Rob has checked out and reviewed GameTap. A new online gaming service from Turner Broadcasting, Inc.

Check it out here.

Good review there Rob!

I honestly haven't been paying much attention to GameTap for awhile. But, your review has given me the itch (more than my body is currently itching...grrr...) to find out more.

Of course, Future Mrs. Stud doesn't like "monthly payments," "video games," and "me" to be used in the same sentence...It took me a bit to convince her that the Xbox360 would benefit her as well, thanks to their Xbox Live Arcade...

Good read Rob, good read

Great review, Rob! Boy, do some of those titles bring back memories. It definitely sounds like Gametap is offering a unique service, pricing competitively with MMOs, and doing a good job of delivering what they advertise. It will be interesting to see the list of titles that they offer in the near future (say at the 6 month and 1 year mark). Is there any mention of how big their current subscriber list is?

The only thing that jumps out at me is the fact that they do have some of the newer games available, thats a pretty good deal. If they didnt have that than i wouldnt be tempted due to Mame32, and its abundancy of old school roms.

Good review bro! Its a little different reviewing software than hardware eh?

Have to agree with Sparky. GameTap does offer some new and old mix. Which if you are looking to buy some games you can go there and try before you buy.

Good review Rob! :blink:

Thanks for the kudos, folks, and yes Sparky, it's a lot different than reviewing hardware!

As far as the size of their subscriber list, I didn't find anything and given that it's owned by Turner Broadcasting, chances are you'd have better luck finding out the complete list and location of the United States nuclear arsenal along with dates, times, and routes of when they transfer the nuclear warheads.

Anyway, it was fun to do this review and every now and then, I'll log on to play a game of Joust, Defender, or another one of the games.

One thing, though, is that most of these games were designed to run off of a 1.8Mhz processor. Well, it's as if the games run a little "too efficiently" now. Before, I could breeze through the arcade version of Centipede up to the 12th level. With this 16-bit game running on an AMD Athlon XP 2600+ with 1G of Kingston Hyper-X PC3200 RAM, it's all I can do to make it to the third level before that centipede makes it way to the bottom of the screen. They may have to go back and redesign the game to run slower, if that's possible.

Otherwise, I'm happy with it.

Rob

Sweet review Rob. It's a great concept that they are pushing here and for a decent price aswell.

One question, once you load up the game, say you cancel your subscription. Do you still have the game? And do you need to be online to play a game you loaded?

Quote: Originally Posted by Spectrum Sweet review Rob. It's a great concept that they are pushing here and for a decent price aswell. One question, once you load up the game, say you cancel your subscription. Do you still have the game? And do you need to be online to play a game you loaded?

You need to be connected to their server for the game to work.

Rob

Quote: Originally Posted by Rob One thing, though, is that most of these games were designed to run off of a 1.8Mhz processor. Well, it's as if the games run a little "too efficiently" now. Before, I could breeze through the arcade version of Centipede up to the 12th level. With this 16-bit game running on an AMD Athlon XP 2600+ with 1G of Kingston Hyper-X PC3200 RAM, it's all I can do to make it to the third level before that centipede makes it way to the bottom of the screen. They may have to go back and redesign the game to run slower, if that's possible.

If that's the case on your XP 2600, i'd LOVE to see what it's like on my 3.0Ghz Opteron 146. O_O

Great review, Rob. I was really thinking about getting this, because they have SEGA MASTER SYSTEM games. That console brings back such great memories from when I was a kid.

I simply can't believe that they didn't include REMAPPABLE KEYS in it! What the hell? I hope they fix that, because I don't want to have to play some of the games using the keyboard when I can use my console-style controller instead!

Whether this was an update or it was simply something that I overlooked, GameTap now offers the option to change the pre-mapped keys under your "My GameTap" section of the application. However, you would have to do it on a game-by-game basis, which could take a while if you love to play the plethora of games that they now currently have (which is over 400).

Enjoy!

Rob

Reviving an old thread, but with the latest upload of games to GameTap, how could I refuse?

I remember this game from a long, long, long time ago and it's going to be the first thing on my playlist tomorrow morning when I get home from work.

King's Quest I
King's Quest II
King's Quest III
King's Quest IV
King's Quest V

HERE is the link.

Rob

I like nastaliga too but am just not ready to pony up 15.00 a month to play online.
Others that have a work close to home job and live at home my have diffrent incentives or
opertunities to play.

A very nice review Rob and If it wernt for the Joust and new revealation of Kings Quest being added I may not have given it more thought.

Quote: Originally Posted by Pharaoh I like nastaliga too but am just not ready to pony up 15.00 a month to play online. Others that have a work close to home job and live at home my have diffrent incentives or opertunities to play. A very nice review Rob and If it wernt for the Joust and new revealation of Kings Quest being added I may not have given it more thought.

Not for sure, but I think they still have the same deal going. The first 12 months for $9.99, then it goes to $14.99.

I used to feel the same way about a gaming subscription (until Ov3rki11 hooked me with CoH). Perhaps it's just stage 3 (bargaining), but i look at it this way: $15 a month for something that i get 100+ hours a month entertainment out of is waaaaay cheap. I'm in no way trying to discredit or attack your opinion, Pharaoh...just offering a different paradigm (or making excuses...the jury's still out on that one :crazy: ). Of course, if you never have time to play (or very little time), then that shoots my argument right out of the water

Quote: Originally Posted by droeblek9 I used to feel the same way about a gaming subscription (until Ov3rki11 hooked me with CoH). Perhaps it's just stage 3 (bargaining), but i look at it this way: $15 a month for something that i get 100+ hours a month entertainment out of is waaaaay cheap. I'm in no way trying to discredit or attack your opinion, Pharaoh...just offering a different paradigm (or making excuses...the jury's still out on that one :crazy: ). Of course, if you never have time to play (or very little time), then that shoots my argument right out of the water

Time is something I do not schedule well. And like most have little to squander.
However your point of $$ for fun is well taken.

In the past I have spent regularly more than the price of a monthly subscription in just one sitting on other non essential endeavors.

I was/am surprised that bottled water is such a hit and people will gladly fork over the
cash they do. So it is not to surprising that I do not understand budgeting for online games.

If that’s your bailiwick then it’s all good. I'm not against online games or people that have, find or make the time for it.

If I had more time and more $$ to spend it in then I very well could be promoting online games too.

Yeah, I admit it. When I'm out and about, I'll fork out $1.50 for a bottled water. I look at that $1.50 as being well spent for a guarentee that some kid didn't pee in the water fountain that everyone else is drinking out of.

I've got a subscription to GameTap but I haven't played it in over a month. I'm pretty bad at managing time, too.

Quote: Originally Posted by Bubby Yeah, I admit it. When I'm out and about, I'll fork out $1.50 for a bottled water. I look at that $1.50 as being well spent for a guarentee that some kid didn't pee in the water fountain that everyone else is drinking out of. I've got a subscription to GameTap but I haven't played it in over a month. I'm pretty bad at managing time, too.

How is 15.00 a month a value if you have not played in a month?

Granted for teens with no direction and get family money, adults that don't need direction and spend their own money, and people with $$ to banter about there is no issue.

I am not nor trying to be the Game police. I believe in the free market and if those sites provide someone with a perceived value then so be it.

You play games and I play games. we only differ on the rules.