Gave me a chuckle. It's amazing how many of these games are not originals but rather arcade games from the '70s that were ported (which I didn't know). I guess you could consider them play-tested in the wild. I'm glad they combined two games in one, which is what Odyssey² was doing with their carts. Game variations was one of Atari's strengths before they stopped it in 1982, and the lack was Activision's weakness, which is probably why their only game I bought was Pitfall!.
I'm not good enough at the game to verify, but the manual at least says that if you're playing with limited bombs, the game won't end when you hit 1000 Points - it only does that in the unlimited bombs setting and Sea Bomber.
I always liked how this early era of 2600 releases shared elements, it kind of makes for a good house style for sure. I'd not really played CB much (being outside the US, and never having a set of paddles during the heyday kind of put pain to that), but it was certainly a wonderful look at another slice of the 2600's legacy.
I'm a big fan, as always you manage to be entertaining, informative, and interesting. It's a shame the 2600 doesn't have the draw of the NES or SNES on UA-cam, but that may change as you begin to hit more iconic titles. Keep it up Kevin, this is a noble cause.
I'm really pushing to get through 1979 in time to cover Adventure and Space Invaders next March, when both games have their 30th anniversary! Doesn't get much more emblematic of the platform than those two.
Green and blue Atari Logbook challenge: play game 1 with difficulty switch on B, getting as high a score as possible with 6 misses. Pro (Bombardier): 800, Master (Crew Captain): 1200, Wizard (Air Force Commander): 1600. I may have been great with this as a kid before I got the blue logbook in 1982, but don't have the scores to prove it. I made Pro, then Master in the 1990s. The computer player doesn't aim, so he's not that helpful getting the last few bricks, but "steals" a lot of points when the canyon resets. I have notes that say 350 points per level, which I think is an average for your share. If so, then I may have had to clear 2 canyons to make Pro, and 3 to make Master, so would need to clear 4 to make Wizard.
I can't remember ever thinking that returning an Atari game was an option. But maybe I liked the ones I got enough and didn't buy more than three 3rd-party games. I do remember picking out Canyon Bomber along with another cartridge (as birthday present, Spring 1980?). Maybe I remember it but not the other, because I was disappointed in it? But I don't see any better game from 1977-79 that I didn't have and would have wanted more, unless Air-Sea Battle? There were some good games that came out in 1980, which I did get, but not sure of their release dates. I thought Circus Atari was great when I played it at another kid's home. A year or two later I liked playing Backgammon and Othello as board games, though didn't get these three as a kid (unless you count the VIC-20 version of Circus). I got Video Pinball next birthday, I think. I liked Skiing on the Odyssey², and the Activision game is pretty good, but only got the latter as an adult.
@@thiscorrosion900 I think Space War was part of the starting set I got with my Atari, maybe as a Christmas present 1979? This was before Space Invaders (1980), Missile Command (1981) and Asteroids (1982). His review says the sun's gravity option should have been stronger like the arcade game. I think one of the appeals of home computers was the idea that kids could create their own games (yeah, right). BASIC Programming would have been a serious disappointment, like getting a computer with no magnetic media to save programs. Maybe it would have worked with something like the Supercharger had they built it to save programs to tape as well as read them.
One other thing I noticed was all the 3rd-party cartridges at Zayre's in ~1983 that were previously opened and taped shut. I wonder if kids "rented" them by buying one and returning it a week later either for cash or exchange? I didn't buy any from the "bargain bin", but played some at other kids' homes.
@@sandal_thong8631 That's entirely possible. Mostly here in LI NY back then we'd buy the games at Child World, Toys R Us, Sears, etc. Alexanders, stores of that kind. I don't think they were supposed to resell repack games, but return them to the distributor. But not sure what really went on haha!
That David Crane anti-gravity story was hilarious!
Gave me a chuckle.
It's amazing how many of these games are not originals but rather arcade games from the '70s that were ported (which I didn't know). I guess you could consider them play-tested in the wild. I'm glad they combined two games in one, which is what Odyssey² was doing with their carts. Game variations was one of Atari's strengths before they stopped it in 1982, and the lack was Activision's weakness, which is probably why their only game I bought was Pitfall!.
My daughter and I are loving it on the 2600+! Great video! 👍
Another great episode, keep up the good work :)
I'm not good enough at the game to verify, but the manual at least says that if you're playing with limited bombs, the game won't end when you hit 1000 Points - it only does that in the unlimited bombs setting and Sea Bomber.
I always liked how this early era of 2600 releases shared elements, it kind of makes for a good house style for sure.
I'd not really played CB much (being outside the US, and never having a set of paddles during the heyday kind of put pain to that), but it was certainly a wonderful look at another slice of the 2600's legacy.
Somehow I never knew about this game until just now. Of course I already bought a copy during the viewing of this video.
I'm a big fan, as always you manage to be entertaining, informative, and interesting. It's a shame the 2600 doesn't have the draw of the NES or SNES on UA-cam, but that may change as you begin to hit more iconic titles. Keep it up Kevin, this is a noble cause.
I'm really pushing to get through 1979 in time to cover Adventure and Space Invaders next March, when both games have their 30th anniversary! Doesn't get much more emblematic of the platform than those two.
Great work as usual. Keep it up.
Green and blue Atari Logbook challenge: play game 1 with difficulty switch on B, getting as high a score as possible with 6 misses.
Pro (Bombardier): 800,
Master (Crew Captain): 1200,
Wizard (Air Force Commander): 1600.
I may have been great with this as a kid before I got the blue logbook in 1982, but don't have the scores to prove it. I made Pro, then Master in the 1990s. The computer player doesn't aim, so he's not that helpful getting the last few bricks, but "steals" a lot of points when the canyon resets. I have notes that say 350 points per level, which I think is an average for your share. If so, then I may have had to clear 2 canyons to make Pro, and 3 to make Master, so would need to clear 4 to make Wizard.
i think this was another cart we returned, cause it was boring and not a good solo game at all. I also got Skydiver, which was pretty good.
I can't remember ever thinking that returning an Atari game was an option. But maybe I liked the ones I got enough and didn't buy more than three 3rd-party games. I do remember picking out Canyon Bomber along with another cartridge (as birthday present, Spring 1980?). Maybe I remember it but not the other, because I was disappointed in it? But I don't see any better game from 1977-79 that I didn't have and would have wanted more, unless Air-Sea Battle? There were some good games that came out in 1980, which I did get, but not sure of their release dates. I thought Circus Atari was great when I played it at another kid's home. A year or two later I liked playing Backgammon and Othello as board games, though didn't get these three as a kid (unless you count the VIC-20 version of Circus). I got Video Pinball next birthday, I think. I liked Skiing on the Odyssey², and the Activision game is pretty good, but only got the latter as an adult.
@@sandal_thong8631 I definitely exchanged a couple of bum games. Space War was the worst offender. BASIC Programming would have been a close second.
@@thiscorrosion900 I think Space War was part of the starting set I got with my Atari, maybe as a Christmas present 1979? This was before Space Invaders (1980), Missile Command (1981) and Asteroids (1982). His review says the sun's gravity option should have been stronger like the arcade game.
I think one of the appeals of home computers was the idea that kids could create their own games (yeah, right). BASIC Programming would have been a serious disappointment, like getting a computer with no magnetic media to save programs. Maybe it would have worked with something like the Supercharger had they built it to save programs to tape as well as read them.
One other thing I noticed was all the 3rd-party cartridges at Zayre's in ~1983 that were previously opened and taped shut. I wonder if kids "rented" them by buying one and returning it a week later either for cash or exchange? I didn't buy any from the "bargain bin", but played some at other kids' homes.
@@sandal_thong8631 That's entirely possible. Mostly here in LI NY back then we'd buy the games at Child World, Toys R Us, Sears, etc. Alexanders, stores of that kind. I don't think they were supposed to resell repack games, but return them to the distributor. But not sure what really went on haha!