The Video Game Critic

Let me know what you think about this latest set of Atari 2600 reviews.

I enjoyed your reviews. Xevious on NES is a lot of fun, so I'm sure this is pretty good. It's crazy how a game as basic as bridge holds up all these years later.

I liked the line about ESRB 80+, I thought it was pretty funny.

Nice reviews! Maybe this will motivate me to spend some time trying to figure out how to play my Bridge cartridge.

Regarding Xevious... some bugs were fixed, but mostly it's just a later, more complete version than what we had before. Perhaps you should mention that in the review?

Atari 2600 reviews, nice! I'd never have expected to see a Bridge review, but if you're looking to complete your Activision review set for the VCS, that makes sense. I think Kung Fu Master is the only one left for VCS?

I've been meaning for ages to learn how to play bridge and backgammon. Someone taught me backgammon long ago (and I've since forgotten most of it), but I've never played bridge. I wouldn't want to run afoul of the ESRB, though.

The fixed version of Xevious is based on a more complete prototype. This got fixed (by me) with just a few small changes. So the credits for the completeness has to go to the original author.

scotland wrote:After years of games with long tutorials, here is a game that doesn't hold your hand (pun intended). Did Tecmo Bowl give you an NFL rulebook? Why must a bridge game give you the rules?

I had to laugh! Scotland has a point!

I do not know how to play Bridge and do not care about this cartridge - but I really enjoyed the review (cattle lassoing...good one!) But it did get me thinking about how many remaining original games for the Atari 2600, Intellivision and Colecovision that the Critic hasn't reviewed yet. A reader noted earlier that Activison's Kung Fu Master has yet to be reviewed. I know that Coleco's Lady Bug for Intellivison also hasn't been reviewed yet either.

My question for the VGC: Do you feel compelled to eventually review all the original titles for these systems? Many of us have used this site as a reliable reference in our collecting as well as a checklist of games for these classic systems.

Just wondering.......I have been a daily follower/lover of this great site since 2008.

Aside from Activision refusing to teach you the basics, what else was wrong with the game to warrant knocking it down to a C level? The rest of your review made it sound like a hidden gem.

Looking forward to the Kung Fu Master review to finish off the Activision titles - it's a punishing game that demands fast reflexes and suffers when compared to the NES version, but as a kid who only owned a 2600, it was like a next generation title. Huge multicolored sprites, multiple moves, a variety of enemies, and every boss armed with a new attack...

There's nothing else in the 2600 library like it.

Actually, have you read the thick manuals that came with the old sports titles?? They definitely DO teach you the basics of the game. Sometimes they even provide some history.

And frankly the lack of instructions didn't have much to do with the review grade. I just thought it was a pretty average game. I mean, there's no score or anything. It's just something to pass the time.

Also, I need to revise the Xevious review because the "fixed" version was pretty much a recently recovered, nearly-complete game that just needed a few minor bug fixes. I'll probably combine the prototype and fixed reviews.

ThePixelatedGenocide wrote:Aside from Activision refusing to teach you the basics, what else was wrong with the game to warrant knocking it down to a C level? The rest of your review made it sound like a hidden gem.

Looking forward to the Kung Fu Master review to finish off the Activision titles - it's a punishing game that demands fast reflexes and suffers when compared to the NES version, but as a kid who only owned a 2600, it was like a next generation title. Huge multicolored sprites, multiple moves, a variety of enemies, and every boss armed with a new attack...

There's nothing else in the 2600 library like it.

"Kung Fu Master" is impressive as heck for an Atari 2600 port of a later arcade title.

The 2600 is the most pushed console of all time. To think it was designed to play stuff like Pong and Combat.

If I recall correctly, to defeat the boss you shoot a bomb into its core, but because the boss isn't a stationary target, you have to aim the bomb a little higher on the screen than the core actually is.