What's your laughingly worst Atari 2600 game of all time?

[MeneerJansen]

I don't know what came into me, starting this topic. It's gonna end up in a flame war if we don't keep it cool. And if it does end up in a negativity spiral then a moderator can "kill -9" this topic afaic.

 

However, there were so many funny uber bad games made for the Atari that in some ways it results in the opposite of what you'd expect. That is, it amuses people, makes them laugh out loud (LOL) and it makes them curious about the Atari. The real gems are so few in the endless list of games that it is fascinating. Playing Atari games now-a-days is like treasure hunting for a gem. But the really, REALLY bad ones are a gem too. Why? Because at the time, expressed in today's "money" (link), they cost about 150 Euro (about $160)! That may make some cry, but it's hilarious to me.

 

I would like to stress however that, to make it more challenging, you only get to choose ONE game. No lists. It's too easy to post a list. I'm not interested in that. If you could only choose ONE SINGLE Atari game as the worst you've ever seen for the past 40 odd years, which one would it be? And I mean hose hilariously bad games, not the irritating ones (you know: too difficult, bad port of an arcade etc.).

 

I vote for the following game. Who the hell would pay $160 (that's in today's dollars, in 1980 it'd be about $50) for:

 

• Forest

 

 

The concept for this game must have been devised in a meeting, consisting of only business executives, of roughly one hour in which they "invented" about 15 other games. You walk from left to right from screen to screen and during this you (a man w/ a pony tail) slay pigs, birds and what have you not w/ a hockey stick. How's that for politically correct, eh? And all the while a bird, who's flying around pointlessly above your head, shits on you. There must be a point to this when you reach a big brown stripe that goes from the top to the bottom of the screen. Maybe its a skid mark from the bird, who knows and who cares. If you ever are feeling down and weary start this "game" and you're happy and laughing within three seconds. The bloody nerve they had wasting ROM chips on this turd. Also notice the pointless house in the background and the background tune which is out of key. Run, Forest, run.

 

 

P.S. I take it that we all know that E.T. is NOT the worst Atari game of all time. I beg y'all to not go into that.

Edited November 22, 2015 by MeneerJansen

[Tinman]

I think that's supposed to be a tree.

[Rom Hunter]

Tip: please read a game's manual first before bashing it.

Some things that look ridiculous on screen at first sight, can be acceptable after reading the manual.

That said, the game that always astounded me as being 'too bad to be true' is Airlock from Data Age:
http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-2600-vcs-airlock_11531.html

Static, boring, ugly colours, almost no animation or sound FX and extremely non-playable.

It was a close call between Sssnake and Airlock, but the last one gets my vote for 'The Worst VCS Game Ever Officially Released'.

 

Edited November 22, 2015 by Rom Hunter

[Lynxpro]

I don't know what came into me, starting this topic. It's gonna end up in a flame war if we don't keep it cool. And if it does end up in a negativity spiral then a moderator can "kill -9" this topic afaic.

 

However, there were so many funny uber bad games made for the Atari that in some ways it results in the opposite of what you'd expect. That is, it amuses people, makes them laugh out loud (LOL) and it makes them curious about the Atari. The real gems are so few in the endless list of games that it is fascinating. Playing Atari games now-a-days is like treasure hunting for a gem. But the really, REALLY bad ones are a gem too. Why? Because at the time, expressed in today's "money" (link), they cost about 150 Euro (about $160)! That may make some cry, but it's hilarious to me.

 

I would like to stress however that, to make it more challenging, you only get to choose ONE game. No lists. It's too easy to post a list. I'm not interested in that. If you could only choose ONE SINGLE Atari game as the worst you've ever seen for the past 40 odd years, which one would it be? And I mean hose hilariously bad games, not the irritating ones (you know: too difficult, bad port of an arcade etc.).

 

I vote for the following game. Who the hell would pay $160 (that's in today's dollars, in 1980 it'd be about $50) for:

 

• Forest

 

 

The concept for this game must have been devised in a meeting, consisting of only business executives, of roughly one hour in which they "invented" about 15 other games. You walk from left to right from screen to screen and during this you (a man w/ a pony tail) slay pigs, birds and what have you not w/ a hockey stick. How's that for politically correct, eh? And all the while a bird, who's flying around pointlessly above your head, shits on you. There must be a point to this when you reach a big brown stripe that goes from the top to the bottom of the screen. Maybe its a skid mark from the bird, who knows and who cares. If you ever are feeling down and weary start this "game" and you're happy and laughing within three seconds. The bloody nerve they had wasting ROM chips on this turd. Also notice the pointless house in the background and the background tune which is out of key. Run, Forest, run.

 

 

P.S. I take it that we all know that E.T. is NOT the worst Atari game of all time. I beg y'all to not go into that.

 

Which company made it?

[toiletunes]

I played a ton of Airlock as a kid, but you don't have much choice with twelve or so games.

 

Having said that, I vote for Eggomania- what kind of sadistic bird tries to kill a bear by drowning it in egg yolks??

[sega_SHARK]

 

Which company made it?

Sancho. Looks like it's PAL only.

 

I vote bugs by Data Age. It plays too damn fast, it sounds bad, and it looks bad.

 

Are there any Data Age games that forum members like? Genuinely curious.

 

Maybe Bugs has some sort of secret fan base that can clue me in on what make this an under appreciated gem.

 

or maybe it really does suck.

[Rom Hunter]

 

Which company made it?

 

Sancho from Taiwan:

http://www.atarimania.com/pgelstsoft.awp?system=2&type=G&publisher=32&step=200

 

[+KaeruYojimbo]

Are there any Data Age games that forum members like? Genuinely curious.

 

I like Frankenstein's Monster, and there are people out there who will defend Journey Escape.

 

I have to agree that Airlock is the one that definitely sticks out in my mind as the worst though.

[iesposta]

Airlock

How to handle underwater emergencies

"8. Select the game difficulty level by moving your console's "Difficulty" switch to position A (for beginners) or B (for experts)."

?!

[+thegoldenband]

I like Bugs quite a bit, as a simplistic but very demanding twitch game. I still plan to try to roll the score on it someday; I've gotten close on the easier difficulty.

 

Airlock isn't a good game, but I appreciate the fact that it has a goal and an ending (outside of competitions, I'm not a big fan of playing for high score). I don't think it's unplayable by any stretch -- just short on content and with shaky controls. I'll play it for a bit now and then; still need to beat the harder difficulty, IIRC.

 

Both of those games tend to be very quick, which I also appreciate. If I were a kid and spending $40 of paper route money, I'd feel differently -- but I'm not, and I don't depend on either game for my next few weeks of entertainment. I'm OK with what they are.

 

Sssnake, OTOH, is trash, and my candidate for the worst VCS game I ever owned as a kid. There are worse in the VCS library, but it's pretty wretched: terrible then and terrible now.

[MeneerJansen]

Thanks for the Eggomania tip! Besides folders named 'Atari's Best' and 'Homebrew', I now also have a folder named 'Atari's Worst'. The Atari always makes me happy. To play my favorite childhood games, to play some pretty creative games like they don't make 'm anymore and laugh out very, very loud w/ my friends at games that never should have been made.

[MeneerJansen]

Found another great turd: Skeet Shoot. Apparently you are a skeet shooter who is shooting clay pigeons. Even if you know that, this game was a complete waste of time. For the developer that is.

 

P.S. I didn't use the search function of this forum good enough. Saw this topic.

Edited November 22, 2015 by MeneerJansen

[Tickled_Pink]

I honestly don't think I ever played a truly awful Atari 2600 game. Sure, a lot of games I had back then haven't aged well but they were fun at the time.

 

I guess my least favourite games were Smurf and Pole Position but a lot of people seem to like them.

[Rom Hunter]

P.S. I didn't use the search function of this forum good enough. Saw this topic.

 

LOL

 

Yes, I re-read that topic as well.

 

I voted for Inca Gold back then.

 

I totally blocked/banned that game from my mind, but I must admit: that one even beats Airlock.

 

So IMO Inca Gold is the worst:

http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-2600-vcs-inca-gold_8028.html

 

Edited November 22, 2015 by Rom Hunter

[sega_SHARK]

 

So IMO Inca Gold is the worst:

http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-2600-vcs-inca-gold_8028.html

 

That box art is awesome. It's like something out of Jonny Quest episode or an Eerie magazine.

[donssword]

I loathe Laser Quest.

 

It sounds great in theory, and it turns out to be a hollow, incomplete concept, poorly executed. My biggest Activision disappointment.

[xybot67]

I loathe Laser Quest.

 

It sounds great in theory, and it turns out to be a hollow, incomplete concept, poorly executed. My biggest Activision disappointment.

I believe it was called Laser Blast and I absolutely agree with you. I got it for Christmas back in the day and hated it the minute I plugged it in. What a turd!

[Tinman]

I believe it was called Laser Blast and I absolutely agree with you. I got it for Christmas back in the day and hated it the minute I plugged it in. What a turd!

Proof that for every game that people hated, somebody liked it. In the case of Laser Blast, that somebody was me.

[xybot67]

Proof that for every game that people hated, somebody liked it. In the case of Laser Blast, that somebody was me.

I can respect that, I actually enjoyed E.T. lol

[+Random Terrain]

That said, the game that always astounded me as being 'too bad to be true' is Airlock from Data Age:

http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-2600-vcs-airlock_11531.html

 

Static, boring, ugly colours, almost no animation or sound FX and extremely non-playable.

 

It was a close call between Sssnake and Airlock, but the last one gets my vote for 'The Worst VCS Game Ever Officially Released'.

Yep, Airlock was one of the worst marked down games I ever bought at Kay Bee or K-Bee or K-B or whatever it was called.

[Lynxpro]

 

I like Frankenstein's Monster, and there are people out there who will defend Journey Escape.

 

I have to agree that Airlock is the one that definitely sticks out in my mind as the worst though.

 

Frankenstein's Monster was one of the games for the Atari 2600 that the Angry Video Game Nerd loved.

[BassGuitari]

I vote bugs by Data Age. It plays too damn fast, it sounds bad, and it looks bad.

 

Are there any Data Age games that forum members like? Genuinely curious.

 

Maybe Bugs has some sort of secret fan base that can clue me in on what make this an under appreciated gem.

 

or maybe it really does suck.

Air Lock would be okay if it couldn't be beaten in 20 seconds.

 

Encounter At L5 is pretty good. Warplock is pretty shit but also pretty fun.

 

I kind of like Bugs. I don't know if "underappreciated gem" is the right term for it, but I wouldn't call it one of the worst. It's okay when you learn how to play it but IIRC the difficulty gets really cheap.

 

My worst game: Karate. It's basically incomprehensible.

 

[MeneerJansen]

 

LOL

 

Yes, I re-read that topic as well.

 

I voted for Inca Gold back then.

 

I totally blocked/banned that game from my mind, but I must admit: that one even beats Airlock.

 

So IMO Inca Gold is the worst:

http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-2600-vcs-inca-gold_8028.html

 

Ha ha! That one's a turd if I ever saw one. By the way, there appear to be two games w/ different graphics under the same name. The first one is the version by Zellers. The second is also known as 'Pac Kong' by Funvision (link Atarimania).

 

Why exactly do you think its so laughingly bad? For me its the flicker, the mind numbing bad game play and the fact that the (single?) level is boring. Maybe it's the emulator that I play, but the flicker is unbelievable. I almost cannot see the stuff that is being thrown at me. On top of that, in the Zeller version that I played, the thrown objects flicker from left to right. This game, to me, looks like a demo how to NOT do sprites on the Atari. This game must have been marketed at the grandma who wants to buy her grandson a present for Christmas and accidentally buys this one. I don't know how it was at the time in America, but where I live stores were very irritating back then if you wanted to get your money back for something or exchange it, especially if it was already opened. A lot of companies must have profited from this. I always played the game first in the store. Now-a-days you'd do that too for a $160 product.

 

'Pac Kong' aka 'Inca Gold' by Funvision

 

'Inca Gold' by Zellers

[totallyterrificpants]

Bi! Bi!

 

Got this game in the bundle I got my first 2600 with. Easily the worst game in there and the bundle had E.T. which I admit is one of my favorites.

 

 

Also this cover

 

https://atariage.com/cart_page.php?SoftwareLabelID=1619

 

Looks like that scene from Futurama where Fry and the mermaid are cheering on the giant squid trying to kill the whale

[Flojomojo]

Tip: please read a game's manual first before bashing it.

 

Some things that look ridiculous on screen at first sight, can be acceptable after reading the manual.

You sound like someone who would like Raiders of the Lost Ark on the VCS after reading the manual. Even more so because of your choice of avatar.

 

My pick for laughingly worst Atari 2600 game of all time would be a tie between:

 

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark, purchased new in November 1982 for $30 out of enthusiasm for the film. Note: $30 in 1982 is equivalent to $73.94 in 2015 dollars.

2. Raiders of the Lost Ark, found in a pile of yard sale games without box or manual for next to nothing, but with no clue how to play it.

 

Yeah yeah, "look up the manual online" or something. My point is that context matters, and a really good Atari game should be intuitive enough to be understood on its own. Adventure, Haunted House, and Superman are similarly abstract, but not completely inscrutable.