Taito‘s 1980 arcade hit, Phoenix, was converted to the Atari 2600 by Michael Feinstein and John Mracek and first published in February 1983 by Atari. Although it is a decent attempt at bringing the arcade version to the 2600, it still falls short of the original. I’d say that it’s still one of the better fixed-screen shooters on the VCS, though.
Tag Archives: shooting
Spider Fighter, Atari 2600
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.
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.
Gorf, Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 version of the classic arcade shooter, Gorf, was programmed by Alex Leavens and first released in 1982 by CBS Video Games. It is a cut-down version of the arcade original*, with graphics and scenes that barely recreate it.
* = Yes, it doesn’t have the fifth ‘Galaxian‘ stage, which most commercial ports of the game are missing due to rights issues. Enhanced homebrew ports of the game have since re-instated it.
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Nintendo Wii
The 2007 release of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption was something of a milestone for Nintendo, the game’s publisher, and Retro Studios, the game’s developer. For Nintendo this was a landmark release, showing off the Wii‘s impressive capabilities as a games console, and for Retro Studios it was the end of years of experimentation with the control system. In the end, it turned out to be a masterpiece…
Fallout: London, PC [Part 7 – Rabbit and Pork]
Okay, here’s a “secret, hidden” bonus seventh instalment of my recent Fallout: London adventure. This one is all about the “Rabbit and Pork” DLC/add-on that was released on 30th September 2025, and grabs of my THIRD Fallout: London playthrough.
“Rabbit and Pork” is Cockney rhyming slang for “talk“. It’s also the name of a recent DLC for the Fallout 4 total conversion – Fallout: London.
Continue reading Fallout: London, PC [Part 7 – Rabbit and Pork]
Fallout: London, PC [Part 6 – Tributes and References]
The magic sprinkled over the top of Fallout: London, I would say, are the many historic and cultural tributes and references, and other fine details, that have been woven into the game by the skills and dedication of the developers.
Continue reading Fallout: London, PC [Part 6 – Tributes and References]
Fallout: London, PC [Part 5 – A Cultural Classic]
Initially, when I first saw the launch video for Fallout: London, I was sceptical about how good the voice acting would be in the game. I heard what sounded like a fake cockney accent and cringed… Thankfully, though, that first impression wasn’t correct, and I’m glad to report that the majority of the accents, and the voice acting, in Fallout: London, are absolutely spot-on.
Continue reading Fallout: London, PC [Part 5 – A Cultural Classic]
Fallout: London, PC [Part 4 – Why It’s Great]
Anyway, enough about the bugs and factions. Let me get into some of the reasons why I think Fallout: London is so exceptional…
Continue reading Fallout: London, PC [Part 4 – Why It’s Great]
The King of Grabs 