RetroforceGO! records episode 57 tonight: The Atari 2600

Considering i was just shy of the atari generation (started on an NES), I would like to know how you felt about the atari pad back then, how you felt when you saw game consoles switching to d-pads such as the NES, and how you feel about the atari controller now that we've had so many improvements in controllers (dreamcast!) since it. Thanks Retroforce.

While NES games still hold up really well in the gameplay department, it seems like to me that the only 2600 games that I can still have fun with are River Raid, Warlords, and Pitfall. Do you feel this way?

I started playing on this system, but remember few of the titles outside of Pitfall. Ah well... look forward to hearing the episode.

My question..s

First up, are you sad that Atari stopped making consoles and do you think, had they persisted, they would have the success that Nintendo have?
Because Nintendo started off small and look where it is now! Do you think the same or similar would have happened to Atari?

Podtoid has Jonathan Blow. Who do you guys have lined up huh!? huh!? jk you do great work :)

I love atari. I love atari so much that I have that three pronged atari symbol thingy tattooed on my shoulder. Enough Gushing.

Topher: True or false, Defender on the 2600 is the first great console Shmup? I say true.

Colette: Raiders of the Lost Ark an interesting early attempt at a console RPG or total rubbish?

Chad: Sorry I don't have a specific question for you...um, what do you think is the best 3rd party software producer for the 2600? Everyone remembers Activision, but Imagic made some great games too (Atlantis, Dragonfire, Cosmic ARk..)

Were you ever disappointed when you got home from the store, new Atari game in hand, and found out the game did not play a thing like it said it would? Or did you just expect the games to not deliver?

One more question. What, in your opinion(s) is the absolute worst arcade conversion on the 2600? There are so many to choose from. Pac-Man? Donkey Kong? Pole Position? Q*Bert? Moon Patrol?

Did anyone else ever play The Empire Strikes Back?

How awesome was it that if you turned it on without a game it booted up Missile Command?
(I might be thinking of a different Atari model, but that's what mine does.)

As pong was one of the games that started it all I want to know what your high scores are if you've played it,

Also it's not Atari, but how much do you guys know about Spacewar, the supposed first video game ever?

So glad you guys are doing a 2600 episode.

For me, it seems like two-player home gaming really got serious with the 2600. I still finding myself going back to games like Warlords and Wizard of Wor, as well as many others. Do you guys agree, disagree, or love Reeses Pieces? Seriously, those things are fucking delicious.

Activision's Frostbite was the game that really got me going at the tender age of 2. I was going to write a "Start of the Affair" monthly musing on it but never got around to it. There's almost nothing on the 2600 that can hold a candle to today's games, but if you're looking for solid arcade-style action then there are quite a few games that remain fun.

Dragon Fire was a good one. You run across a drawbridge while ducking and jumping fireballs, then when you reach the castle you raid the treasure room while the dragon shoots at you from the bottom of the screen, almost like a reverse Centipede. I think the speed ramped up quickly enough that the game became almost literally unplayable, as in it became physically (that is, according to the laws of physics) impossible to get past the dragon after a certain point as he would home in on you, but it was still good fun.

Yars' Revenge I never played successfully as a kid, but I've played it since and it also provides a good challenge and is an interesting variation on typical shooters. The box art is glorious (you may have seen it on the Destructoid sidebar from time to time,) and I sincerely mean that- it doesn't exude cheesiness like many Atari game boxes or the pure terror of most infamous pre-Okami Wii box from Capcom.

Activision, as "the first 3rd party developer," really lit it up on the Atari, as with the aforementioned Frostbite. I recommend picking up the anthology for PS2/PC/GBA (note it runs just a bit slower on the GBA.) There are a bunch of gems on that collection. I liked H.E.R.O. and Enduro particularly, neither of which I played or knew about on the original hardware.

Speaking of third parties, OMG NINTENDO IS 3RD PARTY!

Man, I don't know shit about the 2600. One time, when I was, like, eight, I found a box in our attic with an Atari 2600 and an Intellevision. Both had a crapload of games, all in their boxes. They were terrrrible!

And that is the only memory I have of the 2600; dusty system with terrible games.

Hey guys, it's been a while. I'm srry for the brief haiku hiatus, so here's a Tanka to make up for lost time. Remember that Tankas go by a 5-7-5-7-7 scheme.

Classic Atari

The foundation of retro

and all of the home consoles

If it was an old lady

Chad would hug it, not punch it.

Question.
Where in the scale of retro do you guys put the 2600 in corolation to this list I made.
Younger Retro {i.e. N64/PS}
Prime Retro{ i.e. 16 bit consoles and good Nes games}
Dated Retro{ you guys make the call}
Aincient retro{You decide}
Also, I miss Dyson :(. When is he comming back.

Do you guys feel as though things like the "Nintendo Seal of Quality" does a disservice by not usually allowing oddball X-rated games like Custards Revenge?

Did any of you guys get your hands on any of those games? Did you even know about them at the time? Or did knowledge of them not surface until the Internet days?

Which was better? Atari 2600's woodgrain or Atari 2600 Jr's Metal Rainbow Stripe?

Also, a haiku or two from me since I never do them.


Wood Grained Atari
Defining retro gaming
Where did ET go?


Hey now Retroforce
Where in the hell is Dyson
I miss the bastard

One more pic, just found it now:

--Oh, I saw this at Otakon 2 weeks ago on a T-shirt:

The only game I remember on atari 2600 was missile command. I was about 4.

I do miss wood grain on stuff though. I think, when I get a 360, I'll have to find a wood grain faceplate for it.

Stay amazing!

I managed to resurrect my 2600 the other week, and I have to say Dig Dug is still made of win :D

Still trying to get Combat working though, that game would make for some awesome drinking games :)

Does faux wood paneling need to make a comeback on videogame systems of the current gen?

I gotta say "Yes, please".