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What is the quintessential Atari game?


BigErn

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There are many top ten lists, but which single game best represents the Atari console/company of the 70s and 80s?

 

I think Space Invaders seems to be the game that put the VCS on the map. And Combat was the pack in, and it best represents the early limited capabilities of the VCS. Since it had no AI the VCS really brought people together back then. Pac-Man and E.T. really let us know how the folks at Atari felt about their customers... And all the Activision games show us what happens when you don't treat your programmers right. etc...

 

I guess I'd have to go with Space Invaders since they were trying to think outside the(wood-grained)box.

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Come on guys! There's a reason why Pitfall should be THE Atari game. Just look at it.

 

1. Not a port, developed specifically for the system to start.

 

2. Showcases pretty much the full graphical capabilities of the 2600.

 

3. Showcases its ability to generate awesome sound. Harry's "scream" is one of the most iconic video game effects of all time, as well as his jumping sound to a lesser degree.

 

4. The pixel quality is quite high, I mean, compare Pitfall Harry to the freaking square in Adventure. Come on. They could have at least made it a stick figure of sorts. You know exactly what you're looking at in Pitfall. What, Adventure, is that a dragon? It is? Jesus.

 

5. Ease of play. Not much to it, and there doesn't need to be much; you jump in, jump on things, and go, that's it. No thinking, it stands on its own without needing to refer to a manual. Most people who would try it today would have a breeze figuring out what to do, immediately. That's a special quality some 2600 games lack. I like Adventue and all, but if you don't know what to do at first glance it's a pile of shit.

 

6. High replay value. Something like Space Invaders, though fun, can get tedious after awhile, and more importantly you really don't want to play it again after a serious session. Pitfall doesn't have that effect, though that's something of an opinion.

 

7. Second highest selling 2600 game of all time, AND it deserves the spot!

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lol stan, i agree pitfall is way up there. but i think your character in adventure as a person or something similiar wouldnt fit the game right. i myself think pitfall 2 is way better than pitfall though. to each his own i guess, but im going with adventure. i just got done playing toyshop trouble for close to an hour... what a great game!!!

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6. High replay value.

Pitfall! is a high-quality, pretty game and I love swinging on the vines, but everything is always in the same place. If you like randomly placed objects, enemies, and treasure like I do, so you get a fresh experience every time you restart the game, you wouldn't say that Pitfall! has high replay value.

 

The image below is from SomethingAwful.com:

 

post-13-0-54562100-1313558605_thumb.jpg

 

 

Although I only like swinging on the vines, Pitfall! has to be on the top 10 list of games that pop into your head when you think of the Atari 2600. Breakout, Adventure, Space Invaders, Asteroids, Pac-Man, Yars' Revenge, Berzerk, Pitfall!, River Raid and E.T. all scream Atari 2600.

Edited by Random Terrain
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I think space invaders got to be a #1 hit because most people knew what it was because it was fun and easy. Ok the game is not easy but for an atari 2600 all the games were harder then ever and comparing space invaders to similar games such as demon attack space invaders was easy especially with them safety zones. Does a popular game make it the best game no. Just because anytime you say space invaders even children who never seen an atari know its an atari game. It screams atari all over it yet does not make it the best game it just makes it the most well known game. The best game is in the minds eye of the beholder. So to do this properly there would have to be a survey taken of people opinions of what the best game is and anyone who says space invaders or pack man only because they think most people should be void. Now if space invaders or pack man is quintessential to them themselves thats an accurate assessment and should be valid. I will stand to it that both those games are not quintessential to myself. I like them both quite alot but not quintessential. I would Kaboom is amazing. Lary himself created a better product then he imagined. If that is not saying something I don't know what is. Lary kaplin was looking to make some sort of breakout remake which we all know of one called circus and as much as thats a great game most of us probably like Kaboom over circus.

 

Although I think many of the 2600 games are quintessential to myself. It just would not be atari with out a bad ass game like warlords to duel it out with your friends. Or super breakout in progressive mode dropping on you faster then the brinks can be broken out. Circus with it epic death scenes. Demon attack with its awesome ability to be the best shooter of its kind and hardest of it kind. Only if it had a boss fight like phoenix. Phoenix was epic but needed more bosses or like demon attack with a larger variety of foes. PitFall was and still is an amazing peice. I must though after it hit later gaming systems pit fall fell in in its own pit. Egg mania was a truly unique game. These and MUCH MUCH more made the atari 2600 quintessential for me rather then just a single game.

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I'd have to agree there. Pitfall! is one of those games that you'd play non-stop until you manage to collect all the treasures (or just manage to stay alive for the full 20 minutes - whatever your own goal is)...and then never play it again for years. That was my motivation for hacking it. I never really understood the "you are so good that the game is going to quit" aspect being intentionally programmed.

 

 

So what game do people think of when Atari VCS is mentioned? In the early days, it would have been Space Invaders. Since their introduction, I'd go with Pac-Man or E.T. Pac-Man probably edges out over E.T...since it's one of two games that you often hear the sound effects of for something that represents "video games" in the media (the other one being Donkey Kong).

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Gotta be Yars' Revenge. Classically cockamamie Atari-story about hyper-intelligent space flies versus aliens with names that sound like asthma medication, all to describe four game objects on a black screen. Also, the Yar sprite appears in other Atari games, has no arcade lineage, and could get as addictive as pure Colombian cocaine when you're on a roll.

 

Either that or the Combat pack-in.

Edited by jrok
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No Basic Math??

 

:lol: No one mentioned hangman either :(

 

I think in general I'd probably go for combat over space invaders because, IMO, it better captures that whole 'families and mates playing together' or 'social side of gaming', which was a lot of what it was about (for me, anyway) back then.

 

For me personally, I'd probably say adventure or berzerk.

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Pitfall! is a high-quality, pretty game and I love swinging on the vines, but everything is always in the same place. If you like randomly placed objects, enemies, and treasure like I do, so you get a fresh experience every time you restart the game, you wouldn't say that Pitfall! has high replay value.

I 100% DISagree.

 

When I got the game, I constantly played it for over a month. If you really want to master the game, Pitfall! requires a lot more than any other contemporary game I can think of. Mapping the 255 screens alone was a big task, finding the optimal path another one (often a path looks better, but then the timing e.g. of a vine 10 screens ahead doesn't fit). Improving the jumps etc. was crucial too. After I found a new controller trick, I once even was able to change the optimal path which allowed my to save a lot of seconds in my perfect game.

 

So for me the replay value was extremely high! Maybe for you it was low, but that's just because of your personal preference.

 

BTW: How about River Raid? No replay value here too?

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