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Atari Set 1.4 Adventure
When you think of the Atari 2600, the games that immediately come to mind are those high‑score chase titles. Some of which we’ve looked at right here. I always think of space games — shooters like Asteroids.
Six years before Link wore the green hat, and thirty‑five years before the White Wolf perfected an open‑world game, the dot on the Atari screen that represented you started it all.
Here’s a game I knew of — one I think I had as a child but never understood. This is a game where you really do need to read the manual first. Your goal is to retrieve a magical chalice from the black castle and bring it back to the gold castle.
There are dragons that look a bit like seahorses, keys to the castles, and a bridge if I remember rightly. It didn’t look much like a bridge, and as with so many other 2600 games, your imagination — and the iconic box artwork — are doing the heavy lifting. I’ve never had a problem with that.
This game was also one of the first where things happened off‑screen. Which brings me to a villain who belongs in the boss hall of fame right alongside Robotnik and Bowser: that darn bat.
The bat can take things off you and put things near you. Doesn’t sound boss‑like? So you’re progressing in your quest… here comes this guy again to steal the key from you. Wandering through the maze? He’s back, with a dragon in tow — and guess where he’s dropping it.
When you finally get that chalice and make the dash back to the gold castle… Guess who’s going to show up.
Adventure can be played today on Evercade , and Atari 50
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Atari Set 1.3 — Food Fight (Atari 7800)
This is another recent discovery thanks to the Evercade. I had a friend with an Atari 7800 back in the day. However, being too young to understand, we all assumed it was just a newer version of the 2600. After all, most of my friend’s games were Atari 2600 titles. It was the Wii U / Wii thing years earlier.
You could forgive us for thinking this. In the UK, only 59 games saw release for Atari’s 7800 system. By comparison, there were around 200 games for the 2600. That black plastic box under my friend’s TV had more in common, power‑wise, with a Nintendo than an Atari. It could be seen as a victim of the American games crash or simply a missed opportunity. As we’ve seen with other systems though, the 7800 is not dead.
On to Food Fight. Really simple. Guide Charley—who, in my mind, gives off Dennis the Menace vibes—to the ice cream cones while avoiding the angry army of chefs. You can pick up and throw food at them, which temporarily eliminates them and scores you some points. There are also holes to avoid in the kitchen. Make it to the ice cream and you win the round. Get hit by food and you lose a life. Yes, it’s another high‑score chase game.
It’s all on one screen, and planning your route around the chefs reminded me a lot of games like Pac‑Man. It also has a fun action replay after so many levels, where it plays some music and shows your performance.
Why the 7800 version for me over the arcade? Well, thanks to Atari 50, I’ve played the arcade version—and it’s harder. Arcades were designed to take your cash as fast as possible. The 7800 version, for me, strikes the balance. The graphics might, at a push, be slightly toned down, but it’s the gameplay that counts here.
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Atari Set 1.2 Quantum
This week’s Reaction is a gem I discovered later via the Atari 50 collection. Programmed by Betty Ryan (who later worked on the 2600 version of Pole Position), it’s set in space and it’s a high‑score chase. But that’s where the similarities to a lot of the other big hits end.
The aim in this 1982 arcade game is to score points by drawing circles around particles. But if a particle or a baddie touches your line before the circle is complete, you lose a life. In the arcade, this was all done using a trackball controller.
I never saw one of these machines out in the wild, and to my knowledge it didn’t receive a home port at the time — leaving it largely off the radar. Which is a shame, because I had a fun time playing this one.
I have to wonder if that trackball setup was the reason home ports never happened. Drawing circles with the original 2600 joystick may not have been an easy task.It seems Atari are aware of its quality, as they released a remake — Quantum Recharged — playable on modern systems.
To play Quantum today, it’s included in the Atari 50 Collection, with the remake also available on console and PC.
But that word Quantum… we’re not done with it this week. Because over on the Off Page blog, we’re looking at Quantum — the comic from Time Bomb.
Right here next time, it’s Food Fight for the Atari 7800 as the Atari Set rolls on.
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Atari Set 1.1 Missile Command
The threat of nuclear war is maybe an odd concept for a video game. In Missile Command you’re trying to stop your bases being hit by incoming missiles. The year is 1981, and this is the 2600 version.
In true 2600 fashion it’s a high‑score chaser. There’s a story about two opposing planets, it’s in the manual but really doesn’t matter in play. Let’s be honest — the game is a reflection of the Cold War.
I’ve played the arcade version and found the controls awkward, probably because I used an Evercade and later a PS4 controller. The arcade cabinet really needed its trackball.
The 2600 version, though… well, it’s not much to look at. The vector‑style graphics — especially the explosion when you die — remind me of the flashes of colour I get with migraines. The box art is fantastic, but in‑game your imagination is doing the heavy lifting. Look past that and you’ve got a very playable take on the arcade machine. My favourite, actually.
Gameplay is simple: shoot down the missiles before they blow up your bases. They get faster and faster as the game goes on.
Is this up there with Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, and Pac‑Man? I think so. It’s one I came to later in life rather than at release. It’s almost the reverse of Space Invaders — you’re defending your base instead of shooting down aliens.
If you want to play this classic today, it’s easy to find: Evercade Atari 1 (now Legacy), Atari 50 on all major platforms, and the Antstream Arcade service.
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First Party Atari
The Atari 2600 was technically the second generation of video game consoles, but for many it was the first system they ever owned. Its importance in the history of video games can’t be overstated. It made video games mainstream and, more importantly, it was my favourite toy.
Ours was the wood‑panelled machine in the kitchen, hooked up to a black‑and‑white TV. I had classics like Pac‑Man and Frostbite. But as my earliest memories were forming in the late ’80s and early ’90s, finding 2600 games “in the wild” was becoming difficult.
Then one day we switched it on, there was a pop, and the smell of electrical burning. The 2600 was no more. That very same day, Blue Peter declared it a collector’s item.
With Reaction back, we’re celebrating Atari across the blogs.
Here’s what’s coming up as we look at first‑party Atari titles.
All of these games are (thankfully) accessible today through a variety of modern systems.1.1 Mission Command — Atari 2600
One of Atari’s more famous games. We take a look at the well‑received 2600 version.1.2 Quantum — Arcade
A hidden gem I discovered through the Atari 50 compilation.1.3 Food Fight — Atari 7800
Because the 7800 version is my favourite take on this classic.1.4 Adventure — Atari 2600
Before Zelda, before The Witcher, we had Adventure. The bare‑bones foundations of the RPG genre have been here since 1980.1.5 Tempest 2000 — Atari Jaguar
We’re with the Jaguar for the final two games. This one was arguably the system’s best first‑party title.1.6 Cybermorph — Atari Jaguar
“Where did you learn to fly?” A technical showcase for the Jaguar — but is it much more?