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SB Recommends Atari 800 Games
Recommended
Abracadabra
Mr. Apol: i really like this game. it's set in a maze that constantly morphs and changes, and has enemies that run around and create more enemies. you have to find the key to exit without time running out, and it can get really hectic. another game i'd love to see updated.
Alley Cat
Mr. Apol: a classic. was on a ton of platforms, so you've probably played this. the 800 version had really nice graphics and smooth gameplay. tons of different mini-games and levels, so the game is extremely varied. i played this game a ton when i was younger, and then got a version for my pc later on. still holds up to this day.
Ballblaster
Mr. Apol: really awesome lucas arts game with pretty advanced 3d. think soccer, but awesome. you have to grab a floating ball, run to the other players goal and LAUNCH it at them. the goal moves horizontally and changes in size. the two-player in this was fucking great. i'd love to see an update for this on the wii or something.
BC's Quest for Tires
Mr. Apol: started a thread about this one a while back, but it's based on the BC series of comic strips. fun gameplay, and some really weird imagery. check it out if you can find it, it's worth playing through once.
Behind Jaggi Lines
Mr. Apol: really cool game by lucas arts. fairly advanced 3d flight simulator set on an alien planet. you would periodically have to fight enemies, and every now and then you'd find friendlys on the ground that you'd have to pick up by landing, turning off your engines, and opening the airlock. it was complicated, but fun too. check this one out.
Boulder Dash
Mr. Apol: the one and only. still one of my favorite games.
wpham: Boulder Dash haunts my dreams.
wourme: This is easily the one video game I've spent more time with than any other. (Assuming all the sequels count as a single game, and I think they do.)
Caverns of Mars
Mr. Apol: really difficult game where you have to descend into a cavern, picking up fuel and stuff on the way down, until you get to the bottom and blast back out. fun fact: donkey kong country 3 had several levels that i'm 95% sure were a homage to this game.
C'est la Vie
Mr. Apol: weird little maze game where you walked around and collected money, but had weird finance aspects. if you walked into a wall by accident, or got hit by an enemy, you had to pay the hospital to cover the hospital bills. you could borrow money from a loan shark, but had to pay him back quickly or he'd send thugs out to break your legs. there was a bank that had interest rates and all sorts of crazy shit. my mom really liked this game.
Dandy Dungeon
Mr. Apol: a more intelligent gauntlet before gauntlet existed. really fun, and had a ton of levels. included a level editor too! this game still has a small cult following, and i highly suggest picking it up. it even includes simultaneous four-player action, something kind of rare for early gaming.
Fort Apocalypse
Mr. Apol: another dark
synapse game. a lot of fun, and a lot better than nautilus. pretty big game, i don't think i ever beat it. sort of a weird choplifter like concept, but focused on exploration. think metroid meets mr. heli.
Laser Gates
Mr. Apol: this one baffles me a bit, because on one hand it's a LOT like gradius, even down to the level design and multiple planets. really solid gameplay too. i think this came out in '83 or '84 (most of the games i had were from around those years), so i'm trying to figure out if
konami was somehow influenced by this game when making the first gradius game (wiki says it came out in '85). it is a mystery to everyone.
Lost Tomb
Mr. Apol: really cool and lenghty dungeon exploration game. it can get really fucking hectic later on, with tons of enemies and not enough bullets to kill them all. early survival horror, maybe? never actually beat this, but would love to try it out again.
Moon Patrol
Mr. Apol: pretty impressive game by williams. had music, nice graphics, and pretty solid gameplay. i played this one a lot (i even built a lego machine that looked like the ship in the game). one of my favorites.
Oil's Well
Mr. Apol: the basic idea is that you shoot your little claw deep into the ground and try to eat all the dots. if a creature touches your pipe line, it kills you. it gets pretty frantic, and is a ton of fun. the soundtrack and visuals are really oppressive, and it used to creep me the hell out.
Peanut Butter Panic
Cossix: I loved loved loved making one guy really fat and one guy really skinny and then launching the skinny guy off the screen, resulting in the stars that you were collecting flying by at an insane rate. I guess because it didn't have to calculate/draw the position of one of the sprites? Who knows. It may be the first instance of unskippable cutscenes in a video game!
Pengo
Mr. Apol: port of the early sega game. awfully adorable, and a lot of fun. you push the cubes of ice to squash the enemies. sort of like pirate ship higemaru (i wouldn't be surprised if it were
SEGA's answer to
Capcom).
Pharoah's Curse
Mr. Apol: really fucking creepy game that starts with you falling down a huge shaft into this tomb. i never really got what you were supposed to do, so i spent most of the time trying to somehow get back up through that shaft. nice side-scrolling action with some inventive screens. if you can find it, pick this one up.
Planetary Defense
Mr. Apol: sort of like missile command, but you've got to protect the center orb from attackers. the orb gets eaten away by attacks, and if something hits the core, it's game over. i'd like to see a flash version of this or something, i always got a kick out of it.
Preppie II
Mr. Apol: actually a huge step up from preppie I, which is just a frogger clone. preppie II has great graphics, and the basic idea is that you fill up the area by walking through it, and you try to not get run over by frogs! played this one a lot. good music, as well. oh yeah, your guy with the polo shirt with the alligator on it has a cloaking device for some goddamned reason.
Quasimodo
Mr. Apol: one of my absolute favorites. completely obtuse and by
synapse, one of my favorite 8bit companies. this game was horrifyingly oppressive, but tons of fun. the side scrolling parts were actually pretty damn good for an atari age game. highly recommended if you can find it - legally or otherwise.
Tricky Tracks
Mr. Apol: it's sort of a weird take on pipe dream type games, but instead of you having it fill up you get this little worm that runs around the track, letting you edit it on the fly. the basic idea is to keep it squirming as long as possible. fun music too!
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