What is your Mt. Rushmore of Atari VCS games?

[bluenomadgaming]

If you could only pick four games (Indy or Atari) which showcase the system, what four games would you choose?

 

 

[E. King]

 

 

1. Thrustlander played with Classic Joystick Twist controls is the best game on the VCS and it is best played on the VCS for the exclusive controls.

2. BPM Boy (the only truly great exclusive game on the VCS but once this game goes multiplatform it would have to drop from this list)

3. Gravitar Recharged played with Classic Joystick twist controls is best played on the VCS for the exclusive controls.

4. TBD (for future release)

 

There are other cool experiences such as Breakout Recharged with Classic Joystick Twist but that game is better played with a Spinner.

I considered Asteroids Recharged with Classic Joystick Twist controls for the 4th spot but I have to admit that game may be best played with a Dual Analog controller on any platform for a couple different reasons. 

Black Widow Recharged with Dual Classic Joystick controls is fun but that game is better played with Dual Analog Controls on any platform.

 

I think for it to qualify for this list it has to be something great only found on the VCS and/or best played on the VCS which is why I only have 3 selections.

I could not come up with a 4th that is great enough and either only found on VCS or best when played on VCS so my 4th spot would need to be filled by a future release.

 

Tempest 4000 would come to mind if it had been ported correctly. Also Atari 50 Collection is best played outside of Atari OS so that is disqualified.

 

There is just not enough exclusive content on the VCS to really have a legitimate discussion for Mt. Rushmore games and Atari has failed to properly support the one thing that could have made their platform different which is the Classic Joystick Twist control function.  Not enough games on the VCS correctly use this exclusive control feature which has now turned what could have been great into a barely used gimmick.

[MrBeefy]

4 hours ago, E. King said:

Tempest 4000 would come to mind if it had been ported correctly. Also Atari 50 Collection is best played outside of Atari OS so that is disqualified.

 

There is just not enough exclusive content on the VCS to really have a legitimate discussion for Mt. Rushmore games and Atari has failed to properly support the one thing that could have made their platform different which is the Classic Joystick Twist control function.  Not enough games on the VCS correctly use this exclusive control feature which has now turned what could have been great into a barely used gimmick.

Whoa the game that they lied and faked working on the console, later gets ported, but not ported well? 🤣

 

What's wrong with it?

[E. King]

9 minutes ago, MrBeefy said:

Whoa the game that they lied and faked working on the console, later gets ported, but not ported well? 🤣

 

What's wrong with it?

The biggest issue is the Twist control is inverted without an option to reverse it. When you twist clockwise the claw moves counterclockwise so it is completely backwards.  I think there are also some inverted controls for dual analog controller in the bonus stages.  T4K also did not get leaderboards on the VCS. 

Also, the button mapping in the VCS version for the Classic Joystick was totally borked, especially in the menus and there is no control mapping options.

T4K should also have a built in sensitivity setting which it does not.  A lot of people complain about the drift also.  There were other issues but that is what I can remember today as I gave up on this game as soon as I realized the twist was backwards so I wasted $20 on a game I refuse to play.

 

The Classic Joystick should have been designed with more action buttons so it does limit itself in some games.

[MrBeefy]

9 minutes ago, E. King said:

The biggest issue is the Twist control is inverted without an option to reverse it. When you twist clockwise the claw moves counterclockwise so it is completely backwards.  I think there are also some inverted controls for dual analog controller in the bonus stages.  T4K also did not get leaderboards on the VCS. 

Also, the button mapping in the VCS version for the Classic Joystick was totally borked, especially in the menus and there is no control mapping options.

T4K should also have a built in sensitivity setting which it does not.  A lot of people complain about the drift also.  There were other issues but that is what I can remember today as I gave up on this game as soon as I realized the twist was backwards so I wasted $20 on a game I refuse to play.

 

The Classic Joystick should have been designed with more action buttons so it does limit itself in some games.

That sucks. I hear T4k runs great on Switch.

[E. King]

4 minutes ago, MrBeefy said:

That sucks. I hear T4k runs great on Switch.

I would not want to play any Tempest game without a spin/paddle/twist control so I would not want to play it on Switch.

For those who like Tempest with a D-Pad or Analog controller then they can basically play it on any platform.

Edited July 23, 2023 by E. King

[E. King]

On 7/23/2023 at 9:36 AM, E. King said:

 

 

1. Thrustlander played with Classic Joystick Twist controls is the best game on the VCS and it is best played on the VCS for the exclusive controls.

2. BPM Boy (the only truly great exclusive game on the VCS but once this game goes multiplatform it would have to drop from this list)

3. Gravitar Recharged played with Classic Joystick twist controls is best played on the VCS for the exclusive controls.

4. TBD (for future release)

 

There are other cool experiences such as Breakout Recharged with Classic Joystick Twist but that game is better played with a Spinner.

I considered Asteroids Recharged with Classic Joystick Twist controls for the 4th spot but I have to admit that game may be best played with a Dual Analog controller on any platform for a couple different reasons. 

Black Widow Recharged with Dual Classic Joystick controls is fun but that game is better played with Dual Analog Controls on any platform.

 

I think for it to qualify for this list it has to be something great only found on the VCS and/or best played on the VCS which is why I only have 3 selections.

I could not come up with a 4th that is great enough and either only found on VCS or best when played on VCS so my 4th spot would need to be filled by a future release.

 

Tempest 4000 would come to mind if it had been ported correctly. Also Atari 50 Collection is best played outside of Atari OS so that is disqualified.

 

There is just not enough exclusive content on the VCS to really have a legitimate discussion for Mt. Rushmore games and Atari has failed to properly support the one thing that could have made their platform different which is the Classic Joystick Twist control function.  Not enough games on the VCS correctly use this exclusive control feature which has now turned what could have been great into a barely used gimmick.

Updating this post to add End's Reach as my 4th game on this list. I've played it around 6 hours and it is excellent. It belongs on this list since it is currently exclusive to the Atari VCS and a very awesome game.

[tripled79]

On 7/23/2023 at 7:36 AM, E. King said:

 

 

1. Thrustlander played with Classic Joystick Twist controls is the best game on the VCS and it is best played on the VCS for the exclusive controls.

2. BPM Boy (the only truly great exclusive game on the VCS but once this game goes multiplatform it would have to drop from this list)

3. Gravitar Recharged played with Classic Joystick twist controls is best played on the VCS for the exclusive controls.

4. TBD (for future release)

 

There are other cool experiences such as Breakout Recharged with Classic Joystick Twist but that game is better played with a Spinner.

I considered Asteroids Recharged with Classic Joystick Twist controls for the 4th spot but I have to admit that game may be best played with a Dual Analog controller on any platform for a couple different reasons. 

Black Widow Recharged with Dual Classic Joystick controls is fun but that game is better played with Dual Analog Controls on any platform.

 

I think for it to qualify for this list it has to be something great only found on the VCS and/or best played on the VCS which is why I only have 3 selections.

I could not come up with a 4th that is great enough and either only found on VCS or best when played on VCS so my 4th spot would need to be filled by a future release.

 

Tempest 4000 would come to mind if it had been ported correctly. Also Atari 50 Collection is best played outside of Atari OS so that is disqualified.

 

There is just not enough exclusive content on the VCS to really have a legitimate discussion for Mt. Rushmore games and Atari has failed to properly support the one thing that could have made their platform different which is the Classic Joystick Twist control function.  Not enough games on the VCS correctly use this exclusive control feature which has now turned what could have been great into a barely used gimmick.

I thought BPM boy was released on other platforms by now.

And how is Atari 50 better outside of Atari OS?

[Atari_JaguarVCS]

38 minutes ago, tripled79 said:

I thought BPM boy was released on other platforms by now.

And how is Atari 50 better outside of Atari OS?

Pretty sure BPM boy has a few more months left of being an Atari VCS exclusive and I've no idea about how Atari 50 is better outside the Atari OS? 🤔 I only own it across all platforms and i personally prefer the VCS and Steam version mainly because you can use the classic joystick on some games on the Atari VCS version and the Steam version i like so i can play it on the Steam Deck. The other versions just exist for me, there all pretty even though but the Nintendo Switch version drops frames pretty frequently on certain games, at least on my launch day Switch so i don't go portable with it on Nintendo Switch.

[E. King]

7 hours ago, tripled79 said:

I thought BPM boy was released on other platforms by now.

And how is Atari 50 better outside of Atari OS?

BPM Boy is still exclusive on VCS, for now anyway.