Yars Rising Review (Switch)

Atari’s raiding and revitalising of its back catalogue continues unabated with one of its most bizarre and ambitious reboots yet. Instead of just updating the graphics and mechanics of one of its arcade games, Yars Rising takes the world of the famous Yars Revenge and attempts to expand it out into, of all things, a Metroidvania.

The original Yars does make appearances from time to time in the form of hacking mini games that need to be completed in order to open doors and disable obstacles. These play around with the conventions of the original game but basically amount to charging a meter then blasting a target with a super shot. Sometimes there are barriers, sometimes there are mines to avoid or other enemies to defeat but it all amounts to a single screen take on the original arcade style experience.

These hacking games become more and more complex as the game progresses. But if you feel you have really had enough of them it will let you skip if you fail a certain number of times. On the flip side you can also access them from the main menu if you just want to play them over and over.

The main bulk of the game has players take control of Emi Kimura who has been hired to break into the QoTech corporation. This plays out in the classic Metroidvania style with players exploring the 2D environment and picking up new skills along the way to let them through previously unpassable barriers. There are boss fights as well which normally need to be finished off with a hacking mini game or they will spring back to life.

In terms of design, the environments are a fairly generic, sterile, future sci-fi setting. It does help to keep things clear and easy to see but there’s not a huge variety between the looks of each location which can make traveling around a touch dull at times. Enemy design is very much in the realms of robots and technology which shares the same clear but not inspiration feel (with the occasional Atari reference). In a nice touch, all the characters are voiced, and Emi will chime in with her own commentary on how thing are going from time to time (this can be turned off if it gets too annoying).

Much better, is the general feel of the game. Emi controls well and it’s easy to get her to execute whichever move you are trying. This means you can get a good flow while traveling around the environments, allowing for speedy trips across the map. There’s also a well-balanced mix of action and stealth with a few areas requiring you to hide in doorways or vents to avoid invulnerable enemies. It’s not exactly Metroid: Dread but it helps to break things up and all the mechanics work well. The music is also excellent with a host of jaunty, anime inspired tunes present.

Overall, Yars Rising is a fun and inventive take on an IP that may have otherwise struggled to survive the expectations of modern audiences. The classic Wayforward vibe is in full effect and while this may not be anything revolutionary, it is certainly fun and breezy and there’s nothing bad here. If you feel you need another retro tinged Metroidvania then this makes a good choice, even among the mass of competition of the Switch.

Overall 7/10

Shadow of the Ninja Reborn Review (Switch)

 

I don’t think anyone had relatively obscure NES game Shadow of the Ninja on their bingo card for a revival this year. But Atari, Natsume and others are going all out to squeeze every piece of equity from gamings now lengthy back catalogue.  We have played the original game though and it’s a fun take on the platform genre that tries to distance itself from the Gaiden series as much as possible.

As an update, Shadow of the Ninja Reborn is a strange sort of game. If you think back to the days of the NES, a lot of games were ported from the arcade. This take on the franchise looks to reverse the approach. Taking what was an 8-bit game and imaging how it would work as an arcade game. Changing its level design, how the game plays and boosting its graphics to be bigger and more colourful.

The game is pretty hardcore in terms of difficulty. Players can pick from normal or hard to begin with (pick normal), and once your energy bar has depleted you die and start the stage again. There are two or three checkpoints throughout levels though and normally one before boss fights as well. You also have unlimited continues and the game will also give you more health pick ups and items if you get stuck dying on a particular section, so at least it does try and keep players going. Despite the arcade nature of the game, you don’t have to play through from the beginning each time either as it’ll autosave your progress and unlock levels as time attack stages once completed.

In terms of your ninja, you have a couple of cool weapons at your disposal. You have your basic sword which can be upgraded to sort of fire swooshy things. It can also block a lot of projectiles that are fired your way which is a nice touch. You also have a sort of grappling hook weapon which has a decent range and can be used to attack enemies from different angles. This also upgrades to add length and extra spikes. You can also find a host of other weapons and items which are limited use. We did find most of them took far too long to use though so tended to stay with the basic sword and hook set up.

There are a few issues with controls unfortunately. The standard sword swipe and jump are fine, but you can also sort of wall run and jump but it never felt natural to pull off and sticking to surfaces also seemed a bit hit and miss. In terms of using items there’s an odd selection process. Pressing the shoulder button selects whatever your closest item on your inventory is. However, logically, pressing the button multiple times should really syphon through your inventory, but to actually do that you need to hold the button down and then use arrows to shift through. It is rarely practical to do this to the point it makes the inventory almost useless for large parts of the levels.

Level design and enemies though are generally pretty cool. There’s a wide range of opponents who attack you in different ways and the sort of sci-fi cyber design works well. Bosses are varied and creative and follow attack patterns which will need to be learned to down them. They are pretty well balanced though with just the right amount of health and work as highlights rather than annoyances.

Overall, Shadow of the Ninja Reborn is a fun and creative throwback to arcade games of the 90’s. it’s not perfect but the annoyances never stop it from being fun. The difficulty is something players will have to get used to, but the game at least tried to help you out when you start to really struggle. If you like arcade action platformers then this will likely be right up your alley. A very well thought out use of an old and obscure IP.

Overall 8/10

Lunar Lander Beyond Review (Switch)

It’s been great how Atari have been using their back catalogue lately. We’ve had collections, reimaginings and some interesting new attempts at franchises. Lunar Lander Beyond takes the original, inertia, based gameplay and expands it into a more fully fledged, story based, title with cut scenes and missions.

The first thing to say is that the cut scenes are beautiful. They look like a space cartoon and there’s a lot of them, so some serious effort has been put into the presentation here. It gives the game a similar vibe to one of our favourites – Velocity. The general presentation has been given a more modern feel as well. You get a galaxy map to show your progress and a clear list of missions in each area. Supporting information such as how to get different grades is also included.

There’s more variety on offer as well as players can pick from different pilots and ships. A few are available to begin with but most need to be unlocked by rescuing or finding them within missions. The pilots in particular are quite different in terms of their buffs, so consideration is needed from players.

When in the game players have three separate bars to think about. You have your ships health, fuel and finally a stress meter for the pilot. If any of the bars run out completely it’s mission over. It means as well as picking up credits you are also always on the look out for health, fuel and sanity drops as well. Of course, you generally have a ticking clock to fight as well so there’s a lot going on.

The stress meter is the most interesting as your pilot will start to hallucinate if it gets too high. This we cause screen glitches and random surreal stuff to appear. It also means that your pilot will need to get medical attention after a while, and you’ll need to use somebody else while they undergo therapy. It’s an interesting layer to the game that adds something different.

It’s likely that you’ll need a bit of practice to get the hang of the controls. In theory they are simple, with a thrust button and some added gadgets like stabilisers and boosters. In reality though, the inertia and gravity-based gameplay is an uncommon game mechanic and we struggled to do anything to begin with. Slowly though, you begin to understand how to move the ship around effectively and then you’ll start to make real progress through the missions.

The missions themselves generally involve getting the ship from one point to another. But occasionally you’ll do something else such as having to intercept falling meteors to protect a settlement. The maze-like levels are excellent though so it never really becomes an issue in terms of repetition. The biggest barrier players will face is how tough it is as you’ll really need to put the time into learning the finer points of piloting the ship to progress far.

Overall, Lunar Lander Beyond is an excellent reimagining of the classic game. It seems basic on the surface but there’s a ton of depth once you get into it. There’s a whole host of upgrades and things to play around with and it looks and sound great. But it will also cause a lot of frustration as it requires time and patience to get the best out of it. If you are up for a challenge, then it comes highly recommended.

Overall 8/10

qomp2 Review (Switch)

 

Atari’s recent decision to mine its back catalogue shows no signs of abating, but as the quality has been excellent it’s not exactly a bad thing. This week’s classic franchise given a twist, is of all things, Pong. This really does take the ‘spiritual successor’ tag and stretch is considerably but if you’ve ever wondered what would happen if the ball from Pong broke free from the confines of its two paddles, then this is the game for you.

The control system is remarkably simple. The ball bounces around the screen and you have the option of pressing A to change its direction by 90 degrees or holding the shoulder button to charge up a super boost that can break through certain blocks. That’s it, the ball bounces around under its own inertia continually and aside from being affected by various environmental situations, like water, its basically a case of keeping it from hitting hazards.

There are thirty levels spread across four worlds with each new world adding new elements into the mix. It’s starts out quite simply by just giving you spikes to avoid but you’ll soon encounter locked doors and breakable blocks, creatures that chase you around levels and of course good old fashioned lasers and electric hazards. Things escalate quickly here and in order to beat the game you’ll likely need to avoid throwing your switch against a wall more than once. The symbols that turn your ball into a game of snake are particularly brutal. 

To counteract the frustration, each of the levels is fairly compact and also have a decent number of checkpoints in them. This means its rare that defeating something challenging doesn’t bring you to the end or at least the safety of the next save. There are also some interesting boss fights here which are designed well and are a lot of fun to take on.

The look of the game mimics the minimalist style of its source material by keeping the black and white colour scheme of the original Pong for most of the game. It’s not all without colour though as various hazards and blocks add dashes of blue and red here and there. In a further nod to the past the screen normally presents itself in a sort of semi-fish eye viewpoint mimicking televisions of old.

Overall, qomp2 is another example of Atari finding yet more gold in its continual cycle of its back catalogue reworking. It is incredibly hard later on, but everything works well. The controls are simple and effective and as frustrating as it is, every death is the players fault. Some sections will have you really thinking about the inertia of the ball to get through but it always remains consistent to it's own rules. This is a clever and surprising twist on a basic formula and one that works excellently.

Overall 8/10

 

 

Llmasoft: The Jeff Minter Story Review (Switch)

 

When Digital Eclipse first announced its plan to release interactive documentaries it seemed like an interesting prospect. The first release in the series looked at Karateka and one of the main issues we had was the lack of games included. We are glad to see that isn’t the case this time around and we can’t think of a better company to look at for this kind of release.

Jeff Minter already has a presence on the Switch due to Atari’s recent strategy of utilising its back catalogue to release new games. Tempest 4000 and Akka Arrh are both examples of Minters work, and we’d recommend both if you get with the psychedelic style on display here.

The documentary elements of this are exhaustive. Spanning from 1981 to 1994, there are numerous videos, spec documents, pictures, concept art and inputs from Minter himself. It’s all arranged into four separate timelines and easy to move through. The interviews with Minter are a particular highlight with him always coming across with great insight and in an entertaining way.

All these elements combined will give you an excellent understanding of how everything came together through this period. The few games not playable on the collection through these periods are also lightly touched upon but it would have been nice to have a bit more about some of them even if they aren’t available to play.

There are a lot of games here though, and they cross many classic systems from Atari 8-bit, C64, Vic-20 to the Atari St and Atari Jaguar. Multiple versions of each game are also present so in terms of what is here its exhaustive. A lot of the games are also great. If you are into retro games and if you’ve not played Grid Runner or Attack of the Mutant Camels, then you are in for a treat. It’s nice to have some of the games that weren’t as well received as well so you can get a full overview if Minter’s back catalogue. Just get ready for a lot of weirdness and Llamas.

There’s a visually enhanced exclusive version of Gridrunner  included as well which is based on the C64 version of the game. This will be one of the main reasons for fans to pick up the collection and plays as crazily as the original. This coupled with the fact Tempest 2000 is here gives you more than enough to play even if you can’t get on with some of the earlier games.

Tempest 2000 itself brings up a slight issue though. People who are likely to buy this will no doubt also be interested in the Atari 50 collection. Tempest 2000 is also on that and this potentially takes away one of the main reason to get this. Having the Gridrunner upgrade here along with some of Jeff’s over classics is awesome, but we felt it could have done with at least one more big exclusive. Something super obscure like Tempest 3000 would have made this utterly essential, no matter how difficult it may have been to get working properly.

It's difficult with collections like this not to look to omissions even when there is such a sizable chunk of Minters back catalogue here to play. The biggest omission is of course the fact that the documentary stops at 1994. This means all of Minters later games aren’t included which is a real shame. Adding a Space Giraffe or later releases of Grid Runner would have really rounded the collection off perfectly. There’s also a lack of certain licensed games such as Defender 2000 on the Jaguar. But there is a lot of stuff here, so we are being picky.

Overall, This collection does an excellent job of getting across the work of Minter and it’s a joy to dive into and explore. Omissions aside, you’ve got one of the best games ever in Tempest 2000, and a great upgrade to Gridrunner backed with some excellent retro classics. The archive materials are flawless, and we can’t think of anyone more worthy than Minter to have been given this sort of treatment. Essential for retro gaming fans, but it still could have been even more.

Overall 8/10

Mr Run and Jump Review (Switch)

Atari has been going full throttle recently with both its back catalogue and trying to bring new IP to the market as well as merchandise and original cartridges for legacy systems. We’ve covered multiple releases so far with many more falling by the wayside as the sheer amount of them are seemingly near impossible to cover. Mr Run and Jump is an attempt to create something new in the retro style and possibly set up a new mascot for the company as well. It’s a good thing then that it’s actually pretty good fun.

Mr Run and Jump follows in the footsteps of the host of indie hardcore platformers out there. A sort of neon Super Meat Boy if you will. And it is pretty hardcore. The levels get difficult quickly and though the game is short, the individual levels are lengthier than you would expect from this sort of game. You don’t have to beat them in one go though. Each stage is built out of a number of different screens and when you move from one to the next it acts like a checkpoint. Of course, one touch and you will die but at least you are not sent back too far each time. For those that die often and want to progress there is the option to turn Mr Run and Jump rainbow which makes him much more durable.

The thing that sets it apart from many of them is its visual style. It has a clear vector design with objects and characters outlined with different neon colours. This perfectly captures the retro feel that the game is going for. The simple but striking design also makes it clearer for players to identify traps and obstacles meaning it’s easier to concentrate on racing through the levels. In terms of the look of the game it’s a resounding success.

Each level is filled to the brim with spikes, traps and enemies and you’ll need to be using your entire move set pretty early on in order to even have a chance of getting to the next area. Mr Run and Jump can double jump and wall slide, roll and sort of rocket along with the moves chainable in quick succession. A simple jump will quickly not do, so before you know it you’ll have to jump, slide down the wall before rocketing between a set of spikes or enemies. It’s helpful then that Mr Run and Jump is responsive and easy to control, which of course means everyone of the many deaths you will suffer are entirely down to you. There’s a host of collectables in each stage for the platforming sadists out there with both shards and orbs (retrieved from even more devious trap filled rooms) filling each stage and needed to access the later levels of the games.

Overall, this is a good step from Atari and trying to establish some new franchises, while also tapping into the nostalgia held by both the brand and in the minds of the many gamers that still recognise Atari with fondness from their youth. It must also be said that Atari hasn’t really put a step wrong so far in this mass marketing of their held IP. The many arcade revivals, collections, and it’s Warioware alike have all been fun, well presented, and worth playing. Mr Run and Jump is no different and is another easy recommendation from us.

Overall 8/10

Caverns of Mars: Recharged Review (Switch)

Atari’s recharged series continues to mine from the companies rich back catalogue. We’ve covered some of these before with Gravitar proving to be a blast of arcade fun. We’ll admit to not having played Caverns of Mars before so we are coming into this completely blind.

Like most of these arcade recharges, the gameplay loop is fairly simple. You control your spaceship at it plummets, at speed, ever downward. There’s no way to fly back up so it’s all about avoiding obstacles and blasting enemies to survive. When you reach the bottom of the level it’s on to the next one.

You can’t stop yourself falling but you can slow yourself down by firing your weapon. Each shot fired stalls your downward momentum but you are limited to the amount of fuel you are carrying which continually depletes as you fire. If you completely run out you’ll be falling endlessly with no means of defence so it pays to be cautious. You can also upgrade your gun to things like a triple shot or fast blasting to help your descent.

Your main enemy isn’t the other ships in the levels but the terrain itself. Any hit will reduce your health until you eventually explode. You can blast any terrain away but this can take up a lot of fuel and also often doesn’t give you enough room to safely get through, so it’s often best you try and weave through it and just blast bits off the edges.

The main arcade mode is tough as well, only giving you one life to get through all the levels. There’s no checkpoints or level unlocks either so expect to go through all the levels at once in order to beat the game. There are also missions included which are basically individual courses set up for high score runs. But basically it’s you against the walls until you explode.

Overall, Caverns of Mars: Recharged is one of the better games in the series. It’s setup for short bursts of play and it succeeds in giving a pure blast of arcade action. It looks and sounds great and the controls are very smooth as well. As long as you don’t go in expecting a game with lasting depth there’s more than enough have fun with here.

Overall 7/10

Akka Arrh Review (Switch)

Atari has been treating us to some great reworkings and collections based on its back catalogue for its 50^th anniversary celebrations. The latest is this resurrected arcade game which has been revived and then handed over to the legendary Jeff Minter to give it a modern reworking. We love Jeff Minter, we love arcade games and we love the fact this has been given the usual weird Minter twist.

For those not aware of Minters work you are most likely to have come across it on modern platforms with the Tempest franchise. Tempest 4000 is out on various platforms and the recent Atari collection has Tempest 2000 on it as well. Minter always looks to merge surreal visuals, music and addictive gameplay to create games that could only have come from his mind. And so it proves yet again here.

There are certainly elements of Tempest in Akka Arrh. You are blasting shapes and racking up points while surreal visuals and sounds float around in their glory. Unlike Tempest, this is viewed from a top down perspective. You have a turret set up in the middle of any number of different shapes as enemies swarm towards you from all sides. The aim is to drop a bomb which then explodes any enemies that it touches. These enemies then explode as well causing continual chain reactions. The goal is to use as few bombs as possible to clear the level and rack up a huge score.

This is only the beginning though. As well as bombs you can also fire bullets. These are limited but don’t reset your score when fired. Certain enemies can also only be hit with bullets. If an enemy makes it to your turret they will drop down to your core and try to steal your pods which effectively act as your lives. You can dive down there though where a second turret awaits to blast any intruders.

It all starts out very simply but by the time you hit level eight and above the range of enemies to contend with expands to a point your brain will be trying to analyse how to deal with a whole host of different threats all at the same time. And just because you have ten or more pods going into a level doesn’t mean you have any chance of getting out alive without a serious amount of skill and sharp reflexes.

Overall, Akka Arrh is another example of the surreal fun that Minter can bring. It’s not quite as polished as Tempest but this is a remarkable update of the original arcade game and it holds up well on the Switch. It’s undoubtedly weird but there is a consistent logic and pattern recognition. When you get in the zone you’ll fly through a chunk of levels smashing your previous scores and there’s certainly nothing else out there like it.

Overall 8/10

Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration Review (Switch)

Atari are certainly trying to make an impact with their 50^th anniversary celebrations. First, we had the WarioWare like Atari Mania and now they have released this collection of a significant portion of the companies back catalogue spanning the decades.

Right from the off you can tell care and attention has been put into this. There is an absolute ton of materials captured here. Flyers, adverts, videos, specifications, interviews. On and on it goes spanning game after game and decade after decade. It’s handy then that you can view everything in a sort of virtual timeline.

Broken in five sections, you can trace along the history of Atari and play the games that pop up as well as reading all the supporting materials. It helps make the wealth of information manageable to get through while also looking incredibly cool. Of course, if you want to dive straight into the games there’s the option to just have them listed by console.

The list of games and consoles is exhaustive, starting with Arcade games and the 2600, it runs all the way through to the ill-fated and underrated Jaguar and takes in the 5200, 7800, 800 and Lynx along the way. When it comes to the game selection though, despite there being so many titles here, there are still some disappointing omissions. This is most likely due to licensing but even then, away from Star Wars, Aliens and E.T there’s still some games which have appeared recently elsewhere that don’t make the list.

Most of the key arcade games are here so if you know what you are getting from Missile Command, Asteroids and Centipede you won’t be disappointed. The selection of arcade games is extensive and there’s even a completed prototype in Akka Arrh to try out. Many of the console games included are repeated versions of these games through the years so it’s nice to be able to trace them back to the source and see how they have been converted.

The 2600 will be a struggle for a lot of modern gamers to go back to as it’s very basic but you’ll certainly not be wanting for titles. The key games such as Adventure, Sword Quest and the massively impressive Solaris are here but some key prototypes such as Aqua Adventure are not, which is strange as it’s on the Atari Evercade cart. The 5200 fares better, but only has fives games included. Millipede, Missile Command and Super Breakout are games that appear multiple times across the collection but Bounty Bob Strikes Back and Star Raiders are a welcome addition.

The 7800 has seven games included but in terms of iconic non-arcade games the two key ones are here. Ninja Golf, a weird cross between golf and Kung Fu, and Dark Chambers, a sort of gauntlet clone, are both excellent and well worth spending some time with. Again, there’s a strange omission in the protype of Dessert Falcon. Five 800 games round off the numbered Atari machine offerings with a couple of fun platformers and more arcade conversions.

Sadly, the iconic Lynx is the most badly served of the machines on the collection. Much of the back catalogue is owned by a third party which means the systems best games such as Chips Challenge and Blue Lightning are nowhere to be seen. Instead, we get a disappointing five games of which only Scrapyard Dog and the dual cart of Asteroids and Missile Command really stand out. Hopefully something could be sorted out with regards to this in future with some kind of DLC. If not, then get yourself an Evercade and dive into the two carts dedicated to the system on there.

Interestingly, someone has finally got the Jaguar emulator running properly and nine games are included here. Sadly, a lot of the systems best games where licensed FPS’ such as Alien Vs. Predator and Doom so don’t appear here. Fear not though because amid the mediocrity are two excellent games. Missile Command 3D is a great update on the classic formula and will cost you a small fortune to find the original. Tempest 2000 is one of the best games ever and there is an argument to be made that it’s worth buying the collection based on its inclusion alone. The trippy, psychedelic shooter is a work of genius from the mind of Jeff Minter and an update that eclipses the original arcade game in every single way. It’s utterly brilliant and an essential experience for everyone.

Along with the retro goodness there are also six reimagined versions of the games included. These aren’t the recent separate releases but seemingly exclusives to this collection. There’s a 3D version of Haunted House that works quite well and an update to Super Breakout. The long lost fourth game in the Swordquest series is also here along with a four-player tank game and a super neon version of Yars’ Revenge. VCTR-SCTR rounds out the games and is a fun mix of vector graphics-based games such as Tempest, Lunar Lander and Asteroids.

Overall, Atari 50 is a remarkable collection. There are some omissions, but it seems like everything that could be included has been and the fact the extra mile has been walked to get the Jaguar games up and running shows it’s a project that has been taken seriously. The museum content is excellent and the whole things acts as an interactive guide to one of gaming’s most iconic companies. There’s always going to be something missing for someone, but Tempest 2000 is here and that should be enough to make even the most disappointed of gamers happy.

Overall 8/10

Atari Mania Review (Switch)

 

With the 50^th anniversary of Atari upon us the company is celebrating it’s back catalogue with a host of new versions of classic games, retro collections and this little oddity which aims to tap into the market in between Warioware releases. It’s certainly a creative thing to do and one we’ve seen surprisingly under utilised outside of Nintendo and Atari certainly has a large enough back catalogue to potentially pull it off.

The game starts in suitably quirky fashion with you taking control of the caretaker of the Atari Museum. You can explore the museum which acts as the games small overworld area. Here you collect items that help you solve puzzles and sweep up messes. As you progress through the puzzles, you’ll open more areas and it’s here where you engage with the various challenges as the dreaded dead pixels start appearing and mutating and warping the classic games held within.

The set up is very much the same as Warioware in that you must undertake a number of challenges within a strict time limit before facing off against a boss at the end. The challenges are all based around classic Atari games such as Millipede, Breakout and Haunted House, but they become intwined and mutated as you progress.

For instance, you might be playing as the paddle from Breakout in Millipede and trying to hit it with a ball or playing as the bad guy in Yar’s Revenge and trying to survive being blasted. It’s all very creative and the mix ups all work very well. That is, in terms of ideas at least as some of the games have loose controls that makes the experience much more difficult than it should be. Anything with the breakout paddle is especially susceptible to this as it moves in such a strange way it can be incredibly tough to pass even early challenges.

Most of the games work well, but it becomes frustrating when you are eleven of twelve games into a sequence to then be hit with a run of titles difficult to control which quickly sees you fail the sequence. As the game is fairly small it means players may find themselves stuck very quickly as they continually come up against a sequence of games they can’t get through. Practice does of course help but there is a big difference between a display of skill and fighting the games controls.

The controls really are the biggest issue with the game as everything else is excellently put together. There’s classic box art and manuals to find and unlock and the overworld puzzle aspect works well to keep everything connected. The plot is wonderfully crazy as well and adds another level of fun to everything going on.

Overall, this is a creative and inventive game that uses the back catalogue of one of gaming’s oldest companies in new and fun ways. It’s a certainly charming and people old enough to remember experiencing the titles it features will get a warm nostalgia buzz. But it really needs to have its controls refined for some of the games as too often what should be a fun distraction turns to frustration.

Overall 6/10

Gravitar Recharged Review (Switch)

Atari have been producing their recharged range for a while now, taking classic franchises such as Missile Command and Black Widow and giving them a shiny neon look to bring the arcade fun to a new generation. The latest of these is Gravitar, an inertia-based space shooter and exploration game which formed a popular sub genre in the world of early consoles and microcomputers. Aside from on the Evercade we haven’t really played much of the original Gravitar, but we do love Thrust so this had us excited.

Gravitar Recharged, is very much an arcade experience at heart so if you are after anything more than a high score chasing experience this probably isn’t for you. However, it is a very good arcade experience which perfectly encapsulates the tone of the original while updating the graphics to make them look super neon and vibrant. There is some longevity added through the addition of local co-op multi player missions but really it’s you versus the game for as long as you can survive.

The game starts with you floating in space, orbiting a sun. Planets roll around the sun and you need to jet to them in order to undertake missions. These are varied enough to keep things fun as well and range from simply destroying all enemies to stealing documents, blowing up reactors or setting up sensors. Once a planet has been completed you blast off back into space and its orbital trajectory line disappears from the play field. Once all the planets have been completed you move to a new galaxy and start again.

The main gimmick of the game is that gravity continually pulls your craft down to the surface. Players must boost their engines to stay stable and float around the environments. This is made more difficult by the fact that you only have limited fuel supplies. Once your fuel runs out you will simply fall to the surface below and explode. More fuel can be picked up in levels, along with other power ups and this vital to staying alive.

The ship itself handles really well which means although the game is fairly difficult it is always down to the player when you crash or get blasted out of the sky. You also only have three lives which means you will be restarting often so this really is a throw back to old school gaming. Even Gravity Crash on the Vita didn’t take this approach but if you want to progress here you simply need to learn to the play the game better.

Overall, Gravitar Recharged is successful at what it has set out to do. It has updated the look of a game which first released way way back in 1982 and presented it in a fun way that feels fresh in the modern day. It may not hold players attention for long but in short bursts this is a great blast of retro action and so few games use the inertia gimmick it keeps it unique enough to warrant a place in your library.

Overall 7/10

Kombinera Review (Steam)

 

Written by Thomas G.J. Sharpe

This hardcore shape-concerned puzzler fits neatly into the return of Atari as a publisher. They’ve been pulling from classic IPs to make some remasters of late, and Kombinera is a clever modern descendant that brings enjoyment and enragement. Dependant on taste.

My first impression was the most serious looking epilepsy warning splash screen I’ve ever seen in a computer game. I sent a strongly worded letter of concern to my editor about my retinas. CDPR could have taken some tips on due diligence from Graphite Labs/Joystick on this aspect before triggering fits with Cyberpunk 2077. Kombinera’s visual aesthetic is striking, fun, neon, and flashing. A minimalist, abstract world of balls traversing puzzle-traps, where the player is trying to merge them all together. Each coloured ball has a differing interaction with the components of the levels, be it red spikes that the red ball is immune to or green balls that block green lasers, for instance. The hook is that all the balls move as one. You move the balls left and right and have a strong jump and a weak jump. These 300 levels of headscratchers will test your lateral thinking, with a mild part of platform-y deftness.

Created from a game jam, and through its popularity with various prototypes and the developers iterating it further, this has ended up a fully-fledged game. Game jams manage to generate incredible purity in gameplay loops, as the time constraints require design to be focussed to succeed. The collective movement of the balls is one such hook. Everything in Kombinera is built on this premise, and, as a proof of a good primary loop, it has extensive flexibility and staying power. The story and much of the art and music is in service to the singular purpose you have. These elements are effective in different amounts; the story of a world torn asunder, where the player is trying to reunite all the balls is (I feel) knowingly functionary. The music is more of an attempt to relax the player with its bleep-y electronic chill. The art and colours, stark backgrounds, aid the clarity of the puzzle. Notably the grid in the play area that while not out of place aesthetically, is a way to judge jumping.

While Kombinera shares some DNA with Thomas Was Alone, ibb and obb, or English Country Tune, it manages to be distinct like them rather than an imitator. It seems appropriate that this has been picked up or had some stickiness beyond the morass of puzzle-platformers. It has that thing, and speaking personally, I usually bounce right off stuff like this. The activity of joinin’ yer balls together is supported by a well-managed and creative level design. The building of puzzle complexity is considered carefully, as within each movement puzzle, further actions are slotted in, one at a time, to increase the internal steps to success. Each level develops you to see the solution that is just outside of instant comprehension. There is a fine balance between testing an idea and outright understanding of what the level wants. This element of the puzzle is crucial, because if this is out of balance the player may become frustrated. Get it straight away and you’re going to get bored. Thrashing about trying red herrings, you’re resenting the game. Kombinera is savvy and keenly designed, raising it above an arbitrarily “punishing” experience. This is especially pertinent as the traps are one-hit-killers.

For fans of any shape based, jumping, pixel judging, just-one-more-try, neon-soaked puzzling, epilepsy responsible games this is a winner.

Overall 9/10

Tempest 4000 Review (Switch)

Jeff Minter has been creating unique games for years now, but his most loved creation was for the commercial failure that was the Atari Jaguar. Tempest 2000 proved so popular that even now people hunt out the Jaguar just to play it. It’s easily one of the best games ever made and Minter revisited the formula later via Space Giraffe in 2007 and then again with TxK in2015. Now we have another version of the game for the Switch and it’s been more than worth the wait (it’s basically TxK for console under a new name due to all sorts of weird legal issues which we won’t get into).

As ever, the game is presented in a smooth vector style with your ship moving around the top of a shape and monsters landing and approaching from the bottom. The aim is to stop them reaching the top by blasting them away. When they reach the top of the shape, they begin to move along it and try and grab you. Quick players can duck underneath the enemies as they rotate or blast them off quickly.

As the game progresses the number of enemy types increase far more than in other Tempest games. You may start with the monsters that simply head up and roll across the top of the screen but there are soon enemies that shoot back at you or electrify parts of the vector shape. Things start getting even more crazy as soon as level 10 with giant exploding balls setting off fireworks effects that both look spectacular and dazzle the player in equal measure.  

To help you along the way are a host of power ups which can dramatically change your style of play. Along with more powerful lasers the most useful are the jump and Ai Drone. The jump allows you to leap away from the rim of the level and over creatures moving along the top. The Ai Drone acts as an assistant and will roll along the rim blasting away at enemies. It can even save you if one of the monsters reaches you and begins to drag you away. Our favourite powerup though is one which effectively turns you into a battering ram for a short period time. This allows you to skim across the top and knock off all the monsters that have made that far.

As well as the increased creature types the levels also do some new things. Some continually rotate around while others bend and split meaning that different routes around the shapes open or close as the level progresses. These levels take the simple Tempest formula and create something more intense. This is where the game really shines, and they act to raise an already excellent game to whole new levels.

There are three different modes available in the game but they more or less boil down to the same thing. The Pure mode has you start from level one and go as far as you can before dying. The Classic mode lets you start from any level you have reached with your score and lives intact. This means if you lose two or three lives on a certain stage you can return to them and try and get through with more lives or a higher score. The final mode is Survival. This is like classic, but no extra lives are given throughout the game. All the modes have online scoreboards, but it can be difficult to see where you rank against your friends due to some strange decisions with how information is displayed.

Tempest 4000 represents a game perfect for the Switch. All the neon and music work in tandem with the fast gameplay to create a game perfect for the Switch screen on the go or when docked. This is a game that gets its hooks into you early and just won’t let you go. It’s a full-on adrenaline ride filled with clever touches and the odd moment of quirky humour and exactly the sort of thing we want for the Switch.

Overall 8/10

Evercade Arcade Cartridges Roundup

The end of 2021 brought the release of the first Evercade arcade cartridges to the system. Here we look at the initial four releases and see if they can kick start the nostalgia of gathering around a coin op machine with a bunch of sweaty teens.

Technos Arcade 1

Technos is best known for its side scrolling beat’em ups and that is what makes up the most high-profile offerings on this cart. In total eight games are included with Double Dragon 2 and 3 and Combatribes being the signature fighting games. Of these, Combatribes is the most fun and allows for three players to bash skulls together. Unfortunately, the two Double Dragon games don’t stack up as well. DD2 is ok but the third game is a jerky mess. Wrestling game Mania Challenge is also included but is currently broken and unplayable. Once it’s fixed it should be a fun distraction.

Aside from punching people there is a decent Tetris like in Blockout, an average single screen platformer in Minki Monkey and a hard as nails scrolling shooter called Battle Lane Vol 5. None are particularly remarkable unfortunately. Mysterious Stones is an interesting adventure game but often proves too frustrating to be any real fun.

Unfortunately, though the Technos cart looks good on paper the reality is it’s one of the weaker ones available on the system and while the original Double Dragon has performance issues it would still have been nice to see it here.  Combatribes is still great fun in multi-player though so it shouldn’t be completely disregarded.

Atari Arcade 1

The Atari cart takes us back to the early days of arcade gaming with a host of simply yet fun titles. There are thirteen games in total, and many will be familiar to those of a certain age. Arcade icons Centipede, Millipede, Super Breakout and Missile Command are here and are still fun, high score chasing, distractions to engage with. Missile Command is also very much playable without the spinner ball which is good to see. Asteroids is also here - though it’s the original version of the game rather than ‘Asteroids Deluxe’ which is the game it says is included. This is an unfortunate oversight, but it will likely be down to your personal preference how much this bothers you.

Lunar Lander and Liberator seem to have lost some of their original magic now, but they are both still well worth checking out. We can’t see many people spending much time with Night Driver though. Crystal Castles is another solid addition and is by far the best version of the 3D gem collector which is often completely wrecked when it’s been converted to home systems.

There are also a host of great fun multi player games included. The original Pong proves strangely addictive, while Skydiver and Canyon Bomber will see players getting far more competitive than they probably should as they blast blocks and land little parachuting sprites. The standout though is the four player Warlords. Essentially a multiplayer version of breakout players must knock away the shield of their opponents bases while protecting their own. It runs at a breakneck speed and is a lot of fun.

Data East Arcade 1

You get ten games on the Data East cart and all of them are worth playing. Two of the companies most famous games are included in Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninja and Sly Spy and both are as fun now as you remember them being. The big chunky graphics and nonstop action mean you’ll likely play them through multiple times. Classic Data East is also on show with Burger Time and Lock ‘n’ Chase providing old school platform and maze action respectively. Both are games that still hold up today and it’s great to see the contrast in Data East’s back catalogue represented.

Both Dark Seal games (Gate of Doom and Wizard Fire) are included as well. Wizard Fire is the better of the two games, but both are solid isometric style beat’em ups with some impressive magic spell effects and monsters to slay.

Shoot’em ups are also represented with Breakthru and Darwin 4078. Breakthru is a fun but brief side scrolling car-based shooter which is strangely addictive. Darwin 4078 is of the vertically scrolling variety and is perhaps the weakest of the games on the cart. That said, it is still solid and well worth spending some time with.

Chain Reaction is a great puzzle game and is basically Magical Drop without the license attached. It works in the same way with shapes needing to be thrown up the screen to make chains that then disappear. We’ve had Magical Drop before on the Evercade but there’s always room for more when the quality is this high.

The highlight of an already excellent package though is Tumblepop. It’s a classic single screen arcade platform game in the truest sense. It’s from the same school as games like Bubble Bobble and Snow Bros and has players sucking up enemies with a vacuum before blasting them back out. The more enemies you can suck up at once then the bigger the projectile you can then shoot back out. You must be careful though as you can only keep the baddies in the sack for a very limited period before they break out and kill you. There’s a wealth of levels here to enjoy and some impressive boss battles as well.

Gaelco Arcade 1

The Gaelco cart only has six games, but this is a real find for the Evercade team. The developer is obscure, and these games haven’t been converted to home systems so many players will be experiencing them for the first time. Glass and Thunder Hoop are the weakest of the games but remain fun. Thunder Hoop is a platform shooter which works well, and Glass is a strange sort of single screen shooter where you must eliminate enemies and blocks. Thunder Hoop does currently have a bug where if you die on level 4 or above it crashes the games unfortunately, but it can be circumvented via save states.

Bio Mechanical Toy is a great Amiga style platform shooter with big graphics and fast paced action. It would fit well on home systems of the time, so this is a real hidden gem. Alligator Hunt is another great fun blasting game in the style of Wild Guns. The Crossshairs shooter is an intense experience and zips along nicely.

Snowboard Championship and World Rally are both examples of great beat the clock racing games. Movement and sense of speed is great, and you’ll be frantically looking for the perfect lines to shave vital seconds off your times. They are both quite tough but also fun and addictive enough to mean you’ll keep coming back to them.

Overall, the first set of arcade carts is a strong showing. The Technos cart is weak but the other three cover a range of arcade experiences and each really highlight fun games that players will want to return to both in single and multiplayer. The biggest issue is that three of the four carts have bugs or curation errors. Some of these are more serious than others and hopefully all will be resolved quickly with updates. Overall though this is a positive start of the Evercade arcade experience.

Atari 2600/7800: A Visual Compendium Review

For those of you that read our recent review of the SNES Pixel Book you’ll know we are becoming very big fans of Bitmap Books. The visual compendium series now stretches across a whole range of computers and consoles and we thought the best place to start would be with one of the earliest games machines of them all.

As its name suggests the Atari 2600/7800 compendium covers an absolutely massive range of games from the two systems. There are screen shots galore, interviews and short features from a host of industry legends and developers and it has all been curated as thoughtfully as ever. If you are a fan of gaming history then this book alone will give you a well-rounded understanding of the games, systems and general state of the industry at the time from an Atari point of view.

The cover and slip case are of the standard we have now come to expect from the company. A simple design featuring a host of characters from iconic games is used which allows for clear visual identification of which system the book is aimed at. The slip case also has a hologram element to it so you can see the characters move to different poses depending on what angle you are looking at it from. It’s a nice touch that mimics the animation style of the games in a fun way.

The book starts with an excellent and extensive historical piece before leading into the beautifully captured shots of the blocky pixels that the 2600 produced. Most games are presented as a single shot spread over a double page with decent chunk of text from industry veterans included to tell you about any interesting trivia or historical context surrounding it. Despite the basic level of graphics the 2600 was capable of producing the pictures used are incredibly crisp and show the minimalist design off to its absolute best. It’s a wonderful achievement to make some of these games look so good.

Aside from the games there are also detailed interviews with important figures from the time such as Carol Shaw, Joe Decuir and Dennis Koble and profiles of important publishing houses such as Activision and Imagic. These pieces really help to give greater insight into the time period and the process of developing and publishing for the systems and further moves the book closer to being a sort of one stop shop for all the information you might need.

As you work through to the end of the 2600 games you’ll find that an interesting section dedicated to unreleased prototypes. Here, designers and programmers give information on the aim of the titles and offer insights into where they may have fitted into the market any why they never made. It’s a brief section but again shows the level of detail that has been included when compiling the book.

There’s also a great section focusing on the box art of the games which highlights some of the awesome designers and art work that has been produced for the system. It’s guaranteed to get anyone who remembers buying games purely based on the picture on the front drowning in a sea of nostalgia.

The 7800 section of the book is just as detailed with the superior graphical power showcased in just as careful and considered a way as its predecessor. It also helps to show there was much more to the 7800 than just Ninja Golf (which everyone seems to have discovered via the Evercade).  

Overall, this is another release from Bitmap Books that is absolutely packed with content. There is so much in here that it’ll take you a good while to be able to take everything in. It’s not just the information or screenshots that set the book apart though. Everything here is considered and thought about from placement of graphics to curation to overall page design and visual signification. If only all books would take this sort of care and attention when it came to their subject matter.

Click here for store link.

Atari Lynx Collection 1 Review (Evercade)

 

Atari’s handheld is getting a much deserved lease of life on the Evercade. While the second collection arguably contains the more high profile Lynx releases,  this one still contains a number of games that often pop up on the ‘must have’ lists for the console. Seventeen Lynx cartridges are included here and they cover a wide range of genres. For the most part they are also pretty strong which helps to cements the Evercade as a truly viable alternative to the original hardware.

The cart contains a mixture of sport, platform, puzzle and arcade games along with a few curios such as the Megapak which is really just some fancy filler containing a calculator and a game and watch game. The other game that doesn’t really fit the mould is point and click adventure Dracula the Undead. Remarkable the Lynx interface for the game works really well and allows for an enjoyable experience for players exploring the castle.

The sports games included contain the weak Basket Brawl, but also the excellent Awesome Golf – which certainly lives up to its name. There’s a whole host of courses and clubs to pick from and it works perfectly as pick up and play title that also contains a surprising amount of depth. Malibu Biki Volleyball is a solid representation of the sport certainly fun in small doses and Jimmy Connors Tennis, though tricky to start, has a wealth of opponents and techniques to play with. It’s remarkable how well most of these retro sports titles hold up and there are certainly hours to be lost here for many a gamer on the move.

Puzzles games are also well represented. Xump is an addictive little game where players collapse platforms and have to plot a route to eliminate all of them in order to win the level. The basic premise is played around with as you progress introducing platforms that need to be touched more than once along with a host of other things which keep the experience compelling throughout.

Loopz is a shape matching game where players have to create loops of pipe in an enclosed area against the clock. Once a pipe loop has been formed it disappears (much like Tetris), and the score hunting continues. Ishido: The Way of the Stones, is a Shanghai-like matching games that is stupidly addictive and likely to take up far more of your time than it should. All of these games are welcome additions to the collection.

Perhaps unexpectedly there are also two 3D style games included. Unfortunately, neither of them is the exceptional port of Battlezone. Remanant, is the space take on it and it’s a little basic but Cyber Virus is a much better candidate for your time with some decent graphics and far more varied missions structure. We just hope Battlezone makes its way to the console in the future.

The collection also has a host of good platform games included. Scrapyard Dog is a basic, but great fun, handheld platform game. Players need to avoid enemies and make their way to end of each level as you chase after your stolen dog. Levels are varied in design and once you get used to the difficulty it’s a rewarding experience, it has some Gameboy Mario-esque flying sections. Gordo 106, follows much in the same vein as you play as a monkey trying to escape from a lab by throwing apples at scientists and avoiding traps. It’s another highlight from an already packed collection.

A slightly different take on the genre comes in the form of Power Factor. It takes more of a run and gun approach and also allows your character to fly around. It could do with the camera being zoomed out a bit as it can be difficult to avoid obstacles and traps but it remains a solid overall experience that is still worth playing.

Crystal Mines II: Buried Treasure, is an excellent take on the Boulder Dash/ Repton style and also contains several hundred levels to get through. It’s always adding something to the mix to keep things fresh as well and is one of the games you are likely to return to again and again. Just remember to bring your patience with you as this game can be tough.

The Lynx always did arcade conversions well and the Super Asteroids/Missile Command double included on here out performs the previous versions we have had on the Evercade. We are confident to say that these will be the versions that fans will return to the most.

The final game here is Super Sqweek which tries to combine elements from a ton of different sources into one glorious mess. The basic idea is you have to change the colour of tiles by walking over them and then when enough have been changed you can reach the exit. There are traps and enemies to avoid and you can also shoot which adds a sort of top down blaster element. There’s tons of things to play around with here and it’s a wonderfully unique and inventive game and this is a very good version of it.

Overall, the first Lynx collection may not have the big names that the second one does but contains so much quality spread across so many different genres that it is an utterly essential purchase. It ticks all the boxes and brings together a strong line up from a console that is difficult to source. This is the sort of collection that we hope we see more of on the Evercade and it’s one of the strongest releases available.

Overall –

Scrapyard Dog                                                                   4/5

Basketbrawl                                                                       2/5

Super Asteroids/Missile Command®                               4/5

Awesome Golf                                                                  4/5

Crystal Mines II: Buried Treasure                                    4/5

CyberVirus                                                                        3/5

Dracula the Undead                                                          3/5

Gordo 106                                                                         4/5

Ishido: The Way of Stones                                               4/5

Jimmy Connors Tennis                                                     3/5

Loopz                                                                                3/5

Malibu Bikini Volleyball                                                  3/5

MegaPak                                                                           N/A

Power Factor                                                                     3/5

Remnant                                                                            2/5

Super Sqweek                                                                   4/5

Xump                                                                                 4/5

Atari Lynx Collection 2 Review (Evercade)

Atari games have proved popular on the Evercade and when it became apparent that games for its Lynx hand held would be coming to the system we couldn’t help but raise a smile. The Lynx is an often overlooked system that contains a ton of great games with the only real drawback being it eats through batteries at an alarming rate.

This second collection contains eight games (the first collection contains more than double this), but the majority of them are among the most iconic games available on the system and at the current price point this represents a much more cost effective way of getting hold of some of the hard to obtain ones.

The weakest game here is Zarlor Mercenary which doesn’t really hold up anymore. It’s a vertically scrolling shooter but it moves far too slowly and the collision detection in dubious at best. There are only a handful of stages but the difficulty has been thrown through the roof to compensate for this. The fact you have a health bar is also a bad sign as it shows the developers knew you’d be taking hits you couldn’t avoid.

Much more fun is side scrolling shooter Gates of Zendocon. The action is much more consistent than with Zarlor Mercenary and most stages have multiple exits meaning you can take numerous routes through the game. Each level is graphically different as well and there is good variation of enemy types meaning you should have enough interest to stick with until the end. It’s still a bit slow but the creative nature of it makes this entirely forgivable.

You also get a solid racing game in Checkered Flag and a more than adequate conversion of arcade game Electro Cop. Both games use a faux 3D style with Checkered Flag having a decent enough display distance to see what’s coming and Electro Cop allowing players to run into and out of the screen as they explore ever deeper into tunnel-like complexes while blasting enemies and accessing computers. While not spectacular, that are both solid additions.

It’s the other games here though that will likely be the main draw for those looking to experience some of the Atari Lynx magic. California Games is obviously a much loved classic and remains both as fun and infuriating as it always has across its limited number of events. It’s never been a game we particular loved but for those that do you won’t be disappointed with this version.

Todd’s Adventures in Slimeworld is another of the ‘main event’ games on show and is a great platform maze game where you set up your rule set and then have to make it through to an extraction point. The camera takes a bit of getting used to due to the duck button also moving the camera down. Once you get it though there are a ton of different modes here to play around with and it will potentially be one you return to often to test your skills against.

Another Lynx classic is Blue Lightning. It’s kind of the Lynx version of After Burner but missions often have more complexity to them and require specific targets to be eliminated before you can move on. Later levels are tough but the save state system helps to alleviate much of the frustration that gamers would have felt playing it on the original hardware. We really enjoyed this and it was nice to finally be able to officially play a game we’d been aware of for years but never managed to get hold of.

The best game on show though is of the course the now legendary Chip's Challenge. It’s a pretty much perfect top down puzzle game where you need to make your way around an enclosed level hitting switches and collecting chips. Once this is done you can exit and move on. There are so many different takes on the puzzles with new elements and enemies added constantly. There are also an absolute ton of levels to get through so it’s not going to be a game that you finish quickly. It’s a classic and a game that everyone should play.

Overall, the second Lynx collection is an essential pick up for retro game fans. There may be less games than on the first collection but what’s here are among some of the best and most iconic tiles that the system had. Bar getting hold of a working Lynx and several hundred batteries this is by far the best way to play them today.

Overall -

California Games              3/5

Todd in Slime World        4/5

Electro Cop                         3/5

Gates of Zendocon          3/5

Zarlor Mercenary             2/5

Blue Lightning                    4/5

Chip's Challenge                5/5

Checkered Flag                  3/5

Atari Collection 1 (Evercade Review)

The first Atari collection for the Evercade contains twenty game split across the Atari 2600 and 7800 systems. These two systems aren’t ones that appear too often in terms of collections so it provides those interested in a slice of gaming history a different place to start. That said, whether having a collection 2600 arcade ports is something the gaming community wants or needs is something else entirely.

The 2600 games are a mixed bag in terms of quality and many of them simply don’t hold up well anymore. This isn’t a greatest hits collection by any means and many of these wouldn’t be troubling the tops spots on any Atari 2600 games list. Gravitar, Missile Command Centipede and Asteroids offer speedy, solid representations of their arcade counterparts but the two standout games are Adventure and Aquaventure.

Adventure does an excellent job of creating an engaging quest with minimal graphics and is rightly regarded as something of a land mark title. Aquaventure has you descending into the depths, avoiding enemies so that you can grab treasure and then trying to get back to the surface in one piece. It’s remarkably addictive and will have you returning long after the novelty of many of the other titles has worn off.

The standout among the 7800 games is Ninja Golf. A crazy mix between golf and a scrolling fighter, it has players running to where they have hit their ball while fighting off a wide variety of enemies such as ninja’s, snakes and sharks. The environment and enemies change depending on if you are in the water, rough or on the fairway and once the green is reached you face a showdown with a dragon from a first person perspective. It’s the sort of hidden gem we would like to see more of on the Evercade. Unfortunately the other 7800 games aren’t anything really to write home about.

Overall, the first Evercade Atari collection is a mixed bag. There are only three games here that we would whole heartedly recommend but they are real highlights. The cartridge is interesting and does showcase an often overlooked part of gaming history. The relatively low price does make it easier to recommend in order to get hold of Ninja Golf, but there’s no hiding the fact that there are far better examples of the 2600 and 7800 out there that could have been included. A cautious thumbs up for retro fans then.

 

Game Ratings:

7800                                                                     

Ninja Golf         5/5                                                  

Alien Brigade    2/5                                           

Food Fight         3/5                                                  

Motor Psycho    3/5                                            

2600                                                                              

Adventure         4/5   

Aquaventure     4/5

Asteroids          3/5

Double Dunk    1/5

Centipede         3/5

Crystal Castles 2/5

Canyon Bomber 2/5

Desert Falcon    3/5

Gravitar             3/5

Missile Command 3/5

Night Driver     1/5   

Steeple Chase   2/5

Swordquest      3/5

Tempest           2/5

Video Pinball   2/5

Yars Return      1/5