What's the most advanced 2600 game?

[zzip]

And for the record, back in 1984, consumers didnt know or care how much memory a cart had, or what extra chips were inside, etc. It wasnt cheating to be innovative & smart to come up with new ideas to squeeze more life out of this old out dated console.

Well... Some companies did use it in their Marketing, Notably CBS. They ran ads essentially saying their games are more advanced because of their "Ram Plus" chip

[Mr SQL]

Ok, all these answers are great, and I'm excited to try some games. But let me rephrase a little more specifically, given my original intent:

 

What games really push the 2600 in-console circuitry to its limits? Which games make the most out of the inherent built-in ecosystem? This does not include games that have in-cartridge circuitry enhancements (see below for exceptions). I'm talking about software being fed into the 2600 hardware. Legacy or Homebrew is fine here. Any software that pushes the envelope of what the 2600 is capable of.

 

That was my original intent.

 

That being said, I also want to hear about games that do have extra in-cart enhancements. Though if you mention one of those, it would be good to note that it's enhanced in such a way.

 

Thanks.

 

Many of the games on this page use a new display technology for motion blur reduction discovered recently on the Atari, there's a link at the top to an interesting science discussion with the researcher who discovered the MBR technology in parallel using modern equipment:

 

http://relationalframework.com/Atari2600gamesonline.htm

 

The games use a soft blitter written in 6502 assembly and leverage classic 1981 and 1983 expansion technologies - the SuperCharger or the CBS RAM chip. The games themselves are 4K or 5K with the soft blitter occupying another 2K.

[King Atari]

There are any number of titles that could qualify here. Pitfall II, Stargate/Defender II, H.E.R.O, Space Shuttle, even Ghostbusters come to mind. But personally, my first thoughts go right to the 1986-1990 years. Solaris, Radar Lock, Secret Quest, Xenophobe, Double Dragon, Pete Rose Baseball, Super Football, Realsports Boxing, Double Dunk, River Raid II, all stand out to me. Even when the game has an issue (or issues) that could hamper an individual's total enjoyment of it (as opposed to, say, River Raid or what have you), there's undeniably a "wow!" factor present, a facet that many wouldn't first think of when they think "2600." Super Football with its relatively sophisticated game play and scaling graphics, Double Dragon's ambitious (and I'd argue more successful than not - though many will disagree) attempt at a full-fledged beat-'em-up on the console, and of course Solaris and Radar Lock, which have always just been total showcase carts, IMO.

 

And of course, that's not taking into account the Supercharger or all the amazing things our wonderful homebrewers have made the 2600 do. For a system introduced in 1977, it never ceases to amaze!

Edited June 7, 2018 by King Atari

[+GoldLeader]

I agree with most of what's been said, especially for the older games. In my mind the word "advanced" conjures thoughts of homebrews and modern techniques to get more out of the system, so I think of games like Space Rocks, Zippy the Porcupine, and Star Castle Arcade.

[nosweargamer]

For pre-crash games, I think the 3D world of Tunnel Runner is very impressive:

 

For post crash games I would go with Tomcat F-14

 

and California Games

 

Granted, these all might use special chips or extra memory, I'm not sure, but they really pushed the system.

Alas, I haven't played much Space Shuttle, so that could make my list too.

[Zonie]

For originals, sure, Solaris is definately on top of the list. But What they did with Stargate/DefenderII over regular Defender... Amazing. I totally enjoyed Defender when it came out, and never had Stargate until decades later. Two of my top favorites.

 

For Homebrews, Someone already mentioned Star Castle Arcade. Yes. I think that probably tops the list for technology and matching arcade gameplay. The game is simply amazing for a 2600.

[mbd30]

Don't forget the Epyx "Games" series. I've personally never played them, but they look like they hold their own against ports on more advanced hardware. Winter Games in particular looks to be much better than the weak NES port.

[OldAtAtari]

Wow, you guys, this thread is great! There are so many games here I want to try. I need to organize this into a proper list somehow, maybe something like they've done in the "top 100 games" thread.

 

nosweargamer, thanks for the videos. You produce such good stuff and I'm glad you brought some of your work into this thread. I've never seen Tunnel Runner or Tomcat F-14 before. They both look really fun, but F-14 looks incredible.

 

And mbd30, I agree about the EPYX games. I recently dug out Winter Games and California Games. I remember playing both of those a ton as a kid. California Games really blew me away with its graphics. Even just the title screen and the opening song still make me happy.

 

And today I got out Solaris and played it again. It really is fantastic. So much fun. I also played Ghostbusters for a while today. It's really quite the complex game. I lost my original instructions, and didn't bother looking them up online, so I didn't understand all that was going on, but it's a really great game.

[mbd30]

Wow, you guys, this thread is great! There are so many games here I want to try. I need to organize this into a proper list somehow, maybe something like they've done in the "top 100 games" thread.

 

nosweargamer, thanks for the videos. You produce such good stuff and I'm glad you brought some of your work into this thread. I've never seen Tunnel Runner or Tomcat F-14 before. They both look really fun, but F-14 looks incredible.

 

And mbd30, I agree about the EPYX games. I recently dug out Winter Games and California Games. I remember playing both of those a ton as a kid. California Games really blew me away with its graphics. Even just the title screen and the opening song still make me happy.

 

And today I got out Solaris and played it again. It really is fantastic. So much fun. I also played Ghostbusters for a while today. It's really quite the complex game. I lost my original instructions, and didn't bother looking them up online, so I didn't understand all that was going on, but it's a really great game.

 

I was thinking about Ghostbusters. They squeezed a fairly sophisticated computer game into an Atari 2600 cart while maintaining much of the graphics and gameplay. I've never played it, but it's another Atari 2600 port that looks to be much better than the NES version.

[OldAtAtari]

This is not scientific (or even likely accurate), but I've compiled a list of the games mentioned in this thread as being the most advanced games for the Atari 2600. The (+1) numbering indicates that multiple people mentioned that particular game. I've also made no effort to separate homebrews, supercharger games, or games added cartridge circuitry. This is just a simple list of games, with the most mentioned games at the top:

Solaris (+7)

Pitfall II (+6)

HERO (+4)

Star Castle Arcade (+2)

California Games (+2)

Ghostbusters (+2)

Draconian (+2)

Stargate/Defender II (+2)

Pete Rose Baseball (+1)

Tomcat F-14 (+1)

Escape from the Mind Master (+1)

Tunnel Runner (+1)

Space Shuttle: A Journey into Space (+1)

Space Rocks (+1)

Zippy the Porcupine (+1)

Jungle Hunt (+1)

Double Dragon(+1)

Battlezone (+1)

Secret Quest (+1)

Radar Lock (+1)

Dragon Stomper (+1)

Winter Games (+1)

River Raid II (+1)

Ms. Pac-Man (+1)

Millipede (+1)

Boulder Dash

Kung Fu Master

Atari-Cube

River Raid

Sea Quest

Subterranea

Super Cobra Arcade

Fishing Derby

Off The Wall

Phaser Patrol

Montezumas Revenge

Beamrider

Super Football

Realsports Boxing

Realsports Tennis

Track & Field

Rampage

Xenophobe

Double-Dunk

Meltdown

Care Bears

Kabobber

Rocky and Bullwinkle

Thrust+ - homebrew

Strat-o-gems

SF2

Pac-Man - recent homebrew version

Star Wars Arcade

Guardian

Summer Games

Joust

Tapper

In Search of the Golden Skull - never released

[accousticguitar]

Draconian

[davyK]

There's a couple of ways of answering this question.....

 

Advanced - re gameplay - you could say Video Chess, Casino, Solaris and Space Shuttle,

 

Advanced - re technical achievement - you could say Pitfall 2, Solaris, Medieval Mayhem, Thrust, Space Rocks.

Edited June 10, 2018 by davyK

[christo930]

advanced or complex. Atari-cube is a game I have yet to figure out how it was done. stargate is another that really pushed the boundaries. pitfall II had an additional process that gave birth to the DPC+ . as for technologically advanced I would have to say Pitfall II for its additional processor on the cartridge.

It's worth noting Defender II/Stargate is a Superchip game that doubles the RAM.

 

I never understood why Centipede and Millipede don't use different graphics or even color to denote the number of times you've shot a particular mushroom. Is this a graphics hardware limitation? Like you cannot display so many different "sprites" on the playfield? IIRC, it's either 3 or 4 shots each one can take.

[mbd30]

What about the least advanced Atari 2600 game? Is it Surround?

[Atari PAC-MAN Fan]

Are we talking only original releases or AA releases as well?

[Jason123]

H.E.R.O. is definitely right up there, but I am going put all Starpath games as the most advanced games for the 2600...... Oh yeah, Solaris is pretty great also.

[+KaeruYojimbo]

I never understood why Centipede and Millipede don't use different graphics or even color to denote the number of times you've shot a particular mushroom. Is this a graphics hardware limitation? Like you cannot display so many different "sprites" on the playfield? IIRC, it's either 3 or 4 shots each one can take.

 

Since the 2600 can only display 2 sprites per scanline at a time, Centipede and Millipede use the playfield graphics for the mushrooms. These are limited to wide, blocky "pixels" and a single color per scanline.

[christo930]

 

Since the 2600 can only display 2 sprites per scanline at a time, Centipede and Millipede use the playfield graphics for the mushrooms. These are limited to wide, blocky "pixels" and a single color per scanline.

I thought they were going to turn out to be playfield elements. Thanks.

[Atari PAC-MAN Fan]

What about the least advanced Atari 2600 game? Is it Surround?

 

I would say probably Bowling or Space War. Surround is definitely up there, though.

[Video]

That's subjective. You could mean graphically, something like pitfall2. Or how the game works, keeping track of stuff, adventure tracks where all the items and monsters are, even off screen. Or you could go totally behind the scenes, games with clever programming you may not even see.

 

Since the 2600 can only display 2 sprites per scanline at a time, Centipede and Millipede use the playfield graphics for the mushrooms. These are limited to wide, blocky "pixels" and a single color per scanline.

I see that, but could they have dropped some scanlines when the mushroom is shot? Or shrink it from top bottom?

 

Granted that would probably need extra ram. I don't know though, the game already tracks which shrooms are shot.

[up2knowgood]

What about the least advanced Atari 2600 game? Is it Surround?

I vote Combat.

[Atari PAC-MAN Fan]

I vote Combat.

 

NEVERMIND! Skeet Shoot is easily the least advanced Atari 2600 game.

 

 

Absolutely no doubt about it.

Edited June 12, 2018 by Atari PAC-MAN Fan

[christo930]

 

NEVERMIND! Skeet Shoot is easily the least advanced Atari 2600 game.

 

 

Absolutely no doubt about it.

Isn't there a hangman game for the 2600 released very early in its life? That is some really simple stuff.

[Atari PAC-MAN Fan]

Isn't there a hangman game for the 2600 released very early in its life? That is some really simple stuff.

 

Yeah, but at least Hangman had different variations and game modes.

 

 

Skeet Shoot is probably the worst Atari 2600 game in my opinion.

[Mr SQL]

What about the least advanced Atari 2600 game? Is it Surround?

 

These have to be the least advanced Atari games sporting color graphics and sound. The intro tune at 2:05 is arguably advanced for the algorithm.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhAj0XXuxVU