Atari Jaguar - Classic Console

Released: 1993
Company: Atari

Is it any good?

Marketed as the worlds first 64-bit system, with the power to poo all over the Megadrive and SNES, why wouldn’t you want one. The graphics, and sound a thing of beauty… and the CPU as fast and as sexy as a ninja… or so we thought! All that power counts for nothing though, as the Snes and the Megadrives back catalogue of games kicked mostly anything from the Jags dodgy and severely limited line-up.  
      
Should I still get one?

Hell yeah! The Jag had one of the best games ever made in Tempest 2000, courtesy of the Llama man Jeff Minter. Tempest 2000 is worth buying the console for alone. The 3D graphics and soundtrack are absolutely awesome, and the gameplay out of this world. Other games worth getting are Alien Vs Predator, Rayman, Doom, Wolfenstein, Raiden, Sensible Soccer, Worms, and Power Drive Rally.    

What to look for?

The Jaguar CD-ROM unit for the Virtual Light Machine audio effects! It’s a real thing of beauty, eye popping candy… basically it reacts to to your music CD’s and looks ace, works a treat with Dub-Step.

Can I Still Get One?

If you’ve got around £60 spare, you should be able to get one boxed with a few games included. There are lots of sites that would be willing to sell you one for a high price. Otherwise try www.ebay.co.uk. I got mine fully boxed a few years back for around £20 with a few games and an extra controller thrown in. The controllers are a bit nobby by the way, oh and make sure it comes with a Scart lead.

HomeBrew?

The console has a very active homebrew scene… with games such as Battlesphere and Frog Feast doing the rounds. Don’t forget to check out the website Atari Age at http://www.atariage.com/ for more information.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amstrad CPC 8-bit exclusive games

Image
Have you ever wondered what Amstrad CPC games were exclusive to the Amstrad CPC? The list below is what I know of, some of the games below are truly awful, but then again, there's quite a few games I wouldn't have missed for the world. This is by no means a definitive list of exclusives, and in most cases, you can find these games on the Amiga, ST and Consoles, but you won't find 'em on the ZX Spectrum or C64 (That's if I've done my homework correctly).  There's some real classic amongst this lot, Bumpy is brilliant, as is Bactron and D.Day is a masterclass in arcade strategy. I also found a game I never knew existed in 'Dempsey and Makepeace' a classic cop series set in the 80s. But the jewel in the crown for me is Get Dexter. Star Driver needs to be checked out if you've never played it, it scrolls along like a mode 7 game, the scrolling technique from the SNES, and if you think you're ready for a challenge, try Builderland, it needs
Read more

AMSTRAD CPC - TO SCROLL OR NOT TO SCROLL

Image
I used to think it was strange that Commodore 64 and Speccy owners always claimed that their respective machines were far superior to the Amstrad CPC? I mean, c’mon, had they seriously never seen or played the likes of Wec Le-Mans, Robocop, ChaseHq, Sorcery+ and Rainbow Islands on the CPC? The C64 versions of Chase HQ, Continental Circus and Wec-Le-Mans look, and churn along, like a badly curled poo! For sure, there are plenty of examples of this being the case with the CPC (Out Run), and likewise with the Speccy. But I don't want to get too lavatorial or reduce this article into 8-bit zealotry. Instead, I’d simply like to air my frustrations and thoughts in order to quantify and better collect all the facts. Undoubtedly, the Amstrad is the machine of personal choice for me, it left me with some of the best and worst memories (Green Beret), and it was, and still is, a very pleasant machine to program and play games on. One of the biggest complaints I hear ab
Read more

Donkey kong Jr - Zx Spectrum

Image
Just a few thoughts on the tribute game made with AGD, for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. It's great and everything, but I'm confused? I'm still a massive fan of the original Donkey Kong arcade-style platformer from the 1980's. It is said to be the game that launched the career of Shigeru Miyamoto, but more importantly, Mario and Donkey Kong. The game went on to give Nintendo international stardom, with Miyamoto creating a legacy so powerful, that Nintendo and Japan should pray daily for his continued existence. However, Donkey Kong Jnr wasn't a great sequel, in fact, Miyamoto himself thinks it's a weaker game. It sold well, but so did the USGOLD home conversion of Outrun, so sales don't really mean diddly squat, in regards to us gaming enthusiasts. I did like the way this game reversed the characters roles, with Kong now caged and Mario becoming the antagonist. The game featured a good premise as well, instead of climbing the platform, you now traversed
Read more