Most Popular Atari 2600 Games - Page 3
Mario Bros.
1983
Canyon Bomber
1979
Canyon Bomber
1979
star 3.3Canyon Bomber is the a port of the arcade game of the same name, rewritten in color and with a different visual style for the Atari 2600. The player and an opponent fly a blimp or biplane over a canyon full of numbered, circular rocks, arranged in layers. The player does not control the flight of vehicles, but only presses a button to drop bombs which destroy rocks and give points. Each rock is labeled with the points given for destroying it. As the number of rocks is reduced, it becomes harder to hit them without missing. The third time a player drops a bomb without hitting a rock, the game is over.Tennis
1981
Tennis
1981
star 4.5Tennis offers singles matches for one or two players; one player is colored pink, the other blue. The game has two user-selectable speed levels. When serving and returning shots, the tennis players automatically swing forehand or backhand as the situation demands, and all shots automatically clear the net and land in bounds. The first player to win one six-game set is declared the winner of the match (if the set ends in a 6-6 tie, the set restarts from 0-0). This differs from professional tennis, in which player must win at least two out of three six-game sets.Ice Hockey
1981
Ice Hockey
1981
star 4.8Ice Hockey is a game of two-on-two ice hockey. One player on each team is the goalie, and the other plays offensive (although, the goalie is not confined to the goal). As in the real sport, the object of the game is to take control of the puck and shoot it into the opposing goal to score points. When the puck is in player control, it moves left and right along the blade of the hockey stick. The puck can be shot at any of 32 angles, depending on the position of the puck when it's shot. Human players take control of the skater in control of (or closest to) the puck. The puck can be stolen from its holder; shots can also be blocked by the blade of the hockey stick.Video Pinball
1980
Video Pinball
1980
star 4.2Video Pinball is a loose simulation of an arcade pinball machine: ball launcher, flippers, bumpers, and spinners.Home Run
1978
Home Run
1978
star 4.2This is the first of three iterations of baseball from Atari and is the most simple. The pitcher pitches and controls the direction of the ball. The batter hits and keeps running until he's made to stop. There are up to 3 defensive players that can try to get the batter out after he hits. All hits are grounders and defensive players can't throw the ball.Laser Blast
1981
Laser Blast
1981
star 5.5The object of Laser Blast is to destroy a series of land-based enemies. The player controls a fleet of flying saucers, operating one at a time. On the planet surface below are a group of three mobile laser bases, guarded by an invisible force field that prevents the player's saucer from getting too close to the surface. Both the player and the enemy bases are armed with laser blasters, which may fire a single continuous beam at a time. If the player's saucer is hit, it will lose altitude and crash to the ground; however, the player may direct this fall, potentially into one of the bases, destroying it as well. Each succeeding wave of enemy bases moves faster and targets the player's saucers more quickly, while the force field becomes stronger and decreases the amount of space in which the saucer can move. Players score points for each base destroyed, with points multiplying each wave up to a maximum of 90 points per base. Players earn extra flying saucers with each 1000 points scored and may keep a maximum of six eAir Raiders
1982
Air Raiders
1982
star 6.1Air Raiders is an action game released for the Atari 2600 by Mattel in 1982. It received mixed reviews from critics. The player has the view of an airstrip as seen from the cockpit of a jet fighter. In order to start the launch, it is required that the player presses the fire button. When the player pulls back on the joystick, the jet fighter becomes airborne. A feature of the game includes a horizontal tilt that happens when the jet fighter turns to the left or the right for realistic simulation. The goal is to fire at enemy aircraft. The player also has to worry about not making a quick dive after an enemy craft that would lead to a crash landing. There is also a bar that is located on the width of the screen that allows the player to keep track of the horizontal position. It is important to stay out of heavy gunfire zones because it can lead to a nosedive crash. It is possible to pull out of a nosedive, but it would be a better idea for the player to avoid flak.Custer's Revenge
1982
Custer's Revenge
1982
star 2You are General Custer. Your dander's up, your pistol's wavin‘. You've set your sights on a ravishing maiden named Revenge: but she's not about to take it lying down, by George! Help is on the way. If you're to get to Revenge you'll have to rise to the challenge, dodge a tribe of flying arrows and protect your flanks against some downright mean and prickly cactus. But if you can stand pat and last post the stings and arrows - you can stand last. Remember! Revenge is sweet. Everytime ol' Custer scores he comes up smilin‘ and right back for more. The higher the score. the more challenging the game action gets.Cosmic Ark
1982
Cosmic Ark
1982
star 6.5The sun of Alpha Ro is fading fast! Soon it will flicker out. The Cosmic Ark races to save creatures from doomed planets in that solar system. Meteor showers bombard the Ark, threatening its Atlantean crew - and planetary defense systems make this mission of mercy doubly treacherous! Time and energy slip away- work fast or these defenceless little beasties will disappear for all time.Berzerk
1982
Super Breakout
1981
Super Breakout
1981
star 6Atari 2600 port of Super Breakout. In Super Breakout, there are three different and more advanced game types from which the player can choose: Double gives the player control of two bats at the same time—one placed above the other—and two balls. Losing a life occurs only when both balls go out of play, and points are doubled while the player is able to juggle both balls without losing either. Cavity retains the single bat and ball of Breakout, but two other balls are enclosed on the other side of the wall, which the player must free before they, too, can be used to destroy additional bricks. Points are increased for this, but triple points are available if the player can keep all three balls in play. Progressive also has the single bat and ball, but as the ball hits the paddle, the entire wall gradually advances downwards step by step, gaining in speed the longer the ball lasts in play.Maze Craze: A Game of Cops 'n Robbers
1980
star 5.8In Maze Craze, your goal is to be the first of two players to make it out of a maze! Each player controls a cop that starts on the left, and the first player to make it out the exit on the right wins. The game also includes of variety of options. The maze can be completely visible, completely invisible, or have just a few parts invisible. With invisible mazes you can optionally have the computer provide a sneak peak at the complete maze periodically. To make your task more challenging, one to five robbers may also be placed in the maze. If you are caught by one of the robbers, you will momentarily be stunned giving your opponent an advantage. You can also give your cop the ability to set up a blockade to confuse your opponent. This will look like a regular wall, however you can walk straight through it. The games speed can also be adjusted, from calculatingly slow to extremely fast.Casino
1978
Casino
1978
star 3.4Casino is a collection of three card games: Blackjack, Five-card stud poker, Poker Solitaire.Dragster
1980
Dragster
1980
star 4.1You have in your hand one of the most exciting video games ever designed. One word of caution: this game takes a little time to learn because it's so challenging. It's very tricky. So, please read these directions and give yourself some practice time. Then you can aim for the World Record. Game 1: Straight-ahead Dragster, one or two players. Game 2: Steerable Dragster, one or two players. Your Joystick Controller is both the clutch and gear shift for your Dragster; the red button is your gas pedal. Use left Joystick for the top car; right one for bottom car. Hold Joystick with button at the upper left. To shift gears, clutch by pushing Joystick to the left and shift by letting the Joystick spring back to the center. Your car starts each race in neutral (N). There are four gear positions--1, 2, 3, 4--and you must clutch and shift between each gear. You cannot downshift. When the countdown reaches 0, you can start. If you drop into gear too soon, before the end of the countdown, EARLY will appear on the screen aSecret Quest
1989
Secret Quest
1989
star 4.4It started with one station, then three, then eight. If something isn't done, the aliens will overrun Earth. It is up to you to destroy the stations by setting their self destructs. You move from room to room, fighting any enemies you encounter. When you beat an enemy, you get an energy pod or oxygen bottle. Fighting aliens depletes you energy and/or oxygen so kill quickly. Each weapon inflicts different damage, and depletes a different amount of energy. As a rule, the stronger a weapon is, the more energy it requires. You also use oxygen at the rate of one bottle per minute while exploring. Along the way, you will sometimes find sonic keys, and energy sword, sonic blaster or particle beam. Sonic keys are needed for certain doors you encounter in later stations. Once you set the self destruct code, a clock starts and you must make it to the teleporter before the time runs out. The game ends when you destroy all eight stations, run out of oxygen or do not get off a station before it self destructs. If you run outSlot Racers
1978
Slot Racers
1978
star 3.6Slot Racers is a joystick-controlled action game, with a total of nine game variations programmed within the cartridge. The object of the game is to pilot your car through a maze, while attempting to fire missiles at your opponent's car, as well as evading the missiles your opponent fires at your car. Each time one of the respective cars is struck by a missile, the player controlling the other car receives one point. Victory is achieved through the scoring of twenty-five points. The game itself has four different mazes, and options concerning missile speed, and other factors, within the context of its nine variants, selectable via the Game Select switch. The Difficulty Switches control the rate of fire each car is capable of.Halo 2600
2010
Halo 2600
2010
star 7Halo 2600 is an action-adventure video game developed for the Atari 2600 video game console, inspired by the Halo series of video games. Halo 2600 was written by Ed Fries, former vice president of game publishing at Microsoft, who was involved in Microsoft's acquisition of Halo developers Bungie Studios. Fries decided to create a version of Halo for the Atari 2600 after being inspired by a book called Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System by Ian Bogost and Nick Montfort. The Atari 2600 had such limited RAM, only 128 bytes, that drawing Master Chief was difficult, and creating a game with other characters was even more so. Fries later stated that making the game taught him that constraint is sometimes a fuel for creativity.Starmaster
1982
Starmaster
1982
star 2.2In the game the player pilots a starfighter, with the purpose of destroying a number of enemy ships before they destroy four friendly starbases. Gameplay is presented mostly in first person cockpit view, which is achieved with surprisingly good effect given the 2600's primitive graphics capabilities. The starfighter carries laser weapons, shields, and a faster-than-light drive. The fighter also carries a limited energy supply, which is drained by firing the lasers, being hit by enemy fire, warping, or simply flying around. If the ship's energy drops to zero it is destroyed, and the game ends. Enemy fire can knock out the fighter's subsystems (such as weapons) on top of draining energy. The game "universe" is a square-shaped galaxy mapped into a grid of 36 sectors. Each sector can be home to some enemy ships, a starbase, both, or nothing. The player "warps" the fighter to a sector to engage enemy ships; once they are all destroyed, the player moves on to another. The player can also warp to a sector with a starbase,Flag Capture
1978
Flag Capture
1978
star 3.9Flag Capture was one of the eleven Atari 2600 titles that were part of the second wave of games released in 1978. It can best be compared to a very early and primitive Minesweeper. One or two players must attempt to discover which tile a flag is hidden under. Players are given clues such as directional arrows which indicate the flags location, or numeric tiles which indicate the flag's distance. Players must also watch out for bombs which explode if revealed.
