Atari Anthology Review

Publisher: Atari

Rating: Everyone (E)

Website: www.atari.com

About Atari Anthology

The Atari Anthology is a nostalgic collection of games that were originally played on the Atari 2600 system and coin-op machines. For those of you who weren’t around when these games were popular, this is all new to you. During this time, there was no memory cards for game systems, and graphics were not as sophisticated as they are today. This anthology offers a wide selection of these games, including Asteroids, Missile Command, Centipede, BattleZone and Star Raiders. Take a step back in time and relive the moments when games at the arcade only cost a quarter to play.

Difficulty Level/Modes of Play

There is only one level of difficulty in the Atari Anthology. When these games were created, there was no such thing as multiple difficulty levels. It does offer single and a two-player option where you can play with a friend, though.

There are a few modes of play that add extra challenge and flavor to the games: Time Challenge, Trippy Mode, Time Warp, Hot Seat and Double Speed.

In Time Challenge you play within specific limits to see how many points you can score.

The Trippy Mode changes the background of the games to a kind of psychedelic color experience.

Time Warp Mode varies the speed of the game between slow and fast.

The Hot Seat Mode, up to three games are selected, and during play switch between them for a greater challenge

Double Speed mode is what it sounds like, twice as fast, and twice as challenging.

Is This Fun?

Atari games are fun to play and easy to learn at any age. It is nice to enjoy some easy, straightforward games once in a while. There are no complicated rules, no five-button combos to do one thing, but just accumulate points and get the highest score.

For those of you who used to play these games at the arcade, it is a bit of an adjustment to use the PS2 controller. In Centipede, for example, a roller ball controller was used in the original game to move around. Using the directional buttons for this game is not as fluid, and can be a little frustrating when the game play speed increases.

In the game’s star filled menu, it offers a choice of playing the different games in the original Atari 2600 version, or arcade version. For instance, there is a big difference between the different versions of Asteroids. The Atari 2600 version has asteroids that are solid, multi-colored objects. In the arcade version, asteroids look like white lined shapes that are hollow in the middle.

Summary

The Atari Anthology is a collection of games that originally were played on the Atari 2600 and the arcade. Relive the moments when games were a lot simpler, and had no complicated rules, multiple difficulty levels or memory cards. Play Centipede, Asteroids, Missile Command, BattleZone, Star Raiders and others. The games are easy to learn at any age. It is a fun collection of games that won’t take up all your time, but you can have fun playing them.