When winging it is not an option.

[shadow460]

Party Mix. Without the instructions, you'd never know the other four games were there.

Survival Island. You'd never know how to use the food and water, let alone how to keep 'em through the first stage.

Shuttle Orbiter. Heck, what am I supposed to do with those vertical lines anyway??

Any of the flight sim games like Phaser Patrol, Starmaster, etc.

Most of the RPGs so your know what the items do.

Yars' Revenge. The first time I played it, I had no idea what to do after shooting away the shield.

Planet Patrol is probably easier with instructions. Ditto for Jedi Arena.

[elviticus]

Just have to jump on the Stellar Track bandwagon.... Must admit, I figured this one out through trial and error, but got the manual anyway, and figured out a few new things! This is a great game that I initially thought was terrible, but it is one of the more complex and interesting 2600 games I have played. Highly recommended to strategy fans!!

[Hatta]

Just don't bother with Star Raiders 2600. It pales in comparison to the original on the 800. Every Atari fan should get an 800 anyway.

[Cynicaster]

This is an interesting question. I can think of a few examples, and it makes me a bit embarrassed that I never bothered to RTFM.

 

Pressure Cooker – I didn’t understand that each colored row represents the condiments for one burger. Of course, I eventually figured it out, but still never read the manual. Great game, though.

 

Star Raiders – I remember turning that game on and being completely clueless. Never learned how to play it.

 

Space Shuttle – see above.

 

Sky Jinks – I suppose this one doesn’t really count, because it’s not so much that I couldn’t figure out the game, it’s more that I was very surprised that there was nothing more to the game than what I could see at first glance. I guess I just always had lofty expectations for Activision titles, and this game sucks.

[MH_Warrior]

Sky Jinks – I suppose this one doesn’t really count, because it’s not so much that I couldn’t figure out the game, it’s more that I was very surprised that there was nothing more to the game than what I could see at first glance. I guess I just always had lofty expectations for Activision titles, and this game sucks.

 

LOL... that was my reaction my first time playing it too.

[Buck]

Absolutely LOVED Star Raiders! When I was young, I used to take the couch cushions and make a fort-like structure in front of the TV so I would be in my space ship.

I loved the 800 version, too. Never had an 800 until I was an "adult" so I had to play that version at our local library.

 

on topic, though: Space Shuttle absolutely needs the manual. I still havent got that down even with the manual.

[Tinman]

Absolutely LOVED Star Raiders! When I was young, I used to take the couch cushions and make a fort-like structure in front of the TV so I would be in my space ship.

I loved the 800 version, too. Never had an 800 until I was an "adult" so I had to play that version at our local library.

 

on topic, though: Space Shuttle absolutely needs the manual. I still havent got that down even with the manual.

 

As a kid, I wanted to build a cockpit simulator using Star Raiders.

 

Still kinda do...

[Buck]

As a kid, I wanted to build a cockpit simulator using Star Raiders.

 

Still kinda do...

I totally still would make the cushion fort. Wife hates when the cushions are messed up, though. Oh well. Just blame the 11 year old son, right?

Edited June 5, 2013 by Buck

[godzillajoe]

I totally still would make the cushion fort. Wife hates when the cushions are messed up, though. Oh well. Just blame the 11 year old son, right?

 

Make him your first officer and have him control the keypad while you man the stick

[WolfAmongWolves]

Definitely Mountain King. Without the instructions you have no clue what you're supposed to do. I remember borrowing this game as a kid and running around collecting diamonds until the timer ran out, thinking it was a really lame Pacman clone...