Top 10 Atari 2600 Games

I love the Atari 2600. The original, the emulators, all of it. I love the games, the retro feel, the memories. I had an Atari, after all. Most children of the 70s did.

As such, I've decided to list some of the top games for the Atari 2600. If you happen to have one of these bad boys, these are the games to get. If you're playing an emulator and want an old-but-new game to play, this list is for you, too.

Without further ado, the top ten atari games in no particular order.

Space Invaders

As much a cultural icon as Mario, space invaders continues to invade pop culture. What's not to love about the game? It's simple to understand but challenging to play, because it just keeps getting harder and harder. The music will live on in your head long after the game ends, and you'll perpetually find yourself saying "If I'd had just one more life...". Indeed. You can always try again tomorrow.

For those not familiar, space invaders is simple. Shoot your laser cannon at invading aliens in the sky. The aliens fire projectiles back at your cannon, destroying the bunkers you hide behind, and sometimes you. The aliens march down the screen trying to invade, and the suspense builds. Kill them all, and you'll be rewarded with another wave. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Pac Man

Pac Man could singlehandedly define the 80s. This game was in every game and every home I've ever known. It spawned more than a few spin-offs, including Ms. Pac Man, and is beloved to this day. Are we scarred by the 80s if we can't remove 2 slices from a full pizza without seeing Pac Man?

The premise is simple. Pac man runs around a maze gobbling up pellets while ghosts chase him. If he can get to a big pellet, the ghosts run scared and he can eat them. When the maze is cleared, it begins again. I don't need to tell you this, though. Pac Man is easily identified by about 94 percent of American consumers. You already know. The question is...do you know the names of the ghosts?

Pitfall!

This best seller is all about Pitfall Harry. Pitfall Harry is ina jungle, and has to recover 32 treasures in 20 minutes. In his way, of course, are obstacles upon obstacles, and he has to climb, run, and swing on a vine to avoid them.

This game doesn't have the brand recognition of the first two games I've mentioned, but it's solid, and it was one of the best of its time. Not bad for only taking 10 minutes to come up with the idea, eh?

Q*bert

Awww, Q*bert. Such a feisty little guy. Q*bert has to land on every block of a pyramid, changing its color and of couse, everything is in his way. Fortunately, he gets green balls to freeze his enemies so he can advance, and there's an escape route on each side of the pyramid to help him avoid Coily. Thwarting his attempts are two non-lethal gremlins. They won't hurt Q*bert, but they change the tiles he landed on back to normal so he has to do it all again. If Q*bert manages to change all the blocks, he's rewarded with the next stage. Not much of a reward. No wonder he's so feisty.

Super Breakout

One of my personal favorites, I puttered away countless hours with my Atari paddle in hand.

The premise of this game is also simple. Your object is to bounce a ball off bricks across the top of the playing field, breaking them. You control the ball with a moving platform across the bottom of the screen. The platform can be moved back and forth. If you miss the ball with your moving platform, you lose.

Asteroids

A space game! This time you're in a ship, in space, firing your laser at asteroids and enemy saucers. If you get hit by enemy fire or an asteroid, you die. Of course, it's not that simple...hitting an asteroid causes it to break up into smaller pieces which move faster than the original asteroid, and you must take care of those as well. I loved this game, both at home and at the arcade.

Centipede

Did you know that Centipede was co-designed by one of the only female game programmers in the industry at the time it was made? It also had a significant female player base. Not too bad for a "shoot 'em up".

The object of this game is to defend against swarms of bugs. Mostly centipedes, but also spiders and fleas. Now it really doesn't sound like a girl game, does it? It doesn't matter, it was FUN.

The behavior of each of the bugs was different. The centipede wound down the screen back and forth and you had to shoot at it. It was hard to destroy though, and would break into 2 centipedes if you hit the middle. Aim for the head when you fire. If thwarted by mushrooms, it will turn around early, come down one level, and go back across the screen. The more mushrooms there are, the faster the centipede comes down. If you destroy it, another will appear. If you want to destroy the mushrooms, kill the fleas that drop them or shoot them directly...but it'll take 4 hits. Not so easy when you're after bugs. If fleas, spiders, or centipedes make it to the bottom of the screen, you lose a life. Watch out for those scorpions though...they're a doozie.

Joust

You're a knight, jousting against other knits. The object is to kill them, and the harder they are, the more points you get. Problem is, they don't come one at a time, and every time you kill one, they drop an egg. If you don't touch the egg and destroy it, it hatches into a more powerful knight. Oh...and you're jousting on buzzards. Your object is to clear the stage, and if you take too long, a pterodactyl appears and you have to slay that too. Of course, this isn't on a flat area. No, you have to jump around on platforms to clear your stage.

Galaxian

Similar to Space Invaders, but more dangerous. Your ship moves back and forth across the bottom of the screen and you have to fight off alien invaders. Problem is, the alien invaders randomly dive-bomb your ship. Firing isn't guaranteed, either. You're rewarded for hitting an enemy with faster reloading, so watch how you fire. Galaxian was good, but not as iconic as Space Invaders.

Donkey Kong

An Atari list without Donkey Kong? Atari is where many of us first saw and played Donkey Kong outside the arcade, and it's where many of us fell in love with our hero, Mario. At the time, he was only known as Jumpman.

The premise was simple. Rescue the princess, who is in Donkey Kong's clutches. To do this, you need to get past some really crazy obstacles in his path. Elevator platforms and ladders will help him get up or down, but barrels, fireballs, and other strange objects are determined to kill him. These are presumably flung down by Donkey Kong to protect his prize.

So there you have it. The top 10 games for the Atari 2600. You may now go forth and conquer.