Atari 2600

"The system that still refuses to die."

Over the past three decades, video games have evolved tremendously in the fields of graphics and audio. Today, we see advanced 3-Dimensional levels rich with colors and depth. We hear CD quality sound and true to life sound effects. Games desperately try to grab our attention by boasting to have 150 hours of gameplay or better graphics than the next game. Through all of this advancement, however, there is one area where games have not developed quite as much (if at all.) I am talking, of course, about the level of fun.

Enter the distant world of the Atari Video Computer System (VCS for short) aka the Atari 2600. Enter a world where, even though characters are not displayed as well as they are on more advanced systems, games have a level of addiction only reached by the very best of games of today. A world where very few games rely on a story line, and virtually none have text or speech. A world where standard controllers have only one action button, and that's all you need to have a good time.

The physical system itself screams out the styles of it's generation. From It's burnt orange streamlining to the synthesized wood grain pattern along the front, this system will fit in well with any old Hifi stereo or dial television. AS the system forayed into the 80's however, it did get some style renovations. The first came with the loss of the orange and wood grain on the original model, being replaced with jet black. Later, the system would be remodeled completely becoming what was known as the Atari 2600 jr. This iteration of the classic is much smaller than it's older counterpart, and has the rainbow stripe insigni that Atari would use on all of it's products throughout the 80's. The area of style, more than anything else, is one area where the VCS did not stand the test of time all too well.

Controllers for the Atari, though simple in use, were not to be equivocated in innovation until the forthcoming of the Nintendo Wii almost 30 years afterwards. While the main joystick controller was the standard issue for the Atari and nothing to marvel, "special use" controllers were not only original, but fun to use. The most common of these controllers was the Atari paddle controller. It was a very early analog controller that was turned like a steering wheel, thus having a advantage in racing games. Also quite common was the trackball, which is best compared with a computer mouse being operated upside down. The Atari also saw the first wireless controllers, a light gun, and even an (unreleased) helmet controller that was operated by facial movement! It is relevant to say that Atari has some of the most innovative and entertaining controllers to date.

The most important aspect of the Atari VCS, however, is it's enormous lineup of quality games. While some games are famously bad (who hasn't heard of the Pac-Man / E.T. fiasco), the bulk of Atari's lineup is impressive. Games like Space Invaders, Mrs. Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Yar's Revenge, Asteroids, Frogger, Combat, Street Racer, Midnight Magic, Dig-Dug, etc... all use repetitive yet addicting gameplay to keep you entertained for hours on end. Though graphics are nowhere near arcade quality of the day, gameplay and fun are ported perfectly. The simplicity of the graphics puts a whole different light on what a game has to be (as it cannot hide it's inner flaws behind breathtaking graphics), and the result is a game that literally has to be good because it can have nothing else. It is also noteworthy that the Atari's lineup attracted more than just the standard young male gamer. The living proof of this comes from my aunt, whom I would have never even thought to have heard of video games, recalling how she used to play Frogger on her ol' Atari. These reasons help to explain why there are still so many fans of (and even developers for) the Atari VCS to this very day.

To put the greatness of Atari's lineup into perspective (and this is a bit of a bird walk), you must compare it with gamers reactions to a modern lineup. When a bad game comes out for a modern system, gamers usually will just shrug their shoulders and buy another in hopes that it is better. With the Atari, people got so used to good games that when a couple bad ones came out (Pac-Man and E.T. especially), the result was the near collapse of the entire gaming industry. If there was equal reaction to bad games today as there was back in the VCS's heyday, gaming simply would not exist (or would be much better, as much more quality would go into games to appease the masses).

Wrapping up, the Atari VCS brings back a cherished time in which the term "video game" did not refer to a game with 65,000 levels of play, but a much more simplistic game with all of the same fun. For those interested in playing such games, or just curious about the history of gaming, I highly recommend that you pick up an Atari from your local flea market, or classic game retailer. the vast majority of games (and this is the real kicker) are usually priced below one dollar while rarer games can climb into the hundreds, sometimes even thousands. Luckily, rare games are often rare for a reason; usually because they could not live up to the high standards and simplistic fun that was and is the Atari VCS.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/09/07