight the same guys over and over. There are a few nice touches. The divers do have some nice color combinations on their diving suits and the animations are pretty humorous. From the shark chewing up the divers to the shark slowly dying with the spear sticking in his back, it has its moments. Also, once you complete a level there is a skull that looks back and forth. Complete a bunch of levels and you have a whole group full of skulls looking around.
There is a bit of strategy to the game. First off, do not jump in the middle of the four divers. You can only kill one at a time and the others will make a pin cushion out of you. Instead try to move around and wait for them to split up. Once they do, pick them off one at a time. Also, do not swim directly at a diver or he will shoot you with his spear gun. Instead try to get him from behind or from above or below. Your chances of success will improve dramatically this way. It only took a few games for me to be able and clear through five or more levels with no problem. While some may say that the game came out in 1980 and that is a big reason for its weak gameplay, keep in mind that this is the same year that such great games as Battlezone, Crazy Climber, Defender, Tempest, Pacman, Star Castle and Wizard of Wor came out so that is a weak excuse. The game is an example of a clever gimmick (being a shark and being able to kill divers) and not adding much else to it. It is fun for a few minutes, but you will soon tire of it and move onto a game with more substance.
Butasan Like Bomberman, it is your goal to blow up everyone else on the screen. You play the role of a pig wearing a dress (at least it looks like a polka dotted dress to me, I am not an expert on swine styles so I could be wrong) and you have to pick up bombs that are laying around the screen and throw them at the other pigs, who are not wearing dresses. Each bomb has a timer on it and it counts down (once you throw it). But if you throw a bomb at another pig or get hit by one, it will blow up and make any bombs nearby go off. Also if a bomb counts down to zero, it will also go off. You can also duck as a bomb is coming at you. Besides throwing bombs, you can also pick up some different power-ups which give you different abilities for a limited time. There are also some mini games, one of which is very similar to whack-a-mole. These help make the game more interesting. And the best part is the pigs! At the start of each level, you will be greeted by what new pigs appear on the level. The will come out and dance around or act silly. They look different and act different, so there is a lot of character. The name of the game is translated to mean Mr. Pig and it was only available in Japan. It came out in 1987, the same year as Bomberman so it is not known if either game was an influence on the other (similar to the Mr. Do/Dig Dug scenario). There are quite a few difference between the two as this game takes place in a wide open field where Bomberman takes place in mazes. Also, this one has mini games, the ability to duck and bombs that count down. But both games feature throwing bombs and power-ups, so there are some similarities. This game also allows up to two players at once, making it one more fun two player game.
No matter if it was influenced or did influence, it is still a very fun game and one I recommend. We cannot have enough two player games and with a shortage of games featuring pigs, there is always room for one more pig game!
I'm been running The Video Game Critic for nearly five years now, but did you know that Tomorrow's Heroes and Tom Zjaba were the early inspirations for my site? That's right, I was on Tom's site all the time as I first started getting into the classic gaming scene. I especially enjoyed his reviews, and you may have noticed that I shamelessly pilfered his grading system and writing style. I've been a loyal reader of Retrogaming Times for many years, and it was an honor to have many of my reviews published in this fine electronic periodical. It's sad that this is the last issue, but thanks to the Internet, these issues will be enjoyed for hundreds of years to come (if not thousands). Thanks Tom, for a job well done. Now take a vacation for Pete's sake! In order to commemorate this final issue, I'd like to take a look at some relatively new Atari 2600 games. Some are newly programmed titles that really push the limits of the system, and some are formerly unreleased games that provide an interesting look back at the "golden years" of video games. Enjoy.
Allia Quest (Ebivision 2001) B Ebivision's last two games (Merlin’s Walls and Pesco) were pretty bad, but I’m happy to report that they're back on track with Allia Quest, so grab your favorite joystick and get ready for some good old-fashioned shooting action! A simple shooter at heart, Allia adds its own unique twist to the Megamania style of gameplay. Your ship is situated at the middle and bottom of the screen, and it never actually moves. Instead approaching targets shift in response to pushing the joystick left or right. It works quite well. The surprisingly large targets are a non-descript mix of colorful shapes, and your rapid-fire shooting causes them to disintegrate nicely. The action is simplistic but addictive and fun. I advanced a bit further each time I played, and couldn’t wait to see what the next wave had in store. Understated, deep tones provide some interesting background noise. Allia Quest is a pleasant surprise, and a perfect fix for classic gamers looking for something fresh. 1 player
Alligator People (Fox 1983)
C
Funky Fish (Atari Age 1983) D- Yes, Funky Fish has finally made his not-so-eagerly-awaited arrival on the 2600, much to the excitement of his legion of three fans. I think I now know why he's called Funky Fish - he stinks! Funky Fish resembles no other game from the past, present, and hopefully the future. In it, you move a slow-ass fish across an ugly, side-scrolling green ocean, while a Defender-like scanner on the top of screen tracks your four stationary targets. These four so-called "monsters" are evenly spaced out and apparently disguised as square blocks. Once you approach one, it excretes several odd shapes that move erratically. Touch one and your fish turns to bones and sinks to the sea floor. Fear not however, for Funky Fish has the ability to shoot those shapes, transforming them into - you guessed it - cherries you can ingest for bonus points. Once you’ve eaten a certain number of cherries, the monster becomes defenseless, allowing you to sit on him until his energy completely drains. Slowly moving from one monster to the next is almost unbearable. Adding insult to injury, you can’t simply move off one end of the scanner and re-emerge on the other side, which would have eased the pain dramatically. This game has some nice colors and satisfying sound effects, but it’s a chore to play. Funky Fish is available from Atari Age. Get your copy today! 1 player
Pleiades (Atari Age 1983) C+ Now available for the first time thanks to the good people at Atari Age, Pleiades was one of those games programmed "back in the day" but never released. According to the instruction manual, Pleiades is the unofficial sequel to Phoenix, but personally I’ve never even heard of it. I’m guessing it never caught on because no one could pronounce its frickin' name. Anyway, this fun but uneven shooter features three completely unique stages. In the first, you control a cannon on a planet surface shooting aliens flying in various formations. These aliens move fast and drop a ton of bombs, but their movements are annoyingly choppy. Occasionally one will crawl across the bottom, creating a wall that you can shoot holes in. There’s some scenery on the planet surface, but nothing particularly impressive. The off-key "music" that plays during this stage is simply awful. The second screen resembles the mother ship stage in Phoenix. This particular mother ship is large but chunky, with three trap doors that randomly open and close on its underbelly. Timing your shots, you must nail a little star that moves left to right across the center of the ship. Meanwhile, large birds swoop down, drop bombs, and block your shots. Like the first stage, it’s moderately fun but over too quickly. The third screen is easily the most difficult and time-consuming. Your job here is to guide a slowly moving, triangular ship up a pyramid while avoiding scattered obstacles. This is where you’ll lose 90% of your ships. Especially near the top of the pyramid, the airplane-shaped obstacles are too close together to avoid, and it gets frustrating. Pleiades is still worthwhile to play, thanks to its fast action and variety. I also appreciate the fact that it keeps the high score displayed on the screen at all times. Note: Despite what the manual says, set the left difficulty switch to B for a normal game, and A to practice. 1 player
Sword Fight (Retrotopia 2000) C+ Atari 2600 games with large characters are few and far between, but this two-player sword fighting game features some tall, well-animated fighters. It's too bad the developer couldn’t secure a Star Wars license for this, because it would have made for a perfect light saber battle game. From the minute you see those swords power up, the Star Wars influence is obvious, and even the game description was written as if trying to avoid a lawsuit: "Two knights face each other at the edge of the universe. Gripping their ‘laser swords’, they advance, prepared to fight to the death...". Swordfight was programmed by one of Mattel’s famous Blue Sky Rangers, Steve "Don’t Sue Me" Tatsumi in 1983. While it was never released by Mattel, Retrotopia thankfully resurrected it in 2000. The joystick allows for three types of attacks (overhead, right, left), and three types of blocks. You can advance and retreat using the fire button. The manual claims that "once players get familiar with the moves, long and challenging battles are possible". I have to agree - the game gets better with repeated play. Sword Fight is an innovative title unlike anything else I’ve played on the 2600. Collectors should definitely try to pick up a copy. 2 players
Thrust (Xype 2000) A Thrust is a far cry from the simplistic shooters so common on the 2600, and it's actually a conversion of an old Commodore 64 game. Thrust not only provides great arcade shooting action, but it also has surprising depth. Like Gravitar, you guide a triangle-shaped ship through winding underground caverns, destroying cannons and picking up fuel. Shooting nuclear reactors will temporarily disable the cannons, but too much damage can cause a meltdown. In later stages, there are switches on the walls that open new areas. Controlling your ship takes skill, because you must constantly thrust to counteract the effects of gravity. Pushing the joystick up thrusts, and pulling back activates a protective shield. Your ultimate goal is to pick up a pod at the bottom of each cavern and transport it out safely. When you finally locate the pod, the real challenge begins! It attaches to your ship via a cord, and swings precariously as you attempt to transport it through the narrow caverns without smashing it against a wall. It's a balancing act that requires excellent technique, and completing each mission is very satisfying. The crude graphics are large and blocky, but the animation is smooth and the control is flawless. The 24-level challenge is immense but rarely frustrating. There are even five levels of difficulty. Don't miss the best game to come along for the 2600 in a long time! 1 player
Skeleton+ (Atari Age/Eric Ball 2003) B+ Skeleton Plus (+) is a much-needed update to a game that held much potential but was somewhat undercooked. I imagine programmer Eric Ball caught plenty of flack about the lack of options and steep difficulty, and I’m happy to report he addressed those issues sufficiently in this version. Like the original game, you move through a first-person maze, trying to locate and zap one wandering skeleton at a time. The mazes are well rendered and you can navigate through them quickly and easily. The skeleton looks terrific, and you can even follow him around when you locate him (although he will turn on you). This "Plus" version displays the number of skeletons you’ve zapped on the bottom of the screen, along with your life points, which drain each time you get touched by a skeleton. Since some skeletons require multiple "zaps" to kill, you sometimes have to play a little game of cat and mouse with them. The game has four options: skeletons per level (5 or 10), starting life meter (49 or 99), sound on/off, and skeleton speed. Unfortunately, two options are assigned to each difficulty switch, so there are only four combinations in total. Personally, I would have preferred if all 16 variations were accessible via the select switch. The "touch of death" mode is also accessible via the black/white switch, in case you preferred the unforgiving gameplay of the original game. I couldn’t really recommend the first Skeleton game, but Skeleton+ is the real deal. You can purchase it from Atari Age. 1 player
Missile Command Trak-Ball (Thomas Jentzsch 2002) NA It’s somewhat ironic that the Atari 2600 trak-ball controller didn’t support the ultimate trak-ball game: Missile Command. Anybody who grew up playing this classic at the local arcade knows that it was NOT designed with a joystick in mind. Thankfully, Thomas Jentzsch has addressed this long-standing problem with his new hack of the game, and you’ll be surprised how big a difference it makes. You can whip that cursor clear across the screen in a flash, yet position it with perfect precision. Not only is this version faster and more arcade-like than the original, but you can look forward to shattering your previous high scores with ease. It will be very difficult to go back to using the joystick after playing this. Missile Command Trak-Ball is available at the Atari Age store. Recommended variation: 8B 1 or 2 players Power Off! (Ebivision 2002) C The French company Ebivision has a checkered past when it comes to making new video games for the 2600. Their games tend to be either highly innovative (Marlin’s Walls), or awfully derivative (Pesco). Power Off falls more into the latter category. The game screen consists of eight red platforms connected by ladders and patrolled by robots. You control a tiny man trying to gather sixteen blue blocks spread among the platforms - just like every other Atari 2600 game that came out in 1983! There’s really nothing inventive about the Power Off. Heck, even the fire button doesn’t even do anything! Once I started playing however, a funny thing happened - I couldn’t stop. Just clearing the first screen required a heck of a lot more technique and strategy than I initially gave this game credit for. It’s hard for several reasons. The robots tend to move side-to-side over the ladders, and your timing needs to be impeccable to scale one untouched. It doesn’t help that it can be aggravatingly hard to get lined up properly with the ladder (much like Ebivision’s Alfred Challenge). Even more frustrating is the fact that no matter how many blocks you’ve collected, once you die the board is completely repopulated! I can’t tell you how many times I shouted the "F" word playing this game, especially when getting killed with only one or two blocks left. I do appreciate the innovative scoring system, which rewards the player for picking up consecutive blocks (their values increase by increments). Once you finally clear the screen (quite a feat), you proceed to another level with a different ladder layout and a new set of robots. The graphics are clean-looking, the robots are cool, and I like how your little guy scampers around. The audio is lame, and except for the musical title screen, there’s not much to hear. Speaking of the title screen, I like how it scrolls instructions, but I think the text may have lost a little in translation, like when it claims robots are "haunting" the rooms. 1 player
Pick Up (Games of the Century 2002) C This unreleased 1983 Fox game was made available for the first time at the 2002 Classic Gaming Expo. Apparently its subject matter was considered somewhat risqué by early-80s standards, but the storyline and gameplay are remarkably original. You are a guy out to win over a girl by collecting the following gifts for her: a car, a flower, money, perfume, a wine glass, and a heart. These objects move side-to-side overhead, and by shooting guided missiles you try to collect one of each. Shooting the same item twice will cost you a life (or "chance", as this game calls it). The objects you’ve collected are displayed on the bottom on the screen, so you know what not to aim for. Collecting one of each item looks deceptively easy, but you often have to "thread the needle" to reach items at the very top of the screen. It’s an interesting concept but to be honest it's not terribly fun. Once you’ve gathered all six items, you grab your lady by the hand and take her to the next screen, which shows a tiny hotel with two windows. This where you really score! After going through the front door, you hear some footsteps and see the shades get pulled down. Five seconds later your guy emerges, revitalized and ready to take on the next level! What a stud! In case you didn’t notice, Pick Up isn’t the most politically correct game. If not for the fact that you can switch the roles of the man and woman, the National Organization for Women would probably have already clamped down on this one. 1 player Gunfight (Xype 2001) A The successor to Outlaw has finally arrived 23 years later, and it's outstanding. Gunfight's musical intro features a superb rendition of the great Johnny Cash tune "Ring of Fire". As if that wasn't enough to earn Gunfight an instant "A", the gameplay itself is fast and exciting. The cowboys are well drawn, and can fire two bullets at a time. I can't emphasize how key this feature is, because it allows you to catch your opponent in various crossfires. Actually, you'll need to shoot him twice, since the first shot just takes off his hat! There is an impressive array of obstacles that separate the fighters, including cactus, stage coaches, rocks, arrows, and even a saloon! Using the right difficulty switch, you can select between a human opponent and a fairly skilled CPU outlaw. The left switch adjusts the speed of the bullets, and the black/white switch enables horizontal bouncing. On top of everything, there are FOUR distinct gameplay variants. The first is your standard shoot-out, the winner being the first player to take down the other one seven times. The second variation, "six shooter", only gives you six shots before you have to pick up some more ammo. The "escape" variation lets the left player shoot at a defenseless right player, who tries to survive until the counter expires. Finally, a "score" variation lets players earn points by shooting obstacles. I can't say enough good things about Gunfight. I can only hope to see more new quality games like this one for the 2600. 1 or 2 players Marble Craze (Xype 2002) A- This new 2600 title offers some refreshingly original gameplay and unique control. It’s based upon the old board game where you tilt a board on two axis in order to guide a marble through a maze. Marble Craze requires you to use two paddle controllers at the same time, and that's a first. The controls feel pretty comfortable once you get the hang of them, and bars on the edge of the screen help keep you orientated. In each of the 18 stages, you guide a large white ball around contiguous screens, trying to reach the end of the maze before timer runs out. The first few mazes have walls, but the advanced stages require a great deal of skill. Scattered "power bars" provide bonuses such as extra time or bonus points. Marble Craze delivers some fine split-screen competitive action, but what’s really charming about Marble Craze is how it pays constant homage to classic Atari games. Some mazes are taken from old Atari games (the blue maze in Adventure for example), and you’ll even find mazes in the shape of classic Atari characters (Pac-Man, Space Invader, ET). My only complaint is that it can be hard to determine which direction you need to go. But overall, this is some inspired stuff that’s both fun and addicting. There's a nice title screen also. Xype continues its winning streak. 1 or 2 players Dark Mage (Greg Troutman 1997) C+ What's this - a text adventure on the 2600?! Okay, now we’re talking some hardcore old-school gaming!! It’s been quite a while since I’ve played one of these, and Dark Mage brought back a lot of fond memories. Text adventures were originally made famous by a little company called Infocom in the early 80s, with their classic home computer titles like Zork, Enchanter, and Hitchhikers Guides to the Galaxy. Dark Mage is primitive but definitely playable. The text is large, minimal, and easy-to-read despite the ugly yellow-on-red color scheme. Well-designed controls allow you to move in four directions, talk, take, give, use items, and check your inventory. Once you get a feel for it, you can quickly move from one area to another. Like all text adventures, the main idea is to collect items and use them to unlock new parts of the game. There’s a lot of trial and error involved, so expect to see this message a lot: "You can’t do that here". It doesn’t help that some of the puzzles don’t make a lot of sense (use a small dog to subdue an ogre? huh?) You’ll also soon realize that you need to map out your progress on paper to keep from getting lost. Despite its flaws, I found myself drawn into this little adventure. Just the fact that it runs on the 2600 has got to be worth something. 1 player Want to read more? Check out www.videogamecritic.net What better way to celebrate the last issue of Retrogaming Times than with some really bad jokes. These were jokes that I came up with while walking my dog. I just took names of popular video games and came up with bad puns on them. I would say that I hope you enjoy them, but I know better. Joke #1 Answer - Moon Patrol Joke #2 Answer - Mappy Joke #3 Answer - A Tempest (get it Temp Pest as is temporary pest, I know it is bad) Joke #4 Answer- The Wizard of Wor Joke #5 Answer - With a River Raid This is the last spotlight on deserving sites. There are literally thousands of classic video game sites on the net, a small cry from a hundred or so that were there when I first opened this site back in February 1997. But like everything else on the internet, there are more everyday with some specializing in one system or even one game and others that cover everything. So let us look at a handful of sites and enjoy them. After this, you are on your own to find the sites. Google on! Champ Games Fan SiteBack in 1996 and 1997 in the early days of MAME, there was a company that did something great! They recreated original arcade games and then did enhanced versions and put them together on one disc and sold them online. For a few years, they offered some truly great games from Champ Kong (Donkey Kong) to Centipedem (you should be able to guess this one). They did eight games in all and most featured both versions, original and enhanced. I remember buying a few and still have the originals. But in 1998, they went out of business right before they were to release enhanced versions of Frogger and Burgertime (I was anxiously awaiting Burgertime). While I do not know the reasons why they went out of business, lawsuits may have been a factor. Nintendo is notorious for defending their properties and Donkey Kong is one of their most cherished properties. But now this site offers downloads of all the games and while they are DOS games, I could get them to work on my Windows XP machine. So head over and grab these games before they disappear again. And if you want to read the first time I spoke of these, go all the way back to issue #2 to read about my review of ChampKong. Here is the link to the website: http://www.champ-em.com/index.htm L.A.P.P.If you go on my website you will see that I have a section for arcade ports. I list all the home versions of classic (and some not so classic) arcade games. While my list is pretty extensive, someone pointed out what may be an even bigger list. It would be the L.A.P.P. which stands for List of Arcade and Pinball Ports. So if you want to see even more arcade games that had home conversions, run over and check this site out: http://www.skunkworx.org/lapp.stuff/index.html FPGAThis stuff means absolutely nothing to me, but Jim Krych sent this link along, so I will pass it on. It has something to do with putting games on chips and using them. How? Where? Why? It is too technical for me, but if you like it technical, this site should do the trick. Atari 2600 on a Chip This is an intriguing concept, but as with the previous website, it gets pretty technical. Yes, it is another link from Jim Krych, but when a guy can create his own arcade joystick, you have to believe he understands all the stuff they are talking about on this page. For me, I just want to play games. I leave all the technical stuff to Jim. But if you want to keep abreast on the development of the Atari 2600 on a chip, this site is for you. http://www.mindspring.com/~2600onachip/index.html I know that many of you are regular readers of Retrogaming Times. And many of you want to know where to go now for your fix of classic game reading? Well, I have some suggestions for you. All of them have been mentioned in past issues, but with the end here, it is a good time to point them out once again. Classic GamerWhat once was a great print magazine is now a great free downloadable magazine. It features all the stuff you loved in the paper edition only this time it is free! So now you can hop over and read it! I am sure that I will submit a few articles down the road (I wrote for it during its original run). The Atari Times Another great online source for Atari information. And at the end of the year, they release a compendium which has received rave reviews. So check out the site and enjoy some great articles. http://www.ataritimes.com/index.html My AtariHere is another great online newsletter with the focus on Atari, hence the name. As of writing, there has been 42 issues, so it is not some new magazine. This one does also cover some of the Atari computer as well as the newer systems like the Jaguar and Lynx. 2600 Connection Russ Perry's great newsletter that is about the Atari 2600 (not sure why I keep pointing this stuff out when you can easily figure it out from the title). It is actually a print newsletter, but they also offer alot of articles online for you to read. It is currently on issue #75. http://2600connection.atari.org/ CyberroachWhile there is only a few issues per year, they are all very good issues. This newsletter has been out since 1999 and is on issue #16. Most of the back issues are available to read. http://www.cyberroach.com/default.htm Armchair ArcadeOnly on its second issue and it is already impressive. This one covers all the systems and is very well done. http://www.armchairarcade.com/ So as you can see, there is plenty of classic game newsletters online for you to read. Things sure have changed since Retrogaming Times first came out and there were no online newsletters (only offline). I like to think that I helped in a small way to bring about this major growth in online newsletters and feel comfortable knowing that my readers will not be without options.
So, Retrogaming Times is ceasing its illustrious run. End of an
era. Game over, man; game over. And, in the parlance of the
newsletter's subject,
In a couple of my articles I’ve mentioned a famous video game player
Todd “Mr. Activision” Rogers. Todd and I have exchanged emails/calls
several times and he has been willing to do an interview with me for a
while. Considering how many times he’s been interviewed by others, I
doubted that I could ask better questions, but Todd assured me that our
Retrogaming Times readers would enjoy my questions to the champ. IMHO,
he’s one of, if not the greatest video game player of all time, with
numerous world records, marathon games and even some high scores that
have led to debates by our current retrogaming community. You have
probably already heard of Todd and/or his records, but if not, then
check out this site dedicated to Todd & some of his records. TR: Certainly, I would love to give back to the gaming community with all my expertise to pass on my gaming knowledge to other inspired video gamers. I think that is the least an accomplished gamer like myself should be doing. As for my duties with Twin Galaxies I usually participate as a referee in verifying scores at live events to_ make sure that the players abide by all of the TG rules and settings. I also am the chief referee for all the Atari platforms and also the Game Cube for gaming submissions.
1) Learn from one’s own mistakes – do not keep playing the same way, or dying the same way. 2) Use a VCR to record your games, and go back and analyze
mistakes, learn the game’s nuances better. 4) Don’t play a game too long where your score is not improving. Try some another day with a fresh approach, or maybe even wait a long time. 5) Be focused, never try a serious game with possible distractions. 6) Get someone else watch you and tell you what else you may be missing. 7) Play with someone else and work together to get better. 8) Practice games at harder settings. 10) Read those tips and tricks and hints on the internet or in old
magazines.
T.R. Well I’m sure that the online gaming community is in a league of their own but I would never say “No” to an open challenge from players like John "Fatality" Wendel or any other online gamers for that matter. It’s the challenge that keeps us players coming back to strive for the best in ones self. I don’t think that they would care too much about who I am unless they loose time after time to me, and then the light bulb will go on. I am already participating in online games like “Twisted Metal Black” and I enjoy the realism of how games have evolved and to think how many people can play at the same time from around the globe. It’s not just your living room with your neighbors anymore.
RT: Health - make sure that you are up to it and not harming your health.
Heart troubles. Here’s Todd with Barbie Benton - she can really make one’s heart pound. RT: Age – it is much easier when you are young and healthy especially for a marathon game.
RT: Duration - know how long you want to play and have a good reason to play for that long.
RT: Functional system, controllers, power supply, recording system.
RT: Know your game – read the rulebook, is there a pause, know when you can take a break in a game, and if there is no break then what will you do about it.
RT: That is amazing! How about location - Have you ever played marathon games while at a
location where you really could eat, drink and relieve your self and
thus do everything in a normal day, except of course to sleep while
playing? TR: Yes I have been in situations like that but oddly enough the longest I’ve played a MARATHON game away from home like in the Arcade has been 40 hours. I would not suggest playing a marathon at a friend’s house due to the lack of reliability.
TR: Wow that’s a loaded question. Well I think that the average
player has goals of his/her own and at some point they want to make
their gaming goals a reality. The key to that is determination and never
give up. But some gamers however have an inherent ability to play better
then some other gamers no matter how hard they try. It’s like school.
Some students learn more rapidly than others at a specific course. I
tend to lean more toward the obsessive side to where if I set my mind to
something I NEVER give up till it’s achieved. The bulk of my gaming
passion comes from the challenge that I couldn't accept the idea of a
computer beating me. So inadvertently I played these games unaware that
I made scores so high that other players couldn't match and they would
get outraged at times or just plain have jealousy toward me. So some
times it can have adverse effects by being so determined at the game
that you want to master. On a lighter note I already have compiled a
video tape of my high scores and I call it "The BEST of Todd Rogers". It
will have 8 hours worth of classic games and high scores and how to
achieve them. This has been in the works since I’ve been back in the
gaming industry and maybe it will fill in some of those questions that
you just asked. Players of all sorts may find it to be the holy grail to
many of their questions once it is released. TR: OH HELL YES I’ve blown out Four Atari 2600's, Two Atari 5200's, One Colecovision, and One Intellivision. There was a time in particular that I was playing “Worm Whomper” on the Intellivision and after many hours of game play I decided to take a photo of my score. It was over 20 Million and just after I took the photo one of my gaming buddies accidentally hit the power switch and bumped the intellivision and the game was LOST. I had to replay the game to eventually max it out at 99 million. It was the first game that I marathoned for 72+ hours and the remainder of the 8 days to finally max the score at 99 million. Yes now days I employ a Minute Man charger that enables me to play games like Brien Kings "Frostbite Freddie" on a PC without the worry of a loss of a game if there is a power failure and anyone knows living in Florida, the lightning capital of the world, how energy surges can be and with games that you can marathon or better yet games you just love to play with out interruption. Brien Kings "Frostbite Freddie" see: www.arcaderestoration.comRT: Similarly, how many joysticks or controllers have you broken in your time? Were you able to quickly swap in fresh ones to save a long running, or marathon games? TR: I have broken over 100 joysticks / controllers since 1977 Atari’s Coleco’s, Intellivision’s . . . yeah I put them all to the test like for instance I was promoting a joystick from a company called SUNCOM and they boasted the unbreakable stick I think it was the Tac-2 well I played Decathlon using this joystick and as we all know Decathlon is the joystick tester or killer none the less the joystick wasn’t “Todd-proof” and I broke it. Have I ever broken a joystick while playing a marathon game? I don’t remember so at least nothing really important comes to mind.
TR: Shoot. I’ll give it a whirl.
TR: Excellent. I’ve always excelled at reflexes. My father would
always tell me to stop that thumping as my legs would always bounce up
and down due to hyper-activity.
TR: Well I thank you Alan and the RetroGaming Times Online magazine for taking the time and to have me being an included part of this, the possible final issue. I have done numerous interviews over the past 22 years Live, Newsprint, Magazines, TV ,Cable and I found this particular interview to be one of the best in my opinion. The questions were well thought and covered a vast array of game play with strategy's and I hope it will convey and pass on the very best of my video gaming knowledge to upcoming and more experienced gamers. Todd Mr. Activision Rogers TwinGalaxies Atari, Intellivision & Game Cube World Wide Referee http://www.beatthechamp.com & http://www.twingalaxies.com If you have any more question to “Ask the Champ”. Todd can be
reached at: toddrogers64NOSSPAM@yahoo.com
Here are the results of your votes for the best video games having
their original version released in 1981. As usual, I got some help from
the RT staff to narrow the list down to 40 titles – which is always
difficult. I left off a few titles that folks wanted to see on the
list. And here are some that didn’t make our cut - Crush Crumble &
Chomp, Lazarian, Pleiads, Video Hustler & Funky Fish.
The X1541 Cable - is it worth buying one to play more games? A 25th hour submission to RT #80, since Tom was not quite done. So bless Tom if he added this article for you to read. I’m a firm believer that one should play the games on the original system. But you need the games on disk or cart. For quite a while the emulation scene ruled the day, as there were not a lot of other choices. Either you had the original system, controllers and the games, and all were functional, or you were stuck with emulation. Today, most systems and controllers are relatively cheap, and easier to acquire, but still not always the games. Thus, the X1541 cable and other such tools/devices will bring the games to you. There’s only a token investment of money, and then of course your time – in proportion to how many games you want to acquire. Once you have everything in place, you can truly recapture those old memories, and also discover some new ones. A few readers have asked me to cover the use of the X1541 cable, and other such hardware. I’d also like to tell about my experiences with the Atari 2600 Cuttle Cart, and the Atari 7800 Cuttle Cart II (coming soon), and the SIO2PC cable (got mine from AtariAge.com this Christmas) for the Atari 8 bit computer line. All of these products do have their own web sites with help files, and much better explanations than I can ever provide. I am just here to be that motivational voice telling you to go and DO IT! Their web sites have great explanations on the workings of their hardware and software (to work the file transfer) between your classic system/computer or disk drive and your modern day PC. Their FAQs will get you going, so start there. Then check out gaming sites that support emulation, since most of the same game files will be used. Finally, they may tell you how to make your own, or who to contact and of course where to send payment to buy one. I’ll summarize a few links at the end. Let us first start by reminding you that acquiring these games for free for emulation, or to play on your original system is probably NOT legal. If, however, you do currently own the original game on a floppy disk, cassette tape, cartridge or other original product, then you are supposedly allowed to have an archival copy. This archival copy would be especially useful to have if the old disks no longer work, or they cause undesirable effects, like knocking and banging on your disk drive. But you must own the original for this to be legal – otherwise you are a software pirate. There may be some loophole that you can download the games once and then play them for a trial basis, delete them right afterwards etc. Idunno. OK, now onto what to do. There are 2 choices here. 1) Download games from the internet to play on your own classic system. Or, 2) archive games that you have originals for, and send them over to your PC for permanent storage or safekeeping. Likewise, you can send them to the PC, then back again, and in some cases you may ultimately be able to make a backup copy. But most of these programs do not have copy protection or hacking capabilities, so you probably need to hack or break the games first, before transferring. Games being downloaded from the internet have already been broken. I’ll only talk about the first choice, downloading them form the Internet. You must first figure out what the game(s) you want to play and locate them. Go ahead and start that process now, as you never know when the files will be gone – like MAME files. Download those any time, or at least make sure that you can find enough of the ones that you want before purchasing the hardware cable. Know what the game is called, or what version(s) you want. When in doubt, you might as well download anything that seems like it is the right game and then proceed. I find it best to make a file folder for each game that you are looking for and use it to place the files you download there. You’ll also use this same folder to store the unzipped files. That will keep everything organized, otherwise you may end up mixing files up later. If you are only doing a few games, no big deal, but if a lot, then keep up with it. The game files are usually referred to as disk images, or ROM images. Some games will require several files, or an entire diskette, or more full of data. You must acquire the correct X1541 cable – specifically made to work for your OS. There are only a few choices, but read up on it and still double check and ask the author/seller which is the right cable for you. They are more than happy to assist. I would recommend spending the extra few dollars to buy the longer length cable. It is not needed, but it will be too late later. You also need to acquire and install the software to make the file transfers possible. You can do this is advance as well, but you will really only understand the process when you have the X1541 cable, a PC, the transfer program, a 1541 or similar disk drive, and the disk/game image. The default is the “Star Commander” which is what I used successfully. One trouble that I had was that I tried to use a 1541 II disk drive and had no luck. So plan to have a standard 1541 or be prepared for more trouble shooting. You’ll need to learn how to manipulate the file systems on both your PC and the 1541 diskette via the Star Commander. Make sure that you know how this works before you really attempt to transfer the files. I’d suggest using a formatted disk with some files on it that are not needed any longer, or you have backed up. Just play with the file management system until you understand what things look like and how to rename, or delete files, and now how many blocks you have left on the disk etc. Oh yes, and also how to format disks. You really should just format them back on your C-64 system with a 1541. The files that you will download will be zipped. Unzip those and store them in each game’s folder. Then you will use the .t64 or .d64 images to transfer to the 1541. The Star Commander will transfer them from the PC format (.d64 or .t64) into the regular 1541 format, such as a .prg Keep track of what is on each destination disk. You’ll also need to learn about copying entire sets of files from the PC to the 1541 so that they are all done at once and not one file at a time. Do your disk management on the destination disk ahead of time. Try to keep only a few games per disk and never bother putting too many games together, certainly not mixing a couple games onto a very full diskette with a large number of files or levels on it. You no longer need to ration your diskettes – well maybe you do. I forgot to mention that you obviously need to acquire some cheap 5.25” floppy disks. Make sure that they are LOW density. A good place might be at work as people throw the old stuff away, or thrift stores, and of course ebay. If you get IBM high density disks they will never work on the 1541. Just toss them out. After transferring the files to the 1541, you can then take them back to the C-64 setup and check them out to make sure that they work. Check them all one at a time, and probably keep a copy of all the zip files and stuff from the PC later as well. Just group them together and burn them on CD for safekeeping. I’m pretty sure that folks are still illegally selling CD’s like this on the net as well. If you got no errors along the way, but it does not work. Possibly start from scratch and try the entire process again. Rule number 1 is to use a different blank disk every time. And if you are into it, maybe just make two copies while you have the setup going in the first place. Then you’ll have an exact archival copy ready to go. Too bad I didn’t think of this myself, earlier. OK, now if you still have no luck with the final product, then the most likely the disk/ROM image is bad or not compatible with your C64, or 1541. I did not see this occur much, but it probably did once – and I’ll never know why. Just give up and move on – there are plenty more games out there. Also always use an external fan to keep your 1541 drive cool. Even better, use a fan and then limit your transfer sessions to one hour at a time. Most games will take 3 minutes tops. Here’s some more information and links. Joe Forster is the author of the Star Commander and you should check out his site first. http://sta.c64.org/sc.html And of course, where to buy the X1541 and which one. http://sta.c64.org/x1541shop.html I got mine from the guy in Hungary who helps distribute them. He is trustworthy. Oh yes, in most cases, you’ll fit the X1541 cable onto your LPT parallel printer port, and then your usual serial port on the back of the 1541 drive. For C-64 game information try. Lemon 64 http://www.lemon64.com/and for downloads Gamebase 64 http://www.gb64.com/An example of a file is for Demon Attack. DEMONATT.T64 It will come in a zip file. X1541 for Dummies and more help at: http://www.geocities.com/cdsixfour/x1541.htmIf you have any questions, I’d be happy to help, but I am not an expert on the hardware or the transfer software. I would be happy to help you jog your memory with what game is called what, or do you remember that game called . . . that looks like . . . Alan Hewston can be reached at hewston95NNOO@SPPAMstratos.net If you are looking for any games, see my stuff for trade sale at: http://my.stratos.net/~hewston95/VG/trade.doc
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