what was the most intricate game designed for the

[COMTARI]

What do you think is the most involved or intricate game produced for the 2600...either graphically or game play wise that shows the full gaming potential of the system?

[Uber Troll]

I don't know if it shows the full gaming potential of the 2600, but Space Shuttle from Activision is by far the most convoluted game produced. It is certainly NOT the most fun though, in my opinion...

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Space Shuttle is pretty complex given all that it has to do. The fact that it makes use of all the switches on the 2600 helps to that complexity. As for overall most intricate. I would say probably Solaris in not only graphics, but that and the combined gameplay.

 

Now if talking about games on the Supercharger...this nod would go to Dragon Stomper or perhaps survival island?

[The_Laird]

I would say probably Solaris in not only graphics, but that and the combined gameplay.

I would second that.

[+Omegamatrix]

Pitfall II is another one to consider, and I've always been impressed with Jr. Pac-Man. That one has got better with age.

[Lord Helmet]

I would have to say Thrust +

[Foxsolo2000]

I have to agree with Pitfall II and Solaris but I would also throw HERO into the ring for consideration

[D.Yancey]

Private Eye when you include all 5 case variations into the mix.

[bowser724]

Graphically and soundwise, Frog Pond, a prototype, is awesome.

[silverpoodleman]

Ditto for Solaris

[SteveW]

I've got to agree with Cro§Bow on Survival Island. First, you have to survive the trip to the island, then go through something like 128 or 256 screens and a lot of trial and error to make it to the cave, where you have to maneuver through a 3D maze system to reach the end of the game. Amazing amount of playability stuffed into an Atari 2600 game.

[+Wonder007]

Montezuma's Revenge is pretty intense (graphically speaking at least)!

[8th lutz]

I'd say pittfall 2, Solaris,and junior pacman.

[Room 34]

Am I the only one who thinks the Supercharger doesn't really "count"? It's certainly not fair to compare Supercharger games with regular games. But to me, if the game needs some other piece of hardware to work, not just the console itself, then it's not really a 2600 game... it's something else.

 

That said, I have to go with Solaris. The others mentioned are certainly good, but none of them seem to have the depth and variety of Solaris.

[Retro Archaeologist]

I would Vote for Dragon Stomper along with maybe London Blitz.

 

both had good graphics and game play and IMO pushed the 2600 pretty far graphicly at least.

 

RA

[moycon]

If I could pick a game that wasn't ever released commercially, I'd go with Lord Of The Rings. Otherwise I'll say H.E.R.O

[Albert]

Am I the only one who thinks the Supercharger doesn't really "count"?  It's certainly not fair to compare Supercharger games with regular games. But to me, if the game needs some other piece of hardware to work, not just the console itself, then it's not really a 2600 game... it's something else.

987103[/snapback]

Yeah, I have a tough time including Supercharger games since they are essentially multiple games that load in sequence. Of course, you can do this with a large, bankswitch cartridge as well (the 2005 Minigame Competition homebrew is a good example), which does make it a bit tougher to exclude Supercharger games. There's no doubt that the Supercharger titles are some of the most ambitious games to be created for the 2600, though. Not only could the games be loaded in multiple segments, but the Supercharger itself has additional RAM to augment the 2600's meager 128 bytes.

 

When I was growing up, I really enjoyed Space Shuttle as I loved the shuttle program (at least back then), and while it's a gross simplificaiton of what it takes to launch, fly, and land a space shuttle, it's amazing what they did manage to cram into that cart. And I thought Pitfall II was a leap ahead of other 2600 games back in the day. It's not a terribly "intricate" game, just has great graphics and sound, with a fairly large world to roam around in.

 

..Al

[supercat]

Am I the only one who thinks the Supercharger doesn't really "count"?  It's certainly not fair to compare Supercharger games with regular games. But to me, if the game needs some other piece of hardware to work, not just the console itself, then it's not really a 2600 game... it's something else.

987103[/snapback]

 

IMHO, if you don't like adding extra hardware, Pitfall II "cheats" worse than the SuperCharger. And many other games including Millipede and Dig Dug "cheat" as well (though not as badly).

 

To be sure, the SuperCharger makes the extra hardware be usable with more than one game, but I'd consider that a feature rather than a complaint.

 

BTW, I don't consider Pitfall II all that intricate. There are few types enemies, and for any given enemy type there's no variation in their movement.

[G.Whiz]

I would have to say that Raiders should be up there. Not only did you have to figure out how and when to use items, you had to use two joysticks to operate the damn parachute. Then, because of the glitch of Indy not quite reaching the Ark at the end, you went through the whole game endlessly trying to find out what you missed...

 

The Swordquest series might be deemed intricate as well. And for an action cart, Demon Attack is intricate in my mind. Several different demons with their own personalities and attacks -- kept the game moving!

 

Never played E.T., but from what I hear it could be intricate too.

 

~G

[+kisrael]

Battlezone...the way the treads move, the great use of colors, multicolor enemies, and one of the very few games really modeling a miniature 3D world where you're not limited to 90 degree angles...hearing an offscreen shot, cranking it reverse, and watching it pass in front of you is the antithesis of Robot Tank's "if you can't see the bullet, it can't see you" gameplay.

[mos6507]

Am I the only one who thinks the Supercharger doesn't really "count"?  It's certainly not fair to compare Supercharger games with regular games. But to me, if the game needs some other piece of hardware to work, not just the console itself, then it's not really a 2600 game... it's something else.

 

That said, I have to go with Solaris. The others mentioned are certainly good, but none of them seem to have the depth and variety of Solaris.

987103[/snapback]

 

The capabilities of a 16K cart with superchip aren't that far off from a typical Supercharger game, at least in terms of overall game scope.

 

In theory you could have larger games on the Supercharger than was ever practical with banked ROM but it didn't really happen during the 2600's initial lifecycle.

[cryptik76]

Starmaster - You've got the separate radar screen, multiple readouts, various systems that can be knocked out, all affecting the gameplay.

 

Robot Tank, maybe

[Zonie]

I would have to say that Raiders should be up there. Not only did you have to figure out how and when to use items, you had to use two joysticks to operate the damn parachute. Then, because of the glitch of Indy not quite reaching the Ark at the end, you went through the whole game endlessly trying to find out what you missed...

 

The Swordquest series might be deemed intricate as well. And for an action cart, Demon Attack is intricate in my mind. Several different demons with their own personalities and attacks -- kept the game moving!

 

Never played E.T., but from what I hear it could be intricate too.

 

~G

988532[/snapback]

I second Raiders. I played the hell out of this game. Atari finally used both controllers in a game. It would have been nice to see that in more games, or maybe the use of the joystick and one keyboard controller like Star raiders.

[Lord Thag]

Interesting thread.

 

I would pick Solaris as well for 'most involved' cart. There are just so many things to do in that game. Radar Lock (obviously) is tied with Solaris as well. Honorable mentions go to Xenophobe and Hero, and if you want to include hombrew, I would vote Haunted Adventure II right up there with Solaris. Huge, mazey, and really deep adventure spinoff. I love that game.

 

Survival Island and Dragonstomper win for sheer complexity, even if they are supercharger games.

[ForceInfinity]

Since I've not seen this tossed in, I'd add Stargate (Defender 2) to the list as probably one of the more intricately design games since you had all the enemy types with graphics that weren't all that far off from the arcade counterpart, all the weapons, two joysticks, the radar, the 4 humainoid stargate warp trick, the showdowns, etc.

 

They really nailed that one.

 

My question was concerning the supercharger vs. Pitfall 2. What was it about Pitfall 2 that made it cheating as far as the hardware goes (as some would argue is the case with the supercharger)