AtariAge.com is your best source for classic Atari news, rarity guides, scans, discussion, homebrews, and more! http://www.atariage.com en-us Copyright 2008 AtariAge editor@atariage.com editor@atariage.com Video Games Sat, 10 May 2008 16:33:21 -0500 Search AtariAge News search http://www.atariage.com/news/ http://www.atariage.com/index.html#55370 Matt Reichert has added several new Atari 8-bit prototype reviews to his extensive website AtariProtos.com. The newly reviewed games include: Frogger II, Tutankham, Up 'n Down, Star Trux, Saucer, Pac-Mac, Football, and Letter Tutor. Please visit AtariProtos.com to read these new reviews as well as the wealth of prototype reviews for the 2600, 5200 and 7800. You can discuss these updates with Matt Reichert (Tempest) and other AtariAge members in our Atari 8-bit Computers Forum. Tue, 06 May 2008 09:00:00 -0500 AtariAgehttp://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=125004 http://www.atariage.com/index.html#55369 Issue #48 of Retrogaming Times Monthly is now online. Articles in the May 2008 issue include:Apple ][ Incider - Everybody was Kung Fu FightingMany Faces of Sir LancelotNES'cade - Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesGame ArcheologistTomy Tutor - JunglerYou can find all these and more inside this month's Retrogaming Times Monthly, which has now been running for 128 months in a row. If you've missed any back issues, you can also look through their complete archives to get up to date. Tue, 06 May 2008 08:00:00 -0500 AtariAgehttp://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=125275 http://www.atariage.com/index.html#5379 A new release of the DASM Macro Assembler, an important tool in developing Atari 2600 homebrews, has been released. DASM is a versatile macro assembler that supports several 8-bit microprocessors, including the Atari 2600's 6507 CPU. Andrew Davie has maintained DASM for the past several years, but has now handed over the reigns to Peter Froehlich, who's already setup a new DASM homepage and project page at SourceForge. This new version of DASM fixes several issues with the previous release (from 2004) and paves the way for more active development of the assembler. Please join the [dasm-discuss] mailing list if you'd like to discuss DASM with its new maintainer and other developers. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:00:00 -0500 AtariAgehttp://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=124141 http://www.atariage.com/index.html#55368 Another long-lost unreleased prototype has now seen the light of day, thanks to a discovery by Alex Handy at a flea market in California. Alex located a cache of old EPROMs, later realizing he had come across a copy of Cabbage Patch Kids: Adventures in the Park for the Atari 2600, a title released for the ColecoVision but which never saw the light of day on the 2600. With the help of long-time Atari enthusiast Joe Grand, all of Alex's finds were dumped. The bulk of the dumps were ColecoVision related, but the Cabbage Patch game for the 2600 turned out to be the find of a lifetime for Atari fans. Alex quickly posted all of the dumped binaries on his blog, including 10 different versions of the Cabbage Patch game. As luck would have it, Cabbage Patch Kids: Adventures in the Park is an impressive game, comparable in quality to many modern homebrew games. Cabbage Patch Kids is a side-scrolling game, similar to Pitfall! in this regard. The game consists of various screens that have different obstacles that must be overcome in order to proceed to the next screen. These include water-filled pits, bouncing balls, floating platforms, bees, and fires. You must complete ten screens on each level before a timer runs out. While traversing the screens you can also use trampolines to collect objects hidden in the trees for additional points. Our thanks go out to Alex Handy for graciously sharing all of his impressive flea market haul with the classic gaming community. For more details about Alex's flea market finds, please visit his blog. You can grab the "Final" version of the game and view some screenshots in our database here. For detailed reviews of each of the 10 versions of Cabbage Patch Kids that were dumped, please visit AtariProtos.com. You can discuss Cabbage Patch Kids and Alex's other discoveries with Alex (whose alias is VonGuard") and other AtariAge members in our Prototypes Forum. Mon, 28 Apr 2008 09:00:00 -0500 AtariAgehttp://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=124577 http://www.atariage.com/index.html#55367 Launched a month ago, ChaseTheChuckwagon.com is a brand new auction alternative for buying and selling classic video games, arcade games, pinball machines, vintage computers and electronic handheld games. It differs from larger auction sites in that there are no insertion fees, lower selling percentages, and lower cost listing enhancements. There are no charges for adding photos and you can choose your auction start and ending date and time at no charge. It was created by a collector for collectors. If you are looking for an alternative to eBay, then jump on The Chuckwagon bandwagon. Thu, 24 Apr 2008 10:00:00 -0500 AtariAgehttp://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=123304 http://www.atariage.com/index.html#55366 A new issue of the 2600 Connection newsletter is now available. Articles in the May/June 2008 Issue (#93) include:Interview with Bruce de GraafToyshop Trouble Easter EggSpotlight on Homebrews – Gingerbread Man, Stella's StockingRare Ware – Hot Shot MulticartBlue Print Prototype ReviewLettersNews & NotesClassified AdsThe 2600 Connection is a printed newsletter published bimonthly. To learn how to purchase this issue or buy a subscription, please visit the 2600 Connection website. Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:00:00 -0500 AtariAgehttp://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=124738 http://www.atariage.com/index.html#55365 The April 2008 issue of Retrogaming Times Monthly is now online. Highlights from Issue #47 include:Apple ][ Incider - Space the Final FrontierMany Faces of Robin HoodMastering Sega - EmulatorsGame ArcheologistYou can find all these and more inside this month's Retrogaming Times Monthly, which has now been running for 127 months in a row. If you've missed any back issues, you can also look through their complete archives to get all caught up. Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:00:00 -0500 AtariAgehttp://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=124737 http://www.atariage.com/index.html#55364 Thanks to a discovery by Curt Vendel of AtariMuseum.com and the hard work of 7800 enthusiasts Robert DeCrescenzo, Mitchell Orman, and Eckhard Stolberg, three long-lost Atari 7800 prototypes have been released today! These games are Sirius, Plutos, and Rampart. Plutos and Sirius are shooters both developed by Tynesoft--Plutos is a vertically oriented shooter and Sirius a horizontally oriented shooter. Both of these games appear to be just about complete, with the only obvious omission being an ending when you complete the games. Rampart is a port of the popular Atari arcade game of the same name. Unfortunately Rampart is an early work in progress, but still interesting nonetheless. It's a shame that these three games were never released as they would have made great additions to the 7800 library. This is especially true of Plutos and Sirius, which were obviously close to completion! You can read detailed reviews of each of these games over at Matt Reichert's AtariProtos.com:SiriusPlutosRampartYou can download the binaries for these games by following these links: Sirius, Plutos, and Rampart. To discuss these prototypes with other AtariAge members, please visit our Atari 7800 Forum. Tue, 01 Apr 2008 08:00:00 -0500 AtariAgehttp://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=123657 http://www.atariage.com/index.html#55363 Blizzard Entertainment today announced its return to console gaming with the introduction of World of Warcraft: The Molten Core for the Atari 2600, a spinoff of the 40-person raid dungeon from the excessively popular World of Warcraft MMORPG. World of Warcraft: The Molten Core will include single and multiplayer versions, support nine character classes, a full-featured voice-chat system, and a fully-customizable user interface. Available first for the Atari 2600, plans for additional console systems will be announced in the near future. You can read Blizzard's complete press release, as well as a trailer video, concept art and screenshots at the Molten Core web site. You can discuss this breakthrough release for the 2600 in our Atari 2600 Forum. Tue, 01 Apr 2008 07:00:00 -0500 AtariAgehttp://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=123619 http://www.atariage.com/index.html#55362 Version 2.5 of the popular and cross-platform Atari 2600 emulator Stella has been released. This new update of Stella contains many enhancements and bug fixes, and is a must download if you're using your computer to play Atari 2600 games (or would like to!) Visit the Stella home page to download the latest version for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. For a complete (and lengthy!) list of what's changed in this new version, as well as to discuss this update and interact directly with the developers, please visit our Emulation Forum. Sat, 29 Mar 2008 12:00:00 -0500 AtariAgehttp://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=123406 http://www.atariage.com/index.html#55361 The third issue of Video Game Trader Magazine is now available for downloading. Video Game Trader is a relatively new publication that strives to have an up-to-date price guide for many classic gaming systems (with plans to add the Atari 2600 in their next issue). The theme in this latest issue is the TurboGrafix-16, with several TurboGrafx articles featured. Contents of this issue include:NEC, The Hudson Bee and TurboGrafx-16: From Japan to the US, a TurboCharged CompetitionTurboGrafix-16 System and Compatibility GuideHomewbrew Reviews (Elevators Amiss and Oystron for the 2600)What Wii PlayClassic Video Game EmulationTales of the Turbo: The Exotic Import to SheboyganNEC FlashbackVideo Game Trader Price GuideClassic Crossword PuzzlePlease visit VideoGameTrader.com to download this issue as well as the first two issues. The upcoming Issue #4 will feature the Atari 2600. Wed, 12 Mar 2008 09:00:00 -0500 AtariAgehttp://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=122424 http://www.atariage.com/index.html#55360 Matt Reichert of AtariProtos.com has been hard at work adding new prototype reviews to his site. Here's a list of the latest reviews he's added in the last month:Cakewalk (Atari 2600)Dark Chambers (Atari 2600)Solar Fox (Atari 2600)Moon Patrol (Atari 5200)Commando (Atari 7800)Food Fight (Atari 7800)Galaga (Atari 7800)Motor Psycho (Atari 7800)You can find all these reviews and more over at AtariProtos.com. Wed, 12 Mar 2008 08:00:00 -0500 AtariAgehttp://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=121185 http://www.atariage.com/index.html#55359 AtariAge user Shannon has been working on an extensive update of the Atarixlbox 8-bit/5200 emulator for the Xbox game console. Some of Shannon's improvements include:Updated core to 203. Fixed pokey sound issues, screenshots, and artifact mode. Zip file support.Many 5200 enhancements including, Analog Support! Dual-stick-analog support makes games like Space Dungeon and Robotron much more enjoyable. Tweaks and Adjustments to make many 5200 games more playable. Currently working on Overlay support.A revised, more friendly configuration screen making it easier to start and configure 5200 and 8-bit games. Includes Autodetect feature.Many little bugs have been fixed. Playback/record and netplay enhanced to use keyboard and analog input.Plus the latest x-port functionality such as rewinding a game in play and slowdown.There's even an amazing Bounty Bob Strikes Back skin for the emulator, which you can view at YouTube. To learn all the details about what's been changed (the above list only touches the surface!), as well as to discuss Atarixlbox with Shannon and other AtariAge members, please drop by our Modern Gaming forum. Feel free to chip in and help with testing as well! Sun, 09 Mar 2008 09:00:00 -0500 AtariAgehttp://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=119656 http://www.atariage.com/index.html#55358 The 2008 Texas Pinball Festival is slated for March 14-16, 2008 at the Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center in Grapevine, Texas. The Texas Pinball Festival is Texas' biggest pinball/gameroom show, featuring over 10,000 square feet of pure gameroom fun, all weekend long! You can expect over 150 pinball machines, classic video games, and other gameroom goodies set for free play for everyone to enjoy the entire weekend! The Texas Pinball Festival also features many vendors and collectors from the area bringing parts, supplies, gameroom memorabilia, pinball machines, slot machines, jukeboxes and classic video games for sale. Other highlights of the show include several tournaments for adults and children so you can show your pinball prowess, informative seminars, and a coin-op swap meet. Admission is $15 for a single day or $30 for a three day weekend pass (rates for children 5-12 are reduced, and ages 4 and under can enter free). You can learn more by visiting the official Texas Pinball Festival website. Sun, 09 Mar 2008 08:00:00 -0500 AtariAgehttp://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=121488 http://www.atariage.com/index.html#55357 Gamasutra has posted a new book excerpt, this time on the Atari 2600 Video Computer System (VCS), as part of their "A History of Gaming Platforms" series. From the article: Although not the first video game console and astonishingly primitive by today's standards, the Atari 2600 Video Computer System (VCS) became a fundamental part of Eighties culture and remains one of the most revered 8-bit gaming platforms ever designed. However, the explosive growth triggered by the 2600 led to The Great Videogame Crash of 1984, which toppled the industry and threatened the future of electronic gaming in America. You can read the full article written by Bill Loguidice and Matt Barton over at Gamasutra. Sat, 08 Mar 2008 10:00:00 -0600 AtariAgehttp://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=122122