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I was (apparently/supposedly) the 8th dork in the US to pass this game. Still trying to find the 2-color Nintendo Power "newsletter" that said as much.
So how long after you discovered Pong in the 80's did you discover the art of rapid one-arm pullups?
The key to Decathlon was getting the mini controller. I can't find a damn picture of it online, but it was tiny, with a really thin and loose stick. I remember the game came with the creator's records inside the booklet for each event. I had always been flirting with them, the day after I got this stick, I obliterated every one. Running Usain Bolt-like times in the 100m.
The Amiga PowerStick.
Atari football where it was 3-on-3 and the players looked like something from monsters inc. We had a rule that you couldn't go "through" the tv screen as when a defensive player was at the edge of the screen they could pop out on the other side just by standing there making it easy to tackle a runner who had gotten ahead of the field. That rule and it's inability to be enforced led to many a live action punchout between me and my brother.
One of my first Atari 2600 games was "Video Olympics", a series of Pong games played with Paddle controllers dressed up to look like different sports: hockey, soccer, "foospong", basketball... there was even a "volleyball" game where you hit the button to "jump" your pong line and "spike" the ball.
Yep, that's the one.The Amiga PowerStick.
I was excellent at the throwing and jumping events with the standard controller, but the PowerStick was the PED I needed to score well on the sprints and win medals.
If ever accused of wearing a baseball batting glove while playing Decathlon to prevent blistering... I plead the 5th.
I was better at every event with this, the stick was just so much more flexible, it made reaching and sustaining maximum speed so much easier. On the jumping events, that allowed me to focus solely on sticking the takeoff as close to the line as possible while still easily maintaining 100% speed.
You could get that thing going so fast, on the pole vault you could pretty much launch your guy into the stands after releasing the pole.Yep, that's the one.The Amiga PowerStick.
I was excellent at the throwing and jumping events with the standard controller, but the PowerStick was the PED I needed to score well on the sprints and win medals.
If ever accused of wearing a baseball batting glove while playing Decathlon to prevent blistering... I plead the 5th.
You could get that thing going so fast, on the pole vault you could pretty much launch your guy into the stands after releasing the pole.Yep, that's the one.The Amiga PowerStick.
I was excellent at the throwing and jumping events with the standard controller, but the PowerStick was the PED I needed to score well on the sprints and win medals.
If ever accused of wearing a baseball batting glove while playing Decathlon to prevent blistering... I plead the 5th.
I did this for Laser Blast and Pitfall, but I didn't get around to sending them in to Activision to get the patches.
Atari football where it was 3-on-3 and the players looked like something from monsters inc. We had a rule that you couldn't go "through" the tv screen as when a defensive player was at the edge of the screen they could pop out on the other side just by standing there making it easy to tackle a runner who had gotten ahead of the field. That rule and it's inability to be enforced led to many a live action punchout between me and my brother.
The football game I remember causing violence to ensue was an Atari arcade tabletop football game where one team was X's and the other team was O's. You had a bank of four plays to call from, and used a trac-ball to move to ballcarrier on offense and free safety on defense.
Holy ####, I remember that game.Atari football where it was 3-on-3 and the players looked like something from monsters inc. We had a rule that you couldn't go "through" the tv screen as when a defensive player was at the edge of the screen they could pop out on the other side just by standing there making it easy to tackle a runner who had gotten ahead of the field. That rule and it's inability to be enforced led to many a live action punchout between me and my brother.
I figured out on defense you could call a play and your defense would set up to stop it. I failed to disclose this information to my usual opponent and went on a big winning streak. When this asymmetry of information was discovered, there were fisticuffs.
I always picked the defense against the long pass. It kept the offense in front of you, prevented the big play and kept drinks from getting knocked off the table by overenthusiastic trackball action.Holy ####, I remember that game.Atari football where it was 3-on-3 and the players looked like something from monsters inc. We had a rule that you couldn't go "through" the tv screen as when a defensive player was at the edge of the screen they could pop out on the other side just by standing there making it easy to tackle a runner who had gotten ahead of the field. That rule and it's inability to be enforced led to many a live action punchout between me and my brother.
I figured out on defense you could call a play and your defense would set up to stop it. I failed to disclose this information to my usual opponent and went on a big winning streak. When this asymmetry of information was discovered, there were fisticuffs.
When my opponent realized that every time he tried to throw the Bomb his receiver was covered, my cover was blown.I always picked the defense against the long pass. It kept the offense in front of you, prevented the big play and kept drinks from getting knocked off the table by overenthusiastic trackball action.Holy ####, I remember that game.Atari football where it was 3-on-3 and the players looked like something from monsters inc. We had a rule that you couldn't go "through" the tv screen as when a defensive player was at the edge of the screen they could pop out on the other side just by standing there making it easy to tackle a runner who had gotten ahead of the field. That rule and it's inability to be enforced led to many a live action punchout between me and my brother.
I figured out on defense you could call a play and your defense would set up to stop it. I failed to disclose this information to my usual opponent and went on a big winning streak. When this asymmetry of information was discovered, there were fisticuffs.
A college friend of mine has a T-shirt that says:
I remember that game well. You could completely lose your sense of place once you started smacking that trackball around. A girl friend at the time was decidedly unimpressed at my ability to play for hours at a time with my other friends while she stood idly by just watching. For some reason I expected her to be in such awe at my prowess that I thought she may enjoy being by my side and perhaps would even cheer me on. After a bit I turned around to say something to her and she wasn't there. I went on to play for an hour or so longer and never heard from her again.Atari football where it was 3-on-3 and the players looked like something from monsters inc. We had a rule that you couldn't go "through" the tv screen as when a defensive player was at the edge of the screen they could pop out on the other side just by standing there making it easy to tackle a runner who had gotten ahead of the field. That rule and it's inability to be enforced led to many a live action punchout between me and my brother.
I figured out on defense you could call a play and your defense would set up to stop it. I failed to disclose this information to my usual opponent and went on a big winning streak. When this asymmetry of information was discovered, there were fisticuffs.
Is this the game you're talking about?Atari football where it was 3-on-3 and the players looked like something from monsters inc. We had a rule that you couldn't go "through" the tv screen as when a defensive player was at the edge of the screen they could pop out on the other side just by standing there making it easy to tackle a runner who had gotten ahead of the field. That rule and it's inability to be enforced led to many a live action punchout between me and my brother.
My roomate and I in college used to have epic games. Getting the WR robot in the open field with a head of steam was always a blast.
There's a recent documentary about digging up unsold Atari cartridges (most famously, the video game sales bomb "E.T.") in a New Mexico landfill. One of the interview subjects is the guy who designed Yars' Revenge, Howard Warshaw. Since that game was such a big hit for Atari in terms of sales and player enthusiasm, Atari put Warshaw in charge of designing the E.T. game.
