Atari 8-bit
- For emulators, see Atari 8-bit emulators and Emulators on Atari 8-bit.
Right after the 2600 was released, Atari started work on a heavily improved successor. But, all of a sudden, the "microcomputer revolution" happened: machines like the Apple II, Commodore PET, and TRS-80 quickly became immensely popular. Noticing this new trend, Atari decided to forgo that new console and turn their badass new hardware design into a computer of their own. This became the "Atari home computers" family, or the "400/800" after its earlier models, and retroactively called the "Atari 8-bit" family after the release of the 16-bit Atari ST.
In the late 80s, Atari released a consolized version, the XE Video Game System, or simply "XEGS".
The Atari 8-bit line was successful at first, being considerably more powerful than earlier home computers. However, it struggled later due to lack of marketing, poor management, and competition against the far more affordable Commodore 64.
The list
[edit | edit source]| Cover | Title | Genre | Description | Screenshot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Montezuma's Revenge | Platformer | The best exploring-platformer for the 8-bit home computers. The maps are static, so even if you lose your all your lives you can still remember the places you explored. Good game for speed runs. |  |
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Space Harrier (homebrew) |
Rail shooter | Fan-made port of the Sega arcade, and a pretty damn faithful one! While it loses some detail, it runs smooth, the music sounds nice, and the digitized voices are spot on. Impressive, given the ancient hardware.
Get it here. |
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Spy vs. Spy | Action, puzzle | This game is only worth playing with two players, because it's all about griefing. Both spies are searching the embassy for the secret documents, and they set traps to kill each other (or themselves if they forget where the traps are). |  |
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Star Raiders | 3D shooter, space flight sim | The galaxy is at war, and you must protect your bases from the evil Zylon empire. As you clear each quadrant and move around with the galactic chart, so do the enemy forces. The system's original killer app, and one of the most influential games of this genre. The pseudo-3D gameplay was like nothing else back then. Quite complex, better read the manual. |  |
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The Pharaoh's Curse | Platformer | A true relic from the past: the "ur-metroidvania", perhaps the very first puzzle/platformer/adventure. Also on Vic-20 and C64, but it is not the same as Pharaoh's Curse on the Atari 2600. |  |
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The Seven Cities Of Gold | Simulation | Explore the 'New World' as a conquistador, bring gold back to Spain, trade with or slaughter natives. The continent was generated each game, using plate tectonics and weather patterns to make it very realistic. The term 'edu-tainment' was invented for this game's press releases. The best version of this game was the Atari one. |  |
Videos
[edit | edit source]External links
[edit | edit source]| Second Generation | ||
| Consoles | Emerson Arcadia 2001 - Atari 2600 - Atari 5200 - Epoch Cassette Vision - ColecoVision - Fairchild Channel F - Mattel Intellivision - Magnavox Odyssey² - Bally Professional Arcade - Sega SG-1000 - RCA Studio II - Interton VC 4000 - Milton Bradley Vectrex | |
| Handhelds | Entex Adventure Vision - Nintendo Game & Watch - Milton Bradley Microvision | |
| Computers | Apple I - Apple II - Apple III - Atari 8-bit - Acorn BBC Micro - Commodore PET - Tandy TRS-80 - Tandy TRS-80 CoCo | |