Venture – By CBS Electronics

My one enduring memory of this game was my younger brother jumping out of his skin every single time the Evil Otto entered the room on this game. No matter how many times it happened there was always the same reaction! I guess it says a lot about these early video games that despite the simple graphics and sound they could still have that effect on somebody! Venture for the Atari 2600 is a heavily cut down version of the long forgotten Exidy arcade game. I know Coleco always crippled their 2600 conversions to make the Colecovision look better but come on, only 2 levels and 8 screens? That is taking the piss a bit. A shame really because Venture is quite an enjoyable arcade adventure game in essence. The graphics are pretty rough in this version too but you can just about live with them. Fans of the original arcade game might get a kick out of this but for the rest of us Venture is just too short to warrant buying and just doesn’t offer enough gameplay for the average gamer.

5/10

 Video Checkers – By Atari

The first thing I want to say about this game is just how much I love that classic box art! These early Atari games really did have some fantastic images adorning their boxes, all hand drawn works of art and often with the artist’s signature in the corner! One you get into the game the grand king and cheerful children are sadly no where to be seen and what we are left with it a very simple game of checkers, or draughts as some call it. There isn’t really much to it, just play checkers against a friend or the computer. This is a very early 2600 title so it’s hard to be too harsh on it but it doesn’t play a very good version of the popular board game. The controls are sluggish and the computer seems to take forever to make a move at times making single player games very long and boring. The graphics and sound are also incredibly simple too, at least the pieces are round I guess! If you enjoy playing checkers then avoid this and go play the much better version by Activision instead.

3/10

 Video Chess – By Atari

Developed by Larry Wagner and Activision founder Bob Whitehead, Video Chess is a very important game from a historical point of view. The box art on the first production run of the Atari VCS featured a large chess piece, even though Atari was not contemplating designing a chess game for the system or even thought one was possible. A man from Florida supposedly sued Atari over the box art citing the lack of a chess game as false advertising. This caused Atari to start development of one and among the many problems they had to overcome was the sprite limitations. The Atari 2600 was only capable of displaying three sprites in a row, or six (such as in Space Invaders) with the right programming. The eight-piece-wide standard chess board exceeded this limitation. To rectify this Bob Whitehead developed a technique known as "Venetian blinds" where the position of each sprite changes every scan line allowing for eight or more sprites in a row. This effect went on to be used in many further games. The concept of bank switching ROMs was also invented for Video Chess, originally 8k in size the released version however ended up fitting the standard 4K size. Despite some rather dodgy AI that likes to occasionally cheat this title was and in many ways still is a fantastic achievement for the humble VCS.

7/10

 Video Olympics – By Atari

Everyone remembers Pong, the first ever arcade video game, a simple but addictive game of table tennis using just 2 bats and a rather square ball! Well Atari converted the product that made them famous to the 2600 in all its glory and added a few extra games to the cartridge too adding even more value for money. As well as traditional Pong there are also multi-player versions of the game for up to 4 players. Then we have the Pong variations with paddle based versions of table football, table hockey, basketball, handball and, even more surprisingly, volleyball! Some of these new games work better than others, table football is great while basketball is a bit of a fail. Still it’s nice to have this many variations even if Pong is likely to be the game you go back to the most. The graphics and sound might be very simple but the gameplay absolutely cannot be questioned and this cartridge still remains one of the best multi-player experiences that can be had on the retro console. So grab 2 sets of paddles, a case of beer and invite all your friends round for a night of vintage fun & games!

8/10

 Video Pinball – By Atari

This title is the earliest attempt at re-creating pinball on the Atari 2600 and boy does it show. The ugly blocky graphics and rectangular table are about as far from real pinball as you can get. The strange layout of this table with its square bumpers, enormous width and small central flippers certainly takes a bit of getting used to. After you shoot the ball it spends seemingly ages bouncing around before it even goes anywhere near your flippers. There are just a few targets that can be hit and none of the fancy bonuses you see in most pinball games. And that is all there is to it really, I will give Video Pinball some credit for its excellent physics – they really did get the ball movement spot-on. Unfortunately with its ugly boring almost colourless graphics and simplistic gameplay this is not a title you will want to play for very long. If you want a pinball hit on your 2600 then you are much better off getting the far superior Midnight Magic instead.

4/10

 Warlords – By Atari

Warlords is without doubt one of the best multi-player games out there. Up there with the likes of Bomberman, Worms and Rampage Warlords is fun on your own but enters a world of its own when 4 of you play at once. The game in many ways is an evolution of both Pong and Breakout. On the screen are 4 castles, one in each corner, protected by a wall of bricks. Each player has a small shield that can be moved in a semi-circular arc round the outside of the wall. Bouncing around the screen is a cannonball that you can either deflect with your shield or catch by holding down the button, this allows you to direct where the ball goes. If the ball hits your castle wall then it takes out a brick, if it gets through the wall to your castle and hits it then you are out and the last person with a castle intact wins! A massive favourite at retro events, Warlords is a simply superb game that proves graphics and sound mean nothing when you have gameplay this great.

10/10

 Winter Games– By Epyx

After the marvel that is the Atari 2600 version of California Games Epyx went on to push the limitations of the system even further with this wonderful game based on the Winter Olympics. Winter Games allows up to 8 players to choose a country and compete in an incredible 7 different events! On offer here we have the Slalom (skiing), Ski Jump, Bobsleigh, Speed Skating, Luge, Biathlon and finally the Hot Dog – an acrobatic ski jump style event. Each one is hugely playable and can be practised on its own if you don’t want to play the whole thing right through. Every event looks fantastic and could have been released as a 2600 game in its own right. There is also some music and great sound effects too during different parts of the game. I also loved the inclusion of a medal ceremony when you finish all 7 events with the traditional gold, silver and bronze being handed out. When it comes to sports titles for the Atari 2600 this game simply can’t be beaten. What I love the most is that this version even puts the NES translation to shame as well as many of the more advanced home computer versions too. Winter Games will amaze everyone who sees it let alone plays it and it remains one of the biggest must have titles for the system.

10/10

 Wizard Of Wor – By CBS Electronics

This official conversion of the classic Williams coin-op is probably one of the better games that Coleco converted to the 2600. Coleco were well known for purposely downgrading 2600 versions of their games to make their own Coleco Vision console look better, Donkey Kong being a prime example. For those who have never played the original WoW, long before Warcraft stole the moniker, it’s a rather unique maze game where instead of escaping bad guys you actually hunt them down and kill them! The game is made up of a series of one screen dungeons where the monsters roam you can move between the dungeons via the doors on each side. The object of the game is to simply rid each one of the monsters and become the ultimate worrior (not the wrestler!). I have always thought this game was a bit of an under rated classic and I am so happy to see this version that retains all the style and charm of the coin-op. The only minor flaw is the very flickery graphics but you won’t notice them so much after extended play. I seriously suggest that any fans of classic retro arcade games hunt this great little game down.

8/10

 Wolfenstien – By Neotokeo

If you are expecting a 2600 version of the classic first person shooter or even the original stealth based home computer game then you will be very disappointed. This 2600 Wolfenstien game is actually just a hack that was put onto a cart and released to the community. Using code from CBS Electronic’s conversion of the Exidy arcade game Venture it features loads of new graphics, sound and more rooms. More like the Atari 8-bit game than the 3D incarnation it is obviously a 2D adventure / action game that loosely follows the Wolfenstein theme. The title screen is certainly impressive but I couldn’t help but think some of the in game graphics should have been changed more too, especially the main sprite who is just a smiley face! Worth checking out if you are a fan of the series but you might be left thinking WTF is this.

7/10

 Word Zapper – By U.S. Games

U.S. Games released some really obscure games for the 2600 and this is perhaps the weirdest of them all. It’s a cross between a shoot ‘em up and an educational game. You control a ship that must shoot at letters as they scroll along the top of the screen in order to spell a word that is shown to you when the level starts. But there are also enemies flying around the screen trying to put you off your task. Hitting them can either stop you shooting the right letter or sometimes it will scramble your word up. You can also shoot these minor annoyances though by pressing a direction when you fire. Bizarrely there is no penalty in this game for hitting the wrong letters but you do have a time limit in which to complete your task. There are 24 different game variations that change things like the number of enemies, the speed that the letters scroll along, the length of the timer and also allow you make the game harder by having random letters instead of actual words. Although this doesn’t really make any difference if you just write them down! Graphically the game is pretty decent and there are plenty of sound effects going off around you. When it comes down to it though this game just seems all a bit pointless. Maybe it would be good for young kids to help them spell? For everyone else it’s just a bore fest that offers little challenge and even less reason to come back and play it again, you are better off playing hangman!

4/10

 Xenophobe – By Atari

This 1987 arcade game published by Bally Midway was no doubt heavily influenced by the classic film Aliens. Starbases, moons, ships, and space cities are all infested with aliens and the players have to kill all the aliens before each is completely overrun. This game was rather unusual in that it split the single monitor into three separate horizontal sections, one for each player. This allowed the players to co-operate, but also allowed the players to wander around freely, a feature not found on most co-operative multi-player games that restricted you all to the same screen. One of the last games to be released for the machine this incredibly ambitious 2600 version came out in 1990, a full 13 years after the console first debuted. As if it wasn’t already incredible enough that this game even exists it also manages to retain the split screen 2-player gameplay of all the other home conversions! Ok the graphics are very blocky, the sprites flicker almost constantly and there is very little sound but its still Xenophobe all the same. It plays more or less like the original game and has nearly all the gameplay aspects too, which is definitely the most important thing. If you own a 2600 then this is a must have game really, not just because it’s a good game but also because of its historical importance on the machine.

8/10

 Yars Revenge – By Atari

Yars Revenge is often listed among the most popular games for this classic system. The primary objective of the game is to break a path through the shield and destroy the enemy Qotile behind it with a blast from your Zorlon Cannon. The secondary objective is to simply score as many points as possible. The shield appears in one of two shapes, as an arch or as constantly moving rectangle. This barrier is made up of cells that your Yar scout must destroy by simply firing at them with your weapon or by devouring them on direct contact. The Qotile also shoots back at you with missiles and deadly swirls. The missiles come in a more or less constant stream, one at a time while the swirl comes after the Yar like a homing missile. The swirl can only be destroyed with the Zorlon. Down the centre of the screen is a glittering banned that acts as a neutral zone. This area will protect a Yar from missiles but not from the swirl. While in this zone you also can’t fire any missiles of your own. Yars Revenge is fun at first but I found it got rather repetitive after a while and I, for one, have never been able to understand what all the fuss is about.

6/10

 Zaxxon – By CBS Electronics

Sega’s Zaxxon arcade game was revolutionary when it was released with its forced isometric 3D perspective, use of shadows and original gameplay. The home versions differed massively in quality and both the 2600 and Intellivision translations change the game to a different viewpoint in order to squeeze it into the hardware on offer. Instead of the 3D isometric perspective you now see the action from behind the ship instead. You might think that this actually makes it much easier to gauge the height of the ship as you fly through the gates and shoot the fuel tanks. But due to the blocky graphics and lack of shading it’s actually quite difficult at times. It’s also quite hard to gauge the height of the enemy fighters and their fire too as you fly towards them. You have to give Coleco some serious due for what they tried to achieve here and they nearly pulled it off. If you can get used to the quirkiness of this conversion then you will enjoy it but many people may get too frustrated to even give it a second try.

6/10