2600 | Retro Game Guy

March 10, 2013
by mmervine 1 Comment

Berzerk…

Berzerk is a 1980 video game developed by Stern Electronics of Chicago. Supposedly Alan McNeil, the designer of Berzerk, had a dream about a black and white video game involving fighting robots. During the development of Berzerk, Defender was released and the decision was made to release Berzerk in color instead of B&W. A few early units were, supposedly, released in B&W with color overlays. The color units were produced in two distinct batches with the second batch having more variety in the colors of the robots and the number of bullets that they fire. The Berzerk arcade systems are based around a Z80 CPU and it is one of the first video games to feature speech synthesis. This may not seem like a big deal in 2013, but it was really amazing in 1980. The first time anyone played Berzerk, they had to be amazed to hear the game talk to them!

The concept of Berzerk is pretty simple…the player is a humanoid in a maze with a bunch of killer robots. To survive, you must shoot the robots before they shoot you. You also have to avoid running into the robots, the electrified walls, and Evil Otto. Evil Otto adds a significant amount of complexity to the game as you must avoid him as you can not kill him. Alan supposedly named Evil Otto after the security chief at a previous employer. The robots in Berzerk are not the ‘sharpest tools in the shed’ as they have a tendency to kill themselves by running into the walls or each other. Although the concept of the game is simple, players would find themselves putting quarter after quarter into the game. Berzerk was the first popular ‘shoot em up’ video game and all of today’s popular shooter games can trace their roots back to 1980. Berzerk was ported to the Vectrex and the Atari 2600 and 5200 consoles.

Berzerk at Funspot

2600 Version…

The 2600 version of Berzerk was released in 1982 and was a smash hit. Berzerk’s simple graphics were faithfully replicated on the 2600 and the game play was almost identical to the arcade. Atari included 12 variations including ones with and without Evil Otto, non-shooting Robots, and even one where Evil Otto can be shot and will disappear for a few seconds. I fondly remember playing Berzerk over and over on my Sears Video Arcade (Atari 2600) in the early 80’s. It is a fantastic game and there was something cool about the green label and box. There was one big thing missing, however, from Atari’s 2600 version…voice synthesis. Back in 1982, most of us figured that this just could not be done on a 2600.

In 2002, Mike Mika proved this wrong when he developed an improved version of Berzerk featuring voice synthesis. In ‘Berzerk Voice Enhanced‘, Mike also improved the graphics to make them more closely resemble the arcade. At various points in Mike’s version you will hear ‘intruder alert!’, ‘chicken, fight like a robot’, and ‘humanoid must not escape’. Berzerk is a great game for the 2600, but Berzerk VE is an outstanding game that belongs in every 2600 collection!

5200 Version…

The 5200 version of Berzerk was released in 1983 and became an instant classic. Like its 2600 cousin, the 5200 version faithfully replicates the arcade graphics and game play. The 5200 version takes it to the next level and features full voice synthesis. Mike’s Berzerk VE for the 2600 is pretty awesome, but the 5200 version is one step better. The voice synthesis is tied to the game play so that when Evil Otto is about to appear, you will hear ‘intruder alert!’. The 5200 port is one of the best arcade conversions in the 5200 library and belongs in every 5200 collection. The only thing missing is a coin slot and ‘coins detected in pocket’.

7800 Version…

Sadly, no 7800 version of Berzerk was developed. Fortunately, the 7800 plays almost all 2600 games and you can play Berzerk or Berzerk VE on your 7800. One day, maybe, some enterprising homebrewer will port Berzerk to the 7800 with full voice synthesis. Until then, you can enjoy the regular 2600 version or the VE version.

Frenzy…

In 1982, Stern followed up Berzerk with Frenzy. Frenzy was similar, but a little more difficult than Berzerk. At least in Frenzy, however, it is possible to kill Evil Otto. Frenzy was ported to the Colecovision, but not to any Atari home consoles. A while ago, one homebrew developer was thinking about porting Frenzy to the 7800. Let’s hope that one day this comes to fruition.

Wild for Berzerk!

March 2, 2013
by mmervine 1 Comment

Tempest…

Tempest is a 1981 arcade game developed by Atari. Dave Theurer, a senior programmer at Atari, was trying to develop a 3D game similar to Space Invaders, but ran into a whole host of problems. Supposedly, Dave had a dream about monsters coming out of a hole in the ground, which gave him the idea for what became Tempest. The technology used in the Tempest arcade systems included Atari’s (then new) QuadraScan color vector generator, a 6502 CPU, and two Pokey chips for sound and I/O.

The QuadraScan technology allowed Dave to generate 3D ‘tubes’ that form the ‘playing field’ for Tempest. The goal of the game is to use your ‘Zapper’ to shoot as many enemies and last as long as possible. The enemies, which appear at different levels, include:

Flippers-the most common, appear at level one
Flipper tankers-which split into two flippers when hit, appear at level three
Spikers-they built green spike that can kill you when you warp to a new level, appear at level four
Fuseballs-who zip up and down the channels, appear at level eleven
Fuseball tankers- which split into two fuseballs when hit, appear at level thirty-three
Pulsars-who electrify the channels, appear at level seventeen
Pulsar tankers- which split into two pulsars when hit, appear at level forty-one

There are a total of 99 levels in Tempest, with the first sixteen having unique geometric shapes. They then repeat, with varied color schemes and increasing difficulty, as the game advances. In additional to an unlimited supply of ammunition for your ‘Zapper’, you also get a ‘Super Zapper’ which can be used twice in each level. The first time that the Super Zapper is used, it will destroy all enemies on the playing field. The second time, it only destroys one, random, enemy. When all enemies are destroyed, you will ‘warp’ through to the next level. Tempest is also one of the first arcade games to let your pick your starting level.

Tempest was a monster hit for the Atari coin-op division and it was ported to many platforms of the day including the BBC Micro, the ZX Spectrum, and the Atari ST. Ports were also planned and partially developed for the Atari 2600 and 5200 game consoles, but, until recently, were never released.

Tempest at Funspot

2600 Version…

Carla Meninsky developed the 2600 version which was planned to be released in 1983, but was never finished. The 2600 version plays with a similar concept to the arcade version, but the graphics are crude and the playing field is two dimensional. In her 2600 port, Carla did manage to include four enemies: Flippers, Flipper Tankers, Pulsars, and Fuseballs. Tempest was included as one of the games on the Flashback 4 (November 2012), so now it has been ‘officially’ released. I wanted to like the 2600 version of Tempest, but, honestly, it is pretty horrible. Graphics and 2D playing field aside, the control and collision detection are terrible. In fairness to Carla (who also programmed Warlords…an awesome 2600 game), she never had the chance to finish Tempest for 2600 and I am not sure why AtGames included it on the FB4. You can read more about the 2600 version of Tempest here.

Another Tempest like game, 3D Genesis, was developed for the 2600 by Videosoft. Although practically complete, it too was not released until recently. Videosoft managed to create a better, if not perfect, 3D effect on the 2600. If you have a 2600 and like Tempest, you should take a look at 3D Genesis here.

5200 Version…

Keithen Hayenga, who programmed RealSports Baseball for the 5200, volunteered to develop the 5200 version of Tempest. Keithen worked closely with Dave Theurer and was able to use some of the same code as Dave had used on the arcade version. This was possible, since the 5200 also has a 6502 CPU and a Pokey chip for sound and I/O. This would make the sound and play of the 5200 version nearly the same as the arcade. Since the arcade units used vector graphics, there was only so much of the code that Keithen could use as the 5200 needed bit mapped graphics. Like the 2600 version, the 5200 version of Tempest was planned for release in 1983 and is featured as ‘coming soon’ in most of Atari’s advertising and catalogs in 1983. A 5200 (and 2600) Tempest box was shown in the 1984 movie ‘Cloak and Dagger’. Like most software projects, the development of Tempest ran behind schedule and came to a stop when Warner sold Atari in 1984 and let go most of the game programmers.

For years, there was speculation, but no copy or prototype of Tempest for the 5200 surfaced until 1999. That copy was a version that was approximately fifty percent complete and attempts were made to finish the game, but with only limited success. Ken Van Mersbergen made the effort to track down Keithen in 2002 and they located a more advanced copy of the Tempest source code. Ken and Dennis Debro worked on the game, but never quite had the time to finish it. George Reese is credited with somehow sparking Keithen to contact Ken about finishing Tempest. With the efforts of Ken, Dennis, and Keithen, after nearly thirty years, a finished version of Tempest for the Atari 5200 SuperSystem was made available for sale by AtariAge at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo in September 2012. Of course the story doesn’t end there. Shortly after the expo, bugs were discovered in the Trak-ball control of the game, so back went the programmers to fix the bugs. Finally, in the past week, Tempest has been released with a beautiful reproduction box, a twelve page manual (in full color), and a cool cart label. The manual (which has had a life of its own), includes three pages on the history of the game.

Tempest for the 5200 does not disappoint. Other than not being able to render vector graphics, the SuperSystem demonstrates its ability to be a ‘personal arcade system’ and Tempest rocks on the 5200. Since the sounds and game tables are the same as the arcade version, it is hard to imagine how it could get any better. Control with the 5200’s analog joystick is solid and, although I prefer the joystick, it also plays well with the Trak-ball. I did find that in later rounds, you have really work to avoid the spikes when using the joystick. This is definitely easier to do with the Trak-ball. All of the arcade levels and features are present, including the ability to pick your starting level. There is really not much else that can be said other than it is nearly arcade perfect!

A huge thank you needs to go out to Keithen, Ken, and Dennis for their programming work to finally bring this arcade classic home. Thanks also to Michael Kosaka for his graphics work and to George Reese and David Exton for their work on the box, manual, and label for this game. Finally, a big thanks to Al Yarusso for all that he does at AtariAge and for his work to program, solder, and assemble all of the Tempest carts. At best, a few hundred (or maybe a thousand) copies of Tempest will be sold, so there is no big money being made here. In an era of overpaid celebrities and sports stars, it is really nice to see people do something to make other people’s lives more enjoyable.

If you have a 5200, get over to AtariAge and order yourself a copy of this classic game. It may have taken thirty years to be completed, but you should not wait another minute to get your copy!

Wild for Tempest!

February 24, 2013
by mmervine 1 Comment

Centipede…

Centipede is a 1980 video game developed by Atari. It is notable in that it was one of the few video games that was co-developed by a woman (Dona Bailey) and, also had a large female following. Centipede was a monster hit for Atari and it could be found in nearly every arcade in the early 80’s. Centipede is based on the standard Atari hardware of the era with a single 6502 CPU, a single Pokey chip, and a 16 color CRT.

The concept of the game is pretty straight forward. The centipede starts at the top of the screen and moves down a level every time it encounters a mushroom. You must use your wand (blaster) to shoot the centipede before it gets to you. If you hit the centipede in a center section, it will split in two. You must also defend yourself from spiders that enter from the sides and fleas that fall from the top. Scorpions periodically run across the screen and ‘poison’ any mushrooms that they contact. If the centipede contacts a poison mushroom, it will ‘fall’ to the bottom of the screen.

Centipede at Funspot

Centipede was ported to a number of home consoles and computers including the Apple II, the Commodore 64, and the Atari 800 and the Atari 2600, 5200, and 7800 consoles. In fact, it is one of the few games to be ported to all 4 of Atari’s 8-bit game systems.

In 1982, Atari released Centipede for the VCS/2600 and, when you power up your 2600 with a Centipede cartridge installed, you will be amazed with the start screen…you will think that you are about to see an amazing graphical port for the 2600. Unfortunately, the start screen is as far as the amazing graphics go. The game graphics are disappointing as the mushrooms have become simple square blocks. As far as the game play goes, however, the 2600 version has it all…mushrooms, spiders, fleas, and scorpions. It plays as close to the arcade version as any 2600 port. In fact, Centipede is one of the top games for the 2600!

When the 5200 SuperSystem was introduced in 1982, Centipede was one of the early releases. Given that a Centipede arcade unit has the same basic CPU and sound chips as a 5200, it should be no surprise that the 5200 version is a classic port. Like the 2600 version, all of the arcade elements are present, but this time the graphics and sound are spot on. Control with a standard 5200 joystick is solid, but the 5200 version supports the use of the Trak-ball unit. Centipede is one of the top games available for the 5200.

In 1987, Atari released Centipede for the 7800 ProSystem. Even though the 7800 lacks the sound capability of the 4 channel Pokey chip, Centipede is well executed with a nice start screen, great graphics, and more than adequate sound. The only thing negative to say about the 7800 graphics is the box that is drawn around the screen. The 7800 version makes up for any shortcomings with neat two player modes. Two players can alternate turns, play against each other (at the same time), or play together as a team.

It is hard to say which version of Centipede is the best port. The two player modes in the 7800 version make it a blast to play with a friend, but I give a slight edge to the 5200 version for its accuracy to the arcade version. No matter which Atari home console you have, a copy of Centipede belongs in your game collection!

Wild for Centipede!

February 8, 2013
by mmervine Leave a comment

Atari Flashback 2, a review…

The Atari Flashback 2 is the system that Curt had in mind when he approached Atari about the Flashback concept. In 2004, not enough time was available for development, so Curt went with the ‘NES on a chip’ design for the Flashback 1. When he was done with the Flashback 1, he returned to development of what is now known as the Flashback 2.

With plenty of time for development, Curt designed a custom chip to produce an ‘Atari 2600 on a chip’. Curt also included provisions on the motherboard for adding a cartridge slot. A modified Flashback 2 can play most games designed for the 2600. Taking a page from the Atari playbook, the name for the FB 2 project was ‘Michelle’ for Curt’s wife. Her name is printed on the FB 2 motherboards.

The Flashback 2 looks like a small Atari 2600 and has two joysticks that are compatible with the original 2600 and, also, supports the use of original Atari paddle controllers.

Forty two games are included on the FB 2:

Arcade Favorites: Arcade Asteroids, Arcade Pong, Asteroids Deluxe, Battlezone, Centipede, Lunar Lander, Millipede, Missile Command, and Space Dual.

Adventure Territory: Adventure, Adventure II, Haunted House, Return to Haunted House, Secret Quest Wizard

Space Station: Caverns of Mars, Quadrun, Saboteur, Space War, Yars’ Return, Yars’ Revenge

Skill and Action: 3D Tic-Tac-Toe, Aquaventure, Atari Climber, Combat, Combat 2, Dodge ‘Em, Fatal Run, Frog Pond, Hangman, Human Cannonball, Maze Craze, Off the Wall, Outlaw, Pitfall!, Radar Lock, River Raid, Save Mary, Video Checkers, and Video Chess

Paddle Games: Super Breakout and Warlords (hidden from the main menu)

The hidden paddle games can be reached by pushing the joystick as follows: up 1 time, down 9 times, up 7 times, down 2 times (for 1972, the year Atari released Pong)

There are a few cool things about the Atari FB 2:

since it is a ‘2600 on a chip’, the games work just like they did on the original hardware
supports the use of original Atari joysticks and paddle controllers
a cartridge port can be added (takes electronic knowledge)
includes hacks and homebrews (Asteroids, Atari Climber, and Return to Haunted House)
includes some exclusive games (Asteroids Deluxe, Lunar Lander, and Yars’ Return)
includes some previously unreleased games (Combat 2, Frog Pond, and Save Mary)
includes two Activision games (Pitfall and River Raid)

There also a couple of things to be aware of:

If you add a cartridge port, it does not support all 2600 games (due to some missing bankswitching and opcode capabilities)
the joystck ports are on the back of the unit, similar to the original 2600
It does not work with all TV’s

The FB 2 is an amazing console. Although the last production run was in 2009 (with the Flashback 2+), they are still relatively easy to find second hand. I paid about $20 for my FB 2, but consider it a bargain if you can find one for under $30. With 42 games and a set of compatible joysticks, it is really a steal. The only thing to be aware of is that it doesn’t work well with some ‘modern’ TV’s. It worked great on my non HD TV, but some games did not display correctly on my Vizio HD TV.

At this point I have tested and written about all four Flashback units. If you are looking for some Atari retro game fun, you can really not go wrong with either the FB 2, 3, or 4. Due to it’s excellent emulation, 75 games, HD TV compatibility, and wireless controllers, I give a slight edge to the FB 4. If you want to play games as Atari originally intended, then I highly recommend the FB 2!

January 27, 2013
by mmervine Leave a comment

Atari Flashback 1, a review…

It may seem kind of silly to review a system from 2004 that is no longer being produced, but I think it is worthwhile as a base of comparison to the newer units.

I was able to purchase my Flashback 1 for less than $10 and it came complete with the base unit, power supply, two controllers, box, and a manual. Having only seen pictures of these until this unit arrived, I was surprised at how small it is. The Flashback 1 looks like a miniature Atari 7800 and is about half the size of the subsequent Flashback units.

The Flashback concept was developed by Curt Vendel of Syzygy (formally Legacy Engineering). Atari agreed to produce the unit, but wanted to have it ready for the 2004 holiday season. This only gave Curt about ten weeks to design the unit and he went with a design that is based on a ‘NES on a chip’. Since the system is based on a NES chip, all games had to be ‘ported’ and a mixture of 2600 and 7800 games are included:

2600: Adventure, Air-Sea Battle, Battlezone, Breakout, Canyon Bomber, Crystal Castles, Gravitar, Haunted House, Millipede, Saboteur, Skydiver, Solaris, Sprintmaster, Warlords, and Yars’ Revenge

7800: Asteroids, Centipede, Desert Falcon, Food Fight, and Planet Smashers

At first I thought it would be cool to see how the five 7800 games translated, but I was soon disappointed. Centipede isn’t too bad but Asteroids didn’t make the transition well at all. Also, I find the 7800 game selection puzzling…Asteroids, Centipede, and Food Fight are popular titles, but Desert Falcon and Planet Smashers are less well known. In fact, Planet Smashers is one of the rarer 7800 titles and, also, one of the poorest rated. Given the quality of the 7800 ports, I am not sure that it would have mattered, but Dig Dug, Ms. Pac-man, or Pole Position II would have been better choices.

I am happy to say that the 2600 ports are much better. Of course, more effort has been put in over the years to port and emulate the 2600, so I guess that this should have been expected. The exception is Battlezone…this port is horrible and hardly worth playing. Millipede, on the other hand, is a blast to play on the Flashback. Also, the Flashback 1 introduced the concept of releasing prototype games and included the previously unreleased Saboteur.

Breakout and Warlords had to be modified to use the Flashback joysticks and I wasn’t expecting much. These were a pleasant surprise and are very playable.

It should be noted that the Flashback 1 joysticks are not usable with standard Atari (or other Flashback units) as they are wired differently.

Given that we know that the Flashback 1 was a ‘rushed’ effort, I guess it would be a cliche to say that it seems half polished. Unless you are an Atari collector and need to have one of these, I would recommend skipping the Flashback 1 in favor of a Flashback 2, 2+, or the newer Flashback 4.

The Flashback 1 is an important piece of Atari history in that it marked the return of Atari to the console market. It also sold well enough to convince Atari to proceed with the Flashback 2. As I will discuss in a future post, the Flashback 2 is the system that Curt really wanted to build in the first place.

Speaking of Curt, he is going to have a significant surgery this week and I want to wish him the best of luck and a speedy recovery!

Atari Flashback 1

January 20, 2013
by mmervine Leave a comment

Atari Flashback the series…

To date, there have been five Atari Flashback models. In this post, I will give the general background on these units and go into more detail in future posts.

Flashback 1:

The Flashback concept originated with Curt Vendel of Syzygy (formally Legacy Engineering). Curt pitched the idea of a Flashback unit to Atari who agreed to produce the unit, but wanted to have it ready for the 2004 holiday season. This only gave Curt about ten weeks to design the unit and Curt went with a design that is based on a ‘NES on a chip’. Outwardly, the system looks like a small Atari 7800 and includes twenty games. Since the system is based on a NES chip, all games run in emulation and a mixture of 2600 and 7800 games are included:

2600: Adventure, Air-Sea Battle, Battlezone, Breakout, Canyon Bomber, Crystal Castles, Gravitar, Haunted House, Millipede, Saboteur, Skydiver, Solaris, Sprintmaster, Warlords, and Yars’ Revenge

7800: Asteroids, Centipede, Desert Falcon, Food Fight, and Planet Smashers

The Atari Flashback 1 met with mixed reviews, primarily due to the emulation. Also, Breakout and Warlords had to be modified to use the Flashback joysticks. The system was however, successful enough to convince Atari to proceed to with the Flashback 2.

Flashback 2:

In 2005, Atari again turned to Curt to develop the Flashback 2. This time around, the system would include 2600 games only. With more time for development, Curt designed a custom chip to produce an ‘Atari 2600 on a chip’. Curt also included provisions on the motherboard for adding a cartridge slot. A modified Flashback 2 can play most games designed for the 2600. Taking a page from the Atari playbook, the name for the Flashback 2 project was ‘Michelle’ for Curt’s wife. Her name is printed on the Flashback 2 motherboards.

The Flashback 2 looks like a small Atari 2600 and has two joysticks that are compatible with the original 2600 and, also, supports the use of original Atari paddle controllers.

Forty two games are included on the Flashback 2:

Arcade Favorites: Arcade Asteroids, Arcade Pong, Asteroids Deluxe, Battlezone, Centipede, Lunar Lander, Millipede, Missile Command, and Space Dual.

Adventure Territory: Adventure, Adventure II, Haunted House, Return to Haunted House, Secret Quest Wizard

Space Station: Caverns of Mars, Quadrun, Saboteur, Space War, Yars’ Return, Yars’ Revenge

Paddle Games: Super Breakout and Warlords (hidden from main menu)

The Flashback 2 broke new ground as it included homebrews, hacks, unreleased prototypes, and two Activision games. With a great game selection, new 2600 hardware, and the ability to add a cartridge slot, the Flashback 2 was popular with both the general public and the Atari community and sold almost one million units.

Flashback 2+:

Released by Atari in 2010, the Flashback 2+ is, essentially, the same as the Flashback 2. Atari Climber, Caverns of Mars, Pitfall!, River Raid, and Wizard were removed from the game selection and a sports section was added that included: Realsports Boxing, Realsports Soccer, Super Baseball, Super Football, and Double Dunk. Also, Circus Atari was added to the ‘hidden’ section for a total of forty three games.

Flashback 3:

For 2011, Atari licensed out the Flashback concept to AtGames. AtGames developed the Flashback 3 around an ARM processor and included sixty games. They originally did not include Curt in the design, but ended up bringing him in as a consultant when they ran into some technical issues. The Flashback 3 included two joysticks that are compatible with original Atari systems.

Games included on the Flashback 3: 3D Tic-Tac-Toe, Adventure, Adventure II, Air-Sea Battle, Aquaventure, Asteroids, Backgammon, Basketball, Battlezone, Bowling, Canyon Bomber, Centipede, Championship, Soccer, Circus Atari, Combat, Combat 2, Demons to Diamonds, Desert Falcon, Dodge ‘Em, Double Dunk, Fatal Run, Flag Capture, Frog Pond, Fun with Numbers, Golf, Gravitar, Hangman, Home Run, Haunted House, Human Cannonball, Maze Craze, Minature Golf, Missile Command, Night Driver, Off the Wall, Outlaw, Realsports Baseball, Realsports Basketball, Realsports Soccer, Realsports Volleyball, Saboteur, Save Mary, Secret Quest, Sky Diver, Space War, Sprintmaster, Star Ship, Steeplechase, Submarine Commander, Super Baseball, Super Breakout, Super Football, Surround, Swordquest: Earthworld, Swordquest: Fireworld, Video Checkers, Video Chess, Video Pinball, Wizard, and Yars’ Revenge.

Flashback 4:

AtGames released the Flashback 4 in late 2012 with several improvements over the previous model. It features new wireless controllers, support for paddles, and improved emulation. It also includes seventy five games. Secret Quest was removed from the game selection and sixteen games that were added. The added games over the Flashback 3 are: Black Jack, Breakout, Crystal Castles, Football, Front Line, Jungle Hunt, Polaris, Pong (Video Olympics), Return to Haunted House, Slot Machine, Slot Racers, Stellar Track, Street Racer, Space Invaders (special FB 4 edition, not 2600 version), Tempest, and Warlords. Read more about the Flashback 4 in my previous posts.

January 6, 2013
by mmervine 1 Comment

Funspot…

On US Route 3, just a short drive north of the Weirs Beach Boardwalk, Funspot was founded by Bob Lawton in 1952. Funspot has been in its current location since 1964 and, in 2008, the Guinness Book of Records named Funspot the ‘World’s Largest Arcade’. In addition to all of its arcade systems, Funspot is home to a nine hole miniature golf course, a ten lane bowling alley, a tavern, and a restaurant. Most importantly, the third floor houses the ‘American Classic Arcade Museum’ and is a true 8-bit retro gamers dream come true.

Computer Space

Funspot is a good two hour drive from my home, but what better to do on a sunny, but cold January day in New Hampshire? Although I play my Atari game systems as much as I can, it had been a long time since I had been to an arcade with so many 8-bit systems. As I entered the third floor of Funspot, I was amazed at their collection of systems. It didn’t take me long to exchange some dollars for a cup full of tokens. The biggest question was where to start?

Space Invaders

I ended up starting with an old favorite…Space Invaders. For not playing the arcade version for so many years, I was pretty happy with how I did. In two or three hours, I managed to play the following games: Berzerk, Centipede, Crossbow, Defender, Donkey Kong, Missile Command, Pac-Man Plus, Jr. Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Super Cobra, Zaxxon, and many others. It was a total blast and, on some games I did well, but others were a real challenge. You get so used to playing with your joysticks at home, that some of these games are a real adjustment. I was completely useless on Defender and just could not manage the hand-eye coordination required for the arcade version.

Pac-Man Plus

What was really fun was to see how well many of these games translate to the Atari 2600 and, especially, the 7800. When I write about games, I always take a look at photos and videos of real arcade systems, but nothing beats being able to play the real thing!

If you are reading this blog, then you enjoy retro gaming. If you happen to travel to or live in New England, you owe it to yourself to add a visit to Funspot to your itinerary. For twenty dollars or less, you can have an afternoon of fun that will be hard to match anywhere else. Funspot has so many 8-bit arcade games, that the best thing to do is to refer you to their website, so that you can read the list for yourself.

Oh, and as a final note…Funspot founder Bob Lawton will be featured this Wednesday evening (January 9th) on American Restoration.

Pong

December 30, 2012
by mmervine 1 Comment

Atari 2600 Pac-Man games…

There were three officially released Pac-Man games for the Atari 2600. In this post, I will discuss these as well as some homebrews and hacks. Be sure to read my previous post about the arcade versions of these games.

Pac-Man…

Released by Atari in early 1992, Pac-Man ended up being the best selling game ever for the 2600. It went on to sell more than seven million copies at $37.95. That was a heck of a lot of money back in 1982 and would be more than $80 today. The 2600 version was programmed by Tod Frye who was one of the first Atari programmers to receive royalties. It has been reported that Tod was paid more than $1 million for his efforts. Atari spent more than $1.5 million on advertising and marketing for Pac-Man.

Unfortunately, the game was horrible and it looked nothing like the arcade version. The maze was nothing like the arcade maze and since when did Pac-Man grow an eye? Pac-Man’s orientation doesn’t change when he changes direction and there is a tremendous amount of flicker with the ghosts. Supposedly, there were better prototypes that had been developed, but Atari wanted to squeeze the game onto a 4K cartridge to save money.

Pac-man did sell seven million copies, but Atari had produced twelve million and, after playing the game, many customers returned it for a refund. Thus, Atari ended up with more than five million unsold copies. Unless you need to have this game for some collecting reasons, don’t even waste one dollar of your money on Pac-Man!

Ms. Pac-Man…

Released by Atari less than a year after Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man turned out to be an excellent port to the 2600. Maybe the reason why is that it was actually programmed not by Atari, but by Mike Horowitz and Josh Littlefield of General Computer Corp (GCC). Mike and Josh managed to get pretty close to that arcade experience, given the limitations of the 2600. In fact, they pretty much have it all…four ghosts, bouncing fruit, animated title screen, four different mazes, and Ms. Pac-Man looks like Ms. Pac-Man. There is still some flicker, but much improved over Pac-Man. Ms. Pac-Man uses an 8K cartridge, versus 4K, and it is worth every K!

Ms. Pac-Man belongs in every 2600 collection and is the basis for several hacks.

Jr. Pac-Man…

Developed in 1984, but not released until 1987, Jr. Pac-Man was also programmed for Atari by GCC. This time, Ava-Robin Cohen did the programming and she did an awesome job. Once again, almost all of the arcade features are present in the 2600 version and it is a blast to play. The biggest difference between the arcade and the 2600 version is the scrolling. The 2600 version scrolls vertically, instead of horizontally. Other than that, it is all there…Junior, the ghosts, candies, scrolling screen, etc.!

Pac-Man Arcade…

Using the Ms. Pac-Man code as a starting point, Rob Kudla created the Pac-Man that Atari should have done in 1982. Rob extensively hacked Ms. Pac-Man to create a great version of Pac-Man for the 2600. The mazes, sounds, graphics, and gameplay are all much closer to the arcade than Atari’s original version. Photos of the game and several review comments are posted, so be sure to check out AtariAge to learn more about Pac-Man Arcade.

Pac-Man Plus…

Using Rob Kudla’s Pac-Man Arcade as a starting point, Bob ‘PacManPlus’ DeCrescenzo did some additional hacks to create a ‘plus’ version of Pac-Man. Bob changed the mazes to be green, changed the ghosts to have leafs on their heads, and changed the fruits to match the bonus items in the arcade version. I don’t think that this variation has been made available on a cart, so you will need a multi-cart or emulator to play to version of Pac-Man Plus.

Pac-Man 4K…

Dennis Debro set out to make a 2600 Pac-Mac version, as close to the arcade as possible, using only a 4K cartridge. Recently his Pac-Man 4K has become available from the AtariAge store. For a 4K effort, Dennis has done an amazing job. The maze, graphics, and gameplay are just about as close as you can get to the arcade, especially given the 4K size of the game. My only feedback is about the amount of flicker for Pac-Man and the ghosts. Photos and a video of Pac-Man 4K are posted at AtariAge, so go check them out. Flicker aside, Dennis has shown what Atari could have done with a 4K limit for Pac-Man!

Hack’em/Hangly Man…

At one point, the folks at Ebivision had developed a Pac-Man game for the 2600. Due to licensing issues, they instead turned it into Pesco. Nukey Shay took their original Pac-man code and has made many changes and updates to create one darn good Pac-Man for the 2600. He has even included the Plus mode and is working on a Ms. Pac-Man game as well. To read more about his efforts, see his thread at AtariAge.

There have been plenty more hacks of Pac-Man games for the 2600, but I have tried to cover the most significant ones. This actually took a lot more time and research than I thought it would! Next up…Pac-Man games for the Atari 7800…for now, I need to go play some Pac-Man!!!

Pac-Man for the 2600

December 25, 2012
by mmervine 3 Comments

Pac-Man the series…

In my next few posts, I am going to write about Pac-Man, the spin offs, and ports to the Atari 2600 and 7800 systems.

Pac-Man…

Pac-Man is probably the most well known video game in history. It was developed by Namco in 1979 and distributed in the United States by Midway. In Japan (and in parts of Europe) the game was known as Puck Man. Pac-Man was developed over a period of about eighteen months by Namco employee Toru Iwatani. When Pac-Man was first released in Japan, it was not a hit as Space Invaders continued to dominate the arcade scene. When Pac-Man was released in the US, everything changed. It seemed that the American public welcomed the change from Space Invaders and the seemingly endless number of arcade space shooters. Midway sold more than 350,000 Pac-Man arcade units and it became an even bigger hit than Atari’s Asteroids.

The game of Pac-Man is based around a pretty simple concept. The player must control Pac-Man and have him eat all of the dots in the maze, while avoiding the ghosts. There are four power pills (at the corners of the maze) which give Pac-Man invincibility and the ability to eat the ghosts. Each ghost eaten is more valuable. The ghosts (Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde), which all have different personalities, get re-incarnated when their eyes return to the box at the center of the screen. As the game progresses, the time period of invincibility becomes shorter. Additionally, fruits appear periodically and, when eaten, give the player bonus points.

Most gamers don’t know that it is impossible to finish a Pac-Man game. There are 256 levels, but there is a bug in the arcade ROM that prevents completion. Normally there are seven fruits displayed across the bottom of the screen, but an error in programming causes 256 fruits to be displayed on the 256^th level, destroying the right hand side of the maze.

Due to its popularity, Pac-Man was ported to almost every home console of the era including the Atari 2600, 5200, and 8-bit systems. It was also ported to the Intellivision, NES, and Commodore 64.

Ms. Pac-Man…

Believe it or not, Ms. Pac-Man started out as Crazy Otto. General Computer Corporation (GCC) had developed an enhancement kit for Missile Command arcade units. This didn’t make Atari very happy and they sued GCC. The suit was settled when GCC agreed not sell any more enhancement kits without the agreement of the original manufacturer. GCC also agreed to collaborate with Atari on some future projects. GCC had developed an enhancement kit for Pac-man called Crazy Otto. Per the agreement with Atari, they were compelled to show it to Midway. Midway ended up liking it so much that they bought it from GCC and re-worked it into what is now known as Ms. Pac-Man.

Ms. Pac-Man became a monster hit for Midway when it was released in 1982. In fact, Ms. Pac-Man became one of the most popular arcade games of all time. It was the first to feature a female character and Midway sold more than 100,000 Ms. Pac-Man arcade units. Unfortunately, Midway did not obtain authorization from Namco for the development and release of Ms. Pac-Man. Fortunately, Ms. Pac-Man was so popular that Namco did reach agreements with Midway and GCC and Ms. Pac-Mac became an officially licensed Namco game.

Like Pac-man, Ms. Pac-Man was ported to a number of home consoles including the Atari 2600, 5200, 7800, and 8-bit systems. It was also ported to the NES, Commodore 64, and Apple II.

Super Pac-Man…

This is the third game in the series and, unlike Ms. Pac-Man, was actually developed by Namco. Super Pac-Man becomes ‘super’ by eating one of the two ‘super’ pellets. When ‘super’, he is larger, faster and can eat through doors. When ‘super’, he is also invincible to the ghosts. When normal, he must eat the keys which open the doors to allow him to eat the fruits.

The Super Pac-Man concept was quite a deviation from Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man and was only a moderate success. It was also developed to run on a Motorola 6809 CPU versus the Z80’s used the the previous Pac-Man arcade units.

Due to its limited success it was only ported to the Atari 5200, but was never released by Atari.

Pac-Man Plus…

Pac-Man Plus was released by Midway in 1982 and, like Ms. Pac-Man, it was not authorized by Namco. Pac-Man Plus is similar to Pac-Man with the biggest differences being the green (versus blue) maze and the fruits being replaced by ‘other’ objects such as beverages. Additionally, eating a power pill sometimes causes unexpected results such as making the maze invisible or only turning three of the four ghosts blue.

Because Pac-Man Plus was released just before the ‘Video game collapse of 1983′, it was never officially ported to any home consoles. It was reasonably popular in the arcades and, actually, outsold Super Pac-Man.

Midway also developed a Ms. Pac-Man Plus arcade system which was identical to Ms. Pac-Man, only with different mazes.

Jr. Pac-Man…

Jr. Pac-Man was another version developed by Bally Midway without permission from Namco. Jr. was closer to the original Pac-Man format than Super Pac-Man. The biggest change is that the maze is now twice as large and, as Jr. moves, the maze will pan across the screen horizontally. There are also six power pills instead of four and, due to the scrolling mazes, there are no tunnels. Jr. Pac-Man also has the added challenge of things happening off-screen. Additionally, the toy candies (versus fruits) transform the dots and make them more valuable to eat, but they can also destroy the power pills.

Released in 1983, Jr. Pac-Man was only a moderate success. It was ported to the Atari 2600, 5200, and 8-bit systems, but only the 2600 version was released. Since Jr. Pac-Man was developed Bally Midway, the arcade systems run on Z80 CPU’s like Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man.

Pac-Man Aracde Systems

Next…

In my next post, I will write about the Atari 2600 ports of the Pac-Man series…

December 22, 2012
by mmervine Leave a comment

Galaxian and Galaga…

Galaxian…

Galaxian is an arcade game developed by Namco in 1979 and released in the United States by Midway. Galaxian was intended to capitalize on the popularity of Taito’s Space Invaders and was also a fixed, space shooter game. It differed from Space Invaders in that it was a RGB color game and the aliens would break away from formation and ‘dive bomb’ your ship. The RGB color screen with multi-color sprites and scrolling star background was considered ‘ground breaking’ for 1979. The Galaxian arcade units were powered by a Z80 CPU and the game was ported to nearly every home console of the era, including the Atari 2600 and 5200, and the Colecovision.

Galaxian at Funspot

Galaga…

Namco followed up Galaxian with 1981’s Galaga. Galaga was similar to Galaxian, but added some new features such as additional alien flying patterns and ‘challenging stages’, which occur periodically during the game. They also added the ‘tractor beam’ where your ship can be captured. This adds a cool twist to the game as, if you have additional lives, you can kill the alien to get your ship back and it will attach to your current ship to give you double the fire power. With more complicated alien movements, Galaga arcade units used three Z80 CPU’s and two sound generators. Galaga was a smash hit for Namco and ported to a number of home consoles including the NES and the Atari 7800.

In 1983, Atari released Galaxian for the 2600. The 2600 version was a pretty good port, given the hardware limitations of the VCS. The one thing that bugs me about the 2600 port, is the crazy yellow borders; I am not sure what Atari was thinking with these. Fortunately, more than one gamer has ‘hacked’ Galaxian to improve the appearance of the game. Jess Ragan’s Galaxian Arcade improves both movement and graphics to be much closer to the arcade version. Nukey and KevinMos3 have teamed up to produce an even more arcade perfect version of Galaxian for the 2600. You can check out both of these versions at AtariAge.

5200 owners were not left out as Atari developed a pretty good port of Galaxian as one of the release games for the 5200. The 5200 version doesn’t have any of the cool start screens of the arcade, but the graphics and game play are well done. Given that the 5200 has a Pokey chip for 4 channel sound, the sounds could have been programmed to be closer to the arcade, but it is still a fun game to play. If you have a good joystick, you will not have any control issues with Galaxian, but this version also supports the 5200 Trak-ball. I have played Galaxian with both the standard 5200 joystick and a Trak-ball and it is fun to play either way.

Galxian was not ported to the 7800, but Galaga was one of the first dozen release titles for the 7800. Like many of the early release games for the 7800, it was programmed by General Computer Corporation. Galaga for the 7800 was positively received by many, but panned by others as not being arcade perfect. Comparing the 7800 version to the arcade version reveals differences, but none that detract from the game play. In fact, Galaga is one of my favorite games for the 7800 and is a pretty awesome port when you take into account that compromises had to be made as the arcade units had three CPU’s versus one for the 7800. Galaga utilizes a single fire button, so you can play it with your CX40 or Flashback joysticks.

If you have a 2600, then you should pick a copy of Galaxian or Galaxian Arcade. If you have a 7800, you should pick up both Galaxian and Galaga. Also, no 5200 owner should be without a copy of Galaxian in their collection. Since millions of copies of Galaxian and Galaga were produced, they are easy to find and are still readily available for purchase at relatively low prices!

Wild for Galaxian!

Retro Game Guy

It's the 1980's again!

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