Single best 2600 game ever?

[Matchstick]

I agree with what others have said that it's almost unfair to have to pick just one game. That's like asking a parent to pick their favorite kid. Or my wife to pick her favorite of our pet cats.

That being said, I have a shortlist of favorites like everyone else -

I'd pick Enduro... It's usually the first game I play when I return to the 2600.

Took the words right out of my mouth! I had Pole Position when I was younger, and I thought it was pretty fun. Got Enduro some time later in a big stack of games from a flea market, and, well, there was no going back. I don't think I ever played Pole Position again after that!

I'm also big on The Empire Strikes Back, Berzerk, and Pitfall 2. The latter, especially, just blew me away at the time. I had rarely played a 2600 game so complex, with such a large inter-connected world. And I love the soundtrack that plays throughout it, picking up and slowing down depending on how well you do as you explore.

If I had to pick one game to round out a Top 5, it would be River Raid. It's just of such high quality that I can't imagine any 2600 collection without it.

I will say that I never had Warlords, nor a paddle controller, nor did I ever play the 2600 with more than one other person at a time. If I had access to all that back in the day, I'm sure I'd feel the same way about Warlords that many others on this thread do! Unfortunately, all we had were two duct-taped joysticks that only really worked when they wanted to

[Herschie]

I'm most particular to "Turmoil".

[ActRaiser]

If your answer isn't River Raid, you're wrong.

kidding, kidding, of course.

But that would be my pick. I'm guessing I should actually play some of the others mentioned as that was my go to favorite as a kid.

[Teddybear]

I always enjoy these types of threads........I try to frame the question as if you were to be left on a deserted island for the rest of your days (stocked with unlimited beer, AC, internet access and Gal Gadot) and had to choose only ONE Atari 2600 game, what would it be? I'd whittle the choice down to these six:

Pitfall II
Montezuma's Revenge
H.E.R.O.
Astroblast (w/ paddles)
Solar Fox
Solaris (just an honorable mention as I have never played it yet but it does seem to be a very engrossing game)

Eventually, you would tire of exploring every nook and cranny of Pitfall II looking for secret treasure or hidden gold bars and the game ends when you find Quick Claw, Rhonda, etc. Montezuma's Revenge does have 3 levels (I believe the game loops back to the first level.) Repeat and fatigue would probably settle in with Astroblast (although it is always cool to see what color the sky changes to after reaching a certain point threshhold) and Solar Fox (HELIOS..the mystery is gone.)

I gotta go with H.E.R.O.

[DocHix]

Great question...so many amazing games on the system. I really like "Night Driver", "Star Raiders" with the control pad and "Indy 500" with the driving paddle. Even if you don't have anyone else to play with, trying to run the perfect timed set of laps in "Indy" can become very addictive!

[lynchie137]

Wow. This is really a tough question. So much so that I had to sit back and mull it over for a couple days before I could come up with a proper answer. I mean, the 2600 has had so many great games on it that still stand the test of time. Of course, they've also had their fair share of stinkers as well like any other console. But that's a thread for another day, I suppose.

Anyway, my pick? Midnight Magic. Mainly because of all the hours that myself and my cousin spent playing it. We had a bunch of other 2600 games kicking around, but that is the one we'd always gravitate to. We'd just play that for hours on end, and when you combine the addictive gameplay of it with some prime Slayer and Metallica tunes blaring in the background, that is just good times all around. So many pleasant memories, I must say..

[djc]

I'm going to go with two.

First: Pitfall II because it was a technical marvel and a solid game.

Second: M-Network's Football. Why? It is an absolute blast when you play with a bunch of friends and have tournaments - especially when you realize you can run off one side of the screen and appear on the other side.

[LoganRuckman]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Combat yet. I know it's a launch game, and you may think a 2600 launch game from 1977 has aged terribly, but that couldn't be further from the truth. My brother and I always had a blast playing this on our various Flashback consoles (I know, I know). And since the 2600 was way before our time, we had no nostalgic bias or fuzzy memories of 2600 games as a kid. I think that's indicative of a timeless, fun as hell multiplayer experience. But this game is now a nostalgic favorite of mine as an adult due to our Flashback sessions as young'uns. Just insanely addictive.

Another one I love that hasn't been mentioned yet is Save Mary, which was unreleased for many years until I believe the Flashback 2, when it was finally made playable. Very fun construction puzzle game.

Some of my other favorites, like Warlords, Kaboom, Pitfall, H.E.R.O., and River Raid have already been name dropped in this thread.

[envytomdead]

Very tough. If I had to pick either Defender 2 or River Raid.

[Gentlegamer]

Tank Pong