Console Review: Atari 2600

Console: 2600
By: Atari
Release Date: 11th September 1977 (US)

The most popular home console of the second generation, the Atari 2600 (originally called the Atari VCS) stood apart somewhat from its competitors. For a start there were far more games released for the system than other consoles of the time by far. Both Atari and third-party titles featured interesting concepts and conversions of popular arcade games of the time. Games such as 1977's Combat (which was initally the pack-in game for the system) distanced video games from the pong style consoles of the past 5 years.

The console itself has an interesting wooden look to it, with switches to change between black and white, difficulty levels and to reset the console/game. The game cartridges are rather large by today's standards, almost like the larger non-Sega Mega Drive cartridges. At the back on the console, there's the controller inputs and power input. Due to this, it's easier to play the Atari 2600 facing away from you, as the switches are still accessible.

(Combat; The original pack-in game for the Atari 2600)

Graphically the system keeps things fairly basic with pixel based sprites and objects, as well as simple sounds in games if there are any at all. The library of games on the 2600 is a little hit and miss however, comprising of fun to play, original ideas such as Combat, and Tennis which hold fun for gamers of today even, and titles that it's incredibly difficult to enjoy such as Casino, and Outlaw which have more flaws than can be overlooked.

When games acknowledge the limitations of the system, and use clever ways to get around them, such as combat's innovative missile control system/ tank-pong mode it's easy to forget about the graphical shortcomings and get lost in the gameplay. Even mediocre arcade conversions like Space Invaders and Asteroids benefit from the many game modes featured on the cartridges, such as two player and harder challenge modes.

(Asteroids for the Atari 2600)

On Atari game boxes it's common to see "66 games" or "27 games" and think that you've hit the jackpot with a multicart, but really what these mean is that there's a number of different playable modes. Taking Space Invaders as an example, there's faster invaders, invisible invaders, 2 player modes and more which give more replay value to the cartridge and make for an interesting journey of discovery as to what each game mode entails.

The worst type of games on the Atari 2600 are things that can easily be done outside of a console. Tic-Tac-Toe, Checkers and Reversi are the worst offenders since they're best played as board games anyway. The computer takes a long while to think about its moves and flickers on and off to reveal what it is actually going to do. Even the choice of games modes amongst these is poor since there's only a certain number of ways of playing each.

(Checkers for the Atari 2600)

Reviving interest in the gaming market after a slew of Pong consoles and becoming an almost universal word for any videogame at the time, the Atari sat atop its throne for around 5 years until the infamous port of Pac-man and E.T. the Extra Terrestrial were released to massive disappointment from Atari owners everywhere. Having massively overcalculated how many copies of the game would sell, legend has it that Atari buried 5 million E.T. carts in the New Mexico desert.

As the Atari 2600 was the best selling console of the generation, selling 10 times the amount of units as the Intellivision which was 2nd, these two games massively damaged consumer confidence in the industry as a whole. Not only were they rushed and of terrible quality but they are widely regarded as some of the worst games of all time. In 1983 the video game crash seriously impacted sales of games and consoles in America and Europe until the release of the NES.

(ET for Atari 2600)

Overall the Atari 2600 is a fun console if you're able to get hold of some of the best games for it. There's a lot of innovation, particularly distancing videogaming from being just several types of Pong. Unfortunately corporate greed put a stop to its popularity and that of videogames in general for a while, but having almost singlehandedly popularised the new breed of videogames in the beginning, you can't take off too many points from its tally. Lasting until 1992 when the last official game was released for it, the 2600 had a spectacular 14 year lifespan which rivals that of the Playstation, NES and Playstation 2.

Atari 2600 Games Review Lot #1

Game: Battlezone
Console: Atari 2600
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1983

Battlezone appeared recently in my Atari Collection review, albeit in a Vector-like version. The Atari 2600 graphics are more colourful and although basic, you can see what you're doing a whole lot better in the game. The difficulty in the game is decent on the first difficulty level, although higher levels get almost impossibly difficult. Due to this, games tend to be quite short, despite the 5 lives you're given and I've only experienced 3 enemies in the whole of my time playing.

The radar works more nicely than the on featured in the Atari Collection for PS1, and the explosion effects are pretty nice for 1983 also. While it can be fun to play, the game's short and repetitive nature doesn't lend itself to much replaying or challenges on the highscore. Overall it's five minutes of fun if that.

Rating: 16/100
Grade: F

Game: Space Invaders
Console: Atari 2600
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1978

Although its not the version that looks anywhere near the arcades, Space Invaders on Atari 2600 provides a fair amount of fun, with adjustable difficulty (your ship gets bigger or smaller, or you can make the invaders fast, or even invisible). It plays well although you're not allowed to shoot all that often, and the best part of the game is that you can play with a friend, competing for scores but wiping out invaders alongside eachother instead of taking turns.

The visuals may let it down a little, as the invaders look more like aztec paintings than the aliens in the more well known artwork. Also strange is the fact that the invaders shots down at you move almost as if there's a wind blowing across the screen, which adds an extra factor of difficulty. The player's defense turrets also move across the screen in the same sort of fashion. Overall its a decent version of the classic that doesn't play exactly like the best known version, but provides fun nonetheless.

Rating: 45/100
Grade: D

Game: Asteroids
Console: Atari 2600
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1981

A pixellated take on the vector classic, Asteroids isn't quite as smooth or fun as in the arcades, and the sound definitely isn't as good, but the main ideas are all there and it plays decently enough, especially for the time of release. The colours are bright and vibrant; sometimes a little too much so since they're shooting around the screen at speed. Shooting the Asteroids breaks them apart in a fairly smooth animation.

Two player turn-taking gameplay is allowed and other modes include harder variations of the game. It's disappointing not to see a two player mode where you can compete at the same time, but programming limitations may have put a stop to that sort of idea. Overall there's a fair amount of gameplay and it's nearly as good as playing the arcade version of Asteroids.

Rating: 33/100
Grade: E

Atari 2600 Games Review Lot #2

Game: Combat
Console: Atari 2600
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1978

A two player extravaganza of fighting, Combat features both tank and air based combat modes, with 27 different combinations of gameplay modes. Featuring different types of projectile and gameplay fields, there's added replayability and although some combinations are better than others, Tank, Tank-Pong and Invisible Tank-Pong and its variations have some of the most appeal. The air battles are fairly fun also, but they don't share the same type of mechanic as the land based modes.

Graphically, the game is kept extremely simple, as is expected from the Atari 2600, but it has enough detail for players to see what they're doing in game. The best feature of the tank based games is the ability to control your shot, once it has left your tank. Using this adds a whole new dimension to the battle, and once the novelty has worn off, there's also a mode where the shot bounces, as if in Pong. Overall this has a lot of 2 player fun, appeal and replayability.

Rating: 58/100
Grade: D

Game: Outlaw
Console: Atari 2600
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1978

Outlaw is almost like a Cowboy version of Combat, just with one player capabilities also. The problem here, however is that the gameplay just isn't as fun. With 2 cowboys on screen, the players can shoot straight, and diagonally up or down. There's a cactus in the centre of the screen which impedes the bullet's path into the opponent, so shots must be skillfully aimed. When one player is in a good position to shoot the other, the other player is in exactly the same position, so double hits occur often.

One player mode is a little less enjoyable than two player mode. The aim is to hit a moving target in each of the stages, ten times before 99 seconds are through. If you fail to do so, the game ends and if you sucessfully hit the targets, the game ends. Such unrewarding gameplay isn't a great feature, even on Atari 2600. The whole reason Combat makes for so much of a better game than this is the competitive nature of its two player mode which is well balanced, with good mechanics. Overall, Outlaw just doesn't have these.

Rating: 7/100
Grade: F

Game: Superman
Console: Atari 2600
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1978

In what is an incredibly short game even by Atari standards, Superman manages to deliver a small dose of action and storyline. How to beat the game is described explicitly within the manual, and it doesn't take a whole lot of intelligence to work it out, even without the manual. You witness a bridge collapsing and suddenly it's your mission to save the world from Lex Luthor's gang.

You fly around levels which are seemingly random mazes of backgrounds. Superman is able to preview which screen is coming next on any side by pressing the button and the direction of the next screen, but even so its confusing. The player must collect all of Lex Luthor's gang and then Lex himself and throw them in jail before fixing the bridge.

As Superman, you lose your power of flight upon touching kryptonite, and must touch Lois Lane to recover your powers. There's no lives however, so you're free to take as long as you wish to do so, and can get hit as many times as you wish. Overall it's playable but a short and rather boring adventure, which I'd reccommend playing maybe once in your life.

Rating: 25/100
Grade:  F

Atari 2600: 32 in 1 special

I'm not going to score this cartridge as a whole, since its technically many games in one, but I couldn't do a feature on the Atari 2600 without mentioning it, since some of the best gameplay I've had on the console has been from this cartridge. The game itself was packaged with many European 2600 systems and featured 32 previously released cartridges in 1. Its amazing to think that cartridges with just one of the games featured on here were even sold after playing this.

With other Atari cartridges of the time boasting "66 games" or "27 games" on one cartridge, but really meaning that they had a certain number of interchangeable features, you would be forgiven for thinking that this was one of those type of cartridges. I thought so too at first, booting up the first game - UFO. 16 modes featured in it, and I thought to myself that with a 2 player option maybe they'd decided that made 32 in all. Upon finishing I rebooted the Atari to check something and before me was a completely different game.

While there are some games that don't really impress such as Blackjack and 3D Tic-Tac-Toe, they're easily overlooked for the sheer amount of content on this cart. I'll run through some of the best just to give you a taste for what the 2600 had to offer outside of what I've reviewed. The first game to really impress me on the cartridge was Boxing. With a top down view, its not the most fancy or practical representation of the sport, but it plays smoothly and works well.

Surround is another simple game that plays well, it works just like Tron; you control a snake and attempt to cut your opponent off before you hit a wall or where he's been. There's a lot of fun variations of this featured which is good. Tennis plays incredibly well, with decent hit detection, easy controls and gameplay that far exceeds early tennis titles such as Super Tennis for Sega Master System. 

It's nice that a cartridge like this would even be boxed with the Atari 2600 since its almost a greatest hits featuring a lot of good games. I doubt companies today would be happy with giving away so many good games in this fashion. Overall it makes for a great collection of Atari 2600 which showcases both its talents and its flaws. In the interests of some better Atari 2600 games making it into my top games list, I'm going to score the 3 best games featured on this cartridge below;

Boxing: (1980, Activision) - 

Rating: 35/100

Grade: E

Surround: (1978, Atari)

Rating: 45/100

Grade: D

Tennis: (1981, Activision)

Rating: 51/100

Grade: D