The FB2, or, Where is that new Atari smell?

[Zwackery]

A few weeks ago the FB2 RevB units arrived at my local Target, so I went and picked up 2 (one for me, and one for my friend in Austria - shhhh, don't tell him, it's a surprise). A lot of people have posted their pros and cons about the system, so here go mine:

 

Things I Like

 

The packaging of the FB2 is very well done. In particular, the unit and accessories can be easily and neatly put back in the box for easy storing. A definite high mark there.

 

I like the compactness of the unit. It is fun just to pick up and carry around. This also makes it easy to transport to parties.

 

The joysticks feel solid and react well during game play, although they do feel different from the original CX-40 sticks. Although some people think these are worth the price of the system alone, I must politely disagree.

 

Things I Feel Ambivalent About

 

This mainly has to do with the selection of games. I understand that everyone has their favorites, and that some attempt to make the system more marketable no doubt was a factor in the inclusion of homebrews, but when I think about the possibilities given by something like the selections offered in the Activision Anthology or the Atari 80 Games-in-1 releases, I feel like more might have been accomplished. I say this knowing that technical and monetary considerations no doubt had a lot to do with the ultimate design of the system.

 

Things I Don't Like

 

The system had a slightly, well, funky odor to it upon opening, almost like wood smoke. This is not the sweet plastic smell that Atari had back in the day (or even still has with the occasional opening of a NOS product...I remember when I bought a new, sealed 5200 trackball about 10 years ago and the "Atari smell" hit me with a wave of nostalgia). I am bringing up the issue of the smell mostly in jest, but ever since 1980 Christmas was burned into my mind to smell like pine needles, oranges, and Atari.

 

I really wish the sound output would have been in stereo, with L/R plugs. I put a splitter on it anyhow, but it would have been nice to have.

 

The thing I hate the most: having to turn the power on & off to get back to the menu choices. This was a poor, poor decision (and yes, I've gone back and read the AA threads & postings regarding this decision) and in many ways defeats the purpose of having a menu like this at all. I curse this decision and hope that this particular design aspect is abandoned. This is the biggest detraction for me and really dampered my enthusiasm for the product somewhat.

 

 

So, there you have yet another set of observations floating around. I'm not sure if I'll pick up a RevC or not (or maybe not until they hit the el cheapo bin), but the product gave me a certain level of satisfaction and fun. I still prefer my old Atari and using carts to the FB2, but it is an interesting descendant of an amazing game system.

[carpecarne]

I'm going to stick up for the FB2 team and say that I'm glad there's no "special switch" to go back to the menu screen. Yes, it might be annoying to have to get up and hit switches, but that's how the atari works. The console in some way is like an extension of the controller. Another argument in their defense is that of them wanting to keep the FB2 as close to an Atari 2600 as possible in order to avoid pontential software/hardware conflicts. Had they included a button on the controller, that would have broken compatibility with regular ataris. If they were to have a special combination of button that you press, that would mean rewriting code in every single game (and in the process perhaps breaking games).

 

While the rest of your review I felt was dead on and restrained, I couldn't help but find this one critique a little harsh. Had they included stuff like a pause feature or a new button to go back to the menu screen, everyone would have cried Blasphemy!

 

(Can't have your cake and eat it too)

[Zwackery]

I'm going to stick up for the FB2 team and say that I'm glad there's no "special switch" to go back to the menu screen. Yes, it might be annoying to have to get up and hit switches, but that's how the atari works.

That's how the previous versions of the Atari 2600 worked, yes, but this is a new creature and in some ways more akin to having a multicart plugged into the system.

 

The console in some way is like an extension of the controller.

This particular line of thought basically equates the FB2 to a fancier version of those other plug'n'play sticks, all of which have a menu button, so what's the problem?

 

Another argument in their defense is that of them wanting to keep the FB2 as close to an Atari 2600 as possible in order to avoid pontential software/hardware conflicts.

While I can appreciate the issue of potential conflicts, the fact that an internal menu had already been written that was navigable using the joystick would seem to indicate that introducing a menu button on the console itself might not have been that challenging to do. (I would expect a menu button on the console, not on the joystick).

 

While the rest of your review I felt was dead on and restrained, I couldn't help but find this one critique a little harsh. Had they included stuff like a pause feature or a new button to go back to the menu screen, everyone would have cried Blasphemy!

Yes, but the point here is to make a product that both harkens back to the heyday of Atari while also taking advantage of some technological advances. The fact is that the console is already not the same size as a 2600, but this hasn't seemed to disturb anyone. The console bears a most contemporary version of the Atari logo, not one from back in the 1970s/80s. So, some changes were already planned for and then implemented, why not consider a few more?

 

The FB2 seems quaint, but if I'm going to be cycling the power to select games in the rather lame way to capture the feeling of "how an atari works," I may as well go to my original 2600 and play the carts that I can there. In fact, if anything the FB2 has renewed my interest in the 2600, and I can guarantee you that will see more action than the FB2.

 

(Can't have your cake and eat it too)

Actually, I can. Here's my cake, and now I eat it. What you can't do is eat your cake and have it, too, because once you eat it, it's gone. Don't thank me for that bit of grammatical correction, I picked that up from the esteemed author Harlan Ellison.

[supercat]

If they were to have a special combination of button that you press, that would mean rewriting code in every single game (and in the process perhaps breaking games).

958903[/snapback]

 

It would be a simple matter to mod an existing unit to add a reset button; from what I've read there's a pin on the board for that purpose. Being able to use the select/reset buttons on the console itself in addition to the joystick would have been nice, and it also would have bee nice if the easter egg didn't require changing controllers when changing games (i.e. after playing Super Breakout awhile, if you want to play Warlords, you have to plug in a joystick, then select Warlords, then plug the paddles back in).

[TheWriteDude]

I have to agree about the lack of a reset switch. Seems like it would have been a simple thing to add -- a 6th button on the panel that says "menu". Plus, having six buttons on the panel would have evened out the design and made the FB2 resemble the original heavy sixer even more.

Edited November 3, 2005 by TheWriteDude

[SomeGuyWithDSL]

My only concern after using the current "Power Off to Switch Games®" method is the durability of the mechanical power switch. If it had been a "soft" switch, which could be pressed to reset the entire system to the main menu, and held to power off, that would have solved the issue in my mind.

 

I don't mind having to access the panel of the console for everything. Don't forget, in the 2600 days we remember so affectionately, the kids and the console typically sat right next to each other within a couple feet of the TV. Consoles weren't stored in the entertainment center and accessed with 12 ft. cords or wireless controllers. The original 2600 was a very hands-on experience.

 

So it's not having to get in touch with the front panel that bothers me, but I cringe every time I release/press the power switch to reset.

[Room 34]

Why do you need stereo outputs? The sounds in the games are all mono anyway. Doesn't most equipment treat left-only audio input as mono and play it through both speakers?

 

(I admit I might be wrong about that -- I've only had the FB2 playing through my TV's built-in speakers, so it would be easy for me to not notice that the sound is only coming out of one speaker.)

[Zwackery]

Why do you need stereo outputs?  The sounds in the games are all mono anyway.  Doesn't most equipment treat left-only audio input as mono and play it through both speakers?

 

(I admit I might be wrong about that -- I've only had the FB2 playing through my TV's built-in speakers, so it would be easy for me to not notice that the sound is only coming out of one speaker.)

959336[/snapback]

I don't need them, I just want them. There is a difference. Since some people have been modding 2600s with various video and audio options, including L/R sound, I figure why not with the FB2? Of course this is most likely a decision dominated by the cost.

 

And no, not all equipment (and here I take it you are referring to televisions since you mention that specifically, although you can complicate things by throwing receivers and other things into the mix) treats left-only audio as mono and plays it through both speakers. Putting a L/R audio out on the FB2, or even a modded 2600, doesn't produce true stereo sound, but it does activate the channels nicely, especially if you like to crank up the games every now and again.

[jaybird3rd]

Why do you need stereo outputs?  The sounds in the games are all mono anyway.  Doesn't most equipment treat left-only audio input as mono and play it through both speakers?

 

(I admit I might be wrong about that -- I've only had the FB2 playing through my TV's built-in speakers, so it would be easy for me to not notice that the sound is only coming out of one speaker.)

959336[/snapback]

 

About as close as you can probably come is either installing a splitter on the FB2's audio jack and sending the sound to both speakers (the easy way), or tapping into the two sound channels in the system and sending them through different speakers (not so easy).

[+FujiSkunk]

(Can't have your cake and eat it too)

Actually, I can. Here's my cake, and now I eat it. What you can't do is eat your cake and have it, too, because once you eat it, it's gone. Don't thank me for that bit of grammatical correction, I picked that up from the esteemed author Harlan Ellison.

958987[/snapback]

 

So are we talking about the single-ampersand "and" (&) that says both statements must be tested at the same time, or the double-ampersand "and" (&&) that dictates the first statement must be true before the second can be tested?

 

Mr. Ellison knows where he can shove his grammatical nitpicking.

 

[Room 34]

Back on topic, I sniffed my FB2 last night and noticed the same rank burnt petroleum/rubber smell. I guess it's just the particular kind of plastic they used for the unit (probably a lower-grade and cheaper kind of plastic than Atari used back in the '80s). I assume that smell will dissipate if it's exposed to the air long enough. I hope.

[Zwackery]

Whatever the smell, it is nowhere near as bad as the DVD versions for Evil Dead - Book of the Dead and Evil Dead II - Book of the Dead II (the first one was definitely the worst, IMHO). One whiff of those will knock you on your ass. Boomstick hell, all you need is one of these funky tomes.

 

A close runner-up for good plastic smells to Atari are the old Kenner Star Wars figures from 1977.

 

Hmmm, maybe sniffing all those plastic products made me the pillar o' the community that I am today.

[Atariboy]

I never thought I'd read a thread that made me go sniffing videogame systems...