Born in 1967 the Atari VCS was pure magic, when it was released in 1977 The graphics, the sound effects, just amazing. I was lucky enough to get a 2600 in 1979 and it's still working, love it. There was nothing better then playing "Combat" with your buddies, we were laughing our asses off for hours. So much fun, so many great memories! Thank you Atari!!!
Watching this list, I was thinking "These games are good, but where's River Raid?". Once you got to number two I was ready to throw the toys out of my pram, but there it was... River Raid in its rightful position! I played this game to death back in the day, and seeing it in the top spot has brought back some memories. Thanks for putting this vid up, its a great hit of nostalgia!
Glad to hear you mention Defender at the end. That game was my jam, in the arcades and on Atari. Those sound effects you'd hear coming out of the arcade in the mall were magical. Good times.
Still have my First Love, My 7800: Sits on my Desk at home with my copy of ET. Still, have my Copy of Empire, but in the '80s that game Pissed me off, I would Detroit all the Walker but then just continue Flying around, I couldn't figure out how the Next level started. Every time it was the Same thing. Eventually, I will get the 2600+ just to have sitting next to it.
There is a way to beat Pitfall, by getting all of the treasures (there’s 32 in total). The time limit makes it incredibly difficult and damn near impossible though.
What a great video and a great list of games! Can’t argue much with that list but I’d put HERO #1 - it’s my favorite 2600 game ever. And yes, you can beat Pitfall - if fact I did it a few years back for the first time and made a video on it. I also beat HERO in a video. If you’d like to see them let me now and I’ll list the links.
Atari is stuck to Atari 2600 that’s all they have they don’t don’t release new hardwares that take physical games that’s why I no longer play on Atari their newest console is the Atari VCS it’s all digital no physical games anywhere to buy not worth owning if it’s digital only
Battle Zone has the coolest death scene! Especially of the 80's and 90's games! And hardware developers would have been smart if they would have included the 2600's sound chip! It had some great abilities the others didn't.
I finished pitfall but can’t remember what happens..well I’m getting back into the Atari 2600..ordered the Atari 2600+ off amazon..got river raid and megamania on the way..just missed out buying pitfall off eBay..gutted..great video..I can’t wait to get back on the Atari..I was 7 years old when it came out..I loved it..👍
Great post, but for my money there is no more pure fun a gaming experience, in all of gaming, than playing 2600 Warlords with 4 players in the same room. I played with my kids and they were laughing at the graphics and in short order the intense silences followed by screams infected all.
My kids played it and thought it was terrible. What worked for us back in the day no longer works for younger generations. Saying that they really liked a lot of Atari 2600 games including Adventure 🤷🏻♂️
I wish, i could find the original console of the Atari 2600. I still have the Atari 2600 games for my PlayStation 2 in two compilations, ACTIVISION ANTHOLOGY and ATARI ANTHOLOGY 😺👍🕹️. And i still own the original hardwares of the Commodore 64 and Amiga 500 😺👍🕹️.
I had so many wonderful hours playing these games as a kid I used to sketch out river raid on paper in school couldn’t wait to get home to play my Atari thanks for the memories.
Great list and many of these are on mine as well. On my list, I remove the arcade conversions. Not that they aren't fun, but I feel the arcade versions are the better way to play those. In their place, I would include MegaMania, Cosmic Ark, Laser Gates, and Yars' Revenge.
Good call! I guess all these things come down to personal preference. But my eight and six year old preferred the games mentioned which was part of the test for me.
Well done with your order of games, have you played Robot Tank? It’s an Activision game that is a better version of Battle Zone with changes in the weather, day and night and items that get damaged like the canon, the treads, the screen camera and the radar. Good to see you mentioned Frogger , there are so many great games that keeps you coming back to again and again, and having been playing the Atari for over 50 years now I’m still experiencing games that I never had as a kid that are real gems , like sea quest and haunted house. I loved your enthusiasm and delivery of the information, very engaging with the love and passion that us who have grown up with the Atari, know and love , that you.
Thanks my friend. I have never played Robot Tank. But if it’s an Activision game that normally means it’s brilliant. The problem I have is there’s just too many great games on this system. The video was more about games that still hold up today. But the reality is that the game design on a vast majority of 2600 titles is still good. The reason for that I’m not sure about, maybe it’s down to simplicity. I feel with most games, even Adventure you can jump straight in and start having fun. You definitely have to use your imagination a bit more, but it seems less is more and my kids found the games more accessible 🤷🏻♂️ Sea Quest is brilliant, as is Polaris for a quick blast 💥
Great list! 2600 was my first console, so glad Berzerk made it. I personally found Star Wars repetitive, but that complaint almost seems comical since my #1 pick is Chopper Command, Activisions Defender clone where you defended caravans of trucks.
I disagree with none of this. Wall-to-wall gems! Even better, you can buy the enhanced version of Berzerk with voice samples and other fixes/improvements right now, brand new. Some other titles I found highly enjoyable: Fantastic Voyage, Star Trek, Stampede, Real Sports Volleyball, Pressure Cooker and Kaboom!
Having more fun with my 2600+ compared to my PS5! And yes, I have the Berzerk 2600 voice enhanced version and must say it's awesome. Great list and you just earned yourself another sub. Cheers!!!
I haven't played 2600 games in years but if I had to pick a top ten in no particular order River Raid Warlords Asteroids QBert Demon Attack Yars Revenge Joust Pitfall Chopper Command Missile Command honorable mentions to Super Breakout, Combat, Space Invaders
Great vid however for me Demon Attack is one of the all time greatest games ever made for any platform never mind the VCS. The gameplay is so tight and those amazing graphics that Imagic coaxed out of the VCS are amazing. Must admit I’ve not played Phoenix in many a year so guess in the interests of fairness I should power up my anniversary edition mini and give it a go.
Both are brilliant. Demon Attack definitely has the edge. But I’m loyal to Phoenix. I have a VW Golf from 2003, my wife wants it gone. My SEAT is quite new and infinitely better. But out of loyalty I’ve kept it and still love it. I can’t explain it 🤣 it’s the same with Phoenix and Demon.
Fantastic picks. My favourite is definitely Enduro. I was mesmerised by that game when i was a kid, and surprisingly the gameplay still holds up. Great video, thank you!
I just got the Atari gamestation pro and i really like it. It has lot of potential but great as is. I hope they'll work with past game developers to add unique music optional for the games that didn't have any.
Millipede is my number one 2600 game, its absolutly awesome. Centipede is awesome as well. battlezone, i agree is better than arcade. Phenix is awesom on atari and arcade. Enduro another classic. River raid one of the greatest games of all time.
Im 49 and grew up with the industry (as in age). I still have my 2600 and all my games i got from xmas's past. I have all the mod consoles, but still prefer retro games.The pure nostagia and the great times playing these games is fantastic.@@ClassicReplay
@@ClassicReplay It's basically like a 3D Pac-Man but the objective is to avoid the monsters and escape each level. It's a lot of fun and still holds up.
I had most of those games with my original and can't disagree with your favourite top 10. There are so many more that I could easily come up with another top 10 any day of the week. You know what I like about many of these games that is often not mentioned? The game modes. Minor customisations to how the games play add that bit more to the fun and variety. There is a Flashback book which covers many of the games and what their game modes are...worth grabbing. I paid £1 for it from Forbidden Planet some time back. oh, btw, it's likely to have been mentioned in the comments but Bezerk has had a new release and that does have the sound and some minor tweaks.
Love your list. River Raid great choice! Some of my favorites, Raiders of the lost Ark, Superman, Demon Attack, Pitfall, Dodgem , Adventure, missile command, Berzerk, and outlaw
I have to admit, I’ve not played Superman. Heard it was up there with E.T. So always avoided. Same for Dodgem. Adventure is good, but not sure it has stood the test of time. It would definitely feature in most other people’s Top Ten. I played it yesterday and had fun, but then got lost and gave up. The others 100% thanks for watching and sharing your views. I will check out your recommendations
I think the ColecoVision has a few games that have stood the test of time. Especially Zaxxon and at least a handful of others that escape me. But revisiting the 2600 has really opened my eyes to game design. To go forward I think we need to go back as I don’t really care for 80% of new games.
