13 replies to this topic

[WilsonCat]

11:00 am...door bell rings. I open the door and there she is...Pam.

Hey people, I've been lurking here for a while and now I finally have something to talk about. Today I received my 5200, better late then never. You see, this is the system I wanted as a kid, instead I got Colecovision. Don't get me wrong, I love CV and always will. But, I had to make a choice back then and Donkey Kong won. Now, many years later, I finally have one.

One problem....it didn't come with games

She powers up so that is a good sign. Went out to the local thrift shops....nothing. Sucks too...I was on a Coleco kick about 6-7 years ago and I had TONS of that stuff: Adam, all the expansions, tons of carts. Guess what I found the other day? My CV....with no carts.

Ugh.....the only 2 old carts that I own are Combat and Warlords for the 2600.....AND I DONT HAVE A 2600.....AAAAAHAAHHHHHH!

[sku_u]

I have Realsports tennis, Realsports baseball, and Defender, make me a reasonable offer and they're yours.

[King Atari]

Be sure to pick up Pac-Man, a definite must on the 5200.

[WilsonCat]

King Atari said:

Be sure to pick up Pac-Man, a definite must on the 5200.

Ahh...Pac-Man. Not a top priority on my list (I have a Multipac Cocktail sitting next to me) but one I will have to add to my "soon to be" collection. Of course the ones that I really want (Ballblazer, Miner 2049er) are tough to find or cost more then I'd like to spend.

[NE146]

You could always get one of Sean Kelly's multicarts if you just want to play games ($125?)... then get the actual carts later in good time

[King Atari]

Quote

(I have a Multipac Cocktail sitting next to me)

Ah, get your Pac-Man fix whenever you need to, eh?

[WilsonCat]

King Atari said:

Quote

(I have a Multipac Cocktail sitting next to me)

Ah, get your Pac-Man fix whenever you need to, eh?

Yes indeed! Actually, the Pac was a project from a previous hobby of mine (classic arcade collecting). I spent quite a bit of money on restoring that table that I can't let it go. All new graphics, new monitor, totally rewired with switching PS and JAMMA harness (w/pac adapter of course) and the elusive Multipac kit that allows you to play 24 versions of Pac-Man plus Crush Roller, Lizard Wizard and Eyes. Damn....I really did spend a lot on that thing. The other machine still in my collection is a generic JAMMA / MAME cabinet. I can play Battle Balls or a classic game of Robotron 2084...unfortunately that cabinet is still a WIP with a few bugs.


Still waiting for my games from ebay....hopefully they will be here today. I can't wait to fire up the 5200. I took apart the Joysticks and gave them a good cleaning as most of the contacts were kinda dirty. One of the sticks would not go all the way down so I took it apart and realligned the pots, now it looks good.

[King Atari]

I'd like to put together a cabinet, but I don't have the time or money for it. I'd be better off just buying an original (which I plan on doing).

[Vectrex-Atari]

I have just a pacman cart available if anyone wants it (for a small fee).

[WilsonCat]

Well...got the games last night. Had some issues with the joysticks. The one that opened and "fixed", well the stick was not working. That is because I didn't get the holes lined up on the pots. I tried the other and none of the fire buttons worked. Took that one apart and used the old eraser trick and now it its fine too. I played Missle Command for about a half-hour and had a blast! I can't wait to play some more tonight.

Total so far:

$36.00 for the 5200 complete, No games.
$7.99 for 5 sealed games (commons) - Defender, Galaxian, Star Raiders, Missle Command, and Super Breakout.

Not bad! I also am getting a Miner 2049er cart from ebay for $10.50.

[Cafeman]

Defender, Galaxian, Star Raiders, Missle Command, and Super Breakout. -- yep, there are lots of those to go around it seems!

For years I preferred 5200 Defender because it's easier than the IMPOSSIBLE original Williams coin-op. I could play on the hardest difficulty setting and have a great time with it without dying on Wave 2 or 3 everytime. Of course it pales next to the real coin-op, but putting it into time perspective, it was so cool to have all the 5200 buttons to activate Smart Bombs and Hyperspace at will (unlike Bob's 2600 Defender) and the actual mountains, plus you can accidentally kill the humanoids, and important gameplay feature which didn't make it into the 2600 port.

Galaxian -- pretty, but I hate it. Tell us what you think.

Star Raiders -- one of the best games of its time. Full of speed and depth and strategy, I felt like I was taking out Star Wars Tie FIghters!

Missile Command -- awesome rendition. THe only bad thing is once you get to the X5 levels, the bg colors go all WHACK.

Super breakout -- waaaa! No paddles for the 5200! (you can buy 'em now though)

Miner 2049'er -- possibly the BEST 5200 game!!!! It is awesome, on-par with Donkey Kong arcade. The sticks work great with the game, I love the different color palette changes and challenge of each level, and most importantly it's just plain fun!

[WilsonCat]

From what I have played of Defender (brief), it is a very good rendition of the Arcade. I will be playing more of this as, like you said, it is much easier than the arcade version. As for Galaxian, I played it last night and it seemed quite easy, much easier than the arcade version. I had probably had my best game of Galaxian ever last night . My only gripe is the sound...horrible. Star Raiders...I had this for the 2600 ages ago. I don't think I ever learned to play it but now I get my second chance. Missle Command is fun...only made it to 4x so I can't comment on the colors. Super Breakout...the first one that I fired up in the 5200. The sticks are not that bad for it but I would rather use a paddle.

This is great...last night was like christmas!

[King Atari]

Defender is all around awesome.

[sku_u]

King Atari said:

Defender is all around awesome.

I think Defender is an awesome port. It's a lot better than using the million button coin op.