I'm bought an Atari 2600 of ebay...

[sega fan]

I'll get it and later wonder, "alright where do I go from here ?" Are there any things I need to worry about while hooking up, any tricks for better fidelity out of RF, Any game suggestions, any controller tricks.


I Will be the proud owner of:

Atari 2600 "Woody"

Mario Bros.
Pac-Man (Bare)
Pac-Man (Complete)
Star Wars
BerZerk
Asteroids
Warlords
ET
Pitfall
Combat
Space Invaders
Super Breakout
Video Olympic
Pole Position (Complete)

EDIT : Wow, I boned the title of this thread really bad.

[0x15e]

I highly recommend the video upgrade from 8 Bit Domain. Do that and you can skip the RF entirely.

As for games (that you don't have already), here are some of my favorites:

Demon Attack
Atlantis
Jawbreaker
Ms. Pac Man
River Raid
Yars Revenge

... uhh, really, that about nails it. Those, Warlords, and Pitfall are about all I remember being worth fooling with.

Also, in case you didn't know already, Sega Master System controllers and Commodore 64 joysticks work just fine with the 2600. Maybe even Genesis controllers, though I can't remember trying any.

[Tanegashima]

Man, shoulda got yourself a 7800! Play both 2600 AND 7800! Well next time...for now:

Beamrider
pitfall II
Turmoil
Phoenix
Joust
Ice Hockey
Haunted House
Crystal Castles
Congo Bongo
Dig Dug
Solaris
Battlezone
Combat
Kaboom
Keystone Kapers
Donkey Kong
Solar Fox
Adventure
Galaxian
Defender
star wars return of the jedi
Atlantis (well I second this)
California Games
Starmaster
Megamania


Currently I am trying to get my hands on the cassette loader for the 2600. If you find one, get Escape from the Mind Master...seems like an amazing game.

[MrMatthews]

Just a couple to add:

Empire Strikes Back
Haunted House
Berserk

[evildragon]

ET.

Jk.. I know you have it, but you may wanna trash that game. It literally has NO value.

[Tanegashima]

Oh yeah, I wouldn't worry about fidelity.

The sounds, details, colors are all so damn simple, there really is no way to make it look any better. The pixels are gigantic, the detail minimal and "higher" quality really isn't an issue at all considering everything is technically just pixels.

You won't see "washed out" colors because all the colors pretty much stand alone, nice and solid. No real fancy anything. It's a stoic system, for the simple gamer and timeless fun.

[nathanallan]

Without totally hacking it up, there is a way to get better picture quality from the 2600, and it's a simple one: replace the stock RF cord with a better insulated one. It plugs onto the board inside, just have to be careful unplugging it, it's in there tight. Get a nice fat insulated one, and the picture will get much better. May have to widen the pass-thru in the case a little, no big deal.

And to hook it directly to the TV set, you'll need an RCA-coax adapter from radio shack (walmart, kmart maybe). Els you will need a tv/game switch, and they mess up the picture more.

Genesis controllers do work, only with one button.

7800 is better, like stated above, plays both libraries of games. Tip on the 7800: hack your own power supply with a barrel connector. The stock connector on the console likes to break.

Nathan

[Tanegashima]

That stock connector makes me so damn nervous! Mine is still stock, but I spend about 2 minutes just carefully attaching the power supply...

[nathanallan]

That stock connector makes me so damn nervous! Mine is still stock, but I spend about 2 minutes just carefully attaching the power supply...

Yeah, know what you mean. A friend of mine got one and he just leaves it hooked up. Mine got to me broken, it was a gift from a fellow classic gamer and I in turn got it fixed. Kind of unique, this one. It uses a Genesis power supply and a 2600 jack. It would be hard to replace.

Nathan

[gamevet]

Man, shoulda got yourself a 7800! Play both 2600 AND 7800! Well next time...for now:


Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong is complete trash. Donkey Kong Jr. is a decent game though.


My suggestions would be:

Raiders of the Lost Ark
Adventure
Amidar
Omega Race (must have added controller sleeve)
Ms. Pac-man
Mountain King
Mouse Trap
Air Raid
Yar's Revenge
Space Invaders
Frogger
Missile Command (Not arcade perfect, but still fun)
Demon Attack
Buck Rogers
Star Master

[Gentlegamer]

I recommend an old favorite of mine:

Snoopy vs. the Red Baron

[108 Stars]

Spider-Man
Ghostbusters
Jungle Hunt
Dig Dug

My old childhood favorites among the 2600 games. But honestly, with the unresponsive controls and slow gameplay today I don´t find ANY 2600 game worth playing.

[Tanegashima]

Donkey Kong is complete trash. Donkey Kong Jr. is a decent game though.


My suggestions would be:

Raiders of the Lost Ark
Adventure
Amidar
Omega Race (must have added controller sleeve)
Ms. Pac-man
Mountain King
Mouse Trap
Air Raid
Yar's Revenge
Space Invaders
Frogger
Missile Command (Not arcade perfect, but still fun)
Demon Attack
Buck Rogers
Star Master

For the 2600 I think it's the opposite! But one needs to own both. Its just what one does.