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My kingdom for a trackball!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 20 / 24
Date: April 15, 2002
Author: Amazon User

... can only say that it's disappointing. It's not that the games aren't true to the original. They are, they're perfect copies. That is unfortunately where this cart goes wrong. The games look great but the gamePLAY suffers. Of the entire collection only Asteroids can be truly called fun to play. The others scream for their original controllers. Missle Command and Centipede (both orignally trackball games) are at best frustrating and difficult to control. After the first couple of levels on either game, it becomes impossible to keep up. Tempest and Super Breakout originally used a knob controller for smooth movement, Tempest succeeds best in this translation while Super Breakout is so difficult to control you cannot clear a single level. Battlezone? Well, to be fair I always hated Battlezone, this version is o.k. but the computer gets some really easy kills on you and it too becomes unplayable. As for the trivia game, no one should know this much about Atari. You'd have to be Rain Man to know the minutiae involved in this quiz. I really wanted to like this cart...

Disappointing

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 13 / 15
Date: September 25, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I was eagerly anticipating being able to play some of my favorite arcade games from the early 1980s. Unfortunately, the reality of playing them on a Gameboy is sorely disappointing.

The trackball-based games, Centipede and Missile Command, are the biggest letdowns. Using the Gameboy's directional control to emulate a trackball just doesn't work. Centipede works adequately at first, but the inability to make swift moves quickly becomes a handicap. Missile Command is just unplayable. In the arcade version I would typically get a five-figure score; on the Gameboy I'm lucky to make it past the first level.

Battlezone is okay, but the small screen makes targeting much too difficult. I never played Super Breakout in the arcades, but as with Missile Command, the awkward controls make it nearly impossible. Asteroids and Tempest are probably the most successful of the bunch, but that isn't saying much.

The Atari trivia game is just bizarre. Do people really know the names of Atari's designers?

Walking down memory Lane without leaving your seat! =)

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: June 25, 2002
Author: Amazon User

My husband bought this for me when he saw excited I was over it. I too, am one of those 80s videogamers that dumped pocketsfull of quarters on such games as Asteroids, Galaga, Space Invaders, and Centipede.. So this game seemed like a must have!

The games included in this Gameboy Advance cartridge are: Asteroids,Battlezone,Centipede,Missile Command,Super Breakout, and Tempest.. As an added bonus, you will find a special Atari trivia game included so you can test your knowledge of those early geek days.. How well do you know your 70's game programers anyway?? =)

All the games are the same as you remembered them. They haven't been updated or rendered using newer technology. Honestly, if you want an upgrade, I can't imagine them being able to fit 6+ games on one cartridge,if they were needing to do the decent graphics and sound.

I played Centipede and it was a little difficult getting used to the smaller controls. The game was just as fun as I remember it and the Gameboy Advance screen does this game justice. I just wish my eyesight was as good as it was over twenty years ago! =)

Most all the games are the same.. some of the controls are difficult to use for the older games.. but on some you can adjust the actual alignment of play.. whether you want horizontal or vertical.. The Atari trivia game is fun. I really had to dig though the cobwebs of memory to recall some of the answers, and some you just won't know.. You lose the trivia game after getting 3 wrong answers. It's addictive though, and some of the same questions pop up, so you get another chance to get it right and learn more about the early days of game programming.

For the nostalgia trip alone it is worth it.. I don't think that folks used to playing arcade games in the last ten years would appreciate it nearly as much and not for the price..

Atari Completely Remastered

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 13
Date: March 17, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Atari Anniversary Advanced is definitely the best Atari reproduction that you will ever see. It contains several of the great classics including Asteroids, Battzone, Centipede, Missile Command, Super Breakout and Tempest all reproduced to the maximum capabilities of the Game Boy Advance sysyem. Plus, there is a trivia game where they ask you multiple choice questions about the history of Atari, about it's classic games, and the Atari game on Game Boy Advance. Plus, you can choose how you want all of these games to be displayed, vertically or horizontally.

Back to the Future! 20 years ago!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: May 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Remember when video games were in the arcades, and you had a pocket full of quarters? When Chuck E. Cheese was your favorite restaurant, and Aladdin's Castle was a place to hang out not a locale in a Disney flick? If you do this game is for you! In it you will find faithful reproductions of Asteroids, Battlezone, Centipede, Missile Command, Super Breakout, and Tempest. No updates, no "arrangements", just straight up video games from the early 80s.

Most people have noticed the controls are an issue, and I agree they do hinder you sometimes. Missle Command and Centipede were designed for a track ball, and Super Breakout really needs a paddle. Using the directional pad takes some getting used to. I ended up playing this more on my GameBoy Player for the GameCube which made them a little easier.

But fans of these now primitive games/then innovative will be glad to see them again in any form. The games are simple and immediately playable and addictive. I am a fan of the retro games, and this package has some great ones. I love being able to play ASTEROIDS just as it was in the arcades - a bunch of white lines on a black screen with just a bass line going the whole time! Even the Atari 2600 improved on it with color!

You have to see this for what it is - the dawn of video games. Its nostalgia, a living museum where you can go back to a time when video games were mainly in arcades. You won't see dazzling graphics or complicated missions to complete. Mainly geometric shapes firing dots at each other. :-) But for some reason I love the games for being simple. Just shoot and stay alive as long as you can. And no tokens!

The Classics never die!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: April 06, 2002
Author: Amazon User

OK, classic gamers, if you've been holding off on getting that Gameboy Advance, you're running out of excuses! Atari Arcade Advance is a near-perfect gaming experience for those of us that used pump quarters into arcade machines back in the early 80's. All the translations are faithful, and the trivia game is pretty fun. I especially love being able to take TEMPEST with me anywhere! The only minor complaint I have is with the controls. The Gameboy's directional keypad makes trackball games like MISSILE COMMAND and CENTIPEDE a bit problematic. But you'll get used to it, and there's really no reason not to add this to your collection.

Atari Avanced: by Jeff

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: November 28, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Atari Advanced is a great game. It has six different classic arcade games so its hard to get bored of it because you have such a variety. The controls are very easy and simple so you can spend time playing not figuring out controls. The graphics arent good, but its really fun and thats all that matters. You can play exiting arcade games w/o having to pay a quarter every time!

Amazing Retro Reproductions

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: July 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Both the look and sound have been captured perfectly in this Gameboy Advance version of Atari Ainniversary. Asteroids is perfect down to the look of the high scores. Same goes for the rest of the games---truly amazing considering how small the Gameboy screen is, but every detail is there. The only difference is in the control pad since all of the original games had different types of controls. But once you adapt and get used to the Gameboy controller, this is fun play for retro gamers.

Break out the old school side

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: July 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Decent emulation for Asteroids, Battlezone (which I was never good at), Centipede, Missle Command, Super Breakout and Tempest. The Tempest controls are awkward, since with the coin-op version you play with a knob. Centipede and Missle Command, which used the track ball, works well with the GBA SP controls and movement is just as smooth. Asteroids seems a bit different to me; the graphics aren't as sharp as the original and things seem to be moving a tad bit faster than it should.

here come the 80's

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 8
Date: May 07, 2002
Author: Amazon User

There I was, sitting in my Lazy boy recliner, watching dvd's and talking to my homey J-Rock on the cell phone. The mailman dropped off some bills and a little brown box from Amazon...my new atari game had just been delivered. I grabbed my GBA system and popped the cartridge in, my hands shaking with anticipation.

Hours later, I finished my last game of missle command, blowing out the top score of all time. I sighed to myself, and turned off the GBA. I walked into the bathroom and glanced in the mirror...I now had on an Izod shirt with the collar turned up, and I was rocking a members only jacket...I glanced in horror at my feet, and my kicks were reebok hightops. On my arm, where there once was a blingy bling Rolex was a Calculator wrist watch. Oh no!

So be careful this game from the crazy 80's can make you retro as well.

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