Overrated and Underrated Atari Games

[Mind Master]

There sure is a lot of variety in the opinions in this thread. I guess favorite games is a very personal thing. I, for one, found Night Driver to be perhaps the most boring game of them all. I don't think I ever played it again after the first couple of weeks or so. But I could play Adventure until the cows (or dragons) came home.

[Tempest]

Tutankham: Does not even come close to the manic nature of the arcade. Controls blow too.

 

Well that's the thing, you have to forget it's a port of an arcade game. I played it for years before I knew there was an arcade version. I'll admit it really doesn't look much like it, but I like how it lists all the treasures in the manual, each with a little story. As I recall the arcade version just has generic treasures that repeat.

 

Tempest

[theaveng]

I'd suspect anyone who says Pitfall is overrated wasn't around back in the day, when Pitfall was a wonder to behold and one of the biggest things going.  

 

I'd be more likely to agree Pitfall 2 is overrated. Sure, great music for the 2600, but when I tried to play it - it doesn't have the gameplay factor of the original.

I was "back in the day" when Pitfall 1 was released. My parents gave it to me, I played for about an hour, got bored, and never played it again. You see the flaw with that game is:

- no variety. It's essentially the same screens over-and-over.

- not enough action...too slow-paced compared to Pac-Man

- too darn quiet.

 

Later my mom and dad gave me Pitfall 2 and I *loved* it. Each screen was different so it was like you were exploring an actual world with something fresh and new around every corner.

 

Plus, there was the challenge of reading Pitfall Harry's Diary and using the clues to figure out how to get past obstacles. I remember I was stumped by the ballon puzzle, and then I read in the diary about floating bags of hot air, and suddenly the answer just "clicked".

 

Pitfall 2 had the same gameplay as #1. You jumped over enemies, climbed up and down ladders, and collected as much gold as possible to get a perfect score. But like I said, it had far, far more variety.

 

Bottom Line: Pitfall 1 bored me. Pitfall 2 absolutely thrilled me.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

IMO the great elements in Pitfall! are the underground shortcuts. Exploring them and finally drawing a map to find the fastest way was fun. Well, at least for me...

[theaveng]

Over-rated: Virtually all Atari games.

 

Yeah, they're a lot of fun, but so darn repetitive. When I was a kid, I played an hour, got bored, played something else for an hour, got bored. Pitfall 2, Adventure, Dodge'Em, Night Driver... all wonderful games... but all get boring after ~30 minutes of time. Considering how many times I switched off, swapped carts, and switched on my Atari again, it's amazing it lasted 10 years.

 

(Aside: Although I don't think Adventure is "over-rated", I could never tolerate more than one adventure at a time. Like all Atari games, it's too simplistic to tolerate more than 30 minutes.)

 

For comparison, I now play games like Final Fantasy or Metroid Prime 10 hours straight without stopping (except food). Today's games really suck me in and entertain me for hours.

[MegaManFan]

Over-rated: Virtually all Atari games.

 

For comparison, I now play games like Final Fantasy or Metroid Prime 10 hours straight without stopping (except food).  Today's games really suck me in and entertain me for hours.

 

Ahh, but you've missed the point entirely. What's so great about old Atari games (not the homebrews anyway, because those you CAN play for hours and hours on end) is that you can rapidly switch from game to game. Play something for 5-10 minutes, pull it out, slap in another cartridge. They don't "suck you in" like modern consoles do, so you can enjoy tons of variety.

[+Nathan Strum]

Today's games really suck

 

I have to agree with you there.

 

(Sorry. Just couldn't resist the cheap shot.)

 

I agree with MegaManFan. I like 2600 games (and arcade games) specifically because I usually have a just few minutes to play, and those games are perfect for a quick diversion, and there's enough variety to play something different each time. I don't have hours to sink into working my way through most modern games, and those that I've finished, I never pick up and play again. Yet I can still fire up Stella or MAME and find challenges in beating my best scores on games that are 20 years old.

[Godzilla]

i dunno, ive had tons of 2600 games suck me in for hours & days just because their game play is so awesome. no modern games do that, not even close. modern day games suck you in for all the wrong reasons, its like the naked chick who only lets you eats a rancid apple given to her by a serpent, you dont notice the rancid apple because you are staring at the naked chick, but when you are done with the apple you are empty and torn up inside and shit cause there is no soul to your empty modern gaming self.

[Pitfall Harry]

IMO the great elements in Pitfall! are the underground shortcuts. Exploring them and finally drawing a map to find the fastest way was fun. Well, at least for me...

 

Yeah, I have to agree. Exploring the underground on your own, mapping it all out and finding the fastest way through the jungle in order to get to ALL the treasures within the 20 minute time limit is where the challenge and the real fun begins. If all you ever do is run and jump as fast as you can, constantly staying aboveground, then you're doomed to playing a repetitive game with little real challenge and with no chance at all of getting all 32 treasures before time runs out.

 

When you use the shortcuts, when you finally find your optimal path through the jungle, Pitfall then becomes an exciting race against time. Finding the right shortcuts will open your eyes. You will KNOW that capturing all 32 treasures is doable. But in order to achieve the 32-treasure goal, you have to refine the techniques you already have learned. And then you must invent time-saving new techniques you would never have imagined you'd need!

 

By the time you've tuned your skills to where getting all 32 treasures is within your grasp, the game boils down to an adrenaline-pumping race against time to get to the last treasure before the final seconds expire. When you finally beat the game, you will know that you've risen to a plateau very few Pitfall adventurers have ever conquered, or ever will.

 

Then if you're just plain wacky, you could try for the Perfect Game - getting all 32 treasures WITH NO POINT DEDUCTIONS. But you really have to love the game and you've really gotta hate your social life to go after that one.

 

 

Ben

[Spector]

Over-rated: Virtually all Atari games.

 

 

For comparison, I now play games like Final Fantasy or Metroid Prime 10 hours straight without stopping (except food).  Today's games really suck me in and entertain me for hours.

 

And once you complete them, you never play them again. I have always found odd the statements people make about games today - "has about 20 hours gameplay". eh? Nobody ever said that in the 8-bit era. You played a game for 30 minutes, then went on to something else if you wanted to, and that is the way it should be. Why would I want to spend 10 hours playing video games?

It's a pointless argument anyway. It's like saying that an album is better than a single because it lasts 50 minutes and a single only lasts 4 minutes.

[Godzilla]

yea, but unfortunaetly all the best songs are b-sides :-)

[Osmeroid]

Overrated Yars' Revenge - I was around way back when & have read the manual, this game sucks (BTW nice manual tho'!). I'd also agree with the Adventure comment too.

 

 

Underrated Sky Jinks!!! Basically Dragster with obstacles & some neat fx. Checkers & Star Raiders are fine games that only get occasional mentions.

[Jess Ragan]

OVERRATED

 

Demon Attack: Repetitive gameplay + no boss = crushing disappointment.

Miner 2049'er: The 2600 version was especially crummy, but none of these games were all that enjoyable. It's no fun to have to repeat an entire round after losing a life at the beginning. That was forgivable in Donkey Kong, since it was a fast paced arcade game with relatively short levels, but in Miner 2049'er, it just made the game's already slow pace even more unbearable.

 

UNDERRATED

 

Crystal Castles: One of the best games released on the 2600, and nobody noticed it. Bently Bear is the most undeservedly neglected mascot in the history of video games.

Ram It: The early predecessor to fast paced puzzle games like Klax and Tetris. Could have used more strategy, but it was a good start.

 

JR

[Jess Ragan]

Theaveng said:

"Over-rated: Virtually all Atari games."

 

I said:

"Trollin'! Trollin'! Trollin' down the river!"

 

JR

[Pitfall Harry]

...you dont notice the rancid apple because you are staring at the naked chicken...

 

Huh??

 

Ben

[Witchfynde]

UNDERRATED

 

Ram It:  The early predecessor to fast paced puzzle games like Klax and Tetris.  Could have used more strategy, but it was a good start.

 

Hey, why the &(#!! didn't *I* think of that, I only OWN the game!! Yeah, "could have used more strategy", since a lot of time you have to depend on luck for the right bar to blink so you can get out of being fenced in in the later levels. Oh well, still one of my faves.

 

I guess I should add Demolition Herby too, a bit like Pepper II, in filling in a grid, but you gotta watch out for those flying cars!

[theaveng]

Theaveng said: "Over-rated: Virtually all Atari games."

 

I said: "Trollin'!  Trollin'!  Trollin' down the river!"

Fuk off. I can express any opinion I want. YOU just need to learn to be more tolerant instead of acting like a jackass.

[Thomas Jentzsch]

Take it easy, please!

 

This is not a battlezone.

[Jess Ragan]

"Fuk off. I can express any opinion I want."

 

I never said you couldn't. I do think coming to a 2600 message board and telling everyone there that virtually all Atari games are overrated is a trollish thing to do, though. And telling someone to fukov when they call you on that is just plain rude.

 

"YOU just need to learn to be more tolerant instead of acting like a jackass."

 

So am I supposed to tolerate being called a jackass, too? It's that sparkling personality that got you banned from the other message board. It sounds like you're well on your way to making it two for two.

 

JR

[Godzilla]

sorry, a typo, should have been chick. i've corrected it. thanks for the heads up :-)

[Tempest]

Demon Attack: Repetitive gameplay + no boss = crushing disappointment.  

 

God why didn't I think of that! Yes Demon Attack is WAY overrated. I could never understand people's fascination with it. I got bored with it after 10 min.

 

Tempest

[Pitfall Harry]

That's okay. Whenever the naked chickens start struttin' their stuff in my yard, I get pretty distracted too. Typos happen.

 

Uh, oh. Hre cmoes those crazee knaked chkcens noww! Get bak! Bawk, I say! Bawk-baawk baawwk!!

 

 

Bne

[MegaManFan]

Fuk off.  I can express any opinion I want.  YOU just need to learn to be more tolerant instead of acting like a jackass.

 

I'm not a mod on these boards, but if I was my response to that kind of language and attitude would be, "No - you can't." Just because we're online doesn't mean a certain amount of civility in debate isn't standard. Arguably what Jess said was provocative, but stooping lower doesn't make you better or any more well liked - and lately, you seem to be stirring up the pot in every forum on AA so even if I disagree with Jess I understand the sentiment.

[bargora]

*ignores shooting flames*

 

Overrated: Pitfall, Demon Attack

The thing is, I'm not a fan of platform games in general, other than Mountain King. N.b.: This opinion was formed "back in the day". Demon Attack does have pretty colors (and I think maybe that's why everybody went crazy for it), but I concur that it gets old fast. While I would say that bosses weren't common in games at the time, there sure was a boss in Phoenix, a game bearing an, um, uncanny similarity to Demon Attack.

 

Underrated: Slot Racers

Man, I loved cruisin' the mean streets and blowing my little brother into next week. Funny, he wasn't quite as enthusiastic about it. Wasn't this another Warren Robinett game?

 

Side note: I find Adventure to be one of the games that most retains "the magic" from when I first played it. But then, I loved it from the first time I played it in 198whatever, too.

[theaveng]

Demon Attack: Repetitive gameplay + no boss = crushing disappointment.  

God why didn't I think of that! Yes Demon Attack is WAY overrated. I could never understand people's fascination with it. I got bored with it after 10 min.

By that reasoning, Space Invaders, Asteroids, Missile Command, Berzerk, Chopper Command, Defender, Galazian.... ALL of these games suck.

 

Obviously that's not true. People are obsessed with shooters, because they enjoy the challenge of accurately hitting targets, increasing difficulty, and going for the absolute highest score. It's all about challenge, not variety/bosses.