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  • Gangster Alley (Atari 2600)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: Video Games – Volume 1, Number 2 – October 1982



    Gangster Alley was released in 1983 by Spectravision for the Atari 2600. As game play goes, like most Atari 2600 games, it is fairly simple. One of six gangsters will raise there head in the window of a building and you must shoot them before they shoot you. To mix things up a little, it won’t always be a gangster sticking their head out of the window but innocent people too. You have to be careful not to shoot them as well. Also, one of the gangsters (Nitro Ed) will occasionally lob a grenade from the top of the building.

    Scoring is based on how many gangsters you shoot and how many bullets you have left. If you get hit by one of them then you lose one of your bullet proof vests (which amounts to a life). A hit from a grenade and you are done for. The gangsters are worth various amounts from $20 to $100 and extra bullets are worth $10 each. However, hitting an innocent person is particularly costly at $1000. Shooting one of the gangsters only disarms them so you’ll have your chance to shoot them again and again.

    The game play is simple and reviews were pretty average but it’s a fairly unique game for the Atari 2600. This would have possibly been a better game with a light gun but you are stuck with a joystick on the Atari 2600. If you have an Atari 2600, this game can be had for as little as $7 or $8 on eBay if you only want the cartridge. Otherwise, you can play it via an emulator. I am not aware of any official re-releases or other ports. This is an Atari 2600 exclusive.

    The ad above is from the October 1982 issue of Video Games magazine.


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  • VCS Owners Club Bulletin (September 1982)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: VCS Owners Club Bulletin – September 1982



    https://megalextoria.blogspot.com/2020/04/vcs-owners-club-bulletin-september-1982.html

    While the Atari 2600 (A.K.A. VCS – Video Computer System) was not the very first console, it is the one most responsible for popularizing home video games. While no doubt most popular in the U.S., it was a worldwide phenomena.

    This is the September 1982 issue of VCS Owners Club Bulletin. This was the official Atari publication for the VCS in the U.K. It consisted of only a few pages and typically included new game release information (Demons to Diamonds is once such new release mentioned in this issue and it’s on the cover too) and at least one article (in this case, one on the regional Pac-Man Competition in the U.K.) and a few other items like high scores and tips.


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  • Mario Bros. (Atari 2600, Atari 5200)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment


    Before Nintendo and Super Mario Bros. took over there world, there was Atari and Mario Bros. Of course, Nintendo still made the original arcade game but it was popular on Atari (and other) systems of the time more so than the NES. It was of course released for the NES also but by the time the NES gained popularity, the original Super Mario Bros. had the far better Super Mario Bros. to contend with.

    Like Super Mario Brothers, Mario Brothers also feature the Italian plumber duo, Mario and Luigi. Even the turtles and pipes will look familiar. However, whereas Super Mario Bros. was a side-scrolling game with many varied levels, the original Mario Bros. was played on a single screen at a time on levels that really didn’t vary all that much.


    Atari 2600

    That isn’t to say that Mario Brothers isn’t any fun. It’s a lot of fun in the way that many classic arcade games are. It’s just that you aren’t likely to spend nearly as much time in one sitting playing it as its sequels. It’s a much smaller game in which score is more important than completion.

    In the original Mario Bros., the goals are a bit simpler. There is no princess to rescue but just turtles and crabs and flies to knock over and kick. You must first jump up and hit below where they are standing to knock them over then you have a limited amount of time to kick them off of the platform before they right themselves. To progress to the next level you must collect a certain number of coins. This game introduced Luigi and when playing two-players, it is a competition to see who can collect the requisite number of coins first.


    Atari 5200

    The ad and screenshots above are for the Atari versions of the game but it was released on a number of other contemporary platforms and more recently for the Wii, Wii U and Nintendo Switch so there are modern ways to play it as well. It’s a fun game worth playing, just don’t expect Super Mario level of quality here. I personally like it better than its predecessor Donkey Kong but I’m probably in the minority.


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