Asteroids - Atari 2600 VCS

[daffy2]

I remember getting this game for Xmas in either 1981 or 1982. It immediately drove my father crazy because we disappeared to play it, and wouldn't come out for hours! Unfortunately a kid I knew from school stole that cartridge (pretty sure). We ended up buying this game several times over the course of the years, and played it plenty.

This one was a pretty good version of Atari's arcade quarter muncher done for the 2600 by Brad Stewart. The gameplay was pretty much the same as the arcade version, and it was definitely fun. Of course, the game is pretty simple - blast asteroids, and try to keep from getting pulverized! Over and over the asteroids would reappear and sooner or later, they'd have you. Or the UFO's would snipe you off!

The main goal for us was to beat the highest score we could get for bragging rights. It was a pretty big deal to me and my friends and some other kids we knew who were gamers too. I was pretty good and could play until I rolled the score back to zero about 10 times (over 1 million points). The cartridge didn't store the score, so basically you needed witnesses to have the score counted.

Making it more fun, there were many different settings to play with on the Atari. I really liked playing #20 which had faster asteroids, and the 180° flip move when you pulled back on the joystick. I liked this better than the hyperspace or shields. The most brutal mode was #32. Fast asteroids, no extra lives, and no shield, hyperspace or flip. Being the time that it was, we also had fun trying to "navigate" the asteroid field ala the (somewhat) new Empire Strikes Back movie.

I rate this game an 8.5. It's fun, and easy to learn. Not really super challenging, but one of the best games out at the time when the 2600 was exploding like a supernova. Definitely deserves a place on your retro playlist.