• Tag Archives 2600
  • Halloween (Atari 2600)

    Publisher: Wizard Video
    Platform: Atari 2600
    Designers: Tim Martin, Robert Barber
    Box Art: Bob Gleason

    Trivia: Based on the 1978 horror film of the same name, Halloween caused such an outcry on its release that it was banned by many stores.

    http://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/182598148541/atariforce-retro-game-spotlight-037-halloween

    Halloween was released by Wizard Video Games for the Atari 2600 in 1983 and is based on the famous 1978 movie of the same name. As a licensed game, you would probably guess that Halloween is not a great game and you would be correct. While not as bad as some, its mediocrity is certainly uninspiring.

    While Halloween is famous for a few reasons, being a great game is not one of them. Because of the violent nature of the game, many stores would not carry it or would keep it behind the counter. This combined with the fact that it came out around the time of the video game crash and the fact that it wasn’t that great of a game made this a pretty poor seller. Wizard Video Games only other release was the similarly themed Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It also sold poorly for many of the same reasons. These would be the only two releases by this company because their poor performance drove them out of business.

    One interesting aspect of this game is the fact that it was programmed by Tim Martin. Tim Martin also programmed Spelunker, one of my favorite games for the Commodore 64, which was released the same year. This leads me to believe that the relatively poor quality of Halloween had less to do with the talents of the programmer and more to do with limited time and budget. I think this was the case for a great many games on the Atari 2600.

    Fortunately, this game is easily emulated because if you want an original you are going to have to pay a fairly significant amount for it. Because if its poor sales, it is now a collector’s item. There also are no re-releases. Because it’s a movie license I suspect that it will never show up in any commercial compilation.





  • Megamania (Atari 2600)


    ’Megamania’ for the Atari 2600.

    http://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/182604706851/oldgamemags-megamania-or-the-atari-2600

    Megamania is a fairly typical shooter from the early 1980s. It is similar to games like Space Invaders and Galaxian and is a near clone of Astro Blaster. It’s unique twist is that instead of fighting alien invaders, you are shooting at various random objects like hamburgers and refrigerator magnets.

    While there had already been many games like Megamania before this one was released in 1982, it’s unique humourous twist and Activision quality make it worth a try if you like classic arcade type games. In a way, this game is a symptom of the problem that led to the video game crash in 1982/83. Too many similar games. However, if they all had the quality of the typical Activision game perhaps it wouldn’t have been as bad.

    Megamania does have a more modern release in the Activision Anthology that was first released in 2002 for the PS2 and re-released for various systems through 2012. It’s also fairly easy to find an original cartridge for your 2600 or to emulate. There were also contemporary ports for the Atari 5200 and Atari 8-bit computers. The gameplay was identical but the graphics were somewhat improved.

    Screen shots above are from the Atari 2600 version of the game.



  • Pitfall! (Atari 2600)


    Don’t become a statistic in ‘Pitfall!’ on the Atari 2600.

    http://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/182614106009/oldgamemags-dont-become-a-statistic

    Those that enjoy the side-scrolling platform game genre today probably have Pitfall! most to thank. While perhaps not the very first game that could be included in that genre, it did define many of the features that became popular with these type games and it was also a massive popular and critical success that helped to popularize the genre.

    A2600_Pitfall.png
    Pitfall! was released by Activision in 1982 for the Atari 2600. It became one of the best selling games for that system with over 4 million sold which is an impressive number for 1982. The game is fairly simple. Run around trying to collect treasures while avoiding obstacles and enemies. You must swing over lakes of alligators on a vine Tarzan style, leap over scorpions, avoid pits, etc. While helping to define a new genre it also maintained the arcade like characteristics common with games of that era. Scoring was the ultimate goal. A perfect score could be achieved by collecting all of the treasures (of which there were 32) and avoiding the touch of any enemies or obstacles. Oh, and you also had a limited time in which to complete the game…only 20 minutes. Playing the game on those terms is definitely a challenge.

    A2600_Pitfall2.png
    Pitfall! was one of the killer apps on the Atari 2600. It is a must have if you own that system and any video game fan should really give this one a try if you have never played it. Pitfall! was ported to several other contemporary systems and has been re-released various times in it’s Atari 2600 form so there are a variety of legitimate ways to get this game. In addition, it has been easily emulated for many years. Even original cartridges are relatively cheap and plentiful. There really isn’t any excuse not to at least try this one.