10 other atari 2600 arcade Ports

space invaders

■ This translation of the monumentally popular arcade game was instrumental in resuscitating the struggling Atari 2600 in 1980, turning this timely port into the industry’s very first killer app. Space Invaders at home was a strong port of the original that made Atari’s first home console a huge success.

defender

■ While this port has been maligned in some circles for its simplified game design, programmer Bob Polaro did a yeoman’s work in reinterpreting the complex arcade controls for the Atari 2600’s singlebutton joystick. While it’s not as difficult as its arcade predecessor, it captures the original’s essence well.

missile command

■ Atari’s apocalyptic arcade game was translated beautifully for the Atari 2600, despite cutting some of its bells and whistles. It removes the final, haunting mushroom cloud and ominous ‘The End’ titles of the game’s finale, but otherwise captures the zeitgeist from the original Cold War-era classic.

Jungle hunt

■ This vine-swinging adventure game stacks up well, even to another jungle-themed classic such as Pitfall!. Jungle Hunt on the Atari 2600 tightly reproduces the four unique game screens of the arcade original in a way Atari’s home console can handle, even with the inclusion of some subtle parallax scrolling.

crystal castles

■ The eye-popping isometric maze graphics and animation of the arcade game are missing, but the game plays well even in its slimmed-down version. The mazes are unique and the game plays fast and fun, especially if you can replicate the arcade feel with the console’s separate Trak-ball controller.