Finally, let's see some unusual video modes that are currently available only through emulation.
1) The CGA Composite mode:
As we said before, CGA mode offers only 4 colors at the same time, period.
However, under very specific circumstances a 160x200 mode with 16 simultaneous colors could be used. For this, you needed a CGA card with a composite video output and a NTSC monitor.
Many pre-1990 games support this graphic modes.
Here's an example, "Tournament Tennis" (1985) from Imagic.
Regular CGA mode
CGA Composite mode
This video mode can be emulated through
DOSBox (although you'd better obtain a SVN copy) and
PCem.
Here's a list of videogames that support this graphic mode:
Code:
http://www.mobygames.com/attribute/sheet/attributeId,29/
2) PCjr. / Tandy graphic modes.
The
IBM PCjr. and the
Tandy 1000 were two computer models released around 1984 that, while remaining mostly PC compatible, tried to expand its capabilities for home / videogame use.
In addition to the CGA Composite mode, they could access several other exclusive modes, such as 160x100x16, 320x200x16 and 640x200x4.
They also upgraded the internal PC speaker to a three-voice model and, in some late Tandy 1000 models, added a DAC.
The
IBM PCjr. was an inmediate failure, but the
Tandy 1000 and its variants stayed on the market until the early 1990s, meaning that hundreds of games from that era offer some kind of support for them.
Here's a list of games that support PCjr. / Tandy graphics:
Code:
http://www.mobygames.com/attribute/sheet/attributeId,31/
There are even a few games where
PCjr. / Tandy is the best graphic mode available. Some examples are "Arctic Fox", "Boulder Dash" I - II, "Marble Madness", "Ninja" and "Shanghai" from Activision.
"Ninja", in CGA and Tandy modes.
The PCjr. / Tandy computers can be emulated both in
DOSBox (although, again, you'd better obtain a SVN copy) and
PCem.