015 - Happy Birthday Atari

ATARI 50

Friday saw the release of ATARI 50, a compilation of Atari games to celebrate 50 years of the game studio. Obviously, Atari has come in many shapes and forms.

Unfortunately, Atari has split all over the place with different game licenses and IP going all over the place, but the name and it's legacy can hold value

And in the case of Atari 50, can also tell a story, that can only be done in video games.

Digital Eclipse, the team behind “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles : The Cowabunga Collection” has already done a very through collection for game legacy, but this time around, in addition to it's game archive, and scans and findings, it’s also a documentary.

The most interactive documentary created so far, Atari 50 takes you from the Bushnell Pong Era (and character Al Alcorn) to the creation of Atari 2600, the “crash”, and it's return to glory as it tries to find it’s footing from major gaming events, from PC Gaming to the Console Wars of Sega and Nintendo.

Like a living museum, the game defaults by taking you to 6 different parts of Atari History, with each chapter including interviews from Atari Pillars, game developers like Tim Schafer and Cliffy B to talking about inspiration from their games.  And then you see these relics, fliers, never seen prototype games, and commercials. And then, of course, you can play these games, like a museum of gaming history.

It's not afraid to talk about the lows and highs, and instead of just going through Atari 2600 games, goes into every console, including the 400 and Lynx and Jaguar with the original games included.

The downside has been, obviously, the lack of acquisition of past IP for it’s celebration – there isn’t  E.T. there isn’t Alien vs Predator or even a playable Superman pinball machine. Additionally, the lack of online support in this collection, which when you have Sprint 8 Available, would have been REALLY cool to see a full 8 player online multiplayer on what is an incredible game first.

A great chunk of this collection revolves on it’s innovations, and while it sometimes does explain it's cool innovations and stuff we take for granted today (such as dual stick) it goes without saying, that it is best played with friends present to get the full effect of it's game.

But obviously, you can’t recreate trackball or steering wheel or its infamous dial support – although a 3D printed simulator is available.

And then you're a lonely guy like me, feels like you're missing out on half the fun, like in Fire Truck!

But I will say this is a game worth playing, although you'll most likely be playing through this the same way you would at a museum – in a glance.

I give it a 4 out of 5.

HEY CHECK OUT THE FULL VERSION ON

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