43 replies to this topic

[DesertJets]

I am relatively new in the retrogaming scene and just got my first console(s) this fall. Much of my focus has been on the Atari 8-bit stuff up till now. But in my obsessive research I have discovered that there were quite a few late release games from the 2600 (post 1984) that look REALLY good. I know I absolutely need to get Solaris but I am totally up in the air on some others and am open to suggestions.

I am thinking along the lines of California Games, Gravitar and Secret Quest.

[toiletunes]

Road Runner

[Lodmot]

Midnight Magic

[high voltage]

Video Jogger (Exus, with mat, 1987)
Acid Drop (Salu)
Pick n Pile (Ubi Soft)
My Golf (HES)
Ghostbusters 2 (Salu)
Klax (Atari)
Motorodeo (Atari)
Off the Wall (Atari)
Xenophobe (Atari)
Fatal Run (Atari)
Super Football (Atari)
Super Baseball (Atari)
Double Dunk (Atari)
Sprint Master (Atari)
Dark Chambers (Atari)
Desert Falcon (Atari)
Radar Lock (Atari)
Ikari Warriors (Atari)
Sentinel (Atari, and lightgun)
Crossbow (Atari)
32 in 1 (Atari)
Commando (Activision)
River Raid II (Activision)
Rampage (Actvision)
Double Dragon (Activision)
Pete Rose Baseball (Absolute)

[Tanrunomad]

Amazing just how long the lifespan of this system was!

[atari181]

Amazing, Yes! but the quality of some of the late games is amazing! The 2600 was never meant to be able to do the things they were able to do with it in the end of its lifespan. Todays Homebrews are simply mind boggling with the crazy shit they are doing with it,

[atari5200dude82]

Jr  Pac man and Realsports boxing are good titles too.

[KevinMos3]

I tried to come up with a complete list of games released in the US from 1984 - 1990.  I did not include games released overseas (with the exception of Fatal Run).  Only prototypes after 1988 are included and only if the game seems to be complete.  I just couldn't leave out all prototypes since some of them really deserve attention, (ex: Klax, Save Mary!, Crack'ed).  Froggo games probably shouldn't be in this list since they're just re-releases/hacks of earlier games, so they've been separated out from the 1987 list.

In my opinion, almost all of the late releases are excellent games.  In fact, the only ones I wouldn't bother with in that list are the Froggo games and Super Baseball.  Every single other game is worth spending time with IMO.

1990
Klax (Atari, Unreleased)
MotoRodeo (Atari)
Sentinel (Atari)
Xenophobe (Atari)

1989
BMX Air Master (TNT Games)
Double Dragon (Activision)
Fatal Run (Atari, Unreleased in USA)
Ikari Warriors (Atari)
Off the Wall (Atari)
Radar Lock (Atari)
Rampage (Activision)
Road Runner (Atari)
Save Mary! (Atari, Unreleased)
Secret Quest (Atari)

1988
Commando (Activision)
Crack'ed (Atari, Unreleased)
Crossbow (Atari)
Dark Chambers (Atari)
Defender II (Atari, Re-release of the 1984 Stargate)
Double Dunk (Atari)
Gravitar (Atari, Red Re-release of the more obscure 1983 silver label)
Pete Rose Baseball (Absolute)
River Raid II (Activision)
Sprint Master (Atari)
Super Baseball (Atari)
Super Football (Atari)
Tomcat - The F-14 Fighter Simulator (Absolute)

1987
California Games (Epyx)
Desert Falcon (Atari)
Kung-Fu Master (Activision)
Realsports Boxing (Atari)
Skate Boardin' (Absolute)
Summer Games (Epyx)
Title Match Pro Wrestling (Absolute)
Winter Games (Epyx)

Froggo Re-releases
Cruise Missle (Froggo, Re-release of Exocet)
Karate (Froggo, Re-release of 1982 game)
Sea Hawk (Froggo, Re-release of 1983 game)
Sea Hunt (Froggo, Re-release of Skindiver)
Spiderdroid (Froggo, Re-release of Amidar)
Task Force (Froggo, Re-release of Gangster Alley)

1986
Jr. Pac-Man (Atari)
Midnight Magic (Atari)
Snoopy and the Red Baron (Atari)
Solaris (Atari)

1985
Ghostbusters (Activision)

1984
Beamrider (Activision)
Cosmic Commuter (Activision)
Crystal Castles (Atari)
Espial (Tigervision)
Frogger II - Threeedeep! (Parker Bros.)
Front Line (Coleco)
Gremlins (Atari)
Gyruss (Paker Bros.)
H.E.R.O. (Activision)
Millipede (Atari)
Montezuma's Revenge (Paker Bros.)
Mr. Do's Castle (Parker Bros.)
Pengo (Atari)
Pitfall II - Lost Caverns (Activision)
Q*bert's Qubes (Parker Bros.)
Quest for Quintana Roo (Sunrise)
River Patrol (Tigervision)
Roc 'n Rope (Coleco)
Spy Hunter (Sega)
Stargate (Atari)
Tapper (Sega)
Track & Field (Atari)
Up'n Down (Sega)

Edited by KevinMos3, Tue Mar 20, 2012 7:16 PM.

[Torr]

Double Dragon is, I think, an amazing achievement on the 2600. It even trumps the NES version by being simultaneous two-player.
If you look back to a 70's title like Outlaw, who would have thought that 10 years later, on the SAME system you would go from playing 2 stickmen, on a blank background, in basically 2 colors with 2 sound effects, in a gun duel; to playing co-op with a friend, having 4 characters on screen at once, about 15-20 different (and colorful) backgrounds to fight in, music in the background WITH sound effects too, the ability to throw punches, kicks, elbows, headbutts, and flying sidekicks or using baseball bats, knives, and barrels while you fight, all with just ONE button!

And unlike some games like Xenophobe which look great but, I think, play terrible, Double Dragon is a LOT of fun. But maybe if I had Xenophobe as a kid and only just recently discovered Double Dragon I'd be saying the opposite!

[KevinMos3]

Torr, on Tue Mar 20, 2012 7:24 PM, said:

And unlike some games like Xenophobe which look great but, I think, play terrible, Double Dragon is a LOT of fun. But maybe if I had Xenophobe as a kid and only just recently discovered Double Dragon I'd be saying the opposite!

LOL, I think most people would say just the opposite of that.  However, I agree that Double Dragon is a good game (and I can beat it easily).  But Xenophobe on the other hand, I thought looked horrible but plays really good.

Have you checked out my graphical edits of those 2 games?  If you thought Xenophobe looked good before, you should really check out the changes.  If you think Double Dragon didn't look so good, you should definitely check out my changes.  

[Dauber]

I got both Crystal Castles and Jr. Pac-Man as Christmas presents in 1987. At the time I thought they were two of the finest games ever made for the system. Now? STILL think they're two of the finest games ever made for the system.   Very well done.

[Rom Hunter]

high voltage, on Tue Mar 20, 2012 3:05 PM, said:

Video Jogger (Exus, with mat, 1987)

1983.

[DesertJets]

Great this is exactly the stuff I am looking for. I didn't completely realize how much software got released post crash, especially deep into the late 80s.

Question then. From a quick glance a lot of the games were released across multiple Atari platforms. TBH if a better version exists for the 8-bit I'll probably go with that, especially once I get around to buying an Atarimax flash cart. But I did look at Double Dragon (will need to add that to my list). Looks really impressive for the 2600, but the 7800 port seems so lazy -- which sadly makes me want to get a 7800 less, if all I get are half-assed games in a machine that happens to also run 2600 games.

[high voltage]

So basically Europe got it better from 84 onwards, many Euro only releases like Pick n Pile, Acid Drop, Klax, Ghostbusters 2, My Golf etc....

Edited by high voltage, Wed Mar 21, 2012 11:36 AM.

[high voltage]

Rom Hunter, on Wed Mar 21, 2012 8:30 AM, said:

high voltage, on Tue Mar 20, 2012 3:05 PM, said:

Video Jogger (Exus, with mat, 1987)

1983.

The info about Video Jogger made in 1987 is from the book 'Racing the Beam', page 138, so they got it wrong.

.

[KevinMos3]

DesertJets, on Wed Mar 21, 2012 10:00 AM, said:

Question then. From a quick glance a lot of the games were released across multiple Atari platforms. TBH if a better version exists for the 8-bit I'll probably go with that, especially once I get around to buying an Atarimax flash cart. But I did look at Double Dragon (will need to add that to my list). Looks really impressive for the 2600, but the 7800 port seems so lazy -- which sadly makes me want to get a 7800 less, if all I get are half-assed games in a machine that happens to also run 2600 games.

If you don't already have a 7800 or 2600, then I would recommend getting a 7800.  There are a LOT of great games on it and all of them that I can think of are better than their 2600 counterparts.  Since it also plays 2600 games, there's really no downside.  But really, a comparison between the two systems is kinda like apples and oranges.  For example, Commando on the 2600 is a great game, but it's NOT like the arcade (if that's what you're looking for).  The 7800 version is outstanding (arguably the best on any home console).  But a comparison between the two isn't really fair because the 2600 version is just a different animal.

When it comes to Double Dragon, most people would probably say the 7800 version is better.  Graphically, it's better, but not up to the standards of what the 7800 could have done and I've personally never been able to overlook that.  As for gameplay, most people would probably say the 7800 version is easier.  However, I find the 2600 version very easy, but to play it you have to master the elbow smash.  Once you do that, you'll find it so easy you'll start looking for more ways to fight and rack up points, (such as a kick-kick-smash or punch-kick-smash etc.)... but you'll definitely still need the elbow smash to complete the game within the time limit.  With the 7800 version, the reverse jump kick is the key, but I've never mastered that.  So for me, it's a much harder game.

So it really comes down to what you're looking for in a system -- whether you're into collecting old systems or just playing games, and what kind of games you like to play.  I like to play games for both.  Dig Dug on the 7800 is better, but it's also fun on the 2600.  Same with Joust and many others.  Since I like to collect old systems, I have every model of 2600 as well as some 7800's.  For a non-collector, again, I'd recommend a 7800.

Edited by KevinMos3, Wed Mar 21, 2012 11:59 AM.

[SpiceWare]

Can't get much later than homebrews, and a number of them are easily in the same class as Solaris.

There's a lot of them though, so I recommend that you check out Nathan Strum's Reviews to see what might interest  you.  In that summary list you can click on any game to go to the detailed reviews.  When Nathan compiled that summary list he also revised the scores, so they might be different in the detailed review.   The summary score is the current score.

[DesertJets]

KevinMos3, on Wed Mar 21, 2012 11:47 AM, said:

So it really comes down to what you're looking for in a system -- whether you're into collecting old systems or just playing games, and what kind of games you like to play.  I like to play games for both.  Dig Dug on the 7800 is better, but it's also fun on the 2600.  Same with Joust and many others.  Since I like to collect old systems, I have every model of 2600 as well as some 7800's.  For a non-collector, again, I'd recommend a 7800.

Ultimately I want to play good games with the systems I have -- which is where the appeal of the post-crash 2600 games comes into play. Unfortunately some of these titles are rarish and a little pricey. Paying more than $10 for a loose 2600 cart is a bit tough to swallow. I do eventually see myself getting a 7800, though not anytime in the near future and it may be after I get other systems as well. Seeing as I already have an XEGS there is just some stuff if available on both the 8-bit and 2600 I'd just get for the 8-bit (though 8-bit stuff can get expensive fast).

SpiceWare, on Wed Mar 21, 2012 1:14 PM, said:

Can't get much later than homebrews, and a number of them are easily in the same class as Solaris.

There's a lot of them though, so I recommend that you check out Nathan Strum's Reviews to see what might interest  you.  In that summary list you can click on any game to go to the detailed reviews.  When Nathan compiled that summary list he also revised the scores, so they might be different in the detailed review.   The summary score is the current score.

Thanks for the suggestion. Something I will need to eventually look at.

[Underball]

If your interest in these games is purely to play them, and not so much on the collecting side, by all means - get yourself a harmony cart. For $60 + a dirt chep SD card, you can have every game ever made for the 2600, on real hardware.

[high voltage]

Extra Terrestrials (Skill Screen Games (1984 + 2011))

[HollowBeers]

Wow! I had no idea H.E.R.O. came out in 1984. I must have played that game so much that I thought it was released in 1977!

[Rom Hunter]

high voltage, on Wed Mar 21, 2012 11:37 AM, said:

The info about Video Jogger made in 1987 is from the book 'Racing the Beam', page 138, so they got it wrong.

Yes.

[littleman jack]

Solaris, Gravitar, Defender II, Jr. Pac-Man,and Crossbow are all really good later games from Atari. And don't forget later Activision titles such as Frostbite, Pitfall II, and HERO. And Pete Rose Baseball is amazing. And Montezuma's Revenge and Spy Hunter are not as large as the 8-bit computer versions, but they are really good. And two more, Solar Fox and Turmoil are fairly late and often overlooked. There's a bunch more, as mentioned a few posts ago. The 2600 really just keeps on going, with the late titles and now the homebrews.

Edited by littleman jack, Fri Mar 30, 2012 10:11 PM.

[high voltage]

Rom Hunter, on Fri Mar 23, 2012 10:49 AM, said:

high voltage, on Wed Mar 21, 2012 11:37 AM, said:

The info about Video Jogger made in 1987 is from the book 'Racing the Beam', page 138, so they got it wrong.

Yes.

So the mat was 5 years prior to Nintendo's jogging mat, someone should tell Nintendoage, they reckon the NES was first with that.

.

[Megaman Legends]

Has anyone mentioned Secret Quest yet from '89? It's like Zelda for the VCS. (kindof)