Missile Command

"A classic."

Ah, another review for the Atari 2600. This time it's for Missile Command, which is one of the games I grew up with, and which I got when I bought an Atari from a friend of my sisters a few years back. There are many games like it out there, although any such games released in recent years have all sorts of unnecessary stuff added in. But that's not what I'm here for.
Gameplay 10-10. This is where so many of those older games really shine. Most of the games of today (not all but quite a lot), seem to focus more on graphical and audio excellence rather than gameplay. Games like Missile Command, simple as they were, were and still are great fun. In Missile Command, you have to shoot down as many missiles as possible before they hit your planet. This can be difficult, since your ammo is limited. Run out and it's all over.
Control 10-10. Move with the joystick and fire with the red button(s. It couldn't get much simpler than that.
Audio 10-10. Missile Command was one of those games I could recognize instantly from the sound, even after not hearing it for years and years, as was the case when I bought the Atari from that friend. There's quite a lot of sound in this game...or rather it's heard quite a lot. There's the intro sound, which is a sort of laser sound, and then there are your missile firing sounds, explosions for when you make a successful hit, and a little bwink sound for when you run out of ammo. Then there's an explosion sound for when you lose a life. The Game Over sound is probably one of my favorite sounds on the Atari. It's kinda a big missile sound, y'know, the missile flying toward the planet, then the explosion sound of it hitting. As primative as the Atari's sound is, it's still some of the best.
Story ??? I'm not entirely sure if it has one. You just shoot down as many enemies as possible and try not to get hit. This is the Atari, remember, so one hit means instant death.
Overall 10-10. I think this game's been featured in some compilation disks for PSX, but it's not quite the same as the original. If you have the means to play the original at your disposal I.E. you own a working Atari, you should definitely get Missile Command.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/18/03