Many old gamers would probably remember the Atari systems that had simple yet fun games like Asteroid or Centipede. Atari has come out with a single disc that has multiple games from the old Atari consoles that were around in the 80’s, and this game was called Atari Anthology. Now, I can’t really review all of the games since it would take too long to review all of them, but I am going to do a couple of my favorite Atari titles on this disc.
Asteroids: When my family first got a computer in the 90’s, there were multiple games on it, which were from the Atari systems, and this was the first on the list. You’re basically a ship in the middle of the screen, and your goal is to destroy all the asteroids on the screen. Occasionally, there will be a flying saucer, which if you shoot it, you get a bonus. The only thing I don’t like about this game is how the music speeds up and annoys or distracts me from playing, and then a smaller asteroid smacks me.
Crystal Castle: This was new to me since I have never played this game before. You basically play as someone, I don’t really know who, as you collect crystals around a castle in a somewhat 3D area. You do have things to avoid, like unknown little creatures (I don’t really know what they are). This is a cute game and I love it. The only thing that bugs me is that you have to plan where to go as you play, since some parts of the area might be a little tricky to pass, if a monster is in front of the last crystals.
Centipede: Now this was another game I had on my computer and enjoyed playing. You are basically a small ship, and you try to shoot down a whole centipede to gain points, and to get to the next level. Occasionally, an annoying spider comes across and floats around the screen. It will give you bonus points if you shoot it. Now, a heads up for new gamers, the spider gets faster and the centipedes multiply each level you play through. That spider is really the only thing that bugs me.
Missile Command: Again, this was another game I played on the computer. You basically try to save the buildings on the bottom of the screen by shooting down the missiles in the sky. There’s not much to it, and the thing that bugs me about this game is that once you shoot up a certain amount of missiles, you have to wait for them to reload, which will pretty much annoy new gamers. Also, you have to be very exact in your aim.
Battle Zone: You play as a tank in a semi-like 3D environment, and your goal is to shoot down other tanks. The controls on anthology are pretty tricky and you have to be on your feet. This isn’t a game for newcomers to the video game world.
Red Baron: This is another game where you play in the same kind of 3D environment, just like in Battle Zone. You shoot down planes, blimps and other things that are on the ground. The one bad thing I can say is that you can’t see the bullets you shoot, so it might get tricky when you are aiming at the enemy planes.
Now, there are multiple other classics I could talk about on this disc but I rather save it for you guys to play. The only bad thing is that I think Atari should have done was to package the game with a single joystick and one button controller like on the old Atari consoles. The controls with the Playstation 2 are jerky and hard to move. Overall, Nintendo and Sega wouldn’t be around if Atari wasn’t here. A heads-up to the parents and such, this disc isn’t a first-to-buy game for your kids (I’d start with Kingdom Hearts or something.
This game luckily doesn’t get a score since because there are multiple games on the console, you could easily give each game a score and be done with it. But, if I had to, I would give all the games an average score of 6 out of 10.
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