I was born with my jaw too narrow, so I have crowding of my lower teeth. Only way to fix it, is split my jaw in two, widen it and then replace my teeth with fake ones... Not gonna happen.
Dr Weston A. Price did extensive research on these issues early in the twentieth century. Take a look at his books and there are several local chapters across the US with good resources. Hope this helps!
MetalJesus, Here are a few of my additions to your list of Atari Games That Don't Suck™ 1. Kaboom! - So simple in concept, so difficult to master, so addictive. For years I hosted a Kaboom tournament at my home. I still have to pull out this cart from time to time. This is a game that can really remind you of the communal aspects of owning an Atari in the early 80s. Competing with your friends over points or stages was such a big part of the fun, and one of the reasons why the graphics didn't really matter if the gameplay was programmed smartly. 2. MegaMania - Like all good Activision games... it starts out so deceptively easy and boring. But I defy any newcomer to the game to get past five screens. And then beyond that. Watch as the aliens dance around, randomly, continuing to f&*# with you. All while you have a rapidly depleting energy bar. Talk about stress! The gameplay is fast and exciting and never lets up. Great fun! 3. Video Pinball - I know a lot of people will think "What?" But there's so much great about this oddball, abstract afterthought of a pinball emulation that i would really need a separate blog post to write about it. Let me just summarize and say that once you get into it, you eventually start calling it "Jedi Ball". 4. Adventure - Does anything need to be said? A classic that will always remain a classic. 5. Space War - Basically the space version of Combat... many variants of play for two people. Once again, a great communal game. 6. Frogger - A great port of a great classic arcade game. 7. Defender - Another great port... notable for actually making the gameplay of Defender much more streamlined and easy for novices, who may have otherwise been put off by the multi-buttoned coin-op. Atari really pulled out the stops and somehow managed to fit in all features of the arcade version with just one joystick and one button, and still managed to make a fun, fast-paced and engaging game that had a fair level of stress in it! Love that disappearing ship. ROM limits at its finest. (The follow-up, Stargate, actually had graphics that were a lot closer to the coin-op, but somehow lost some of the 2600 magic of the original Defender. Agree? Disagree?) 8. Maze Craze (or Maze Mania, depending on the market) - Another amazing game for two or more friends to wile away an afternoon. A game that taps into our very basic problem-solving instincts... finding one's way out of a maze, and adds competition, threat and collaborative skill in numerous variants, plus invisible mazes (!!!!!!) for added frustration. Again, Atari shined when it took the most simple abstract concepts and made them fun. I will add honorable mentions to Air Sea Battle as another Combat-like two-player variety pack of games.... and, don't laugh, Street Racer, the most streamlined and primal quick-twitch-developing tool ever made.
My favorites that you did not mention have always been: 1. Pitfall! - Great Graphics 2. Keystone Capers - Fun Police chase game 3. Crackpots - Kill the bugs quickly!! 4. Kaboom! - Simple bomb catching game that NEVER gets old! 5. Donkey Kong - simple and basic, but surprisingly enjoyable! 6. Boxing - looks kind of silly but surprisingly fun
Thanks for bringing back nostalgic memories! It was fun to see some games I never bought back in the day. My all time favorites were: H.E.R.O, Mario Bros, Pitfall, Private Eye, Rampage and Crystal Castles.
I'm so glad you made a sequel... the first "Atari Games That Don't Suck" was actually the way I discovered your channel... BEFORE All Gen Gamers! That's right brother, I've been subbed for a while now. Keep up the good work! I love Enduro and Galaxian! What do you think of Crystal Castles, Carnival, and Mouse Trap? I don't think you mentioned any of those in your previous video, but I adore them.
The two missing from the two videos that I like are: SeaQuest - simple shoot' em up with twists. Circus (Atari) - pop all the red balloons and you're hooked! Now, I don't personally think Yar's Revenge is as good as everyone says. I don't know what people see in it. In order to get the big scores you have to eat away at the shield for about 5 minutes a round.
Spirter fighter, megamania, stellar track,guruss,codebreaker,starmaster,planet patrol,video pinball,submarine commander,slot racers miniature golf,gravitar,flag capture. All my go to games! Keep up the great work!
E.T. was a great game actually, if you knew the secrets to it. You could make E.T.s spaceship land on top of Elliot and squash him. That was always fun.
Loved ET... I only played the easy difficulty ( No FBI or Scientist ). But once you learned the tricks, it was challenging but rewarding. To be honest I think most people just hate on it because it's cool to do it, and makes you seem like you know your shit. But I finished the game all the time as a kid. So if an adult can't do it, they are just kinda stupid IMO...
I thought I knew all the games and I've never heard of Private Eye. Nice find, looks like they cribbed some tricks from Pitfall for that. Others I've got a soft spot for that you haven't mentioned are Reactor, Star Wars Jedi Arena and Empire Strikes Back, Megamania, Zenji and Riddle of the Sphinx.
I would even argue that even Pac Man gets too much hate. As a pac man port, sure it's weak as fuck, but as a stand alone game, it's not really that bad
Coolest gamer ever, plays guitar, has long hair, great game footage has the metal and rock in the title and good content. Who could ask for more. Great videos
Many of the 2600’s games didn’t hold up very well over the years, but there are some fun competitive head-to-head games like Activision’s Tennis, Freeway, Ice Hockey, M Network’s Frogs and Flies, and Atari’s Super Football, Outlaw & Warlords. For 1 player there’s Activision’s HERO, River Raid, Keystone Kapers, Pitfall II & Seaquest and Atari’s Phoenix, Berserk, Ms Pac Man
Not sure if you've ever done a video on 2600 homebrews, but some of my favorite games for the system have emerged from that scene. Some favorites are Skeleton+, Toyshop Trouble, Lead, Space Treat Deluxe, and Dungeon.
A brilliant list, man - I agree with all your picks. For the next Atari Games that Dont Suck, you should look into these guys. Every one of them has kept me entertained for hours: The Empire Strikes Back (Parker Brothers) Fast Food (Telesys) Raiders of the Lost Ark (Atari) Adventure (Atari) Quick Step! (Imagic) Kaboom! (Activision) Mountain King (CBS Electronics) Eggomania (US Games)
Cool games. I would like to suggest a few hidden gems that don't get mentioned often. Mountain King (cool music) Omega Race (excellent arcade port, but it requires a controller that slides over the VCS stick) Amidar (a pretty decent arcade port) Wizard of War (excellent arcade port)
My top ten........ 1. Klax - a GREAT port for a 1990 game!! 2. Track & Field - another GREAT port!! 3. Jr. Pac-Man 4. Alien - far better graphics than Pac Man and near perfect sound! 5. Pitfall 6. Pitfall 2 7. Space Invaders 8. Jungle Hunt 9. Asteroids 10. Frogger (Sega/Starpath version) Near perfect graphics and background music rivalling the Arcade version
You failed to mention the best game on the system, Sea Quest. Some other good games are Gremlins, Plaque Attack, Fast Food, Moon Patrol and Crystal Castles.
i love keystone kapers on the Atari 2600! gfx were ahead of its time by Activision! a neighbor of mine had this game.. used to borrow it alot! i have this game cart. today.. also have the COLECOVISION keystone kapers .. it's OK.. not crazy about it.. sound effects are weird.. Atari 2600 is the best that I pick over the coleco version...the Atari 2600 version I love the sound effects when u run into the airplane to get killed... hehe.. love the background gfx of the sky color...
Beamrider is another good one that doesn't get enough love. I used to play the fuck out of that one on my old Atari 800 computer. It's somewhat of a clone of the Konami arcade game Juno First.
Among all the games you have mentioned, Yar's Revenge is definitely my favorite. One game you have not mentioned that I really loved is Megamania. These games are so addictive! Activision games for Atari 2600 were the best ones to me, since they were always original and having superior graphics and sounds.
You bringing up Megamania brought back a funny story. Me & a old drinking buddy of mine were wasted on Jack Daniels one night & were playing Megamania & it was his turn & he was shooting like crazy & then he yells "LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT. I got that from Sgt. Carter on Gomer Pyle." Then we both busted out laughing our ass's off. Another night me & a friend of mine was playing "Pole Position" & he kept wrecking, so he pulled his racer off to the side of the road & stopped as the other racers whizzed by em & I looked at em kinda funny & he looked at me & said, "Less traffic." lol Another Hallmark moment. lol
I was also really impressed with "Spider-Man" (web swinging!) and "Discs of Tron". "Surround" was EPIC 2 (or was it 4?) players that played just like the light-cycle scene in Tron (movie) but the "walls" you build don't fade away, it's all about who can block the other in so they crash into your walls or the ones they make. White-knuckle/ hand cramping action! Cheers!
Damn, just found your Channel and sifting through your vids but everything looks good so far! It's so sad, I had one Atari 2600 in my youth and my cousin had tons of games and the family gave it all away... if I still had all that stuff I would dive through the cartridges like Scrooge McDuck but probably it went to a garage sale or worse :/. Still got the Combat game with original packaging though - and a working copy of both, Dark Chambers and River Raid (which was even banned in my country for a while). I'll look through more videos now I guess. Cheers!, Osselpi
Metal Jesus you are so awesome! It's great that you are keeping old games alive, also that you are an older gamer like myself, and laso that you love heavy metal :) Yours faithfully, New and lifelong subscriber...
Great episode! You mentioned quite a few games I am unaware of. Turmoil looks really cool and sort of reminds me of Tempest 2000 in a way, where you are sort of locked to a specific area, and you have to base your game around the multitude of specific enemy patterns. Likewise, Fantastic Voyage looks like a pretty neat shooter. And as far as Private Eye--I haven't played it, but man, the visuals look great. Few 2600 titles are *that* varied and involved. It's definitely impressive!
I had Phoenix as a kid because I liked the arcade version, and it was one of my favorite cartridges. I also really liked the 2600 version of Defender. One rainy Sunday afternoon I started playing it and ended up getting to level 99. After that, the game "turned over" and went back to level 1, and all of the enemies were slow again. I had like 15 extra ships, so I realized that I could have essentially played the game forever if I wanted to. I stopped playing at that point and took a picture of the screen with my high score (on my 110 camera lol).
We are talking about graphics from 1978-1984. The graphics are pretty primitive, but that's why developers had to focus on GAMEPLAY. It's the reason people still want to play the games even today.
Yars Revenge lol OMG!! I have not said those two words in over two decades lol. Classic my friend! Man, Demon Attack, Fantastic Voyage...you so took my back to my childhood lol. You rock my friend!
The t-shirt is from the 20th Anniversary show, I believe. They sold it for a very limited time on their web site... as I was not able to fly to NYC to see it.
Cool videos once again. ;) You hit most of the big ones I would've suggested, but there are a couple others I'd suggest keeping an eye out for: One is "Off The Wall," which is without a doubt the best Breakout-style game on the entire system. It's kind of like a proto-Arkanoid, with power-up capsules and a bat who keeps trying to deflect your ball. Very, very addictive and awesome, and I highly recommend it. Also, surprised you didn't mention Keystone Kapers! That one's a true classic.
With Yars Revenge it's well worth looking up the manual (easy to find online) as there are some really nice game variations including one called Ultimate Yars that makes gameplay a bit more complex and tactical.
I had a game for my Atari. It was a side scroller shooter. Very rudimentary graphics. In fact, your ship was a grayish white football shaped vessel, and you flew it over landscape and shot stuff out of the air. For the life of me, I cannot remember the name of the game, but had fun with it
Never seen some of those like Fantastic Voyage and Private Eye. One of my favorites was Adventure. I know a lot of people made fun of the Duck Dragons but I always liked the challenge of making it through the screens alive and even being able to complete the quest. Of course you can't forget the easter egg included. As a 9 year old that was mind blowing!
Loved your lists, mine would also include Elk Attack, Beam Rider, and who doesn’t love Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Weird yo-yo Pac-Man action, 3D horizontal tempest, and chainsaws. What’s not to love?
Awesome video. This helps a lot with my future collecting for the 2600. I usually pass on most games I encounter at the swap meet or thrift store. I'm on the look out for Turmoil now!
How is it that I just now found your channel?! Your videos are amazingly well done. Some of my favorite games on the 2600 are stargate (aka defender II), tunnel runner, and tapper.
Ghostbusters, Star Raiders with the video control pad, Pooyan, Asterix, F-15, California Games, Defender when you put the autofire on and turned into a flying death beam. I am interested to know how people manage to keep their consoles running. Must be easier to find pin diagrams these days. I remember playing the Atari 2600 for at least 10 years.
One great game you didn't mention is Starmaster. It was the Activision version of Star Raiders, and it used the B&W/Color switch to bring up the Galactic Chart.
Great review. The Atari 2600 VCS brought me with a lot of hours of good entertainment. I'd like to see "Atari 2600 Games That Don't Suck 3". Thank you and congratulations for the good quality of your videos. Keep going!.
Great videos (both 1 and 2). I suggest "Space Jockey" a horizontal scrolling space ship shooter. An all time favorite! Also "Fast Eddie" that's almost Donkey Kong like, nut instead if barrels to jump there were enemies to jump that randomly go from short (jump able) to mid to really tall on their legs. Timing jumps with so many unpredictable enemies was really intense!
I've never really been into the atari that much because it was a little bit before my time. However, your excitement for the console intrigues me to play it again!
Will you be making an "Atari 2600 Games That Don't Suck 3"? Because there are so many more games people should know about! Two games you could look into are Tunnel Runner and Krull.
Awesome video! Love the Grim Fandango print! If I am correct its making a comeback in a updated format! I would love to see if you would do a top 10 PC games from the early days. Rock on!
I can tell you right now what the top 10 PC games were - pre 1986!! 1. Jumpman 2. Lode Runner 3. Boulder Dash 4. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy 5. Ultima 3 6. Impossible Mission 7. Bruce Lee 8. Realm of Impossibility 9. Archon 10. Space Taxi
I never knew how Yars' Revenge had to be played, thanks for explaining. Now I can try it again after 22 years, have to grab my Atari2600 and the game from the attic ;)
Between the 2 vids you hit most of my favorites. Here's some others I would add: Adventure, Star Master, Frankenstein's Monster, Armor Ambush, Air Raiders, No Escape!, and Activision's Ice Hockey.
GRAVITAR I found this better than the vector arcade original. It has a still unique gravity system, it's challenging and it has a lot of variety for a VCS game. PRO WRESTLING. Ok this one's flawed. But it is a very clevr take on wrestling considering the 2600's limits. It has quite a complex energy bar system and quite a few moves too. It plays a lot better than most 8-bit wrestlers at the time.
I know it's an extremely simple game (which usually equates to repetitive), but Fire Fighter was mad addictive. I'd also definitely recommend Time Pilot. Demon Attack got you pumped up with its very good music, and while I wouldn't call the monotonous buzz in Time Pilot "music", there is a strangely authentic vibe to it that pumped you up in a surprisingly similar way.
Donkey Kong sucked balls on the 2600. Colecovision was'nt much better. Commodore 64 was the best port by far - all 4 boards INCLUDING the pie factory, with near perfect graphics!
Have you checked out "Robot Tank"? Really cool first person shooter. The screens give you rain, which create mud and your tank is less mobile. Fog, where enemies are hard to find, and Night where you rely on your radar. That one along with River Raid, and HERO were my favorites.
I second the comment about Moon Patrol. That and Haunted House were two of my favorites. Though I don't know how'd they hold up today. I enjoy your video and look forward to more in this series. Maybe feature other consoles?
Ugh! Yar's Revenge... took me over a year to figure out how to play it, because I only played it at my friend's place, and he didn't have the book. This was before you could look things up on the internet btw, since there was no internet unless you were a scientist or techie
I had forgotten about Turmoil! Loved that game. Spent hours playing it. I remember it was one of those 2600 game that I had but no one else seemed to have it. Solar Fox I also loved and no one else I knew had that one either. Good list.
The honorable mentions covered many of my favorites. I would add Kaboom!, Bowling, and Circus Atari. Activision's Ice Hockey was really fun with two players. Midnight Magic was a good pinball game. Asteroids, Millipede, Winter/Summer/California Games, Grand Prix, Gyruss, Astroblast, Megamania, RealSports Volleyball, RealSports Soccer, Double Dunk, Trick Shot
Great video MJR. I do not have some of these games but I need to get more Atari 2600 games period. What I love about Atari is it was just about the games and that was it so games were never flashy.
00:53 Frostbite (19xx)
01:57 Yars' Revenge (19xx)
03:23 Turmoil (19xx)
04:38 Joust (19xx)
05:44 Pengo (19xx)
06:29 Enduro (19xx)
07:41 Private Eye (19xx)
08:54 Galaxian (19xx)
09:26 Fantastic Voyage (19xx)
10:14 Beany Bopper (19xx)
I was born with my jaw too narrow, so I have crowding of my lower teeth. Only way to fix it, is split my jaw in two, widen it and then replace my teeth with fake ones... Not gonna happen.
Dr Weston A. Price did extensive research on these issues early in the twentieth century. Take a look at his books and there are several local chapters across the US with good resources. Hope this helps!
I actually liked E.T. when I was little. It was different, and challenging, and had a way to win the game unlike most other 2600 games.
Do a Part 3 MJ, really enjoy this series.
Part 3! Part 3!
MetalJesus,
Here are a few of my additions to your list of Atari Games That Don't Suck™
1. Kaboom! - So simple in concept, so difficult to master, so addictive. For years I hosted a Kaboom tournament at my home. I still have to pull out this cart from time to time. This is a game that can really remind you of the communal aspects of owning an Atari in the early 80s. Competing with your friends over points or stages was such a big part of the fun, and one of the reasons why the graphics didn't really matter if the gameplay was programmed smartly.
2. MegaMania - Like all good Activision games... it starts out so deceptively easy and boring. But I defy any newcomer to the game to get past five screens. And then beyond that. Watch as the aliens dance around, randomly, continuing to f&*# with you. All while you have a rapidly depleting energy bar. Talk about stress! The gameplay is fast and exciting and never lets up. Great fun!
3. Video Pinball - I know a lot of people will think "What?" But there's so much great about this oddball, abstract afterthought of a pinball emulation that i would really need a separate blog post to write about it. Let me just summarize and say that once you get into it, you eventually start calling it "Jedi Ball".
4. Adventure - Does anything need to be said? A classic that will always remain a classic.
5. Space War - Basically the space version of Combat... many variants of play for two people. Once again, a great communal game.
6. Frogger - A great port of a great classic arcade game.
7. Defender - Another great port... notable for actually making the gameplay of Defender much more streamlined and easy for novices, who may have otherwise been put off by the multi-buttoned coin-op. Atari really pulled out the stops and somehow managed to fit in all features of the arcade version with just one joystick and one button, and still managed to make a fun, fast-paced and engaging game that had a fair level of stress in it! Love that disappearing ship. ROM limits at its finest. (The follow-up, Stargate, actually had graphics that were a lot closer to the coin-op, but somehow lost some of the 2600 magic of the original Defender. Agree? Disagree?)
8. Maze Craze (or Maze Mania, depending on the market) - Another amazing game for two or more friends to wile away an afternoon. A game that taps into our very basic problem-solving instincts... finding one's way out of a maze, and adds competition, threat and collaborative skill in numerous variants, plus invisible mazes (!!!!!!) for added frustration. Again, Atari shined when it took the most simple abstract concepts and made them fun.
I will add honorable mentions to Air Sea Battle as another Combat-like two-player variety pack of games.... and, don't laugh, Street Racer, the most streamlined and primal quick-twitch-developing tool ever made.
Fuck yeah, Kaboom
I forgot megamania. ..used to play that a lot
Where's ET? (joke)
defender one of my favorites but.. the goonies was the best imo :)
Cough Keystone Capers Cough
Cough Beamrider Cough
The back story for Yar's Revenge is a classic. I believe Centipede had an interesting back story as well...something about an elf with a magic wand.
My favorites that you did not mention have always been:
1. Pitfall! - Great Graphics
2. Keystone Capers - Fun Police chase game
3. Crackpots - Kill the bugs quickly!!
4. Kaboom! - Simple bomb catching game that NEVER gets old!
5. Donkey Kong - simple and basic, but surprisingly enjoyable!
6. Boxing - looks kind of silly but surprisingly fun
Saxysaboy77 Keystone Capers and the given Pitfall of course
Robot Tank, Spider Fighter, Sea Quest, and Vanguard, were a few of my favorites, growing up.
Sea Quest! It should be in both videos :)
Vanguard was a great port.
Thanks for bringing back nostalgic memories! It was fun to see some games I never bought back in the day. My all time favorites were: H.E.R.O, Mario Bros, Pitfall, Private Eye, Rampage and Crystal Castles.
Moon Patrol was my favorite.
A favorite of mine, as well, despite the lackluster port. I always dove into it on the arcade.
Hoping for a playlist of these with more added. Great stuff, and many of them I missed out on when I was a kid.
Snoopy and the red baron is maybe my favorite game of all time, and I'm so glad you added Enduro. My dad got me addicted to that game, don't blink.
I'm so glad you made a sequel... the first "Atari Games That Don't Suck" was actually the way I discovered your channel... BEFORE All Gen Gamers! That's right brother, I've been subbed for a while now. Keep up the good work! I love Enduro and Galaxian! What do you think of Crystal Castles, Carnival, and Mouse Trap? I don't think you mentioned any of those in your previous video, but I adore them.
Stumbled onto your channel and have been watching your old review and lists. LOVING THEM! Have subscribed, so please keep up the awesome work!
The two missing from the two videos that I like are:
SeaQuest - simple shoot' em up with twists.
Circus (Atari) - pop all the red balloons and you're hooked!
Now, I don't personally think Yar's Revenge is as good as everyone says. I don't know what people see in it. In order to get the big scores you have to eat away at the shield for about 5 minutes a round.
Megamania, Night Driver and Kaboom were my favorites.
Nice video it was a lot of fun to watch.
I was a fan of "Chopper Command" and "Stampede" by Activision, anyone else?
"Chopper Command" was way cool for its time but I also loved (& still do) "Battle-Zone" where your in a tank & you can shoot other tanks & even UFO's.
I preferred Chopper Command to the official 2600 port of Defender. I felt Defender was a huge letdown, especially after playing the original arcade.
@@theyamo7219 Indeed! Although Atari redeemed theirselves with Stargate (AKA Defender II).
New To The Channel, But This Takes Me Back Over 30 Years To My Childhood! Keep It Up!!!
Spirter fighter, megamania, stellar track,guruss,codebreaker,starmaster,planet patrol,video pinball,submarine commander,slot racers miniature golf,gravitar,flag capture. All my go to games! Keep up the great work!
E.T. was a great game actually, if you knew the secrets to it. You could make E.T.s spaceship land on top of Elliot and squash him. That was always fun.
Loved ET... I only played the easy difficulty ( No FBI or Scientist ). But once you learned the tricks, it was challenging but rewarding. To be honest I think most people just hate on it because it's cool to do it, and makes you seem like you know your shit. But I finished the game all the time as a kid. So if an adult can't do it, they are just kinda stupid IMO...
I thought I knew all the games and I've never heard of Private Eye. Nice find, looks like they cribbed some tricks from Pitfall for that. Others I've got a soft spot for that you haven't mentioned are Reactor, Star Wars Jedi Arena and Empire Strikes Back, Megamania, Zenji and Riddle of the Sphinx.
All for Atari 2600:
3-D Tic-Tac-Toe, Adventure, Barnstorming, Battlezone, Burgertime, Cosmic Ark, Dodge 'em, Jr. Pac-Man, Jungle Hunt, Kaboom, Laser Blast, Lock 'n' Chase,
Mario Bros, Midnight Magic, Millipede, Moon Patrol, Mouse Trap, Ms. Pac-Man,
Reactor, Spider Fighter, Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back, Tunnel Runner and Vanguard.
Yes, just yes.
Burgertime, 3D Tic Tac Toe, and Laser Blast SUCK BIG TIME. The rest are really GOOD - especially Jr. Pac, Ms Pac, Millipede, and Moon Patrol.
I would even argue that even Pac Man gets too much hate. As a pac man port, sure it's weak as fuck, but as a stand alone game, it's not really that bad
Coolest gamer ever, plays guitar, has long hair, great game footage has the metal and rock in the title and good content. Who could ask for more. Great videos
Many of the 2600’s games didn’t hold up very well over the years, but there are some fun competitive head-to-head games like Activision’s Tennis, Freeway, Ice Hockey, M Network’s Frogs and Flies, and Atari’s Super Football, Outlaw & Warlords. For 1 player there’s Activision’s HERO, River Raid, Keystone Kapers, Pitfall II & Seaquest and Atari’s Phoenix, Berserk, Ms Pac Man
Not sure if you've ever done a video on 2600 homebrews, but some of my favorite games for the system have emerged from that scene. Some favorites are Skeleton+, Toyshop Trouble, Lead, Space Treat Deluxe, and Dungeon.
A brilliant list, man - I agree with all your picks. For the next Atari Games that Dont Suck, you should look into these guys. Every one of them has kept me entertained for hours:
The Empire Strikes Back (Parker Brothers)
Fast Food (Telesys)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (Atari)
Adventure (Atari)
Quick Step! (Imagic)
Kaboom! (Activision)
Mountain King (CBS Electronics)
Eggomania (US Games)
Cool games. I would like to suggest a few hidden gems that don't get mentioned often.
Mountain King (cool music)
Omega Race (excellent arcade port, but it requires a controller that slides over the VCS stick)
Amidar (a pretty decent arcade port)
Wizard of War (excellent arcade port)
Sum-up short hand (Part 2):
*Frostbite
*Yars' Revenge
*Turmoil
*Joust
*Pengo
*Enduro
*Private Eye
*Galaxian
*Fantastic Voyage
*Beany Bopper
My top ten........
1. Klax - a GREAT port for a 1990 game!!
2. Track & Field - another GREAT port!!
3. Jr. Pac-Man
4. Alien - far better graphics than Pac Man and near perfect sound!
5. Pitfall
6. Pitfall 2
7. Space Invaders
8. Jungle Hunt
9. Asteroids
10. Frogger (Sega/Starpath version) Near perfect graphics and background music rivalling the Arcade version
Wow, your microphone sound sure improved since part 1. :)
You failed to mention the best game on the system, Sea Quest. Some other good games are Gremlins, Plaque Attack, Fast Food, Moon Patrol and Crystal Castles.
I remember a double-ended Atari game. One side was a haunted house, the other was Spike's Peak - a mountain climbing game. I loooooved those games!
Keystone Kapers doesn't get any love. It seems nobody remembers it.
i love keystone kapers on the Atari 2600! gfx were ahead of its time by Activision! a neighbor of mine had this game.. used to borrow it alot! i have this game cart. today..
also have the COLECOVISION keystone kapers .. it's OK.. not crazy about it.. sound effects are weird.. Atari 2600 is the best that I pick over the coleco version...the Atari 2600 version I love the sound effects when u run into the airplane to get killed... hehe.. love the background gfx of the sky color...
Activision games were always a confident purchase back in the day. :)
I recently saw some gameplay footage for this one, and now it's on my watch list.
Beamrider is another good one that doesn't get enough love. I used to play the fuck out of that one on my old Atari 800 computer. It's somewhat of a clone of the Konami arcade game Juno First.
I played it for hours.
Among all the games you have mentioned, Yar's Revenge is definitely my favorite. One game you have not mentioned that I really loved is Megamania. These games are so addictive! Activision games for Atari 2600 were the best ones to me, since they were always original and having superior graphics and sounds.
You bringing up Megamania brought back a funny story. Me & a old drinking buddy of mine were wasted on Jack Daniels one night & were playing Megamania & it was his turn & he was shooting like crazy & then he yells "LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT. I got that from Sgt. Carter on Gomer Pyle." Then we both busted out laughing our ass's off. Another night me & a friend of mine was playing "Pole Position" & he kept wrecking, so he pulled his racer off to the side of the road & stopped as the other racers whizzed by em & I looked at em kinda funny & he looked at me & said, "Less traffic." lol Another Hallmark moment. lol
I was also really impressed with "Spider-Man" (web swinging!) and "Discs of Tron". "Surround" was EPIC 2 (or was it 4?) players that played just like the light-cycle scene in Tron (movie) but the "walls" you build don't fade away, it's all about who can block the other in so they crash into your walls or the ones they make. White-knuckle/ hand cramping action! Cheers!
Damn, just found your Channel and sifting through your vids but everything looks good so far! It's so sad, I had one Atari 2600 in my youth and my cousin had tons of games and the family gave it all away... if I still had all that stuff I would dive through the cartridges like Scrooge McDuck but probably it went to a garage sale or worse :/. Still got the Combat game with original packaging though - and a working copy of both, Dark Chambers and River Raid (which was even banned in my country for a while). I'll look through more videos now I guess.
Cheers!,
Osselpi
Metal Jesus you are so awesome! It's great that you are keeping old games alive, also that you are an older gamer like myself, and laso that you love heavy metal :)
Yours faithfully,
New and lifelong subscriber...
Great episode! You mentioned quite a few games I am unaware of. Turmoil looks really cool and sort of reminds me of Tempest 2000 in a way, where you are sort of locked to a specific area, and you have to base your game around the multitude of specific enemy patterns. Likewise, Fantastic Voyage looks like a pretty neat shooter. And as far as Private Eye--I haven't played it, but man, the visuals look great. Few 2600 titles are *that* varied and involved. It's definitely impressive!
I had Phoenix as a kid because I liked the arcade version, and it was one of my favorite cartridges. I also really liked the 2600 version of Defender. One rainy Sunday afternoon I started playing it and ended up getting to level 99. After that, the game "turned over" and went back to level 1, and all of the enemies were slow again. I had like 15 extra ships, so I realized that I could have essentially played the game forever if I wanted to. I stopped playing at that point and took a picture of the screen with my high score (on my 110 camera lol).
Adventure was also a classic. Wow. Beanie Bopper. I haven't thought of that game since 1983. Talk about a blast from the past.
We are talking about graphics from 1978-1984. The graphics are pretty primitive, but that's why developers had to focus on GAMEPLAY. It's the reason people still want to play the games even today.
Yars Revenge lol OMG!! I have not said those two words in over two decades lol. Classic my friend! Man, Demon Attack, Fantastic Voyage...you so took my back to my childhood lol. You rock my friend!
oh and I like your list, Joust is one of my favorite games of all time, and Yars Revenge was pretty cool too. And I think most people like Galaxian.
Galaxian: Demon Attack + Space Invaders. Perfection!
Off the top of my head Midnight Magic, H.E.R.O., Montezuma's Revenge, Tron Deadly Discs, and Dark Cavern.
Great stuff. I also loved Adventure, Tunnel Runner, Chopper Command, Spider Fighter, and Ms. Pac-Man on the Atari 2600.
The t-shirt is from the 20th Anniversary show, I believe. They sold it for a very limited time on their web site... as I was not able to fly to NYC to see it.
Cool videos once again. ;) You hit most of the big ones I would've suggested, but there are a couple others I'd suggest keeping an eye out for:
One is "Off The Wall," which is without a doubt the best Breakout-style game on the entire system. It's kind of like a proto-Arkanoid, with power-up capsules and a bat who keeps trying to deflect your ball. Very, very addictive and awesome, and I highly recommend it.
Also, surprised you didn't mention Keystone Kapers! That one's a true classic.
I remember Pengo for the PC. That and King's Quest II were among my first 6 games! Also, Paratrooper, Novatron, Castle Adventure, and 3-Demon.
With Yars Revenge it's well worth looking up the manual (easy to find online) as there are some really nice game variations including one called Ultimate Yars that makes gameplay a bit more complex and tactical.
I had a game for my Atari. It was a side scroller shooter. Very rudimentary graphics. In fact, your ship was a grayish white football shaped vessel, and you flew it over landscape and shot stuff out of the air. For the life of me, I cannot remember the name of the game, but had fun with it
Never seen some of those like Fantastic Voyage and Private Eye. One of my favorites was Adventure. I know a lot of people made fun of the Duck Dragons but I always liked the challenge of making it through the screens alive and even being able to complete the quest. Of course you can't forget the easter egg included. As a 9 year old that was mind blowing!
Check out Klax. I believe it was the final 2600 game released (in 1990). Hard game to find, but one of my favorites.
Loved your lists, mine would also include Elk Attack, Beam Rider, and who doesn’t love Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Weird yo-yo Pac-Man action, 3D horizontal tempest, and chainsaws. What’s not to love?
Im not big into 2600, but you're kinda getting me interested in some of these games. Good round up and explanation of why they're fun
Awesome video. This helps a lot with my future collecting for the 2600. I usually pass on most games I encounter at the swap meet or thrift store. I'm on the look out for Turmoil now!
How is it that I just now found your channel?! Your videos are amazingly well done.
Some of my favorite games on the 2600 are stargate (aka defender II), tunnel runner, and tapper.
Riddle of the Sphinx, Kaboom, Always loved Fishing Derby. Keystone Kops, Empire Strikes Back (Awesome flying game!)
I have that game, and it's on the list for upcoming videos. It's crazy shooting those bowties, hamburgers and other random stuff. Very cool and fun!
Ghostbusters, Star Raiders with the video control pad, Pooyan, Asterix, F-15, California Games, Defender when you put the autofire on and turned into a flying death beam. I am interested to know how people manage to keep their consoles running. Must be easier to find pin diagrams these days. I remember playing the Atari 2600 for at least 10 years.
One great game you didn't mention is Starmaster. It was the Activision version of Star Raiders, and it used the B&W/Color switch to bring up the Galactic Chart.
Also Adventure is missing too.
MegaYetiVSMiniGreatWhite X you're missing
@@gaki8844 your face is missing
@@markrotondella4689 oh ok
Another QUALITY video. Thanks man,you really fill that niche for nostalgic gaming while providing history, personal insight and variety.
@Larry Kool the gamer thanks for your comment..next time try and be a little more timely as I made mine 10 fuckin years ago!!! Lol
Great review. The Atari 2600 VCS brought me with a lot of hours of good entertainment. I'd like to see "Atari 2600 Games That Don't Suck 3". Thank you and congratulations for the good quality of your videos. Keep going!.
Great videos (both 1 and 2). I suggest "Space Jockey" a horizontal scrolling space ship shooter. An all time favorite! Also "Fast Eddie" that's almost Donkey Kong like, nut instead if barrels to jump there were enemies to jump that randomly go from short (jump able) to mid to really tall on their legs. Timing jumps with so many unpredictable enemies was really intense!
I still have fond memories of playing Q-bert on my 2600, although it's been so long, I couldn't tell you how well it has held up over time...
Tron Deadly Discs, Wizard of Wor, Tunnel Runner and Mountain King were my all time favorites!
I've never really been into the atari that much because it was a little bit before my time. However, your excitement for the console intrigues me to play it again!
Custer's Revenge, Beat Em & Eat Em, &Cat House was good fun on 2600!
Will you be making an "Atari 2600 Games That Don't Suck 3"? Because there are so many more games people should know about! Two games you could look into are Tunnel Runner and Krull.
Awesome video! Love the Grim Fandango print! If I am correct its making a comeback in a updated format! I would love to see if you would do a top 10 PC games from the early days. Rock on!
I can tell you right now what the top 10 PC games were - pre 1986!!
1. Jumpman
2. Lode Runner
3. Boulder Dash
4. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
5. Ultima 3
6. Impossible Mission
7. Bruce Lee
8. Realm of Impossibility
9. Archon
10. Space Taxi
Yes, Zork was a great series as it put Infocom on the map. My favorites were Cutthroats, and Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
My favorite Atari game when I was a kid was The Smurfs.
I never knew how Yars' Revenge had to be played, thanks for explaining.
Now I can try it again after 22 years, have to grab my Atari2600 and the game from the attic ;)
The Donkey Kong games, Mario Bros., Vanguard, Zaxxon, Kaboom, Frankenstein's Monster, Ms. Pac Man
Between the 2 vids you hit most of my favorites. Here's some others I would add: Adventure, Star Master, Frankenstein's Monster, Armor Ambush, Air Raiders, No Escape!, and Activision's Ice Hockey.
Thanks for the suggestions. Remember to mention Lock n' Chase and Tunnel Runner
You can see how Outrun was a tribute to Enduro. And I don't even know if I've played Enduro.
GRAVITAR I found this better than the vector arcade original. It has a still unique gravity system, it's challenging and it has a lot of variety for a VCS game.
PRO WRESTLING. Ok this one's flawed. But it is a very clevr take on wrestling considering the 2600's limits. It has quite a complex energy bar system and quite a few moves too. It plays a lot better than most 8-bit wrestlers at the time.
I LOVE these gameplay videos! That is what sets your videos apart from the others
Seaquest! I spent so much time on that game! Incredibly paced, tense, and strategic. You need to do a part 3, man! And don't forget Moon Patrol!
I know it's an extremely simple game (which usually equates to repetitive), but Fire Fighter was mad addictive. I'd also definitely recommend Time Pilot. Demon Attack got you pumped up with its very good music, and while I wouldn't call the monotonous buzz in Time Pilot "music", there is a strangely authentic vibe to it that pumped you up in a surprisingly similar way.
Good review, here's my list as well so far: Atlantis, Berzerk, Centipede, Chopper Command, Cosmic Ark, Demon Attack, Donkey Kong, Enduro, Frogger, Haunted House, Infiltrate, Joust, Jungle Hunt, Keystone Kapers, Kung-Fu Master, M*A*S*H, Missile Command, Mouse Trap, Ms. Pac-Man, Pitfall!, Reactor, River Rai, Seaquest, Spitfire Attack, Stampede, Star Voyager, Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back, Subterranea, Super Breakout, Tunnel Runner, Vanguard, Warplock, and Yar's Revenge. For 2 player: Air-Sea Battle, Fishing Derby, Frogs and Flies, Outlaw, Space Invaders, Warlords, and Wizard of Wor.
Donkey Kong sucked balls on the 2600. Colecovision was'nt much better. Commodore 64 was the best port by far - all 4 boards INCLUDING the pie factory, with near perfect graphics!
Scooter Ahlers Meh, I grew up with Donkey 2600, and I always loved it.
i love watching these vids on my days off
Have you checked out "Robot Tank"? Really cool first person shooter. The screens give you rain, which create mud and your tank is less mobile. Fog, where enemies are hard to find, and Night where you rely on your radar. That one along with River Raid, and HERO were my favorites.
Crazy Climber is a fantastic version of the arcade game. It's very hard to find, but if you do definitely grab it.
Some of my favorite games from my childhood were food fight, burger time, empire strikes back, jungle hunt and popeye
Dark Chambers was a great 2600 game too, especially with 2 players.
I second the comment about Moon Patrol. That and Haunted House were two of my favorites. Though I don't know how'd they hold up today.
I enjoy your video and look forward to more in this series. Maybe feature other consoles?
Keep up the great work. Yes do a part 3! If there are any more games that dont suck!!!!
Ugh! Yar's Revenge... took me over a year to figure out how to play it, because I only played it at my friend's place, and he didn't have the book. This was before you could look things up on the internet btw, since there was no internet unless you were a scientist or techie
My second favorite game on the Atari 2600 is the arcade port, Bump 'N' Jump. On Amazon and eBay, copies go for about $0.99 to $10.30
I love my atari. Warlords and super breakout get played more often than my dreamcast and ps2 combined. I play it just as much as nes and
YES!!! A new episode.
I had forgotten about Turmoil! Loved that game. Spent hours playing it. I remember it was one of those 2600 game that I had but no one else seemed to have it. Solar Fox I also loved and no one else I knew had that one either. Good list.
kaboom, spider fighter, plaque attack, mountain king. a few classics
Spent a lot of time playing Joust, Defender, Raiders of The Lost Ark, California Games and Yars Revenge.
The honorable mentions covered many of my favorites. I would add Kaboom!, Bowling, and Circus Atari. Activision's Ice Hockey was really fun with two players. Midnight Magic was a good pinball game. Asteroids, Millipede, Winter/Summer/California Games, Grand Prix, Gyruss, Astroblast, Megamania, RealSports Volleyball, RealSports Soccer, Double Dunk, Trick Shot
Great video MJR. I do not have some of these games but I need to get more Atari 2600 games period.
What I love about Atari is it was just about the games and that was it so games were never flashy.
Now I know what games I need for my Atari 2600