Atari / C64 101

[cabrando]

Atari/C64 were before my time and I'm looking at getting one or the other for Christmas, but have no idea where to start.

Can anyone give me a rundown on the system? Things like 2600 vs 7800, types of controllers, games, etc..

I did a quick read of the 2600 101 article here on racketboy, just looking for other personal takes as well.

Is there a clear winner between Atari or C64?

[pepharytheworm]

I say get an Atari 7800. They are more reliable and also play 2600 carts. You couldn't go wrong which ever one you get C64 or Atari. I will say though Atari 2600/7800 is just plug and play and no load times or faulty disc drives to deal with.

[Hatta]

Is there a clear winner between Atari or C64?

Over at AtariAge there's a thread Atari v Commodore that went on for nearly a year, got over 11,000 posts and ended up getting locked a couple of months ago. So I'd say, no there's not.

Atari 2600 is a good place to start. They're cheap and easily available, and they're game consoles. The Atari 8-bits and C64 are home computers, more capable but also more complex. Which can be a good thing, there are actual RPGs on the computers. Atari 2600 titles are old school arcade action mostly.

[pepharytheworm]

The best controller for the atari 2600 depending on the games is the Genesis pad or the 7800 d pad that looks like a NES pad. But you need the standard Atari 2600 joystick and paddles for an authentic experience.

[cabrando]

Over at AtariAge there's a thread Atari v Commodore that went on for nearly a year, got over 11,000 posts and ended up getting locked a couple of months ago. So I'd say, no there's not.

Been doing some searching and came across Ninja Golf, it looks amazing.

[Golgo 14]

Definitely go with Atari. I had both and while they were both great in their day, the Commodore doesn't hold up as well. The Commodore was mostly great for good ports of arcade games, but those have been surpassed by MAME and various compilations for current systems. There are still a few Commodore games worth playing such as the Castle Wolfensteins, Impossible Mission and the Games series by Epyx, but considering the hassle of loading the games and having both the system and a huge disk drive, it's just not that attractive to me anymore. I have an all-in-one 128D staring me in the eye at home, but I never play it.

Atari is definitely a relic too, but it's a lot simpler to operate and a lot more fun. If you can find someone to play it with you, the real fun is to be had with 2 player games. It's still tough to beat the fun of a two-player game of Combat. There's also a lot of fun to be had with some of the great controllers used with the system. Kaboom! is utterly simple, but a good set of paddle controllers make it a perfect experience. With 2 sets of paddles and 3 willing friends, Warlords makes for an incredible experience. Indy 500 has it's own driving controller and is great with two players, too.

I say go with a Atari 7800 as it doesn't cost more than a 2600 and you can play games from both libraries. The 7800 has great versions of Asteroids and Food Fight and a number of other good arcade conversions for their time. Have fun!

[cabrando]

What's the difference between the joystick style controller and the ones with the dials? Were they used for specific games or system specific?

[Hatta]

I have an all-in-one 128D staring me in the eye at home, but I never play it.

If it's feeling neglected, I could give it a loving home. ;D

Also, to the OP. Don't forget to consider the Apple II. Great RPGs and Adventure games. Lots of classic action games too. Tools like ADTPro and Apple Game Server make it a real joy to play with.

What's the difference between the joystick style controller and the ones with the dials? Were they used for specific games or system specific?

The joysticks are digital. They can tell the 2600 up, down, left, and right (and a button) but that's it. The paddles are analog. They can only tell the 2600 left and right (and a button), but they can also tell it how fast you're going. The joystick is used for most games, and the paddle is mostly used for pong like games. It'll say on the cart which controllers it uses.

[Golgo 14]

I have an all-in-one 128D staring me in the eye at home, but I never play it.

If it's feeling neglected, I could give it a loving home. ;D

I might be looking to sell it along with a bunch of other stuff around the first of the year. I'll post it on here if I do. I dread shipping that beast, though.

[cabrando]

I've been seeing a lot of complaints about the 7800's controller, can you use the 2600's joystick on the 7800?