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One Big Pixel?!Posted on Mon, April 13 2009, by Steve Spatucci |  |
 | It's been over 30 years since the Atari VCS was introduced. Back then, we youngsters actually had to use our imaginations when playing games. And did we like it? HECK YES. None of this drivel in video games today where everything is so stylized. So, I bring you think reminiscing of what it was once like. When I was a young lad, my grandmother would wax nostalgic about the dawn of radio - the big invention of her time. She would talk about how much she and her family anticipated the weekly shows, how the neighborhood would discuss the events that took place in those early radio serials, and how exciting it was to be informed of national news via radio waves, and not the medium which she considered to be old-... [Read More] Make the first comment! |
Star RaidersPosted on Mon, March 30 2009, by Troy Wilkins |  |
 | One of the all-time greatest games ever! How many games can say they started a whole GENRE of games? Ok, I'm sure some smart-alec will say that Star Raiders was not the first, but it certainly was the BEST. Star Raiders was one of the first games written for the Atari 8-bit line of computers, written by Doug Neubauer, who also happened to be the designer of the Atari computer's POKEY chip, so he really knew the hardware he was working on! There are some games that have not stood the test of time well. Star Raiders is NOT one of them! Even after close enough to 30 years it still holds up well. When you first start the game up,... [Read More] 1 Comment |
Super BreakoutPosted on Mon, March 23 2009, by Darryl Brundage |  |
 | What does outer space and breaking bricks have in common? Nothing! That's why Atari put an astronaut on the box art for Super Breakout! But it doesn't matter. This version of the game is miles better than the original! As the saying goes, you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, especially when it came to Super Breakout, having a silly box and label cover of an astronaut facing a wall of colors in outer space. C'mon, this is BREAKOUT, not something futuristic, with the technology to push your 2600 to the limit or anything! (And I won't go into the silly scenario of the astronaut in his space shuttle in the instructions' intro either [you're welcome!].) I ... [Read More] 1 Comment |
Defender of the CrownPosted on Mon, March 16 2009, by Michael Pittaro |  |
 | As one of the more beautiful classic computer games out there Defender of the Crown had a lot to live up to. Was the game any good, or was it just a scenic slideshow? The 1980's was an inspirational time for most of us in computing. Being weaned on 8-bit computer technology and inspirational games like Mule; as computer gamers we witnessed the industry give rise to cinematic experiences only possible on the 16-bit platforms of the day. The Commodore Amiga and Atari ST ushered in a new era of gaming that pioneered an entire industry that still, to this day, continues to grow by leaps and bounds. One such game, ... [Read More] Make the first comment! |
QuantumPosted on Mon, March 09 2009, by Darryl Brundage |  |
 | After a long hiatus, The Atari Times is back with more articles for you to bother with. This time our stalwart author Darryl B. shows you what it's like when you take vector games and try to get too cute with them. In Atari's game-making history of three decades, give or take a few years (and not counting Infogrames being "Atari"), they had all kinds of gigantic hits, some cult favorites, some crap, and total flops. Quantum was an interesting mixture of being a bomb, yet having a cult following years later (which I'll get to at the end). Granted, this wasn't Atari's fault, since they didn't make the game anyway -- GCC was ordered to make it as part of a legal... [Read More] Make the first comment! |
BubsyPosted on Mon, May 12 2008, by Christopher J. Bean |  |
 | Ok, so here's yet another 16-bit conversion along the lines of Soccer Kid or Zool 2. If you like Bobcats (or Lynxes) or your name is Greg, you might actually like this game. Bubsy was an outspoken mid-90s flavor of the week bobcat that made his way into the Jaguar game library in 1994. The game was Bubsy: Fractured Furry Tails and while it surpasses the 16-bit versions of Bubsy with nice graphics and good music it still has a number of flaws that take away from the enjoyment factor. With a combination of choppy animation and sloppy controls, this cartridge will more than likely collect dust in your Jaguar game library. ... [Read More] 5 Comments |
Lady BugPosted on Mon, March 17 2008, by Gregory D. George | |
 | You want a perfect arcade to 2600 translation? You got it. Disappointed with Coleco's other 2600 efforts? You won't be with this one. Want a game that makes even Atari's Ms. Pac-Man and Jr. Pac-Man look like terrible translations? It's right here with JohnnyWC's homebrew translation of Lady Bug. Remember the days of Pac-Man? Remember 1981? Remember how whenever a popular game is released, dozens upon dozens of clones are created? The subject of this review is a game that was released over 25 years ago. Or at least it should have been: It's Lady Bug for the Atari 2600. Why exactly wasn't this game released back in the day? Coleco had the rights to it, but they released many of their licensed games on the 2600. Time Pilot, Smurf... [Read More] 6 Comments |
T-MekPosted on Mon, March 10 2008, by Darryl Brundage | |
 | Here's an Atari game appearing on another system. Who would have thought that would ever happen? With the proliferation of collection games appearing on the modern consoles of today, you might know there were one or two Atari Games arcade games appearing on other systems. Check out T-Mek for the Sega 32X. Ahhhh, T-Mek, the souped-up Battlezone with speed update of the 1990s, as Atari started recycling a lot of their old games into “new†ones (like the “next level†[har! Little Sega joke there!] Breakout clone of Off the Wall, Blasteroids was the next Asteroids, S. T. U. N. Runner was the Road Blasters sequel [in my opinion], etc.). This is the kind of game where you had to wipe the sweat off the contro... [Read More] 4 Comments |
The ABCs of AtariPosted on Mon, February 25 2008, by Gregory D. George | |
 | What was it that made Atari's original arcade games stand out from the crowd? Why was Atari's rise so quick? Perhaps it had to do with the uniqueness of their games. This article covers the basics of Atari's games from A to Z. A must read if you claim to be a true video game fan. Atari was truly the pioneer of video games. If you're any kind of video game fan, you've heard this all before. "Atari popularized video games. Nolan Bushnell is my god. Atari is the greatest! Yadda yadda yadda..." But exactly WHY is Atari the greatest? What made their games so popular? Simplicity. That's it. Their games were simple. And that simplicity translated into creativity. They had a wide variety of games. They didn't pump out the same game ove... [Read More] 1 Comment |
JawbreakerPosted on Mon, February 18 2008, by Darryl Brundage | |
 | Tired of Pac-Man? Ms. Pac-Man? Jr. Pac-Man? Pac-Mania? Pac-Man Championship Edition? K.C. Munchkin? Or any of the other million Pac-clones out there? Maybe you ought to check out Jawbreaker next. Because you can never have enough dot-eaters... Being versed in history in certain fields of interest can be pretty...well, interesting indeed. I'm no fan of history in general, but there are still certain areas of it that I enjoy, of course. I'm not into sports, so there's no chance of my being thrilled of finding a gallery of black and white shots of my favorite baseball team from 40 (or more) years ago. I knew one guy who was so into war in general that he had a stack of model warplanes and tanks that litera... [Read More] 2 Comments |