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.