redsteakraw Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 What are your Must Own and most Overrated games in your collection. You know which games tend to be played the most or are the shining example of what makes the Atari 2600 great. You also may have heard hype about a game, played it and was underwhelmed what are your choices for the best and the overrated. Homebrews do count so feel free to post you favs and you disappointments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
high voltage Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 I love all my VCS games the same 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsteakraw Posted August 4, 2017 Author Share Posted August 4, 2017 I would say must own are Demon Attack, Kaboom and Flappy most over rated are Space Invaders and PacMan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mephitblue Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 Must own: Bezerk Chopper Command Scramble Over Rated: Kangaroo (Too punishing on the second screen) Dragonfire (Graphics are impressive, but the game play just doesn't do anything for me) Ones that almost made the most own list: Carnival, Frogger, and Phoenix. Each of these are very good, but lacking a little something that keeps them off them the must own list. Demon Attack is a special case that almost has a spot on both lists. It's fun and has the right level of challenge, but I find the lack of variation boring after a bit of playing. If Phoenix had the challenge of Demon Attack, then you'd have a perfect 2600 game. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor Gull Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 Must Own Chopper Command - I can never just not stop on this one play it over and over and enjoy it Tunnel Runner - I felt like this one pushed the limits for sure and it is still great fun never the same. Encounter at L5 - When folks see the paddles they think of Kaboom. I felt this had some interesting takes on the use in a space shooting environment. Over Rated H.E.R.O. sorry I know I will get flak for that one but I just don't see the appeal. ALIEN - Uh Pac Man? Really not an improvement nor a degradation but really I felt it was a cheap recast of some bits for a game. River Raid - You know I had a tough time thinking on this one as better than it seemed but really its not. Put it up against Sky Jynx, or Zaxxon and River raid to me seems sadly bland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inky Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 Must owns..Tapper Phoenix Pitfall II Ms. Pac-Man Space Invaders AdventureMost overratedPitfall! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 I wish I could appreciate Adventure more. I know that I "should," because it's influential and trailblazing and some people really like it, but it's not for me. So I'd mark it as "overrated." I think Solaris is still super awesome kicky amazing. "Must own." Honorable mention to Stargate but Defender II can go play in traffic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassGuitari Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 I wish I could appreciate Adventure more. I know that I "should," because it's influential and trailblazing and some people really like it, but it's not for me. So I'd mark it as "overrated." I think Solaris is still super awesome kicky amazing. "Must own." Honorable mention to Stargate but Defender II can go play in traffic. Funny, I'm the opposite. I like Adventure (at least, for what it is), but I can't get into Solaris so much. If nothing else, Adventure is a landmark game and is common and cheap enough that's no reason not to have a copy. How is Stargate good but Defender II bad? They're the same game. (To me, the game will always be "Defender II." That's the name it went by when I saw it on the Nintendo when I was a kid, when I played it on Williams Arcade Classics for PC BITD, and when I got it for my birthday not long after I'd started collecting 2600 games. I never heard of "Stargate" until after the fact.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+save2600 Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 Always knew about Stargate, but Defender II? Was expecting something a little different than just a title screen change when I discovered that cart. For me, most all of the arcade translations are "must haves", especially from the silver label era. Even most of the third party arcade translations are great IMO. Just different enough from the arcade in that unique, special, Atari VCS sort of way. Non-arcade games that I think are must haves include: Alien (more of a real VCS Pac-Man clone) Atlantis & Cosmic Ark (arcade variants of sorts, but still) Dark Cavern Fast Eddie Ghostbusters Golf Keystone Kapers Midnight Magic Montezuma's Revenge Starmaster Super Challenge Baseball (too bad it requires two players) Games I feel are overrated with opinions as to why include: Pitfall! and Pitfall II even more so. Adventure - always want(ed) to get into this, but ends up just being an exercise in hastily roaming around and memorization. Haunted House - feel the same exact way about it as Adventure. H.E.R.O. - same ol', same ol' screen after screen and more memorizing. Demon Attack - watered down Phoenix and definitely needs more variety to hold my interest past a few levels. Pressure Cooker - arduously random test of patience I guess. Frogger II - fairly overrated for a rare game. Feels like a second rate Frogger clone with none of the charm of the original. Megamania - as generic as shooters get. Frankenstein's Monster - borders on really cool, but is just missing that certain something. Like more to do perhaps? Needs more game. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hizzy Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 I love Adventure & quest games, so Adventure is high up there for me, along with other quest games Musts: Adventure Anguna Cave In Haunted Adventure Pitfall II Aside from quest style games, I love these games: Atlantis Cosmic Ark Juno First Seaquest Dodge 'Em Dig Dug Demon Attack Solar Fox Asteroids/Space Rocks Bank Heist Fantastic Voyage Bezerk Basketball Ice Hockey Tennis The Pac-man family games Star Fire Overrated Pitfall Alien River Raid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamrodHare Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 Go Fish! It's been my favorite homebrew game for a while now. If you haven't played it, you need to. Also, Wall Jump Ninja. As far as overrated games, I don't really have an opinion there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+cvga Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 Must haves: Beamrider (#36 on the All Time Top 100 List pinned at the top of this forum) Kaboom! (#4) Enduro (#20) Ms. Pacman (#11) Phoenix (#29) Overrated: Sea Quest (#18) Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back (#74 - not super high but has 6 first place votes) Combat (#35) Solaris (#12 - maybe I need to give this one another chance) Jungle Hunt (#37) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 Must Own for me range from early titles like Combat, Adventure, Space Invaders and Demon Attack, to later releases like Ms. Pac-Man, Pitfall II, and H.E.R.O. Most Overrated for me is singular - the original Pitfall! I had it as a kid and enjoyed it, but even then when my reflexes were much better than they are now, I couldn't ever get very far. The collision detection is brutally tough, and with only three lines with no extras it was just not very satisfying to me. Pitfall II improved this concept tremendously in every regard - better graphics, more variety, much better and more varied play mechanics, better play-ability in that even bad platform-gamers can finish a game with enough patience, albeit with a lower score, and that amazing DPC sound. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Thag Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 Must Own: Moonsweeper Berzerk Solaris Rescue Terra I Phoenix Beamrider Cosmic Ark Gravitar Jr Pac Man Underrated: Subterranea - Amazing game no one plays Radar lock - Afterburner on the VCS Shuttle Orbiter - Really fun, way better than Space Shuttle Reactor - Excellent game, even if it looks nothing like the arcade Crazy Climber - See Above E.T. - You can play Dark Souls, but you can't avoid a pit? Really? Spacewar - Way more fun than Combat Overrated: Kaboom - fun but too repetitive, I prefer Solar StormPac Man - Much better options these days Raiders of the Lost Ark - Was a mess back in the day, is still a mess now Combat - Fun launch game, but it got old quick, even back in the day. Much prefer Spacewar Space Invaders - the best home port of a very boring (if historically significant) game. Play Phoneix or Demon Attack instead 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djour Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 Must Haves: Adventure Maze Craze Starmaster Combat Circus Warlords Yar's Revenge Indy 500 Overrated: Moon Patrol Megamania Demon Attack Beamrider Barnstorming Enduro Donkey Kong Gopher 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rom Hunter Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 Over Rated H.E.R.O. sorry I know I will get flak for that one Think so too. Must haves: Beamrider, Enduro, H.E.R.O., Pitfall II, River Raid, Robot Tank, Space Shuttle, StarMaster, Demon Attack, Millipede, Missile Command, Ms. Pac-Man, Solaris and... Space Invaders. Overrated: Pitfall!, Atlantis. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariLeaf Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 Underrated: Subterranea - Amazing game no one plays Seems to be a fairly hard game to aquire nowadays. I'd love to reacquire one myself and it is a great game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+cvga Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 Overrated: Moon Patrol Megamania Demon Attack Beamrider Barnstorming Enduro Donkey Kong Gopher Beamrider - ouch, that hurts lol. I think this it's the best game on the Atari! I don't know if I'd consider Gopher overrated. It's not listed in the Top 100 2600 games thread pinned at the top of the forum. Think so too. Must haves: Beamrider, Enduro, H.E.R.O., Pitfall II, River Raid, Robot Tank, Space Shuttle, StarMaster, Demon Attack, Millipede, Missile Command, Ms. Pac-Man, Solaris and... Space Invaders. Overrated: Pitfall!, Atlantis. Yes, Beamrider! I was going to list Atlantis as overrated but it only came in at #76 on the Top 100 2600 games list (pinned). That sounds about right to me but it seems like it gets Top 20 love when people talk about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rom Hunter Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 (edited) I was going to list Atlantis as overrated but it only came in at #76 on the Top 100 2600 games list (pinned). That sounds about right to me but it seems like it gets Top 20 love when people talk about it. Atlantis is just a souped up Air-Sea Battle without variations. Never understood the hoopla. Edited August 5, 2017 by Rom Hunter 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+cvga Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 Atlantis is just a souped up Air-Sea Battle without variations. Good observation. It looks great but I never found it to be much fun. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 Must owns - Yars Revenge, Adventure, Circus Atari, Enduro, HERO, Phoenix, Megamania, Kaboom, Keystone Kapers, Pitfall, Empire Strikes Back, and Golf. Note that I'm mostly a one player gamer. Combat is the only 2 player simultaneous 2600 game I remember playing. Overrated - Atlantis, Empire Strikes Back (EVEN THOUGH IT'S ON MY MUST OWN LIST), Asteroids, Demon Attack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 Good observation. It looks great but I never found it to be much fun. Agreed, never found it fun for long. Nice analogy above, to a Souped up Air Sea Battle. Never thought of it that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 Overrated--------------AdventurePitfallRiver RaidKaboomDemon AttackAll good games, but they're not the be all and end all that people make them out to be.Underrated---------------TutankhamFootballSave MaryEncounter at L-5Gopher Ram ItSpace Master X-7Planet PatrolHard Head (seriously, play this prototype!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djour Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 Beamrider - ouch, that hurts lol. I think this it's the best game on the Atari! I don't know if I'd consider Gopher overrated. It's not listed in the Top 100 2600 games thread pinned at the top of the forum. I fell there are so many top down shooters that the one that limits me to 5 set lanes of shooting is lacking. I haven't played it much, so maybe I'm missing the charm or challenge. I put Gopher on the list without really checking the top 100, so you're right about that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djour Posted August 5, 2017 Share Posted August 5, 2017 Atlantis is just a souped up Air-Sea Battle without variations. Never understood the hoopla. Exactly. We love Air-Sea-Battle since we change change it up as we play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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