Atari 2600 Arcade Companion Review:
The Unauthorized Atari 2600 Arcade Companion Volume 1 by Michael D. Saltzman is a book that you wouldn’t find ever in a local bookstore. But in the world where you can publish a book to go out to potentially only hundreds of readers. This is a book that could have existed back in the day (or in the Ferg as one of my favorite podcasts calls it).
Using the late release Rampage as an example it talks about it’s debut in the arcades and it’s development by Bally Midway in 1986, and its conversion by Activision in 1989. It also makes mention of how Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is currently in production on a new movie based on the game. It covers the storyline of the game and moves into differences between the two games, arcade and home.
Raspiboy Review:
When handed to me, the first thing I said is, “This is a Super Nintendo controller.” Yeah, that’s for dang sure. The screen is a small but just the right size and the brains of the unit is a Pi Zero. The progress of modern technology is just incredible these days. Soon we will have digital watches that we can make phone calls with and control our music and….oh wait, we already do. But back to the Raspiboy. There are several units that I have played in the past that have more of either a PlayStation Vita or a Game Boy Advance feel to the controls. But the way that this was created was just sheer brilliance. It is the entire SNES controller to the exact feel and the screen is elevated enough that it doesn’t interfere with the controls.
On the left side is a volume control and head phone plug. In addition to that is an HDMI output and a mini HDMI for the power supply. When playing this, unfortunately, the audio is not that loud, so in order to get the full effect of the game, the best thing to do is wear head- phones. Check! I had a pair with me.
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Brad has been a die hard arcade fan ever since he can remember. From the first time he played Space Invaders, to the first time he played Pacman, Brad has always had a love for video games. Hanging out at either the Great American Fun Factory in the mall, or spending the night in front of the glowing games at the local roller rink, he was always thinking about when he can spend the next quarter. He also worked at Babbages, which is now GameStop, for over six years. Mostly because they had a really sweet checkout policy on new products and great discounts. But since he had the Atari 2600, he has never looked back and owned some of the greatest home machines, NES, SNES, GENESIS, Turbo Graphix 16, GameBoy, Game Gear, Lynx, Playsation 1,2,3,4 and Vita, XBOX, Gamecube, and N64...just to name a few. Brad is also a reviewer for Mobile Beat Magazine as well as a freelance videographer, part time disc jockey, performing artist and photographer. But has a true love is for video games and Star Wars, as he is a member of the 501st Central Garrison. His ultimate dream is to own a fully working pinball machine and arcade machine. Difficult to say which one, but a Star Wars one would be nice start.
