Atari 2600 Originals - any worth playing?

[farfel]

With MAME playing the arcade ports is kinda pointless. MAME is superior to the Atari.

What Atari originals do you like?




- Raiders of the Lost Ark

- Pitfall 1 & 2

- Empire Strikes Back

[tholly]

i hate playing games in any way other than their original format....(ie, i hate playing console or arcade game on a pc)....so, yes any and all games are worth playing on their original standard over a Mame set up

[Lady Jaye]

Star Raiders followed by its "sequel" (of sorts): Solaris. It's such a sequel than even the label art was recycled:

http://www.atariage.com/2600/carts/c_StarRaiders_Picture_front.jpg

http://www.atariage.com/2600/carts/c_Solaris_Red_front.jpg

[digitalpress]

They may not be on par with Final Fantasy VII, but I think you'll find almost all of the Activision games superb Atari 2600 "originals".

[Graham Mitchell]

They may not be on par with Final Fantasy VII, but I think you'll find almost all of the Activision games superb Atari 2600 "originals".

I'll second that one.

There's a lot of really interesting and kind of wacky third-party titles for the 2600 which, though hard to find, are of interest. For instance, there's a M*A*S*H game that's really wierd, there's all those porno games (which really must be seen to be believed.) Imagic had some great ones too. I also remember a game called Reactor, and I've never seen anything like it since (you're an isotope in a nuclear reactor and you have to smash other activated ions; crazy.) I suspect that game may be a port, however.

[digitalpress]

I also remember a game called Reactor, and I've never seen anything like it since (you're an isotope in a nuclear reactor and you have to smash other activated ions; crazy.) I suspect that game may be a port, however.

Yah, Reactor is a port. A very good one!

http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=R&game_id=9274

Unlike Final Fantasy VII, which is NOT a port.

[Fuyukaze]

Reactor.....glad someone else remembers it. Very good game. Very hard, yet very fun.

[TheRedEye]

What's that Imagic game where you fly around to different planets and abduct puppies with your spaceship? I love that one.

[Kim Possible]

Pressure Cooker is a WONDERFUL game for the 2600.

As is Solaris (already mentioned)

[TripppsK]

What's that Imagic game where you fly around to different planets and abduct puppies with your spaceship? I love that one.

I believe your thinking of Cosmic Ark.

[8-Bit Master]

What's that Imagic game where you fly around to different planets and abduct puppies with your spaceship? I love that one.

I think Cosmic Ark is what you are looking for.

Imagic games in general are usually excellent.

[bargora]

If you want to destroy your friends, both Combat and Slot Racers are excellent. Curse those who say it be not so!

[goatdan]

Ram It is awesome, and it isn't emulated quite right... or if it is, the emulation makes the game translate very poorly to the computer. At least, that's what I think :)

[Sylentwulf]

Joe has Final Fantasy VII-itus today.

[SS]

What Atari originals do you like?

Climber 5
Gunfight
Jammed
Joust Pong
Marble Craze
Qb
SCSIcide
Skeleton +
Space Treat Deluxe
Thrust
Vault Assault

:)

[Griking]

Well, I still say that Adventure was my favorite Atari 2600 game. It was an original.

Wow, I never realized that solaris had the same label art as Star Raiders. Well the hell was up with that? There's got to be some story behind why they simply recycled the picture.

[SS]

Wow, I never realized that solaris had the same label art as Star Raiders. Well the hell was up with that? There's got to be some story behind why they simply recycled the picture.

No real story, AFAIK. Atari was just pretty cheap-assed in the later 80s.

[Wavelflack]

Warlords is extremely fun, but you'll want all four players to be human. Get some friends and 2 sets of paddles, and have fun.

[Graham Mitchell]

Wow, I never realized that solaris had the same label art as Star Raiders. Well the hell was up with that? There's got to be some story behind why they simply recycled the picture.

No real story, AFAIK. Atari was just pretty cheap-assed in the later 80s.

Yeah, late '80's Atari is a great model for how NOT to run a business.

[Fungus]

Activision's KABOOM!

Easily my favorite. After a few rounds, all else around you no longer matters. You zone out into a trance as your eyes glaze over from not being allowed to blink. You concentrate to remember to purposely miss the last bomb on that one level to maximize your score. As you dance your bucket back and forth frantically, you curse your faulty paddle controller for jumping around. Damn you! Damn you! DAAAM YOUUUU!!!!! (pantpant-wheezewheeze) Sigh!

You then reach for the reset button once again.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

But technically, Kaboom is a near-beer version of the obscure B&W 70s Atari arcade game Avalanche (http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=6976). :) There was a lot of that going on, back in the days before the phrase "look & feel lawsuit" came into existence.

[NE146]

I actually sometimes prefer 2600 MsPacman (and it's subsequent hack to Pacman) moreso than the arcade versions. They have their own charm but are still comfort food territory with their pacman series gameplay. Don't get me wrong I overplay the arcade originals (high score in arcade msPac > 300k) but the 2600 versions just have that "something" in my opinion :)

As far as 2600 originals.. I really like Spacemaster X-7.. nice and fast original shooter.

[kjmontana]

"Stella Gets a New Brain" a great CD of all the Starpath Supercharger games for the 2600. I spotted this on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8131687218&indexURL=0&photoDisplayType=2#ebayphotohosting
Not many games but they are higher quality than most 2600 games(extra memory added).

[TomMage]

I'd have to say Montezuma's Revenge and Adventure were two of my favorites.

[Blendo75]

Dont forget about Parker Bros games... Star Wars ESB, Spiderman, Lord of the Rings are all good.

[Atarileaf]

I don't think anyone's mentioned HERO. Awesome game!

[fergojisan]

I have to agree with those that mentioned Adventure, the Pitfalls, Kaboom, and Warlords. Adventure is my favorite, and all the early paddle games are excellent. Frankenstein's Monster is also a great game. And I love Miniature Golf to death.

Ferg

[Flack]

A lot of these games may not be better than the arcade originals, but they're the ones I grew up with, and that in itself makes them worth playing from time to time. If you never played Donkey Kong on the Atari 2600, then yeah, I'd say you're going to be much happier with the real deal.

As others have mentioned, there are so many ORIGINAL games for the 2600 that were not arcade games, and even the ones that WERE arcade games have a nostalgic feel or spark memories related to the 2600 that MAME simply cannot.

[Lady Jaye]

Not Donkey Kong on the 2600! *gag* For some unknown reason, I spent waaaay too much time playing that subpar POS.

[Arcade Antics]

I don't think anyone's mentioned HERO. Awesome game!

Yes. It's true.

H.E.R.O. is THE single Best Atari 2600 game. Period. THE Best. Note the capital "B" on "Best."

Best. 2600 game. Ever.

[farfel]

So what exactly are you trying to say?

LOL

Indy 500