Review: Evercade Atari Collection 2
The Atari Collection 1 was my first foray into the marvellous world of the Evercade. Although I found it to be a mixed bag, I’ll always appreciate it because you never forget your first! Anyway, I can’t say I was brimming with excitement to review this collection, but did it exceed my expectations? Let’s find out.
Street Racer β 1977
It’s hard to believe this game came out a year after I was born! Although the graphics are basic, it is still impressive nonetheless especially for a game that was made before videogames were really a thing. Street Racer is a split screen game which sees you facing off against another racer with the aim being to overtake as many cars as possible. The gameplay is fine but going at any kind of speed is guaranteed to result in a crash. Although I can’t see myself playing Street Racer for any length of time, I love the history involved and you have to be impressed that something like this was made 44 years ago 2/5
Human Cannonball β 1978
Have a guess what this game is about? You’ve got a cannon and fire a dude into a net. In fairness there is a bit a strategy involved which I wasnβt expecting. Your speed is randomly generated, and you must adjust the trajectory to try and get the dude to land in the net. Think of a very, very, very early version of Angry Birds and you’ll understand what I mean. I thought this was going to be a bit crap at first, but then 10 minutes passed, and I was on that “just one more go” train. 2.5/5
Haunted House β 1978
You control a pair of eyes wandering around a maze in the dark. Chasing you are bats and ghosts and the only thing you have is a light which illuminates a small area. There are a couple of things I like about this game. The first being the eyes you move around. The pupils move in the direction of the D-Pad, and this adds character to the game. Secondly the screen flashes as lightning strikes. Again, this adds a bit of personality. My biggest problem (which is the same for all these maze crawlers) is not knowing where I’m going because it all looks the same. If I’d have played this when it was released, I’d have spent hours using my imagination, trying to figure a way out and scaring myself shitless. But now the flaws of the game design can’t be ignored. 1.5/5
Wizard β 1980
Not to be confused with the English glam rock band Wizzard, this game unsurprisingly sees you control a wizard. I guess you can pretend he’s Roy Wood humming ‘I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday’ or ‘See My Baby Jive’, but that’s up to you. According to the lovely manual you get with the cartridge, this was an unreleased prototype which eventually came out in 2005. There’s a reason for that; because it’s a bit shit! You control a stick figure who walks around a maze. Various enemies appear out of nowhere and attack you. You can charge up an attack by holding down the button but by the time you’ve charged it up the baddie disappears. Plus, when you get shot you progressively get slower until a snail could beat you in a foot race. 1/5
Yars’ Revenge β 1982
I wasn’t a big fan of Yars’ Return on the Atari Collection 1, so I was intrigued to see how I’d get on with Yars’ Revenge. On the plus side I can actually make out what is going on now. You control a spaceship and must destroy a shield which surrounds an enemy ship. The enemy ship occasionally transforms and fires itself at you, and it also releases a slow-moving missile which homes in on your position. When you’ve destroyed the shield, you can’t appear to do any damage to the enemy and then at this point I lose interest and move onto something else. 1.5/5
Demons To Diamonds β 1982
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And the award for the most flamboyantly named game on this collection goes to Demons To Diamonds. The name doesn’t really give anything away about what kind of game to expect, so I was surprised to find out this is a shooter like Space Invaders or Centipede. You control a turret/spaceship (it’s hard to tell) at the bottom of the screen and must shoot the enemies. When you destroy one, a diamond shaped object appears. If you shoot it, you gather points. This is a simple game, but it loses its appeal quickly. 2/5
Submarine Commander β 1982
Take control of a submarine and try to sink as many ships as possible. I like the viewpoint of this game as you see the ships passing by through your periscope. You fire your torpedoes at the ships which come in all different shapes and sizes. That’s about it to be honest. It’s a fun game for about 10 minutes. 2/5
Air-Sea Battle β 1983
This reminded me of Canyon Bomber from the Atari Collection 1, except this time you take control of a turret on the ground trying to shoot down the aerial threat. It’s a fairly straightforward affair where you fire at the planes and helicopters. The only problem with this game is that it is intended to be played as a two-player game where you compete against a friend for the highest score. Playing alone isn’t much fun and it gets boring pretty quickly. 2/5
Real Sports Tennis β 1983
There are a few sports games on this collection and it’s nice to see a Tennis game included. There isn’t much to say about this really as it’s Tennis. You have a player at the top and bottom of the screen and you hit the ball. The controls are fine (if a little loose), and you can add a bit of spin to your shot or hit a fast one. This is good fun and would be even better with 2 players. 3/5
Bowling β 1984
A very simple game where you move your little man and attempt to knock down the pins. I realise I didn’t have to explain the concept of bowling, but there you go. You can add spin to your shots, but you can’t control your power, so each ball goes at the same speed. Bowling is fun for about 5 minutes. 1.5/5
Millipede β 1984
This is basically the same as Centipede with a couple of minor differences. You can now shoot cans of DDT which explode and are able to take out a group of enemies. Speaking of the bad guys, there are a few new ones to contend with. Maybe it’s just me but Millipede seems a bit tougher than Centipede. Both are good fun! 4/5
Solaris β 1986
Solaris is the space version of Radar Lock (you’ll read about that later). Solaris is visually quite impressive for an Atari 2600 game. It starts as you take off in your ship. Once you pick a destination you go into hyperspace and the planets fly by. You face several different enemies along the way and the combat feels good. I could see myself playing this game for hours as a child. My imagination would have run away with me as I explored the galaxy. 3.5/5
Asteroids β 1987
The Atari 2600 version of Asteroids appeared on the Atari Collection 1, but this is the super-duper Atari 7800 version! So, what is the difference? If anything at all! The biggest improvement are the graphics. They are more colourful and the physics of the asteroids themselves are better as they fly through space. The gameplay is unchanged, but this is definitely the superior version of Asteroids. To put this into context in modern terms, this would be the HD remake/remastered version. Still a classic! 5/5
Centipede β 1987
Another “HD Remake” as the Atari 2600 version was on the Atari Collection 1, and we get the Atari 7800 version here. Again, like the updated version of Asteroids, the graphics are improved, and it plays a little better. Fundamentally it’s still the same game, which is not a bad thing because itβs a lot of fun. 4/5
Desert Falcon β 1987
Guess what?Β Hereβs another “HD Remake” of the 2600 version which appeared on the Atari Collection 1. I didn’t rate the 2600 version because it looked a bit rubbish and didn’t play very well, so I wasn’t expecting much from this. But I’m amazed just how much better this version looks and plays. First off you can tell it’s a bird rather than the deformed moth which is how I described it. You start by hopping around, but when you pull backwards on the controller you soar into action. The graphics are a massive improvement as is the gameplay. Now you can actually see what is shooting at you and the movement of the falcon is much smoother. I compared the 2600 version to Zaxxon, but the 7800 game feels more of a fair comparison. A huge improvement over the original! 4/5
Sprint Master β 1988
I like a good top-down racer so was looking forward to trying Sprint Master. There are more options in Sprint Master than I expected which was a pleasant surprise. You can choose to bounce or crash if you hit an obstacle, decide how many laps you want to race from 1 to 50. Choose from 9 different tracks, select your road surface of blacktop, dirt or ice. Amazingly the road surfaces do change how the game plays as racing on ice is nearly impossible! You can also pick up extra speed bursts and traction to help you along the way. Controlling the cars takes a bit of getting used to but overall, this is a fun game. 3/5
Dark Chambers 1988
I wasnβt expecting much from this as it looked a bit like Adventure and Sword Quest which appeared on The Atari Collection 1, but I was pleasantly surprised. Itβs more like a mixture of Atic Atac and Gauntlet which is no bad thing. You control a dude who is trying to escape from a maze. There are different monsters and ghosts which attack you. Luckily for you, you can fire a weapon at the bad guys. You can find items such as food and keys which are dotted around the place. The Gauntlet influence are the bones which are laying around. These continually spawn enemies until they are destroyed. Dark Chambers was a lot of fun and well worth a go. 3.5/5
Planet Smashers β 1989
This is a vertical scrolling shooter which reminded me of Xenon 2. The graphics are fairly impressive and you can tell this is a 7800 game. You have shields and can find power ups, including new weapons. Planet Smashers should be amazing, but for me it is just ok. The reason it loses a couple of points is it’s a bit bland. The weapon upgrades don’t do a lot other than change the shape of your shots. I mentioned Xenon 2 earlier which had fantastic weapon upgrades. If Planet Smashers had this, I would have given it a higher score. Also, some of the enemies fly straight at you which doesn’t make a lot of sense. Overall, good but not great. 3/5
Radar Lock β 1989
Take control of a high-powered jet and shoot down enemies in Radar Lock. Radar Lock reminded me a lot of After Burner in the way the horizon tilts as you move your craft. I was doing well until I realised my fuel was low and the on-board computer kept beeping at me. I think I was supposed to dock with another craft at this point, but I couldn’t work it out and I crash landed in the sea. Also, the enemies don’t seem to fire back at you which means the game lacks challenge. 2/5
Basket Brawl β 1990
The Atari Collection 1 had basketball game Double Dunk (which was crap) so it’s only right that we get another Basketball game on collection 2. The big question is, is it any better? The first improvement is the presentation with the graphics being big and colourful. As this is an edgy take on Basketball, you can choose six different players with dangerous names like Buster, Slash, Bruiser, Biff, Vinnie (maybe he’s an Italian gangster) and Simon!? Maybe Simon is just mental and the most dangerous of all because he has a normal sounding name? Anyway, you can play one on one or two on two. You get the chance to play in different shit holes like junkyards and piss smelling alleyways. You can punch your opponents as well as trying to score against them. I enjoyed this more than I expected and it’s a lot of fun. It reminded me of games like Speedball 2 where the fighting is as enjoyable as the sports part of the game. 3/5
Overall
I think this is a better collection of games compared to The Atari Collection 1, and if you were only going to buy one cartridge, I would definitely recommend this. What makes this collection better is the inclusion of Atari 7800 ‘HD Remakes’ as I’ve referred to them.Β However, if you can afford it then I would recommend you get both. The reason I suggest getting both is because without having played the original Atari 2600 games on the 1st collection, I don’t think I’d have appreciated the 7800 versions on this cartridge. Also, playing these two collections has given me a greater appreciation of Atari and their place in videogame history. Although some of their games aren’t great, they also made some classics and were undeniably pioneers and innovators at the start of what would become a billion-dollar industry.
The Atari Collection 2 (and other retro titles) are available on the Evercade.
Review by Chris.