Desert Falcon Atari 2600 Review 

Thrilled to see Desert Falcon getting some love! It was my favorite game on the 7800 as a kid, and it is what got me collecting for the 7800 again as an adult (I recently completed my 7800 collection). I picked up the 2600 version as well when I started collecting again, but haven't actually played it yet. Thanks for the video!

Had this on the Atari st … wasn’t too bad

This game shouldn't have been ported to the 2600 and left on the 7800 as an exclusive. The 7800 version is very under appreciated and a lot of fun.

The 7800 version is underrated. The 2600 version is ....meh....interesting effort but nowhere near the 7800 version

Great deal for $10. I have this game, did not have the patience for it, it frustrated me too much. Think this game shows up on some Flashback units also. I have been told the 7800 version is better.

"It's just like watching Saturday Morning cartoons--except you're actually watching a middle aged fat man play Atari games." Shopping list: Sugary cereal, whole milk, and a shitload of ganja. Saturdays gon' be lit!!

Great review! I played the 2600 version of Desert Falcon first, and I thought it was decent. Not horrible, but not great either. I was impressed that they attempted such a technically demanding game and that it turned out playable. But yeah, once I got a 7800 and played THAT version - there's no comparison or any reason to play the 2600 version again, really.

Had to play this today after your review. When I learned about this game 4 to 5 years ago, I wasn't impressed. But when you consider the hardware and sound effects it's an entertaining game. I wish I would have had some of the red label games as a small child in the early 80's. Thanks

I think in an age of the 2600+, this version is def obsolete. I love the 7800 version! I think it was a bad call for Atari to re-release the 2600 version

Im a zaxxon fan but to be truthfull i didnt like either version of desert falcon. It's just not for me, i love shmups and Zaxxon but desert falcon 7800, or 2600 version just wasnt good in my opinion. Hey great video as usual! Btw thats a nice mug!🎉🎉🎉

The key to this game is getting the hieroglyphs in a specific order. Gaining powers like invincibility, kill spynx, warp...etc. But this version is more difficult because of the off perspective.

I agree that Atari shouldn’t have wasted effort trying to port this game to the 2600. It looks awful on the 2600. $10 for a CIB copy sounds like a good deal. Based on the pros/cons, I thought this was going to be a one joystick game.

Great video as always! The 7800 version is actually in my top 10 7800 games list, I do not like the 2600 version nearly as much so I mostly agree with you, I would still pay $10.00 for a copy of it just to own it.

I like the 7800 desert falcon version but the graphics on this one are too rudimentary , non existent background , for my own opinion at the time this game should not have been ported to the 2600, though I would like to see a publlisher like Champ games with John Champeau as the game designer, see what he could do with a 2600 desert falcon version, I find you have being very generous giving it 2 joysticks, one joystick rating would have been enough, thanks for the video

I’d say it was wasted resources however the falcon movement and shadow are quite impressive though. The audio issue may be resolved by updating the firmware.

This one has grown on me. I didn't like it at first because I had played the 7800 version first and loved it. Due to the fact it was in so many compilations, i ended up playing it a bunch. Overtime i found myself enjoying it. It is too easy but still i enjot ot on expert when i feel like a chill game.

Look at the positive. At least you have a nice fully red boxed game to add to your display collection.

And swim! Why does nobody mention the Desert Falcon's ability to swim? Sure, it is not really useful, but the ability does exist.

Great review. I’ve never actually played this one. Doesn’t look like I missed anything though. Lol. See you on the next onr

In all fairness I have never played this game, but after watching this review I do not plan on doing so. It looks like squeeze bottles of mustard in the desert. Not sure if any Zaxxon style game is a fit for the 2600

I remember playing the 7800 version on the Atari Flashback.

I never played the 7800 version, but Insure do like the 2600 version. I never noticed you could be in the middle, I always thought Al way up or on the ground. And the shadow was a good indication of where the enmities are. I like this version, but would like to see the 7800 version too on a collection

I paid $3 for this game back in 92. I had fun with it once I figured out how to defeat the Sphinx but I was glad to finally get the 7800 Version. The thing I didn't like is the game is endless. I think it would've been great to have an ending after 10 or 12 levels because it gets brutally hard by level 6 or so.

I never cared for this game. From the screenshots, I expected a fun Zaxxon style shooter with an Egyptian theme. Then I played it, and the emphasis on landing frequently to pick up symbols really killed my enjoyment of it. Maybe if you swooped down to pick them up on the fly, I would have liked it more, but landing and bring the game to a dead stop really killed the momentum of the game.

Given what they did with this, should have redone a real isometric Zaxxon for the 2600

What are those polyvox carts? Activision games on atari style carts look good

I had desert falcon once for the Atari 2600 I never played it more than once.

I would LOVE to see Desert Falcon get a recharged edition! Please make it happen, Atari!

I own both versions but won't play either one.

May have been better if they went for a vertically scrolling game in this case. The game would be different but would have utilized the 2600's capabilities better.