12 Extra Atari 2600 Games Are on the Way to Atari 50, Even More in Further Updates

looks like too many crappy 2600 basketball games

@NinjaSixx it's a free patch, why so harsh? I think it's great they've immortalised these games in this fashion, it's not about how playable the games actually are in terms of modern tastes.

Let's face it - the 2600 games were abysmal. I loved them as a kid because that was the best you could get at home, even if it was pretty bad compared to what was available in the arcade (which itself is pretty lame now).

I played through Adventure after I got this game for Christmas last year, to beat the game and find the easter egg room (again, I did it back in the day, too), but I didn't spend much time on the rest of the 2600 games, and I probably won't...though I might go back and play the Yars Revenge remix a few more times.

But those games - as bad as they are by modern standards - are one of the reasons a web site like this can exist today. They helped create the industry. And it's amazing to see how much gameplay they actually were able to create with such primitive tools, even if it doesn't hold up well any more.

@NinjaSixx it pains me to say this but I agree. Especially the Gawd awful 2600. I love the arcade games and some of the later system games. I loved Atari back in the day tho.

Takes me back to my youth ... I'm that old !

The VCS was the king before Intellivision came along.

I had that console too.

In retrospect, isn't it incredible just what a technical leap games like the original Zelda or Super Mario Bros were? They look so primitive today and yet even a brief look at Atari's biggest and best games will show you what it really means to be primitive.

This collection isn't for me but it might make a good Christmas present for someone's dad.

@NinjaSixx I hope you are exaggerating about not being able to go back earlier than the PS3.
PS1 maybe, but PS2? Buddy, you are missing out on some of the greatest gems of all time.

I don’t even know or remember if it was originally an Atari 2600 game, but I would kill to have River Raid on my PS5.

@hypnotoad 😀 me too... my first was the collecovision with the 2600 expansion module for Xmas 83 and I still find loads of those games very playable - I still play games like pacman, digdug and donkey kong pretty regularly. Before I got that we used to rent a vectrex from the local video shop, those were the days 🤣

@NinjaSixx that's your taste in games. This collection has been made for people with a different perspective, so with that in mind this compilation is welcome.

I'm not sure you've thought your point through to it's natural conclusion. If Atari were releasing this anthology to capitalise on nostalgia then by your rationale they've made a poor choice of gaming line-up in order to entice gamers to buy as rheyve chosen less popular games with limited playability.

So maybe that's not the point of this release. It seems to me considering the detail and effort Atari has put into the presentation and biographical narrative of the release it's existence is for posterity's sake in recognition of the fallen giant that made gaming a viable hobby for people across the globe.

@Deljo We're old.

@hypnotoad yeah we are 😀

@NinjaSixx You also get the arcade games of Centipede, Asteroids, and Lunar Lander. All playable today with the right company. You also get a wicked reimagined remix game called VTCR-STCR. Yes there are a lot of duds, especially tic tac toe but the industry was new.

As for comparing Centipede to Super Mario Bros. They are both playable. Mario just has the added advantage of actual progression rather than simply score chasing on one screen. Again with the decent controls you can have fun either way.

Early 3d ps1/ps2 games have aged badly as the tech is better now. But great pixel based games have generally stood the test of time.

Probably some fair games. I'll take a free update, re-install it, play those games and get back to the ones I didn't finish playing. I enjoy this collection. The updates are a way for people to go back to it of course but still I have yet to anyway. I do the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive 360 Collection too for some games/progress I've made in a few.

I didn't care as much for the PS4/Xbox One Vol 1 & 2 collections (own Vol 1). Some high score games I enjoyed the mechanics/movesets but others didn't do it for me.

I'll continue the Jaguar/Lynx games, I'll continue Adventure and others with some progress/where I left off.

I went through all the games/history stuff to 'test them'. The ones I have stuck with are the Lynx/Jaguar due to them having more content/leaning to the more come back to them approach then some others being simple/high score.

(I enjoy timers or missions with arcade feel but as progression based content usually.

I don't hate high score focused games but prefer preset challenges of arcade career modes, the time trial challenges, races, etc. or setting my own if need be to replay games with my own challenges.

The timers/lives are fine but don't always care to create a bot match/my own quick race all the time only very rarely because I care to check the modes/weapons/maps more than I do creating my own fun unless it's more creating your own career mode templates kind of stuff. Or your own tournaments in WipEout Pulse or something.

Or a level editor. I used to. Not so much anymore but found them to be cool if the constraints allowed for enough that is.

modes then quick races unless I care to)

I was more curious about them then the rest. The 5200/7800 perspectives were more clear then just 'library' videos (same with Lynx/Jaguar) covering the games and only the visuals then the gameplay in Atari 50 being more clear.

I enjoyed Cybermorph, sure the polygon graphics have their charm or confusion but I had fun with it regardless of that, the controls are really good.

People go so fast when laughing at it in videos and bumping into stuff yet you can scale it really well surprisingly, people would rather make jokes then actually play it and that's just sad, whether they altered them or not compared to the original it's likely but still. So 'playing it properly' I enjoyed it, I understood the planets, the goals in them and didn't read the manual other than for controls that's it.

I have yet to get through Scrapyard Dog and others with many levels/learn them and their difficulty, their design.

Says a lot me caring about niche consoles, putting in the experience in emulators or collections like this and getting a real perspective as someone not born when these games were even a thing.

@NinjaSixx I don't know what genres you played but I have some classic games that is still love. Breath of Fire 4, Koudelka, Legend of Dragoon, Legend of Legaia 1 and 2, Parasite Eve 1/2, Final Fantasy tactics, FF7/8/9, Dino Crisis 1/2, Twisted Metal World Tour so many fantastic classics and i didn't even start with the PS2 games. 😅

Super Metriod, Donkey Kong 1/2/3, Super Mario World, Super Mario Allstars, Zombies ate my Neighbours, Tetris, Super Mario Land 1/2 I could go on so many more fantastic older games.

I could not disagree more but in the end we all have our own opinions and yes not all collections are that great I totally agree on you with that.

@CVCubbington It was, but it’s an Activision game so didn’t make the collection. Such a great game for its time.

For personal nostalgia reasons, I'd love it if the 🐎 turned out to be Stampede - but it's probably some horse racing game I never played

Really would like to see more Jaguar and some Jaguar CD titles make a showing (Blue Lightning???). I'm the only person I've ever met who had a Jaguar, let alone one with the CD expansion, and I loved it. Was my console between SNES and the N64, which I got much later.

Kasumi Ninja would be interesting too

@NinjaSixx but who's to say what's good and what's bad?

I really enjoyed my time with the megadrive collection. Again it's a frame of mind. If you love track and field and choplifter that's great, but I would prefer to play Shining force 2 and Streets of Rage. Its great that all collections are available, all games are released to buy on all systems. So let's stop crapping on a collection that to many (me included) is a decent distraction from life's many negatives. And the user interface and included documentaries are great.

I also bought the newish Karateka to support what they are doing.