atari lynx

PAX Aus 2018: Classic Tournaments

October 12, 2018 By ausretrogamer

Sharpen your reflexes and get your fingers ready for the PAX Aus 2018 Classic Tourneys!

From tournaments on the Commodore 64, Sega Dreamcast, NES, Atari Lynx to arcade and pinball, we have your nostalgia covered! Check out the PAX Aus 2018 Classic Gaming tournament schedule below and make sure you come around to the Classic Gaming Area nice and early for your chance to become the retro gaming champion!

The PAX Aus 2018 Classic Gaming Tournaments are brought to you by these awesome community partners: Bartronica, Bayside Pinball Club, Press Play On Tape Podcast, Weird And Retro and us at Ausretrogamer.

Classic Gaming at PAX Aus 2018 – It’ll Be Intoxicating Nostalgia!

October 3, 2018 By ausretrogamer

With the imminent 6^th iteration of PAX Aus, we are in the final stages of planning for our Classic Gaming area. The team is working extremely hard behind the scenes to ensure you get a nice juicy hit of nostalgia come late October! As the saying goes, the Classic Gaming area will be bigger, badder and better in 2018.

If you’ve never visited the Classic Gaming area at PAX Aus, then perhaps our trip down memory lane may motivate you to get your retro gaming on, from our humble beginnings at the inaugural PAX Aus 2013 at the Showgrounds to our 5^th showing in a row at the greatest event in the southern hemisphere.

Hopefully we will see a lot of you there in a few short weeks – make sure you say hi!

PAX Aus Classic Gaming highlights from:

The PAX Aus Classic Gaming area is brought to you by: Ausretrogamer, Press Play on Tape Podcast, Weird and Retro, Bartronica, Zax Amusements, Bayside Pinball Club and Pinmem.

Atari Lynx: The Games That Never Were

March 31, 2017 By ausretrogamer

The Atari Lynx was and still is a great handheld. Imagine if Atari had McWill’s LCD mod back then, they may have given the Sega Game Gear and possibly the Game Boy a run for their money (Ed: OK, perhaps not the Game Boy)!

If you were into arcade style games, then the Atari Lynx was your platform of choice. With games like Double Dragon, Klax, A.P.B., Battlezone 2000, Rygar, Hard Drivin’, Joust, Xybots, Paperboy and the awesome Rampage, Robotron and S.T.U.N. Runner, the Lynx was not short on quality action titles. Actually, we could have added a laundry list of other games, but we thought you’d get the picture with a subset of titles.

During the commercial lifespan of the Atari Lynx, there were a roster of big name titles that never saw the light of day. We could only imagine the impact these games may have had on the commercial viability of the Lynx! Just in case you were wondering, here are a few of the cancelled games from 1992 that we reckon could have catapulted the Lynx on the path to success:

Rolling Thunder

Vindicators

Geoduel

720°

Cabal

There were quite a few other cancelled games, but we thought we’d limit the list to ensure that we didn’t enrage you all. Actually, quite a few cancelled games did make it out when Hasbro, the owners of the Atari properties at the time, released the rights to develop for the system to the public domain, but that was well after the Lynx was considered dead (Ed: we did appreciate Alien vs Predator and Raiden)!

Ah, the beautiful Lynx, if only you were given a proper and fair chance by your creator!

Operation: Atari Lynx LCD Mod

May 20, 2015 By ausretrogamer

Should we allow our retro gaming gear to age gracefully, or do we do what everyone does in Hollywood, go under the surgeon’s scalpel in the hope of looking better? In this instance, having an Atari Lynx II upgraded with McWill’s LCD modification (with VGA out) was an easy choice. This surgical transplant was well worth sacrificing one Atari Lynx II out of the many sitting there to be used at ComLynx parties. The only difference being, I would have the best looking screen at the next meet *wink*

In its original form, the Lynx II’s screen isn’t the best, you are constantly angle it or mucking around with the contrast to get that perfect view. With the new LCD, that is all gone! No more mucking around with the contrast knob, and you certainly do not have to angle the Lynx II to get a better vantage point. The new screen is super sharp, able to be viewed clearly at 180 degrees! Not only that, you can also play your Lynx II on the big screen via the VGA out interface! Cor blimey!

Just like any delicate surgical procedure, I left this modification to the expertise of Dr Curlytek. With precision, Dr Curlytek was able to salvage the old screen (to be used as a spare part if need be!) and install the new one without a hitch. The mod isn’t as straight forward as the instructions lead you to believe, so it is best left for those that have steady hands and exquisite soldering skills. So was it all worth it? A photo comparison can’t do the new screen any justice – you have to see it in real life to get an appreciation of its sharpness and vividness! Imagine if Atari had installed these screens originally? Perhaps they would have sold more Lynxes!

A huge thank you to Serblander for sourcing the LCD kit and to the surgeon himself, Stacey “Dr Curlytek” Borg for his exceptional skill in transplanting the new screen into the Atari Lynx II.

The surgeon prepares!

Open that sucker!

The Lynx II opened up

Out with the old (screen)!

The new screen awaits its new host

The Lynx II patiently waits for its new internal organ

Read the instructions twice and perform surgery once – great plan!

The delicate work continues

Additional body part for the Lynx II

The Atari Lynx II in post-operation recovery

The screen test begins! Wow, looking super sharp!

Testing the VGA output! Looking good.

Let the Lynx II screen battle begin!

And the winner is……. Ah, it’s an easy choice

Atari Lynx Heaven at Retro Tuesday

April 12, 2015 By ausretrogamer

On a cold and miserable night in Melbourne earlier this week, eight hardened retro gamers converged on Wadham House for the monthly Retro Tuesday meet.

Serblander, of Weird and Retro fame, convinced the organisers to make the meet all about Atari‘s little feline, the Lynx. With all members contributing their Lynx wares, there was ComLynx action aplenty. Checkered Flag provided some friendly rivalry (Ed: and some very colourful language!), while Dr C. stamped his dominance, yet again, on the 8-Player Slime World.

The night wasn’t just for great gaming fun (which it was!), the display that Weird and Retro had put together for the Lynx was a great homage to the Atari handheld! Check out the pics and drool over that store stand and all those different Lynx boxes!

As usual, it was difficult to leave my Lynx friends, but good things must always come to an end. After leaving the Retro Tuesday meet, I was informed that a new California Games BMX bandit was crowned – well done & congrats to Serby!

Thank you to: Aleks, Stacey, Jerry, Pedro, Callum, Paul and Mal for an awesome night of Lynx action! Can’t wait to do it again!

The Great Wall Of Lynx

The one and only, Atari Lynx

Badges of honour

The Games!

The Lynxes!

Travel in style, keep your Lynx in a pouch

Fan magz – Lynx User!

Serby preparing the awesome Lynx stand!

Jerry is the BMX bandit on the big screen!

Dr. C cautiously approaches the ledge! Double backflip coming up!

ComLynx gaming = heaps of fun!

Yours truly giving the thumbs up! Too bad my car was off the road!

More Checkered Flag action coming up!

8P Slime World! Let the smack talk begin!

LCD comparison: Original vs McWill’s LCD modded (with VGA) Lynx II

Atari Lynx: Case Closed

April 3, 2015 By ausretrogamer

What does one do with an unused Atari 2600 4-switch plastic case? Well, to keep it in the Atari family, the plastic case gets transformed into secure storage for the Atari Lynx II and all of its peripherals and games! If you have this case and would like to do some DIY, read on…

What you need:
* Atari 2600 4-Switch plastic case
* Packing foam (from Clark Rubber)
* Chalk
* Bread knife

Here we go:

Clean that case! Use a wet sponge on this baby

Open her up and measure the bottom of the case

Slot the packing foam into the bottom of the case

Lay the Lynx wares how you like

This is the layout I like!

Carefully trace around the items with chalk. Remove items and get carving with the bread knife!

Ta da, finished! Yep, it was that easy

Case (about to be) closed!

Celebrating the Atari Lynx

October 3, 2014 By ausretrogamer

It may have started life on a napkin back in 1986, but it wasn’t officially released to the gaming public as the world’s first 16-bit colour handheld till October 1989 (Ed: the Atari Lynx was officially released on September 1 1989, but it wasn’t available for retail till October of that year). The Epyx Handy, which would eventually become the Atari Lynx, celebrates a significant milestone – it’s another year older and it is still kicking nostalgic goals!

The Atari Lynx may have been decimated in market share by the Game Boy juggernaut, but it’s place in history is undeniable. It didn’t bask in the same glory as Nintendo’s little pocket rocket, let’s face it, no other handhelds did, but with 16-bit colour graphics, support for hardware scaling, great arcade conversions and the ability to link up with friends, the Lynx was still a force to be reckoned with. With two system variants, the Lynx provided many hours of fun – as long as you were stocked to the teeth with AA batteries.

We wrote about the Lynx’s history (Ed: you can read that here), which in typical Atari fashion was quite colourful, with lots of twists and turns. This feature celebrates everything about the mighty 16-bit colour handheld – its hardware revisions, its awesomest games and some very interesting facts.

The Lynx was truly ahead of its time. Long live the Atari Lynx!

Hardware Comparison:

Game Cards – Curled vs Flat:

Awesomest Atari Lynx Games:

Interesting Atari Lynx Facts:

It was initially going to be the Atari Portable Entertainment System. But once it was pointed out that the acronym would be APES, the name change was swift;
The Lynx was christened many names before Atari settled with the name we now know and love – it went from being the Epyx Handy, APES, Nuclear Toaster to finally, the Lynx;
The model name was chosen due to the system’s ability to link up with multiple machines. It wasn’t in reference to the big cat of the same name;
It was the first home system to support hardware scaling, just like After Burner and Pit Fighter in the arcades;
Mikey was the first sound chip in any console to provide specialist sampled sound support on all four channels;
Game cards could store up to a maximum of two megabytes;
The 8-bit CPU was paired with a 16-bit math co-processor – this took a lot of the cycle load off the CPU and allowed the Lynx to provide super fast game play;
It was the first colour LCD with a 16-bit graphics chip (Suzy) – providing 4,096 colours to choose from with a maximum of 16 per scanline.

Nintendo and Atari Mashup: The Atari Lynx II GameCube Portable

July 11, 2014 By ausretrogamer

Last week we posted an article on some great looking custom Nintendo consoles. Not all custom made consoles are equal. This week, we have this Nintendo and Atari portable mashup – is it blasphemy or pure genius? We’ll let you be the judge. If you ever wished for a portable Nintendo GameCube, then read on.

Crammed inside an Atari Lynx II shell lays the heart and brains of a Nintendo GameCube. The brainchild of this portable Frankenstein is Akira. The features of the GC-Lynx are impressive to say the least:

• Case made out of an Atari Lynx II console
• GameCube blue/purple paint job with glossy finish
• GameCube PAL motherboard
• Silent IBM fan, customised for optimal airflow
• All original Nintendo GCN controls and sticks
• Complete analogue trigger (L and R buttons)
• 4.3 Inch widescreen; VGA Screen with 480 x 272 resolution
• Original Nintendo component video chip wired to produce VGA out
• Shielded composite video wire to reduce interference.
• WiiKey Fusion modchip flashed with Swiss autoboot firmware
• 6400 mAH batteries – provides 3 hours of play time
• Battery indicator with 5 LEDs – lets you know how much power is left
• 128 MB memory card soldered directly onto the motherboard (GameCube slot-A)
• SD Gecko adapter to run homebrew and emulators through Swiss (GameCube slot-B)
• Stereo sound speakers, Used 2x iPhone 4 speakers for very clear sound
• Switching stereo headphone jack
• Analogue volume control
• Video controls to access display menu and switch between A/V (composite) and VGA display
• System can play from wall socket while being charged (comes with charger and power adapter)
• Weight is 700 grams
• Size of GC-Lynx: (w) 235mm x (h)114mm x (d)50mm or 9.25″(w) x 4.5″(h) x 2″(d)
• Comes with 1 x 64GB SD card for GameCube games (wasp fusion slot) and 1 x 32GB for homebrew, games and emulators (GameCube Slot-B)

There has been a fair bit of backlash on custom consoles on a number of forums. Even though we may not be a fan of this one (Ed: that’s because you are such an Atarian!), we are still in awe of the people that come up with these ideas and executing on them. To read Akira’s trial and tribulations on his GC-Lynx creation, go here.

What do you think?

source: soepschoen

BNIB: Brand New In Box

November 24, 2013 By ausretrogamer

As a retro gamer, or more precisely, as a collector, do you struggle to open those vintage items you have hunted down that are brand new and shrink-wrapped as if they had left the factory yesterday and not years or decades ago?

I have that dilemma right now. Being a gamer first and foremost, I cannot deny myself the pleasure of playing a classic game, even if it means I have to rip it out of its brand-new-never-seen-the-light-of-day box.

You may be asking, did it hurt to bust open the packaging? On the contrary, it was refreshing to know that I was the first to open these packages that had been considered new since the 1990s. Actually, S.T.U.N. Runner was released in 1991, so I guess that makes it a 22 year old brand new game! Who keeps these items for that long and never open them? Obviously I would make a mediocre collector. Game on and enjoy!

California Games: Fun In The Sun

March 21, 2013 By ausretrogamer

Format: Atari Lynx
Media: Cartridge
Year: 1989
Developer: Epyx
Publisher: Atari

Ah California – where the sun always shines, the surfing is great and beach parties rock with scantily clad women with golden tans aplenty. Throw some cool sporting events into a competition and you have yourself some California Games.

If it was one game that Atari was betting on to shift more Lynx units, this one was it – California Games. The Lynx version of Cali Games turned out a bit different from its console and home computer counterparts. Firstly, the number of events was cut down to four: BMX, Half Pipe, Surfing and Footbag. Secondly, the BMX and Surfing events were tweaked for the Lynx screen which actually made them quite enjoyable to play. Thirdly, you could not pick your sponsor (oh no, I wanted Santa Cruz boards!). Lastly, gone were the earthquakes, the taunting dolphin and the menacing shark with sunglasses.

Now, I know what you are thinking, what the hell is left in this Lynx version of California Games! Relax, chill out like a real West Coaster. This game is so awesome, I would recommend you to get a Lynx just to play it. The learning curve to play the events is quite easy, with the half pipe event being the most difficult to get used to out of the four. For those of you that have never had the pleasure of playing California Games, let’s run through the event playbook:

BMX – Ride your bike on the stunt course strewn with obstacles and get to the finish line before the timer runs out. The more stunts performed and the faster you hit that finish line, the better your score. If you keep on crashing on the way to the finish line, the event spits you out.

Half Pipe – grab your board and hit the half pipe to build up your momentum. Once you have some speed, hit each ramp with some cool tricks to gain points.

Surfing – my personal favourite of all the events. Surfing was changed on this version to riding the wave from ‘right to left’ – this actually breathed a new life to this event, as I was never crazy about surfing on the console versions. You earn points by staying ahead of the wave and getting airborne to perform (multiple) spins. Yes, I can do quadruple spins – that is a 1440! Oh yeah you must land the board on the wave at an angle that won’t see you diving into the surf.

Footbag – or hacky sack. The premise is simple, keep the bag off the ground by kicking, kneeing or head-butting it in the air. Earn extra points by spinning around while the bag is in the air or by hitting George. Who is George you ask ? He is the friendly seagull that you hit as he flies across the top of the screen. Luckily animal welfare groups were cool about knocking off seagulls back in 1989.

The challenge of each event is always to beat your (or your friends) high score. The only way to achieve a higher score is to nail the timing in each event. Get the timing wrong, and not only does your score suffer, the game also humiliates you with light hearted quips. Thankfully, these were left in the Lynx game.

So there you have it – four obscure events that are quite enjoyable to play. If you have a Lynx, California Games is a mandatory addition to your games library.

Graphics	Awesome detail and animation in all events. This game shows off the power of the Lynx	92%
Sound	Simply awesome and ambient tunes for each event. The sound effects are just so sweet too	92%
Playability	Four distinct events which will keep you on your toes	94%
Lastability	Single or multi player, this game is built to be replayed so those high scores and records can be broken	95%
Overall	The perfect mix of variation, challenge, enjoyment and fun.	93%

atari lynx

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