kenny ice cold 3000 Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 im interested in some good games for the atari 2600. i just got one and have a few, but i want some more. what are some of the best games for the atari? im not looking for rare games, just easily accessable good games. i have space invaders, defender, combat, donkey kong, et, riddle of sphinx, warlords, dig dug, and breakout. what did you guys start out having? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rasty Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 what are some of the best games for the atari? You'll soon find out that there is really no absolute way for judging an Atari game: there is likely always someone who will like a given game (well' date=' except for Slots probably!), so I believe it's mostly up to you to try and find which ones you like the most! Try some on an emulator for instance, or check some review sites (here, for instance(thanks Thomas )) if you prefer to read other's opinions Regards! Rasty.- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawgWyld Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 im interested in some good games for the atari 2600. i just got one and have a few' date=' but i want some more. what are some of the best games for the atari? im not looking for rare games, just easily accessable good games. i have space invaders, defender, combat, donkey kong, et, riddle of sphinx, warlords, dig dug, and breakout. what did you guys start out having?[/quote'] There are a lot of ways to achieve that. My advice would be this -- if it says "Activision" on it, buy it. Nine times out of 10, you'll get one of the best games made for the 2600 by using that method. Some other gems which are both good and fairly common are Moon Patrol, Frogger, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Ms. Pac-Man, Asteroids and Missile Command. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fretwobbler Posted July 21, 2004 Share Posted July 21, 2004 Dragster is a good game for starting...you get to start a new game every 10 seconds or so I agree with HawgWyld, just buy up every Activision game you can Try Pressure Cooker and Plaque Attack, they are easy games to get into and loads of fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 5 Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 I third Activision. Pressure Cooker Megamania Chopper Command and so on. I think the 5 games that every atari owner MUST have (not necessarily the best games... just MUST HAVES are: Adventure Kaboom (another Activision title) Asteroids Space Invaders PacMan Unless you happen to be a girl that likes dolls that smell like fruit. Then get Strawberry Shortcake's Musical Matchup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 Activision, Silver Label Atari (minus Swordquest), Parker Bros. Almost all of those are sure hits and will keep you glued to the VCS for a few months. You can look up all the great Atari games you want, right here on the AA database. Its world famous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ushabin Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 I'll agree on the Activision games. They did put out some of the best games for system. My personal favs are Keystone Kapers, River Raid and Dragster. Some other must haves (IMHO) are Asteroids, Space Invaders, Yar's Revenge and Adventure. Ms. Pac-Man is also nice to have. Marty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 Pretty much can't go wrong with Activision, with this caveat: the game needs to be from 1984 or earlier. Here are some of my favorite games: BEST OF THE BEST Yars' Revenge Solaris ACTIVISION'S BEST (a.k.a. BEST OF THE BEST OF THE BEST) H.E.R.O. Keystone Kapers Pitfall II ACQUIRED TASTES Video Pinball Dodge 'Em BEST PADDLE GAMES Circus Atari Kaboom! BEST MULTI-PLAYER GAMES Warlords Indy 500 Maze Craze GAMES THAT ARE REALLY BAD BUT STILL FUN FOR MULTI-PLAYER Slot Racers Miniature Golf BEST ARCADE CONVERSIONS Frogger Ms. Pac-Man Berzerk Moon Patrol Phoenix Hope this gives you something to start with... A few things to think about (and these are often just my own opinions, take them as you will)... 1. Most of the rare games are not really that good. They're rare because they had poor distribution and/or didn't sell well. 2. The best games seem to have been made in 1981-1982. The graphics quality peaked around 1983-1984, but there was a glut of shoddy games by then too. 3. You're best off with games from these manufacturers: Atari, Activision, Imagic, Parker Brothers, M Network. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keilbaca Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 Best common games to get: Asteroids Ms. Pac-Man Kaboom! Space Invaders Frogger River Raid And if you can get 4 people: Warlords. Best Rare games to get (5 and above rarity) Frogger II: Threedeep Tapper Spy Hunter River Raid II Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keilbaca Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 Oh yea, little note, if you only want to buy the games you like, do play them on emulator first, so you know what you're buying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenwood Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 You're best off with games from these manufacturers: Atari' date=' Activision, Imagic, Parker Brothers, M Network.[/quote'] Completely agree on that order too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 First, I have to say that I agree with everyone that likes the Activision games. These games had a tendency to be all around better. Here are my recommendations: Activision: H.E.R.O River Raid Enduro Other Companies: Bermuda Triangle (Data Age) Dodger Cars (Sears) Galaxian (Atari) Phoenix (Atari) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 That Dodger Cars comment reminds me... In the early years, Sears rebranded (and in many cases renamed) Atari-brand games they sold. Dodger Cars is the same game as Dodge 'Em, for example. There were only 3 games Sears released that Atari did not (although Atari did develop all 3 of them). None of them are good games, but if you become a full-fledged collector, you'll want to get them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NovaXpress Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 I think at least a third of Activision's library was boring as hell. I hope I never get bored enough again in my life to play Sky Jinks. Why would I play Freeway when I can play Frogger? I never understood why anyone thought Dragster was fun. I don't think I've ever played a full game of Checkers or Bridge. You can't recommend any certain company, because they make different games for different taste and they all had a couple dogs. Imagic had Fire Fighter. Parker had Amidar and Mr. Do's Castle. Atari had more crap games than I can count. Want to know which games are the most fun? Try them on an emulator. I don't even come close to owning all the 2600 games, but I've tried out every ROM I could get my hands on. I just assume that everyone else does this as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godzilla Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 lets not forget imagic, all their games rock. most of fox's games kick ass too. cbs and tiger have pretty respectable catalogs too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeus Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 My list of must haves would include, in no particular order expect for when they pop into my head: Moon Patrol Missile Command Jungle Hunt Pitfall II River Raid Spider Fighter There are many others but I think this is a good start. BTW, I can't understand why anyone would like Dragster, it is so BORING! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy_Dude Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 Come on people. Best games? easily accessable? Have we forgotten the thriving homebrew scene right here at AtariAge? Anything from Xype is a sure bet. Marble Craze has a money back guarantee. If you don't like it just send it to StanJr Starfire still has some patches left. (and they are really cool patches too) Thrust+ has to be one of the best 2600 games ever (if a little bit hard ) and there are plans for patches aswell. And all avalible right here in the AA store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 Since your taste is probably not the same as someone else's taste, I recommend trying the games on an emulator (as was already mentioned by several people) and getting your hands on whatever games you can find locally for cheap. By doing that, it'll help you decide which games you like or don't like and whether you'll end up wanting to collect more or play more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawgWyld Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 I think at least a third of Activision's library was boring as hell. Thus sayeth the noble dissent Actually, there are some very dull Activision games. However, titles from that company tend to be of higher quality than most anything out there. They even went toe-to-toe on some of Atari's better-known games. For example, take a look at Robot Tank as opposed to Battlezone, Chopper Command vs. Defender and StarMaster compared to Star Raiders. In spite of the few stinkers from Activision out there, I'd argue the above-mentioned titles from the company as well as games like Spider Fighter, Megamania, Sea Quest, Beamrider, Ice Hockey, Enduro, Keystone Kapers, Kaboom! and etc., etc. represent the best stuff you can get for the 2600. But, you are right -- in this day and age, there's no excuse not to get an emulator and try out everything. You can avoid a lot of trash games that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Player Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 Um, but won't he have a little trouble getting those Activision ROMS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawgWyld Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 Um' date=' but won't he have a little trouble getting those Activision ROMS? [/quote'] I'm not sure why, unless your queasy about running the risk of violating copyright laws. Last I checked, those ROMs weren't too hard to find. Oddly, the only real use I've found for Atari emulation is testing out games I want to buy. Otherwise, I hate the stuff -- there's nothing like playing an honest-to-goodness console. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gospeedde Posted July 22, 2004 Share Posted July 22, 2004 Why would I play Freeway when I can play Frogger? Because Freeway is a two player game, and a fabulous one at that (it does suck as a one player game, though). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted July 23, 2004 Share Posted July 23, 2004 Why would I play Freeway when I can play Frogger? Because Freeway is a two player game' date=' and a fabulous one at that (it does suck as a one player game, though).[/quote'] I agree... Freeway is a fantastic two-player game... loads of fun! (And remember the historical context... Freeway was a 2600 original BEFORE Frogger existed in the arcades.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted July 23, 2004 Share Posted July 23, 2004 (And remember the historical context... Freeway was a 2600 original BEFORE Frogger existed in the arcades.) True, but Freeway is a boring timed piece of garbage based on the oldest joke in the book and Frogger is a classic that has stood the test of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku_u Posted July 23, 2004 Share Posted July 23, 2004 Edit: Why Freeway sucks: no left and right movement available and not enough obstacles to make the game fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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