Turmoil (Atari 2600)

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Herschie
Posts: 1183
Joined: April 7th, 2015, 11:44 pm

Turmoil (Atari 2600)

Postby Herschie » March 20th, 2021, 12:56 pm

I know I'm known for having childhood mischief stories around all of the retro games I play, but I'm afraid I don't have one here. For two reasons:

a) I just played it for the first time in my life today.

And 2) It came out before I even had my first birthday.

Actually, I could have played it back then. My parents didn't have an Atari 2600, but my babysitters did (Unfortunately they also had a pointer stick they would crack me with whenever I got out of line). Even if I did play, my first memory wasn't until 1984 when I remember crying because I thought I was only supposed to get presents for Christmas, not my birthday. I remember people wondering what the hell was wrong with this kid.

But I digress. Holy mackeral this game is so much fun! I actually had it for about a month but never played it because I hadn't hooked up my Atari in the mancave since they refinished the floors. Finally had a chance to play and I could hardly put it down.

Reflexes is the name of the game since you have to be quick to both score points and avoid objects. You move up and down, only able to go side to side when a mysterious circle appears. Even then you have to be strategic because if you're too late getting to the circle, it explodes and you lose a life. Then those tanks! You have to wait until they pass, then hit them in the back.

I think I have a new favorite game for the Atari 2600! My wife got mad because she was heading to the doctor and wanted me to look to see if she looked alright. But you can't pause these old Atari games and I had a good score going. My babysitters from back in the day would have threatened to shove a marble down my ear had I told them that!

In all seriousness, they were good people. They were fresh off the boat from Ireland, and they never crossed the line as to what I'd say is abuse. Sure we got spankings, but that was par for the course in the 80s. Especially in my case, whether it was after I tracked mud in from outside or spilled laundry detergent all over their floor. Hey, live and learn!

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