Your Favorite Games for...Atari 2600

[wookiee777]

I recently acquired an Atari 2600 Rainbow Jr. (Beta-Alpha Version 2.335466.2322 and a half plus 2) and have a modest collection of games mainly consisting of the usual stuff: Asteroids, Stampede, Pitfall, Space Invaders, etc. I was wondering what games the Escapist thinks are the best for the system.

My favorites are Asteroids, Berzerk, Missile Command, and possibly Kangaroo.

 

[Fappy]

I have an Atari 2600 with some games I got really cheap, but I have yet to play it because I don't have an adapter for it nor do I have a TV old enough for the cable

 

[Jazoni89]

Adventure is my favourite.

Golden chalices, A secret Easter egg, Dragons that look like demented flamingo's.

What more could you want.

Also, despite being over 30 years old, it's still very playable today.

 

[wookiee777]

Adventure is my favourite.

Golden chalices, A secret Easter egg, Dragons that look like demented flamingo's.

What more could you want.

Also, despite being over 30 years old, it's still very playable today.

Oh, hell yeah. I agree.

I'll also have to research and hunt down this Adventure game. Gotta love the simple titles of the games. I have one that is simply titled "Combat".

 

[K84]

Moon Patrol, Missile Command, Road Runner and Outlaw.
I loved Outlaw so much as a kid^^

 

[wookiee777]

Moon Patrol, Missile Command, Road Runner and Outlaw.
I loved Outlaw so much as a kid^^

Outlaw? Could this be a precursor to Grand Theft Auto?

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I haven't played anything on the Atari 2600 in something like 12-15 years at this point, but I remember my favorites being Ms. Pacman, Pacman Jr., Donkey Kong, Keystone Capers, Pole Position and Combat. Note that I did not list the original Pacman there. That one is right up there with E.T. on the list of worst games in history, but the sequels were actually good ports.

 

[wookiee777]

Note that I did not list the original Pacman there. That one is right up there with E.T. on the list of worst games in history, but the sequels were actually good ports.

In another thread I just posted that I didn't think that Pac-Man was all that bad on the 2600. Not good, but I thought it was okay; playable. But I never really have loved Pac-Man much anyway.

Another thing, how can a simple Atari game be one of the worst ever? I understand that a lot of people didn't like E.T., but how the hell can a game with no real story to flesh out and controls with one button and a stick be that bad? I can understand being the lower end of the 2600 library, but worst ever? Check this out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Rigs:_Over_the_Road_Racing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMnMOEB1zmE

The standards are higher since Big Rigs came out in 2003 for PC, so the game can fail much harder (and it does!). I just don't see how E.T. can be more than a broken little Atari game.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Note that I did not list the original Pacman there. That one is right up there with E.T. on the list of worst games in history, but the sequels were actually good ports.

In another thread I just posted that I didn't think that Pac-Man was all that bad on the 2600. Not good, but I thought it was okay; playable. But I never really have loved Pac-Man much anyway.

Another thing, how can a simple Atari game be one of the worst ever? I understand that a lot of people didn't like E.T., but how the hell can a game with no real story to flesh out and controls with one button and a stick be that bad? I can understand being the lower end of the 2600 library, but worst ever? Check this out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Rigs:_Over_the_Road_Racing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMnMOEB1zmE

The standards are higher since Big Rigs came out in 2003 for PC, so the game can fail much harder (and it does!). I just don't see how E.T. can be more than a broken little Atari game.

Long story short, it was just a godawful buggy port, that did just as much to cause the crash as E.T. did. They were both highly anticipated releases that turned out to be absolutely terrible, and came out at exactly the wrong time for the industry.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Note that I did not list the original Pacman there. That one is right up there with E.T. on the list of worst games in history, but the sequels were actually good ports.

In another thread I just posted that I didn't think that Pac-Man was all that bad on the 2600. Not good, but I thought it was okay; playable. But I never really have loved Pac-Man much anyway.

Another thing, how can a simple Atari game be one of the worst ever? I understand that a lot of people didn't like E.T., but how the hell can a game with no real story to flesh out and controls with one button and a stick be that bad? I can understand being the lower end of the 2600 library, but worst ever? Check this out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Rigs:_Over_the_Road_Racing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMnMOEB1zmE

The standards are higher since Big Rigs came out in 2003 for PC, so the game can fail much harder (and it does!). I just don't see how E.T. can be more than a broken little Atari game.

Long story short, it was just a godawful buggy port, that did just as much to cause the crash as E.T. did. They were both highly anticipated releases that turned out to be absolutely terrible, and came out at exactly the wrong time for the industry.

Edit: Actually from your post, I'm wondering how much you know about the crash of '83. Long story short, the market was so flooded with shovelware that people stopped buying, and a big part of it was E.T. and Pacman, both of which were AAA releases for their day, both of which were horrible, and neither of which sold well enough to make a profit. E.T. in particular lost boatloads of money.

Edit: That's weird, I thought I hit the edit button, not the quote button.

 

[wookiee777]

Long story short, it was just a godawful buggy port, that did just as much to cause the crash as E.T. did. They were both highly anticipated releases that turned out to be absolutely terrible, and came out at exactly the wrong time for the industry.

That I understand (kinda makes me feel bad-ass for having Pac-Man), but even then I still wouldn't declare E.T. the worst ever, just bad. Seems like a lot of people feel it as such, so what I'm saying isn't just targeted at you, but the general attitude toward the game in question.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Long story short, it was just a godawful buggy port, that did just as much to cause the crash as E.T. did. They were both highly anticipated releases that turned out to be absolutely terrible, and came out at exactly the wrong time for the industry.

That I understand (kinda makes me feel bad-ass for having Pac-Man), but even then I still wouldn't declare E.T. the worst ever, just bad. Seems like a lot of people feel it as such, so what I'm saying isn't just targeted at you, but the general attitude toward the game in question.

Fair enough. It doesn't help that E.T. was banged out by one guy in a ridiculously short amount of time -- something like two weeks from concept to finished game, if I remember correctly. The fact that it's functional at all is impressive. The fact that its problems are primarily game design problems, not bugs and glitches, is nothing short of a miracle.

 

[wookiee777]

Fair enough. It doesn't help that E.T. was banged out by one guy in a ridiculously short amount of time -- something like two weeks from concept to finished game, if I remember correctly. The fact that it's functional at all is impressive. The fact that its problems are primarily game design problems, not bugs and glitches, is nothing short of a miracle.

Funny, back then one guy could make a game and have it published. Today one guy can make a game and have it published. I believe we have come full circle. What's next?

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Fair enough. It doesn't help that E.T. was banged out by one guy in a ridiculously short amount of time -- something like two weeks from concept to finished game, if I remember correctly. The fact that it's functional at all is impressive. The fact that its problems are primarily game design problems, not bugs and glitches, is nothing short of a miracle.

Funny, back then one guy could make a game and have it published. Today one guy can make a game and have it published. I believe we have come full circle. What's next?

Sort of. You're right, but it doesn't apply to this game. The guy in question was working for a major publisher, they just didn't want to spend a bunch of money on something they figured would sell based on the title alone, so they told him to do it. It then backfired on them spectacularly. The opposite happened with Pong believe it or not. Long story short, Nolan Bushnell described it to a new hire and told him to make it as kind of a learning experience. Nobody expected it to be any good, and in fact the rule back in the day was "your first ten games will suck, and they won't be published." When the guy completed the game, it turned out to be amazing and a huge money maker.

 

[ginty2]

Some my favorite 2600 games:

Warlords
Reactor
Omega race (came with extra buttons for controller)
cosmic ark
river raid
space jockey
solar fox ( had a contest attached to it)

funny enough i still have the 2600 i got for christmas when i was 7

 

[wookiee777]

Sort of. You're right, but it doesn't apply to this game. The guy in question was working for a major publisher, they just didn't want to spend a bunch of money on something they figured would sell based on the title alone, so they told him to do it. It then backfired on them spectacularly. The opposite happened with Pong believe it or not. Long story short, Nolan Bushnell described it to a new hire and told him to make it as kind of a learning experience. Nobody expected it to be any good, and in fact the rule back in the day was "your first ten games will suck, and they won't be published." When the guy completed the game, it turned out to be amazing and a huge money maker.

Oh...well almost full circle. Full Oval maybe? I always love hearing about works that companies doubt and are then proven wrong. Like the first Star Wars movie.

 

[FalloutJack]

I have a fair few of these, but the ones that stand out are Warlock, Missle Command, and...

 

[wookiee777]

Some my favorite 2600 games:

Warlords
Reactor
Omega race (came with extra buttons for controller)
cosmic ark
river raid
space jockey
solar fox ( had a contest attached to it)

funny enough i still have the 2600 i got for christmas when i was 7

Geez, quite a bit for me to look up. And then find, which is even harder...er.

 

[evilneko]

I never had many games for my 2600. Of the very few I did have, I suppose Yar's Revenge or Rampage. Jungle Hunt was the only one I ever actually beat (well, considering Yar's is endless), and I was horrible at Moon Patrol.