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  • Kool-Aid Man (Atari 2600, Intellivision)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    1983 Kool-Aid Man Video Game

    Free with ONLY 125 proof-of-purchase points!

    http://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/163034904150/gameraboy-1983-kool-aid-man-video-game-free

    Kool-Aid Man is a 1983 video game released for the Atari 2600 and Intellivison that was given away as a promotion. Drink enough Kool-Aid and you could get the game for free. As the ad above indicates, you could get the game free if you sent in 125 proof-of-purchase points. I’m not sure how much Kool-Aid that translated into but I suspect it was probably one point per packet with larger point values for larger containers. You could drink slightly less Kool-Aid (30 points) and pay $10 instead.


    (Atari 2600)

    The game itself is not so great. It is basically an advertisement for Kool-Aid and the graphics and gameplay are simplistic even by Atari 2600 and Intellivision standards. Even as a collectible it isn’t that great. While originally being only available as a promotion, it was eventually released to normal video game outlets so while it is more rare than some games, it isn’t exceptionally hard to come by.


    (Intellivison)

    Despite having the same name, The Atari 2600 and Intellivision versions are really two completely different games. In the Atari 2600 version, you are trying to spray creatures called Thirsties with Kool-Aid when they try to drink the pool water. In the Intellivision version, you are attempting to locate Kool-Aid ingredients to create the Kool-Aid Man to devour the Thirsties that are trying to hinder your progress. While the description of the Intellivision version may sound better, it isn’t. Neither version is very good but the Atari 2600 had a higher fun level or at least a lower frustration level than the Intellivision version.


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  • Galaxian (Atari 2600)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    atariage_vol1num6_03

    Source: Atari Age – Issue Number 6 – April 1983

    Galaxian was originally an arcade game by Namco released all the way back in 1979. It is perhaps not quite as well known as its sequel, Galaga, but was very popular nonetheless.

    Given that the Atari 2600 (or VCS as it was originally known) was also released in 1979, it is a little surprising that Galaxian was not ported to that system until 1983. However, it looks like most of the ports for this game came out in the 1982/83 time frame so it may just be that Namco was not willing to license it until then.

    Galaxian is similar to and was designed to compete with Space Invaders. Personally, I never liked Space Invaders all that much but loved Galaga and though I never liked Galaxian quite as much, I still prefer it to Space Invaders. At any rate, this is definitely one of those classic arcade games that everyone should play.

    The above ad for the Atari 2600 version of Galaxian released in April of 1983 and appeared in the April 1983 issue of Atari Age.





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  • E.T. (Atari 2600)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    E.T. (Atari 2600)

    http://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/161238326597/et-atari-2600

    If you were a member of the Atari Club, you could get this steaming pile for $5 off!

    Seriously though, there really are many games that are worse than E.T. but perhaps none with such an abysmal hype/quality ratio. In those days, there was no internet so word of mouth was a little slower. Despite how awful E.T. was, it still became one of the best selling Atari 2600 games largely because so many people got it for Christmas. Despite this, there still really were many thousands buried in a landfill in New Mexico.

    E.T. is largely credited with the video game crash of 1982/83 but really that’s giving it too much credit. No doubt being such a dud had an effect and maybe if it had instead been one of the best games of all time (i.e. lived up to its advertising and hype) things would have been a little different. However, the fact is that there was so much garbage and so many clones (often clones of the garbage) being rushed to market at this time that the crash was probably a forgone conclusion. Besides, the video game crash helped lead to the rise in popularity of home computers and my Commodore 64 was so much better anyway…


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