2020/8/3: Vectrex: Narrow Escape, Vectrex Frogger, Marine Fox

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VideoGameCritic
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2020/8/3: Vectrex: Narrow Escape, Vectrex Frogger, Marine Fox

Postby VideoGameCritic » August 3rd, 2020, 8:09 am

Let's hear your thoughts on my latest set of Vectrex reviews, played from my 3.0 multicart.

Vectrex Frogger is a re-review, but same grade.

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: 2020/8/3: Vectrex: Narrow Escape, Vectrex Frogger, Marine Fox

Postby VideoGameCritic » August 3rd, 2020, 8:53 am

Oh and by the way, I realize the screenshots aren't going to win any awards. It was the best I could do.

You know, I asked for help for these, but you did not come through!

Bad screenshots lead to anger, anger leads to hate, hate... leads to SUFFERING!

SpiceWare
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Re: 2020/8/3: Vectrex: Narrow Escape, Vectrex Frogger, Marine Fox

Postby SpiceWare » August 3rd, 2020, 9:59 am

VideoGameCritic wrote:Oh and by the way, I realize the screenshots aren't going to win any awards. It was the best I could do.


I used to be able to take decent photos of my CRT, but the image sensors have become so fast that I now tend to get partial screen images like this:

IMG_1099D.jpg
IMG_1099D.jpg (57.23 KiB) Viewed 1286 times


I've found that recording a video, then extracting a frame from the video leads to better results:
clip.jpg
clip.jpg (61.75 KiB) Viewed 1286 times


That horizontal line moves position, so I can select a frame without it - though in this instance the screen had flashed red so doesn't match the original photo:
Frame-03-08-2020-09-50-59.jpg
Frame-03-08-2020-09-50-59.jpg (65.11 KiB) Viewed 1282 times


The red screen denotes sending of data was paused as the AtariVox's buffer was full.

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Retro STrife
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Re: 2020/8/3: Vectrex: Narrow Escape, Vectrex Frogger, Marine Fox

Postby Retro STrife » August 3rd, 2020, 10:11 am

I actually thought the screenshots came out ok. Marine Fox looks pretty good.. makes me wish I had the 3.0 multicart, instead of just the 2.0. I know they added a ton of extra games (mostly homebrews it seems), but is the upgrade truly worth it?

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: 2020/8/3: Vectrex: Narrow Escape, Vectrex Frogger, Marine Fox

Postby VideoGameCritic » August 3rd, 2020, 10:33 am

Retro STrife wrote:I actually thought the screenshots came out ok. Marine Fox looks pretty good.. makes me wish I had the 3.0 multicart, instead of just the 2.0. I know they added a ton of extra games (mostly homebrews it seems), but is the upgrade truly worth it?


It's a tough call. So far Marine Fox has been the only standout title I've come across. Seems like a lot of the other "new" games are mediocre homebrews that never got out of alpha/beta. I do have more reviews on the way.

goldenband
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Re: 2020/8/3: Vectrex: Narrow Escape, Vectrex Frogger, Marine Fox

Postby goldenband » August 3rd, 2020, 10:58 am

VideoGameCritic wrote:
Retro STrife wrote:I actually thought the screenshots came out ok. Marine Fox looks pretty good.. makes me wish I had the 3.0 multicart, instead of just the 2.0. I know they added a ton of extra games (mostly homebrews it seems), but is the upgrade truly worth it?

It's a tough call. So far Marine Fox has been the only standout title I've come across. Seems like a lot of the other "new" games are mediocre homebrews that never got out of alpha/beta. I do have more reviews on the way.

Agreed, I think the screenshots look quite reasonable!

As for quality Vectrex homebrews, Vector Pilot is far and away the best I've seen. No idea if it's still in print but it was worth every penny when I bought it.

Cafeman
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Re: 2020/8/3: Vectrex: Narrow Escape, Vectrex Frogger, Marine Fox

Postby Cafeman » August 3rd, 2020, 11:26 am

It's nice to see vectrex reviews appear, something that is the epitome of the early 80s gaming and fresh games which were new to me. I get to play vectrex at game shows about once a year but the quality of the machine is usually not the greatest, sometimes with cracked screens and worn-out joystick, so I can empathize with your control problems in the one game.

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astrodomekid
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Re: 2020/8/3: Vectrex: Narrow Escape, Vectrex Frogger, Marine Fox

Postby astrodomekid » August 3rd, 2020, 7:30 pm

I just looked up footage of V-Frogger after reading the review, and I'm digging those morphing effects! Reminds me of the morphing seen in Scanimate, an early form of computer animation popular in the 70's and early 80's.

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BlasteroidAli
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Re: 2020/8/3: Vectrex: Narrow Escape, Vectrex Frogger, Marine Fox

Postby BlasteroidAli » August 5th, 2020, 5:59 am

I love the reviews of Vectrex. I did not get one and I guess the only time I am going to play them is on emulation. I do so love reading about them. I think the Vectrex would be perfect for a clone of space duel. It is a shame Atari did not produce some of their classics for it... like their best ever game Blue Max.

slx
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Re: 2020/8/3: Vectrex: Narrow Escape, Vectrex Frogger, Marine Fox

Postby slx » August 26th, 2020, 2:36 pm

There's a replacement 3D imager available from Madtronix to experience 3D games as they were meant to be:
https://madtronix.com/vectrex/id-3d-imager

Always enjoying your reviews, thanks!


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