• Tag Archives VCS
  • Backgammon (Atari 2600)

    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/703167336262320128

    Backgammon probably isn’t one of the most exciting Atari 2600 games but it does have the distinction of being one of the first board game adaptations to a video game system. It was released fairly early in the life of the Atari 2600 (then just called the VCS for Video Computer System) in 1979. The cover art style will also look familiar as it was done by Chris Spohn who did the cover art for pretty much all of Atari’s early games.

    I don’t know how many backgammon video game variants there have been (probably not all that many because I can’t currently think of any others) but this one is pretty thorough, especially given the limitations of the system. It can be played against another player or against the computer. I vaguely remember my Dad teaching me backgammon when I was pretty young but I don’t remember much about it and I don’t think I have played since. Apparently there are a number of variants. Atari’s version includes eight variants including what was once a popular variant called Acey Ducey which involves faster paced play and I suppose is therefore more exciting.

    Reviewers at the time rated it reasonably well. It was described as something more for the beginning or intermediate player so I suppose that related more to the difficulty of the computer opponent. It’s an Atari 2600 game so the graphics aren’t going to be spectacular or anything but then the graphics for backgammon are pretty straightforward and the Atari presents them well enough. You aren’t going to get any sounds that are too exciting either. Backgammon isn’t really a noisy game.

    As far as its value today as a game to actually play, I would say most people wouldn’t want to bother. Having said that, if you love the Atari 2600 and enjoy backgammon (or want to learn), then there is no reason not to give it try. It’s not a particularly hard game to find so it is not expensive when it comes to looking for an original. It has also been re-released in various ways over the years, including on a variety of Atari Flashback consoles so it is pretty easy to find and play if you want to give it a try.


  • Outlaw (Atari 2600)

    Outlaw was originally released by Atari in arcades in 1976 as a response to Midway’s Gun Fight which was released the year before. The Atari 2600 port was released in 1978 and was actually a better game. The concept was basically two gunfighters shooting it out against each other and could be played vs. the computer or another player.

    Like most Atari 2600 games, this one is pretty simple. You control one of two gunfighters with the old west theme clearly being indicated by the cowboy hats, obstacles and names. One gunfighter is faster and the other is more accurate adding a tiny bit of variety. There are also various game modes. Some involve just the two gunfighters, others have obstacles (like a cactus) and there are also target practice modes.

    A friend of mine used to joke that they called this game “Sit Down”. That’s because when you get shot, it looks like you sit down (vs. lying down completely or something else that actually indicates that you are dead…see the last screen shot). Thinking of it that way definitely adds a lot of humor to the game.

    This was a pretty basic game but it was pretty good compared to the competition at the time. Reviews were positive and it was fun enough in short bursts (especially as Sit Down). From a historical and curiosity perspective it is worth trying but it isn’t really the type of game that holds up well today. But if you have an original cartridge lying around, you can play it on the upcoming Atari 2600+ from Atari. It will play your original Atari 2600 and Atari 7800 cartridges and has HDMI out so you don’t have to worry about screwing this the analog connection of the original.

    There weren’t really any sequels to this game that I know of. There was also a port to the Atari 400/800 in 1981 which I’m sure had slightly better graphics but otherwise was likely very much the same. Outlaw was released via most of the various Atari Flashback consoles (except the original) and for Windows and Xbox 360 via Game Room so there are in fact various ways to play it.


  • TV Gamer (Summer 1983)

    Source: TV Gamer – Summer 1983

    T.V. Gamer is a gaming magazine that was published in the U.K. in the early 1980s. The premiere issue from Summer 1983 included reviews of the major systems and games already out at that time.

    Atari

    • System Review – This review points out the advantages and disadvantages of the venerable Atari 2600 (VCS). As the most popular system still at that time it had a massive game library and was still well supported. However, it was already pretty old for a game system in 1983 having been released in 1977 and memory was very limited at only 4K.
    • Software Reviews – Brief reviews or overviews are given for the following Atari 2600 games. While I’ve played many more since, the ones with a ‘*’ are ones that I owned and/or played as a kid.
      • Adventure
      • Air Sea Battle
      • Amidar
      • Asteroids* (Arcade classic. A pretty decent conversion on the 2600.)
      • Atlantis
      • Backgammon
      • Barnstorming
      • Basic Maths
      • BASIC Programming
      • Basketball
      • Berzerk* (I didn’t own this one but remember playing it at someone’s house. I was probably around 5 years old. One of the earliest games I played)
      • Bowling
      • Boxing
      • Brain Games
      • Breakout*
      • Bridge
      • Carnival
      • Casino
      • Centipede* (Arcade classic. Another pretty decent conversion on the 2600.)
      • China Syndrome
      • Chopper Command
      • Circus Atari*
      • Codebreaker
      • Combat* (came with every Atari 2600 for a long time)
      • Concentration
      • Cosmic Ark
      • Cross Force
      • Defender* (Arcade classic. Another pretty decent conversion on the 2600.)
      • Demon Attack
      • Demons to Diamonds* (This one got bad reviews even at the time but I spent a lot of time playing it.)
      • Dishaster
      • Dodge’Em
      • Donkey Kong
      • Dragonfire (I first played this game on a Color Computer 3.)
      • Dragster
      • E.T. The Extra Terrestrial* (a pretty bad game but by no means the worst ever)
      • Fire Fighter
      • Fishing Derby
      • Freeway
      • Frogger* (Another I first played at someone else’s house. One of the earliest games I played)
      • Frogs ‘N’ Flies* (A more obscure game but I spent a lot of time jumping from lily pad to lily pad trying to catch flies.)
      • Galaxian
      • Gangster Alley
      • Golf
      • Gorf
      • Grand Prix
      • Hangman
      • Haunted House
      • Human Cannonball
      • Ice Hockey
      • Indy 500
      • International Soccer
      • I Want My Mummy
      • Kaboom
      • Laserblast
      • Lock ‘N’ Chase
      • Lost Luggage
      • Math Gran Prix
      • Maze Craze
      • Megamania
      • Miniature Golf
      • Missile Command* (Arcade classic and yet another pretty decent conversion.)
      • Mousetrap
      • Ms. Pac-Man
      • Nexar
      • Night Driver* (I don’t think I owned this one but I know I played it.)
      • Othello
      • Outlaw (I didn’t have this one but I once knew someone who referred to this game as “Sit Down” because it looks like you just sit down when you get shot)
      • Pac-Man* (The game play wasn’t too bad but the graphics were far worse than they needed to be, even for the 2600)
      • Pele Soccer
      • Phoenix
      • Pitfall* (One of the best though I preferred Pitfall II on the Commodore 64.)
      • Planet Patrol
      • Raiders of the Lost Ark
      • Raquetball
      • Reactor
      • Riddle of the Sphinx
      • River Raid (I played this on the Commodore 64)
      • Room of Doom
      • Sea Quest
      • Shark Attack
      • Skeet Shoot
      • Skiing
      • Sky Diver
      • Slot Racers
      • Smurf
      • Space Cavern
      • Space Chase
      • Space Invaders* (I never really liked this game despite it being the one that really gave birth to the “modern” arcade)
      • Space War
      • Spider Fighter
      • Spiderman
      • Stampede
      • Starmaster
      • Star Raiders* (This game did a great job for the time of creating the feeling of a larger universe.)
      • Star Voyager
      • Star Wars – Jedi Arena
      • Star Wars – The Empire Strikes Back
      • Street Racer
      • Super Breakout
      • Superman
      • Surround
      • Tanks But No Tanks
      • Tape Worm
      • Tennis
      • 3-D Tic Tac Toe
      • Trick Shot
      • Tron – Deadly Discs
      • Vangaurd
      • Venture
      • Video Checkers
      • Video Chess
      • Video Olympics
      • Video Pinball
      • Volleyball
      • Warlords
      • Wizard of Wor (Another I first played on the Commodore 64)
      • Yars’ Revenge
      • Zaxxon
    • Competition – A video game trivia contest in which you could win the next five Atari 2600 game releases.

    Vectrex

    • System Review – The first portable game system to accept cartridges and also the only vector based home system. It was quite popular for a short time but suffered a premature death due in part to the video game crash.
    • Software Reviews – This system had a fairly small library…
      • Armor Attack
      • Berzerk
      • Blitz
      • Clean Sweep
      • Cosmic Chasm
      • Hyperchase
      • Minestorm
      • Rip Off
      • Scramble
      • Solar Quest
      • Space Wars
      • Star Hawk
      • Star Trek – The Game
    • Competition – A sort of connect the dots competition based on the fact that the Vectrex used vectors for display. You could win a Vectrex and two games.

    Colecovision

    • System Review – At the time, the Colecovision was the newest game system available. It had more memory than the 2600 or Intellivision (32K) and the best graphics. Games on the Colecovision looked a lot like games on the Commodore 64. The Colecovision had a few expansion modules and could even be turned into a full-fledged computer with printer. However, their timing was bad as the video game industry was experiencing a drastic down-turn and there were already better home computers available.
    • Software Reviews – The Colecovision while not having the largest library did have some pretty impressive games for the time.
      • Carnival
      • Cosmic Avenger
      • Donkey Kong (By far the best home conversion at the time)
      • Gorf
      • Lady Bug
      • Mousetrap
      • Smurf – Rescue in Gargamel’s Castle
      • Turbo
      • Wizard of Wor
      • Zaxxon

    Intellivision

    • System Review – Next to the Atari 2600, the Intellivision was the next most popular video game system of the first half of the 1980s. Technically, it fit somewhere between the Atari 2600 and the Colecovision though it managed to create its own niche with sports games and the Intellivoice add-on. I was not a fan of the hardwired controllers though.
    • Software Reviews – While not as massive as that of the Atari 2600, the Intellivision did develop a pretty impressive game library.
      • Advanced Dungeons & Dragons / Cloudy Mountain (I was always a fan of the Gold Box AD&D games but this was the first licensed AD&D video game I am aware of.)
      • Armor Battle
      • Astrosmash
      • Atlantis
      • Auto Racing
      • B17 Bomber
      • Backgammon
      • Baseball
      • Basketball
      • Beauty and the Beast
      • Bowling
      • Boxing
      • Burger Time
      • Carnival
      • Checkers
      • Chess
      • Demon Attack
      • Donkey Kong
      • Dracula
      • Dragonfire
      • Frog Bog
      • Frogger
      • Golf
      • Gorf
      • Horse Racing
      • Ice Hockey
      • Ice Trek
      • Lock ‘N’ Chase
      • Loco-Motion
      • Math Fun
      • Micro Surgeon
      • Mission X
      • Night Stalker
      • Pitfall
      • Poker & Blackjack
      • Reversi
      • Royal Dealer
      • Roulette
      • Sea Battle
      • Sharp Shot
      • Skiing
      • Snafu
      • Soccer
      • Space Armada
      • Space Battle
      • Space Hawk
      • Space Spartans
      • Stampede
      • Star Strike
      • Sub Hunt
      • Swords and Serpents
      • Tennis
      • Triple Action
      • Tron Deadly Discs
      • Tron – Maze A Tron
      • Tron Solar Sailor
      • U.S. Football
      • Utopia
      • Vectron
      • Winter Olympics
      • Wizard of Wor
      • Word Fun

    …and more!