Created by Larry Miller and released by Activision in 1982, Spider Fighter sounds like it could be a really exciting game, something on a web, or a heroic character fighting off hoards of spiders with a sword maybe? No. In this case it’s a fairly bog-standard Galaxian rip-off, although it is a very well-made one.
Tag Archives: Atari VCS
Berzerk, Atari 2600
Berzerk is a conversion of the 1980 Stern Electronics arcade game of the same name. It was ported to the Atari 2600 by Dan Hitchens for Atari, Inc., who also published it. Atari 2600 Berzerk was first released in 1982.
Defender, Atari 2600
It’s no secret that the Atari 2600 port of Defender sucks. Thankfully, though, the 2600 has a saviour in form of Defender II, the much better sequel.
Pressure Cooker, Atari 2600
Pressure Cooker, by Garry Kitchen, was first published for the Atari 2600 in 1983, by Activision. It is a food-preparation game where you play as a burger chef (called “Short-Order Sam“) trying to package items with the right ingredients for your customers.
Pac-Man, Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 version of Namco‘s classic Pac-Man is notorious for being terrible… And it is truly rubbish… The animation of Pac-Man himself is awful, the ghosts flicker horribly*, the transition from a vertical maze to a horizontal one has not been well-handled, and the general all-round authenticity of the game is highly questionable…
*= Which is why I’ve chosen to alter some of these grabs, to give a better representation of the game, as seen on-screen.
China Syndrome, Atari 2600
Loosely-based on the 1979 film, The China Syndrome , China Syndrome by Spectravision – first released in 1982 – is a “simulation” of a fission nuclear reactor going wrong. The aim is to capture neutrons, using a roaming cursor, to prevent a runaway nuclear reaction and eventual reactor meltdown.
Missile Command, Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 version of the classic arcade game, Missile Command, was programmed by Rob Fulop and initially released in April 1981 by Atari, Inc.
Atari 2600 Special
We’ve never had an Atari 2600 Special before, so now’s the time to have one!
For the next ten days I’ll be adding only Atari 2600 games to the grabs collection.
Halloween, Atari 2600
Halloween on the Atari 2600 is another “classic” horror movie license [that was sarcasm, by the way], developed by VSS, Inc. and published by Wizard Video Games in 1983. It is based on John Carpenter‘s classic 1978 film of the same name, and in it you play as a babysitter, trying to save children from the unstoppable murderer, Michael Myers.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Atari 2600
Developed by VSS, Inc. (of Texas), and published by Wizard Video Games in 1983, the Atari 2600 version of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre* is a travesty of a video game, and a perfect example of the kind of careless rubbish being released to market that triggered the North American video game market crash of the mid-Eighties.
*= The correct title of Tobe Hooper‘s classic 1973 film is “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” (note the words “Chain” and “Saw” are separate), and NOT “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre“. Wizard Video Games got the title wrong, so I’m sticking with the correct title for the film, rather than bastardising it incorrectly, like they did.
The King of Grabs 