Tech-Gaming Technology, Gaming, and Culture
Back in the late 1970’s,
you wore your hair long, you boogied to disco, and you didn’t spend your
leisure time on video games. Rather, you ‘played Atari’- a
colloquialism which indicated the company’s overwhelming dominance of
the home console market. As with many other veteran gamers, the VCS (or
2600, as it was later known) ushered in a perpetual stream of salient
memories for me. From playing all 27 variations of Combat‘s tank and plane skirmishes, to trying to each a patch by garnering a high score in River Raid, Atari games were responsible for instigating a lifelong obsession.
Although 2004’s Retro Atari Classics
attempted to offer portable interpretations of ten beloved classic
titles, the cartridge succumbed to a predictable fault. Instead of
presenting players with emulated version of familiar games, the
compilation provided remixed titles- ruining the integrity of Warlords and Asteroids with graffiti-inspired visuals and unintuitive controls. Six years later, Atari Greatest Hits: Volume 1
hope to rectify the setback- with a DS anthology which includes
forty-one 2600 games, as well as nine arcade hits. For collectors, the
addition of Army Battlezone make for an intriguing curio, as the Bradley sim has never been previously released.
As
a collector of retro collections, I’ve seen some spotty emulation
efforts of the years. A number of compilations have introduced speed
variances , graphical or aural quirks not found when playing code on
the original hardware. Advantageously, Greatest Hits recreation is
consistently solid, accurately imitating the intricacies of the 6507
chip. From the recognizable sprite flicker to the familiar pops and
growls emitted by the venerable hardware, each game retains all their
charming idiosyncrasies. The cart’s arcade emulation is equally adept,
limited only by the screen resolution of the DS hardware. Sadly, some of
Tempest‘s and Gravitar‘s diminutive elements can be hard to see.
Although the restoration of Volume 1‘s games are solid, some players might take issue with the title’s selection of titles. Nostalgic gamers seeking to revisit Yar’s Revenge, Combat, Super Breakout or Warlords
will probably have to wait until an inevitable sequel or two to enjoy
the full set of acclaimed hits. Perhaps to spread the collection of
games across a few cartridges, there’s a number of perplexing
inclusions; I doubt many veteran gamers will be interested in the
educational merit of Fun With Numbers, Hangman or Match Gran Prix. Players who enjoyed any of the top-tier titles from third parties- games like Frogger, Chopper Command or Demon Attack should note that the collection only includes cartridges published by Atari.
Supplemental material can often distinguish a middling complication for a dutiful anthology. Here, Greatest Hits: Volume 1
offers a surprisingly challenging trivia game, a healthy amount of
promotional artwork for the arcade games, and well as manual scans for
the 2600 titles. Notably missing are the DC Comics compulsory for
progress in the Swordquest series; gamers will have to head online to search for clues within the artwork.
With the astounding advancement of technology over the past thirty years, many of the games in Atari Greatest Hits: Volume 1
may perplex contemporary gamers. Yet, for anyone interested in our
pastime’s rich history, the cartridge is a requisite. Here, digital
historians will discover the inspiration for Tron’s light cycles (Surround) as well as early pioneers in the action/RPG genre (Adventure and Haunted House). The one downside of the Volume 1
is the typical retro price gouge- with the diminutive footprint of the
2600 and arcade titles, Atari’s motive for splitting the collection into
volumes was purely economic. Like any gaming anthology, a
consideration of the original price of the hardware and software may
help to ease the concern.
Leave it to Jeff Vavasour, who worked with Digital Eclypse to get the emulation right.
Can someone put up a list of the games on the cart?
$30 for portable Missile Command and Centipede? I’m there.
Let’s hope Vol. 2 brings Millipede,
Shouldn’t it be called Atari’s Greatest Hit?
I’m just saying?
Here you go:
Atari Arcade Hits
Asteroids, Battlezone, Centipede, Gravitar, Lunar Lander, Missile Command, Pong, Space Duel, Tempest.
Atari 2600 Favorites
3D Tic-Tac-Toe, Adventure, Air-Sea Battle, Asteroids, Atari Video Cube, Basketball, Battlezone, Bowling, Centipede, Championship Soccer, Dodge ’Em, Flag Capture, Football, Fun with Numbers, Gravitar, Hangman, Haunted House, Home Run, Human Cannonball, Math Gran Prix, Miniature Golf, Missile Command, Outlaw, Realsports Baseball, Realsports Boxing, Realsports Football, Realsports Tennis, Realsports Volleyball, Sky Diver, Slot Maching, Slot Racers, Sprintmasters, Starship, Stella Track, Submarine Commander, Surround, Swordquest Earthworld, Swordquest Fireworld, Swordquest Waterworld,Tempest and Video Checkers.
This seems like something TigeGear would have reviewed.
The review was up for a second then disappeared what happened? Conspiracy?!?
What the point of playing the games in B&W on a color screen? You cant save battery life can you?
Desert, Have YOU played Atari today?
What the hell game is on the bottom right?
Good review and all, but one question: Who’s Stella?
Just for keeping it authentic. As color TVs became the norm, the switch became used less in games.
Do you need two carts for two player games?
Dodge ’Em wws always fun. I wonder it it holds up. I think it inspired Rally X.
51 games for $30 is good, but yeah, I’d pay $20.
Thanks Deagle. I think I’ll wait for this to hit the clearence aisle through.
No, Space Duel, Pong and 19 of the 2600 allow for wireless play with one cart.
Pretty good list. I remember playing most of them expect Tempest for 2600…is that a typo?
Whats up with the duplicates?
Two version of Asteroids, Missile Command, Tempest and Centipede.
Hell yeah, River Raid kicked ass.
I tried playing an Atari game a few years ago. I just couldn’t. The game’s seem so old and simple now.
The bottom right screen shot is Championship Soccer a.k.a. Pelé’s Soccer.
I cant say I was an Atari fan, I I did like the Vectrex and Colecovision. You think they’ll ever offer collections for those?
I think getting the rights to some of the Coleco games might be tough.