Top 10 Worst Atari 2600 Titles List

[kainemaxwell]

You asked for it, now let's put one together.

Pac-Man and E.T. definitly go on the list, as well as Custer's Revenge.

[NE146]

*sigh* Once again.. E.T., the fashionable "worst 2600" game of the hip videogame world gets on the list indiscriminately. x_x

E.T. wasn't so bad especially when you consider there were so many more 2600 games that were far faaaar worse! My vote for the WORST high profile game DEFINITELY goes to the entire Swordquest series. I'd gladly play a round of E.T. anyday (game 3) than those absolute stinkers.

Then of course there's the "real" worst 2600 game. Skeet Shoot. Play that for 10 minutes and I guarantee E.T. will suddenly seem like an epic adventure

[ManekiNeko]

I'd put Star Ship on this list. Sure, it's an early 2600 game, but it still stinks.

JR

[Chunky]

SSSnake

[Keir]

Stellar Track

I'll second Star Ship and all three Swordquest games.

I know some people seem to like it, but Boxing by Activision is one of the worst I've ever played.

[Arcade Antics]

You asked for it, now let's put one together.

Pac-Man and E.T. definitly go on the list, as well as Custer's Revenge.

Not even close. These three games are shining examples of fun on the 2600 compared to REAL crap like Sssnake (worst game ever).

I happen to think Double Dragon is far worse on the 2600 than Pac-Man.

NE1 knows the score. That Skeet Shooting game blows. Let's add Racquetball to the list while we're dissing Apollo.

And Spiderdroid. Honestly, this game was developed on a bet that there was no way to make the PB version of Amidar even *worse*. Guess the naysayers were wrong.

[ventrra]

These three games are shining examples of fun on the 2600 compared to REAL crap like Sssnake (worst game ever).

:P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P

[opcode]

I must agree. I don't find either ET or Pac-Man the worst games ever. Maybe they were big disappointments, but still there are worst games. Ssssnake, Swordquest, Skeet Shoot, Basic Math....

[digitalpress]

Anything done by Mythicon belongs on the list. And Telesys' Stargunner... and lots more. Actually we did this list way way back in Digital Press 1-3 which I'm finally getting online:

http://www.digitpress.com/archives/arc00135.htm

It's not complete yet - I only have the first 2 of 3 parts entered in there now.

[game_trek]

Every data age game is on that list.

[game_trek]

Every data age game is on that list.

And Mythicon!

[digitalpress]

Every data age game is on that list.

I would classify Data Age's Frankenstein's Monster as a TOP 10! I LOVE that game. I didn't think Bermuda Triangle was too bad either. And I even kinda like Journey Escape (a little).

[Arcade Antics]

Every data age game is on that list.

I'm guessing you haven't played Frankenstein's Monster. And other than Sssnake, there are MUCH worse games than those Data Age carts that could fill in the top 10.

[o2william]

Data Age games aren't ALL bad. Frankenstein's Monster is Top 10 caliber, and Journey Escape is kinda fun (though repetitive). Encounter at L-5, while not really good, probably doesn't deserve to be in the "Bottom 10" either.

I say Star Ship, the Myticon games, Sssnake, maybe even Football. Stargunner looks cool, but it sucks.

How about Sea Hunt? I've heard so much bad about this game that I've never played either of my carts. :)

[digitalpress]

How about Sea Hunt? I've heard so much bad about this game that I've never played either of my carts.

How ABOUT Sea Hunt?

http://www.digitpress.com/reviews/seahunt.htm

Read.

[Keir]

*stands up in defense of Mythicon's Sorcerer*

Well, it's not that bad... really... umm... uh... OK, you can have Sorcerer on your list, but not Journey Escape damnit!

[Buyatari]

Custers Revenge is one of my favorites.

GREAT for parties with people who are just seeing an Atari for the first time since 1985.

Swordquest series is another which I played for hours. How can you even speak of those here.

I'll have to think this one over for a full list. But Pac Man and River Patrol are two of my worst ones.

Adam

[congobongo]

Boxing is on my worst list.

[Daniel Thomas]

The question, of course, is in how you define "worst game." Do you count those late-era games, like Sea Hunt, which were obviously the product of inexperienced programmers, or do you count the high-profile Pac-Man and ET? Personally, I think aniticpation of an upcoming game (or movie or CD) is almost as important as the actual experience of playing. In that regard, I think Frye's Pac-Man and Warshaw's ET are among the worst moments of the classic era. Games like Sea Hunt or Sneak-n-Peek are terrible, but I expect those efforts to be poor; true to form, they don't disappoint me.

But Pac-Man and ET (and Custer's Revenge, to an extent) are more than just poor games. They reveal an Atari almost drunk on its own hubris, cocky enough to believe the consumers will gleefully accept anything they hand out. Pac-Man Day, a defacto pop culture holiday, is met with the laziest arcade port of all time. Atari then pays $30 million (?) for the rights to ET, giving Warshaw virtually no time to create something of value. And as a final arrogant grace, Atari makes more cartridges than there are consoles.

This corporate arrogance led to far more than poor games; such short-sightedness brought about the collapse of the American videogames industry. From this point on, Atari's death was all but inevitable.

That is why Pac-Man and ET are the worst games of the classic era; these were the lynchpins that led to the tragic fall.

[omnedon]

.......^^

That is beautiful.
/sniff