Atari's Top Ten Video Games

Atari has put out many wonderful video games, of which has given us many years of delightful family entertainment. This is a list of ten of our family favorites.

1. Pong

No list of Atari games would be complete without this granddaddy of all video games. My husband and I first became acquainted with Pong in the early 1970's, when we would go to the snack bar on base. In the mid-70's when Atari, Inc. came out with the home version, my mother-in-law sent us one for Christmas. We were so happy with our new gift, and we no longer had to make excuses to go to the snack bar just so we could play Pong.

This game's genre is Sports, and it is much like playing Ping-Pong.

2. Pac-Man

The player at the controls guides Pac-Man through a maze, where he eats Pac-dots alongthe way. You have to be careful though; you don't want one of the four ghosts to touch Pac-man, or he looses his life.

By the time the home version of Pac-Man came out in the 1980's, we were having our children. It was so cute to watch their little fingers maneuver Pac-Man around the maze.

This game's genre is Maze, and it was first released in 1982.

We were hooked. Up to this point in time we had played mostly board games, but we were now becoming a family of gamers.

3. Adventure

The goal of this game is to find the chalice and return it to the castle. There castle mazes, and different rooms to explore. There are three dragons to boost the excitement level, and a bot who tries to steal your sword.

This game's genre is Action-Adventure, though it would fit in the Maze category as well.

4. Break Out

This is an arcade game for 1-2 players which alternate turns. In this game there is a ball, paddle and bricks that line the top part of the screen and sides. The player keeps the ball in play be hitting the ball with his paddle, hitting the bricks; destroying them. The player looses his turn if the ball hit's the floor.

This games genre is Arcade.

5. Pitfall

Pitfall Harry has to jump over pits to keep from getting eaten by crocodiles. There are other hazards along the way as well. It was a lot of fun to play.

This game's genre is Platforming.

6. Haunted House

The haunted house has three floors and a basement. The player may carry only one item at a time; either the key to open the door, o the scepter, which is used to keep evil spirits away, or the urn. While making your way through the house, you must avoid the bat, tarantula, or the ghost of the previous homeowner.

This game's genre is Action-Adventure and Survival.

7. Rampart

Though there is a castle in this game, it is not at all like Adventure where you have to find the chalice, in Rampart you have to protect your castle from invading enemy ships.

This game's genre is Strategy and Puzzles.

8. Centipede

This game was one of Atari's biggest sellers, and one of the reasons why it was so popular was, it was easy to play and learn. The player has to destroy all the sections of the centipede while watching out for spiders and fleas.

This game's genre is Arcade.

9. Asteroids

The object of this game is really quite simple. You shoot at the space rocks, while trying to make sure that your space ship doesn't get hit.

The genre of this game is Multi-directional shooter

10. Crystal Castles

This is an arcade game for up to 2 players, alternating turns. Crystal Castles has nine different levels, with 4 castles each. On the tenth level there is only one castle. Each of the castles is a maze of stairs and hallways filled with jewels. There are also elevators and tunnels to use as shortcuts. When all of the jewels are collected in one castle, the player moves on to the next. One thing I like about this game is the three letter initials of the player with the highest score, are used to form the first level of the castle structure.