Category Archives: Atari A to Z

Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Miniature Golf

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Miniature Golf was a popular pastime in the 1970s, so it made a lot of sense for there to be an adaptation for the shiny new Atari Video Computer System when it released in the latter years of the decade.

In those early days, though, game developers hadn’t quite mastered what made the 2600’s innards tick — or indeed what made a good game. But Miniature Golf, a game which, bizarrely, ended up pulled from sale a year after launch, unlike the rest of the 2600’s early lineup, has a bold attempt at… something.

Is it successful? A bit of yes, a bit of no. Find out what works and what doesn’t in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more.

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Millipede

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You might wonder what the appeal of having several different versions of the same game in one compilation is. Indeed, dear viewer, I was right there with you until recently.

Then I played the Atari 5200 version of Millipede — an unreleased prototype that was essentially a port of the version for Atari home computers. And I was blown away by quite how enjoyable it was. For me, it’s ended up being an even more appealing way to play the game than the arcade original.

To be fair, any Millipede is good Millipede, but to see what makes this version special check out the video below — and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Viz

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In the mood for some foul-mouthed nonsense, flatulence and big, hairy bollocks? Then I give you the official video game adaptation of Viz, courtesy of Virgin Games.

Viz is not a good game, but to be fair it does say as much on both the front cover and in the instruction manual, so you only really have yourself to blame for any frustration you might feel as a result of playing it. As an adaptation of the license, mind you, it’s very solid, with some excellent graphics and animation, some catchy music and, of course, lots of swearing courtesy of Roger Mellie, the Man on the Telly.

Strong language and offensive material abounds in the video below — and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more video game funtimes!

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z: Baby Berks

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For me, one of the most exciting things to see happen in the retro gaming community is when the original creator of a classic work returns to it and does something cool with it.

Today, we have an example of that. Baby Berks was originally a type-in listing for the Commodore 16, and after an AtariAge forum poster noted that it might be nice to see an Atari 8-bit port of it, who just happened to show up in the thread but the original creator Jon Williams himself?

A month later, there was an official Atari port of this fun arena shooter. Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Millipede

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Millipede may look like Centipede, but it’s considerably more chaotic and frantic than its predecessor.

Rather impressively, the Atari 2600 version, while not quite capturing the visual style of the arcade original, manages to keep pace with the game’s iconic chaos, providing a challenging and enormously addictive arcade blaster for the platform. In fact, some consider Millipede to be among the 2600’s finest games.

Want to see what it’s all about? Check it out in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z: Action Quest

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I’ve been meaning to get around to this one for a while, as someone recommended it to me quite some time ago, but I’ve finally gotten around to it!

Action Quest is an interesting game that blends elements of top-down arcade adventure with some genuinely interesting puzzles. It was an early attempt to make something of a “graphic adventure”, though it still errs a little more on the “action” side of things, as you might expect from the title.

Enjoy this unusual game in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more.

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Micro-Gammon SB

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Do you like backgammon? How about if it was a bit smaller? Well, that’s not at all what Micro-Gammon SB for Atari 5200 offers, though it does have very tiny (for the time) pixels.

Micro-Gammon SB is a previously unreleased Atari 5200 game that hit the cutting room floor due to not being “arcadey” enough. It’s a shame, because it’s a solid backgammon adaptation for a single player — there’s no two-player mode, oddly — that is capable of playing at a variety of skill levels, up to and including “SuperBrain” mode.

Check out how I get on against the easiest opponent in the video below — bearing in mind I’m still very new to backgammon! — and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more.

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Test Drive

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As a kid, I was always fascinated by games that attempted to simulate experiences like you were “really there” — even if they were fairly mundane.

As such, I found myself drawn to the Test Drive series by Accolade, which promised a realistic (for the time) driving experience in a variety of luxury cars. I only played Test Drive II: The Duel back in the day, so I thought it’d be interesting to go back to where this long-running series began.

Check out my experiences in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z: Zaxxon

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Early arcade ports certainly varied quite significantly in quality, and opinion appears to be a bit divided online as to whether or not Ron J Fortier’s Atari 8-bit take on Sega’s classic Zaxxon is “good” or not.

Well, “good” or not, that’s what we’re taking a look at today — and it turns out there are two slightly different versions of the game out there. (I discovered after I made the video that these are due to there being a 16K cassette version and a 48K disk version — in the video you’ll see the disk version first, followed by the more limited cassette version.)

Enjoy this take on a classic in the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Shufflepuck Cafe

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Hitting a thing back and forth across a playfield in an attempt to get it past your opponent is a fundamental of gaming — after all, Pong is one of the original video games!

It’s interesting to see the numerous twists that there have been on the formula over the years, though. One of the most beautifully presented is Broderbund’s Shufflepuck Café, a game that sees you descending the smoky stairs into a sci-fi cantina in the hopes of reaching a telephone. But between you and that phone are some of the meanest Shufflepuckers in the galaxy — and they want to play.

Enjoy the video below, and don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube for more!

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