When I was a little kid - after my Mom and Dad got Pong for the family but before the old Atari 2600 - my little brother and I put in some serious time on an awesome little dedicated console by Coleco called the Telstar Combat!. Does anyone else remember this thing?
This beauty of a system had two separate sets of dual grip tank controls that allowed one player to pilot a white tank and one to pilot a black tank. Every time you shot your opponent you got a point. Also, on at least one of the 4 switchable options there were mines strewn about and when the opposing tank ran over one of your mines you got points for his foolhardiness. It was a predecessor to the classic Atari 2600 title Combat - which remains one of my favorites for that system .
I found a tiny little video clip of the game on YouTube below:
Well every so often I check eBay for this long lost system of my youth in hopes of snagging it but in a few years I've only seen it come up once before for a broken one. Well today I FOUND IT! And apparently I'm not the only middle-aged bastard with fond memories of this thing because with an hour left there are 11 bids and the cost is up to $410! I'm nostalgic, but not THAT nostalgic. It hurts not to bid too because it is complete with the box and manuals and everything - you can check out the auction HERE. But $410? C'mon man, my Mom said she paid like $15 for the thing way back when. Damn. Guess the search continues...
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23 comments:
Ouch. Don't think I'll be bidding on it. Blasted dire straits.
Nor I. $400 is WAY more than I ever thought it would cost.
Especially considering your recent Commodore 64 buy for $12.
Good point. What kind of slap in the face would that be to my C64? I can't do it. I WON'T! Telstar Combat be damned! (Unless of course I find it for $15 at a garage sale at which point I will fall madly back in love with it).
This is a cool little system and I didn't know about it. I'm starting to really get into the early consoles that started the trends or established a new benchmark for gaming; this is one of them. But, I agree with the various "Damn", "Ouch", and "No WAY" comments; a bit too pricey to hold that memory in your hands. Sometimes the memory you hold in your head is better anyway!
Yep, definitely too pricey. I was semi-prepared to possibly approach the 1 Benjamin territory but would never consider 4.
Glad to hear you are getting into exploring the old games that maybe you hadn't played or heard of. This one was basically a home version of the various Tank arcade games that were out in the mid-70's. Good stuff.
..and here's another :)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320679517720&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT#ht_500wt_1156
hey - thanks a ton for the heads-up Anonymous! I'm going to keep an eye on that one to see if it stays in my price range.
And another...not a crazy priced one but not brand new. Are these really so hard to find?
http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-Telstar-Coleco-Combat-Game-Unit-Nice-Shape-/300544240226?pt=Video_Games_Games&hash=item45f9d52a62
Well historically they have been - now they're coming out of the woodwork! I hope the glut on the market will serve to drop the prices a little - I see that one you (same anonymous I presume?) mentioned before is already up to $310 with 6 days left so I'm officially out of the running on that puppy. Too rich!
I like the title description on this new one - "Nice Shape!" then below - unsure if it works, missing 2 of the 4 joystick handles, missing AC adapter. That's nice shape? I'm surprised he didn't say it was "Mint" - a word that has essentially lost all meaning on eBay.
Apparently if I want to own a good working one of these again I am just going to have to be prepared to pony up 3 or 4 hundy - and I don't see that happening. sigh....
On a different note Anonymous - can you find me a boxed copy of Space Taxi for the Commodore 64? Been looking for that for a long time too! :)
Odd that you would mention that because I do have a ton of C64/128 games. Sadly dont have that one.
I wonder how those things are to fix. I would think the sticks might be hard to find but it does look good. I remember there is one that shoots and one that moves so I dont think the moving one would be that important to have the stick. Button missing for fire might be bad unless you can rig it.
It's a good thought and I took another look and aside from the missing handles it DOES look to be in really good shape so if I was a little handier with electronics I would go for it. Unfortunately I've always been more of a software guy than a hardware guy.
Hey man. just wondering if you ever got that telstar combat console? what condition where you looking for (would you take one that worked but looked a bit used?) drop me a line at chainbraeker@gmail.com I might have some nice classic stuff that may interest you :)
Hi thedevilyoudont. Nope, I never did pick up a Telstar Combat. I am still interested and would take one that was a bit used, but I don't know if I'll ever get one because I'm looking for one at garage sale prices and I don't know if those are out there anymore. I might just shoot you an e-mail though. I do love the classic stuff! Thanks!
ok I am going on a trip to Ontario soon (where the consoles are located) and bringing them back I'll send you a few pics when I get them here. (might be a month or so yet though) keep in touch
cool - thanks!
Yes, I remember this game. I remember it being very engaging with good game play. One day my cousins came over to play it and broke it. A trace of resentment flickers to this day.
Dang clumsy-thumbed cousins! My resentment would more than flicker - it would continue to rage inside me like an inferno!
OK well maybe that's a bit strong, but I would definitely have been rather put off by the whole thing. And they could just forget about playing on the Atari!
Thanks again for posting the images of the box and the short video clip. It matches my faded recollections. By the way, my friend has started a nice blog on retro games...recommend linking with each other....
http://powerpakblog.com/
My pleasure Anonymous. Thanks for taking the time to leave the comments and for the link to your friend's blog - I'll check it out.
I played this game at my Grand dads back in 1980 or so... what fond memories!!!
Yep fond memories here as well. Thanks for commenting Jay in Flames.
If anyone is still hunting for this magical piece of awesomeness, I have one complete in box that I'm looking to part with. I'll send pics upon request. I also need to test it and make sure it's still up and running. Shoot me a message at hlee1213umd@gmail.com if you want. Thanks!
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