Top 5 UNDERRATED games?

[godzillajoe]

Stealing the idea from the the OVERRATED thread.

 

Go!

[kirin jensen]

Ah, you anticipated where I was going next:

 

Top Five Underrated Games for the 2600

 

1. Carnival

 

It's just a death from above game, but what a solid realization. Miss something and it counts against you. Let something go by and it counts against you. Let the duck eat your ammo and - well, you get the idea. Albeit somewhat repetitive, there's enough variety to keep me playing until I turn turn the score over - which is hard for me to do.

 

2. Jawbreaker

 

Ms. Pac-man and Junior Pac-man get all the praise for not sucking as much as Pac-Man, but this is the real gem on the 2600. Stripped down to the basic play mechanics, you get a fast, furious, flicker-free fest of fun.

 

3. Sorceror

 

Easily as fun as Pitfall! Continually listed as a crappy game, more out of habit I suspect than out of experience.

 

4. Space Jockey

 

At the higher difficulty settings this game is up there with Chopper Command for sheer hardness. Nice mix of enemies, though punishment/reward factors could use improvement.

 

5. Fast Eddie

 

What Donkey Kong could have been on the 2600. Platform jumping galore, fast flicker-free graphics, solid steady 'ramping-up': a great game lost in the hubbub of complaints about DK.

[Gabriel]

E.T. It gets bashed as the worst game ever, but just look at any of the Swordquest games.

 

I originally owned Swordquest Earthworld. I came to the conclusion it sucked and returned it to the store and exchanged it for E.T. E.T. was GODLY compared to Earthworld.

 

Similarly, Pac-Man is far from the worst maze/dots game for the 2600, much less one of the worst games available for the system.

 

I don't think Turmoil and Spider Fighter get brought up enough when the topic of great shooters for the 2600 comes up.

[PressureCooker2600]

Fast Eddie- Same as kirin

 

E.T.- read the manual.....have fun......enjoy the beautiful graphics

 

Bank Heist- never really got what it deserved

 

Krull- i LOVE this game. i always read about people hating on this game and i never understood that

 

Cosmic Commuter- great concept, didn't get enough credit for being AWESOME and FUN

 

Fantastic Voyage- thriller, keeps you on the edge of your seat

[Lord Thag]

Here's my five really obscure games that deserve much more recognition(in no particular order)

 

1. Radar Lock: AWESOME Afterburner style game using the Solaris engine. Tons of depth, and lots of challenge. Nobody ever mentions this game, and it's a shame.

 

2. Realsports Tennis: Great little tennis game with excellent graphics. Way better than Activision Tennis. I don't usually like sports games, but this one's fun.

 

3. Subterranea: Imagic did a great job with this one. It's a nice Defender style game with vertically scrolling levels. Also, you fight a Hexuplex. Any game with a Hexuplex is rad!

 

4. Spacemaster X-7: Great twitch game, and original to boot. Later levels are crazy fast. Good stuff!

 

5: Solar Storm: Everyone always talks about Kaboom! being the great paddle game. This kicks Kaboom's ass, and has way more variety to boot. It's sooooo much fun!

Edited August 25, 2007 by Lord Thag

[Steril707]

Combat... This beats most of the modern stuff on the Wii as a one on one party game. At least with the people that i know...

[godzillajoe]

OK since I brought it up, here are mine:

 

1. Demolition Herby

Like the concept of Amidar but think it sucks? Try this game. It will kick your ass.

 

2. Bank Heist

Addictive as hell

 

3. Frogs And Flies

Seriously, try this one out when you have people over. Can't miss.

 

4. Surround

Yeah the GFX suck but two player mode is where it's at

 

5. Zaxxon

The perspective is different but it captures the concept of the arcade game well enough considering the system

[Lord Thag]

5. Zaxxon

The perspective is different but it captures the concept of the arcade game well enough considering the system

 

If you like that one, try Buck Rogers. Very similar but much better, IMO.

 

I'll also second the Bank Heist vote. Good stuff, that.

[+batari]

4. Surround

Yeah the GFX suck but two player mode is where it's at

Anyone who hasn't tried selection 12, difficulty A with another good player has never really experienced how much fun this game can be.

[BSA Starfire]

1. Dig Dug one of Atari's arcade conversions no-one seems to mention, great fun!

 

2. Tape Worm. Lots of fun and a good memory test on the dark levels.

 

3. Solar Fox, fast frantic dot collecting.

 

 

4. Fantastic Voyage, River Raid with a neat premise and saving life, not killing:)

 

 

5. Crash Dive, good shooter, very underrated in my opinion.

 

6. Ghostbusters, very original, fun and great music.

 

 

OK it's more than 5 but well......

Best regards,

Chris

[BassGuitari]

Pac-Man

Miniature Golf

Space Jockey

Star Ship

Subterranea

Moonsweeper

Air-Sea Battle

Encounter At L-5

Cosmic Commuter

Artillery Duel

Air Raiders

Outlaw

Night Driver

Video Pinball

Blackjack

Casino

Dark Chambers

Commando Raid

 

Pick five.

[Captain Beard]

DARK CAVERN - I liked the Intellivision version back in the day and I like the 2600 version now. Requires more strategy than folks give it credit for, especially to get the big points.

 

KOOL-AID MAN - I enjoy this one so much, I even picked it for the High Score Club. Simple, fast and fun.

 

MINIATURE GOLF - Sure, I know, it sucks. In fact, it really, really sucks. But that hasn't stopped me and my pal James from getting hundreds of hours of enjoyment out of it. There's just something about the outrageous physics and ridiculous layouts that make us smile.

 

PLANET PATROL - Just a simple, side-scrolling shooter, but I dig the night board and just generally find this game charming.

 

SAVE MARY! - Easily the best game on my list. I really dig this one, but it never seems to get any props.

 

And I agree with others who named Bank Heist, Fantastic Voyage, Fast Eddie and Jawbreaker. Those are all great games. IMHO.

[Impaler_26]

E.T.

Defender

Krull

Dark Chambers

Star Ship

[PressureCooker2600]

I thought Dark Cavern was pretty much a Top 15 hit.

 

I personally LOVE the game and it's easily in my top 5.

[Inky]

Im ignoring ET as its become CLiche...

 

1) Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom. Sure the graphics stink, but moreso than any other 2600 game I own, I reach a zen like state

 

2) Reactor. Once again, graphics stink, and its not exactly like the arcade, but damn if it isnt a challenging game.

 

3) Tac-Scan -- See above

 

4) Krull. Now THIS is a game Combines many elements of adventure games with several challenging arcade sequences. My brother and I used to have a contest to see who could last the longest on the wedding scene.

 

5) Fantastic Voyage. Ecxcellent twist on the Scramble formula.

Edited August 26, 2007 by Inky

[Christophero Sly]

5 underrated games.

 

1. Superman

2. Dragster

3. Miniature Golf

4. Amidar

5. Othello

[Lord Thag]

Ah yeah, Othello! I forgot all about that game. I used to play it all the time as a kid. Thanks for reminding me about it CS. I think it got lost in the pile

[BSA Starfire]

Im ignoring ET as its become CLiche...

 

1) Buck Rogers: Planet of Zoom. Sure the graphics stink, but moreso than any other 2600 game I own, I reach a zen like state

 

2) Reactor. Once again, graphics stink, and its not exactly like the arcade, but damn if it isnt a challenging game.

 

3) Tac-Scan -- See above

 

4) Krull. Now THIS is a game Combines many elements of adventure games with several challenging arcade sequences. My brother and I used to have a contest to see who could last the longest on the wedding scene.

 

5) Fantastic Voyage. Ecxcellent twist on the Scramble formula.

 

 

Yep, I'll go with Reactor and tac-scan(my favourite paddles game), not played Buck rogers or Krull. Sounds like I should.

Best regards,

Chris

[PressureCooker2600]

4) Krull. My brother and I used to have a contest to see who could last the longest on the wedding scene.

 

Awesome! I did the exact same thing. Best part of the game. I always try to survive longer and longer.

[nester]

Here's my current top 5. I tried to pick out games that actually get bad review so I had to leave out some of my favorate obscure titles. A couple of these games are fondly remembered, but I wanted to write about them anyway.

 

1. Tac-Scan

 

I couldn't believe it when I started to read the universal bad reviews for this game! It's fast paced, exciting, and unique. I think it's one of the more inovative games on the system. This game is kind of a symbol for everything Sega would do after it. Fun, inovative, and practically ignored

 

2. Pressure Cooker

 

Probably the least talked about of the classic label era Activision games, this one is one of the best. It has interesting gameplay that always keeps me coming back. Few other 2600 games have you doing so many things at once without the whole game becoming too much. Pressure Cooker has the correct balance leading to truly engaging gameplay. I also love how it's a food game made by a guy named Kitchen!

 

3. Entombed

 

When you think of U.S. Games you rarely think of quality, but I guess they were just saving their best for last. I've always felt that this was one of the best 2 player games for the whole system. I enjoy how the game tricks you into thinking it's going to be slow, but quickly ups the speed. It's designed in such a way that it takes more than luck to navigate the maze. I think they did everything right with this one. If U.S. Games would've released this game early on, we might have a different opinion of them today.

 

4. International Soccer

 

This is still one of the few sports games I can stand for the system. Soccer is very well suited for the 2600, but it wasn't attempted very often. This is a good game that captures the feel of it very well. It moves at a good speed and has a good sized field. This is one that can be played for reasons besides just seeing how far sports titles have come. Why it's usually rated below Ice Hockey and Baseball I will never understand.

 

5. Solar Fox

 

I put this one at number 5 because it does get decent reviews but it's not very well known. It's a great action/puzzle game that always keeps me interested. The speed bonuses cause you to do the puzzles over and over again until you reach perfection, and they still leave in things shooting you for good measure. It's a shame that CBS didn't make it past the 5200. I'm sure they could've made good games for a long time.

[Red 5]

I don't know if my picks are underrated games, but they are definitely sleeper hits.

 

Fathom - Great puzzle-ish, action game. I love the controls of the seagull. Press the button to flap. Later levels where you fly up nine or ten screens, it is a rush nose diving to the ocean and turning back into a dolphin.

 

Tunnel Runner - This is the best game for the 2600. Period. Absolute blast to play. The speed in the later levels is incredibly fun. Getting cornered by a Zot with nowhere to run and the music getting louder and louder is classic and pure genious for the 2600.

 

Maze Craze - Most underrated 2 player game of all time. Play the game option where you can put up fake walls to confuse your opponent as you race them to the exit.

 

Airlock - Underrated because people destroy the game. Yes, it's short. The idea of water flooding the sub as you race to the top is very fun. Play the harder levels and there is actually an adrenaline rush. You know if you miss a jump you are screwed. The water racing up behind you as you race to get to the next level... just fun.... for what it is.

 

E.T. - This game constantly gets hammered. I never understood why. If you take the time to learn how to get out of the pits, the game is actually pretty fun. Considering how many other crap games came out for the system, E.T. shouldn't be able to be in the top 25 worst games for the 2600. (See: Karate, Mythicon games, Sneak n' Peek, etc.)

[AtticGamer]

1.Pac-Man

2.Defender

3.Alien

4.E.T.

5.Dig Dug.

[midnight magicman]

Wow realred,

 

I've never seen any love for TR on this site. It is also my fav 2600 game. I think one of the reasons it's not more loved is cuz it takes an uncanny sense of direction to play effectively. "how many times/when did i turn left/right/pass a turn, etc. I don't have a single retrogaming friend that will play that one. Here's my top 5 underrated:

 

1. Tunnel Runner (see previous post)

 

2. Dragster (when my one buddy comes over for some 2600 action, I swear we play this gave 1/2 the entire time we're gaming! How the heck did anyone get less than 6 secs!! someday....)

 

3. Spider Fighter (my favorite of the Space Invaders style games. I personally love the colors/graphics.)

 

4. Bowling (one of those where you can just veg out with a buddy & b*llshit about anything & just casually play without a time constraint etc.)

 

5. Basketball (yes, this is one ANGER INDUCING game! the friggin AI taunts you after it goes up more than one basket! but, when you can actually beat the SOB, it is VERY gratifying.)

 

Peace

[PressureCooker2600]

Tunnel Runner is like a few peeps favorite game on this board like realred and joeybastard.

 

and to nester:

I agree with you about Pressure Cooker. It's my all-time favorite game on the VCS. But I don't think it's quite underrated. It's kinda in the middle, IMO. I've never heard anyone say anything bad about Pressure Cooker and I think at the time it was pretty popular.....and not a sleeper hit.

[128bytes]

My favorite UNDERWATER games:

 

Seawolf

Seaquest

Go Fish!

Dolphin

Fathom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What, you said underrated games? Never mind.

 

 

 

 

Well, they are my top 5 underrated games too. And their gameplay has a lot of depth