Back again for our regular Sunday roundup of quick-fire reviews and impressions of everything under the spotlight at Retro Arcadia this week, old and new and a bit of both, although this time there’s a bit of a theme… As mentioned in the last couple of Weekly Spotlights, I got an Atari 2600+ console for Christmas and I’ve been putting together a disturbingly fast-growing collection of original cartridges for it ever since, so I’m going beyond the couple I previously promised I’d cover this time and giving a quick rundown of everything I’ve got so far instead…

The subject matter might not excite everyone as much as it does me but there’s a cool story behind 1979’s Video Chess involving the box art for the original Atari VCS console, which featured a chess piece, and some looney who decided to sue them for false advertising because there wasn’t a chess game on the system, so Atari decided to make one. Might sound simple too but technical limitations made this far more groundbreaking than it gets credit for, but for me it’s an admittedly slow and primitive-looking but perfectly challenging game of chess with loads of longevity that I’ve genuinely struggled to put down… Oh for a save feature on this thing though! That said, I have been enjoying going proper old-school elsewhere and writing down my best high scores for stuff like Galaxian, which is my next game here! I’ve loved this impressively authentic 1983 conversion of the 1979 “death from above” take on Space Invaders for a very long time, and it was the very first game I looked for after I got this thing. It’s got the sounds, it’s got the colours, it moves as well as it plays, and those dive-bombing aliens are as terrifying as ever!

The 2600 got some great arcade ports, which seems to be reflected by most of what I’ve got here, and next up I’ve got Centipede, which you really couldn’t ask for any more of… Well, except for a copy of Millipede instead, but I’m sure we’ll get there sooner or later! The 1983 conversion of the first game is so much fun regardless though – okay, most of the creepy crawlies and vegetation and even you have become little blocks, and you’re stuck with a joystick, but you very quickly forget all of that because the most important thing – the insanely addictive single-screen shooter gameplay, and all its little bug-splitting, mushroom-busting uniqueness – is right there and as right in your face as that pesky spider and its relentless siren! I’ll go with Q*bert next, which I wasn’t even a particular fan of until I had a go on the 2600 port a few years back. Once again, it struggles to replicate that very iconic 3D pyramid geomety of the original, but it has a good go, and while it does lose the bottom row of blocks you need to “paint” with your oddball little character, as well as a couple of enemies out to stop you, and also the music, it’s very recognisably a game of Q*bert you’re playing, and it feels like one too, maybe a little faster-paced, but once you’ve got used to the diagonal joystick controls, it’s ridiculously good fun!

One more arcade conversion, and although I’m not sure it’s the best of them, it’s definitely one of the most spectacular on the system! I probably first played Namco’s pioneering 3D arcade-racer from 1982 around the same time this came out on the 2600 a year later, and I can confirm it was truly a showstopper, as much as I can also confirm this version is nothing short of a miracle! It is understandably massively scaled back, with just one track to race on in one racing mode, but what the hell, it’s a 3D racer on your TV in 1983, and like Q*bert just now, it’s totally recognisable, and it controls as well as it can without the original’s steering wheel (which I can still feel to this day!), with some clever use of the single-button joystick for gear-shifts and everything else. It moves at such pace too, with those exotic backgrounds and sunny sky sweeping back and forth in the far distance, and your car looks great, with spinning wheels and animated turns, although other racers do take a bit of a hit in the looks department! All the tunes though, and despite the lack of depth, it’s a real showcase for the system!

I went a bit longer than planned on Pole Position, although I have been playing almost as much of that as I have Video Chess, so it’s deserved! The last game in my (initial!) haul for today is California Games, an all-time favourite of mine on the Atari Lynx, where I was first introduced to it when my brother got one, but more so since on the Commodore 64, and I still really want to get my teeth into the Master System version sometime too because from what I’ve played, that might just be the one to be playing! Similar to Pole Position though, while it might not be the best version out there, this 1988 multi-sports epic from Epyx existing on a 2600 cartridge at all is totally remarkable! One of the better-looking games on the system too, aided by a whopping 16K memory expansion inside the cart, which also allows for a surprisingly complex rendition of Louie Louie playing over a wonderfully psychedelic title screen that’s one of my favourites anywhere! We are limited to four events, theoretically playable one after the other for a final points tally by up to eight players, although the 2600+ seems to struggle with the third in this mode, or they’re selectable individually on the Game Select lever. Either way, they picked the right ones and they’re interpreted brilliantly, with the picturesque, big-sprited footbag kicking us off, then the skateboard half-pipe against the backdrop of the Hollywood sign, a Trials-like BMX downhill that’s one of the more accessible versions of this event anywhere, and finally surfing, which is the opposite but I’m glad they had a go, and at the very least it looks like a wild ride! Shame about some issues with the emulation here but I’m still thrilled to have yet another take on this game, and such a unique one too!

That also went longer than planned but I’d have really struggled to say any less about California Games either! Believe it or not, I do have a bunch more of these on the way, as well as a set of paddle controllers, but you’ll be thankful to know I’ll save them for another time! Speaking of going longer than planned though, in case you missed it last Wednesday, do check out my somewhat extensive (to say the least!) look at not only the wildest game of basketball ever, but possibly the best place to play it too, as we rediscover NBA Jam Tournament Edition on the Atari Jaguar! Then next Wednesday, do check back again for a brand new entry into my ongoing, genre-spanning top ten shoot ‘em up series, when this time we’re going to be counting down my favourite isometric shooters. Hopefully see you then!

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