Well, what better console to start the must-haves series than the one that made popular the use of cartridges to play different games? Sure, at least one console did it before the Atari 2600 (the Fairchild Channel F), but the Atari 2600 made it the standard.

The Atari 2600 is a console that I recently started collecting for, and it’s filled to the brim with great games to play. Obviously the games are simpler than games in following generations, but that doesn’t make them any less good. The simple and fun gameplay made Atary 2600 games great. And now I’ll find out which are the ones that you need to own at the very least.

There’ going to be a few general suggestions, but also a bunch of single games. This isn’t an “all the good games on the system” list, because that would be WAY too long, but rather a list of games that you really “need” if you plan on getting the system.

So read on!

Activision

This might sound weird, considering how Activision in modern days has quite the negative reputation amongst gamers, with very good reason, but, back in the second generation of gaming, they were actually an amazing company. Annoyed at the business practices of Atari, such as not getting credited for the games they programmed when they worked there, some Atari employees left the company and they became the first third-party publisher. And they made some of the best and most popular games on the system. With the programmers’ knowledge of the Atari 2600 hardware, since they worked with Atari before forming Activision, they made fantastic games that really showed off the console’s power and pushed it to its limits.

Notable games by Activision include but aren’t limited to: Megamania, Kaboom, Stampede, Laser Blast, Chopper Command, Keystone Kapers, as well as revolutionary titles like Pitfall!, Pitfall 2 (which can actually be seen as a superior game to the original Pitfall, with more exploration and deeper gameplay than the original), Enduro and River Raid. Needless to say, if you want to collect Atari 2600 games, or at least get the good ones, look no further than the company that’s “destroying modern gaming”, Activision! They have a huge variety of great Atari 2600 games for you to pick up. Ah, the days where Activision’s logo was actually a mark of quality… How gaming has changed.

Multiplayer games

One thing that’s surprisingly fun on the system is to play with another player, and there’s tons of great multiplayer games on it. An obvious one is Combat, the game that came packed-in with the Atari 2600 for quite a while. It’s great fun, especially if you play around with the Game Select switch on the console to switch through 27 variations of the game, including different vehicles (like planes) and obstacles, invisible vehicles, or bullets that bounce on walls.

But there are other games that you can check out to play with friends. Video Olympics is one of my favorites, with tons of variations of Pong, featuring AWESOME control with the paddle controllers (much cheaper than buying an actual Pong console that would have basically the same options). Or Outlaw, where each player controls a cowboy trying to hit the opponent (with different playfields available). Or Air-Sea-Battle, where both players compete to shoot down the most targets. Or Warlords, a sort of versus Breakout type of game where you have to protect your walls, which can be played 4-player if you have 2 sets of paddle controllers. Or Armor Ambush, a fun Combat clone. There’s many more, and most are worth checking out at least. Get an extra controller or paddle controller and get ready for great Atari gameplay with friends, it’s awesome.

Missile Command

This game is incredible. Blasting away whatever it is coming down to destroy your cities with your own missiles is all sort of fun. Moving the cursor around the screen works great, and the basic gameplay is very fun. It’s also great just trying to beat your high score. This is actually my favorite version of the game. Some people might argue that some flash versions are better since you have more accuracy with the mouse, but that just makes the game way too easy. No Atari collection is complete without Missile Command.

Yars’ Revenge

This game is amazing. The gameplay is simple. Blast away the shield, touch the enemy to spawn your missile, and aim it to hit the enemy who is constantly moving, rinse and repeat. It’s just great fun to play, just to see how far you can go. It might seem repetitive, but the increasing difficulty keeps you on your toes.

Adventure

This is a must-have, but for different reasons than other games here. This is truly an amazing game. It’s an adventure game, duh, where you must find various objects, while avoiding/fighting dragons that look like seahorses, or avoiding a bat that can steal your stuff. There’s 3 difficulty level, one that gives the game infinite replay value due to putting all the objects in random locations and making it harder overall. This isn’t a game I actually like though, but I can see why people love it. So it’s a must-have due to its really interesting gameplay mechanics, and some people will truly fall in love with it.

Asteroids

An arcade classic that got a good Atari port. While it lacks the vector graphics, it still does justice to the original version, keeping the gameplay nearly identical. The controls are a bit rough, but it’s a great game nonetheless.

Centipede/Millipede

Who’s that kid on the cover? Anyways, Centipede is a really fun shooter. The increasing amount of obstacles on-screen, faster and faster moving enemies and just overall fun gameplay. While I’ve seen some people talking about how it’s not as fun as the arcade version with the trackball (which I’va sadly never played), I still think it’s a very solid title. The Atari 2600 also has Millipede, which features the same basic gameplay, but adds new enemy types and levels. While both games don’t look nearly as good as the arcade versions, they are still really fun.

Jungle Hunt

Another really fun game. The great thing about this one is that there’s various gameplay styles. First you have to time your jump between vines, then you have to punch crocodiles (while occasionally making sure you still have air to stay underwater), and then you have to jump over boulders (or are they logs) and natives to save your girl. And then the game repeats, becoming slightly harder. It’s really fun to play, and the different play styles keep you from getting bored too fast.

Defender

Another great arcade port on the 2600. It’s really tough, but I really enjoy playing it. Saving civilians, blowing up aliens, the scrolling was great, and it’s overall really fun. There’s also 2 sequels… well, one sequel with 2 names: The slightly rarer Defender 2, and Stargate. From what I’ve seen they’re basically identical, though they have a few elements the first game doesn’t have. Great series, and well worth owning on the Atari 2600.

E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial

No, this is NOT a joke. This is truly one of the must-haves on the system. Partly because it’s so bad (unless you’re one of the 2 weirdos who actually like the game), but also for its historical value. I mean, who wouldn’t want to play one of the multiple elements that lead to the video game industry’s demise in America in 1983? And it’s actually an interesting game in a few ways (too bad the programmers were under such a strict time constraint). But it IS a piece of shit (one of the worst games I played… though better than Heavy Rain), and well worth playing just for that. And it’s so stupidly common you’ll probably end up with it one way or another if you end up picking up the Atari 2600.

I could say the Atari 2600 port of Pac-Man could be worth getting for the same reason, but screw that, there’s actually 2 good Pac-Man games on the 2600, Ms. Pac-Man and Jr. Pac-Man, so get those instead (not exactly must-have material, but they’re nice games).

Overall

There are more great games on the Atari 2600, but I think those are the ones that really qualify as “must-have” (though there are a few “meh” Activision games). While they might seem simplistic especially compared to modern standards, they’re really fun and surprisingly challenging if you’re going for high scores. Some games other people might consider must-have, like Space Invaders, didn’t make my list, partly because there’s much better options for the same game elsewhere (or, well, the fact that Megamania is much better than Space Invaders), while what you have here are games that are just as good as any other versions of them (if any exist), other than the graphics, and they do great to represent what the Atari 2600 is all about. This isi just my opinion, and I may have missed a few obvious choices, but I’m ready to edit in anything I may have missed.

And a BIG plus about collecting Atari 2600 games is that they’re super cheap. If you don’t mind slightly lower-grade quality, there’s some great “damaged” selection at http://atari2600.com/, though you can also find some fairly well-priced good condition games too. Otherwise, you can get lucky at Thrift Stores or Flea Markets and get some for 2$ or less each. It’s very easy to collect, and there’s some great stuff on there.

jobocan Games, Must-Haves