Category Archives: Atari 8-bit

Games for Atari 8-bit home computers.

Prince of Persia, Atari 8-bit

After apparently years of toil, and unforseen circumstances, a homebrew conversion of Jordan Mechner‘s classic Prince of Persia finally arrived on Atari 8-bit systems, in 2021. It requires a 128KB XL/XE; it’s free to download and play, and comes it in a variety of different formats (including cartridge). And – I have to say, right out the gate – that it is a brilliant port.

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Screaming Wings, Atari 8-Bit

Released in 1986 by Red Rat Software, Screaming Wings is a vertically-scrolling, ‘bullet hell’ shooter in which you pilot an aircraft similar to a Lockheed P-38 Lightning (the famous single-seat WWII fighter with the twin boom design).

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Action Biker, Atari 8-Bit

Mastertronic‘s Action Biker was a well-known budget hit on the Commodore 64, and it was also released for Atari 8-bit home computers, in 1985. Both the C64 and Atari versions were bundled together as a dual release.

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Choplifter XE, Atari 8-bit

This ‘enhanced’ remake of Dan Gorlin‘s Choplifter was released for Atari XE computers by Atari Corporation in 1988. It features improved graphics, but with pretty much the same gameplay as the original.

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Stunt Car Racer, Atari 8-bit

Geoff Crammond‘s classic Stunt Car Racer was converted to Atari 8-bit systems by homebrew coders Fandal and Irgendwer in 2018. And it is an excellent port that plays identically to the C64 version it is based upon.

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Salmon Run, Atari 8-bit

Written by Bill Williams (the writer and designer of Sinbad and the Throne of the Falcon, among other games), for the Atari Program Exchange, and first released in 1982, Salmon Run is a clever, and uniquely different, video game based upon the life cycle of a fish – a salmon, specifically – that is trying to swim upstream to its spawning ground.

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