Slashdot Mirror

>Question: If we had a first-person combat game that took two real joysticks to >play, and considerable practice to learn, but let you do real martial arts, would >you play it?

As a matter of fact, I HAVE played such a game. Not a 1st person, but 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

Besides, how can you not like a game featured in a Jean Claude VanDamme movie?

Your idea doesn't sound too far off from the old Time Traveler arcade game, although the interface was a standard joystick and buttons rather than passing your hand around the hologram.

I have a really hard time getting my wife into any game with any learning curve so we have a steady diet of Tetris (every variant you can think of), Dr. Mario, Puzzle Bobble, and Magical Drop 2 when we play together.

I've recently gotten her interested in Blazing Star (just keep pressing A!) and will probably try to get her into beat-em-ups at some point. I definitely agree with whoever said co-op games are a good idea. If you're not playing against her, she can't lose and get frustrated ... and if she does lose, she'll resent the game, not you.

Also, this Official Guide to Getting a Girl to Play Samurai Shodown V With You looks promising, though I haven't tried it myself.

I find it rather amusing that you mention Zuma, which is itself a direct clone (gameplay-wise) of Puzz Loop, which already had home ports on Playstation and Nuon(!) as Ballistic, and a PC port under the original name.

Your description for Drippy describes it as "Not just an old game with a different name and better graphics and enough little changes to evade copyright, but a whole new game concept." So why does the mechanic of merging blobs to get two stars remind me so much of Pnickies?

I worked for a time on the version of MazeWar for subscribers of GEnie online called "Amaze-ing" it was a beta version of the product that was released as MazeWars Plus. Aside from beta testing I came up with a couple of Avatar designs (the easter island head) and some game sound packs. The freakiest thing to ever happen while playing that game was watching all the competitors from the SF Bay area get tossed offline during the 1989 earthquake. Then they came back online and informed us that while their long-distance service was out, they could get onto GEnie. I made a few collect phone calls on player's behalf to assorted relatives as a result. Fun (and occasionally scary) times.

I'm still bemused that most people forgot about Xybots which was the first 3D shooter I ever played.

something with a flying bike

Prop-Cycle! Loved that game, and you could definitely work up a sweat playing it. The flywheel had hefty resistance to it, nicely matched to the gameplay. But yes, $1 a play was a bit rich when I was that age; like other racing games, beginners die more (and so pay more) than experts.

Come to think of it, most places charge $1/play for DDR too.

--
Dum de dum.

I collect games, so console and computer compilations tend not to interest me - I'd much rather have the original version (or, in the case of arcade games, a port from the timeframe of the original game) than a re-release.

My favourite compilations tend to be portable versions. I like being able to take several different games along with me without having to carry multiple cartridges.

By far, the best portable compilation I've ever seen is Konami Collector's Series: Arcade Advanced for GBA. It contains six arcade games that aren't emulated, but reprogrammed specifically for GBA. You'd be hard-pressed to find the difference. Also, each game is of a different genre (unlike compilations such as Pac-Man Museum). And finally, you can use the 'Konami Code' to unlock hidden features and updated graphics in each game.

Another fine compilation for GBA is Atari Anniversary Advance. It contains, like the Konami one, six arcade games. Unlike the Konami compilation, the games are emulated. There are some problems like slowdown and sound issues, but it really feels like you're playing MAME on the go. Another issue is that nearly all of the games used nonstandard controls (like a spinner for Tempest, trackball for Missile Command, dual sticks for Battlezone, etc) so that the GBA controls don't quite match the arcade ones. Still, it is an excellent compilation with several true classics.

Bridging the gap between handhelds and consoles, the recent trend of dedicated direct-to-tv devices is interesting, and has resulted in several that definitely count as compilations.

In particular, the Commodore 64 DTV stands above all others. It has 30 C64 games ranging from merely tolerable filler to true classics. But what makes it absolutely incredible is the dedication and love poured into it. It has lots of hidden secrets, and can be hacked to add real C64 hardware like disk drives so that you can play (or code) original games on it!

The Atari Flashback 2.0 is also great for similar reasons. It has a larger and better library than the C64 DTV, but also less hacking potential. You can add a cartridge port from an original Atari 2600, allowing it to play real 2600 games, but it has no major secrets and the homebrew possibilities are limited by the cartridge medium of the original system. It is as much a labour of love as the C64 stick, though, as is made obvious by the newly manufactured 2600 joysticks that have the proper connectors, allowing them to be used on the original system!

The Namco II 5-in-1 joystick is also worth a look. It has less games and no additional potential, but the games themselves are great. The joystick feels a little loose, making the controls a tad difficult on some of the games. This is (almost) made up for by an innovation that results in the best home version of Pole Position ever: the knob on the joystick twists and acts as a steering wheel, which gives the game absolutely FLAWLESS control. This is a must-buy if you love Pole Position, and well worth looking into if you like any of the other games on the stick.

Despite what I said at the beginning, there are some compilations available for PC and consoles that are worth investigating.

On PC, the Ultima Collection

I collect games, so console and computer compilations tend not to interest me - I'd much rather have the original version (or, in the case of arcade games, a port from the timeframe of the original game) than a re-release.

My favourite compilations tend to be portable versions. I like being able to take several different games along with me without having to carry multiple cartridges.

By far, the best portable compilation I've ever seen is Konami Collector's Series: Arcade Advanced for GBA. It contains six arcade games that aren't emulated, but reprogrammed specifically for GBA. You'd be hard-pressed to find the difference. Also, each game is of a different genre (unlike compilations such as Pac-Man Museum). And finally, you can use the 'Konami Code' to unlock hidden features and updated graphics in each game.

Another fine compilation for GBA is Atari Anniversary Advance. It contains, like the Konami one, six arcade games. Unlike the Konami compilation, the games are emulated. There are some problems like slowdown and sound issues, but it really feels like you're playing MAME on the go. Another issue is that nearly all of the games used nonstandard controls (like a spinner for Tempest, trackball for Missile Command, dual sticks for Battlezone, etc) so that the GBA controls don't quite match the arcade ones. Still, it is an excellent compilation with several true classics.

Bridging the gap between handhelds and consoles, the recent trend of dedicated direct-to-tv devices is interesting, and has resulted in several that definitely count as compilations.

In particular, the Commodore 64 DTV stands above all others. It has 30 C64 games ranging from merely tolerable filler to true classics. But what makes it absolutely incredible is the dedication and love poured into it. It has lots of hidden secrets, and can be hacked to add real C64 hardware like disk drives so that you can play (or code) original games on it!

The Atari Flashback 2.0 is also great for similar reasons. It has a larger and better library than the C64 DTV, but also less hacking potential. You can add a cartridge port from an original Atari 2600, allowing it to play real 2600 games, but it has no major secrets and the homebrew possibilities are limited by the cartridge medium of the original system. It is as much a labour of love as the C64 stick, though, as is made obvious by the newly manufactured 2600 joysticks that have the proper connectors, allowing them to be used on the original system!

The Namco II 5-in-1 joystick is also worth a look. It has less games and no additional potential, but the games themselves are great. The joystick feels a little loose, making the controls a tad difficult on some of the games. This is (almost) made up for by an innovation that results in the best home version of Pole Position ever: the knob on the joystick twists and acts as a steering wheel, which gives the game absolutely FLAWLESS control. This is a must-buy if you love Pole Position, and well worth looking into if you like any of the other games on the stick.

Despite what I said at the beginning, there are some compilations available for PC and consoles that are worth investigating.

On PC, the Ultima Collection

I collect games, so console and computer compilations tend not to interest me - I'd much rather have the original version (or, in the case of arcade games, a port from the timeframe of the original game) than a re-release.

My favourite compilations tend to be portable versions. I like being able to take several different games along with me without having to carry multiple cartridges.

By far, the best portable compilation I've ever seen is Konami Collector's Series: Arcade Advanced for GBA. It contains six arcade games that aren't emulated, but reprogrammed specifically for GBA. You'd be hard-pressed to find the difference. Also, each game is of a different genre (unlike compilations such as Pac-Man Museum). And finally, you can use the 'Konami Code' to unlock hidden features and updated graphics in each game.

Another fine compilation for GBA is Atari Anniversary Advance. It contains, like the Konami one, six arcade games. Unlike the Konami compilation, the games are emulated. There are some problems like slowdown and sound issues, but it really feels like you're playing MAME on the go. Another issue is that nearly all of the games used nonstandard controls (like a spinner for Tempest, trackball for Missile Command, dual sticks for Battlezone, etc) so that the GBA controls don't quite match the arcade ones. Still, it is an excellent compilation with several true classics.

Bridging the gap between handhelds and consoles, the recent trend of dedicated direct-to-tv devices is interesting, and has resulted in several that definitely count as compilations.

In particular, the Commodore 64 DTV stands above all others. It has 30 C64 games ranging from merely tolerable filler to true classics. But what makes it absolutely incredible is the dedication and love poured into it. It has lots of hidden secrets, and can be hacked to add real C64 hardware like disk drives so that you can play (or code) original games on it!

The Atari Flashback 2.0 is also great for similar reasons. It has a larger and better library than the C64 DTV, but also less hacking potential. You can add a cartridge port from an original Atari 2600, allowing it to play real 2600 games, but it has no major secrets and the homebrew possibilities are limited by the cartridge medium of the original system. It is as much a labour of love as the C64 stick, though, as is made obvious by the newly manufactured 2600 joysticks that have the proper connectors, allowing them to be used on the original system!

The Namco II 5-in-1 joystick is also worth a look. It has less games and no additional potential, but the games themselves are great. The joystick feels a little loose, making the controls a tad difficult on some of the games. This is (almost) made up for by an innovation that results in the best home version of Pole Position ever: the knob on the joystick twists and acts as a steering wheel, which gives the game absolutely FLAWLESS control. This is a must-buy if you love Pole Position, and well worth looking into if you like any of the other games on the stick.

Despite what I said at the beginning, there are some compilations available for PC and consoles that are worth investigating.

On PC, the Ultima Collection

I collect games, so console and computer compilations tend not to interest me - I'd much rather have the original version (or, in the case of arcade games, a port from the timeframe of the original game) than a re-release.

My favourite compilations tend to be portable versions. I like being able to take several different games along with me without having to carry multiple cartridges.

By far, the best portable compilation I've ever seen is Konami Collector's Series: Arcade Advanced for GBA. It contains six arcade games that aren't emulated, but reprogrammed specifically for GBA. You'd be hard-pressed to find the difference. Also, each game is of a different genre (unlike compilations such as Pac-Man Museum). And finally, you can use the 'Konami Code' to unlock hidden features and updated graphics in each game.

Another fine compilation for GBA is Atari Anniversary Advance. It contains, like the Konami one, six arcade games. Unlike the Konami compilation, the games are emulated. There are some problems like slowdown and sound issues, but it really feels like you're playing MAME on the go. Another issue is that nearly all of the games used nonstandard controls (like a spinner for Tempest, trackball for Missile Command, dual sticks for Battlezone, etc) so that the GBA controls don't quite match the arcade ones. Still, it is an excellent compilation with several true classics.

Bridging the gap between handhelds and consoles, the recent trend of dedicated direct-to-tv devices is interesting, and has resulted in several that definitely count as compilations.

In particular, the Commodore 64 DTV stands above all others. It has 30 C64 games ranging from merely tolerable filler to true classics. But what makes it absolutely incredible is the dedication and love poured into it. It has lots of hidden secrets, and can be hacked to add real C64 hardware like disk drives so that you can play (or code) original games on it!

The Atari Flashback 2.0 is also great for similar reasons. It has a larger and better library than the C64 DTV, but also less hacking potential. You can add a cartridge port from an original Atari 2600, allowing it to play real 2600 games, but it has no major secrets and the homebrew possibilities are limited by the cartridge medium of the original system. It is as much a labour of love as the C64 stick, though, as is made obvious by the newly manufactured 2600 joysticks that have the proper connectors, allowing them to be used on the original system!

The Namco II 5-in-1 joystick is also worth a look. It has less games and no additional potential, but the games themselves are great. The joystick feels a little loose, making the controls a tad difficult on some of the games. This is (almost) made up for by an innovation that results in the best home version of Pole Position ever: the knob on the joystick twists and acts as a steering wheel, which gives the game absolutely FLAWLESS control. This is a must-buy if you love Pole Position, and well worth looking into if you like any of the other games on the stick.

Despite what I said at the beginning, there are some compilations available for PC and consoles that are worth investigating.

On PC, the Ultima Collection

stunts was cool .. I always liked the coin op Race Drivin' out around the same time which reminded me of stunts but had better graphics ..

Check out some screens here:
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=R&game_ id=9226

Yeah, but, like, it's so 80's...

Eric
See your HTTP headers

There are millions of Windows desktops. Why woudn't they develop for them?

There are millions of PS1 consoles in existence, but nobody seems to develop even casual games for PS1 anymore.

FPS games have never translated well to a console because a mouse and keyboard is a far better mechanism to control them ... you run into the minor issue of how to sit

What about a trackball and keypad (as seen on the arcade version of Quake )? What about a touchpad and keypad (as seen on Metroid Prime Hunters and its prequel)?

If the guy would have named his product Defender, then maybe there wouldn't be a problem...except for maybe Williams

Well when I think of "Defender" in the software realm, I think of the defender arcade game: http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=D&game_ id=7547 I don't know about the rest of you but I think William's has a pretty good case against Windows defender :)

And here I was expecting an awesome port of Defender (http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=D&game _id=7547). It would've worked so well, shoot down all the viruses, trojans, worms, spyware that are trying to lift things off your hard drive.

Instead, it'll just be another menu item in the next release of Windows that is sub-par, mediocre and for which a better alternative exists.

*Sigh*, I feel just as cheated as the Australian chap.

As well, while I'm at it, Microsoft can't come up with original products and now they can't even come up with original names for the me-too stuff they're producing?

There's only so many Star Wars games you can make.

Would you care to get me a hard number so we can begin the countdown? (KOTOR notwithstanding.)

Sure: ONE.

The original quote is obviously spoken by someone utterly fed up with making movie property games. Lucasfilm used to be known for making some absolutely brilliant things; not only did they make what are regarded by many to be the best graphical adventures, but it was also in their halls where was created what may very well have been the first true graphical virtual world.

To see them reduced to the endless milking of a pair of movie licenses, no matter how culturally significant they may be, is saddening.

Revolution X

I could just see it happening...

Sorry, I think SEGA beat you to it with the R-360.

*raises hand*
I beat Dragon's Lair and Space Ace (only tried DL 2 a few times, and I did hear of 3, I think it might have been direct to DVD/PC), those games were favorites of mine. Mind you, I didn't do it pumping quarters, my dad used to own the stand-up machines (unfortunately they broke a while ago, the laserdisc players didn't last too long). We also had a game called Super Don Quixote which was in the same vein, except it had on-screen callouts for when to push a direction/button. My friends generally liked that game better, Dragon's Lair and Space Ace can be kind of frustrating, I agree. But damn satisfying when you memorize a long sequence and get it right.

Speaking of laserdisc games, does anyone else remember this game?

Especially since Super Mario Brothers is a sequal to the Mario Brothers arcade game, I must say... I think Nintendo is doing this because their marketing people were not quite on the ball back in 2003. You know, dealing with Gamecube troubles, the shallow feed trough of recycled mascots....

Good point. I'm not really that great at zoo keeper, but it has always been one of my favorite arcade games from back in the day.

Did you ever see the original Monkey Ball in the arcades? It had the pervert/banana control. It would be hard to control the thing without looking like you were giving out a handjob...or something to that effect. http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=M&game_ id=8736

I think it's more likely they will fire many missles instead of 1, from different directions at the same time. Have fun shooting them down.

Finally! A use for my l33t 5k1llz!

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_i d=8715

So what about the Vectrex? This was a home gaming console that sold for a reasonable amount of money in the early eighties that used a vector display. And yes, if you tap a Vectrex' PCB in the correct places you can play Minestorm on an o-scope.

Baer says that only his games are valid "first games" because they were the first to utilize a regular television set. I call bullshit. Baer's notable work in no way invalidates the true videogames that came before his.

Incidentally, I liked the look of vector games. I especially liked color vector games like Tac-Scan. Sega made a ton of good ones and so did Atari. I'd definitely be a novelty, but I'd love to see a vector game done with the computing power we have now. It seems that money was getting to be a real problem throwing polygons around back then.....

Now, those are the roots of video gaming.

www.klov.com

www.vaps.org

There is nothing like classic video games and pinballs. MAME is great, but still can't capture it completely. I am glad I got to grow up during the great era of arcades.

Having worked at the 26th NORAD blockhouse at Luke AFB, Arizona, I can certainly agree -- Them suckers are Big!

The computer itself was many dozens of floor-to-ceiling racks about 50 feet long. The racks were pressurized with cool air. The tubes were mounted 4 to 6 in a tray similar to server rack trays. The base of each tube mount had a rubber baffle clearing the tube by about 1/4 inch to let the cool air in the rack flow past the tube. The warmed air served as building heat. The tube trays could be hot-swapped or individual tubes replaced as needed.

For anybody who remembers an old TV series called "The Time Tunnel", the big blinky control panel (with rows and rows of toggle and paddle switchs) with the 15 inch ocilliscope in the middle was basically a SAGE computer control station. I think they got it surplus from IBM or somebody.

Also of note is a tool built so the SAGE could finish the Detect-Identify-Respond loop: the F-106 Delta Dart supersonic interceptor. It carried various missles, including atomic warheads, to destroy hostile interlopers, commie or otherwise. In full-up SAGE operations, the SAGE operators in their blockhouses could directly steer the F-106 aircraft and fire missles at the bad guys, all by computer control. The pilot got the plane off the ground and back on the runway afterwards. Not exactly Missle Command or Defender, but you get the idea.

<nitpick>Oh - NORth American Air Defense Command (NORAD) was it's own entity, a designated military command on par with Stratagic Air Command (SAC).</nitpick>

Having worked at the 26th NORAD blockhouse at Luke AFB, Arizona, I can certainly agree -- Them suckers are Big!

The computer itself was many dozens of floor-to-ceiling racks about 50 feet long. The racks were pressurized with cool air. The tubes were mounted 4 to 6 in a tray similar to server rack trays. The base of each tube mount had a rubber baffle clearing the tube by about 1/4 inch to let the cool air in the rack flow past the tube. The warmed air served as building heat. The tube trays could be hot-swapped or individual tubes replaced as needed.

For anybody who remembers an old TV series called "The Time Tunnel", the big blinky control panel (with rows and rows of toggle and paddle switchs) with the 15 inch ocilliscope in the middle was basically a SAGE computer control station. I think they got it surplus from IBM or somebody.

Also of note is a tool built so the SAGE could finish the Detect-Identify-Respond loop: the F-106 Delta Dart supersonic interceptor. It carried various missles, including atomic warheads, to destroy hostile interlopers, commie or otherwise. In full-up SAGE operations, the SAGE operators in their blockhouses could directly steer the F-106 aircraft and fire missles at the bad guys, all by computer control. The pilot got the plane off the ground and back on the runway afterwards. Not exactly Missle Command or Defender, but you get the idea.

<nitpick>Oh - NORth American Air Defense Command (NORAD) was it's own entity, a designated military command on par with Stratagic Air Command (SAC).</nitpick>

Like how about a game of medieval football where you have to slit the guy's tendons with your sock-knife, like they used to do back in the day?

That reminds me of Pigskin 621 A.D., a coin-operated video game produced in 1990. See the link for screenshots. At certain times, you could use a dagger to "disable" an opponent's player.

If the NFL titles suck, then support other titles that don't need NFL endorsement. Cyberball rocked in the day. No NFL needed. Support great games, don't support big name trademarks and monopolistic organizations.

No it was Ikari see: Linky

Or maybe Hard Drivin'

Ah yes, nostalgia...

what i wonder is, are my children (ok, child at this point) going to look at today's wiz-bang games and think they look like clunky blocks?

Then don't show them Namco's Katamari Damacy, a 3D takeoff on Williams' Bubbles that has an intentional "toy" aesthetic to its graphics.

Check out the Killer List of Videogames - http://www.klov.com/ . It is a pretty comprehensive list of arcade games, I highly recommend it. Lots of pictures and descriptions of gameplay.

M.O.
http://www.madocowain.com/
http://www.playmaille.com/

That's not mario. It's his cousin, Jumpman. Well, if you look at the actual Donkey Kong machine that is what they call him.

I believe the grandparent was referring to the Arcade and Nintendo Entertainment System game: JOUST.

There are more than just two jousters....

Play Joust online

but they're already cheating: the original asteroids game http://www.klov.com/A/Asteroids.html had no "autonomous navigation system" equipped bullets that were "primed for up to 3 course corrections". That outright unfair!

Hydro Thunder?

Give the man a prize! :-)

Hydro Thunder!

I believe it's still in a few arcades.

A few weeks ago I was at a D&B and played a really cool new shooter called Ghost Squad. Very cool.

Sounds interesting. (Although the review comparisons to VirtaCop are not encouraging.) I can't say I was ever too fond of light gun arcade games, but I did love the Time Crisis series. That probably had something to do with the free shooting ability (I always fancied myself a pretty good aim) as well as the nicely weighted gun. Much better than the Area 51 guns, and a lot more free (and less frustrating) than the Sniper game.

You can look through the list of all emulated games here:http://www.mame.net/gamelist.html

If you remember an old game, but don't remember the name, you can try finding it in the Killer List of Video Games. This is also a great resource for looking up information about various games.

When you know what you want, you can either look for the roms on eDonkey/eMule (if you know the rom set names), try to find a good roms site (there are some, but you have to wade through a lot of crap sites to find them), or you can find (and request) roms on Usenet at alt.binaries.emulators.mame (probably your best bet).

If you want some good old school games, try Ms. Pac-man, Frogger, Q*Bert (or the fun, but rare sequel Q*Bert's Qubes) for starters. Vector games like Asteroids work well, too. One of my favorites is Liquid Kids (I can't believe that game is 15 years old). Bank Panic - another old one -- is a fun *twitch* game. The original Rampage is great. Oh man, what is MAME not good for?!

Snood (as was widely protested the last two times it was written up here) is a clone of Puzzle Bobble (AKA Bust-a-Move). Zuma is a clone of Puzz Loop. Apparently the way to succeed in the games industry is to clone arcade games for MS-Windows.

Snood (as was widely protested the last two times it was written up here) is a clone of Puzzle Bobble (AKA Bust-a-Move). Zuma is a clone of Puzz Loop. Apparently the way to succeed in the games industry is to clone arcade games for MS-Windows.

Battlezone: 1980

I messed up my post! It's way too late. :(

Here for Super Pac-man information.

I might be confusing Hard Drivin' with Race Drivin' - which may have had the cow and oncoming cars...

I don't remember the oncoming cars, but how could I have forgotten about the cow? :)

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=H&game_ id=8072

I'll wait for the 25th anniversary of Robotron before I celebrate.

Maybe I'll finally be able to convince my wife that my vintage full-sized machines are actually collectables and worth the rec room floorspace that they eat up.

I was thinking the same thing. They didn't actually do the best/worst of all time since they left off about 10 or so years from the Star Wars games they chose from. Even if the majority of their readers weren't alive in the 80's you would think they would have at least a little interest in the games from the classic systems. If anything they are funny to look at because the abilities of the machines were so limited.

I was hoping to see an Atari game on the list or maybe the arcade version of Return of the Jedi http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=R&game_ id=9305. I thought it was a fun game and I loved playing it in the arcades. The control felt right with the game play and the keyboard/emulator combo doesn't do it justice.