2016/12/20: Playstation 4: Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 1, Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 2

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VideoGameCritic
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2016/12/20: Playstation 4: Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 1, Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 2

Postby VideoGameCritic » December 20th, 2016, 8:32 pm

Let me know what you think about my latest two PS4 reviews for Atari Flashback Classics 1 & 2.

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Atariboy
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Re: 2016/12/20: Playstation 4: Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 1, Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 2

Postby Atariboy » December 20th, 2016, 10:11 pm

Like I said in your other thread, that isn't a mistake with Pong. That's how the original arcade cabinet worked in 1972.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/03/11/ ... iew?page=2

"The other – not hack – but, one of my lessons learned, is that if you can't fix it, call it a feature. The paddles on the original Pong didn't go all the way to the top. There was a defect in the [circuit] – I used a very simple circuit, I had to, to make the paddles, but they didn't go to the top. I could have fixed it, but it turned out to be important, because if you get two good players they could just volley and play the game forever. And the game has to end in about three or four minutes otherwise it's a failure as a game. So that gap at the top, again – a feature. So that was sort of a happy accident."


And you did play Red Baron before. ;)

http://videogamecritic.com/dsae.htm?e=55420#rev2038

I personally think Red Baron is a gem and that Atari fully succeeded in making an aerial counterpart of Battlezone (A classic that I'm surprised you didn't comment on being absent here, since it was always a highlight in past Atari collections).

You really should go back and adjust the controls for it and give it another try, since they really screwed up the default analog stick sensitivity for it in this collection and you're constantly losing control as a result. It's unplayable in its default configuration here and your review, unless you already made some adjustments in the options and still feel that it's a dud, isn't a fair reflection of its quality because of Code Mystics' mistake.

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BlasteroidAli
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Re: 2016/12/20: Playstation 4: Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 1, Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 2

Postby BlasteroidAli » December 21st, 2016, 9:34 am

My friend from Atari age commented on the Xbox version saying the default control were a mess. He also commented on the lack of extras which you just about manage to comment on. This is the stuff we thrive on though I guess those cheap skates the nu atari just want bangs for a buck minus giving any credit to the people who made atari great.

Typo alert re read red baron review. Surely I'm should be I've.

I was totally blow away. You never play Red Baron. One of the best Atari games and you never played it before. Then you did and did not like it? You must suck at the game as I have played it in the arcades.. yeah back in 1981/82. Then on the previous superior Atari compilation. I have put at least 50 hours into that game. It is superb and the best thing on the disc. Please play this game a lot more to get into it.

Though I would have thought some more musings on how they did not give Atari age some money and put out all the recent home brews on disc. That surely is a missed opportunity. They want to grow the community or they just want a compilation of these tired out games? Well tired out to the youngsters, us youngsters at heart type gamers still see them and fresh and new.

Other than that a good review of the discs.

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Retro STrife
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Re: 2016/12/20: Playstation 4: Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 1, Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 2

Postby Retro STrife » December 21st, 2016, 9:42 am

Atariboy wrote:And you did play Red Baron before. ;)


Hahaa, people have some good memories around here Critic...

But I had to post to defend Red Baron too. My sister and I played the original arcade version at Funspot Arcade in NH a few years back, and it definitely held our attention for a bit. Considering that Funspot has maybe the largest collection of "golden age" arcade games in the world, it's pretty meaningful that we poured several quarters into Red Baron there. (Heck, with all the games there, spending more than one quarter on a game must mean it's good.) I remember being impressed with the gameplay and the vector graphics, even now. Definitely better than the plodding action of Battlezone. And I had never heard of Red Baron before seeing it there, so it definitely caught me off guard. Of course, that was on the original cabinet with the flight stick, so maybe it just doesn't translate well to a TV and controller. It's not a classic, but definitely worth a try if you ever see one in an arcade.

Here's a pic of it: http://www.pinballrebel.com/arcade/atar ... aron_b.jpg

BanjoPickles
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Re: 2016/12/20: Playstation 4: Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 1, Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 2

Postby BanjoPickles » December 21st, 2016, 10:19 am

I've said it before, and I'll keep saying that these compilations are the definition of missed opportunity. With the insane amount of space available on a PS4/XB0 disk, why would they not go all out and offer a comprehensive history of Atari? Why not include lost gems from the Atari ST, 7800, Lynx, and even Jaguar? Who wouldn't want to play Tempest 2000 without having to hunt down the old console? I'd kill to play Food Fight without having to download the emulator and rom (I no longer have the space for a physical collection). It would have been cool to have a 3-disc set that looked like this:

Disc 1: Roots

This could include the early arcade games like Pong, Breakout, Battlezone, etc., along with the Atari 2600 games.

Disc 2: The Tramiel years

This could cover the Atari ST and 7800 years, along with the latter-day 2600 releases.

Disc 3: Last Hardware Years

This could cover Atari Lynx/Jaguar.

I don't know why they insist on rereleasing the exact same compilations, over and over. It's the same problem that plagues Sega! They ignore decades of history, instead only focusing on one era. It's frustrating to see companies pretend that 75% of their creative output never happened.

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Re: 2016/12/20: Playstation 4: Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 1, Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 2

Postby Sonicx9 » December 21st, 2016, 1:58 pm

Fun Fact critic, did you know that the collection is actually co-published by Atari with AtGames. It is because AtGames made the Atari Flashback plug n play systems along with the Sega plug n play systems. It is also because Atari is more are less bankrupt starting in early 2013, where they only have been doing mobile/PC/plug n play systems. This is the first retail console game sense 2012.

It is sad that many yesteryear companies have faded out.

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Re: 2016/12/20: Playstation 4: Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 1, Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 2

Postby Sut » December 21st, 2016, 3:31 pm

BanjoPickles wrote:I've said it before, and I'll keep saying that these compilations are the definition of missed opportunity. With the insane amount of space available on a PS4/XB0 disk, why would they not go all out and offer a comprehensive history of Atari? Why not include lost gems from the Atari ST, 7800, Lynx, and even Jaguar? Who wouldn't want to play Tempest 2000 without having to hunt down the old console? I'd kill to play Food Fight without having to download the emulator and rom (I no longer have the space for a physical collection). It would have been cool to have a 3-disc set that looked like this:

Disc 1: Roots

This could include the early arcade games like Pong, Breakout, Battlezone, etc., along with the Atari 2600 games.

Disc 2: The Tramiel years

This could cover the Atari ST and 7800 years, along with the latter-day 2600 releases.

Disc 3: Last Hardware Years

This could cover Atari Lynx/Jaguar.

I don't know why they insist on rereleasing the exact same compilations, over and over. It's the same problem that plagues Sega! They ignore decades of history, instead only focusing on one era. It's frustrating to see companies pretend that 75% of their creative output never happened.


Completely agree.

To be honest these compilations don't sound any better than the one volume Atari Anthology releases for Xbox and PS2 years ago.

snakeboy
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Re: 2016/12/20: Playstation 4: Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 1, Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 2

Postby snakeboy » December 21st, 2016, 4:57 pm

Critic,
Did you realize that you can use the PS4 controller's touchpad in games that use trak-ball and spinner/paddle controls? It might be the best use of the touchpad I've seen yet!

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Re: 2016/12/20: Playstation 4: Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 1, Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 2

Postby VideoGameCritic » December 21st, 2016, 4:58 pm

Nice feedback guys - thanks.

Apparently my memory is a little hazy! Thanks for correcting me on the Red Baron thing. It does seem likely the controls were simply not calibrated right. I actually found Crystal Castles unplayable until I turned down the sensitivity, then it was great.
Then again, most people will just play the games "as is", and they will hate Red Baron, so maybe my review isn't so far off. And I'm sorry, but I have to disagree that Pong is "supposed to be that way".

It would be nice if AtGames had put a little more effort into this, but one side-effect of our internet-driven culture is that everything is rushed out the door nowadays. Nobody takes pride in their product - it's all about the bottom line. Some of the comments here could be echoed about the Retrobit Generations console, which also seems designed to cash it as soon as possible.

VGC

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Atariboy
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Re: 2016/12/20: Playstation 4: Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 1, Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 2

Postby Atariboy » December 21st, 2016, 8:28 pm

VideoGameCritic wrote:And I'm sorry, but I have to disagree that Pong is "supposed to be that way".


The Al Alcorn interview that I linked earlier covers all of that. He's the man that created Pong back in 1972.

BanjoPickles wrote:I don't know why they insist on rereleasing the exact same compilations, over and over. It's the same problem that plagues Sega! They ignore decades of history, instead only focusing on one era. It's frustrating to see companies pretend that 75% of their creative output never happened.


Their adviser at AtariAge has said that more is on the way for 2017. These two volumes, which amounted to a console port of the recent Atari Vault release on the PC (Also by Code Mystics and with the same feature set), were just the first of a line of compilations covering Atari's history.

Since all the old standbys have been covered here besides Battlezone, so that means material fresh to compilations are on the way.


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