10 replies to this topic

[PacManPlus]

Well, you would think they learned from the first 'games-in-a-joystick' garbage they released (the Atari 2600 games)... They just released an arcade equivalent which I decided to pick up, thinking they must have improved on the idea... The box even boasts 'original arcade versions!' on the back. It contains Pac-Man, Galaxian, Rally-X, Dig-Dug, and Bosconian.

In short, I don't even think it's worth the $25 price tag. Save your money, use MAME. Use the mini-ITX motherboard and build a small portable game machine with TV-out (like I did) and have MAME running in it.

First off, the sound is not even close to the original arcade. Secondly, these cannot be the original roms to the games. Pac-Man, for instance, has Clyde chasing me around like Blinky. The first few seconds Blinky travels around the monster pen, instead of going to his corner. Their behavior is different; anyone who has played the game for a long period of time will know exactly what I'm talking about. Also, in the original, there is a little space just above where you start where the monsters cannot go 'up' on either side of the 'T' (not only above the monster's pen, just above your starting point as well). In this version, they can go up... At least the kept the area just above the pen in tact... Also, the energizers last *much* longer in this than in the original.

This is only using Pac-Man as an example - I am not as intimately familiar with the other games as I am about this one, but I can only guess at what has changed. I do know that Galaxian, and Dig-Dug is a bit easier than I remember in the arcades...

The only thing I like about this is the 4-way joystick they give you...

Doesn't anyone care enough to do it the right way? It seems like they just through it together and put it out thinking that nobody knows the difference...

[George Gray]

While I concur that the games are not the same, I think the point is being missed here. The games are not really being marketed at the folks who would remember them so precisely (as in most visitors to Atari Age.) Rather, they are aimed at the kids who probably never played them and the 'average' adult who just wants to take a stroll down memory lane. I do buy these things, my kid loves them, but I'm with you: I'd much rather play the originals via emulation. The Atari Revival collections, Blue Sky's Intellivision collections and the Activision CDROMS are well worth the money.

Oh yeah...you've probably seen this already...another company is releasing a similar device for Intellivision games. There is a thread elsewhere all about that...but you knew that, eh? The Rangers acknowledge the fact that the device does not use the original code, but the games are 'faithful' to the original. I guess we'll see soon enough.

[PacManPlus]

Actually, I didn't know about that one - but at least they admit it doesn't use original code...

I guess I came down a little hard on them, but it just seems like they don't care enough to make the little details correct... But maybe you're right - it was just meant to give the younger kids a taste of what it was like when we were their age...

Thanks for the alternate view

[George Gray]

No problem. I think the package for the Activision 10 in 1 said something about 'authentic reproduction' but I am not sure. I no longer have the blister pack.

Anyway, here's the URL for the Intellivision thing:
http://www.intellivi...direct2tv.shtml
They look kinda cool. I plan on buying the the 25 in 1 device.

There is also a line of handhelds coming out with the Intellivision name that are 'inspired' by the classic games they claim to be based on. Some are Space Armada, Sub Hunt and Football.

The Ranger's are planning a 'big announcement' at the Expo in Las Vegas in August. Can't wait to see that. A real console, perhaps? More games?
Maybe they got the rights to the Channel F! One could only hope....

[Mr.FoodMonster]

Blue Sky's Intellivision collections

whaaa? no idea what that is, please inform

[George Gray]

Quote

Blue Sky's Intellivision collections  

whaaa? no idea what that is, please inform

You've not heard of these? Oh dear!

Click here:
http://www.intellivi...pia/index.shtml

And you, too, will be enlightened.

[raindog]

PacManPlus said:

In short, I don't even think it's worth the $25 price tag.  Save your money, use MAME.  Use the mini-ITX motherboard and build a small portable game machine with TV-out (like I did) and have MAME running in it.

You could really do that nowadays with a Shuttle case. Of course then you'd need to add a HotRod or similar arcade stick which would be bigger than the Shuttle case

PacManPlus said:

these cannot be the original roms to the games.  Pac-Man, for instance, has Clyde chasing me around like Blinky.

Oh no, they did the monster behavior based on my Pac26 hack!

Seriously though, of course it's not the original arcade ROMs, because then you'd have to hold your head at a 90 degree angle to play these games (which were all vertical aspect ratio) on your television. And even if they kept all the logic intact and just changed the graphics, the difference in resolution could well alter the monsters' AI so that the old patterns didn't work anymore. Sounds like this is what happened. It has to be either a Z80-compatible chip or a port to another processor, because you ain't getting anything fast enough to emulate these games at full frame rate while rotating and scaling them, built into a joystick with video output for $25. I bet the reason the sounds are off is because they used some kind of embedded version of the Z80 clocked higher than the original with sound output capabilities instead of whatever it was they used in 1980.

I plan to buy one, still, as soon as I see one, and hope it's popular enough that they put out another one with Ms. Pac Man, Galaga, Super Pac-Man and most importantly Mappy

[PacManPlus]

Hey!

Quote

You could really do that nowadays with a Shuttle case. Of course then you'd need to add a HotRod or similar arcade stick which would be bigger than the Shuttle case

Actually, what I did was put an I-Pac inside the case and use a slot cover with two 9-pin male 'D' connectors, so I can use the 2600 joysticks with it! (I used the 'extra' pins as additional buttons as well, so I can make a custom controller w/ 4 buttons) The thing works great!

As far as the 90 degree thing, I knew *that* couldn't be, but after seeing opcode's conversion of PacMan Collection for the Colecovision, I figured they did something like that. (Same logic, just the scores and level indicators were moved right, and the playfield was reduced to 3/4 size).

Oh Well, I guess this can be taken as an 'updated' Pac-Man, where you have to figure out the monster's AI all over again. A new level of difficulty!

[TwiliteZoner]

Hey Pac I don't think you came down too hard at all!

Far too many companies have the attitude that if it says Atari or Pac-Man on it people will buy it irregardless of quality.

I think more people should complain about shoddy renditions of classic games.

Maybe then (and probably not) they will release something worthy of the Atari brand name.

Just my 2 cents..

[NE146]

raindog said:

PacManPlus said:

these cannot be the original roms to the games.  Pac-Man, for instance, has Clyde chasing me around like Blinky.

Oh no, they did the monster behavior based on my Pac26 hack!

Yeah I dig the look of these things as well.. I'll probably pick one up. Of course you guys are aware of getting almost the same deal via a pc with a tv-out. But I just wanted to also point out that the option I use, and that's via Mame on the Xbox (MameOX). If you haven't seen it in action, it really does work great. You can play all the games and more via full screen stretch as well as centered. I mean, you know what it is, it's mame but on a nice portable xbox with a nice xbox pad (joystick controller optional of course).

Anyway, it's just another option that's out there.. and takes a bit of know how into the whole underground xbox modding thing. But if you can get it going, it's great. I play mine all the time. And of course the emulation for the classics is pretty much spot on. i.e. All your pacman patterns will work (depending on what version you play). And yeah, Mappy is there in all it's glory.

[raindog]

Yeah, I finally got a gamecube a couple weeks ago (in fact, it's the first console that hooks up to a TV that I've ever bought with my own money!) I only bought it for the GB Player and Mario Sunshine; I know it's not too hackable.

The X-box hacking thing is cool too, and I might pick a used one up when they get down to $80 or so (they were hovering around $130-140 around here when last I looked) and see if I can find someone to mod it. But again with the necessity for the HotRod, which is not yet available in USB and so not useful for the X-box.

Nah, I've already got a couple machines with TV-out, I think I'm more into these Jakks Pacific and Intellivision things for the gadget factor Like how I looked for one of those cheesy Chinese "8,527,961 Games In 1" handhelds that's actually a jillion different versions of Tetris and Snake. Hey, it was worth the 7 bucks