One-Minute Atari 2600 Reviews (A)

The readers post their own reviews.
The Mad Blogger

One-Minute Atari 2600 Reviews (A)

Postby The Mad Blogger » October 20th, 2011, 3:40 pm

A-VCS-Tec Challenge
A nice splash screen, and a great beat, but can you dance to it? If only there were a game to go with the opening screen.
Rating=30/100

Ace
Hey, who loves the Combat flying game, but, um, does not like the Combat cartridge? Basically, this portion of the flying game was lifted from Combat, and placed into a game with a new name -- Ace. Sorry, cheater, but this Acey is definitely a deucey.
Rating=0/100

Acid Drop
A decent rendition of “Columns.” This game MUST be played with the sound off.
Ranking=80/100

Action Man
This clone of G.I. Joe Cobra Strike is just as bad as the original.
Ranking=50/100

Adventure
The granddaddy of all “adventure” games. The graphics are a bit crude, but the gameplay is smooth, exciting, and challenging. A must-have.
Ranking=90/100

Adventure Plus
What a nice hack of the Adventure game. Only problem is that the original is still the best.
Rating=70/100

Adventures of Tron
Interesting concept, good variety of enemies, great features (elevators, tractor beam). However, it gets boring too easily – one board over and over again.
Ranking=70/100

Advertisement Cartridge
A pretty cool graphic, but this isn’t a game.
Ranking=20/100

Air Raid
A one-dimensional shooter game. Not interesting in the least.
Ranking=60/100

Air Raiders
A hard-to-control first-perspective shooter game where you fly a plane and destroy enemy craft.
Ranking=50/100

Airlock
A decent game where you must clear each level of a submarine within 10 seconds. Joystick control is difficult and the graphics are minimal.
Ranking=70/100

Air Sea Battle
This shooting two-player game is decent. If a one-player mode were offered, this game would have received a higher ranking.
Ranking=70/100

Alice’s Abernateur
I like this game. The background sound and graphics are first-rate, and the gameplay is challenging. However, this game can get repetitive. In addition, this game never ends. There is no goal. And, therefore, there is no good rating.
Ranking=70/100

Alien
This is an enjoyable Pacman clone. Sure, the aliens are about as sharp as a sack of wet mice, but if you like Pacman, you will like this game. The gameplay is a bit rough, but not enough to hamper your fun.
Ranking=80/100

Alien Battle
This hack of Air Sea Battle is beautifully done, and has a nice feel to it. It is definitely a step up from the original.
Rating=80/100

Alien Menace
A decent port of Activision's River Raid, but the vector graphics simply do not work here. Stick with the original.
Rating=70/100

Alien Pac-Man
This hack of Alien makes the game have more of a Pac-Man-esque feel. Definitely worth a shot.
Rating=80/100

Alien Planet
A rather unusual hack for Pitfall in that you actually feel as if you are on another planet. A worthy clone.
Rating=80/100

Alien’s Return
This sequel is inferior to the original, both in terms of sound and gameplay.
Ranking=50/100

Alligator People
Ho-Hum. I am a spray can and I get to shoot alligators in the sewers. Yippee. NOT!
Rating=50/100

Alpha Beam with Ernie
A Sesame Street educational game that teaches you how to read, write, and count. Like I can’t do thatSmiley
Ranking=30/100

Amidar
The graphics are decent, but the idea of filling in bricks is not very creative. Also, the gameplay is poor.
Ranking=70/100

AOTM AFOS
Another space shooter game that is very, very, very boring.
Rating=40/100

Aquaventure
This enjoyable game involves you diving for treasure and bringing it to the surface.
Ranking=80/100

AR
A game where, as a bird, you shoot a man and he shoots you. Ho-hum.
Rating=50/100

Armor Ambush
A 2-on-2 version of Combat that has surprisingly easy game control. It is even simple to switch tanks. A great, solid game to play.
Ranking=80/100

Artillery Duel
A boring game where you try to blow up your opponent by angling your gun in the right direction. That’s it.
Ranking=60/100

Assault
A space shooter that is mediocre at best. The sounds are ear piercing, and the graphics are ordinary.
Ranking=60/100

Astar
Pac-Man without goblins? Yes. Here's the deal. You have to eat dots but you can only move forward. Use the walls as "bases" to bounce back, and you have one moving wall that will help reposition you.
Rating=80/100

Asterix
A game where you collect cauldrons but avoid harps. Ho-hum. Also, the gameplay is anything but smooth.
Ranking=70/100

Asteroids
The graphics and sound are great. The gameplay is top-notch. I’m just used to the vector version – the game’s only flaw.
Ranking=90/100

Asteroids Arcade
A graphically superior version from the original, but how can you not like colored rocks from the 1970s? It LOSES points, based on its removal of the numero-uno cheesy factor of the game.
Rating=80/100

Astroblast
Cool concept – destroy asteroids or GET OUT OF THE WAY. The sound is great; the gameplay is exciting. Graphics a bit on the poor side.
Ranking=80/100

Astro War
A hybrid Defender/Asteroids game, only you are destroying meteors, and you only travel in one direction (left to right).
Ranking=60/100

A-Team
A bit repetitive, but a decent prototype.
Ranking=70/100

Atari Video Cube
Rubik’s Cube for the Atari 2600? This toy was difficult enough. Using the limited capabilities of the Atari makes it nearly impossible.
Ranking=60/100

Atlantis
A fast-paced game, where you guard the city from Atlantis, while the alien ships attempt to destroy your city. You are all that is standing in their way.
Ranking=90/100

Atlantis Trainer
What an excellent and ingenious way to excel at Atlantis! The side cannons are never destroyed, so this also gives you an opportunity to master these little-used, but rather powerful weapons.
Rating=80/100

Atlantis II
Not a sequel to the great Atlantis video game by Imagic. Rather, this version was used as a deciding factor in a special Atari 2600 contest to see who would be the Atlantis grand champion. The ships move faster and fewer points were awarded, thereby resulting in lower scores. Still, it's the same game.
Rating=70/100

Atrix
An "Atari" hack of the Ixion game. Not as good as the original, so why play it?
Rating=70/100

Note: For more exciting reviews, visit the Mad Blogger's Web site at
http://madblogger2011.livejournal.com/



Return to “Reader Reviews”