conklin@eecae.UUCP (Terry Conklin) (01/27/88)
(what is a line eater, anyhow?)
[the following review is an in-depth look at the Atari XE Game System. I
had the opportunity to really give it the once over, and did so because
of the limited review given in Antic. This is expressly created
for distribution of any form, as long as the copyright remains intact,
whether by BBS or Compuserve or your local newsletter. Magazines contact
the author through the system below.]
"Hands-on the Atari XE Game System. An In-Depth look
Copyright 1988 by Terry Conklin
from Club Network - (517) 372-3131 / (313) 334-8877
Atari's first new 8-bit computer in some time has hit the streets,
and preliminary magazine reviews have been pretty scanty, so when a
shiny new machine came in, I gave it the works.
First impressions: The XE Game System is built well. At least as well as
the 130XE and perhaps a bit better. The base unit is solid and the
separate, detachable keyboard is nicely weighted. The POWER switch,
perhaps one of the most used switches on any game machine, wasn't the
greatest and could have been better made. On the other hand, the big
pastel colored START/SELECT/OPTION/RESET buttons were fine.
The detached keyboard is a new entity to Atari 8-bits, and I really
liked it. It isn't super-light, and is well sized and shaped for setting
in one's lap for programming. I say programming because many long time
Atari owners are giving the XE Game System a serious look as a second
machine, largely because of the keyboard. However, the console keys are on the
main unit, not the detached keyboard, so some of it's usefulness as
a "lean back and relax" work device is inhibited
The HELP key is on the keyboard. And I noticed that it has the same
distinctive feel of the rest of the keyboard, even though it's a large
round button like the console keys. This means that the XE Game System
keyboard is not made of the same unit as the 130/65XE keyboard, and thus if
something breaks, you can't tap that large collection of parts.
Otherwise, the keyboard is completely identical to the XE keyboard
in feel, shape and layout. You almost wonder why they bothered to make a
new one.
The cable that attaches the keyboard to the main unit is about 12 inches
long and plugs in on the left hand side in a recessed port. It uses a
connector much like the 850 interface printer port, much like a joystick
connector but with more pins. I noticed that someone thoughtfully
included a little nub on the connector so that when you plug in the
keyboard cable, it fits snug and is not likely to come out when you pull
on the keyboard (which is inevitable.) The keyboard also has hooks at
the back that allow you to connect it to the main unit, forming a single
piece. This was easy to do and I found myself switching from lap to
desk-connected as the software I was using dictated. The main unit and
keyboard connected together make up a 14 X 15 inch square, so be
sure to have plenty of desk space for this system.
The main unit has the cartridge slot on the top, like an XL, but slanted
at an angle matching the XE-style design, (though there is no cover protecting
the cartridge slot as on the XL.) The joystick ports are on the right
hand side, underneath and at an angle. This is the same sort of approach
used first on the 1200XL and later on the 1040/520ST-FM. While it
doesn't make it really easy to switch joysticks/lightguns/etc., I
didn't have any trouble with it at all, and it does make it more
aesthetically pleasing and easier on the joystick connectors to have the
cable coming out of the computer in the general direction of the rest
of the joystick.
On the back of the unit I ran into something of a suprise: an audio
jack! A second later I realized that the XE game system has changed the
connector for the monitor output. Unlike the 5-pin DIN plug monitor jack
on other 8-bits, the XE system monitor output is supplied on two
phono-plug jacks; one for sound, one for composite video. The television
plug is next to these, but confusion is unlikely.
Continuing across the back, there is no parallel bus connector. There
isn't on the 65XE either, (which this really is,) but it means you cant
use parallel bus peripherals like the MIO (Multi-IO) from ICD. Next is a
standard SIO port to connect to Atari peripherals. Amusingly, in Atari's
current school of design, they stamp an icon above each connector on the
back to indicate what should plug in where. On the ST for example, there
is a telephone over the RS232 port, and a diskette over the disk drive
port. Following this school of thought, there are 4 icons crammed
in over the SIO port! At least things are consistent. The power
connector is identical to the previous XL/XE connector.
Having wrapped up the physical description, how does it run software?
Like a 65XE. In fact, absolutely like a 65XE, which is no suprise since
that's essentially what it is. But for safety's sake, I decided to give
it a full range compatibility test.
In total I tested 8 cartridges and a lot of disk software. One of the
cartridges was a 600/800XL system diagnostics cartridge as well. Even
this cart claimed that the system was an XE, and everything ran fine.
During the testing of all this various software, I did notice some sort
of twitch in the video. It only happened once every five or ten minutes
that I saw, and the diagnostic cart didn't make it happen, but I checked
the monitor and it was fine. I'll be investigating more XE Game Systems
to find out if this is a factory trait or just a individual case.
A couple options come with the XE Game System that weren't previously
available. Most notably the light gun and a couple new cartridges. The
XE Game System also has the game Missile Command built-in. Wherever it
is, it's awfully well hidden. I turned the machine on with no cartridge
and it came up in BASIC. When I held down the OPTION key, it came up
with the XL/XE Self Test screen. Needless to say, it IS a 65XE. I never
got a chance to test Missile Command because quite frankly, I didn't
even remember it was there!
The Atari light gun is at once the most fun addition and the biggest
disappointment. One of the two cartridges that comes with the system is
a bug-shootout game. At first, it seems rather simple-minded, but the
more I played the more I enjoyed it, and it gets quite challenging.
Unfortunately, the challenge isn't one to hone your skills on. The light
gun is easily the cheapest component of the system. The aim was
_noticeably_ off, even at point blank, and the "gun sights" formed into
it's plastic case were completely useless. Sometimes you get the distinct
impression that the gun's aim actually changes. I might attribute that to
reviewer error, but having over half-million point scores on the gun game
"Hogan's Alley" in the arcades, I have spent at least a hundred hours with
a good, workable system and this doesn't come close. Still, after a while I
was able to get 80+% "hit ratios" on the included game, so it can work.
Owners of the game system may find that they "learn" the aim of their
own guns and enjoy them more.
We also tested the game cartridge and gun on a standard 130XE and 800XL,
and they work fine. Perhaps Atari can be convinced to release the gun
separately as an option for existing Atari owners.
The other cartridge included with the system is Flight Simulator II.
This in itself is an impressive feat. Flight Simulator II is a _128K_
cartridge, making it the largest Atari cartridge ever produced. Flight
Simulator II itself is an amazingly accurate 3-D solid-graphics flight
simulation that lets you fly a Piper PA-28-181 Archer II, a single
engine 148 Mph aircraft. It also has a "Europe 1917" mode that
lets you test your flying skill in World War I combat against enemy
planes and ground targets. One advantage of the cartridge FS-II
is instant load times. The original disk Flight Simulator II would
occasionally pause to load additional scenery information from diskette.
The FS-II cartridge instantly changes scenery for constantly
smooth flight. I did not check to see if the FS-II cart. could read
Flight Simulator scenery disks.
Of all the system, there was only one incompatibility that I discovered,
that being a difference in the operation of the RESET key. On the XL/XE
computer line, when you pressed and held down the RESET key, the system
would be held, reset, in never-never land. This was often handy if you
hadn't quite gotten the next disk in the drive yet or needed a second
before the machine tried to boot. It also made a special technique for
saving extended-memory RAMdisks possible, where if you locked the
machine up, you could hit and hold RESET, insert a cartridge, release
and hit RESET again, then remove the cartridge. The machine will _always_
cold-boot, but without ever having to shut the machine off, thus the RAMdisk
contents are intact.
On the new XE Game System, the RESET key didn't reset on the way down,
but reset when you release the button (on the way back up.) Holding the
button in this halfway up state proved to be difficult at best. Since
the XE Game System is otherwise identical to the 800XL, it is not
unimaginable that some game system owners might want to add memory (a.k.a.
a 256K standard upgrade,) in the future. The difference is more or
less negligible.
All in all, the XE Game System is a fine Atari 8bit. As a new machine
for people interested in gaming, the massive selection of Atari games
makes it a far better value than Sega's & Nitendo's offerings, and the
graphics are, of course, terrific. Add to that the fact that it is a
real computer, with all the versatility thereof, and it can't be beat. As a
machine for new Atari owners, I judge it a better value than the 65XE,
given the better keyboard and included software and gun. As a
replacement machine or upgrade for existing Atari owners, it's a close
call. The detachable keyboard is a joy to use. On the other
hand, the lack of any parallel bus capability is a big minus. More and
more people are putting hard disk drives on their 8-bits, and the "big"
Atari 8bit (>256K of memory, several drives and/or a hard disk) is
getting common. It might make a good "partner" machine.
Any way you look at it, the XE Game System is a good machine that will
make it into a lot of homes bringing new owners, new users, and yet
more customers for Atari 8-bit software. For 8-bit owners everywhere,
"Thanks Atari."
Terry Conklin
ihnp4!msudoc!conklin
conklin@egr.msu.edu