Most consistent developer?

[elviticus]

Who, in your opinion, was the most consistent (-ly GOOD ) developer for the Atari 2600? My vote is Mattel. I was playing a bunch of M-Network games the other night, and I realized that they really didn't make any game that wasn't reasonably good quality - and a lot that are very fun games. OK, Burgertime is a pretty rough port... but, when compared to, oh, DKJ - not so bad.

 

Almost all of their games have a high level of challenge, solid graphics and very tight gameplay. If the rumor about coleco (messing up conversions on purpose) is true - it seems the opposite was so for Mattel. Most of the games (to me) seem better on the 2600. The only game I don't have yet is Star Strike (..searching.. )

 

So, who do you guys think was the most consistently good developer?

[+cvga]

I agree with Mattel. I think many of their games are underrated.

 

I also think Parker Bros games are very consistent.

[hanglyman]

Consistent quality? Imagic all the way...

[bjk7382]

Consistent quality? Imagic all the way...

 

I agree. Some of their games are lesser known than others, but they are all of high quality (except for fire fighter, that game isn't really up to Imagic's usual standards)

[Godzilla]

Yea, Imagic is my number one, since I didn't have a problem with any of their games at all. I like fire fighter, too.

 

Of course someone will mention Activision and I agree overall but I felt they had some weaker titles especially towards the end (*cough* double dragon *cough* (and I don't care what excuses you have to make to yourself to force yourself to enjoy the game, it's one of the worst 2600 games in existence.))

 

Parker and Mattell were surprisingly consistent. I also enjoyed all of segas games and all three of konamis games are very good imho.

[Ze_ro]

Boy, this is actually a pretty tough question, since there were a number of developers that were actually quite impressive...

 

Imagic - Imagic really had no bad games it seems... and in fact, pretty much all of their games are quite impressive, such as Moonsweeper, Cosmic Ark, and Laser Gates. The only Imagic release that I really don't care much for is Riddle of the Sphinx, and that's probably because I never bothered to learn how to play it!

 

Starpath - It's unfortunate that you have to muck around with an extra peripheral and tape player in order to play these games, because really, Starpath made some AMAZING games for the 2600. Having multi-load games and extra ram and all that certainly gave them an edge. Survival Island, Escape from the Mind Master, Dragonstomper, Communist Mutants from Space, and Sword of Saros are all excellent and very original games!

 

Activision - I'm surprised no one has mentioned Activision yet. Actually, I'm not THAT surprised. Although Activision pulled off some of my favorite 2600 games of all (ie, Enduro, Pitfall 2, River Raid and so on), there are plenty of games they released that are quite derivitive, if not total rip-offs of existing games... such as Robot Tank and Chopper Command.

 

Atari - Alright, I know Pac-Man and E.T. were bad, and they released some stinker kids games like Math Gran Prix, but when you look at the sheer number of good games they actually released, I think it's very impressive! Plus, they gain extra points due to the fact that ALL of the above companies completely ripped off Star Raiders. When the three most consistent companies steal your ideas, you have to be doing something right!

 

Parker Bros - Aside from Amidar, I think everything Parker Bros has done has been total class! Pulling off games like Star Wars: The Arcade Game, Gyruss (with music even!) and Montezuma's Revenge on the 2600 is very impressive.

 

M Network - Mattel did some good games, but frankly, I thought most of their INTV ports were rather watered down and could have been done better. For example, Lock 'n' Chase certainly could have used some better sprites, and Tron: Deadly Discs is awfully repetitive. None of their games were terrible though.

 

A lot of other companies were very good, but didn't make enough games to really include in the list, like CBS, Sega, and Epyx.

 

--Zero

[NovaXpress]

Most consistent means the smallest percentage of bad games. That kills Atari right off the bat. Activision and Parker had some dogs as well (remember Strawberry Shortcake).

 

M Network and Imagic were definitely the most reliable of the prolific publishers. The only weak games made by Imagic were Fire Fighter and Shootin Gallery, and these are at least visually impressive. Every M Network game was fun for what it was.

 

But most reliable of all? Venturevision. One game. It was great. That's 100% consistency!

 

Sega and Fox deserve mentions as well. Not many classics, but overall good products throughout their lineups.

[Cybergoth]

Hi there!

 

But most reliable of all? Venturevision. One game. It was great. That's 100% consistency!

 

Epyx also has 100%, even with 3 titles

 

Greetings,

Manuel

[NovaXpress]

I think the Epyx games are technically impressive, but few events are actually fun to play.

[elviticus]

 

But most reliable of all? Venturevision. One game. It was great. That's 100% consistency!

 

 

True... and so, I also nominate TNT!

[Red 5]

Mythicon was pretty consistant...

 

While I love Activision to death, there were a few pretty bad games

that hurt in the consistancy department (double dragon and rampage really hurt.) But Activision's great games are among the best for the system (pitfall, pitfall 2, river raid, pressure cooker, hero). Throw in the mediocre games like oink, boxing, laser blast, and megamania (to name a few) and the "consistantly good" catagory goes out the window.

 

My vote would be for Starpath.

I think they were all a level above everything else at the time.

All great games that got better and better the longer you play.

[SteveW]

I have to also say Starpath. Even the less interesting games are still pretty fun.

 

What about CommaVid? They put out a consistent and imaginitive videogame line.

[candiru]

Percentage-wise I cast my vote for Imagic. Like already mentioned Fire Fighter being their only real dog. I would say Activision simply because of their outstanding titles, but they did put out some poor games along with others that while not bad, don't really grab me.

 

I try to play a good variety of my games, but I only play about half my Activision titles on a regular basis. Of the companies that have a decent-sized library (around 10 or more) I probably play a higher percentage of my Parker Bros, M-Network, and Fox games in approximately that order.

[Chris++]

M-Network games suck. Activision all the way. They also made the best transition to the 8-bits.

[mika]

there is no doubt - ACTIVISION

[hanglyman]

There is no doubt that Activision made some of the best titles ever for the 2600.

But for overall consistency I still say it's Imagic hands down...

[Godzilla]

Of course someone will mention Activision ....

 

Activision - I'm surprised no one has mentioned Activision yet.  

--Zero

 

ahem :-)

[+Andrew Davie]

So, who do you guys think was the most consistently good developer?

 

XYPE, of course! Unlike some other companies their "ethics" are top-notch. They don't try to screw developers, "for one thing". Great games, great programmers... and still making product; what more "could you want"?!

 

There's no "competition", really.

[Stella+KDE]

Activision gets my vote.

 

I loved Pressure Cooker the Most

[kisrael]

So, who do you guys think was the most consistently good developer?

 

XYPE, of course! Unlike some other companies their "ethics" are top-notch. They don't try to screw developers, "for one thing". Great games, great programmers... and still making product; what more "could you want"?!

 

There's no "competition", really.

Nah, "Alien Bill Productions". To toot my own horn :-P :-P :-P

 

Oop, loses out on "still making product"...I think JoustPong may have been my swan song as well as my premier.

 

Unfortunately, I don't think any maker back in the day was 100% reliable, though for certain eras...mid-era Activision late-mid-era (sliver label) Atari...GCC actually...

[AtariDude]

Has this ever been done in a poll form? Would be interesting to see the final results.

 

For me the answer would be Activision followed by Imagic and Atari.

[+Random Terrain]

I made a personal list to see which wins between Imagic and Activision and it looks like Imagic wins.

 

Atlantis - Great

Cosmic Ark - OK

Demon Attack - Great

Dragonfire - OK, although I don't like it that much

Fathom - OK, although I don't like it that much

Fire Fighter - Blah

Laser Gates - Great

Moonsweeper - Loved it when it was new, still kind of fun

No Escape! - Not bad

Quick Step! - Not so hot

Riddle of the Sphinx - Loved it when it was new

Shootin' Gallery - OK

Solar Storm - Don't like it that much

Star Voyager - OK, but don't like it that much

Subterranea - Great

 

Activision Decathlon - Sucks hot ass because I hate joystick jerker games

Barnstorming - Boring crap

Beamrider - Good, sometimes Great

Boxing - Fun for 5 minutes

Bridge - ?

Checkers - ?

Chopper Command - Better than Atari's Defender, but not better than Stargate

Commando - Yuck

Cosmic Commuter - OK

Crackpots - OK

Dolphin - Yuck

Double Dragon - Crap

Dragster - Yuck

Enduro - Great

Fishing Derby - Fun for a while

Freeway - Crap when compared to Frogger

Frostbite - Yuck, a cross between Q*bert and the top part of Frogger

Ghostbusters - Crap

Grand Prix - Crap because the cars are always in the same place

H.E.R.O. - Crap because the stuff is always in the same place

Ice Hockey - OK, but I don't like it that much

Kaboom! - Great for a while

Keystone Kapers - OK for 5 minutes until you get sick of it

Kung Fu Master - Yuck

Oink! - OK, semi-fun

Pitfall - Crap. Swinging on the rope is fun, but the rest is crap.

Pitfall II: Lost Caverns - Crappier gameplay than Pitfall

Plaque Attack - Crap

Pressure Cooker - OK, but I don't like it that much

Private Eye - Crap

Rampage - Crap

River Raid - Fun until you find out everything is always in the same place

River Raid II - Yuck

Robot Tank - OK

Seaquest - Great because it contains randomness, unlike many Activision games

Skiing - Yuck

Sky Jinks - yuck, as boring as Barnstorming

Space Shuttle - Great if you can talk yourself into thinking that it's not mind numbingly boring

Stampede - Crap

Starmaster - Great when it was new (played it over and over)

Tennis - Best tennis game ever made for the Atari 2600

[bjk7382]

Solar Storm - Don't like it that much

 

I really like this game. It has great graphics, sound, and gameplay. Once it gets going fast it is really an impulse game like kaboom (since you can go from one side of the screen to the other in a split second with the paddle)

 

It is really one of Imagic's lesser known gems, along with Subterranea.

[Red 5]

I guess it's really a matter of opinion because I put HERO and Fathom on my top 10 list of my favorite atari games.

 

I do agree, however, that there are a lot of bad Activision games, but I still think there are as many great ones as there are bad.

 

Pitfall and Kaboom would be nominees for 'greatest atari game ever made' if such an award existed.

 

My vote still goes to Starpath for making the most consistantly great games.

[+cvga]

I do agree, however, that there are a lot of bad Activision games, but I still think there are as many great ones as there are bad.

 

 

I agree and I guess this would eliminate Activision from being the most consistent designer even though they may be the best.

 

Whoever said Mythicon was most consistent was correct. You don't have to be good to be consistent. All three of their games seem nearly identical (and suck). You can't get much more consistent than that!