Atari 2600 Reviews
Infinite > 06-22-2020, 11:40 AM
In this review, I’m gonna be reviewing three Atari games, Pitfall!, Pac-Man, and E.T. the Extra Terrestial. Note: I am reviewing the original versions of these games. You may not experience the same problems I have.
Pitfall! is a 2D platformer by Activision released on April 20, 1982. You play as Harry, a treasure hunter who is supposed to gather all 32 treasures in the Jungle in 20 minutes. You will have to jump over logs, pits, and other obstacles. You even have to jump on crocodiles to go across each level. Since this game has only a character who has a goal, I give the story a C+. The gameplay can be fun but you have to be very precise with your jumping and timing especially with the crocodiles. You can easily fall into the pond or get into the crocodile’s mouth if you are not fast enough. I give the gameplay a B-. There is almost no music in the entire game. The only time there is ever music is when you are swinging on a rope which does make it pretty sweet, not gonna lie. I give the soundtrack a C+. Pitfall! is a very lacking game overall. The only thing it has going for it is it’s gameplay and even then I have some problems with it. I give the game a 5.5/10.
In Pac-Man, you play as….Pac-Man. Your main goal is to collect all of the wafers before the ghosts catch you. This is basically the same as the original arcade game but with a different map. I like that they added their own twist to the map. My problems with the game are that the hitboxes for the wafers and ghosts can be quite weird. Pac-Man may not eat the wafer despite being close enough to eat it and the ghosts can sometimes catch you though they may not be close enough. Not to mention, the ghosts flicker for some odd reason. Since there is just a character who has a goal, this game gets a C+ in that category. The gameplay is pretty good but its glitches may make the player frustrated. I give this game a B- in the gameplay as well. There is almost no music in the game. The only time is when you begin the game which is a terrible version of the intro to Pac-Man if that was even an attempted replica of that song. I give the soundtrack a C-. This is not as good as Pitfall! but it can be fun. I give the game a 4.8/10.
Now we come to the Video Game Crash of 1983 with the release of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. After paying Universal Pictures for the rights to E.T. for about $20-25 million (or $53-66 million if you count inflation). One man, Howard Scott Warshaw, was tasked to make a game for the movie in only 5 weeks so that it will be ready by Christmas. In December 1982, the game was released and was received poorly. In September 1983, a bunch of Atari games, including E.T., were buried in a New Mexico landfill site. In the game, you play as E.T. who is supposed to gather three cell phone pieces so that he can phone home. He must do it before he runs out of energy, however. His task won’t be easy. He has to deal with the scientist and FBI agent who will kidnap you or steal your piece. When you are wandering around the map, images will appear on the screen which will let you do stuff like calling Elliot, going to the next area in a certain direction, find out where the next piece is, phone home, and finally the land area. The pieces are stored in these holes called wells. You can find them either by showing the location when the “?” symbol appears or by just accidentally finding it. The symbol will only sometimes show you the location and sometimes the item may not even be in that area despite that symbol being there so it really throws off the player. You can also gather candy that you can give to Elliot. If you have 9 candy, Elliot will take the candy, chase away the scientist and FBI agent, and find a piece for you. You may use the candy to restore energy if you are in the eat candy zone. I actually had no idea about any of this till I actually read the manual. It comes to show how vague the gameplay is until you actually read it. So the story has at least a character who has a goal but the game is incredibly vague on it so the story gets a C. The gameplay is confusing, glitchy, and a pain. The game will make you fall to the pit or well even if you just barely touch it. The game also will occasionally bring you back down that same well when you just get out of it. I give the gameplay a D. There is almost nothing for the soundtrack except for the intro which, not gonna lie, is a decent replication of E.T.’s theme song. The soundtrack gets a C+. This game deserves all the hate it gets. It is glitchy, super confusing, and frustrating. I give the game a 4/10.
