The Letters Page


  1. Babbage
    * Babbage and Jaguar support
  2. Baldies
    * Maybe a bug in this game
  3. Club Drive
    * Someone likes the game
  4. Jaguar
    * Whats wrong with the 64Bit Jaguar?
  5. Atari
    * What chance have Atari now? + 2 responses
  6. Atari 2
    * More thoughts on Atari
  7. Atari 3
    * And even more on the Atari
  8. Atari 4
    * This is a busy subject
  9. Video Games
    * Views on the Video Games industry
  10. Jaguar Party
    * Someone had a Jag party, I was not invited,
  11. Question
    * A sort of Hardware Question,







From: khaley@nova.gmi.edu (Kevin Haley) I know there was a thread a while back complaining about the shoddy Jaguar support in many local Babbage's stores. The same was true of my local Babbage's, they were 4 months behind on the games and had little/no stock in. Well, I stopped by yesterday after not having been in there for 3 weeks and saw a big transformation. A Jaguar sign was out front. The Jaguar display had been moved to the front of the counter and they had full stock! They had the base system and CD unit again, plus the cables, controllers, and Memory Track cartridge. They also had all the newest games, including Myst, NBA Jam, Baldies, Battlemorph, Atari Karts, and others. It was set up really nice, unlike in the past, where the display had often been neglected. Something obviosuly has changed in their attitude towards the Jag. Anyone notice changes at other Babbage's stores? I was impressed. On a related note, my local Wal Mart finally got a big stack of JagCD units in with various games. They also (finally) have posted signs with the prices of the games and hardware.
FROM: kce@netcom.com (Big Bad Wolf) Organization: Netcom Online Communications Services (408-241-9760 login: guest) Reply Index No: 77426 I believe I've found a bug in Baldies. Well, 1 confirmed bug and one other unconfirmed bug. The first occurs when you build a house too close to the endge of land/water boundary. When the time comes to build the house that has the maximum Baldy producing ability (the one with the little playpen on the side), the game goes blank, and all you have remaining is the hand pointer. Weird, very weird. The second bug is what I call unconfimed because I have 3 separate built-in video switches on my TV (1 for cable , 1 for jag, 1 unused, and 1 for VCR). So I'm switching between regular TV and the Jag, while playing baldies and waiting for resources to become available .. when I wated a particularly long time (10 minutes), and when I switched back to the Jag, it was totally blank! This happened twice. Verrry strange .. BTW FYI, there are some inventions that you can do that aren't listed in the manual, such as the what I like to call "no-fly sparkles" which vaporize any flying baldies which come near it. Also, not all houses can become castles even if you put 10 baldies to work as builders in it. The houses have to be built on the correct type of terrain .. which seem to be very rocky ground, for what I'm guessing to be a good foundation. A very good game! I've been playing it in between attempts to install a new HD on my PC. That music has been burning into my head though .. Da da dum da dum dum dum .. -- Keith C. Estanol / kce@netcom.com / Internet Member since 1989 Atari and OS/2 Fanatics unite!
From: david.jacksch@swsbbs.com (DAVID JACKSCH) m.o.r, Club Drive is my favorite Jag game, although it MAY end up #2 (I just bought BattleMorph). The physics of the cars is practically perfect, for toy cars, except that they right themselves. It's a wonderful game for kids, they catch on quick, and have a BLAST. I always set them up on 180 seconds (for Tag), 2-player, and let them choose Tag or Powerball, and the arena. I play 1-player race mainly to search for secret areas. But there are some real nasty tricks you can play in Tag (rewind, for instance). It's quite a challenge playing against someone who also knows all the Tag tricks.
What's up with the 64 BIT Jaguar?? by Ralph F. Mariano Much water has passed beneath the "proverbial bridge" as far Atari Corp. and this reporter is concerned. Most of which was and is extremely fond memories. Memories of watching my family mature while using all types of Atari high tech hardware. From the membrane keyboard of the Atari 400 to the IBM Selectric Typewriter look-a-like Atari 800 to ultimately the TT030 with 26mb of memory, a 540mb hd and a 24" Monochrome Monitor. Of course, all the Atari peripherals were there too. Including both flavors of Laser SLM Printers. In light of all this.. it wasn't very difficult to make up my mind, after almost four years, to invest in another enticing and innovative Atari product. The 64 bit Atari Jaguar Game Console and of course, the CD ROM Player, the memory card and a bunch of games both Cartridge and CD. I felt I had "The Cat's Meow". Until. A strange thing occurred. I was in SEARS of Orange Park and a commotion in the electronics toy department caught my attention. Upon further investigation, I found a slew of youngsters and their parents very busy "trying out" the "NEW" Sony Playstation Game Console (PSX). After watching the kids. ages 8 or 9 to young adult (and older) carry on over the PSX, I spent some time at the controls myself. When we decided to leave Sears and go home, a complete PSX ensemble went with us. To this day, I am not, in the least bit, dissatisfied with the PSX and its software. Anyway, on the way home.. I was thinking to myself about how the 32 bit PSX would stack up to the 64 bit Jaguar. It didn't take very long to see the differences. With the two machines side by side the comparison was easy to make. The Jaguar, has its own strengths and is now mostly used for its superb light show. The 32 bit Sony Playstation literally, BLEW the 64 bit Jaguar's doors off! This I believe is due to shabby early on programming by inexperienced developers for the Jaguar. At first, I actually paid little or no mind to this finding. After all, the "NEW" of the 32 bit PSX at our house had to wear off. But then, after I kept seeing this constant harping online about how great the 64 bit Jaguar was and how the greatest games in the world .AvP, etc., were on the 64 bit Jaguar and nowhere else I started digging. Sure, I read these things in the Jaguar areas, but one would expect even the most avid fan to be truthful in an obvious situation like comparing the output of both machines .. side by side. After all, it could be done anywhere by most anyone. This wasn't happening at all. Instead, I found the vast majority yapping about how superior the 64 bit Jaguar was. After all, the Jaguar was 64 bits and the PSX was ONLY 32 bits. This turned out to be the sorriest joke of all being perped on both Atari and the unsuspecting masses. If only Atari had been publicly told the truth "way back when" instead of being lulled into a false sense of having a leading edge. This I blame the "mindless online cheerleading" for. Here's how I discovered this "minor factoid". There I was.. sitting at home comparing the two machines, the mighty 64 bit Jaguar and the new kid on the block, the 32 bit Sony Playstation. Lo and Behold.. I began having some serious doubts about the Atari Jaguar's claim to fame.. this "ever elusive but much touted" 64 bit performance! Where? When? Out of a sense of fairness, I kept giving the Jag the benefit of the doubt because I had yet to obtain the "top banana games" with amazing graphics and super, superior playability everyone was hollering and jumping up and down about. I kept wondering if, in fact, once I had one of these games running if it would be the mesmerizing, stupefying, hypnotizing, spellbinding thrill most everyone in the Atari areas was yapping about. Well Dearies, I finally got a few of the so-called super hot titles. Alien Vs Predator, Baldies, Atari Karts, Highlander, Battlemorph, Power Drive Rally, Ultra Vortek, Cybermorph, and the Tempest Soundtrack. Finally, NOW, I was ready for the big showdown!! I asked two of my sons who were experienced in the use of the PSX and the Jaguar to conduct the comparisons. After all, the players are the key to the truth ..not the observers or commentators. Let the Games Begin! Try as they might.. None of the Atari Jaguar "super" titles came close to overcoming the quality of the PSX. Some easily matched the PSX, but none outdid it. Now then, this is where the questions become somewhat serious. Did Atari's brass know of this obvious short coming of the Jag? Were they aware of the fact that a 32 bit machine was easily matching and in many cases running circles around their omnipotent 64 bit machine? Or, did they only recently discover the fact their 64 bit machine was being dogged by the PSX in every way imaginable. Like perhaps at the recent CES show where they had a suite of rooms and a semi-private thing going on? If. they had known about the Jaguar's programming shortfall for any length of time then they certainly didn't correct the shortfall quickly or did they try and found their programmer corps lacked the necessary skills? (It could be a given that they had more than ample opportunity to view the output of the 32 bit Sony at Last Year's CES and E3 shows.) Now, with the most recent price cut for the "64 bit Advanced Technology, US Made Atari Jaguar Game Console". More people are buying the Jaguar than ever before. Are they too to be disappointed by the poor programming of many of the titles? I firmly believe there is light at the end of the tunnel. Buying the Jaguar at $99.00 is a real value. The consumer is, in effect, getting in on the ground floor. With all the tumult of the last two months, its certain the quality of programming for the Jaguar will improve dramatically. In the meantime, there are a number of excellent titles available that are bound to entertain. The bottom line is simple for me. While I know and think highly of many of the folks who work or, have worked at Atari, I must be up front with my readers. My informed opinion is; "while the claims of 64 bit power for the Jaguar were being made far, wide, and handsome. the truth is. it never performed like a 64 bit machine should have." Especially, after the manner in which the Jaguar is promoted by Atari.. "The only 64 bit machine".. "made in the USA" etc., all of this should lead to a machine that was an absolute powerhouse with stunning graphics and equally superb gameplay. It did not, does not and unless serious changes in the programming for the Jaguar are accomplished .never will. Which leads to the thought. "perhaps the Jaguar's claim to 64 bit power is nothing more than, "a wish upon a star." While I have nothing to prove anything as such, it has been implied many times in the past year or so in just about every gaming magazine and recent hardware/software review published. If anything, I'd say; "The presence of the Jaguar's 64 bit power and performance was and still is a Myth." While we've been witness to most everyone's opinions that the 32 bit Sony Playstation can blow the 64 bit Jaguar away time in and time out. its time to either make the necessary changes to properly compete or, give up the ghost. That's exactly what Atari is doing in my humble opinion. Seemingly, "the curtain has fallen to the floor and exposed the "Wizards" to be far better at Vaudevillian Performances than sheer, honest to goodness, Wizardry." (Wizards meaning programmers). The time for serious change is now at hand. What will actually be accomplished by the changes is yet to be seen. Looking at this from a consumer's viewpoint I must, once again, say the Jaguar is a genuine gaming value at $99.00 and even has some very good games for all ages. Games that exhibited indications it was a "high performance 64 bit machine". Mind you, it looks good and sounds good as long as the right software is loaded. But the much expected continued flow of 64 bit power "just ain't there". This I believe is the fault of the current crop developers. Not Atari or the Jaguar itself as it has been hinted at by some. Personally speaking, all of the games on the Jaguar were better looking than those I'd seen and grown accustomed to playing on our three "outdated" Atari 2600's and two Mattel Intellivision consoles. In all fairness to the Jag, I'd go so far as to say the majority of the games I saw for the Jag were of up to date quality but are, at the same time, aimed a younger age bracket. Baldies resembles the old fashioned overhead view games. The "movie" in Baldies, (if you want to call it that) was strangely reminiscent of "Clay Animation". "Oooh Nooo .Mr. Bill!!" Atari Karts . is real cute, guaranteed to appeal to the pre-teen and very early teens, has excellent graphics and very smooth scrolling but its still no match for any of the "more mature" contemporary racing games available on the PSX. AvP was in so many words, when compared to DOOM on the PSX .SAD. Good in game play for a youngster or new player, sad in sound, slow action and mediocre graphics. Doom is good. Rayman is good. Blue Lightning is very good and BattleMorph has its great moments. NBA Jam is excellent. Primal Rage is very entertaining and looks just as good on the Jaguar as it does on any other machine. Highlander is again, very good looking and should be quite appealing to the younger set. Atari and it's developers need to address the matter of their overall target audience and theme of programming. I'm afraid the Jaguar was destined to marketing problems from the day it hit the market. If for no other reason than it simply did not have a chance to live up to all the hype poured forth about it. In stark reality, it never had a "snowball's" chance. First, the Tramiels put it on the market far too early. Second, they bundled garbage software with it instead of using a "free game of your choice" certificate and thirdly, they were far too proud of the Jaguar.. They seemingly lost sight of the competition's potential and got nailed and nailed hard by, incredibly.. a 32 bit machine. "The Jaguar will always be remembered as "the soldier sent into war without a weapon or ammo." Now, at least with the newer titles beginning to hit there appears to be some hard evidence of the 64 bit power showing up. Which, by the way, lends credence to the impression of "64 bit Power for Only $99.00. Hey! Power without the Price! Now, there's an old, familiar friend. For as long as "Forever and a Day" lasts, the Jaguar shall be remembered as the only "White Elephant" Atari, from Bushnell `till present, ever foisted upon the savvy technological marketplace. For this and this alone, forget the dead computers etc., the Tramiels will long be remembered as having "blown it .big time!" The pitiful little old, Jaguar is bearing the brunt of this onslaught because of a number of early on blunders. One in particular ..the hardware and software developers for the Jaguar were not "whipped into shape" by Atari. The delays coming from this area of supply have been simply horrific!! The developers need to be producing quality goods on or, ahead of time! NOT consistently LATE!... So far, the results of their efforts are very self evident.
From: mkdud@aol.com (MK DUD) " Well is there a chance for Atari, what do you think gamers? " I agree. Atari has "leaned down" from an expense standpoint, has a good bit of capital reserves, and several "moneymakers" in the vault, waiting to be released. This is a good time to buy Atari stock. However, as a game player, (and a Yak fan), I wouldn't care if they spent 10 million signing Jeff to some kind of a long term deal - at least 4 years - either for the Jaguar or any future platforms. It is my contention that they owe much (if any) success that the Jag (or Jag CD) has had to Jeff's writing. Without the YAK, I just don't know.... I'm sure there are some promising writers that Atari may be able to recruit (if they - as a company - intend on producing software at all). I feel they need the YAK in a "leader" position to (1) develop first rate software, and (2) as a catalyst to recruit other inspired writers, and to lead a new team of developers on ALL platforms - PC, Jaguar, and other formats. I don't think anyone can name a person that would be as valuable as Jeff Minter if you are a company that intends on developing entertainment software. In ANY format. He is to an entertainment software company what a lighter would be to a stick of dynamite - he could really light the fuse. He understands everything about what makes a game appealing, addictive, and a hit. What do you think? Please respond. RESPONSE 1 ************ From: douglas@mailhost.ecn.uoknor.edu (Doug Erickson) khaley@nova.gmi.edu (Kevin Haley) uttered: >Ok, Mister Enlightened-know-it-all. Tell us what else Atari can do >to ensure them success. Since you've apparently gone out on a limb >here to enlighten us with your own beating of the dead horse [Jaguar] >you have a step-by-step plan for Atari's recovery, right? Me? If I was the sort of business mogul who could magickally bring Atari back from ruin, I wouldn't be toiling over a college education. Buuuut, since that isn't the case, let me tell you what I believe Atari SHOULD have done, 'specially when they had that nice influx of cash from the Sega deal: A) Swallered their pride and licensed as many popular Japanese fighters and drivers from Capcom/SNK et al. Kissed the collective ass of EA until they screamed. Given the lowest common denominator what they wanted, and make money doing it. B) Enforced a higher standard of quality with regards to software. Yes, I'm aware that the Jag was in desperate need of titles during its drought, but had titles like Checkered Flag, Club Driver, Dragon, Bubsy, and Trevor McFur never been introduced into the marketplace, the Jag-bashers and Atari- -nay-sayers would have had much less fodder. C) Possibly changed their name, to avoid association with the "old," unhip Atari of the early '80's and the Lynx. Kids don't want their father's Oldsmobile, or so the media tells them. D) Exploited the Sega deal for what it was worth. Demanded the rights to Daytona USA and Virtua Fighter, at the VERY least, and developed them. Invested that cash in developing some high quality software, or used it, as stated above, to bribe Capcom/Konami or buy one of their myriad of popular and immediately recognizeable license. Of course, very little of this appeals to the die-hard Atarian, becuase it wouldn't have isolated his/her Jaguar as a "special system," chock-full of "non-mainstream" games and "small, renegade, garage" development houses. Bah. Pandering to the likes of such an insignificant minority, whose only noteworthy aspect is the drooling sophistry they slaver all over USENET will NOT garner sales, even if it DOES garner a twisted brand of consumer loyalty. If these people were so concerned about owning "innovative" (and I uce this term VERY loosely), they can save up a bit and buy a PC. There are more kinds of "innovative" games on it then there ever would have been on the Jaguar. Atari made a mistake by not selling out. It may hurt to admit, but it's true. In capitalism, you have to give the people what they think they want, especially when you lack the money to tell the people what they want. (see Nintendo/Sega/Sony) >Didn't you just tell us to "lighten up?" "What's the big deal?" you >say? Didn't follow your own advice I see, eh? >Some people are concerned about a product they like, called the Jaguar. >What's YOUR big deal? Why did you waste so much of your time on >this? Especially since you have no concern for it anyway. I find it hilarious to think of this small legion of rabid people, all chanting in ASCII: "Don't die, Atari! We won't LET you!!" If Sony/Sega dried up today, you certainly wouldn't catch me crying. The Neo-Geo hasn't been on store shelves for some time, and people still seem to enjoy it... hmmmm. I waste my time on this because, quite frankly, I find Atari fanaticism beyond amusing. It's rather quirky to read the futile diatribes of hopeless nostalgics, who think that they will be able to buck the trend and recapture what they believe were the halcyon days of gaming, all the while completely failing to comprehend that people actually like the current fashion du jour in arcades. I read these silly posts of people who believe that the popular fighting/driving games of today are inherently unfun, and that we, as arcade consumers, have somehow deluded ourselves into liking them. The Jaguar was pushed as an overt strike against this trend, and, as with all things fringe, immediately developed a loyal following by those who felt alienated. Waa waa. It's a special brand of consumer politics, and it's as funny as all get out. >Let them write letters if they want to. Big deal. Never said they couldn't. I just want to reserve the right to laugh myself into catatonia. :D >> Actually, kids, get over it. >Why don't YOU get over it? I'm still wondering why you're wasting your >time in this group. Wasting time? Maybe. It's *entertainment*, at any rate. You no like? You no listen. I'm offering my commentary on the current events as I see them. You're more then welcome to have a hearty kick at my soapbox, assuming you have the leg to stand on. RESPONSE 2 ************ From: douglas@mailhost.ecn.uoknor.edu (Doug Erickson) khaley@nova.gmi.edu (Kevin Haley) uttered: >Ok, Mister Enlightened-know-it-all. Tell us what else Atari can do >to ensure them success. Since you've apparently gone out on a limb >here to enlighten us with your own beating of the dead horse [Jaguar] >you have a step-by-step plan for Atari's recovery, right? Me? If I was the sort of business mogul who could magickally bring Atari back from ruin, I wouldn't be toiling over a college education. Buuuut, since that isn't the case, let me tell you what I believe Atari SHOULD have done, 'specially when they had that nice influx of cash from the Sega deal: A) Swallered their pride and licensed as many popular Japanese fighters and drivers from Capcom/SNK et al. Kissed the collective ass of EA until they screamed. Given the lowest common denominator what they wanted, and make money doing it. B) Enforced a higher standard of quality with regards to software. Yes, I'm aware that the Jag was in desperate need of titles during its drought, but had titles like Checkered Flag, Club Driver, Dragon, Bubsy, and Trevor McFur never been introduced into the marketplace, the Jag-bashers and Atari- -nay-sayers would have had much less fodder. C) Possibly changed their name, to avoid association with the "old," unhip Atari of the early '80's and the Lynx. Kids don't want their father's Oldsmobile, or so the media tells them. D) Exploited the Sega deal for what it was worth. Demanded the rights to Daytona USA and Virtua Fighter, at the VERY least, and developed them. Invested that cash in developing some high quality software, or used it, as stated above, to bribe Capcom/Konami or buy one of their myriad of popular and immediately recognizeable license. Of course, very little of this appeals to the die-hard Atarian, becuase it wouldn't have isolated his/her Jaguar as a "special system," chock-full of "non-mainstream" games and "small, renegade, garage" development houses. Bah. Pandering to the likes of such an insignificant minority, whose only noteworthy aspect is the drooling sophistry they slaver all over USENET will NOT garner sales, even if it DOES garner a twisted brand of consumer loyalty. If these people were so concerned about owning "innovative" (and I uce this term VERY loosely), they can save up a bit and buy a PC. There are more kinds of "innovative" games on it then there ever would have been on the Jaguar. Atari made a mistake by not selling out. It may hurt to admit, but it's true. In capitalism, you have to give the people what they think they want, especially when you lack the money to tell the people what they want. (see Nintendo/Sega/Sony) >Didn't you just tell us to "lighten up?" "What's the big deal?" you >say? Didn't follow your own advice I see, eh? >Some people are concerned about a product they like, called the Jaguar. >What's YOUR big deal? Why did you waste so much of your time on >this? Especially since you have no concern for it anyway. I find it hilarious to think of this small legion of rabid people, all chanting in ASCII: "Don't die, Atari! We won't LET you!!" If Sony/Sega dried up today, you certainly wouldn't catch me crying. The Neo-Geo hasn't been on store shelves for some time, and people still seem to enjoy it... hmmmm. I waste my time on this because, quite frankly, I find Atari fanaticism beyond amusing. It's rather quirky to read the futile diatribes of hopeless nostalgics, who think that they will be able to buck the trend and recapture what they believe were the halcyon days of gaming, all the while completely failing to comprehend that people actually like the current fashion du jour in arcades. I read these silly posts of people who believe that the popular fighting/driving games of today are inherently unfun, and that we, as arcade consumers, have somehow deluded ourselves into liking them. The Jaguar was pushed as an overt strike against this trend, and, as with all things fringe, immediately developed a loyal following by those who felt alienated. Waa waa. It's a special brand of consumer politics, and it's as funny as all get out. >Let them write letters if they want to. Big deal. Never said they couldn't. I just want to reserve the right to laugh myself into catatonia. :D >> Actually, kids, get over it. >Why don't YOU get over it? I'm still wondering why you're wasting your >time in this group. Wasting time? Maybe. It's *entertainment*, at any rate. You no like? You no listen. I'm offering my commentary on the current events as I see them. You're more then welcome to have a hearty kick at my soapbox, assuming you have the leg to stand on.
From: csjjh@news.cts.eiu.edu (Jonathan J. Hunt) Hello there, I've been wondering what the future market of Jags and Jag games will be several years after Atari quits manufacturing any new Jag stuff. Let's say (just for the hell of it) that after the 20 or so games planned for release this that's it. I sure hope it's not but let's just say it is. The Jag, while not having the hundreds of games the VCS, NES or 16 bits do but what it does have is on average pretty good and several Jag games are head and shoulders above the 16 bitters. Here's a few Jag games I think all these people wanting to sell their jag and giving up on it all will come to miss and wish they had back given a few years time: 1) Tempest 2000 2) Alien VS Predator 3) Iron Soldger 4) Misille Command 3D 4.5) VLM (not really a game but still cool!) 5) Battlemorph assuming they see the light of day: 6) Defender 2000 7) Battleshpere 8) Breakout 2000 I think those games alone are enough to warrent a good demand for used Jags in the years to come, not to mention other good games like Ultra Vortek, Power Drive Rally, Pinball Fantasies, Val d'Isere Skiing and Snowboarding, etc... What about you colectors out there? Anyone think Jag stuff will be in demand in the years to come as people never seem to appreciate a good thing till it's gone. I sure hope this year does well for them and they decide to trickle some more games to us (and more classics at that!) beyond '96. Peace, JJH
From: kevcallaway@usa.pipeline.com(K. Boudreau) All Jag supporters/bashers- Even I, who have owned a Jag since it came out in Dec. '93 must admit that the days Atari will be in the home video game system market are limited. They are losing millions and millions of dollars due to the fact that 1-they aren't getting big name games out and 2- they have lost the trust of the gaming public by not keeping their release dates. What Atari will do though is continue to make shit-ass PC's that can basically only play games. They make money off of this stuff! Before the Jag, Atari was in the "black." Another possible venture is that they will enter the "hollow Pc" market. These will be computers with internet software only and if you want other programs, you have to download them on-line. This idea would make pc's affordable for everyone. Microsoft hates this!! Well the gaming war is up to 3do and Ultra 64. Sega is pretty dead and while Playstation is great Sony knew that their plan was to make a killing for a couple months before Ultra-and it's working. But it is a short term idea at that. Great companies always know how to make a quick buck!!
From: Scott Le Grand Part of the appeal of the jaguar as opposed to the Playstation and the Saturn is that there is little or no content control being imposed by its clueless masters... As a result, we've gotten (or are getting) Cybermorph, Tempest 2000, Battle Sphere, Defender 2000, Iron Soldier, Phase Zero and Battle Morph which really don't have analogs on any other system: reason enough for the true fanatic to own the ol' Atari bedpan... It's cool to see what the little guys do when their only weapon is creativity. OTOH that same cluelessness proudly brought us Club Drive, Hover Strike, Checkered Flag, I-War and a myriad of other winners as if they were technological wonders whilst the competition mainly tries to slip their respective dogs onto the shelves unnoticed... The only people out there praising the likes of Air Combat, Kileak, Cyber Speedway and Ghen War are the truly deluded... I say buy 'em all free copies of Home Alone 2 and Bassmasters and they'll shut up for a while... What kind of sucks about the whole matter is that we've watched the industry's idea of gameplay get increasingly lost in a mad dash to up the look and production values of games. Atari was such a dishrag operation that this didn't matter to them: their only weapon was gameplay. And on that count, they delivered enough times to make me happy... Now had they gotten Madden, Mortal Kombat II, a Street Fighter, and an Earthwormm Jim or two, there'd have been reason for the kiddies to buy it and that failure is Atari's own damned fault. Luckily, the occasional MechWarrior 2 or Command and Conquer still slips ouv somebody's door... Did Atari have an influence on the videogame industry with the jaguar? Hell yes, they scared the fudge out of Nintendo and Sega in 1993... Sega's still paying the price for worr{ing about Atari with their rush job on the Saturn while Nintendo got a clue and realized that the Tramiels couldn't market immortality. Phear was a jaguar creation that could have made Atari millions which are going to go to Nintendo instead. Criticom clearly ripped the idea of gaining a person's moves by defeating them from Fight For Life... In the words of Jumping Flash: Too Bad...
From: lobo@nb.net (Manifered H. Wolfe, II) Hi, all! (sorry if this doesn't follow a logical pattern, they're just my thoughts) You don't have to read this if you don't want to, I don't really care, but I just want to offer some of my thoughts about the video game scene as it stands in early 1996. First off, it's very disappointing to see game hobbyists behaving like children with all the system bashing. These are discussions better suited to the playground, not a newsgroup. The people in stereo-related newsgroups are not dancing and swearing on one particular company's CD player over another, there's really no reason to do it here. Sure, the Playstation has more games than the Jag, and the games are also alot more polished. But it should be remembered that the PS is to pop/R'B as the Jaguar is to alternative/punk. Those of us who like the Jag like it because it is so rough around the edges and the games come from a programmer's heart, not his/her PR people. Mainstream game developers are like the bands recording with all the best equipment and playing arenas. Jag developers are the guys sitting around the garage playing for the sheer enjoyment of it with the occasional gig at the bar on the corner (occasionally playing a few covers...like NBA Jam TE). The Jaguar, without question, is the choice of the hardcore and no-one should have a problem with that. And if you feel the need to come up with some silly attempt at humor through some pointless Jag flame, please do not consider yourself a member of the videogame community because you're just the 10 year old under the basketball hoop defending the system your parents got you for Christmas. Ok, now for my views on the rest of the industry...=) I am a retailer, and I can tell you that Playstation games outsell Saturn games at about 17 to 1 (at least at my store). In fact, I sell more NES and 2600 games than I do Saturn games. Future prognosis: Sega will have to woo Jaguar fans if Atari goes under since they'll be the new niche system. I don't think it's possible for 3 systems to share equal market share, so the mainstream systems of the rapidly-current "next generation" will be Ultra 64 (Please, please call it the UNES! For tradition's sake, I beg you Nintendo!) and Playstation. 3DO has pretty much"fallen into the""Green Day" category - sorta punk, sorta pop...won't be around muah longer, 2 years max. I talked to Goldstar at CES a few weeks ago and they have completely given up, that's the reason for the markdown. It's a good deal now, worth picking up if you don't have one. I feel that right now the best system to own, id you can only have one, is definitely the Playstation. However, if you are a true fan of video games, your second system really should be the Jaguar. I still get alot more excited over Jag releases than I do PS releases, but that's just me. You don't have to agree with me, I really don't care. As for PC gamers, well, I think you kinda fit into the classical category in my music/video games categorizing. The machines are very expensive and alot harder to play with (considering the infinite configuarations out there and having to get games to work with yours) just like the instruments in an orchestra. And PC gamers tend to be older and wealthier, just like classiccl music buffs! Qo if that's what you like, hey, that's cool." But there's"no need for you to bash consoles, PC's and consoles are pretty much apples and oranges. So, to sum up: Playstation = U2 (poplular, but still cool) Saturn = Madonna"(populap, on"the way mut) 3DO = Green"Day"(kilda aool, kinda sell-outs) PC = Mozart (sophisticated) Jaguar = The Dead Milkmen (relatively unknown, but super-cool) Well, thanks for listening. All flames will be either largely ignored or largely laughed at, I'll be the judge. And, hey, lighten up people! I'm sure stamp collectors don't get at each others throats over Elvis stamps! =) -Manifered Wolfe Lobo Electronics lobo@vicon.net PS - A special thank you to Mr. Sinclair...every kingdom needs its jester and you've done an admirable job keeping us all amused here in Atariland. =) PPS- When will this group be about Atari only instead of 75% cross-posts from everything else?
From: tanatoes@netcom.com (Andrew S. Wheat) Hey all! Well, I probably shouldn't be mentioning this in a public forum, but I just had to say something with substance after killing about 50 PC vs. Console threads. I had a big Jaguar party at my houst this weekend and in addition to playing 4-player NBA Jam TE and networked Doom (with no crashes at all once we got it running, and we were at it for about 45 minutes) we also were able to sneak peeks at Defender 2000 and an early Phase Zero! Here are my quick reviews: Defender 2000 was everything I was hoping it would be. In Classic and Plus modes it was just as hard as I remembered Defender being in the arcades (although I notice on a nit-picking edge that humanoids in Classic can survive falls of over half the screen in height without splatting, whereas in the arcade a quarter screen fall would kill them.) Plus mode had great psychadelic graphics, the llightnign llaser and these ABSOLUTELY HUGE ships with shields which came out of nowhere a few levels into it. People have said that the psychadelic mountain ranges made it too hard to see the humanoids, but I didn't find it to be problem. One slight flaw in Plus might be that your ship is pretty big, which is okay in 2000 mode because the playfield scrolls up and down to accomidate bigger sprites, but in Plus it just makes you one huge target. o balance this out, though, you have a hell of a lot of firepower in Plus, and it quickly becoames a mighty blastfest. Oh, and just so you can't say I didn't warn you, there IS slight slowdown once in a while in Plus mode when there are around 50 swarmers on the screen at a time. I didn't notice any slowdown at all in 2000 or Classic modes. 2000 mode is definately my favorite though. I agree with the AEO reviewer who said that you'd often find yourself flying by radar, simply because the sprites are so many, and so large that they're often upon you before you're ready if you're not keeping a careful watch on the radar. If you're familiar with the true Minter style of game (examples being of course Tempest 2000 and Llamatron 2084) you'll be ready for Defender 2000. In my mind Minter is the one true god of gaming chaos. The best times in all his games are when there's so much going on on the screen and you have so many powerups active, that you can no longer conciously keep track of the action and you fall into a trance state, watching in amazement as your character on screen becomes a terrifying death machine. I got into this zone several times in D2K. When you have 5 humanoids dangling beneath you, a shield around your ship, 2 AI droids and the llightning llaser then you need fear nothing. You fly around watching as everything in the universe explodes before you. And the graphics in D2K are astounding to watch. Huge prerendered enemies everywhere, extremely fast and smooth parallax scrolling, and what appears to be z-moded textures on the ground as well. Beautiful. And the music is often so remeniscent of Tempest that I often found myself wondering if I was listening to some of the out-take tracks from the Tempest CD (this is a good thing!) In particular let me call attention to the 2000 mode warp round soundtrack, which seems to have been inspired by the "A Fifth of Beethoven" disco number, but with more voice samples and a more techno feel. It was always a great disapointment to leave the warp stage, because I was enjoying so much listening to that tune. In short, Defender 2000 actually held up to all of my expectations, and will clearly become an instant favorite for me. (Oh, one other little detail I loved. It gives you a little evaluation of your performance after you die, with a quote under the end game meltovision like "My sheep, Flossie, flies better than you." When it said to me after one particularly dismal game "Where did you learn to fly? absolutely everybody in the room broke into gales of laughter. Thank you Jeff Minter for enriching our lives with this game!) Phaze Zero was stunning as well. Now the version we got to play was supposedly only an early beta, and the gameplay may involve much revision, but what I saw of it blew my socks off. I don't know if you've seen the still shots of this game on the Hyper Image WWW page, but they in no way prepared me for the glory of this game. If I had to sum it up in a single word that word would be FAST, quickly followed up by BEAUTIFUL. When i shot the trees and the burst into lovely pre-rendered flame I thought perhaps I was playing a much faster version of Magic Carpet. Indeed Magic Carpet on speed, ith less defending of castles and more destroying of SGI prerendered beetle-like badguys pretty much summs up the game. It's mission based, so you have this HUGE area to explore and solve (with shield walls to turn off and such ala. Cybermorph.) I don't know if I can convey how large the worlds that make up this cart are. For example, on level 3 I was exploring to find a way through canyons into this one mesa and decided to look at the map, and was flabergasted to find that I had explored little more than a fifth of the map in about 10 minutes of play. Yow! The control of your tank is to be commended too. (Although I kept trying to press C to accellerate, because I've been playing a lot of Battlemorph lately, which made me strafe a lot.) A and C allow for easy circle strafing. B fired (very intuitive that.) Forward is forward, back is back and sideways turns. All very simple. And the access to options like shield maintenance, the map or weapon selection is inspired and simple. Indeed, the entire transparent HUD is very well laid out, although it at first appears a little cluttered. I was awed by the graphics of this game, and if the cart I saw was not a completed version then I have extremely high hopes for the final product. Note: There was an option to start network play, but we couldn't test it because we didn't have more than one cart. I wonder if Hyper Image are using 4-Play's catnet code so we can play huge 8-player games? One thing I believe would be a problem with networked games is the sheer sise of the maps. You'd almost never run into your foe. I hope they have smaller arena like areas for deathmath play. Note2: There seemed to be no in-game music. I only much later wondered if I had inadvertantly hit 0 and turned it off. So that was my weekend... ho was yours? (And now I'm off to buy Space Ace, Myst and Zoop.) -Silverblade the Grey Wanderer P.S. My guests feel that for my next Jaguar party I should have guest speekers. Anybody in 4-Play wanna visit Boston and bring a couple catboxes and Battlespheres sometime?
From: mrathwel@uoguelph.ca (Mark Rathwell) Can anyone tell me which games (currently, or in the works) support Atari's peripherals? I've got: Team Tap: ---------- 1. White Men Can't Jump 2. NBA Jam TE 3. Fever Pitch Soccer JagLink: --------- 1. Doom 2. Aircars (assuming this ever comes out ... it's been 'finished' and laughed at twice) 3. Phase Zero (assuming we ever see it either. Good looking game, but the dates are always being pushed back) Voice Modem: ------------- 1. Ultra Vortek Any others? Personally, I hope Atari gets more games out that support the Jag-link. One game (and a buggy one at that) is not enough.

PROWLER The Atari Console Disk Magazine February 27, 1996

Copyright (c) 1996 All Rights Reserved Issue No. 01