Archive for the ‘Photos’ Category
David Crane: Classic Game Programmer
September 25th, 2008 by Sean
David Crane started his programming career at Atari, making games for the Atari 2600.
After meeting up with co-worker Alan Miller in a tennis game, Miller discussed with him a plan he had to leave and found a company that would give game designers more recognition.
From this meeting, he left Atari in 1979 and co-founded Activision, along with Miller, Jim Levy, Bob Whitehead and Larry Kaplan.
His games have won many awards while he was at Activision.
David Crane is best known as the designer of Pitfall!, a game that stayed at the top of the charts for 64 weeks.
Other Activision hits written by David Crane include Dragster, Fishing Derby, Laser Blast, Freeway, Grand Prix and Skateboardin’. Read the rest of this entry…
Posted in 2600, Activision, Atari Inc., NES 8-bit, Photos
NES Final Fantasy Complete In Box
September 3rd, 2008 by Sean
This is an amazing find. Final Fantasy for the Nintendo NES complete in the box (CIB). All the maps, instruction manual, warranty card and even the little foam insert are inside the box.
Here is the front of the box:
Here is the back of the box:
I’ve owned the Final Fantasy game cartridge since I was a little kid, however I didn’t have the box and all the other goodies it originally came with… until now 
My current copy of the game is in really nice shape, but the one inside this box is mint perfect. I’ve never seen a label so shiny before in a used game and I have some really clean games.
If you recall, Final Fantasy is listed in my Top 10 NES games. I really enjoy this game.
Granted, the graphics are nothing compared to modern RPG’s but Final Fantasy is the game that started it all and besides, I like the classics and if you’re reading this post, so do you.
I’ll post more pictures showing the maps, the minty fresh label, even the foam insert in the coming days.
I plan on doing a full review of the game, I just need to brush up on the game a little bit first.
Box Of Atari 2600 Cartridges
August 20th, 2008 by Sean
This evening I’ve been working on organizing some of my Atari 2600 cartridges:
Old shoe boxes sure do make for great vintage Atari 2600 game storage.
I still have a lot of games to go through and clean. 30 years of muck doesn’t allow for good game play
I think sometime tomorrow I’ll review Activision’s Pitfall, River Raid or maybe Kaboom! I’m not sure yet.
Atari 2600: Wizard of Wor
August 20th, 2008 by Sean
Say what you want about the flickering graphics and the blocky, goofy-looking monsters, Wizard of Wor delivers some serious maze-shooting action. You can even play simultaneously with a friend!
The object is to exterminate all the monsters in each dungeon. The maze changes in terms of layout and color as you progress, and a scanner on the bottom of the screen helps you track invisible monsters!
There can be up to six creatures crawling around the dungeon at a time and some can even shoot at you! There are two escape doors on either side of the screen, like Pac-Man.
After clearing out the normal monsters, a winged beast called a “Worluk” flies towards an escape door, and you can blast him for bonus points.
Next you engage the Wizard of Wor himself. This guy teleports all over the place, usually vanishing before you get a chance to pump lead into him.
Sometimes it takes a lucky shot to nail him, so keep shooting. Wizard of Wor plays much better than it looks.
For best results, set the difficulty to A, and don’t forget to use the right joystick for the single-player game.
Posted in 2600, Atari Inc., Games, Photos, Reviews
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Classic Atari 2600 Games
August 15th, 2008 by Sean
Earlier this morning I posted about the Atari 2600 VCS (Video Computer System) and that I’d be starting to post about the hardware, hacks, game reviews, photos and much more.
Well this evening I broke out a big bag (out of many bags) that hold classic Atari 2600 cartridges, a couple instruction manuals and took the following picture:
In the above photograph, you will probably notice a few titles that were later released on systems like the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo (SNES), etc.
Some of the game titles in this display of classic games: Jungle Hunt, Pitfall, Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, River Raid, Joust, Yars’ Revenge, Video Pinball and a lot more.
A little nugget of Atari 2600 gaming trivia: Space Invaders for the 2600 was the first home license of a coin-op video game.
As promised, in the coming days I’ll be doing some playing and reviewing of these classic games. Stay tuned.
In closing, if any of my readers have an Atari 2600, use to own one, or know someone who owns one, etc., let me know in the comments as it would be great to get some good conversations going about this vintage gaming console.
Thanks for visiting and Keep Coming Back!!!
Geek Inside: Nintendo Power Glove
August 9th, 2008 by Sean
Last week I posted about the NES Power Glove and how I never owned one as a kid. Well that has all changed as of today:
I couldn’t get an answer on a firm price from my friend, so I started to poke around eBay, local thrift shops, etc.
After a little searching I was able to acquire the Power Glove complete with the sensor bars, however no manual for $10.00 USD.
I tested it out last night and it works pretty good… at least for an accessory that didn’t do a whole lot back in the day.
I’m not sure how much I’ll use my Power Glove now that I own one, but it’s a pretty cool show piece.
A little about the Power Glove:
The Power Glove (1989) is a controller accessory for the Nintendo Entertainment System designed by the team of Grant Goddard and Sam Davis for Abrams/Gentile Entertainment, made by Mattel in the United States and PAX in Japan.
Though it was an officially licensed product, Nintendo was not involved in the design or release of this accessory.
My next mission is to track down a instruction user manual for the Power Glove so I can figure out how to program it for different features and controls.
Posted in Accessories, NES 8-bit, Nintendo, Photos
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Super Nintendo: Mr. Do!
March 27th, 2008 by Sean
Like most normal people, I’ve always been terrified of clowns. The main character in Mr. Do is a clown, and on the box cover he looks like one of those evil clowns that hide under your bed with a knife!
After summoning enough courage to review this game, I found Mr. Do to be pretty good after all.
This game originally appeared in 1982 as a fast-moving Dig Dug clone. To its credit, it does have some original elements.
Instead of inflating monsters, you destroy them with a magic ball that bounces around the maze until it hits something.
Instead of having to eliminate all of the monsters, stages are cleared by collecting all of the fruit, giving the game a Pac-man flavor.
Mr. Do’s graphics are colorful and vibrant, but I could barely tolerate its circus-style music. A fun head-to-head two player mode is also included.
Just be sure not to leave this game on overnight, or the clown could potentially escape from the television screen and kill you in your sleep. That’s just common sense.
The Secrets of Donkey Kong 64
March 13th, 2008 by Sean
Ok, so you have your copy of Donkey Kong 64, the yellow collectors edition, complete with included expansion pak as seen below with my personal copy:
You have started to explore the vast levels, and you may have collected some strange items. What do those fairies do? What about the blueprints?
Spoiler Alert
If you don’t want to find out how to unlock some of Donkey Kong 64′s cool hidden modes and mini-games, stop reading now. Read the rest of this entry…