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GlobetrotterPosted on Fri, January 27 2006, by Charles F. Gray |  |
 | Erm... So you always wanted to know what a video game cartridge was thinking, right? Now you can find out... When I took on this interview, I had no idea that it would go in the direction it did. I believed that this would be a very one-sided interview as most of us know that cartridges can't talk. Well, now I know differently. Due to a modern technology implemented in an Atari 2600 game console called "Assembly Speak", I am able to converse with and interview the Globetr... [Read More] Make the first comment! |
Super CobraPosted on Fri, January 27 2006, by Ethan C. Nobles | |
 | Can you steer your Super Cobra helicopter through the caverns? I suppose it's true - no matter how much of a dog it is, even the worst Atari 2600 game is cherished by someone. I've seen Super Cobra maligned over the years so much that I never bothered to pick up a copy. When I found one for the right price, I snagged it and decided to see for myself whether it was rotten or not. In spite of all the bad press this title has received, I've found it to be a pretty good port of a classic, side-scrolling shooter. I... [Read More] Make the first comment! |
TennisPosted on Wed, January 18 2006, by Ethan C. Nobles | |
.gif) | So, you actually thought that Pong was the pinnacle of sports games on the Atari 2600? Boy, were you ever wrong! Atari 2600 owners were darn lucky in the early 1980s when it came to tennis games. Why? Well, for years, the game of tennis was poorly-represented by the famed Pong title and subsequent imitators. "Pong," of course, was a strictly two-dimensional affair in which the players were mere vertical lines and the scoring didn't resemble tennis at all. However, Activision changed all that in 1981 when it released Tennis. Atari released it's own exce... [Read More] Make the first comment! |
Lost LuggagePosted on Wed, January 18 2006, by Dan Loosen | |
 | So, you've saved the damsel in distress, found the lost gold, and killed the dragons. What else is there to do? How about saving some luggage? Lost Luggage is a goofy little game for your 2600 that is wacky fun for a little while, but isn't a game that you will feel inclined to play again and again. Your goal is to catch luggage that is falling off an airport luggage turntable. The more you get, the higher your points are, but you have to make sure to catch the terrorist luggage or it blows up when it gets to the bottom of the screen. The graphics are amusing. This is the only game that... [Read More] Make the first comment! |
Kung FoodPosted on Mon, January 09 2006, by Dan Loosen |  |
 | Is this game really all that bad? I've seen a lot of people give it awful, terrible, nasty reviews. And here's another one! (Honestly, I don't think it's all that bad of a game. A little hard, but not that bad.) Ugh. This review is going to end up short because by the time that you are done reading this sentence, you could've found out how bad this game was by trying it out. I'll start out by listing the good things about this game: Food is funny Beating up food gives me a funny mental image Some of the enemy graphics are amusing This game isn't quite as bad as White Men Can't Jump All right. That's ... [Read More] 1 Comment |
VanguardPosted on Tue, January 03 2006, by Ethan C. Nobles | |
 | One of the more interesting 2600 shooters is this multi screened gem with a boss at the end. How many bosses are there in 2600 games anyway? Back in the early 1980s, Vanguard was but one of a slew of space shooters which could be found down at the local arcade. Vanguard, which was inflicted on arcades by SNK Corp. in 1981, was not one of the most popular games of the video era. Regardless, it met with it's share of success and offered two innovative twists to a market crowded with space shooters - the player could shoot in four different directions and could choose to "continue" ... [Read More] Make the first comment! |
Antique Electric DreamsPosted on Wed, December 28 2005, by Jess LaFleur | |
| Can you believe that the 2600 is almost 30 years old?! And can you believe that people are still fascinated with this old contraption? This is not like an old radio that sits rotting in an attic. To this day, the 2600 is still a viable system, as evidenced by the Flashback 2. With hardware reaching 30 years old the Atari VCS is the most important console ever released. Finally bringing computer technology into the homes of millions, Atari created an industry only to lose it six years later. And while the console saw official software releases all the way to the early 1990's, the machine continues to be supported by ... [Read More] 1 Comment |
Donkey Kong Jr.Posted on Thu, December 22 2005, by Ethan C. Nobles |  |
 | Poor Nintendo. They couldn't manage to squeeze an extra level into their NES ports. Yet Atari got all four levels into their Donkey Kong Jr. port for the 7800. It looks nice, but is it fun? Poor, poor Atari. Back in 1988, the world was bonkers over platform games such as Super Mario Bros. and its progeny for the Nintendo Entertainment System, while Atari was cranking out titles like Donkey Kong Jr. for the 7800. Hey, Donkey Kong Jr. is a great game, but it was big a full five years before it was ported to the 7800. The classic arcade title was old news when the 7800 port of Donkey Kong Jr. arrived, thus making the... [Read More] 2 Comments |
Dig DugPosted on Mon, December 19 2005, by Ethan C. Nobles | |
 | Yes, it's Dig Dug. You can never have enough! First was the 2600 port, then the 5200 version, and lastly the 7800 game. Was there any that I missed? Any fan of the Atari 2600 knows one simple truth about arcade ports for the system - the graphics are never as good as the original, but it is possible to preserve the gameplay very well. The same is true of Dig Dug, a game published by Namco in 1982. This is one of the better arcade translations you'll find for the 2600, in fact - a big deal considering how many rotten ports exist for the old Atari. The premise of Dig Dug is qu... [Read More] Make the first comment! |
FirefoxPosted on Wed, December 14 2005, by Darryl Brundage |  |
 | When Dragon's Lair came out, video game companies thought laserdiscs would be the wave of the future and they all released a game or two. Of course, a good game is more than just pretty scenery, as this one proves. I guess Firefox is supposed to be a classic, but I dunno, more was done with this concept, and better the first time around. The only laserdisc game to come out by Atari, this was based on the movie about an experimental fighter plane that Clint Eastwood must steal from the Russians and bring it home to the U.S.A. (showing how dated the material is, due to Russia not exactly being known nowadays as to being a country that develops hi-tech w... [Read More] Make the first comment! |