¢VCS FUTURA - JAN/FEB 1993¢by Stuart Murray¢¢¢ Good news! I have recently received my first copy of THE 2600 CONNECTION (T2600C), a newsletter devoted to the Atari VCS systems. Tim Duarte from Westport, USA sent me a sample issue and after reading it from front to back I have decided to order all previous issues as well as take out a subscription for the next six.¢¢The 2600 Connection,¢Issue 13 - November/December 1992.¢¢A Review by S.J.Murray:¢¢¢ VCS enthusiast Tim Duarte has produced 13 issues of T2600C and has built up a substantial number of subscribers - issue 12 had a circulation of 190, with 163 of these fully paid-up subscribers. Very impressive considering most people don't realise the VCS is still alive and well.¢¢ Issue 13 is presented on standard white paper with crisp black text. There are eight pages packed with VCS information. On the front cover there is an article by Tim Duarte called 'Why I Am an Atarian'. This article is excellent! I could personally relate with much of its content - especially the part about his first experience with Space Invaders.¢¢ Page 2 is devoted to letters from T2600C readers. Questions answered include the amount of tennis games on the VCS, the names of X-rated carts, 7800 system availability, Atari Video Cube cartridge, etc.¢¢ Page 3 gives you Part 12 of the VCS Cartridge List - this time it is Vidtec and U.S.Games, two companies which I had not heard of before. There is also a contest to win a copy of Congo Bongo by Sega. News of another newsletter supporting the VCS systems is also given - it is called Paradox. Full details about the 'Classic 8-Bit Atari' gaming magazine (see NEWS.DOC) are given too. Finally, there is a column called, 'A Look at the Past' by Mark Androvich. The history of the 5200 Supersystem is given. It really was doomed from the start!¢¢ On page 4 there is the 'Atari 2600 Fact File' by Andy Floyd - a VCS trivia column. Also on page 4 is 'Tales of the 2600'. Within this column readers can share their own VCS stories. This time features the tale of two office workers who both owned VCS systems but didn't realise their mutual interest until one saw the other reading T2600C. They then began to share VCS stories with each other. To round up page 4 there is an article called 'Cures for Wobbly Paddles' by Andy Floyd and William W.Smith Jr.¢¢ 'How to Build Your Own Paddle Controllers' by Richard Toy is the only article on page 5 but its a real cracker - As well as the basic information there are diagrams and parts lists. Richard Toy also offers a further information sheet.¢¢ Page 6 is almost totally devoted to cartridge reviews by Thomas Holzer (of BaPAUG's 8:16). Ghostbusters II, Acid Drop (a version of Klax), 32 in 1, and Pick'n'Pile (a Tetris clone) are reviewed. The list of classic games featured on the '32 in 1' cart is amazing! At the bottom right of page 6 there are the results of T2600C Survey. The average number of games owned by participants of the survey was 159! I wish I owned that many. Favourite games included Adventure, Asteroids, Boxing, Starmaster, Solaris, Pitfall, Pitfall II, Super Breakout, River Raid and Defender.¢¢ On page 7 there are 'Tips and Tricks' for VCS carts. Tips and tricks (cheats) are given for Canyon Bomber, Omega Race, Indy 500, Breakout, Skiing, Laser Blast, Steeplechase and River Raid. The cheats were of great interest, e.g. in Breakout, if you play one of the catch versions, you can play the game with no scoring in the color-shifting attract mode by catching your last ball, pressing Select, and letting the ball go. A new ball will be released if you miss. This will go on until you turn the game off.¢¢ Also on page 7 is 'The Atari 2600 Treasure Chest' - a column on obscure cartridges. A full review of Quadrun is presented. This was a cartridge released only to Atari Club members in the USA. It featured synthesized speech!¢¢ On the back cover of issue 12 there are classified ads for those seling or requesting VCS merchandise. This was most interesting reading! I can't believe the amount of obscure titles that were released for the three VCS systems!¢¢ Well, I don't suppose I need tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed issue 12 of The 2600 Connection. It is described as 'The Complete 2600 VCS Resource' on the front page. I am in total agreement.¢¢¢The 2600 Connection is available from:¢¢Mr T.Duarte,¢The 2600 Connection,¢P.O.Box 3993,¢Westport,¢MA 02790,¢U.S.A.¢¢A 6-issue subscription costs:¢¢U.S.A. - $6.00¢Europe - $12.00¢
