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Pole Position 2-7800

Posted: August 8th, 2007, 1:45 pm
by Alienblue
POLE POSITION 2 B+
ATARI 7800

Ok, me and Atarifever have waited long enough for the VGC to re-review this. I'LL review it!

Now, Pole Position 2 is of course the sequal to the Arcade smash hit driving game Pole Position. In the arcades, the sequal improved on the first by including 3 more tracks (including an easy test track), better graphics and animation.

The Atari 7800 game includes EVERYTHING from the coin-op minus the steering wheel and booming stereo sound. The VGC said this game was WORSE than 2600/5200 Pole Position and gave it an F. This is a complete load, people! The home versions of the original PP are lousy at best! They have cars that look like cat litter boxes on wheels, funky controls and horendous gameplay.

In comparrison, the 7800 PP2 is a MAGNIFACENT translation of a top arcade hit of 1984! I mean, please, you cannot compare this to Outrun and Rad Racer, let alone Ridege Racer or Toca racing! It is from a long ago era when MARBLE MADNESS had the best coin-op graphics! That being the case, this is a very fun game. The tracks offer smooth "scaling" , impressive backgrounds of the seaside, mount Fuiji or a county fairground and challenging gameplay with tracks that twist and turn like a snake in a blender! The explosions are great when you crash, and even the blimp flies by at the start of the race! The controls are far more responsive than PP. This was a very good pack in for a system that was supposed to come out in 1984, and showcases the 7800's improved graphics and memory well.

Since this is A) almost identical to coin-op PP2 ad B) is far, FAR more fun as a racing game than the original PP I just cannot understand the VGC's score. I mean, compared to other 7800 games it is top quality and the only other 7800 racer is Motorpsycho which stinks!

Okay, I've had my say. Your turn, Dave!

Pole Position 2-7800

Posted: August 8th, 2007, 4:08 pm
by VideoGameCritic
What-ever!






Pole Position 2-7800

Posted: August 9th, 2007, 1:35 pm
by Alienblue
"What-EVERRRR!"

This is really sad. I expected more from you critic, I really did. You ask us what reviews we don't like. Normally I agree with you and when I disagree, it is usually minor like thinking a great shooter desreved an A instead of B-. But giving Pole Position 2/7800 an F was an insult to 7800 owners.

I understand you are jaded. You've got hundreds of driving games better than this. But I thought you were fair? I thought you compared this game to other 7800 titles? The 7800 launched with only a score of titles, most all arcade adaptations. All of them, including PP2, were very good. This console has a very small (not counting 2600 of course) but quality library.

In MY review, which was meant to simply give gamers an alternate viewpoint, I thought" pretend the Atari 7800 was your only system. What would you think of this game THEN?!" The answer is that it is a near-pixel perfect adaptation of an old arcade standard, it is the ONLY really great driving game amongst the 7800 carts and plays very well, with four tracks for excellent replayability. Since you see and review so many games I could see you not giving this any higher than a C+, but an F!? When I got my 7800 I was not into driving games but even then I played it over and over, it's FUN and that's what really matters.

How you can give older, blocky Atari 2600 "racing" games a higher score than this is unfathonamable. They made as good a port as possible of a GOOD coin-op driving game. Look, of all my 7800 games this is not played often, I'm not in love with the thing, there are many games I like better. I just think you were unecessarily cruel in your review of this. I know your time is limited, but if you could play 2600/5200 Pole Position and 2600 Enduro, then play the ACTUAL PP2 on Namco classics, THEN lastly play and compare this...I really think your opinion would change.
Ok, thats all, I promise no more mention of PP2.

Did I say how unfair you were to E.T.?

Pole Position 2-7800

Posted: August 10th, 2007, 7:03 pm
by andrew
I'm with Dave. Pole Position 2 7800 is D- to F material. Ditto E.T. I love pole position 2 arcade version and mentioned it as my favorite game all-time. Pole position on the 2600 did a better job of keeping the speed factor and sense of excitement than the 7800 version.

Pole Position 2-7800

Posted: August 11th, 2007, 5:13 am
by Leo Ames

I'd give it a B.


Pole Position 2-7800

Posted: August 11th, 2007, 10:27 am
by hi there

At the very least, you need a new review to tell us why you hate it in a better way.


Pole Position 2-7800

Posted: August 11th, 2007, 11:50 am
by VideoGameCritic
[QUOTE=hi there]

At the very least, you need a new review to tell us why you hate it in a better way.

[/QUOTE]

Okay, let's settle this once and for all.  I'll run the game by my posse and see what they think of it.  I won't say anything to influence them.  If you want me to preceed Pole Position 2 with some other 7800 games (to properly set their expectations) let me know.

We'll see if I'm crazy!

Pole Position 2-7800

Posted: August 11th, 2007, 1:56 pm
by Alienblue
Critic: Do you hate the arcade version of Pole Position 2? I mean, the emulated version on NAMCO COLLECTION? Try that first. If you don't like the original, you won't like this.

For expectations, show them a couple of REAL 7800 stinkers: JINKS, CRACK'ED, or HAT TRICK! Those are all truly deserving of an F. They are practically unplayable, especially JINKS.

PP2 is not unplayable. It is a simple "race round the track" driving game with 4 courses and decent graphics. I'm not saying it is a FANTASTIC game, lord no, but it is GOOD PLAYABLE FUN and stands up well to other 7800 coin-op conversions.

Since this is the 7800, you may want to try 2600 Pole position
too. Or the 5200 version;the 5200 has power comparable to the 7800, but I think 5200 PP sux hard!

I myself deplore some games you LOVE though (coughsteelempire
cough), so I'm not saying you're crazy. We just have a difference of opinions here.

Pole Position 2-7800

Posted: August 12th, 2007, 1:16 pm
by Alienblue
Critic, if you get this in time a few more thoughts:

1) I just read a magazine article about 7800 PP2 (which said it was GREAT but this was 1989!); it mentioned "Note that the car is harder to control than in the first Pole Position. You must take it easy going into turns, especially on the 2 tougher tracks."
2)Compare it with the only other 7800 racer,Motorpsycho, which you gave a D...half a grade higher than this!
3)Finaly, PLEASE don't compare it to pack-in games like Super Mario Bros. or Sonic; Atari included SUPER BREAKOUT as a 5200 pack in; Odyssey included a 3-in one game that was much worse. Again, the 7800 is an older system. It had all arcade translations to start with, and PP2 was as good a translation as Asteroids, Centipede and Robotron, among others.

Pole Position 2-7800

Posted: August 14th, 2007, 10:11 pm
by andrew
[QUOTE=Alienblue]
PP2 is not unplayable. It is a simple "race round the track" driving game with 4 courses and decent graphics. I'm not saying it is a FANTASTIC game, lord no, but it is GOOD PLAYABLE FUN and stands up well to other 7800 coin-op conversions.

[/QUOTE]

He never said it was unplayable, he said in bold it was Lame. Its playable, but boring as hell. Pole Position 2 arcade is my favorite game of all time. This version sucks. The VCS version is above average because the excitement and sense of speed are better portrayed. And whats with the engine engine cutting out all the time?