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Nov 11, 2003 · Take a step back in time to the early days of video arcades with Atari's 80 Classic Games, a compilation of unforgettable and authentic Atari titles. Each one is faithfully reproduced...
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- PC
Nov 11, 2003 · Take a step back in time to the early days of video arcades with Atari?s 80 Classic Games, a compilation of unforgettable and authentic Atari titles. Each one is faithfully reproduced with all the great sights, sounds and fast action that made them so popular.
- (4)
- E
- A Pac-Man invasion from space, with a few pitfalls.
- Verdict
By Scott Humphries
Updated: Nov 24, 2018 1:57 am
Posted: Jan 28, 2004 12:14 am
While many Atari all-in-one discs released over the past few years have featured at most 12 games, Atari's latest "classic gaming" pack is by far the most comprehensive the company has ever released. Atari: 80 Classic Games in One comes packed to the brim with--yep, you guessed it--80 classic Atari games! But don't get your O.P. short shorts in a bunch just yet. Unless you're a veteran gamer (for example, you know what an Atari "paddle controller" looks like) you might want to spend your 20 bucks elsewhere.
80 Classic Games is like going to a reunion, seeing tons of old friends you've neglected to keep in touch with, and realizing they haven't changed a bit. If you had never met those friends (i.e., not played the games), the reunion would seem pretty boring. Nostalgia is the key word here. That being said, all of the classic Atari games I remember playing as a kid are on this disc. Some of my old favorites include Adventure, Haunted House, Star Ship, Surround and the arcade version of Crystal Castles. However, since the compilation consists of all first-party Atari games, missing are some of the third-party whoppers. The inclusion of Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Galaxian, Frogger, Pitfall or for that matter, the excellent-but-rare Pitfall II: Lost Caverns would have required the manifestation of a small legal miracle (and may just have caused my head to implode from sheer gaming ecstasy), but it's disappointing to not have all the great 2600 games in one place.
In addition to the games, this package comes loaded with special features. We've seen the bonus material before on older Atari compilations like Atari Anniversary Edition and Atari Greatest Hits, but things like images of original box art and cartridges and game documentation scans including some great DC comic books for Centipede and Swordquest: Earthworld are all quite novel and will bring a smile to any old-school gamers face. There's also a short series of video interviews with Nolan Bushnell (the Atari-meister himself) which includes discussions of the creation of the company and it got its name (it's derived from the Japanese game called "Go"). However, since the special features are a few years old, they're definitely showing their age. A DVD-quality redux of the low-res bonus material should have been included and is a necessity for any future Atari compilations.
Electronic games have come a hell of a long way in the past twenty-five years. To view modern day classics like Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Warcraft III and realize that they arguably evolved from Adventure and Combat is enough to blow your mind. For gamers pushing thirty, Atari 80 is a window to the past and the essential anthology of ...
- Scott Humphries
Nov 11, 2003 · Faithfully reproduced from the original games, each emulated title includes the sights, sounds and action that made them so enduring. The collection includes 80 beloved arcade and Atari 2600 games, such as Asteroids, Centipede, Lunar Lander, Warlords and more.
Apr 7, 2024 · Once installed, the games can be played without the CD, and the bonus content can be accessed. Unlike Atari Anniversary Edition , the video-based content doesn't require the CD to be inserted before use.
Nov 11, 2003 · Take a step back in time to the early days of video arcades and in-home entertainment with an unsurpassed collection of 80 authentic Atari titles. Each game is faithfully reproduced down to...
Nov 11, 2003 · For gamers pushing thirty, Atari 80 is a window to the past and the essential anthology of Atari classics. For the uninitiated, 80 Classic Games could be the first course book in your...
