From The Arcade to the Atari - Some Classic Game Reviews
Written: Jan 14 '02 (Updated Jan 15 '02)
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Pros: Some excellent translations brought great games to your T.V.
Cons: Many poorly-programmed games brought the game industry to it's knees in the early 80s
The Bottom Line: It has more big names than any other first-generation console, but the failures bog it down considerably.
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| dopple's Full Review: Atari 2600 |
If your a collector, this review doesn't matter because you do need one of these babies in your collection at one time or another because it basically jump started the mutli-game home video game console as we know it. But if your interested in "retro-gaming", as so many people are right now, especially as these new systems like the XBox and Gamecube have been released and get people thinking of the 'good old days' - you may be considering the entertainment value of the Atari 2600. It was immensely popular in it's time and kids & adults of the late 70s, early 80s wasted a lot of time on it.
Now we know the system is primitive. That's not my concern. It's a horribly outdated machine with extremely weak capabilities, even for it's time. But what really matters are the games.
Atari 2600 was used quite a bit for one purpose: bringing arcade games into the home. Arcades were very popular, and the idea of playing your favorite arcade machine via a little box hooked up to your TV - even when the arcade was closed??? Exciting to many. Unfortunately, for most games, it was a rocky road to Atari translation. Here's my rundown - hope it helps you decide if this is the classic gaming console for you. After all, just about every old-school arcade classic was ported to the Atari, moreso than any other console, so it should be given serious consideration.
Astroids - very well-remembered game. Sadly, remembering it too well in comparison to the Atari version is likey to disappoint. Obviously, the Atari can't display vector graphics & motion, although this translation was probably the best you could expect on the 2600. But much of the Astroids feel is missing. The ship moves a little too slow and linear, your shots disintigrate after a short distance, and when you blash away an object it just shrinks or flashes into two balls rather than brilliantly breaking up. This isn't a horrible version of Astroids and is playable, but it's one of the least-fun variations I've ever played.
Centepid - The opening animation is so colorful and cool looking the game itself doesn't seem so hot in comparison. But this is a pretty good translation of the simple arcade shooting classic. Some of the enemies (spidars, mostly) move around too choppily to accurately anticipate, though.
Commando - This is not a bad version, but I've never liked the game. The graphics are a huge step down from the original & NES version, but the gameplay remains solid. But like most Atari games, your bullets fade away after a short distance. And this game was frustrating anyway given it takes a single bullet to take you out and theres no strength build-up or power-ups. But kudos for a rare 2600 game with lengthy and diverse levels!
Crazy Climber - I loved the arcade version of this game. But it's impossible to replicate on a home system because it requires duel-joysticks so the player can control each of 'crazy climber's arms with their own. This makes for awesome arcade fun, poor console renditions. I guess nowadays you could do it on a Playstation duel shock controller with those two analogue sticks - but anyway, gameplay was 'dumbed down' so you basically just control the up and down movements of the climber's body with a single joystick rather than individually controlling his arms. There is less diversity as to the obsticles that get in the way too, the levels are MUCH smaller, and no 'King Kong'. Still, this is a fun game to play, but doesn't hold a candle to it's coin-op counterpart.
Defender - Not so bad at all. The action is tad too fast for the system's own good, though, so much of whats on-screen flickers - leading to some confusing deaths. Otherwise, better than I expected it to be.
Dig Dug - My favorite old-school arcade title. The first thing that should strike you about this version is how awful the graphics are in comparison to just about any other translation of the game. The "dirt" is a bunch of solid brown lines, the rocks are little squares, and the enemies are stick figures. The gameplay, however, remains in tact and is still very fun. The music also sounds pretty good. So while it may look nothing like the original, it plays wonderfully and is still a fun & faithful rendition of Dig Dug. Only thing thats missing is a succesful popping graphic when you blow your enemies up with the pump - they just inflate and disappear rather than burst graphically.
Donkey Kong - Short and ugly. The arcade game was short - only 4 levels, but this one is just 2! Plus, they are the two most boring levels (1 and 4), and they have been badly converted. Level one is good enough to be recognizable but level two is a shell of it's former self. Donkey Kong doesn't even resemble of a monkey here, just a splotch of red. Mario looks okay. I always thought the original Donkey Kong kind of lost it's replayability over time because it was so short and simple (not the addictive simple). But this Atari 2600 version strips it of what little length and challenge it posessed.
Donkey Kong Jr. - Even worse port than the original, probably on purpose. Coleco developed this game for Atari's console - while at the same time developing a near-perfect version for their own machine, the Colecovision. Something tells me they didn't take much time and effort to convert the action or animation. Everybody is a stick figure, there are just two levels, and they have been simplified to the point of being BEYOND dull. Donkey Kong Jr. is actually a fun game, better than it's predocessor, but not for the 2600.
Frogger - Simple but acceptable. Frogger is so basic you'd have to go out of your way to make it bad, and it came at a time when developers had figured out how to get the most of the 2600 system. Nothing has been done to 'dumb it down', and the levels are just as full as their arcade counterparts. Only problem is the fact that every object in the river, not just the logs like in the original, have a tendency to sink, making the game more challenging. Good if you like challenge, though.
Galaxian - Excellent port of a timeless space-shooting game. You have multiple levels, moving targets, rapid-fire shooting! Very little flicker, all the ships look pretty nice, and the animation isn't choppy at all. Perhaps the best arcade-to-atari translation ever.
Joust - This had to have been easier to get right then Frogger - because I've never played a version of Joust that looked very advanced, and the gameplay is simple. If you like the arcade version, this is pretty much just as good.
Kung Fu Masters - A usually fun beat'em up makes the jump to Atari's ancient console thanks to Activision. And it looks and sounds beautiful. If only they took a little time to make it playable!! The controls simply ruin the game - mainly the fact that you have to stop moving and jerk the joystick forward while hitting the button in order to punch or kick. That is not only incredibly awkward to gameplay and further troubled by poor response, but prevents you from jump-kicking, which is a vital move in some parts of the game. So it's not fun and virtually impossible. One of the worst 2600 ports ever.
Mario Bros. - Not to be confused with SUPER Mario Bros, which featured Goombahs, The Evil Bowser, magic mushrooms & actual side-scrolling worlds. This is a simple arcade game with no plot and single-screen levels, where you are just dodging fireballs & knocking over Koopahs. This is also a pretty lackluster port of the game - Mario is difficult to control, the graphics are downright awful so as you can't even make out many objects, and the animation isn't very fluent. Mario fans, you can pass on this - from Donkey Kong to Mario Bros, this little plumber was never done justice on the 2600.
THE PAC-MAN SERIES - very controversial. The first Pac-Man game to get a version on the Atari 26000 was the classic original. It sold well at first and was a cause of excitement for many gamers, who loved it in the arcade. But most hated it on the Atari, and rightfully so. The programmers seem to have rushed through this one on their lunch-break! The graphics are just awful looking, the ghosts are a constantly flickering eyesore, none of the arcade cut-scenes are here, Pac-Man is always facing sideways, the main sound-effect is a repulsive buzzing...such a simple game gone so horribly horribly wrong. But soon Atari unleashed the much-improved sequel, Ms. Pac-Man, which was a much more faithful and playable version. Later on, the large and animated Pac-Man Jr. put them both to shame! But most were jaded by the grotesque first attempt and the Atari pretty much went belly up after that.
Pole Position - I can't believe how good this game is. A faux 3D racing game on the Atari VCS? They did it. You have all kinds of technical information about your speed and car changing rapidly at the top of the screen, and head-on racing action! It's not flawless: the other cars on the courses are just a few hollow lines, and it's a little too easy overall. The game 'Enduro' actually does this type of racing action for the 2600 even better. But this is still pretty fun and surprisingly accurate to the arcade original.
Q-Bert - There are two Q-Bert games for the 2600 - the more common original, 'Q-Bert's Qubes', which features bad graphics and weak play - and the "sequel", which is really just Q-Bert done right. I don't quite remember the name of the good version, but just look for the one without the word 'Qubes' in the title.
Space Invaders - If your a fan of Space Invaders, this isn't awful, but theres something off about it. Galaxian is a better space-shooting game for the 2600 (and in general), but the charm that 'Invaders' usually has seems to be missing here, though it's not something I'm able to pinpoint. Perhaps it's the unusually slow nature.
Super Break-Out - I'm an Arkanoid man myself, but usually I enjoy Breakout games. There is good and bad about this port: for the good, it's pretty faithful to the arcade game and actually features 4 variations of Breakout. The bad, the ball can be inconsistant at times and 'go through' bricks. But it's decent overall.
Tapper - Originally a beer-commercial for Budweiser, it also happened to be very fun to play. The Atari version features none of the Budweiser logos, but that's okay because I don't mind not having company logos burned into my brain while I play video games. Unfortunately, the game itself doesn't look so good, and the play just isn't nearly as addictive as it was on the Colecovision or at the arcade. I usually love Tapper and am willing to make some sacrifices for the primitive hardware, but this probably could have been done much better.
Tempest - Is this a joke? That's all I have to say about Atari's attempt at the classic Tempest.
Anyway, those are the arcade classics that I've played on the Atari 2600, and my impressions. As you can see, some were done just fine (Frogger, Dig Dug, Galaxian), some mediocre (Crazy Climber, Space Invaders) and too many were just downright awful (Donkey Kong Jr., Pac-Man, Tempest). The Atari did have many original games worth playing, such as the alpha-RPG "Adventure", but Arcade ports were what make or brake any early-80s game machine, and the 2600 teeters on the edge of satisfactory and disappointing overall. If your considering this system, it depends on what games you like really. Hope this helps.
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dopple
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