Beastmix

The only one of the 150-odd characters which mattered was Robofish

I still recall the games/bundles I initially got with mine: Spectrum ZX: CJ's Elephant Antics Atari 2600: Defender II & Pitfall Master System II: Alex Kidd in Miracle World (built in), Action Fighter, Sonic 1, World Soccer, Super Monaco GP Mega Drive: Mega Games I (Columns, Super Hang On, World Cup Italia 90), Mega Games II (Streets of Rage, Golden Axe, Revenge of Shinobi - possibly the greatest single cartridge of all time), Batman, Steel Empire PS1: Tekken 2, Porsche Challenge (underrated!), Adidas Power Soccer International 97, Crash Bandicoot PS2: Timesplitters, Smuggler's Run, Tekken Tag Tournament

I wouldn't have it any other way. There was a particular magic about having the old consoles at the time. Everything was fascinating. Consoles have no 'heart' these days. It's just 'load times' this and 'frame rates' that.

Yeah, I had to wait about 15 to 20 minutes for every game I owned.

Those Spectrum cassettes were hilariously bad. I remember having my ZX hooked up to my dad's paint-splattered work hi-fi so I could wait 20+ minutes for a game to load... Bad (yet nostalgic) times

My pre-ps2 journey went: Atari 2600, Spectrum ZX, Master System (which I still have), Mega Drive, PS1 (simultaneously, my sister had an N64)

We had those BBC Micro computers in our Primary School. We all just used to use its primitive version of MS Paint and a game called Podd:

I'd be quite interested to hear what everybody's pre-ps2 console journey was, actually...

When I was growing up, the jump was pretty outrageous but, although I didn't own either, I'd seen/played SEGA CD, Atari Jaguar, and even the SEGA Saturn before the PS1 really took off in the UK. I feel these consoles kinda bridged the gap at the time. Totally agreed on what I consider 'retro' though.

GTA5 on PS3 was a real technical feat since the graphics (enough of them to make a genuine difference) were uploaded in real time from the online server. If you played the game offline, it didn't look as good. Some of the night-time views of the city on this game, from a hill or other vantage point, were superb. Quite a fitting way to play out the console really. Burnout: Paradise was one of the best PS3 games, particularly if you had a PS camera.

I'm trying to figure out why they made the player next to Shearer look like an actual lion... Also, I think it might be Paul Ince, rather than Daley.

I thought this of the game Three Lions at the time... Three Lions:

If we're doing other North American sports: MLS: Montréal Impact (due to personal ties to MTL - I visited Stade Saputo a couple of years ago) NHL: Montréal Canadiens NBA: Orlando Magic (I grew up during the SHAQ, Penny Hardaway, and Horace Grant era) I'd rather eat my own eyes than watch baseball.

Big Marv though

Wrestling needs this legend back immediately.

This is a cool thread. Atari 2600 and the Spectrum ZX were my first consoles. Fondly remember playing Defender and Pitfall on the 2600 and CJ's Elephant Antics on the ZX. The Mega Drive remains my favourite all-time console though. I recently found a badly broken one in the woods by my house, so brought it home and fixed it/did it up. Here it is today:

I really hope Dallas can finally sort their secondary out this pre-season. I can't remember the last time we had a generally solid DEF, but the secondary has been trash for too long.

It's because he doesn't eat tomatoes. The key to immortality.

Top film, that is.

Ugh, forgot the Buccaneers are Glazer owned. Nauseating.

A VillaTalk Fantasy Football and Super-Bowl double for Tom Brady this season...

Prince had the greatest halftime show of all time. It was outrageously good.

Really hoping Sugar T can pull it out of the hat tonight and get that 7th ring.