The Atari 2600 just might be the most iconic home console ever released.
It debuted in 1977 to moderate success, before finally going on to sell over 40 million units
worldwide.
Despite such success, the Atari Brand doesn't carry the same weight it once did, and gaming
tastes have changed quite a bit over the past 40 years.
However, some games have aged remarkably well.
So, on today's episode of 5 Games I present 5 More Good Atari 2600 games.
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back was developed by Parker Brothers and released on the Atari
2600 back in 1982.
This was also the very first licensed Star Wars video game.
While historically important for sure, let's talk about the game itself.
Basically, you fly around in a snow speeder and have to take down the Imperial Walkers.
From a visual standpoint, Empire is quite the looker.
The Imperial Walkers are huge and even have animated legs.
The foreground moves faster than the background, giving a simulated parallax effect offering
a sense of depth.
The audio is nice too, with a constant thump of the walkers adding a bit of tension to
the blaster sounds.
Unfortunately, the gameplay itself is just average.
Your goal is to protect Echo Base from said Walkers.
A radar at the bottom lets you know how close they are, and you simply shoot the top half
of the walkers to take them out.
And, you have to hit them 48 times before they go down.
As you wear them down, they do change color, but it's a bit on the tedious side if I'm
honest.
On the flip side, you'll occasionally get to use the Force, which is the highlight of
the game.
The classic Star Wars jingle plays in the background, and you become invulnerable, represented
by your snowspeeder changing colors.
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is a polished game for sure with an awesome presentation
worth the price of admission.
I just wish the gameplay offered a bit more depth.
Next up is the classic arcade title Berzerk from Stern.
You play the role of an anonymous Humanoid, and your job is to take out an endless amount
of robots hell bent on your destruction.
On the surface this is a fairly simple game, but there is actually a bit of depth to the
gameplay.
First, you can't touch any of the walls, or you get zapped, rather violently.
This means you really have to pay attention when avoiding incoming fire.
However, this also means you can lure the enemy robots into the walls, rather than shoot
them.
Of course all of this must be done quickly, because in no time at all, Evil Otto will
appear and he doesn't abide by the same rules.
Oddly, Evil Otto doesn't seem to appear on game 1, so switch to game 2 for a more challenging
and authentic, Berzerk experience.
Berzerk is simple for sure, and your only incentive for trying to clear enemies before
leaving the screen is points.
But the solid gameplay mixed in with a plethora of classic video game sounds make this one
a lot of fun.
Moving on we arrive at Cosmic Ark from Imagic.
The gameplay here is broken into two distinct segments.
First, is a shooting section where you press up, down, left, and right to take down incoming
asteroids.
Because your ship is so large, you don't have much time to react making this fairly challenging.
After surviving the asteroid storm, you then land on a planet.
Here, you leave the saucer in a little shuttle to go abduct a local life-form.
This section brings a smile to my face, no matter how many times I do it.
Your shuttle is equipped with a beam, and you have to shine the beam on a life-form.
If successful, it will start moving up the beam of light, until you finally have it.
While performing this action, there is defense shield that must be avoided.
The timing can be tricky, but there is something immensely charming about the whole procedure.
Cosmic Ark also does a great job using sound as an integral part of the gameplay.
Warning sirens will sound when you need to return to the mother ship, and during the
asteroid section, the pitch gets higher and higher letting you know you're reaching the
end of the onslaught.
Overall, Cosmic Ark is solid game with great looking graphics, a cool star-field background,
lots of little details, and heaps of charm.
Next up is Data East's Lock 'n' Chase.
This of course, is a Pac-man clone.
You play the role of a thief, and your goal is to steal all of the loot in a vault.
Of course, things aren't that simple, as there are four policemen hot on your trail.
Once you snatch all of the money, you can finally exit the vault at the top of the screen,
and the adventure begins anew.
As a Pac-man clone, there isn't much to say here.
The layout of the vault is nice, featuring tricky outer areas, and inside areas with
plenty of outs to the chasing policeman.
Bonus items will also appear in the center of the vault offering some extra points.
With each passing level, the policeman get tougher and smarter, and you'll find it easier
to get trapped if you aren't paying close enough attention.
The main gimmick is your ability to close off sections of the map, up to two, but I
really struggled to put this feature to good use.
Finally, I have to say, Lock 'n' Chase runs extremely smooth.
The complete lack of any flickering is really impressive and gives the game a very clean
look.
If you're tired of Ms. Pac-man for some reason, Lock 'n' Chase is a very good alternative.
Last but not least is Keystone Kapers from one of the best developers of the time, Activision.
Unlike Lock 'n' Chase, you play the role of the policeman, and your goal is to catch the
robber.
The setting here is a three story department store.
The map at the bottom shows your location in the department store, as well as the robber's.
Basically you make your way from one side of the store, to the other, and then take
an escalator to the next floor.
Repeat this process until you finally catch Hooligan Harry.
Along the way, you'll need to jump over obstacles, as well as duck under others.
If you get hit, or walk into something, you lose 9 seconds of precious time.
Every time you catch Harry, the map restarts, and a new obstacle is introduced to the store,
making each subsequent journey to catch the bad guy more challenging.
In the purist sense, all you are really doing is ducking, and jumping, but it makes for
a very mesmerizing experience, and this is one of those games where I can really get
into a zone and forget the world around me.
I should also mention the elevator in the middle of the store.
This is also represented on the map at the bottom, but unless the door happens to open
at just the right moment, this mechanic is usually best avoided.
Overall, Keystone Kapers is another good Atari 2600 game with nice controls, a high level
of technical polish, and super simple, highly addictive, game mechanics, making this a must-own
for the system.
So there you have it, 5 more good games for the Atari 2600.
Now this is not a definitive list, nor intended to be a best of, and the Atari 2600 has far
far more than 5 good games.
So, be sure to leave a comment, and let me know some of your, favorites.