Omega Race (Atari 2600)

[VideoGameCritic]

Part of the reason I'm (re)reviewing this is because I'm on a Colecovision kick.

As you may or may not know, the Atari 2600 version of Omega Race comes with a "booster" joystick attachment that gives you a separate button so you can thrust in addition to shoot. Why they didn't just have you push up to thrust (like in Asteroids) I do not know.

Anyway I recall a long time back someone encouraged me to try play it on a Colecovision with the Atari 2600 adapter. I tried this and sure enough the game worked with a normal Colecovision controller, using one button on each side to shoot and thrust. That's fine but I didn't find it appreciably better than an Atari joystick.

So I thought I'd try the Super Action Controller to see if that would work. Nope, I just would thrust around continuously and I couldn't shoot. Then I tried the Roller Controller and got the same result. Am I missing something here?

[Teddybear]

By plugging a Colecovision controller into your 2600, you are able to play Omega Race properly (thrust and fire) without the need for the booster grip - that's the benefit of doing this. Otherwise, without the booster grip or a Coleco controller you are unable to fire shots.

As the booster grip is not too common, I would suspect that many unaware people have probably bought the cartridge and assumed that it was defective since you cannot use a regular 2600 joystick.

[mbd36]

I had Atari 2600 Omega Race as a kid along with the special controller. The controller broke which was sad because it was a fun game, and I don't remember being especially rough with it. I wouldn't be surprised if they're pretty rare now.

[VideoGameCritic]

This is interesting. While reviewing Omega Race I noticed some static on the screen I didn't notice before. Bands of light static rolling up the screen. Still playable but distracting.

So I tried to track it down, and apparently it's related to the booster grip! The grip plugs into the controller port, and the controller plugs into that. When I unplugged the controller, the static went away.

I'm currently using a Darth Vader model Atari 2600, but I think I'll try another model to see if it happens with that.

This is kind of a shame because the game itself is a lot of fun.

[VideoGameCritic]

So I pulled out the heavy sixer and it NOT exhibit this issue. I guess it was originally tested on the old models. You mileage may vary.

[zetax]

Do SMS or Genesis controllers happen to work with this? I have this game and controller (somewhere), but haven't played it for probably 30 years. It was a decent Asteroids-ish game.

[VideoGameCritic]

Do SMS or Genesis controllers happen to work with this? I have this game and controller (somewhere), but haven't played it for probably 30 years. It was a decent Asteroids-ish game.

Interesting idea, but no, they do not work.

[goldenband]

However I'm pretty sure there's a hacked ROM of Omega Race that does work with (i.e. use the second button on) a Genesis controller. Yep, here it is:

https://atariage.com/forums/topic/15843 ... nt=3119370

There are a bunch of games that have gotten the Genesis controller treatment, and that thread is full of 'em. For Double Dragon 2600, it turns the game from unplayable to...less unplayable!

[DocHix]

Great review and very interesting discussion! I always loved playing the game in the arcade...nothing beats vector graphics. I also had the home version with the 2600 controller accessory as a kid and really liked it...a good port! The controller accessory itself was VERY prone to failure even with minimal use. I've found three of them in the wild over the past 10 years or so and was unable to repair any of them. After several failures, I passed one of them onto a friend who is an ace at electronics repair/restoration. He told me that if was "curiously unfixable...there's nothing mechanically wrong with it but it still won't work."

[VideoGameCritic]

I modified the review after being advised you can plug a Colecovision controller right into the Atari 2600.
Problem solved!