Favorite Atari 2600 Games

[yotsuya]

The recent E.T. threads got me thinking about the Atari 2600. So many of my childhood memories revolve around that console. I'm curious - what were some of your favorite 2600 games:

Mine-

Battlezone
Vanguard
Moon Patrol
Atlantis
Asteroids
Space Invaders
Pitfall
Starmaster
Defender
Star Raiders

[pbj]

River Raid was the only one I really cared for.  Combat's fun with two players.

[yotsuya]

Combat's fun with two players.

Agreed. Especially Tank Pong.

[ChadTower]

Enduro
H.E.R.O.
Pole Position
Berzerk
Pitfall
Pitfall II
Frogs and Flies
Baseball
Boxing (Activision)
Empire Strikes Back

[yotsuya]

Enduro
H.E.R.O.
Pole Position
Berzerk
Pitfall
Pitfall II
Frogs and Flies
Baseball
Boxing (Activision)
Empire Strikes Back

Berzerk was a great port, and Frogs and Flies was also a favorite of mine. Never played Pole Position on the 2600. What were the graphics like?

[Louis Tully]

.

[wp34]

Adventure
Pitfall
River Raid
Tennis (Activision)
Video Pinball
Boxing (Activision)
Freeway
Kaboom

Seeing these games listed reminds me of why I loved my Atari 800 so much.  It had similar games and used the same controller but had much improved graphics.

[Vigo]

Let's hear some love for WAAAAARLORDS!   

Robot tank was ahead of its time...really cool looking 1st person view.

And Riddle of the Sphinx was darn clever for an atari game.

[yotsuya]

Kaboom - #1 favorite
Circus Atari
Asteroids
River Raid
Pong
Demon Attack
Pitfall
I remember trying to play some Kool Aid game but it was crap

Agreed on these. Especially Circus Atari.

[yotsuya]

Adventure
Pitfall
River Raid
Tennis (Activision)
Video Pinball
Boxing (Activision)
Freeway
Kaboom

This was another one I loved. Could play it for hours.

[yotsuya]

Let's hear some love for WAAAAARLORDS!   

Robot tank was ahead of its time...really cool looking 1st person view.

And Riddle of the Sphinx was darn clever for an atari game.

Warlords was a good one, especially when using 4 paddles.

Never played Riddle of the Sphinx. What was it like?

[ChadTower]

Berzerk was a great port, and Frogs and Flies was also a favorite of mine. Never played Pole Position on the 2600. What were the graphics like?

The graphics are pretty decent if you don't mind everything being large blocks like Minecraft.  It played well.  Up to shift, button for the pedal, you did lose any variability on the steering speed.  Not much to be done about that.

The games I gave were just the ones off of the top of my head.  I totally forgot Breakout, Super Breakout, and Casino.  I spent so much time on Casino.

[BadMouth]

Demon Attack.

It's the only game I'll actually play for a while when I fire up the 2600 emulator.
I don't know why.

With the rest of them, I feel about 30 seconds of nostalgia then get bored and stop.

[ark_ader]

Demon Attack.

It's the only game I'll actually play for a while when I fire up the 2600 emulator.
I don't know why.

With the rest of them, I feel about 30 seconds of nostalgia then get bored and stop.

+1 

[yotsuya]

With the rest of them, I feel about 30 seconds of nostalgia then get bored and stop.

I find that I'm a lot better on them as an adult than I was as a kid, so a game of Asteroids that might have taken me 10 minutes to play and enjoy can last a lot, lot longer.

Via emulation, I still enjoy playing Atlantis on a regular basis.

[Ginsu Victim]

Journey
Berzerk
Warlords
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Megamania
Demon Attack
Fast Eddie

[DeLuSioNal29]

My top list:

1 - Cosmic Ark (Activision)
2 - Kaboom!  - Never did like how the paddles were emulated though.  They were never fast enough.  If anyone knows of a better way to come close to the original paddles let me know
3 - Warlords
4 - Space Invaders
5 - Boxing (Activision)
6 - Mountain King - My favorite version of all systems
7 - Ms. Pacman - Light years ahead of the original Pacman
8 - Pitfall - I would cheat and start by running to the left.  That way if you died you would appear on the left and pass the screen that made you die
9 - Centipede
10 - Combat - 2 players of course.  My fav mode were:  Tanks with bouncing bullet, jet airplanes and triple bi-planes

DeLuSioNaL29

[opt2not]

I'm not going to name the arcade ports I enjoyed on this system, but as for actual Atari exclusives my favourites were:

Adventure
Frostbite
Yars’ Revenge
Pitfall

[ChadTower]

I'll +1 Yars' Revenge and Kaboom.  Big +1.

[Vigo]

Never played Riddle of the Sphinx. What was it like?

It was an early adventure quest game. You basically go through the desert fighting thieves and scorpions, but you dig for treasures and solve a puzzles through offering items in temples to get further in the quest. Overall, the game was a little monotonous, but I always thought it was clever because it had a health and thirst meter, and toggling the Color / B&W switch would flip between inventory/score and health/thirst status.  Your thirst affected how far you could throw rocks to attack enemies.  You had different items like shields and the chariot that would allow you to sprint. Thieves would steal your treasures and items, and there were goddesses and other friendly characters. Another cool feature was that depending on the game mode you selected, you could either play it as the quest, or simply play it as a simple collect treasure and shoot bad guys game to go for a high score.

It just felt like a darn clever game for its time. Even if it ended up a bit boring in implementation.

[yotsuya]

My top list:

1 - Cosmic Ark (Activision)
2 - Kaboom!  - Never did like how the paddles were emulated though.  They were never fast enough.  If anyone knows of a better way to come close to the original paddles let me know
3 - Warlords
4 - Space Invaders
5 - Boxing (Activision)
6 - Mountain King - My favorite version of all systems
7 - Ms. Pacman - Light years ahead of the original Pacman
8 - Pitfall - I would cheat and start by running to the left.  That way if you died you would appear on the left and pass the screen that made you die
9 - Centipede
10 - Combat - 2 players of course.  My fav mode were:  Tanks with bouncing bullet, jet airplanes and triple bi-planes

DeLuSioNaL29

I used to do that Pitfall "trick" too. I never learned how to play Pitfall the right way. I thought I "beat" the game by running out the clock. I never realized there was a certain way to play the game.

I'm not going to name the arcade ports I enjoyed on this system, but as for actual Atari exclusives my favourites were:

Adventure
Frostbite
Yars’ Revenge
Pitfall

I loved Yars too, but in retrospect, some variety to the levels might be nice (different shaped barrier, etc).

[Malenko]

Barnstorming for days.

[Well Fed Games]

Top five are probably

River Raid
Warlords
Yars Revenge
Frostbite
Berzerk

[stu33]

Most of those already listed, plus Turmoil and Commando Raid.

Played a ton of Moonsweeper too.

[DaveMMR]

Keystone Kapers
Kaboom
Pressure Cooker
River Raid
Super Breakout
Berzerk
Pitfall
Yars Revenge

Yeah there are a bunch that have already been mentioned.  But I also list as a guilty pleasure Kool Aid Man.  It's a terrible game but for some reason I get some enjoyment out of playing it.

[Slippyblade]

Yar's Revenge was my #1 game back in the day.  Would play it for hours.

[markc74]

This also. Flippin love that game - especially the whoooosh noise when the aliens appear.

And also stargate.

Demon Attack.

It's the only game I'll actually play for a while when I fire up the 2600 emulator.
I don't know why.

With the rest of them, I feel about 30 seconds of nostalgia then get bored and stop.

+1 

[jdbailey1206]

Did anyone mention Pitall cuz that was my fave!   

[Generic Eric]

Pac Man for the 2600.  I played it after I got home from walking through the snow up and down the hill from school.

Also, Phoenix, Moon Patrol, wizard of wor and Empire strikes back.

[dgame]

Armor Ambush

[RandyT]

Yar's Revenge
Turmoil
Cosmic Ark
Demon Attack
MegaMania
Barnstorming
Pitfall
David's Midnight Magic
Combat

It's hard to include arcade licenses in the play list nowadays, but several of those were also given a large amount of time back in the day.

[pbj]

Since so many of you were creaming your panties about Demon Attack, I decided to try that one out last night.  That's actually a damn good game as far as the 2600 is concerned.

 

[Hoopz]

Since so many of you were creaming your panties about Demon Attack, I decided to try that one out last night.  That's actually a damn good game as far as the 2600 is concerned.

 

It was better on Intellivision.      I still play it from time to time.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Agreed. Intellivision is much better than the 2600 version.

Does anyone remember the "Supercharger"?  It was basically a huge cartridge with an audio connector on the end of it. The games came on cassettes which you would load using a tape recorder.

I LOVED a game called Dragon Stomper.

Does anyone know if the Supercharger is emulated?

D

[RandyT]

Agreed. Intellivision is much better than the 2600 version.

I seem to recall a controversy surrounding the Intellivision version.  Something about a lawsuit, due to the mothership sequence (not in the 2600 version) being almost identical to the one in Phoenix.     Still, for it's day, I'm with PBJ on the 2600 version.  I still play that game once in a while.

Does anyone remember the "Supercharger"?  It was basically a huge cartridge with an audio connector on the end of it. The games came on cassettes which you would load using a tape recorder.

Does anyone know if the Supercharger is emulated?

I remember it.  First saw it in one of the magazines, but it was a pricey piece, so I never had one.  I was also concerned about there being a lack of software support, which eventually turned out to be the case.  Still wanted one badly, as the games looked really nice.  Stella seems to have support:

SuperCharger/AR ROMs now ignore the 'ramrandom' setting, and start with RAM containing all zeroes. This seems to fix issues with Dragonstomper always starting in exactly the same state.

The XONOX double carts were another great oddity.  Two game sharing the same memory, so the cost per game was lower.  Not fantastic games, but Artillery Duel was fun.

[danny_galaga]

Combat has a spot in my heart. recently I played Indy 500, which I never played back in the day. That is pretty cool (",)

[ChadTower]

The Supercharger ended up having way more value as a homebrew tool than as a consumer item. 

[Generic Eric]

What was that game with the keypad?  It was a space shooter game.  Maybe it was starfighter.  I remember it had a comic.

Star Raiders.  I liked that too.

[ChadTower]

Going the other way...

...did anybody enjoy the Swordquest games?  They had the seriously awesome looking commercials, actual prizes that were enough to make a ten year old boy start puberty early, comic books, four games (as marketed)...

...and then you tried to play one and were like "what the hell this is terrible.  Can we bring this back and get Pitfall II?"

[BadMouth]

What was that game with the keypad?

Donkey Kong on Colecovision
(notice the guy playing it not with the joystick, but by poking at the keypad)

[yotsuya]

Going the other way...

...did anybody enjoy the Swordquest games?  They had the seriously awesome looking commercials, actual prizes that were enough to make a ten year old boy start puberty early, comic books, four games (as marketed)...

...and then you tried to play one and were like "what the hell this is terrible.  Can we bring this back and get Pitfall II?"

Yeah. ---smurfing--- Swordquest. That ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- was WEAK.

[Well Fed Games]

Also, Solaris- having never played PC games at that time, probably the first game I played that felt "epic." It really pushed the 2600.

[DaveMMR]

Going the other way...

...did anybody enjoy the Swordquest games?  They had the seriously awesome looking commercials, actual prizes that were enough to make a ten year old boy start puberty early, comic books, four games (as marketed)...

...and then you tried to play one and were like "what the hell this is terrible.  Can we bring this back and get Pitfall II?"

Yeah. ---smurfing--- Swordquest. That ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- was WEAK.

Swordquest is one of those games you NEED the manual (the numbers point to hidden words in the comic), but even then, it's still convoluted and ultimately pointless to play nowadays.

[Generic Eric]

I've said this before, but Reactor was nemesis.  I haven't played it since watching a video on youtube, but when I was younger, I couldn't figure it out.

[ChadTower]

Swordquest is one of those games you NEED the manual (the numbers point to hidden words in the comic), but even then, it's still convoluted and ultimately pointless to play nowadays.

It was pointless to play then considering they never finished the series nor the contest.

[wp34]

What was that game with the keypad?

Donkey Kong on Colecovision
(notice the guy playing it not with the joystick, but by poking at the keypad)

Colecovision helped put the nail in the coffin for arcades IMHO.  I remember sitting in front of my TV thinking "I don't have to beg my parents to take me to the arcade anymore" the first time I played DK on it.  Thirty years later and I'm trying to fill my basement with dedicated machines.  Oh the irony. 

[RandyT]

Donkey Kong on Colecovision
(notice the guy playing it not with the joystick, but by poking at the keypad)

Classic example of a company attempting to promote a differentiation in a very stupid way.  I can hear the meeting now...

Stuffed Shirt: "The ad looks great, but I can't see him using the keypad.  We don't want Intellivision fans to think we don't have one"
Ad guy: "Ok.  But the game never uses the keypad, except to start the game"
Stuffed Shirt: "Don't argue with me.  Just fix it"
<Ad guy gets pissed and tells them to re-shoot with the actor going nuts on the keypad, to demonstrate how stupid it looks>
Stuffed Shirt: "Perfect!"

 

[ChadTower]

Donkey Kong was the perfect game for the Colecovision, too.  The only more frustrating thing than playing Donkey Kong on a Nintendo joystick was playing it on a Coleco joystick.

[DaveMMR]

Swordquest is one of those games you NEED the manual (the numbers point to hidden words in the comic), but even then, it's still convoluted and ultimately pointless to play nowadays.

It was pointless to play then considering they never finished the series nor the contest.

Not entirely, the first two went off without a hitch and prizes were awarded.

Donkey Kong was the perfect game for the Colecovision, too.  The only more frustrating thing than playing Donkey Kong on a Nintendo joystick was playing it on a Coleco joystick.

Colecovision Donkey Kong has a special place in my heart - it's the first video game (where I knew what I was doing) I played.

Anyway, having cut my teeth on the Colecovision, I got quickly used to that poor little nub. (Though a Super Action Controller helps matters.)  Conversely, I just can't work out the Intellivision disc.  Tried playing Discs of Tron and Buzz Bombers and my hand cramped up something horrible. (To be fair, it's the plastic Intellivision II controllers.)

[wp34]

Donkey Kong was the perfect game for the Colecovision, too.  The only more frustrating thing than playing Donkey Kong on a Nintendo joystick was playing it on a Coleco joystick.

Good point.  That was a sucky controller but I got used to it.

You should hear my daughter complain when she runs across a DK that has an 8-way in it.  The disgust makes a dad proud.

[Ginsu Victim]

Pac Man for the 2600.

Even as a kid, I knew that port was a steaming pile of ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---.

[Vigo]

Pac Man feels weird when it is "fat"

[yotsuya]

I enjoyed Pac-Man on the 2600. As a kid, the difference between arcade and home graphics didn't bother me that much. I could play ports and not get mad that they didn't look like the real thing, probably because I had more regular access to the Atari as opposed to the arcade models.

[lilshawn]

pac man... mainly because i'd never played the arcade ever.

dragster - i was a baus at that game.

defender.

also, they are called "atari tapes" according to my mother at the time.

[Hoopz]

I enjoyed Pac-Man on the 2600. As a kid, the difference between arcade and home graphics didn't bother me that much. I could play ports and not get mad that they didn't look like the real thing, probably because I had more regular access to the Atari as opposed to the arcade models.

I agree.  It was incredible when a friend got it and we could play it.  The 2600 sounds, however bastardized, was as iconic as the arcade version albeit in a completely different way.

And to DaveMMR, the original Intellivision controllers are much better than the Intv II's.  Chad had a II for sale in B/S/T a few years ago and I was sorely tempted to get it.  If it was an original, it would have been easy.  The II's were so much different that I couldn't use it.

[DaveMMR]

And to DaveMMR, the original Intellivision controllers are much better than the Intv II's.  Chad had a II for sale in B/S/T a few years ago and I was sorely tempted to get it.  If it was an original, it would have been easy.  The II's were so much different that I couldn't use it.

I played very little Intellivision growing up but everyone told me the same thing you did.  I got the Intv II in a package deal for dirt cheap and I when I checked it out, I thought the guy sold me a Happy Meal toy. There's barely any feedback on any of the buttons; if the game is not responding, I can't tell if it's the controller's fault or my fault. If I find an original model Intv for cheap enough (and I have the money at the time), I'll definitely pick it up. There are games I do otherwise enjoy playing.

Oh and thought of another Atari game I just played: Fantastic Voyage - based on a movie but still a fun little shooter.  Look up the instructions though to tell you what you should and shouldn't be attacking. 

[Howard_Casto]

Relevant:



I have a hard time finding anything on the 2600 worth playing.  I like some of the ones you guys have already mentioned like Combat! and Pitfall  but honestly those 70 era consoles were merely prototypes for the superior 80's consoles.  Back then I enjoyed them, but most of the good games were crappy ports of arcade titles...that I now play in mame... so there you go. 

It's a problem with a lot of consoles actually... if the majority of your games are arcade ports then they are no longer relevant.

So yeah, the Nes era is about as far back as I'll go anymore and even that is finally starting to show it's age a little gameplay wise. 

[degenatrons]

pressure cooker - was probably my favourite as a kid
keystone capers - running away from the pigs was GTA back in the day
starmaster - poor mans elite
snoopy and the red baron - flying around on a doghouse,  nuff said
combat - is still a fun multiplayer game that i bring out occasionally
indy 500 - ditto
the empire strikes back - the reason i wanted to own 2600 after oogling over at a friends house
vanguard - great shooter complete with flash gordon music

 

[BadMouth]

I remembered the Demon Attack cartridge having a silver label with colored stripes, but I didn't remember what the picture on it was.
Had to do a double take at the video Howard posted.



Metal dinosaurs with jetpacks and missiles FTW!

[ChadTower]

I agree.  It was incredible when a friend got it and we could play it.  The 2600 sounds, however bastardized, was as iconic as the arcade version albeit in a completely different way.

And to DaveMMR, the original Intellivision controllers are much better than the Intv II's.  Chad had a II for sale in B/S/T a few years ago and I was sorely tempted to get it.  If it was an original, it would have been easy.  The II's were so much different that I couldn't use it.

Heh, my kids love to watch 80s movies and pick out all of the scenes where some random computer is spewing out 2600 Pac Man sounds.  We've also found Yars Revenge and of course lots of Donkey Kong (which tends to be full arcade).

I forget what happened to that particular Intellivision.  I might have been unsuccessful selling it so I traded it to cw for parts to be named later.

[yotsuya]

pressure cooker - was probably my favourite as a kid
keystone capers - running away from the pigs was GTA back in the day
starmaster - poor mans elite
snoopy and the red baron - flying around on a doghouse,  nuff said
combat - is still a fun multiplayer game that i bring out occasionally
indy 500 - ditto
the empire strikes back - the reason i wanted to own 2600 after oogling over at a friends house
vanguard - great shooter complete with flash gordon music

Starmaster was the only game I knew that used the B&W switch on the 2600 as a game control. Awesome stuff.

Howard, you're getting angry spittle all over my rose-colored glasses! 

[ChadTower]

There is an incredible library of homebrew out there, too.  Head over to AtariAge and buy a few.  I used to buy one about every month but fell off a couple of years ago.  Heh, my kids sometimes aren't sure which games are homebrew and which are 35 years old, other than the print quality on the label.

[lamprey]

There is an incredible library of homebrew out there, too.  Head over to AtariAge and buy a few.  I used to buy one about every month but fell off a couple of years ago.  Heh, my kids sometimes aren't sure which games are homebrew and which are 35 years old, other than the print quality on the label.

I don't know if I'd bother actually getting any home brew 2600 games. Maybe the best seller list is where I should be looking. But, do you have a list of a few you think are good? I'm kinda curious what people have been producing.

[DaveMMR]

There's a more accurate version of Pac-Man (although you can just play that in MAME, or on literally any other device that exists.)

http://www.atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1010

And also Donkey Kong VCS (not the sneaky, half-assed port by Coleco)
http://kotaku.com/after-30-years-donkey-kong-gets-a-proper-port-to-the-a-851576160

[ChadTower]

There's a more accurate version of Pac-Man (although you can just play that in MAME, or on literally any other device that exists.)

http://www.atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1010

That's not exactly the best way to encourage talented hobbyist software developers to continue releasing high quality games.  Sometimes buying an item is about more than just acquisition.

[Generic Eric]

I would have been much happier with that version of pac man 2600

[Howard_Casto]

There's a more accurate version of Pac-Man (although you can just play that in MAME, or on literally any other device that exists.)

http://www.atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1010

That's not exactly the best way to encourage talented hobbyist software developers to continue releasing high quality games.  Sometimes buying an item is about more than just acquisition.

I think your rose-tinted glasses are obscuring your vision.  Making an inferior port of an arcade classic for a 40 year old piece of hardware on a rather expensive homebrew cart doesn't exactly scream "talented hobbyists releasing high quality games" to me but rather "talented hobbyists wasting their time making a game nobody asked for or wanted". 

[DaveMMR]

There's a more accurate version of Pac-Man (although you can just play that in MAME, or on literally any other device that exists.)

http://www.atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1010

That's not exactly the best way to encourage talented hobbyist software developers to continue releasing high quality games.  Sometimes buying an item is about more than just acquisition.

Far be it from me to discourage talent. I think it's great that this version exists and I wouldn't mind owning a physical copy.  But I also thought I was giving a poor/weak example for someone curious about homebrew games. While Pac Man 4k is cool and impressive, there are tons of original homebrew games unavailable anywhere else, that may be more interesting to some people.
 

[DeLuSioNal29]

I can't believe I forgot to mention Joust.  The Atari 2600 port was the first version I had ever played and my cousin and I were hooked from day one!  The fact that it was a co-op game made it cool.  I've since played other versions (including the arcade) and I still gravitate towards this one.

Also, to Randy T, thanks for the updated info with Stella on Dragon Stomper and the Supercharger.  I found it in my list of games on my arcade machine, fired it up and it worked!  I had played it years ago and remember that it wouldn't load in between levels, so I gave up on it.  But I updated Stella earlier this year to the latest version.  It brought back tons of memories!

DeLuSioNaL29

[ChadTower]

I think your rose-tinted glasses are obscuring your vision.  Making an inferior port of an arcade classic for a 40 year old piece of hardware on a rather expensive homebrew cart doesn't exactly scream "talented hobbyists releasing high quality games" to me but rather "talented hobbyists wasting their time making a game nobody asked for or wanted". 

Did you even look at the store's list of titles or are you just assuming they are all Pac Man remakes?  The vast majority are not ports.  Some of the homebrews would be counted among the best original 2600 titles if they had been released in 1981.

[matt4949]

THIS WAS THE ONLY GAME THAT MATTERED IN MY HOUSE IN 1983

[Howard_Casto]

I think your rose-tinted glasses are obscuring your vision.  Making an inferior port of an arcade classic for a 40 year old piece of hardware on a rather expensive homebrew cart doesn't exactly scream "talented hobbyists releasing high quality games" to me but rather "talented hobbyists wasting their time making a game nobody asked for or wanted". 

Did you even look at the store's list of titles or are you just assuming they are all Pac Man remakes?  The vast majority are not ports.  Some of the homebrews would be counted among the best original 2600 titles if they had been released in 1981.

What does that have to do with berating Dave for not recommending a homebrew port of pac-man?

[HanoiBoi]

I enjoyed a lot already mentioned like Kaboom, Circus Atari, Yars Revenge, Pitfall, etc.  Had forgotten completely about Freeway and Barnstorming...yeah, they were fun too.

I think I remember finishing Pitfall.  The game ended with like 14 seconds remaining, or something?  I dunno.

I recently tried downloading a Kaboom app for the phone, but didn't find anything impressive.

I never got a 2600 emulator, so from memory I recall loving Maze Craze and look forward to trying it again someday.  Also liked Dodge Em, Sky Diver (splat), Football, Baseball, Breakout and the Sprint racing.  Sorry, think I probably have the name of that one wrong, but I liked the ice track - one bad move and you were in the wall.

[RandyT]

I recently tried downloading a Kaboom app for the phone, but didn't find anything impressive.

The paddle control is really what made this game.  Swiping a screen isn't the same.  It's a knockoff of sorts of the Atari Avalanch arcade game, which also used a potentiometer for control. 

[Kier]

H.E.R.O. I played the crap out of that game, although now I am not sure if it was the C64 or 2600 I played it on, lol.

[vidmouse]

Swordquest is one of those games you NEED the manual (the numbers point to hidden words in the comic), but even then, it's still convoluted and ultimately pointless to play nowadays.

It was pointless to play then considering they never finished the series nor the contest.

Not entirely, the first two went off without a hitch and prizes were awarded.

I actually have 3 of the Swordquest games, I think only the Airworld one was never
released, which was a shame.   Well, actually, yeah the games sucked but I liked
the comic and wanted to see how it would end.

For my money the 2600 had these gems:
Yars Revenge
Laser Blast -- this is my mindless fun one
Realsports Baseball
PacMan -- because it is so different from the arcade version, it's just worth playing
Shark Attack

[kiwasabi]

Threshold
Quadrun
Shooting Gallery
Atlantis
Kaboom
H.E.R.O.
Yar's Revenge
Adventure
Space Invaders (for 2 player co-op)
Carnival
Crackpots
Pitfall
Missile Command
Riddle of the Sphinx (requires reading manual )
Turmoil

[darthpaul]

Pitfall
Pitfall 2
Robot Tank
Frostbite
Missile Command
Centipede

[mgb]

Combat
Demon Attack
Kaboom
River Raid

[DeLuSioNal29]

I recall once when I was a kid and heading to my local "Odd Lot" store and buying them for .54 cents. I stumbled upon it while shopping with my dad. He couldn't believe the price either and he told me to pick up one of each game. He helped me look through the bargain bin to make sure we didn't miss any. I got 7 games that day!

[yotsuya]

I recall once when I was a kid and heading to my local "Odd Lot" store and buying them for .54 cents. I stumbled upon it while shopping with my dad. He couldn't believe the price either and he told me to pick up one of each game. He helped me look through the bargain bin to make sure we didn't miss any. I got 7 games that day!

That's awesome. I picked up a bunch of great titles like that, and we kept going back until the well ran dry.

[mgb]

Riddle of the Sphinx (requires reading manual )

Wow, I had forgotten about that game. I remember having that cart at one time.

[Vigo]

Good to see a little love for the Sphinx around here. 

[DeLuSioNal29]

I recall once when I was a kid and heading to my local "Odd Lot" store and buying them for .54 cents. I stumbled upon it while shopping with my dad. He couldn't believe the price either and he told me to pick up one of each game. He helped me look through the bargain bin to make sure we didn't miss any. I got 7 games that day!

That's awesome. I picked up a bunch of great titles like that, and we kept going back until the well ran dry.

Yeah, was bummed when I couldn't find them anymore.  You could never get the Activision games though.  They were considered the "high end" games for the VCS at the time.  However, I did find an obscure game called "Dice Game" by Panda (1983).  Boring by today's standards but fun at the time. 

D

[pbj]

When I bought my Sega Genesis, Highland Superstores had just gone bust.  As the guy in Electronics Boutique was looking for the one copy of Atomic Robokid they had (it was only $18 and I had blown the wad on the system), the manager comes running in carrying dozens of Genesis games.  Because I had just bought the system, he revealed that the warehouse was down the street and they were stacking them deep and selling them cheap.

Never seen anything like it... imagine looting except with cash registers.  You walked in, they handed you a price sheet.  $5/game.  The Genesis was probably all of three months old at the time.  Walked out of there with five of the six available games... the only NES game they had was Wrath of the Black Manta.  People with misguided priorities were buying stereos, TVs, etc.

So I'm too young for all the 50 cent 2600 glory, but I got a similar taste... once....

[DeLuSioNal29]

So I'm too young for all the 50 cent 2600 glory, but I got a similar taste... once....

  Love this...
The only similar thing I've experienced lately is on Steam when I find games for cheap.  I just bought Sonic All-Star Racing transformed for $5 two days ago.  Now it's up again to $19.99.

D

[blitzd]

Not my favorite but I remember playing it. No idea what the name of the game was but you were like a dune buggy or tank or something that shot tanks, jumped over craters and I think there were some mountains you had to either jump over or shoot. I sucked at it cause I was 8.

Also Frogger.

[PL1]

Was it Moon Patrol?




Scott

[blitzd]

Yep! google search confirmed and brought back my childhood! Thanks! now I'm gonna play this game and most likely still suck at it!

[yotsuya]

I ***loved*** Moon Patrol on the 2600. That and Vanguard were the two games I played the most during those final years of the system. I loved MP so much I eventually bought the arcade version. It's one of my 12 machines in my game room.

[DaveMMR]

Moon Patrol is one of my favorite arcade games. I only just recently played the 2600 version and was actually quite surprised how decent the port was.

[yotsuya]

Yeah, I played it for hours and memorized the layouts so I could beat the two levels. When I finally played the arcade version, it really helped my understanding of the game. 

[fanneyjack]

Man I loved Combat. One of the first games I remember ever loving and is the only 2600 game I remember playing a lot of.

[Cynicaster]

I just picked up a Harmony Cartridge 2 weeks ago, so I’ve been playing a lot of 2600 lately.  For those who don’t know what that is, it’s a cartridge into which you insert an SD card loaded up with ROMs.  This allows you to play the entire library on real hardware without having to change cartridges.  Freakin’ awesome. 

I’m a proponent of emulation in general and I use it all the time (obviously), but for some reason, the Atari 2600 is a platform that I’ve never been able to enjoy much unless it’s the real thing.  I want the fuzzy CRT television, the hand-cramping joystick, the guttural noises, the whole shootin’ match. 

I agree that MAME has, for the most part, rendered most old home ports of arcade games redundant.  There are a few I still enjoy on the 2600 just for their own quirky merits (Frogger, Space Invaders, Track and Field, Bump n Jump, and a few others) but I’ve always preferred the games that originated on the platform.  Activision for the win:

Frostbite (#1 hands down)
Enduro
Pressure Cooker
River Raid
Keystone Kapers
Seaquest

Astroblast (a port of Mattel’s own INTV game “Astrosmash”, that I think the 2600 version is far superior due to the support of paddle controls)
Worm War I
Empire Strikes Back

 Some others that I didn’t discover until adulthood, but I think are awesome:

Turmoil
Beamrider
Solar Fox (a watered down port, but surprisingly addictive)

[ChadTower]

Moon Patrol had the best music on the 2600.  No question.  I can still hear the tune note for note in my head.   

[yotsuya]

Moon Patrol had the best music on the 2600.  No question.  I can still hear the tune note for note in my head.   

+1!

[yotsuya]

I just picked up a Harmony Cartridge 2 weeks ago, so I’ve been playing a lot of 2600 lately.  For those who don’t know what that is, it’s a cartridge into which you insert an SD card loaded up with ROMs.  This allows you to play the entire library on real hardware without having to change cartridges.  Freakin’ awesome. 

What are your thoughts on the Harmony itself? I've toyed with picking one up.

[Cynicaster]

I just picked up a Harmony Cartridge 2 weeks ago, so I’ve been playing a lot of 2600 lately.  For those who don’t know what that is, it’s a cartridge into which you insert an SD card loaded up with ROMs.  This allows you to play the entire library on real hardware without having to change cartridges.  Freakin’ awesome. 

What are your thoughts on the Harmony itself? I've toyed with picking one up.

I've only had it for a few weeks, but so far I love it.  Dead simple to get it up and running--just fill up a FAT32-formatted SD card with ROMs, plug it in the Harmony, and plug the Harmony into the Atari.  Power it up, and pick your game. 

I hemmed and hawed about getting one for a long time, and now that I have it, I can't believe I didn't get it sooner.  I mean, I think I only paid about $70 for it.  I'm not a collector at all, I just like to play the games, so it's the perfect way for me to experience Atari 2600 in 2014.  I don't need to pull out a crate full of crusty old plastic cartridges, I don't need a spot to store them.  Every game I want is right there on a single cartridge that I keep plugged into the console.   

If you still enjoy playing Atari 2600 from time to time, if you have the cash, and if you're not a collector whose fun may be ruined by flashcart, I'd absolutely recommend you grab one. 

 

[yotsuya]

I just picked up a Harmony Cartridge 2 weeks ago, so I’ve been playing a lot of 2600 lately.  For those who don’t know what that is, it’s a cartridge into which you insert an SD card loaded up with ROMs.  This allows you to play the entire library on real hardware without having to change cartridges.  Freakin’ awesome. 

What are your thoughts on the Harmony itself? I've toyed with picking one up.

I've only had it for a few weeks, but so far I love it.  Dead simple to get it up and running--just fill up a FAT32-formatted SD card with ROMs, plug it in the Harmony, and plug the Harmony into the Atari.  Power it up, and pick your game. 

I hemmed and hawed about getting one for a long time, and now that I have it, I can't believe I didn't get it sooner.  I mean, I think I only paid about $70 for it.  I'm not a collector at all, I just like to play the games, so it's the perfect way for me to experience Atari 2600 in 2014.  I don't need to pull out a crate full of crusty old plastic cartridges, I don't need a spot to store them.  Every game I want is right there on a single cartridge that I keep plugged into the console.   

If you still enjoy playing Atari 2600 from time to time, if you have the cash, and if you're not a collector whose fun may be ruined by flashcart, I'd absolutely recommend you grab one.

Good to know. I was going to build an emulation machine, but I have a perfectly working Atari 2600, and I might just go this route. I assume you got the basic version and not the deluxe?

[MKFan4Life]

pressure cooker - was probably my favourite as a kid
keystone capers - running away from the pigs was GTA back in the day
starmaster - poor mans elite
snoopy and the red baron - flying around on a doghouse,  nuff said
combat - is still a fun multiplayer game that i bring out occasionally
indy 500 - ditto
the empire strikes back - the reason i wanted to own 2600 after oogling over at a friends house
vanguard - great shooter complete with flash gordon music

Starmaster was the only game I knew that used the B&W switch on the 2600 as a game control. Awesome stuff.

Howard, you're getting angry spittle all over my rose-colored glasses! 

I think there were more games that may have used the B&W switch, but did you ever try Space Shuttle: A Journey Into Space by Activision for the Atari 2600?  It used that switch for Primary engines and even used the difficulty switches for the Backup engines and activating landing gear and cargo doors.  Pretty much every switch on the console was used and the game was sold with overlays for both 2600 4 and 6 switch consoles.  I died hundreds of times in my early teens trying to land that damned thing since I had no game instructions or overlay when I got the game from a friend.  Still managed to somehow dock with that satellite in space, but probably landed with gear up and engines shut down half the darned time, lol!  Great game for that time though!

Oh yeah and here's a list of SOME of my favorites (own about 300+ original carts for the 2600):

Adventure
Venture
Cosmic Ark
Riddle Of The Sphinx
Millipede
Dragonfire
Atlantis
Starmaster
Missile Command
Warlords
Jungle Hunt
Crystal Castles
Yar's Revenge
Super Breakout
Defender
Lock 'N Chase
Frogs 'N Flies (I know, but the animation was cool, the difficulty switches allowed more control over your frogs, & how many games on the 2600 cycled from day to night?  Lol!)
Commando Raid
Gopher
Shark Attack
Kaboom!
River Raid
Frogger

Too Many To LIST!

[CraftyMech]

Pitfall
Asteroids
Kaboom!

Those are my top 3 that come to mind, I played a lot of games at friend's houses that I liked and are probably mentioned in this thread as well. But my brother and I only had a handful of carts, and the 3 above are the ones we played the crap out of.

[Cynicaster]

I just picked up a Harmony Cartridge 2 weeks ago, so I’ve been playing a lot of 2600 lately.  For those who don’t know what that is, it’s a cartridge into which you insert an SD card loaded up with ROMs.  This allows you to play the entire library on real hardware without having to change cartridges.  Freakin’ awesome. 

What are your thoughts on the Harmony itself? I've toyed with picking one up.

I've only had it for a few weeks, but so far I love it.  Dead simple to get it up and running--just fill up a FAT32-formatted SD card with ROMs, plug it in the Harmony, and plug the Harmony into the Atari.  Power it up, and pick your game. 

I hemmed and hawed about getting one for a long time, and now that I have it, I can't believe I didn't get it sooner.  I mean, I think I only paid about $70 for it.  I'm not a collector at all, I just like to play the games, so it's the perfect way for me to experience Atari 2600 in 2014.  I don't need to pull out a crate full of crusty old plastic cartridges, I don't need a spot to store them.  Every game I want is right there on a single cartridge that I keep plugged into the console.   

If you still enjoy playing Atari 2600 from time to time, if you have the cash, and if you're not a collector whose fun may be ruined by flashcart, I'd absolutely recommend you grab one.

Good to know. I was going to build an emulation machine, but I have a perfectly working Atari 2600, and I might just go this route. I assume you got the basic version and not the deluxe?

Yes, I got the basic.  I'm pretty sure the only difference is the deluxe comes with an SD card and the mini USB  (micro USB?) cable that allows you to connect the Harmony to your PC.  I've got plenty of both just sitting around in drawers so I went with the basic.  Really, you don't even need the cable; it's just so you can update the firmware on the Harmony.  I haven't done that yet (not sure if there are even any updates) but the thing works as is, so I don't really care. 

I emulate several retro consoles and it's great for the most part, but for whatever reason, I could never get into 2600 emulation.  Not that Stella is bad at what it does, but the 2600, for me, needs to be experienced with the old joystick on CRT.  Plus, I love to play games with the paddle controllers (Kaboom! and Super Breakout FTW), and you really need the real deal for those games. 

 

[danny_galaga]

Relevant:



I have a hard time finding anything on the 2600 worth playing.  I like some of the ones you guys have already mentioned like Combat! and Pitfall  but honestly those 70 era consoles were merely prototypes for the superior 80's consoles.  Back then I enjoyed them, but most of the good games were crappy ports of arcade titles...that I now play in mame... so there you go. 

It's a problem with a lot of consoles actually... if the majority of your games are arcade ports then they are no longer relevant.

So yeah, the Nes era is about as far back as I'll go anymore and even that is finally starting to show it's age a little gameplay wise.

Try Indy 500 with a friend. That is great. Not on an emulator though, the controllers use rotary encoders.

[knightrdrx]

1. Dark Cavern...
2. Seaquest
3. Circus Atari..love the sound when the guy gets stuck up there and pops a bunch of balloons
4. Q-Bert
5. Blueprint
6. Raiders of the Lost Ark
7. Pitfall
8. River Raid

if you didn't grow up playing these  chances are you won't care to play them now unless you discover a really good exciting Atari game you haven' tried...such as Pitfall 2.

[SavannahLion]

I just picked up a Harmony Cartridge 2 weeks ago, so I’ve been playing a lot of 2600 lately.  For those who don’t know what that is, it’s a cartridge into which you insert an SD card loaded up with ROMs.  This allows you to play the entire library on real hardware without having to change cartridges.  Freakin’ awesome. 

What are your thoughts on the Harmony itself? I've toyed with picking one up.

I've only had it for a few weeks, but so far I love it.  Dead simple to get it up and running--just fill up a FAT32-formatted SD card with ROMs, plug it in the Harmony, and plug the Harmony into the Atari.  Power it up, and pick your game. 

I hemmed and hawed about getting one for a long time, and now that I have it, I can't believe I didn't get it sooner.  I mean, I think I only paid about $70 for it.  I'm not a collector at all, I just like to play the games, so it's the perfect way for me to experience Atari 2600 in 2014.  I don't need to pull out a crate full of crusty old plastic cartridges, I don't need a spot to store them.  Every game I want is right there on a single cartridge that I keep plugged into the console.   

If you still enjoy playing Atari 2600 from time to time, if you have the cash, and if you're not a collector whose fun may be ruined by flashcart, I'd absolutely recommend you grab one.

Good to know. I was going to build an emulation machine, but I have a perfectly working Atari 2600, and I might just go this route. I assume you got the basic version and not the deluxe?

Yes, I got the basic.  I'm pretty sure the only difference is the deluxe comes with an SD card and the mini USB  (micro USB?) cable that allows you to connect the Harmony to your PC.  I've got plenty of both just sitting around in drawers so I went with the basic.  Really, you don't even need the cable; it's just so you can update the firmware on the Harmony.  I haven't done that yet (not sure if there are even any updates) but the thing works as is, so I don't really care. 

I emulate several retro consoles and it's great for the most part, but for whatever reason, I could never get into 2600 emulation.  Not that Stella is bad at what it does, but the 2600, for me, needs to be experienced with the old joystick on CRT.  Plus, I love to play games with the paddle controllers (Kaboom! and Super Breakout FTW), and you really need the real deal for those games. 

 

I'm still heehawing. Has the price gone down, I thought it was higher than $70??

I'm quite mystified as to why there is nothing that allows even simple sorting leveraging the ARM7 that's on there. I always found that somewhat irksome.

[ark_ader]

$69 + Shipping for the Standard.  This is a rip ( )  considering you can do the same on any smartphone.  Most 2600s are toast anyway.

Besides its still a PITA to sort though the games on any emulator.

[SavannahLion]

Most 2600s are toast anyway.

No ---steaming pile of meadow muffin---. That's along the same lines of saying that most Model T's are toast anyways. 

[bkrownd]

I didn't have a large number of 2600 games.  My favorites over the long term 1982-1990 were Kaboom!, Omega Race, Super Breakout and Chopper Command.

[mgb]

$69 + Shipping for the Standard.  This is a rip ( )  considering you can do the same on any smartphone.  Most 2600s are toast anyway.

Besides its still a PITA to sort though the games on any emulator.

My 7800 still works fine (though I haven't been playing it)
to me, the 2600 games are still best on a dedicated machine with original controllers.
by original controllers, I mean Atari Paddles and Genesis game pads.
Main problem to me is that its not as good on my flat screen.

[lilshawn]

My 7800 still works fine (though I haven't been playing it)

I skipped the 7800 and held out for the Atari XE Deluxe. It was my first "computer"...wrote many a basic program on that puppy. Mom ordered it off the home shopping channel back in 1980 something. IIRC it was about a 250 buck system at the time. Upgraded to an "Apco" computer (Apple ][e clone) a time after.

[rawbe]

Me and my cousin had some epic battles playing Decathlon. Joysticks were shredded! 

[lilshawn]

Me and my cousin had some epic battles playing Decathlon. Joysticks were shredded! 

the click dome contacts of those sticks were TERRIBLE. used to have to take them apart all the time and clean/or replace the domes. I had an old TV remote control (wired type of course) that had click dome style buttons on it that no longer worked, luckily the click domes where compatible so i had a butload of replacement domes.