glazball

20 hours ago, CasualCart said:

Great call on the Astrocade - I've wanted one of these ever since I learned about them. The controllers are especially cool since the joystick also twists like a paddle if I recall correctly. Isn't this one of those early systems where the sound comes directly from the console rather than channeling through the TV speakers?

-CasualCart

Regarding audio: you may be thinking of the first version of the Channel F, but the next revision (the System II which I believe is more common) ran the audio through the tv.  The RCA Studio II also had sound coming from the console.  However, both of those consoles imo are not "good" lol.  I know there are a few Channel F fans out there, and I think they are neat (being the first cart based system and all), but the games aged very poorly and aren't really worth the time.

The Astrocade's controllers are amazing.  You hold it like a ColecoVision Super Action Controller and like you mentioned, the top of the joystick also twists like a paddle.  One of the best games on the system is a homebrew called War - a clone of Warlords.  I only have 2 controllers (and not enough obliging friends!), but one day I hope to enjoy some 4p Astrocade action.

Bally Professional Arcade, aka Astrocade.

It was the Neo Geo of the 70s.  Spec-wise it totally blew away the competition, the controllers are incredible and it had some really cool games in its small library.  We'll probably never know the console's full potential due to poor support and lack of attention.  Even now, a good chunk of retro gamers have never heard of it.

The review I read on Polygon seemed unflattering, but not dismissive.

Quote

The entire game is about lugging packages. That’s what you’ll be doing whenever you’re in control of Sam: bringing a box or boxes from one part of the map to another. Saying it out loud, it sounds like absolute misery.

Confession: I hated my time with Metal Gear Solid V and quit playing it after about 10 hours.  So, it's hard for me to give Kojima the benefit of the doubt now.  I like games that try something weird or unusual (like say, Catherine) but it still needs to be fun.  Death Stranding doesn't really sound fun.

I think it's also telling that in a recent Gamestop email ad, they have a "guarantee" for buying DS.  Something like "If you don't love it, return it within 48 hours for full store credit."  I read that as: "we know a bunch of people are going to hate this weird game, so go ahead and buy it at no risk for $60 please."

The TurboGrafx-16 is certainly worth playing but as others have said, may not be the best for collecting these days.  The US library is fairly small, and it includes some unfortunate turds, but overall the TG-16 has a charm all it's own and is probably one of my favorite consoles of all time.  The timing of its release put it right in that sweet spot between NES and SNES/Genesis, with simple but colorful sprites and solid gameplay.  It represents one of the pinnacles of retro gaming, especially if you have a soft spot for underdog consoles like me.  Enjoy!

The first that comes to mind would be World of Warcraft 2 - all completely new, where everyone has to roll a new toon and start fresh at Level 1.

6 hours ago, Gloves said:

Let's try to avoid name-calling and rise above. 

But yes. Gocollect purchased GVN, for the same reason as NA. To mine its data for their own tools. 

You're right, apologies for the name-calling.

But damn, this is a double whammy.  What's with all the selling out??  I latched onto GVN early because of its ease of use and layout, but more importantly because the prices were just more accurate (at least imo).  VGPC is owned by (I think his name is) JJ Hendricks but since he also sells massive amounts of games under JJ Games, it seems there's a conflict of interest there to an end user like me which makes it untrustworthy.

Yea wouldn't it be great to be independently wealthy so you wouldn't have to be at work all day?  Time is certainly the limiting factor for gaming now, not money.  If you only have 3-4 hours an evening BEFORE dinner and family and pets and chores and bills and a hearty deuce, it's hard to make time for games (or even just yourself).  You find yourself planning for weeks or months for a day off that you HOPE you can spend playing a game... if you don't have doctor or dentist or car or groceries or errands or other random life shit.  Youth truly is wasted on the young.

I saw a few people mention this in another thread, but didn't want to hijack it.  Did GVN get bought by the same dbags that bought NA?  I love that site (so much better than VGPC) and a few years ago I even helped Rick sort out a few issues and errors with the Atari 2600 list (and a couple other consoles).  A buyout is news to me and I really hope I'm misunderstanding.    Would anyone mind giving me a quick rundown??