Atari 2600+ & Berzerk Enhanced - Unboxing, Gameplay and First Thoughts
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- Опубліковано 19 лис 2023
- I pre-ordered an Atari 2600+ and picked it up on launch day here in the land of Oz. I am a big Atari fan, especially the Atari 2600, so I was quite interested in how well this unit would work.
I unbox and show all the components, and we try out Berzerk Enhanced and a random selection of some other games.
#retro #gaming #pickups #gameplay #demo #atari #atari2600+
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Thank you for your time showing this. Have a good one
Thank you, I am quite pleased with it so far, and hopefully there will be a new firmware update released soon that should fix a number of the compatibility issues.
Awesome unboxing video Tony!
Thank you, I really like it, bar it not supporting some games, but hopefully they will release some firmware patches.
I’ve always wanted to play beam rider as it reminds me of Juno first.
Nice unboxing Tony
It took me ages to find my copy for the 2600 (actually got it from a seller in QLD that has left over HES stock, along with a long saught after copy of Seaquest).
I think the 2600+ came out better than expected, I am going to try some more games on it tonight.
I ordered mine day one direct from Atari, but it only just shipped.
Good looking little console.
I think they nailed the look and the build quality. The joystick feels really good too. The picture is excellent on the TV (especially once you find the 4:3 switch ;)). I am hoping they do release a firmware patch so it will support more games.
Do you have any NTSC 2600/7800 games to try and see if they play and how they look? I’m on the fence about buying one, but I did buy Berzerk and Mr Run and Jump. Looks like EB games have run out of stock for Mr Run and Jump but Big W still have stock.
I think the only NTSC 2600 game I have is Time Pilot (and that didn't work properly - the only way I can play that one myself was using the Atari adapter on my Coleco - it never worked on any of my 2600's or my 7800). I'll have to check through my loose cartridges and see. I think all my 7800 cartridges are Pal ones as well. I will be doing some more gameplays (good excuse to play some more Atari games :)).
For the 2600+ you don’t need to turn it off to switch cartridges.
I feel safer doing so (old habits die hard I guess).
Yeah, you also save some time by hotswapping carts, by not having to wait for the console to boot up, and show the Atari logo everytime. 👍
Overall I'm pretty surprised they're presentation of the box and everything
But I'm curious with the berserk Being some kind of enhanced game cartridge do you know if it would work on a original Atari But seeing this really makes it where I want to play some
River raid Jr Pac-Man and Enduro
I think they did a good job of the packaging and the build quality of the unit. Both games I showed should work on stock hardware. It is only using software emulation, but seems to do a pretty good job in most cases. They just need to add support for some of the extended cartridges some of the homebrew titles use.
So I played some 7800 games and some of them needed two button controllers. Will 7800 controllers work on the 2600+?
Yes and they currently have the two buttons mapped the wrong way around (it’s one of the items listed as being fixed in the next firmware update). Thus why you can’t start some of the 7800 games.
I really don't get the whole 'mini console' thing but this is the first one that has really tempted me. I think Atari have really understood what puts someone like me off and things like the authentic switches, DB9 joystick connectors and real cartridge port (even if it's a rom reader underneath it) really push the right buttons for me. For the money I could get a real 2600 (a junior would do me, I assume that runs a real 6507) and I'd probably prefer to do that, but I may well go for one of those new sticks.
It's quite a decent build job, but there are probably quite a few titles it doesn't play.
The joystick definitely feels just like the originals.
If you get a real 2600 you could also get the champ game homebrews that are great arcade ports they been doing. Their carts won't work on the 2600 plus. Hyperkin sells a nice 2600 joystick for like 20 bucks. I got two of them. Has two buttons so if left or right handed you are set.
@@dannynhl9441 yes, you're right, although I currently play those using my retropie. It's definitely cooler to use real original hardware rather than a recreation.
@@shieladixon Nice! I am stubborn with the hardward but need to clear a lot of space so I may have to figure out how to make one of those soon.
@@dannynhl9441 It hasn't been easy to set up, I've muddled my way through and over a long period of time have my controller set up and the emulators I want installed and working the way they should. I believe that if you search, you might find SD images that already have a lot of stuff installed and configured and I recommend going that route to save a lot of hassle. If I had the money I'd have a Mister, which I believe is way less hassle to get up and running. (and you could argue is hardware emulation rather than software.)
I was looking at this on Amazon, via their UK site, which is where I live, Might order one Friday, off this weekend. I guess the value of the back catalogue cartridges will probably spike, especially if these things prove popular, and why shouldn't they be popular? I guess the clearer HDMI display, is a massive bonus, for example, and compatibility with 7800, which, well the PAL RF 7800 display used to look bab back in the day.
Even though I have a composite modded 7800, the output from this is way clearer (especially once you find the 4:3 switch ;)). I am going to do some more videos playing some more games (including 7800 homebrews) to see what else works.
@@electricadventuresI didn't mention my thoughts on the new Berzerk! The gameplay, appears to be more progressive difficulty based, so hopefully it's a more accurate port, I think the games in the original Atari cart are there but not there when playing a sought of full run through of the game, the player can play and progress but kind of replay, after adjusting the switches, then play. Agree Beamrider is brilliant, and Gyruss, think I got to one warp away from Earth, playing the Colecovision version, via emulation, enjoyed that gameplay session.
@mark-andrews I haven’t played Atari 2600 Berzerk for a while but I used to be able to play it until I got bored. I didn’t last that long in this gameplay, but it did feel that it had better difficulty progression.
I wonder if they'll re-release any of the 7800 games!
That would be really, even if it was perhaps a multi-cart with switches and if it came with a new two button controller even better. I would still like to get the paddle game one with the paddle controllers.
Tempted to buy a atari 2600+.Though i bought a atari 2600 years ago the sears,telegames model i only have a handful of games for it still.Though,i know the plus can play 7800 games as well which is one reason why id probably buy the console.My only other concern can it play homebrew.
It seems to be able to play a couple of the homebrew titles but depends on which PCB is used. Juno First working was a surprise, I know others have tested Bosconian and it doesn’t work.
The fact that it can run 7800 titles is definitely a bonus. I plan on doing some 7800 gameplays using it over the next week or so.
@@electricadventures Good to know then since i have bosconian as well.
"Yars' Revenge was basically started as a technical experiment of what they could do."
No, it started as a conversion of Star Castle and was redesigned to better suit the system's hardware.
The rainbow technique of the "neutral zone" is the graphical technique I was talking about, and it is one of the very first examples of scanline palette manipulation. So I was not talking about the game mechanics, it would have been palette technique, oh maybe I could make a Star Castle port, but then it ended up being the gameplay it was to more suit what was possible at the time.
@@electricadventures
It also creates that effect by reading the live code. It’s an extremely clever game design, done back before we had anything near to modern development environments.
People can do amazing things with very limited resources.
Does this version of Berzerk have 2player co-op mode?
No, it only adds diagonal firing, fixes a couple of bugs, and adds the speech between screens otherwise it has exactly the same game modes as the original version.
@@electricadventures That's too bad it was a good opportunity to add that.
that thing is really cool! is it actually released by Atari?
Yep, the current owners of Atari seemed to have turned a corner, and seem to understand better what people want with this unit.
@@electricadventures too bad Nintendo doesn't feel the same way :)
@@blackwidowfarms
Nintendo are highly profitable in the niche they have found for themselves. Atari’s latest bosses have finally figured out that trying to own the ‘retro’ market is the best strategy.
@@boggisthecat nintendo likes to come after people who dare share their roms... 15 years ago there were all sorts of nasty stories... instead of repackaging and embracing the retro thing which many people like. Instead of "Here's Jumpman on our retro console/emulator" it's "you now have a lawsuit because you used our rom"
@@blackwidowfarms
All corporations are obliged to lawyer up. If you don’t legally defend IP then it becomes public domain.
Disney corporation are the most egregious offender. They keep pushing out copyright specifically to keep their old IP out of public domain, yet made their big impact by taking public domain stories and making cartoons from them.
My berzerk enhanced cart does NOT play on the 2600+ console…just the regular 2600.
Maybe there is something wrong with your 2600+, could be something in the cartridge slot perhaps. Have you had any issues with any other games?
Pre ordered mine direct from them on the day the orders went live. 2nd week of December I am told. My fault for supporting them I guess.
I was surprised ours arrived on time and weren’t over allocated as that has happened a lot of late. Hopefully yours isn’t too far off.
I had to turn on CC. I thought the lyrics were about you getting sex games from Japan. :)
Well MSX games are fantastic :)
Nice blurry camera for 30 mins.
You obviously didn't watch longer than 30 seconds then. Auto focus was just having trouble with extra light behind me. As soon as I hold up the Atari box it fixed itself.
i dont think this system is worth it and even less those carts. pay so much for one game is insane. you can get an old berzerk cart for 5 dollars or less and theres only some speech you wont have and honestly its not need to have this. the atari 2600+ system is also not the best thing. its an emulation machine and i prefer play with a real atari or use a gamestation pro or another emulator instead than pay for this.
For the price is not badly done, and allows most cartridges to be played (hopefully more later with firmware updates) on a modern TV. Saying that it’s not for everyone and definitely is not perfect. The main advantage of me getting one was so I could play NTSC titles more easily. The Berzerk was less worth the money but still definitely improved over the original version.
@@electricadventures did you try the gamestation pro system ? if not then you should. let me know about it.
@maniaque37 a local friend dropped one by for me to review and I uploaded the video last night.
@@electricadventures cool! so which one you prefer ? personally i have a few original atari systems with many carts and also the gamestation. i have adapter for my original ataris and use it on a modern tv without a problem. having hdmi and 4k tv with those small atari games wont do anything really about having better graphics... i have to say that i feel no need to get the 2600+ at all. if it had an sd card slot then it would be a different story. if i want to play on the real machine , better use the real machine. the 2600+ is just another emulation system.
@@maniaque37 probably my most used system is an AV modded 7800, Pal of course with a harmony cart and quite a large collection of original titles. I have three other models (all Pal) that are still factory ie RF Out.
The 2600+ is strictly for playing games at 60Hz.