Top 10 Atari 7800 Games
The Atari 7800 never had a chance. Stacked against the dominant NES and a stubborn Master System, Atari's competitor was doomed to fail. The console was created in 1983 for full release the following year, but the faltering videogame market forced Atari to full it back. The ascension of the NES proved that consoles were still quite viable (if marketed correctly with good games), so Atari dusted off its shelved system. By the time it was released in 1986, the 7800 was saddled with tech a few years behind the curve. The comparisons between the 7800's launch library -- which was also completed in 1984 -- and the games burning up the NES and SMS were dismal. The system suffered little third-party support. It was eventually binned in 1991.
It can be argued, though, that the 7800 never exactly got a fair shake. Atari actually listened to all complaints about the 5200 and address many with the 7800, such as the return to digital joysticks and near-complete 2600 compatibility. And the machine actually turned a profit since it was cheap to manufacture and sales were decent, thanks to consumers readily identifying the brand. And while the overall 7800 catalog does not even belong in the stadium as the NES, there are still several charmers in there that were fun in 1986 and are still enjoyable today.
If you love to collect failed systems, the Atari 7800 belongs in your library. And here are the top 10 Atari 7800 games you should pick up. Lucky for you, most are cheap. Most.
10) Crossbow
9) Xevious
8) Commando
7) Asteroids
6) Winter Games
5) Alien Brigade
4) Ikari Warriors
3) Midnight Mutants
2) Ninja Golf
1) Food Fight
Link: http://retro.ign.com/articles/873/873007p1.html?RSSwhen2008-05-09_1...
Guitar Hero pedal controllers
BenHeck has created some single-handed Guitar Hero controllers. Not a lot Atar-related in this article, but he does point out that he still has an Atari 2600 hooked to his television, and he used some parts from an Atari Jaguar controller in his project.
Link: http://benheck.com/05-08-2008/guitar-hero-pedal-controllers
Retrogaming Times Monthly #48
Issue #48 of Retrogaming Times Monthly is now online. Articles in the May 2008 issue include:
* Apple ][ Incider - Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting
* Many Faces of Sir Lancelot
* NES'cade - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
* Game Archeologist
* Tomy Tutor - Jungler
You can find all these and more inside this month's Retrogaming Times Monthly, which has now been running for 128 months in a row. If you've missed any back issues, you can also look through their complete archives to get up to date.
Link: http://my.stratos.net/~hewston95/RTM/RTM_Home.htm
From: http://www.atariage.com/
AtariProtos.com 8-bit Update
Matt Reichert has added several new Atari 8-bit prototype reviews to his extensive website AtariProtos.com. The newly reviewed games include: Frogger II, Tutankham, Up 'n Down, Star Trux, Saucer, Pac-Mac, Football, and Letter Tutor. Please visit AtariProtos.com to read these new reviews as well as the wealth of prototype reviews for the 2600, 5200 and 7800. You can discuss these updates with Matt Reichert (Tempest) and other AtariAge members in our Atari 8-bit Computers Forum.
Link: http://www.atariage.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=125004
From: http://www.atariage.com/
Interesting new Arcade Timeline
Dipity, apparently the Internet's premier site for, er, timelines, has this rather cool Arcade Timeline up, showing releases right from 1971 to the present day and slightly beyond.
Link: http://www.dipity.com/user/editor/timeline/Video_Arcade_1?msg=creat...
From: http://classicgaming.gamespy.com/
Games that Time Forgot: Alien vs Predator (Atari Jaguar)
For this weeks dive into the vaults of gaming history I am going back to 1994 for Alien vs Predator for the ill-fated Atari Jaguar. Developed by Rebellion Software, the same team who went on to make the PC versions of the AvP series, this game was a true diamond that was missed due to the obscurity of the platform. The game is set in deep space on board a colonial space marine ship which had been boarded by both an Alien ship and a Predator ship, you can choose which of the three forces you play as, each with their own storyline and gameplay style.
Playing as the marine, the game is a relatively straightforward FPS, you run around, shoot some enemies and collect new guns. The aim of the game as the marine is to find a way to open the highest security level door, set the self destruct and evacuate the ship in an escape pod.
As the Predator, the goal is to collect the skull of the Alien queen located deep within the Alien ship and return victorious with it back to the Predator ship. The Predator is armed with is vast array of toys, but these are unlocked using an honour system. Killing an enemy from behind, when invisible or with a ranged weapon will result in a loss of honour, while using a melee weapon and being visible will increase your points. The predator is also armed with a huge range of different vision filters, although only the thermographic one is actually much use.
The Alien was easily the most fun to play, you have 3 simple weapons, bite, claw and tail, and by performing a simple combination of attacks you can cocoon humans to act as extra lives. When you die, you would return to the oldest cocoon you set and then it would be destroyed. Your goal as the Alien is to rescue the queen, who is being held on the predator ship. This was by far the easiest campaign, and the only one I ever actually completed, mainly because it was the only mode where you had lives\restart points.
The game ran on a modified Wolfenstein 3D engine, as that game was also ported to the Jaguar, meaning that there was no looking up or down, square corners and very little transparency. Visually the game was not stunning, it wasn’t even the best on the system, but the depth of the game (for an FPS) was immense for the time and the fact there was 3 campaigns meant there was plenty of meat to sink your teeth into. This game was also the only game that ever made real use of the 12 extra buttons on the Jaguars controller, assigning each button to a different weapon or item (i.e. medkit), just like playing a PC game, they gave you 3 little covers to slip over the buttons (one for each force) so that you did not have to remember which button was which.
I would have to say that this is easily my favorite game for the Jaguar (except maybe Kasumi Ninja), and a great example of good uses for a film license, it is just such a pity that so few people ever really got to play this game, or even play on a Jaguar full stop. If you enjoy playing Wolfenstein (or Rise of the Triad) era FPS’s, then maybe you should hunt out an emulator and see if you can find a copy, you won’t be disappointed.
Link: http://www.teamteabag.com/2008/05/12/games-that-time-forgot-alien-v...
Activision bringing Pitfall back for Wii
Activision has decided to reincarnate the Pitfall series on Wii, although there's no word on exactly when we'll be getting our 'motes on it. Dubbed The Big Adventure, it will be set in the Peruvian jungle where there are lots of reptiles to dodge and vines to swing around on and pits to fall in.
Edge of Reality is developing it and claims over 60 levels spanning rainforests, caves and mountain tops. You'll have to unearth hidden treasures, battle bizarre forest inhabitants, outwit, er, animals, and escape traps.
"Pitfall is one of the most legendary franchises in the history of videogames, so we look forward to releasing a new version exclusively for Wii," said Activision spokesperson Dave Oxford. "What could be more fun than using the Wii Remote to swing on a vine over blood thirsty crocodiles as retro-cool Pitfall Harry?!"
Pitfall began in 1982 on the Atari 2600, where it sold over 2.6 million copies, or so says Wikipedia. It's platform shenanigans have gone on to spawn numerous sequels, the most recent being Pitfall: The Lost Expedition for PS2, Xbox, and GameCube in 2004.
Link: http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=139429
The Games My Mother Played
May 1st 1980 I came home from school to find my mother waiting there for me, a giddy smile on her lips. She always loved birthdays. Back then we were living in an apartment, my younger sister and I sharing one room, my older brother and sister sometimes sharing another, and birthdays were the one time my mother, taking care of four children on child support and a modest income from the dancing school she ran, would really get to splurge on her kids.
Seven year-old me knew this, so I was nearly as excited as she was as she handed over a small wrapped package, my shaking fingers tearing at the colorful paper to reveal the prize beneath. Space Invaders for the Atari 2600! My heart leapt! At that point I had only been exposed to video games at my dad's house or when my brother borrowed a friend's Odyssey 2, but I had already developed the hunger that would one day lead me here. I looked around the room for the missing piece of the present...behind her, in the kitchen, on the glass coffee table my brother would eventually put his foot through in a bout of teenage rebellion, but it was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's the Atari?" I asked, my voice shaking with excitement.
"What Atari?" she replied, looking perplexed.
My heart sank a little, but I ventured onward with my questioning.
"This is a cartridge for the Atari 2600. You need an Atari to play it."
My mother frowned. "Oh. I thought it was one of those handheld games," she replied, even going as far as to mimic playing a portable game with her hands.
I was crushed, completely. Not because I wasn't getting an Atari, but because of that disappointed look on my mother's face as I explained the problem. A very emphatic child, I could almost feel how upset she was about her mistake. Here she was, struggling to raise us and wanting to give me one special day out of the year and she messed it up.
I went into my room and cried for an hour. She didn't stop me.
An hour later my father arrived with my Atari 2600.
Link: http://kotaku.com/389362/the-games-my-mother-played
GTA IV for the Atari 2600
Obviously a fake cartridge, but well done.
Link: http://dier-vek.livejournal.com/10620.html
Play 2600 games online
This site allows you to play old Atari 2600 games online. Uses Java. I'd write a better description, but I'm too busy playing Video Pinball.
Link: http://www.2600online.com/
