Vectrex: Best titles?

[Roganjohn]

hi all,
i finally found myself a Vectrex (i consider myself an occasional gamer ).

anyway, what are the best titles to look for in terms of a) playability and b) rarity? i suppose i could look at checklists and rarity guides, but i'd rather hear it from fellow gamers.

thanks
john

[Mayhem]

Star Castle I like, Armor Attack, Space Wars, Scramble, erm Minestorm heh. Check out some of the homebrew such as Thrust, Star Sling, Space Frenzy and Protector.

[Roganjohn]

thanks for the heads-up. i got scramble and a pinball game with the system.

scramble is great!

[pootle]

For me it has to be Scramble, Berserk, Spike, and Dark Tower. On the homebrew front YASI, Protector, Patriots and Rockaroids are among my favourites.

Andy.
http://vectrex.playntradeonline.com - Home of the 72 in 1 Vectrex Multicart

[Kid Ice]

Minestorm...still the best game on the system IMO
Protector
Scramble
Star Castle
one I forget the name of...it's like a cross between Venture and Asteroids...Cosmic Chasm?

[theChad]

Cosmic Chasm would get my vote for a must-have.

[mrmark0673]

I play more Mine storm than anything else, but I spend a decent amount of time with Berzerk too.

[tcv]

Maybe this is cheating, but perhaps you could download an emulator and try out a bunch of games. I went on a quest to find one last night and this one works very well. Even includes games.

(Note: I sincerely don't know the legality of the ROMS, but they are in this emulator.)

You can try out the games and see what you think. There are some real gems in the library. And some of the homebrews are amazing.

[Mayhem]

All the commercial games from 82-83 are public domain for non-profit use. So you can upload and download them without issue.

[Yukio]

All the commercial games from 82-83 are public domain for non-profit use. So you can upload and download them without issue.

It is only true into some specific cases or places.Since most professional software houses and companies are aware of this sort of thing, their renew the software rights almost each year developing and selling collections and birthday edition of the games. If the game still is in the marketing as a commercial title this rule is not valid ...

A lot of old titles for classic systems are really on the FREEWARE category, but only for non-profit use.

[Mayhem]

I was just talking about the Vectrex titles (as this IS a Vectrex thread). Jay Smith has stated that the original commercial games are free to use for non-profit purposes.

[Kid Ice]

I was just talking about the Vectrex titles (as this IS a Vectrex thread). Jay Smith has stated that the original commercial games are free to use for non-profit purposes.

I've always wondered about that though. Jay Smith has the authority to tell people to freely distribute Pole Position, Scramble, and Berzerk? I'd think some sort of licensing issue would come into play.

[Mayhem]

When GCE/MB went down the shute in 84 with the buyout into Hasbro, Jay reacquired the rights to all the programs published up until that point. I see what you mean though, what about all the arcade conversions? The code itself though lies with Jay, those are his rights.

[niolani]

I recently bought a Vectrex, too.

I cost me $75, it came with its original box and still have the styrofoam thingies inside.

I have Armor Attack, Berserk, Scramble and Star Trek: The Motion Picture. I also have Minestorm which is hardwired in the console and the overlay sheet for Scramble is missing.

I checked for some other Vectrex games on eBay. They are so expensive! It goes for $20 to $30. It couldn't find games in my area since it's already rare to find a Vectrex.

Anyway, the system is in perfect condition and very clean too.

[Roganjohn]

wow, you got a better deal than me. i got the system (not boxed), one controller, and two extra games (scramble and spinball) with no overlays for $50. still an ok deal, but you're right in that games are super hard to track down and ebay is an expensive alternative...

i don't really mind if my systems are not boxed....as long asthey work

[tomwaits]

If you're planning to pick up several Vectrex games, it'd probably be cheaper to just get a multi-cart. There are several available that contain all the retail release Vectrex games. Some multi-carts include betas and a few homebrews as well.

My top homebrew picks would be Protector/YASI, Gravitrex, I Cyborg, and Thrust. (most are available at vectrexcarts.com)