Atarimax Maxflash Cartridges (Atari 800XL Accessory)

So Steve at Atarimax is one of the greats when it comes to adapting new technology for use with old technology. Most of his contributions have been to the Atari community, though he has made an awesome product for the Colecovision as well. He was the one who invented the SIO2PC cable which allows me to boot disk images from my PC to my Atari 800XL, or write disk images to actual 5 1/4" disks with my 1050 Disk Drive (for nerd cred I have to mention that my SIO2PC is the serial version. There was no USB version when I bought it. The only way that could be more hardcore would be if I bought the terminal rather than the SIO jack version. Feel free to take a moment and genuflect at my nerdliness). He also programmed APE (Atari Peripheral Emulator) which is the program that allows me to mount disk and cartridge images. All of these software and hardware innovations have breathed new life into the world of 8-bit Atari computing. I recently picked up one of his Maxflash cartridges along with the programming kit, and it has changed the way I use my Atari 800XL...again.

The thing about cartridges is that they work better than disks. They're more durable, they boot faster, and they don't require extra cords and power supplies. You just plug 'em in and they work. So when Steve developed programmable multicarts for the 8-Bit Atari, I immediately added them to my nerd wish list. It took me a while to break down and buy it, but I'm so glad I did.

You need three things to be able to write and rewrite your own custom multicarts for your 8-bit Atari: the programmer cartridge, a flash cartridge, and the maxflash studio software. Here's how easy it is to program the carts: 1) Open the Maxflash Studio software 2) Plug the flash cart into the programmer and the programmer into an open USB port 3) Select the games you want to be on the cartridge 4) Click "Synchronize Cart." The cart will take about 10 seconds to program (more or less depending on the number of games you include and the size of your flash cart) and you're done. Stick it in the cartridge slot of your 8-bit Atari and select the game you want to play with your joystick. You'll be amazed how fast the cartridge works and how quickly the games boot up. You can write all sorts of Atari images to the carts (.atr .rom .exe, etc.) but I prefer .xex files. It seems like I can fit more of them on a cart. Need some .xex Atari games? Look here or here.

So now you know that you need a Maxflash cartridge and the programming kit (sold separately) and the only question is whether to buy the 8-Megabit (not Megabyte) or 1-Megabit cartridge. I bought the 1 Megabit because it was cheaper, but immediately wished I had bought the 8 Megabit. You can fit 6-8 games on a 1 Megabit cart, but you can squeeze 50 or more games on an 8 Megabit cart. You want the 8 Megabit and the Programmer kit. You may have to save a few more pennies, but it's worth it. Oh, and you can save your custom multicart files so you can load the same menus full of games time and time again. I'm telling you, this is a super awesome product. It helps you play Atari games quickly and easily. I've found that some games that lag during play if I load them from disk are much faster and smoother when loading from the Maxflash cart. I love everything about these carts and I will be buying another when I'm done buying parts for the computer I'm using to type this sentence. Steve at Atarimax is a nice dude who has always had great customer service for all his products, and no, he didn't pay me to say that. I'm just an Atari fan who has found that he is the champ of champs when it comes to new tech for the 8-bit Atari. I have given him my business before and I'll happily do it again.

Getaway (Atari 800XL Game)

 Getaway is a fantastically well-done game. Think of it as an 8-bit version of Grand Theft Auto. You are a robber who drives around picking up cash and loot and avoiding the cops. The cash is little dollar signs along the road and you drive through them to pick them up, resulting in a very satisfying "Ka-ching!" sound. To start picking up loot (where the real money is) you have to first pick up the white panel van. The van drives randomly around the screen and can sometimes be a bit of a bother to pick up. Once you pick up the van you can start looking for diamonds. When you collect all three diamonds, you can pickup another panel van and start collecting crosses which are worth even more than diamonds. Pick up all three of these and another van and you'll move up to even better loot. I don't know how far this pattern goes because I have never actually beaten the game.

Another couple interesting things in the game are that 1) the cops get smarter the more cash you have on hand. The ai in this game is surprisingly good considering when it was made. In order to get the cops off your tail you should make frequent stops at your hideout which will turn your cash into stash which the cops can't touch. 2) You always have to worry about your gas. There are a few gas stations scattered around the screen, but when you stop at them you're a sitting duck for the police. I highly recommend the gas station on the upper right hand side of the screen as it has many exits and the police don't seem to frequent it as much. 3) There are stop signs and road blocks that appear the further you go in the game. If you run a stop sign, you'll lose all your cash on hand. The roadblocks affect your gas tank, making you lose gas much more quickly than you would otherwise.

Not only is this a remarkably complex game for the 8-bit Atari family, it's a very enjoyable one. I've poured more time than I want to admit into this game (especially considering I haven't beaten it yet), and I'll still go back for more. This is one of the best vintage games I own, and usually the first game I reach for when I fire up the old Atari. Out of a possible 5 I give this game...

 

Atari 800XL

The amazing computer you see at your left is the Atari 800XL. After the Atari 2600 dominated the early video game market, Atari started to dip its toe in the home computer market in order to compete with the Apple II, TI-99, and the early Commodore line. Their first 8-bit computers were the Atari 400 and 800. These were followed by improved machines like the Atari 800XL whose main competitor was the Commodore 64.

The reason I bring all this stuff up is not to flex my mental muscles with my knowledge of early home computers (If that isn't nerdy crap, I don't know what is) it's because the Atari 800XL is the computer my family owned when I was a kid. I learned to program on that machine. I developed a mildly bewildering addiction to Galaxian on that machine. When my family graduated to 386 and 486's, my Mom (unbeknown to me, I might add) boxed up the old Atari and sold it, its peripherals, and all its games to a neighbor. Many years later when I was a bachelor with money burning a hole in his pocket I bought my own Atari 800XL, a 5.25" disk drive, a bunch of blank disks, and an SIO2PC cable that allows my Atari to interface with my current PC (here are a couple websites if this sounds like the kind of nerdy crap you'd like to get into: Atarimax who sells the SIO2PC adapter, and Atarimania which has an archive of all the Atari games you'll ever want. You can find everything else on the bay).

Anyway, I'm a fairly avid collector of vintage video games. I know I can play just about any game I want on an emulator, but there's something about holding the old one-button Atari joystick in your hand that's a whole lot better than anything any emulator can give.

The 8-bit Atari lineup is a great part of computing history. Very few of the competitors of the Atari 8-bit line still have an active community, and for those that do, very few of them have produced the quality hardware and software the Atari communities have (take that all you c64 lovers). People in Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, and many other places are still crazy about 8-bit Atari and are still developing new games that push the system to (and sometimes beyond) its limits.

If you've played the Atari 2600 (it was the most popular console on earth for a while, so chances are you have) you may think you know what 8-bit Atari is all about. Here's the thing: much as I love the 2600 and all its blocky charm, the 8-bit Atari line was able to make games that looked, sounded, and played two to three times better than their Atari 2600 counterparts. Take a look at the pictures below.

On the left you have the Atari 2600 version of Donkey Kong in which Kong might be some sort of poorly-drawn alien. The ladders are choppy, and the burning oil can is a purple box. On the right you have the 8-bit version, which is highly faithful to the arcade original. It's not 100% exactly the same as original version, but it's very close.

On the left you can see the Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man, which is largely regarded as one of the worst adaptations of any arcade game on any console. Its visuals are atrocious, its gameplay is choppy at best, and the maze is all wrong. The 8-bit Atari version looks incredibly similar to the arcade version. The maze is slightly stretched horizontally and the ghosts don't have the white eyes of the arcade version. Aside from that, the 8-bit version is exactly like its arcade counterpart.

Don't get me wrong. I love the Atari 2600. It was an amazing system for its time, and a necessary piece of gaming history. There are plenty of great titles for the 2600. I just wanted to show that the 8-bit Atari line provides excellent gaming with near-perfect arcade faithful graphics. The 8-bit Ataris also have a whole bunch of games which simply could not be played on the 2600. There's plenty to love about the 8-bit Ataris. I'm partial to the 800XL and will recommend it to anyone patient enough to listen.