SPACE Newsletter

•1982•

•2016•

THIRTY-FOURTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION RZA, so I guess I’m just out of the loop on this! Thanks, keep using that Atari, and come to your next SPACE meeting and party, Friday, July 8, 2016.

Message from Captain Irata: “O beautiful for spacious amounts of DOMs, for massive waves of crazed Atari fans… “Happy 4th and Happy Birthday, SPACE! Hoo-Rah!”

July means SPACE party time! Hopefully everyone knows what dish to bring already, otherwise surprise your Atari friends! I can report Nolan restored my ability to upload newsletters to the club website, so we’re all up to date and on track there. What do you think of this news that Atari in partnering with Wu-Tang Clan rapper and producer RZA for the development of songs inspired by Atari video games? I find this hard to imagine. They also don’t mention what specific games we’re talking about, so that remains a matter of guesswork as well. Nor am I familiar with Wu-Tang Clan or

Since Steve Peck couldn’t make it to the June SPACE meeting, I am going to incorporate some of his minutes into this treasury report. We only had three members present for the June meeting - Glen, Steve Berglund, and myself. With the SPACE party coming up next month we really don’t know who is going to bring what. The June newsletter indicated that we would once again have chicken tacos but that didn’t seem to impress the three of us that were present. But for this party we will keep with the tacos. Glen will bring fixings for root beer floats, and if Steve Berglund can make it he may bring cookies. If any other members decide to attend the party they will have to choose something not already mentioned. We started our June SPACE meeting right at 7:30 PM and thanks to Steve Berglund bringing in his printed copy of the June newsletter I was able to read the highlights from it. The main thing was the $93.00 receipts pulled in for the month of June which the Club hadn’t seen in more than a year for one month.

Glen demoed another great 8-bit DOM which included two adventure games which were done very well. One actually updated the graphics anytime you ended up in a different part of the adventure. Both games look very challenging and takes a learning curve to figure the commands. Our membership count stands at ten currently paid up members. No web site update for the month, and the only news was that Steve Berglund acquired a Falcon computer and he brought it in to see if it worked. The only problem was that we didn’t have an adaptor to work with our monitor but we were able to use an ST disk and fire it up. It seems that the hard drive started and the floppy light turned on as it should. Just to let Steve know that I found the original Falcon manual that I will bring next month for him to borrow. That pretty much concluded the meeting at 8:55. Please if you are planning to attend the party next month send me an e-mail to greglites@hotmail.com so we know how much food to prepare. With that said I hope you can all make it. See you then. Table of Contents: The President’s Corner: Treasurer’s Report: Secretary’s Report: 8-bit DOM Review: Multi-Platform Review: Atari News: Comics Section: Party Preview/Final Notes:

1 1 2 2 2 3 4 4

vance to the next round.

Multi-Platform Game Review HELLO WORLD! I wanted to apologize for not making it to the last meeting in June. I will be at the Party in July, and Lance and his wife will show up as well. I am coming with them. By hook or by crook, I will be able to make it to future meetings. So, I will be going much more frequently to the meetings from now on. I have a responsibility to keep after all. Special thanks to our Treasurer, Gregory Leitner, for handling the minutes while I was out. I am grateful for him doing that. I owe you one, Greg. Kudos. This concludes my minutes for the Secretary’s Report. I will have more next month, a special double DOM Review, and other things will be in order. Thanks for reading. In the words of the great Stan Lee… EXCELSIOR!

Atari 8-Bit DOM Review By Steven Peck

Hello, again! Since I did not get a DOM due to my absence last month, I will make this short. As I said in the Secretary’s Report, I will review TWO DOMs next month. This is to keep up with demand. I also have demands to keep by doing it this way. Sorrry for the delay. I will be back. Cape diem, folks!

By Steven Peck

Well, I am back as promised with a multi-platform video game review. I will write reviews for games for the Atari 2600, 5200, XE, 7800, Lynx, and Jaguar. The first game I will review is for the 2600 called “Coconuts.” You play a guy in the jungle trying to avoid a mean monkey who drops coconuts on you. You have an umbrella, a pith helmet, and then that is it. So, basically there are three chances to make it through. If a coconut hits your umbrella, it disappears. If a coconut hits your pith helmet, that disappears. If a coconut hits your head, you disappear. For a 2600 game, this is a great title. It is addictive and I like it. Telesys games did have much better graphics than most of the games during its time. It is a treasure to any Atarian’s video game collection. Graphics: Gameplay: Animation: Sound:

7 9 6 6

TOTAL:

28/40

The next game, for the 5200, is “Super Breakout.” Now, I have heard about the lousy controls on this platform, but this game actually plays well on the 5200. You know the drill, smash blocks and clear walls with your paddle. But, there is a twist. The walls can come down and trap you, crushing your paddle! Clear the walls to ad-

This is one of the best games for the 5200, in my opinion. This is due to the controls on the 5200 joysticks, which can be difficult to use on certain games. But, this game takes advantage of the design. So, it shines. Graphics: Gameplay: Animation: Sound:

7 9 8 6

TOTAL:

30/40

For the XE, I will review “Bug Hunt.” This requires a light gun to play it. It could be better, but it does play better with the Atari light gun than the Nintendo Zapper gun would with most NES titles that required it. Overall, it is a great game, at least to me. You play a game programmer that has to shoot “bugs” in the system. These are actual bugs. You have to shoot flies, frogs, worms, etc. I love this title. It comes free with most newly packed XEGS systems. Cool game. Graphics: Gameplay: Animation: Sound:

10 8 7 8

TOTAL:

33/40

For the 7800, we have the arcade classsic port, “Xenophobe.” Just like the arcade game, there is splitscreen action if there are two players, shooting aliens and interacting with computers and other equipment. You also can collect items, food, advanced weapons and bombs, and you must try to clear the infested areas before self-destruct commences. If you do that, you will get a bonus. You will survive self-destruct, but

you will get no bonus because the base would not be cleared in time.

guns, gatling guns, a shield, and other things.

It is close to the arcade game, for an 8-bit game. It is superior to the NES version, to be sure. I can play this game for hours. You might want to consider this title. It’s out of this world (pun intended)!

But, the corporation has robot mechs, too, and they are not afraid to use them! The 3D graphics are extremely primitive compared to today, but it came out in the 1990s.

Graphics: Gameplay: Animation: Sound:

9 10 8 7

TOTAL:

34/40

For the Lynx, we have the game “Toki.” In this title, an evil wizard steals your girlfriend and turns you into an ape! But, you can take out your enemies by spitting bullets at them. You can also get other powerups along the way, like three-way shots, flamethrowing breath, and a helmet among things. The graphics are pretty good, but suffer because of the Lynx’s LCD screen. The gameplay is great and this is a plus. I like how faithful this game is to the arcade version. Kudos to Fabtek and Atari for this game title. Graphics: Gameplay: Animation: Sound:

8 9 8 7

TOTAL:

32/40

For the Jaguar, we have the game “Iron Soldier,” where you control a 42-foot tall military robot armed to the teeth with advanced weapons. You are parrt of a rebellion fighting a fascist corporate entity bent on world conquest. Bomb everything in sight and keep from getting destroyed as much as possible. You can get repair kits, cruise missiles, ammo for your

Great sound and gameplay make this game work. It is addictive and fun. I, personally, like blasting the buildings. This is a rare title for the Jaguar and is great for any collection. Play it! Graphics: Gameplay: Animation: Sound:

6 10 10 10

TOTAL:

36/40

Well, this concludes the Review. Thanks for reading and keep the faith. I will see you later.

Latest Atari News

RZA’s New Album to Consist of Original Tracks Inspired by Sounds and Music from Iconic Atari Games NEW YORK – June 24, 2016 – Atari®, one of the world’s most recognized publishers and producers of interactive entertainment, today announced a co-production agreement with award-winning, hip-hop legend RZA, the producer, rapper and original member of the WuTang Clan. The partnership will serve as a platform to create new music based and inspired by the sounds and music in Atari’s vast collection of games. As a pioneer in music, RZA paved the way for musical artists to express their creativity and unique sound for decades. Similarly, Atari is known as the original pioneer of video games creating popular classics including Asteroids®, Centipede®, and Pong®, among many

others. The collaboration between the two innovators will mark the second time they have worked together. RZA provided the voice over for Atari title “Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure” in 2006. Being an avid video game player and fan of retro Atari games, RZA will use his special talent to craft music that will be fresh, original and unlike anything anyone has ever heard. “I’m so excited to work on these iconic games to deliver what I believe will be one of my best albums,” said RZA. “I am going to invite some of my friends to join me and it will be Game On with the first beat!” “We are thrilled to partner with RZA, one of the greatest hip-hop producers of all time,” said Fred Chesnais, Chief Executive Officer, Atari. “RZA is a multi-talented artist and soundtrack virtuoso and we cannot wait to hear the new tracks he creates based on Atari’s iconic video game sounds and music.” RZA and Atari are also exploring other multi-media projects based on Atari intellectual property. RZA will head production of the new album and Fred Chesnais and Stephen Belafonte will executively produce for Atari. Production on the new album will start soon and more details will be shared at a later time. For more details, stay connected with RZA on Twitter @RZA https:// twitter.com/RZA, Instagramhttps ://www.instagram.com/rza, and Facebook https://www.facebook. com/RZAWU. To learn more about Atari, follow us on Twitter @Atari https://twitter.com/atari or “Like” us on Facebook at https://www.facebook. com/Atari.

SPACE COMICS SECTION The Misadventures of A-Man and C.D. By Steven Peck

HAPPY 34th BIRTHDAY, space club!

Well, here we are. The Saint Paul Atari Computer Enthusiasts are celebrating yet another anniversary! We, being one of the oldest (and last) Atari SIGs in North America, are extremely happy to be here yet another year.

probably bring his cocktail franks and beans. I am sure that there will be music and a special demonstration on the Atari 800XL that the club owns. Be prepared. We are going to have a blast on Friday, June 8, 2016. See you then!

I feel extremely privileged to be the SPACE Secretary and I hope, Lord willing, that we can last another thirty-four years as a club. Maybe, Atarians in 2050 (exactly another thirty-four years from now, ironically) will look back and see this as a pivotal moment in this club’s history.

Final Thoughts

Well, here’s the agenda. I know that tacos will be served (I could never stress that enough), as well as Glen’s famous root beer floats. Lance will

Well, it is time to sign off soon. I hope that everyone is enjoying this newsletter overhaul as it is. I hope that everyone enjoys the SPACE Birthday Party and America’s 240th Anniversary on the Fourth of July. I know that I am looking forward to both events with gusto. I can only say that the next year is just as good for SPACE as 2015 and 2016. Take care, fellow Atarians, and keep the faith! Happy Fourth of July and

Happy B-day, SPACE!

SPECIAL REMinder The next SPACE Meeting is at 7:30 PM on Friday, July 8, 2016 Then, it’s PARTYTIME!!! We will see you then!