I don’t include games like Video Chess/Checkers or Pong because they are classics but nothing special for Atari. Also, Donkey Kong never made my list because I never liked it, but lots of people consider this the best game.
40. Defender
Side scrolling shooter was pretty easy and had a few problems. The ship would disappear when you fired and you could hide on the side of the screen.
39. Taz
You spun into a tornado and collected food. Sounds like my life now without the tornado part.
38. Superman
Very difficult game that I never got very far on. It was a giant map and you couldn’t ever figure out what to do. It was super fun changing into Superman though.
37. Golf
Standard golf game which was surprisingly fun.
36. Star Master
Probably the first first-person shooting space game. Lots O Blasting.
35. Carnival
You shoot upwards at this giant spinning block while monkeys would dive down to get you.
34. Gravitar
Probably the hardest Atari game. You had like 3 lives, no continues, limited fuel and anything from aliens to walls would destroy you.
33. Dig Dug
You are a miner who goes around dropping bombs and pumping air into unsuspecting creatures.
32. California Games
Probably the best party game at the time. There were 4 events or so and each was fun once you got the hang of it.
31. Atlantis
You basically control 3 guns and fire at ships trying to bomb you. You never really last too long.
30. Mouse Trap
Kind of like an advanced Pacman. You the cat got to run around a maze and eat mice. The maze would change constantly.
29. Air Sea Battle
Great two player game, where you could control the top or bottom and fire at each other.
28. Centipede
Most people have heard of this game. You fire up at a centipede and he swivels back and forth across the screen down at you. You had to dodge him and other enemies while trying to kill it.
27. Spider Droid
Kind of a cool dodge-em game where you would have to create webs and circle each box while avoiding enemies. A rip off from another game.
26. Asteroids
Popular game where you a little triangle, would fire at moving blocks but when you did they would get smaller and faster until you destroyed those pieces too.
25. Missle Command
Scary music for me. The always impending doom was always a threat. Missiles would be fired at your city and your anti air gun would have to counter them by firing back.
24. Rampage
Very monotnous game where you could pick Gozilla, King Kong or some other thing and destroy city after city. Most cities were similar, but there was certain fun when you ate people from New York, or destroyed San Francisco’s trolley.
23. Battlezone
First person tank game! Very exciting, was it perfect…no. But at the time it was a lot of fun.
22. Tutankham
I loved this game more than most. A dungeon crawler where you had to avoid cool looking enemies and gather treasures.
21. Galaxian
There were quite a few games like this where you would move a horizontal firing guy at the bottom at moving targets at the top. This one was the best looking and most fun.
20. Yars Revenge
Side shooting game where you must destroy the shield of the alien before you can destroy him. I think it might get monotonous but I believe it gets harder.
19. Mario Brothers
If you ever played Mario 3 and played against player two then you played this game. Enemies come at you from the top tube and you must hit them when they are above you.
18. Popeye
A Donkey Kong/Mario Brothers cross where you have to collect items thrown out by Olive Oil at the top while dodging enemies especially Brutus. But you can beat Brutus by eating spinach.
17. Q-Bert
A fun repetitive game where you are a little orange guy with a big nose and you have to step on every block to change it a different color before moving to the next level.
16. Pacman
I think most people have heard of this. You eat pellets and run from ghosts. There have been many different versions of the game. I kind of like Ms. Pacman because its so colorful.
15. Breakout
Pretty popular game. You move a pong like rectangle at the bottom to try to take out blocks at the top through a little ball. You have to know your angles.
14. Raiders of the Lost Ark
This is probably the easiest game to go back to now days and play. This is due to it’s challenge and complexity. While not an impossible game like Gravitar, you really have to work your way through this game.
13. Berzerk
You are a little space marine and you go room to room killing alien robots. Most of the robots can fire diagonally and aren’t that fast so it’s only a matter of time before you deal with them. The catch is that after a certain amount of time, a giant happy face will come flying out to get you.
12. River Raid 2
There was a River Raid 1 and it was good but 2 takes it up a notch in graphics and fun. You basically are just flying upwards at enemies. You do have to get fuel which is annoying but the taking off and landing makes it feel real.
11. Towering Inferno
Very much like Rampage in that you can’t really beat this game. It just keeps going and going. You travel from building to building, floor to floor putting out fires with your little hose before time runs out and you get trapped and die.
10. Frogger
Fun game where you are a little froggie trying to cross the road. Except when you cross the road you have to cross the pond. The difficulty goes up so it doesn’t get repetitive.
9. Grand Prix
This is a better racing game than most out now. You travel side to side trying to come in first while dodging cars and avoid crashing. I loved traveling through tunnels.
8. Keystone Kapers
Game where you play a mall cop chasing down the same crook in the same mall repeatedly. The catch is that the enemies you face start coming at you level to level one by one so you have to keep learning to dodge new ones. The difficulty starts very easy and increases perfectly.
7. Combat
Standard fighting game where two tanks face off against each other. There are many different options though you can choose making this probably the fighting game which set the bar.
6. Haunted House
Does an effective job as one game could on Atari to convey scariness. You were two little eyes going around this house collecting pieces so you could escape. All meanwhile avoiding enemies.
5. Joust
Good two player game where you ride a chicken and try to ram other chickens. It’s a lot more fun than it sounds. You have to avoid the lava and getting rammed by other enemies.
4. Star Wars Empire Strikes Back
Incredibly fun game where you as a little snow speeder fly around killing AT AT’s. I believe the levels change too making this a pretty sweet game.
3. Pitfall
Classic adventure game where you take your explorer through a giant jungle in order to collect treasure.
2. Space Invaders
The funnest shooting game where you blast aliens while being protected by shields at the bottom. The aliens get faster, lower and start blasting away your shields.
1. Adventure
Best Atari game ever! You the little block must open the castle by grasping the key from your enemies layer. Your enemy is the dragon and sometimes you must enter several castles and escape several dragons in order to collect pieces to accomplish this all.
40. Defender
Side scrolling shooter was pretty easy and had a few problems. The ship would disappear when you fired and you could hide on the side of the screen.
39. Taz
You spun into a tornado and collected food. Sounds like my life now without the tornado part.
38. Superman
Very difficult game that I never got very far on. It was a giant map and you couldn’t ever figure out what to do. It was super fun changing into Superman though.
37. Golf
Standard golf game which was surprisingly fun.
36. Star Master
Probably the first first-person shooting space game. Lots O Blasting.
35. Carnival
You shoot upwards at this giant spinning block while monkeys would dive down to get you.
34. Gravitar
Probably the hardest Atari game. You had like 3 lives, no continues, limited fuel and anything from aliens to walls would destroy you.
33. Dig Dug
You are a miner who goes around dropping bombs and pumping air into unsuspecting creatures.
32. California Games
Probably the best party game at the time. There were 4 events or so and each was fun once you got the hang of it.
31. Atlantis
You basically control 3 guns and fire at ships trying to bomb you. You never really last too long.
30. Mouse Trap
Kind of like an advanced Pacman. You the cat got to run around a maze and eat mice. The maze would change constantly.
29. Air Sea Battle
Great two player game, where you could control the top or bottom and fire at each other.
28. Centipede
Most people have heard of this game. You fire up at a centipede and he swivels back and forth across the screen down at you. You had to dodge him and other enemies while trying to kill it.
27. Spider Droid
Kind of a cool dodge-em game where you would have to create webs and circle each box while avoiding enemies. A rip off from another game.
26. Asteroids
Popular game where you a little triangle, would fire at moving blocks but when you did they would get smaller and faster until you destroyed those pieces too.
25. Missle Command
Scary music for me. The always impending doom was always a threat. Missiles would be fired at your city and your anti air gun would have to counter them by firing back.
24. Rampage
Very monotnous game where you could pick Gozilla, King Kong or some other thing and destroy city after city. Most cities were similar, but there was certain fun when you ate people from New York, or destroyed San Francisco’s trolley.
23. Battlezone
First person tank game! Very exciting, was it perfect…no. But at the time it was a lot of fun.
22. Tutankham
I loved this game more than most. A dungeon crawler where you had to avoid cool looking enemies and gather treasures.
21. Galaxian
There were quite a few games like this where you would move a horizontal firing guy at the bottom at moving targets at the top. This one was the best looking and most fun.
20. Yars Revenge
Side shooting game where you must destroy the shield of the alien before you can destroy him. I think it might get monotonous but I believe it gets harder.
19. Mario Brothers
If you ever played Mario 3 and played against player two then you played this game. Enemies come at you from the top tube and you must hit them when they are above you.
18. Popeye
A Donkey Kong/Mario Brothers cross where you have to collect items thrown out by Olive Oil at the top while dodging enemies especially Brutus. But you can beat Brutus by eating spinach.
17. Q-Bert
A fun repetitive game where you are a little orange guy with a big nose and you have to step on every block to change it a different color before moving to the next level.
16. Pacman
I think most people have heard of this. You eat pellets and run from ghosts. There have been many different versions of the game. I kind of like Ms. Pacman because its so colorful.
15. Breakout
Pretty popular game. You move a pong like rectangle at the bottom to try to take out blocks at the top through a little ball. You have to know your angles.
14. Raiders of the Lost Ark
This is probably the easiest game to go back to now days and play. This is due to it’s challenge and complexity. While not an impossible game like Gravitar, you really have to work your way through this game.
13. Berzerk
You are a little space marine and you go room to room killing alien robots. Most of the robots can fire diagonally and aren’t that fast so it’s only a matter of time before you deal with them. The catch is that after a certain amount of time, a giant happy face will come flying out to get you.
12. River Raid 2
There was a River Raid 1 and it was good but 2 takes it up a notch in graphics and fun. You basically are just flying upwards at enemies. You do have to get fuel which is annoying but the taking off and landing makes it feel real.
11. Towering Inferno
Very much like Rampage in that you can’t really beat this game. It just keeps going and going. You travel from building to building, floor to floor putting out fires with your little hose before time runs out and you get trapped and die.
10. Frogger
Fun game where you are a little froggie trying to cross the road. Except when you cross the road you have to cross the pond. The difficulty goes up so it doesn’t get repetitive.
9. Grand Prix
This is a better racing game than most out now. You travel side to side trying to come in first while dodging cars and avoid crashing. I loved traveling through tunnels.
8. Keystone Kapers
Game where you play a mall cop chasing down the same crook in the same mall repeatedly. The catch is that the enemies you face start coming at you level to level one by one so you have to keep learning to dodge new ones. The difficulty starts very easy and increases perfectly.
7. Combat
Standard fighting game where two tanks face off against each other. There are many different options though you can choose making this probably the fighting game which set the bar.
6. Haunted House
Does an effective job as one game could on Atari to convey scariness. You were two little eyes going around this house collecting pieces so you could escape. All meanwhile avoiding enemies.
5. Joust
Good two player game where you ride a chicken and try to ram other chickens. It’s a lot more fun than it sounds. You have to avoid the lava and getting rammed by other enemies.
4. Star Wars Empire Strikes Back
Incredibly fun game where you as a little snow speeder fly around killing AT AT’s. I believe the levels change too making this a pretty sweet game.
3. Pitfall
Classic adventure game where you take your explorer through a giant jungle in order to collect treasure.
2. Space Invaders
The funnest shooting game where you blast aliens while being protected by shields at the bottom. The aliens get faster, lower and start blasting away your shields.
1. Adventure
Best Atari game ever! You the little block must open the castle by grasping the key from your enemies layer. Your enemy is the dragon and sometimes you must enter several castles and escape several dragons in order to collect pieces to accomplish this all.
Comments
Post a Comment