Your favorite First Gen Atari games?

[Goochman]

Adventure and dodge em.

 

Thats the list!

[Rob Mitchell]

What made me want the Atari in 1977?

 

I had seen the Channel F earlier in 1977 and I loved looking at it .. and just attempting to get a chance to play it at the store .. but Dad said it just didn't have enough sophistication. Dad was wise ..

 

An article about video games in Consumer Reports (October 1977) rated the Atari VCS as the best of the programmables which included the RCA Studio II and the Fairchild ChF. The article had two pics of VCS games: Tank (Combat) and TV Tennis (PONG). I carried that article around with me for about 2 weeks and just memorized it. I was already familiar with ATARI from trips to arcades ..

 

So when we went into SEARS in late October 1977 and saw the SEARS TELEGAMES unit on display and all the kids trying out Target Fun .. I told Dad, "That's the Atari!" He had to confirm it with the salesman first. Mom vetoed the purchase .. but Dad overruled her veto. There was another cart available for purchase. It was Tank Plus (the game from the article). So we got it plus Target Fun (pack in Sears game).

 

Those were the only games available then. Over the next several weeks leading up to Christmas, we would make a trip across town to Sears to purchase the latest game that arrived in stock. They came in stock only one title at a time!! Third purchase was Outer Space (sucks). I read the manual on the way home and got excited about the included Lunar Lander game only to be terribly disappointed when I cycled to it! Ugh! We kept it anyway .. the first person shooter was ok .. and hey it was an Atari game! and we only had three!!

 

Later came Blackjack, Speedway II, Pong Sports, Chase and Race($$). I think Race was the last purchase. Each title required a separate trip to Sears on the evening that I learned of its arrival just hours prior! We bought them all before Christmas 77 .. why wait! Also we had to get another set of paddles to play the multiplayer games.

 

Another early disappointment was cycling though Pong Sports and realizing that a game from the Super Pong console called CATCH is not there! I loved that game when played at a friend's house in 1976-77. This is a homebrew suggestion for anyone wanting to program a two player paddle game!!

 

The only exception was Math. I was in junior high .. who needs that!

 

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

[Saikyo]

Then Combat is my vote as it is the only one of those games i distinctly like!

 

PS can indy 500 be played without race controllers as i cant seem to steer

[BassGuitari]

1. Star Ship (you're not alone, Ze_ro!)

2. Air-Sea Battle

3. TIE: Combat, Video Olympics, Blackjack, Indy 500, Street Racer, Surround

4. Basic Math

 

Star Ship is actually my favorite Atari game of any generation.

[moycon]

The game that made me want a video game console was Breakout.

I think my favorite game from that time period once I saw it and tried it out was Adventure.

[ATARIPITBULL]

Of those, I would have to say that Combat was the best, none of those 9 were the reasons I wanted to buy a Atari 2600 system, games like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Pitfall, Wizard of Wor and even those Swordquest games are why I bought a Atari.

 

[otrfan]

Me and my brudder used to play Combat and Air Sea Battle all the time.

But for whole family enjoyment, we would break out both sets of paddles and play Blackjack for hours.

[+Nathan Strum]

What was your favorite of the first 9 released games? (Combat, Air-Sea Batle, Basic Math, Black Jack, Indy 500, Star Ship, Street Racer, Surround, Video Olympics)

 

Probably either Combat or Air-Sea Battle. Both (renamed Tank Plus and Target Fun) came with my Sears Tele-Games, and got a lot of play, before I could afford to buy more. They were the only head-to-head games I had for awhile, which made them a lot of fun to play. I'd have to give the edge to Combat though.

 

What game was it that maybe made you want an Atari in the first place?

 

It wasn't one of the original nine. I think it was either Missile Command or Asteroids. Probably Missile Command, since I have that in a Sears box, and must have gotten it at the same time.

[Rob Mitchell]

PS can indy 500 be played without race controllers as i cant seem to steer

 

You need the special driving controllers (set of 2) which came with that cart!

 

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

[SS]

Later came ... Pong Sports

 

IMHO, "Pong Sports" has the best NAME of any of the first gen titles.

[Saikyo]

Damn no wonder i just got the cart on it's own from a sale oh well gotta

go and find them now then i suppose!

[Rob Mitchell]

Those of you who were influenced by the later releases (Dodg'em, Missile Command and Adventure) had seen the O2 and the Intellivision by then and thus had other home consoles and games to compare to.

 

Those of us who were influenced by the first 9 to buy the Atari VCS only had the magic of the early video arcades to compare to. For me, the Atari VCS was a home version of the magic that we call video games.

 

The name, "Atari," was synonymous with video games.

 

Rob Mitchell

[Max-T]

Chairmonkey, another great post topic.

 

I'd have to say that my fav of the very first 2600 games was Air-Sea Battle. Maybe that was just because I could beat my little bro every time (aplogies to brother for taking advantage of having been two years older).

 

But really, I still think Air-Sea Battle is a lot of fun, even when I have to play by [weep] myself.

[weezle]

Ohhh!! my favourite game of those was surround. i still love it...and that really irritating noise it makes as you play!! lovin it.

[weezle]

Ohhh!! my favourite game of those was surround. i still love it...and that really irritating noise it makes as you play!! lovin it.

[+Nathan Strum]

Those of us who were influenced by the first 9 to buy the Atari VCS only had the magic of the early video arcades to compare to.  For me, the Atari VCS was a home version of the magic that we call video games.

 

The name, "Atari," was synonymous with video games.

 

That's how it was for me, too, albeit a couple of years later. The only difference was in the games that were being brought home. Missile Command instead of Pong. Asteroids instead of Surround.

 

I didn't start playing video games until 1977 or so. I didn't get hopelessly addicted to going to the arcades until probably '79. I still remember when Asteroids was a new game, and I thought, "Cool! I was hoping someone would make a version of Space Wars where you could shoot at the asteroid!"

 

So I missed a lot of the early arcade games. But I got in on the next generation of games. Starship 1, Space Wars, SeaWolf, Sprint, Night Driver, etc.

 

The main reason I wasn't influenced to buy a 2600 earlier than I did though, was that I wasn't old enough to earn the money yet.

[KaineMaxwell]

I never heard of Video Olympics, Surround, Street Racer or Blackjack.

[Shannon]

What was your favorite of the first 9 released games? (Combat, Air-Sea Batle, Basic Math, Black Jack, Indy 500, Star Ship, Street Racer, Surround, Video Olympics) Even what was your favorite back in the day when these were the new games. What game was it that maybe made you want an Atari in the first place? While I wasn't around back then, my favorite now is probably Video Olympics because I'm obsessed with PONG.

 

Although I was playing solo, that would be...

 

Combat, Air-Sea Battle, Indy 500, and Surround.

 

Either missile command, space invaders, or adventure made me want an atari. Cannot remember specifically which.

[Rob Mitchell]

Is Air-Sea Battle (Target Fun) the only game program that makes a sound as you cycle through the games with the game select toggle switch?

 

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

[ApolloBoy]

By 1st Gen games do you mean ones made from '77 to '80? I guess so, so I'll start...

 

Adventure

Space Invaders

Night Driver

Indy 500

Combat

Star Ship

Blackjack

Breakout

Video Olympics

Video Chess (yes, I like this)

Basketball