Tag Archives: Atari A to Z

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Atari A to Z: MegaMania

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Activision may be a company that a lot of gamers like to steer well clear of these days thanks to issues like predatory DLC and microtransactions, but back in the days of the 8-bit micros, they were one of the finest companies out there.

They credited their programmers and designers, they put out games that pushed the boundaries of underpowered hardware such as the Atari 2600… and they just made great games, full stop.

One fantastic example is MegaMania, a thoroughly weird but extremely enjoyable fixed shooter that will get you bobbing and weaving between waves of hamburgers, engagement rings, bow ties and steam irons. No symbolism there, no sir.

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Atari ST A to Z: Final Legacy

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Final Legacy is a great game on Atari 8-bit, as we’ve previously seen. And, as we’ll see shortly, it could have been a great game on Atari 5200, too.

On the Atari ST, meanwhile… hmm. Not so hot. The problem in this case was the outfit doing the porting: Paradox Software, who were best known for putting out fairly mediocre fare at best, but who I can only assume were cheap to hire.

Final Legacy for Atari ST isn’t atrocious by any means… but if you have access to some means of playing either the 8-bit or 5200 version, there’s little reason to bother with this. But come check it out with me anyway, and admire quite how much worse Paradox made this version over the original!

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Desert Falcon

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Today’s game hails from the latter days of the 2600, and was actually an Atari 7800 launch title.

For one reason or another, Atari 7800 games rarely make it onto these compilations of old Atari stuff — though the Evercade, coming later this year, corrects this oversight somewhat — so we tend to be stuck with the technically inferior Atari 2600 versions.

That said, even the 2600 version of Desert Falcon is an unusual, interesting shoot ’em up with some peculiar mechanics — so it’s well worth checking out.

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Atari A to Z, Videos

Atari A to Z Flashback: Dark Cavern

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It’s always interesting to look at a very old game and see the earliest glimmer of a subgenre that became well-established much later.

Mattel’s Dark Cavern, actually an Atari 2600 port of their Intellivision title Night Stalker, is a good example. On paper, it’s a simple maze game, but in practice, you can see just a hint of what would become stealth and survival horror gameplay in there.

We’ve got a fragile protagonist; we’ve got an emphasis on outwitting enemies; we’ve got limited resources. How long can Your Man survive in the Dark Cavern?

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Videos

Atari ST A to Z: Zany Golf

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Electronic Arts has become a bit of a dirty word these days, gaining notoriety for, among other things, predatory microtransactions and taking over beloved studios, only to shutter them shortly afterwards.

But there was a time when EA was a label that stood for high-quality, unusual and interesting software — a time when it really did feel like they were pursuing electronic art. One great example of a title like this that they released in the 16-bit era was Zany Golf, a fun and highly creative physics puzzler masquerading as a golf game.

You’ll never look at hamburgers the same way again…

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Atari A to Z: The Eliminator

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These days, we tend to expect multi-format releases to have if not complete parity, then certainly as close an experience as possible to one another.

That wasn’t always the case, though, and I can think of few better examples of this that Adventure International’s The Eliminator, which somehow became an entirely different game between its original TRS-80 incarnation and its Atari 8-bit “port” by Steve Coleman.

It’s a fun little blast ’em up, though, so I’m not mad or anything; I just thought it was interesting!

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Atari A to Z Flashback: Countermeasure

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Today’s title from Atari Flashback Classics is one of the few genuine exclusives for the Atari 5200: it’s Countermeasure!

Countermeasure is an interesting strategic shooter in which you navigate a “supertank” through a perilous environment in an attempt to destroy a selection of missile silos. Yes, it’s another “Cold War paranoia” sort of game, but this one has some interesting twists.

Unfortunately, it’s also a pretty strong example of how the emulation of the Atari 5200’s POKEY chip is a bit dodgy in Atari Flashback Classics, which is a bit of a shame — especially considering the fact the emulation of the arcade titles that use it is spot on! Ah well.

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Atari A to Z: Blue Max

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Before we had “3D” we had the illusion of 3D, typically created through the use of an isometric or oblique perspective.

Various types of game experimented with this “diagonal” format to varying degrees of success, but Blue Max for Atari 8-bit is widely regarded as one of the best, successfully transplanting the shoot ’em up formula into a whole new dimension. Kind of.

Regardless of your feelings on the “realism” of the presentation, Blue Max remains a solid, challenging game — and believed by many to be one of the best games the dear old Atari had to offer. So let’s play!

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Atari A to Z: Zybex

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We made it to Z once again, folks, and it’s time for an all-time classic shoot ’em up for the Atari 8-bit: it’s Zybex, from Zeppelin Games.

Zeppelin began their life as a company specialising in budget-priced titles on cassette; the first time I came across them was when they released today’s game Zybex and motorcycle racer Speed Ace for £2.99 each. Speed Ace was fairly decent, from what I recall — though at the time of writing it’s not one we’ve revisited as yet — but Zybex was something truly special.

Featuring frantic shoot ’em up action for one or two players, Zybex truly brought the arcade-style scrolling shoot ’em up home in style — and it still holds up pretty well today.

Find a full archive of all the Atari A to Z videos on the official site.

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Happy Sunday evening everyone! One of the worst parts of the week, when you know Monday is just around the corner, thereby meaning that you can’t really justify staying up all night playing video games or something.

Still, if you want something to take your mind off the impending drudgery of the working week, I’ve got you covered as always. There’s been some really great stuff this week that I’ve been delighted and excited to cover, so I hope you enjoy them.

So, then, without further ado, let’s review! That rhymes.

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