"Simple concepts make the best games"

The concept of Night Driver is simple: steer your car between two moving sets of lines while traveling as fast as possible. It's no Need for Speed or even RC Pro-Am, but it doesn't try to be. This is the Atari 2600 stretching itself graphically while remaining as realistic as possible in gameplay.

I first played Night Driver only a few years ago, after picking up an old 2600 on eBay. It was among the thirty or so titles, but it has remained one of my favorites. For its day, this was probably the most true-to-life racing title available (compare with Indy 500 for the same system). It's based on a simple concept, and simple concepts make the best games.

Graphics: 8/10
Looking back from the days of seventh-generation consoles and increasingly complex PC games, anything on the 2600 looks bland. However, the fact that Night Driver manages to keep continual motion at the rate is does is amazing for its time. Putting the game at night was a nice touch by programmers, as it left the sky and road the same color (eliminating an extra color animation). With the exception of the user's vehicle, the car's look nice for the day, and the pylons give the impression of actual movement.

Sound: 7/10
Perhaps I'm asking a little much from the console's sound card, but the constant tire screeching is a bit annoying. The motor noise is as good as can be expected, and oncoming horns are toned well, if somewhat monotonous. Don't plan to be impressed with the sound here, and you won't be disappointed.

Gameplay: 9/10
This is a good fusion of easy concept and difficult gameplay. The first track should be easy after only a try or two, but the remaining two fixed tracks are downright mean. I thought the manual was downplaying gamers' abilities when it suggested letting of the accelerator around turns until I played the third track. This won't take long to learn, but it could take even a good player a couple months to really master.

Replayability: 7/10
A few years ago I was sitting in a math class watching a friend play a game similar to Night Driver on his TI-83 calculator. The concept is universal, thus it can be remade and replayed several times. Owing to some inherent difficulties (some of which are fixed by putting on music rather than listening to the console's sounds), this game is really a five minutes here and there sort of title.

Overall: 8/10
This is a fine title for any Atari 2600 library, and if you have the system but not the game, I might suggest eBay for finding one. You won't be disappointed by what you find, assuming of course you ever actually play your 2600 at all.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/23/06