The Ten Most Classic Atari Games of All Time
Every single time I visit my nephew and niece I get nostalgic about video games. At the current time I barely play any. Don’t get me wrong. I love video games but I just don’t have the time to play them which is why every time I’m sitting in front of a Wii I love it.
But at the same time it makes me miss the simpler days when games were such a new thing that no matter how bad the graphics they were amazing. Times like Atari and Caleco.
If someone installed an Atari into my television I’d be pinned to it for hours on end. Speaking of Atari, here are 10 games I truly miss the most….
Pitfall
Were you as blown away when you first saw Pitfall Harry swing on that vine? Did you cringe having to cross the crocodile infested ponds? And did you ever wonder where in the heck those underground caverns lead? And how about those noises? Even though it sucked to fall the sound the game made was amazing.
Bowling
Personally I think this was the best sports game in the history of Atari. I feel it was more for the sound than anything else. Can you hear it? I can. It was amazing. Getting a strike was the best thing on earth.
Donkey Kong
I remember how real I used to think this game was. It was as if I was truly in that room with the big ape throwing those barrels at me. What a challenge. How fun! Yippee!
Pac-man or Ms. Pac-man
Either one is fine and both were amazing. And can you ever really argue against Pac-man? I don’t think so.
Breakout
You know a game is awesome when it’s evolved over the years and literally 1000’s of games out there mimic its style. I mean think about how many breakout type games there are out there. Hell I have them on my cell phone. What a great concept.
Kaboom!
There’s something special about racing the mad bomber that keeps Kaboom! in so many classic lists. The game is so simple, fast, easy, and fun to play that it’s no wonder everyone who played it got hooked
Space Invaders
Does it get more classic than Space Invaders? Doubtful. When the world was going crazy for the arcade version of Space Invaders, this was the only system that allowed you to play it at home
Combat
Remember when you’d get stuck in this game and you couldn’t move your guy? How crappy was that? It got to the point where i got so bored and just kept shooting bullets at the walls.
Asteroids
Do you have any concept how big of a game Asteroids is? Not in code size, but in sheer popularity and name recognition. THIS, my friends, is the game that brought down the mighty Space Invaders
Keystone Kapers
I’m pretty sure this is my favorite Atari game of all time. This was one of the very first action type games where you really had to use your memory. Remember all the obstacles? Man this brings back memories.
*Centipede – I didn’t forget this one I just liked the others better.
River Raid 1 & 2
Bump ‘N’ Jump?!?!
Thank gord you put Kaboom! on your list and saved me from needing to get all upity about it. I don’t have the energy for that today.
Um we had an Atari ST which was our first video game console; Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters was my favourite<.<
Pac-man was one of the worst games for the Atari. Look at it! It was so buggy and glitchy and rectangles and square instead of dots. Terrible. My personal favorite was Night Driver.
Yep,
Those were some great titles back in the day, ,many hours after school I spend with my bros playing some of these titles, I loved River Raid as well. Some other ones that were not mentioned were Adventure, Superman, Gyruss, and Golf. The three on three football was not bad, but the baseball game was very weak. Missle Command wasted a bunch of my time as well. Keep up the good nostalgic work!
On more that one occasion, my brother and I were late for school because mom was setting a new record in Space Invaders or Pac Man (see could roll the score over back to zero on both games). Thank the programmers for the “pause” button on NES.
Adventure and Yar’s Revenge . . . I miss them.
Where is Missle Command? That game was perfect for Atari and I know several people who nearly lost fingers because of it.
Well, golly.
I’m NOT the only internet user old enough to have played these games the years they came out.
No love for joust?
No Pitfall?
TEMPEST! Best video game in the history of video games.
#1: FROGS & FLIES
Frogs & Flies is the best 2 player video game ever.
It never makes these lists, but no gaming experience will ever beat the simple purity of timing your leaps and licks for those digital flies, all the while talking horrendous trash about one of your bests friends and their entire family.
#2: Frogger
I don’t really need to say shit. You all already know.
How was it left of the list?… waaaaaaay better than pitfall (possibly the most overrated ‘classic’ game of all time).