A good month this time around. Just as last month seemed to be very Nintendo heavy, this month it is very Atari related.
FIFA Soccer 96 – Sega Mega Drive
FIFA Soccer 96 is a football (soccer) simulation. The game includes eleven leagues from all around the world, ranging from the unknown players of the Malaysian league to the celebrated stars of the English and Italian leagues. 59 International teams are also featured, and it’s possible to match the teams you want to against each other through friendlies, or you can also choose to play domestic tournaments or International ones such as the World Cup. If you’re not satisfied with the composition of the various teams, you can create your own dream team through the custom team creator.
British commentator John Motson comments all the incidents and happenings on the pitch in real-time. The ambient commentary is varied, and systems with more than the minimum memory level get extra commentary phrases. The Virtual Stadium technology has numerous pre-defined camera angles.
Buying this game was a mistake, the website had this listed correctly stating that it was on the Mega Drive, but they used a picture of the 32X version. I thought I would chance it, but I lost. At least I have a nice copy of a complete Mega Drive game.
Rating – Complete
Price Paid – £9.99 (CGX Online)
Mega Games 2 – Sega Mega Drive
Mega Games 2 is a games bundle that comprises the following games:
Golden Axe
Streets of Rage
The Revenge of Shinobi
The bundle came with the MegaDrive II (and additionally Sonic the Hedgehog 2) and was not for sale separately.
I already have this game without the manuals, so I purchased this for the 3 manuals it comes with. So now I do not have to worry about the 3 games I need to buy from this collection having manuals.
Rating – Complete
Price Paid – £12.99 (Cash Converters Online)
Altered Beast – Sega Master System
You are a hero raised from the dead by the god Zeus to rescue his daughter Athena. With scenery inspired by Ancient Greece, you have to fight hordes of undead and demons, with a boss at the end of each level until you meet the god Neff, who holds the girl captive.
The Altered Beast title refers to your shapeshifting abilities. In this platformer, you can collect spirit balls by defeating two-headed wolves, allowing you to mutate into different beasts such as a werewolf, a dragon, a tiger, a bear and others depending on the version. Each form, tied to a level, comes with special abilities such as flight and powerful attacks, easily superseding the basic set of punches and kicks in your human form.
The game can be played in single player mode, or in same-screen multiplayer co-op mode.
This game forms part of my Top 10 Quest
Rating – Complete
Price Paid – £12.99 (Cash Converters Online)
Double Dragon – Sega Master System
Set in a post-apocalyptic New York, Double Dragon is the story of Billy and Jimmy Lee, twin brothers trained in the fighting style of Sou-Setsu-Ken. Together, they manage a small martial arts training school, teaching their students in self-defense. One day, Billy’s girlfriend, Marian, is kidnapped off the street by the “Black Warriors”, a savage street gang led by a man named Willy. The Black Warriors demand the Lee brothers disclose their martial arts secrets in exchange for Marian’s freedom. The Lee brothers set out on a rescue mission to crush the Black Warriors and save Marian.
Using whatever techniques they have at their disposal, from the basic punches and kicks to the invulnerable elbow strike, as well any weapon that comes into their hands, the Lee brothers must pursue the gang through the city slum, industrial area and the forest before reaching their hideout to confront the big boss, Willy.
This game forms part of my Top 10 Quest
Rating – Complete
Price Paid – £11.99 (Cash Converters Online)
Elden Ring – Sony Playstation 5
Elden Ring is an action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The game, directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, was made in collaboration with fantasy novelist George R. R. Martin, who provided material for the game’s setting.
Elden Ring takes place in the realm of the Lands Between, sometime after the destruction of the titular Elden Ring and the scattering of its shards, the Great Runes. Once graced by the Ring and the Erdtree which symbolizes its presence, the realm is now ruled over by the demigod offspring of Queen Marika the Eternal, each possessing a shard of the Ring that corrupts and taints them with power. As Tarnished—exiles from the Lands Between who lost the Ring’s grace and are summoned back after the Shattering, players must traverse the realm to ultimately find all the Great Runes, restore the Elden Ring, and become the Elden Lord.
This is the launch day edition of the game, which includes 3 stickers, 3 art cards, iron on patch and poster.
Rating – Complete
Price Paid – £54.99 (Game)
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest – Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Donkey Kong has been “kongnapped” by the nasty K. Rool and the Kremlings, and it is up to Diddy Kong and his girl-friend Dixie Kong to save him.
All the familiar enemies and helpful friends return, along with some new characters, including the wise Wrinkly Kong who will teach you some important lessons in gameplay. Again the emphasis is on banana collecting, where as every one hundred bananas makes one extra life. Apart from beating K. Rool and rescuing Donkey Kong, there are extra missions that can be completed. Collect enough K. Rool Kremkoins to open up the routes to the Lost World, while every level has a hidden Hero Coin to collect.
This game forms part of my Top 10 Quest, but I will need to source a box and manual.
Rating – Loose
Price Paid – £16.00 (Cash Converters)
Super Mario World – Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Mario is having a vacation in Dinosaur Land when he learns that Princess Peach Toadstool has been kidnapped by the evil King Koopa Bowser. When Mario starts searching for her he finds a giant egg with a dinosaur named Yoshi hatching out of it. Yoshi tells Mario that his fellow dinosaurs have been imprisoned in eggs by Bowser’s underlings. The intrepid plumber has to travel to their castles, rescue the dinosaurs, and eventually face King Koopa himself, forcing him to release the princess.
Super Mario World is a jump-and-run platformer and a follow-up to Super Mario Bros. 3. The gameplay is similar to previous installments and includes fast-paced platforming in (mostly) side-view stages populated by various enemies and traps, which must be completed within time limits. Mario has access to his traditional power-ups — the Super Mushroom that makes him bigger, the Fire Flower that allows him to throw little fireballs at enemies, and others. A new power-up is the Cape Feather: when wearing the cape, Mario can spin to hurt enemies, and fly as long as the player is able to sustain his balance in the air. Another new feature is the possibility to ride the dinosaur Yoshi, who can eat enemies and gain special attacks from some of them. In order to unlock certain areas it is sometimes necessary to physically pick up and carry items (e.g. keys) and use them in appropriate places.
This game forms part of my Top 10 Quest, but I will need to source a box and manual.
Rating – Loose
Price Paid – £12 (Cash Converters)
Starwing – Super Nintendo Entertainment System
This is the first SNES title using the Super FX chip; you are flying ace Fox McCloud, who with his trusted wingmen and his powerful Arwing starfighter, must rid the Lylat System of the evil that surrounds it. Wave after wave of enemies will fly towards you, and with the advice of your wingmen, you must guide your way through each level and take down as many as you can.
This game forms part of my Top 10 Quest
Rating – Complete
Price Paid – £12.99 (Cash Converters Online)
Kid Klown in Crazy Chase – Super Nintendo Entertainment System
You play as a clown, trying to finish the level while avoiding Blackjack’s booby traps.
To successfully finish each level, you’ll need to beat the fuse. What is the fuse? At the start of each level, there is a bomb fuse at the same location as you are, you must get to the end of the level faster than it does in order to prevent the big bomb from going off. In addition, you’ll also need to find all 4 card symbols before you can finish. If you don’t, you’ll get to go to the beginning of the level and have another try. There are also various mini-games included such as air hockey and whack-a-mole.
Rating – Loose
Price Paid – £3.19 (Cash Converters)
R-Type – PC Engine
R-Type is a side scrolling shoot ’em up best known for its extremely tough and strategic gameplay. You control the R-9 spaceship as it launches a last-ditch effort to repel the evil Bydo empire.
The R-9 comes equipped as standard with a small gun which can only take down the smallest of enemies without firing several shots. By holding down the fire button, it can be loaded up so as to release a large burst of energy, eliminating all but the strongest enemies in its path. From time to time, pods will come flying in your direction. Upon being shot, they release an upgrade. The first one will invariably be the one called “The Force”, which is a weapons pod that clings either to the front or the back of your ship, absorbing any enemy bullets or acting as a bumper with which you can fly head-on into them. You can also use it as an offensive weapon by firing it and pulling it back in. Mastering the Force is vital to surviving in R-Type, since it must be used both as protection against bullet clusters, as a remote controlled cannon, and in order to clear the screen from obstacles. Other upgrades give you target-seeking missiles or a bigger main gun. Different gun types, differentiated by their colour, serve different purposes. The blue one sends laser beams bouncing across the screen (good for tunnels), the red one fires straight ahead, and the yellow one follows any walls it may encounter (good for artillery emplacements).
The PC Engine port of the shoot’em up classic R-Type was released in two parts in Japan: R-Type I includes the first four, R-Type II the last four levels.
This game forms part of my Top 10 Quest
Rating – Complete
Price Paid – £27.99 (eBay)
Metal Gear Survive – Sony Playstation 4
Metal Gear Survive builds upon Metal Gear Solid V’S enduring stealth action gameplay while introducing the new elements of exploration and survival to create a bold new experience.
Metal Gear Survive is a spin off from the main Metal Gear Solid V story that takes place in a strange alternative universe.
Create your own character and learn to survive. Scavenge resources, craft weapons, build a base camp and explore the unknown while developing the survival skills necessary in this hostile environment.
In CO-OP mode, assemble a team of four players to infiltrate and defend areas from hordes of creatures. Place fortifications and defensive weapons strategically to give you an advantage against ever intensifying enemies. Team work and resourcefulness are key in these fast paced co-op missions.
Rating – Complete
Price Paid – £4.00 (Cash Converters)
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – Microsoft Xbox 360
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s single-player-campaign called “For the Record” begins five years after the events in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The world is once again at the brink of destruction. The Russians, originally defeated by the Americans, make Zhakaev a hero and threaten once again the peace on earth. Worse: they get help by a known terrorist who tries everything to let escalate the tension into a full-scale-war. In the middle: the player. During his missions he will slip into the shoes of PFC. Joseph Allen, Sgt. Gary “Roach” Sanderson who is a member of Task-Force 141 and the hero of the first game, Captain “Soap” McTavish – leader of said task-force.
As it’s predecessor, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a first-person-shooter that provides a fairly linear but heavily scripted and action-oriented single-player-experience. The missions take the player all over the world shooting, sneaking and driving through enemy lines to fulfill his various objectives like blowing up a fueling station. To fight all those hordes of ever respawning enemies, he has access to a large collection of modern-world-weaponry but can only carry two weapons plus grenades at a time.
This game forms part of my Top 10 Quest
Rating – Complete
Price Paid – £0 (Gift)
Atari 2600 “Untested” Bundle
I purchased this “untested” bundle as a project to see if I could get the consoles working again. I say that because in the world of second hand goods “untested” usually means “not working” and I fully expected the consoles and/or games in this bundle to not work, and I was going to fix them. However everything worked. Yey.
Although now I have 3 Atari 2600 Juniors in my collection. I intend to mod at least one of these in order to get a better picture from them.
Along with the consoles, this bundle included a load of games.
I paid £80 for everything in this bundle.
Chess – Atari 2600
This is an early home chess game. The standard U. S. chess rules are used in this game. To move a piece, place the X on the board onto the piece to be moved then press the red button. Next, move the X to where you want the piece to go and press the button again. If the move is illegal, the 2600 will give a warning sound and not make the move.
To castle your king, the king and rook must not have been moved. You move your king two squares in the direction of the rook to castle with. The 2600 will then automatically move your rook around your king, completing the move. You cannot castle out of check and you cannot castle to the king’s side if any squares between the king and rook are threatened.
Rating – Boxed No Manual
Armor Ambush – Atari 2600
Armor Ambush (aka Armor Battle) is a two player game, where each player is in command of two tanks (one at a time), and they must try to destroy each other.
The battlefields constantly change, so no battle is ever the same. Tanks move at average speed on grass, fast on roads, slow through trees, and slowest through water.
Tanks will explode after three direct hits. The Harder game mode adds ricochet shots.
Rating – Complete
Astroblast – Atari 2600
In Astroblast, the player controls a laser cannon at the bottom of the screen; the goal is to earn as many points as possible by destroying the various incoming meteors, bombs, and other objects. Points are earned for destroying objects, while points are lost for letting them get past the player. Meteors are the most common item needed to defend against. They come in various sizes and colors, and some even split into two smaller meteors when shot.
Mixed in with the meteors are white spinning bombs. While letting a meteor get past, the player will only lower the score; the player have to shoot the spinners. If one gets past, the player will lose a life. On the more difficult levels, UFOs and guided missiles will also appear occasionally and attempt to destroy the player’s cannon.
If trapped in a hopeless situation, the cannon may enter hyperspace and be instantly transported to a different location on the screen. Just be careful, sometimes the player may be transported to a situation worse than the one the player left! The game ends when all of laser canons have been destroyed.
Rating – Complete
Winter Games – Atari 2600
Another in the series of Epyx Olympic sports games. Compete in many different sporting events: Ski Jump, Hot Dog, Biathlon, Bobsled, Free Skating, Figure Skating, and more.
Rating – Complete
Tennis – Atari 2600
Tennis is a singles tennis game which can be played by one player against the computer or two players against each other. The game follows standard tennis rules, and allows players to hit a variety of forehand and backhand shots to any location on the court. There are two skill levels included; a slower practice game, and the more challenging full speed game.
Rating – Complete
Skate Boardin’ – Atari 2600
In this game, you have five minutes to get from your front steps to the steps of the school. You have to get through this maze and conquer 30 tubes and ramps AND get to the school.
You start at your front steps. To get on the board, move left or right and while moving, press fire. When you are on your board, just push the direction you want to turn. Press fire to jump and press and hold fire to jump and land in a crouched position. You will also see rails, walls and hurdles but these you must avoid as they will make you crash.
To jump a ramp, just ride towards it and be aligned with it. To clear a tube, ride through it while crouched. If you ride through grass, it will slow you down. To get back up to speed, either crash into something or ride through grass until you stop then get the skateboard going again.
Rating – Complete
Rampage – Atari 2600
George, Lizzy and Ralph were just ordinary Americans, until an experiment went wrong, turning them into a Gorilla, Lizard and Werewolf respectively. Following this, the three of them plan to go round destroying buildings, and up to 3 human players can join in.
Smashing at the edges of the buildings for long enough will make them collapse. The police and military are after you, and will shoot at you, so try to destroy them (failing that, you can avoid the bullets). You will need to eat regularly, with things like plants on offer, to avoid shrinking back to being human.
Rating – Complete
Outlaw – Atari 2600
In Outlaw the player controls a gunslinger in the Old West. It features both one and two player games. In the one player version, the goal is to shoot a moving target as many times as possible in 99 seconds. In the two player version, each player tries to be the first to shoot his opponent ten times. Several game variations are included in both the one and two player versions.
In the middle of the screen is one of several possible obstacles to make the game more difficult. A giant cactus, a stagecoach, a moving stagecoach, or a breakable wall all can block the target or provide some shelter for the player to hide from opponents shots. The player also has the choice of unlimited fire or only a six shooter. If the player chooses the six shooter, then each player must use up all six shots before either player can reload. Lastly, there is the getaway option. With getaway, a player may move immediately after firing; without getaway, a player must remain stationary for as long as his bullet is on the screen.
Rating – Complete
Circus – Atari 2600
Pop the balloons and score points. A wall of red, blue and white balloons will appear at the top of the screen. You must pop balloons by catching a clown on the teeter-totter and bouncing him up to the balloons. Use the controller to move the teeter-totter across the screen to catch the clowns. Each time a clown pops a balloon, the balloon will disappear and you score points. Each player receives five clowns or turns. If you fail to catch a clown on the teeter-totter he will crash and disappear from the playfield. Press the controller button and another clown will bounce off the trampoline from the right or left corner of the playfield. After five clowns have crashed the game is over. The clowns may land on any point on the teeter-totter except where the other clown is sitting, which causes them to crash.
Rating – Complete
Ghostbusters II – Atari 2600
The UK-produced adaptation of Ghostbusters II contains three action scenes based on the film:
In the first scene, the Ghostbusters must collect slime samples from the sewers. One Ghostbuster is being lowered into a shaft on a cable and must collect the samples at the bottom. On the way down, many ghosts will try to stop him. Some of them try to saw off the cable, others deplete his courage upon touching him. He can destroy them with proton beams or bombs or employ a shield so they can’t touch him. Weapon power-ups and elixirs that restore courage can be found on ledges in the shaft and can be reached by swinging. Several parts of a slime scooper must also be collected in this way before the samples can be collected.
In the second scene, the Ghostbusters have animated the Statue of Liberty via the slime and with her help must travel to the Museum of Art. Lady Liberty automatically walks to the right and can use her torch to shoot at the many enemy ghosts in her way. Her slime supply drains constantly however. Defeated ghosts drop slime, which can be collected by sending out the little people at Liberty’s feet to pick it up and return it so the supply can be refilled.
In the third scene, the Ghostbusters confront big bad Vigo in the museum, seen in isometric view. First, all four of them have to be lowered into the museum on ropes, their speed controlled via joystick movements. Dropping too fast can stun them and take them out of the following fight. In the fight, the player can switch between the four guys at any time. Goals are to defeat Janosz, carry away baby Oscar before Vigo can enter him (Janosz will come after Oscar if he’s still alive) and finally catch Vigo in the crossfire of two proton beams.
Rating – Loose
Pick & Pile – Atari 2600
Pick ‘n Pile is a Tetris-style puzzle game. On each level there are a variety of symbols arranged in columns on the screen. By moving the symbols around, you need to create columns which contain identical symbols; once all the symbols in a column are the same, that column disappears. Your goal is to earn points and complete the levels by making all of the symbols on the screen disappear. Occasionally, you may become stuck with a symbol that doesn’t match anything onscreen; when this happens, you can call for an additional symbol to drop onto the screen. However, as the symbol which appears is random you may need to create quite a few symbols before the one you need appears. Each level has a time limit in which it needs to be completed; run out of time and you lose a life; lose all lives and the game is over.
In addition to the regular symbols, there are also some special objects on the screen which may help or hinder your progress. These include bombs which destroy several symbols at once, blocks which may get in the way or be arranged to help out, death heads which diminish time more quickly, and flower pots which can’t be moved.
Rating – Loose
Bump ‘N’ Jump – Atari 2600
Bump ‘N’ Jump is an action racing game played from a top down point of view. As you race through the treacherous and ever changing roadways, the numerous enemy cars will be trying to bump you off the road. You need to make sure you bump the cars out of the way before you get bumped and crash into the sides yourself! Your car also has the ability to jump quite high if you have enough speed. This is useful to jump over enemy cars if there are too many in the way, and must also be used to jump gaps in the roadway and other highway obstacles. As the levels progress, the road becomes narrower with more obstacles in the way, and the other cars increase in number and in aggressiveness.
Rating – Loose
Jr Pac Man – Atari 2600
Jr. Pac-Man features gameplay similar to the original Pac-Man, but with a few changes. As Jr., you need to eat all of the dots in a maze without running into the four ghosts that are trying to get you. The maze is now much larger, and no longer fits on a single screen. The maze will scroll around to follow the action. From time to time a tasty bonus will bounce around the screen which can be eaten for extra points. There are tricycles, kites, drums, balloons, trains, root beers, and other bonuses that appear as the levels progress. When the bonus items bounce around the screen, any dots they touch will become larger and are now worth 50 points each instead of 10. However, one of these larger dots will cause Jr. Pac-Man to slow down greatly when he eats them making it more difficult to remain one step ahead of the ghosts which constantly pursue him! Located throughout the maze are power pellets; when Jr. eats one of these, the ghosts will temporarily turn blue and can now be eaten to earn even more points.
Rating – Loose
Decathlon – Atari 2600
Decathlon is a series of Olympic games similar to the Epyx games series. Up to four players can compete in the ten different events of a real-life decathlon, either in sequence or individually. Included are the 100-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400-meter race, 110-meter hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw, and 1500-meter race.
The flat running events involve simple joystick waggling, which must be balanced with accurately-timed button presses to clear the hurdles – hitting them or breaking stride causes a loss of momentum and thus time. For jumping and throwing events, you must build momentum by waggling and then press the button to throw or jump at what you feel is the appropriate moment.
For each event, points are earned based on how well you do (this can be based on your running time, or how far you throw the javelin or discus, etc…), and the player with the most points at the end of the decathlon wins the gold medal.
Rating – Loose
Atari 800XL Computer
Please see here for more info.
This bundle came with 3 games.
Rating – Complete
Price Paid – £129.99 (Cash Converters Online)
Asteroids – Atari 400 / 800
Play the role of a spaceship pilot trapped in a gigantic asteroid cloud and pulverize incoming asteroids with the ship’s photon cannon. When all asteroids are destroyed, the player can then move on to the next round. In addition to the asteroids, the player will also face an Alien Robot Saucer which shoots randomly across the screen.
The player using the controller may rotate the ship (left or right) in any direction or move the ship forward. Shots will be fired according to the ship’s direction. The player has three reserved ships available to replace a destroyed spaceship. The spaceship is destroyed if an asteroid collides with the spaceship or is shot by an Alien Robot Saucer. Additionally, the player may opt to use the hyperspace warp to avoid a collision. The warp, however, may also destroy the spaceship in the process.
Rating – Loose With Manual
Basketball – Atari 400 / 800
Basketball allows you to play a game of one-on-one against either the computer or another player. The court is viewed from the side with a basket at each end of the screen. Using the joystick you can move your player around the court, dribble/shoot the ball, and attempt to block your opponent. The game is played in two 4 minute halves, and the player who scores the most points wins. There are two different skill levels available which can be set individually for each player.
Rating – Loose With Manual
Defender – Atari 400 / 800
Defender put players in charge of a ship sent to protect mankind from wave after wave of attacking alien forces.
Armed with smart bombs and the ability to use hyperspace to move quickly around the planet, the player ship must fight against Bombers, Pods, Swarmers, Baiters, and Landers – that can capture the humanoids and transform them into deadly and relentless Mutants. Fail to save the humanoids from freefall or Mutant transformation, and the planet is destroyed.
Rating – Loose With Manual
Atari 130XE Computer
Please see here for more info.
Rating – Complete
Price Paid – £149.99 (Cash Converters Online)
Both the Atari 800XL and the 130XE both have humongous power adapters.
I’m always a bit apprehensive using 30 year old power bricks so I was pleased to see a solution was available.
Now both the computers can be run from a high capacity USB plug.
Atari Portfolio
Please see here for more info.
Rating – Loose
Price Paid – £54.99 (Cash Converters Online)
NEOGEO Mini Christmas Limited Edition
Please see here for more info.
Rating – Complete
Price Paid – £135.20 (Cash Converters)
Lego Super Mario Starter Course
The LEGO Super Mario Adventures with Mario Starter Course toy game features a LEGO Mario figure that gives instant expressive responses via the LCD screens and speaker. Players earn virtual coins moving LEGO Mario from the Start Pipe to the Goal Pole via LEGO bricks, cloud platforms, the ? Block.
A free LEGO Super Mario app It has building instructions, inspirations, zoom and rotate viewing tools to make building easier, and is a safe forum to share ideas with friends. For a list of compatible Android and iOS devices, visit LEGO.com/devicecheck.
Ever growing toy for kids Rearrange the Starter Course and combine with LEGO Super Mario Expansion Sets or Power Packs (sold separately) to create more challenging levels and games to play with and against friends.
Rating – Complete
Price Paid – £0 (Gift, Cash Converters)
Price Paid – £9.93 (TeePublic.com)
Top 10 Game Progress This Month
