This adaptation of Ridley Scott‘s classic film Alien was published for the Atari 2600 in 1982 by Fox Video Games. It has two significant distinctions: 1. it was the first ever officially-licensed video game to be based on the Alien series, and 2. it is probably the worst film-to-game adaption I’ve ever seen or played in my life…
Category Archives: Atari 2600
Atari 2600 games.
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Atari 2600
Published by Parker Brothers in 1982 The Empire Strikes Back on the Atari 2600 was the first officially-licensed Star Wars game ever released, and it depicts the AT-AT ‘walker’ attack on the rebel base on Hoth, with you playing as Luke Skywalker in a snowspeeder.
Continue reading Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Atari 2600
Boulder Dash, Atari 2600
This Atari 2600 homebrew port of Boulder Dash was first revealed in 2011 and there was talk of releasing it as a cartridge, but I’m not 100% sure if that actually happened or not (I think it did, from what I can see online).
The only ROMs available online are a two-level demo made by the developers to show off the game, and that is what these screenshots are from.
Pitfall II: Lost Caverns, Atari 2600
Activision‘s 1984 sequel to Pitfall! – Pitfall II: Lost Caverns – was again designed and programmed by David Crane. This time, though, the cartridge had a custom display processor chip inside, which allowed for improved visuals and continuous four channel music (the Atari 2600 is normally only capable of two channel sound).
Gameplay is similar to Pitfall!, although in this follow-up the world you can explore is much bigger than previously and is made up of eight screens in width, by 27 screens in height, making 216 screens in total. When you walk from one screen to another the new screen scrolls smoothly into view.
Frogger, Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 conversion of the classic arcade game, Frogger, was programmed by Ed English and published by Parker Brothers in 1982.
River Raid II, Atari 2600
Based on Carol Shaw‘s classic vertically-scrolling shooter, but not created by her, River Raid II is a more challenging and slightly more complex take on the River Raid concept.
Space Invaders, Atari 2600
This conversion of Taito‘s classic arcade game to the Atari VCS/2600 was first released in 1980, and – boy – did it shift some units…
California Games, Atari 2600
Epyx programmed this 1988 conversion of California Games themselves, and – to be honest – it’s actually not that bad, considering the Atari 2600‘s limitations.
Winter Games, Atari 2600
This 1987 conversion of the classic Winter Games is about as basic as it gets, in terms of Winter Games conversions (and there are quite a few of them).
Ghostbusters, Atari 2600
Playing Ghostbusters on the Atari 2600 – after having played the original – is one of those “What The F**k?!” gaming moments that will probably stay with you forever…
The King of Grabs 