Any 2600 titles from back in the day still impressive?

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

That is to say, we all have our favorites and 2600 titles that impressed us back in the day. Now, I am no programmer and know very little about such things which is exactly why I figured with the game players, programmers, coders etc both old and new on these boards this was the best place to ask:

 

1. Which games from back in the day, from the debut to the original life span before "The Crash" for lack of a better term, were not only impressive when they originally appeared but in your opinion(s) are STILL at least as impressive today?

 

 

I ask this because have been here a long time and being a fan of the system, reading many posts about the pressure of games development and the time restraints etc, as well as knowing that today homebrew programmers have great talent, tools, time etc to hone their skills and tweak titles to perfection or at least to their satisfaction do ANY of the old titles form back in the day STILL impress? I mean of course from a technical standpoint not just nostalgic or sentimental impressions. If you DO consider a title technically impressive still to this day then why?

 

As always, thanks for your opinions, comments and consideration.

[SoulBlazer]

I always considered the fact that they got the music of Gyruss reproduced in the 2600 version as nothing short of amazing.

[Rom Hunter]

I think games like Solaris, Space Shuttle and Pitfall II are still impressive.

 

[Andre81]

I think Laser Gates is pretty good, requires a lot of skill.

[karokoenig]

I knew that Jungle Hunt is still impressive when my nephew (who thinks the Gamecube is super retro) saw it on the screen and said "Nice graphics". Parallax scrolling ftw.

[AtariLeaf]

I was going to mention Pitfall II as well. Although it's not a favorite game of mine since I don't really like platformers, I can really appreciate the work that went into it. Truly amazing game for the 2600.

[Unbeliever]

I'd have to say I was impressed with Star Raiders when I first saw it and managed to get a copy. It was amazing. You actually used a keypad to control your spaceship's functions like shields, map, and warping. The added element made the whole "I'm flying in a spaceship" that much more believable.

[Rhomaios]

If you're just looking for technically impressive, Ghostbusters deserves a mention.

Edited May 7, 2014 by o.pwuaioc

[Cybearg]

Haunted House's sound effects and style actually managed to increase my heart rate. That's pretty impressive.

[high voltage]

Surely the original lifespan extends up to 1992, not the 84 crash

[+Gemintronic]

I think back in the day Kung Fu was the last game that actually compared to the NES version. Nowadays I'm impressed with Space Shuttle and Tomcat but in no way can get past the first 15 seconds of the game

[Unbeliever]

I know this is probably not the first game in anyone's mind, but...

 

Laser Blast by Activision

 

The first time I owned this title I was impressed with how DIFFERENT it was from any other space game I had at the time. It was fast past, and later levels when your saucer is pushed all the way to the top of the screen, you have to move and shoot like a pro. Besides, how many games had you in a saucer? Just too cool.

[Greg2600]

Nightdriver still looks cool to me. Hard as hell.

[Troy_Whelan]

Games I found impressive at the time and still today are:

• Robot Tank - With the changing weather, awesome visuals, and adreneline rush this is still a great game
• Demon Attack - The strategy element and variety of enemies makes this game timeless
• Megamania - The challenge to reach 1,000,000 is still impressive today. Really like this game.
• Wizard of Wor - I was, and still am, impressed by getting this game done so well on the Atari 2600

Perhaps more, but those are at the top for me.

[accousticguitar]

Adventure had over thirty rooms that did not look exactly the same (in fact most of them were fairly distinctive) along with bats and dragons that moved freely about the kingdom. It also had interactive objects like the magnet, sword, bridge, and drawbridge. It had a quest, randomness so every game was different, and so many possibilities for killing time that I don't think any game came close to that for nearly a decade after its release. And all that was done in a 4K rom. Yeah, I'm still impressed by Adventure today.

[+xucaen]

Yar's Revenge because the game mechanics were unique and I can't think of another game that really duplicates it. It's still fun to play and still gratifying when I kill the Qotile and the screen lights up.

[iesposta]

Yar's Revenge because the game mechanics were unique and I can't think of another game that really duplicates it. It's still fun to play and still gratifying when I kill the Qotile and the screen lights up.

Yar's Revenge is one half of Star Castle, or a de-make of Star Castle. Still a favorite.

Robot Tank got a lot of play in the 80's.

Supercharger Mindmaster and Supercharger Official Frogger are both tops.

Today, for me, it is 2600 Millipede. Nothing, even the arcade Millipede, has better gameplay. Gameplay 10/10, Sounds 9/10, Graphics 5/10

 

Seems like as a kid it was about good graphics, then a good game.

Now it is all about gameplay first.

[+wongojack]

Megamania is one that stands out to me from a design perspective. It manages to really bring a nicely ramping difficulty along with some fast moving (and some slow moving) enemies that are just fun to try and shoot. As Troy points out, it is also very challenging to try and reach the 1mil mark (I have yet to get there). And yet the game is NOT frustrating. Very impressive design and difficulty balance for the 2600.

[Lentzquest]

I would nominate Realsports Volleyball. It plays smoother and faster than any of the clunky, chunky volleyball games from the NES era and possibly beyond. The game looks nice with it's setting sun, has amazing collision detection, and even contains a nice little easter egg. With two players things can get pretty competitive. To this day I'm still impressed by its gameplay polish whenever I plug it in, especially when compared to something like Super Spike V'Ball or Kings of the Beach.

 

That's my two cents for what it's worth.

[godzillajoe]

I would also have to say Millipede. It's a game I thought would NEVER exist on the 2600.

 

Stargate is another that impressed me back in the day and still does. But I hate the two joystick thing so I hardly ever play it. Wish you could use the keypad for the second controller

 

Some Activision games like Barnstorming and Sky Jinks still impress me because the graphics are so nice. The little touches like the pilot's scarf flapping in the breeze in BS or the shadows in SJ. Nice attention to detail. But a lot of Activision games were impressive because they were smart enough to design to the system's strengths and not just do arcade ports. At least not direct ports as Megamania is essentially Astro Blaster.

[+Random Terrain]

E.T. was such an advanced adventure game, even millions of people with a college education still can't figure out how to play it to this day. That's impressive. (It also helps if you don't have the reflexes of a three-toed tree sloth.)

[high voltage]

X Man, I mean those huge sprites, and sex, flashing boobs, amazing

 

[7800]

I'm sure I haven't played all the 2600 games yet since there are so many, but I think DEFENDER II is pretty impressive for a 2600 game.

[Rybags]

Space Invaders still stands up - except for those missing columns of invaders it does everything you'd expect in a home port.

Other complaint being that on the easiest level you can prettywell go forever, and the 4-digit scoring becomes another sore point.

 

Chopper Command also still looks impressive - in fact a lot of the Activision games could be passable Flash or mobile-based games today.

[Keatah]

What I find most impressive about many VCS games is the near instantaneous light-speed response of the controllers and the on-screen action.

 

There's very little circuitry (and no OS) between you, the GameProgram, and the output of the console. And we had real fun with it! All the more remarkable when compared against the multi-gigabyte sized games of today.