Games for Lunch: Atari Classics: Evolved

In a nutshell: I can't really summarize it better than the title.
6/17/2008 5:54 PM | 0 Comments | Page 2 of 3

0:22 Cool, it seems I can change the graphical theme midway through. The paddles seem too small in ping pong, but I like the look and feel of the pinball stage a lot.

0:24 After being down 10-6, I come back to win the second game 11-10. The computer got a lot better really quickly.

0:25 Asteroids is next up. One of my favorite classic games of all time!

0:26 The "enhanced" Asteroids update ruins a lot of the things that made the original great. Here the edges of the 'roids are horribly fuzzy and the flashy explosions obscure the paths of the new rocks. I think I'll switch over to the "classic" version.

0:28 That's better. Now I can see what's going on. There's not even any load time for the classic edition! I still have to squint to see the smallest asteroids on the small screen, though. This game was not designed for portables.

0:31 Lose track of time a bit as I go for a high score. The little spaceship eventually does me in.

0:32 I skip Centipede for now, since I know it's almost an exact copy of Millipede. On to Super Breakout, which is almost exactly like Pong, but still!

0:33 Was the Breakout paddle always this small? It's incredibly tough to catch the bouncing ball on this tiny thing. The lights and sound effects are pretty distracting, too.

0:34 I've already lost all five or six lives I had. The controls are a little too slippery for my tastes, and the ball zips way too fast. Give me Arkanoid any day.

0:35 Missile Command is on deck. I know this game isn't going to be the same without a trackball.

0:37 Instead of missiles, the towers now shoot some sort of crackling electrical weapon. The "updated" graphics make it hard to follow the chain-reaction explosions, which was key in the original. Bleh. Moving on to "classic" mode.

0:40 The analog nub actually does a decent job of replicating the trackball, after a quick sensitivity adjustment. I might play this a bit more.

0:41 Lunar Lander! I had a copy of this on my dad's old 8088 computer!

0:42 I start off at "training" difficulty. The updated HUD does a great job displaying my altitude, fuel level and current direction/speed. It even automatically zooms the camera in as I get close to my landing zone. Loving it!

0:45 I'm moving through the stages pretty easily, but I'm using way too much fuel. Better to be gas-guzzling and safe than eco-friendly and dead, that's what I always say. And so does Hummer!

0:47 I finally run out of fuel, resulting in a spectacular crash. That was a lot of fun!

0:48 I feel safe skipping Asteroids Deluxe for now, and the Atari 2600 is locked (I need to get more awards) so corridor-shooter Tempest is up next.

0:49 This "evolved" remake feels remarkably similar to the original game, just with updated colors. I guess the original was ahead of its time.

0:50 I just remembered I'm really bad at Tempest, too. It's pretty hard to see the guys at the end of the corridor on the tiny screen. Oh, well. I was never a huge fan anyway.