Defender

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Atari

Back when Defender came out, most arcade games were pretty slow-paced and while some offered a challenge, few arcade games of the time were as challenging as Defender. Scrolling back and forth in a large playing area, the goal of Defender is the shoot enemy ships out of the sky and save (or defend) the people that the ships attempt to abduct…and if you fail to save those people, then it's your duty to blast them out of the sky when they get transformed into mutants bent on making you pay for your inability to protect them. The Atari port of Defender was a solid effort, though not without its flaws…mostly due to the limitations of the Atari 2600 hardware…and based on what we know about other games, like Pac-Man and E.T., I'm sure an unrealistic time frame was given towards getting this game out on store shelves, too. Anyway, when compared to the arcade version, one of the first things you'll notice is that there are a lot of flickering sprites…this was also done on the Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man and it was a way to create an illusion that more sprites are on the screen than there actually are. Atari VCS hardware could only handle so many sprites on-screen at once, so every frame a different sprite would appear. So, in screenshots and such, you'll just see the sprites from that one frame, but when in action, it will appear to be many more…but, that's also why everything appears to flicker. I have no idea if I explained that well, but hopefully that makes sense to someone. I'll likely explain it again in the Pac-Man review for the Atari 2600, so if I fumbled this explanation, head on over to that review and see if I did any better. Anyway, with the flickering sprites, Defender is a bit of a mess at times…with your own ship sometimes becoming invisible, and only your firepower and thrusters visible at times. Enemy ships can also sometimes be an issue - it's hard to hit what you can't see. But, on a positive note, everything else in Defender is done well…the controls feel solid, and once you get past all of the graphical issues, it can be somewhat fun. Still, though, the flickering issues will likely cause many folks to quit long before they're able to get used to it.

Review added: 04/18/2026

Demolition Herby

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Telesys

Alright. Telesys wins the award for the greatest name of a video game ever made. What can I say? I like dumb puns. Unfortunately, while the gameplay isn't awful, it's not as award-worthy as its name. Basically, Demolition Herby is a variation of the gameplay found in Qix. Instead of making your own shapes while avoiding enemies, you're simply just following the roads, with the goal of covering all four roads around a patch of land covered in what I imagine to be blue grass. So, the game takes place in Kentucky, I assume. But anyway, if you're able to cover all four corners of the road with red, then the blue grass turns black. So, I'm guessing that you set the roads on fire, and the grass gets burned to the ground. Your goal is to turn all the grass black while avoiding other vehicles traversing the same roads as you, putting out the fires that you leave behind. Aside from the fact that you can crash into cars, and that there's a movie called Herbie, about a talking car, the title doesn't really match the gameplay…unless it's a demonic car driving on its own, demolishing all plant life in its path?....Well, what do you know, I made it make sense. It gets to keep its award I gave it at the start now. Anyway, this is a passable Atari 2600 game, but there are better choices on the console to pass the time.

Review added: 05/10/2022

Demon Attack

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Imagic

Demon Attack was a very solid 3rd person shooter on the Atari 2600 from Imagic. Not only was the action fast, but the visuals were very good for the time as well. It also seemingly had a greater variety of enemies to blast through than your typical Atari 2600 shooter, with most enemies having unique patterns and behaviors. Add up all of those positives and this was a shooter that may not have simply been on par with popular Atari 2600 space-themed shooters like Space Invaders or Galaxian, but Demon Attack may have actually surpassed them when it initially hit store shelves. Unfortunately, it also was released at a time where the "shoot up stuff in space" concept had been done over and over, and as a result, Demon Attack seemingly got lost in the shuffle. Decades later, it seems like Demon Attack is getting a bit more recognition, and it deserves everything it gets….unless you play the awful Odyssey2 version of Demon Attack, then that version should be chained to a block of cement and thrown to the bottom of a lake. That Atari 2600 version, though? One of the best games on the console. If you like shooters, one could make an argument about it being the best you could find on the 2600.

Review added: 01/27/2023

Demons to Diamonds

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Atari

I believe that the folks over at Atari were taking them marijuana pills when they made Demons to Diamonds. According to the manual, you, the player, are taking the role of someone spending a Saturday at a "Cosmic Carnival." While there, you run towards a voice that you hear, which ends up belonging to a two-foot-tall demon, who happens to be running a shooting range. The demon tells you that the targets change when you hit them - either into precious diamonds or deadly skulls and urges you to command a laser base and try your luck. So…the designer was on some sort of hallucinogen to come up with this concept. Probably seeing turtles in the wallpaper at home and wondering deep thoughts like if he was eating a microwave burrito or if the microwave burrito was eating him. Anyway, once you get past the odd concept and start to play, unfortunately, Demons to Diamonds is very underwhelming. Like the drug-induced demon says, if you hit a target, it may turn into a diamond. If you shoot the diamond, you'll get extra points. But, the target may also turn into a skull and skulls will fire back at you. Like a shooting range, you also want to focus more on the back row than the rows closer to you - the back rows will net you more points. Honestly, if you focus primarily on the back rows, you'll also have skulls appear further away from you, giving you a better chance to avoid their fire. Demons to Diamonds sounds like an interesting take on the concept of a shooting gallery…but it simply isn't done well. The most interesting aspect of the game is reading thee backstory…and it's pretty much downhill from there. Diamonds may last forever, but my desire to play this game does not.

Review added: 04/25/2026

Dodge 'Em

Also known as: Dodger Cars (Sears)

Developer: Atari

Dodge 'Em may remind some people of Pac-Man, except instead of being a yellow circle creature dodging and eating ghosts, you're an old-timey car dodging another old-timey car…and this was released two years before everyone’s favorite yellow ghost eater entered arcades. It also may remind folks of Head-On, which is clearly what inspired this game. The goal in Dodge ‘Em is to switch lanes and collect the pellets in each lane without crashing head-first into the other car, which seems to want to crash into you. Somewhat similar to wanting to avoid the ghosts in Pac-Man, except that the other vehicle never tries to flee from you like the ghosts sometimes do in Pac-Man. The driver is probably drunk…or “high on the drugs” as the kids say…either that or want to crash into you for an insurance scam. Regardless of the reason, they’re always trying to wreck you. Anyway, the end result of that gameplay is a fast-paced, hectic game of chance and a wee bit of strategy. It's not absolutely great, but it's a decent game for the early days of the Atari 2600, even if it is basically a clone of the arcade hit Head-On.

Review added: 07/07/2019

Dolphin

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Activision

The box of Dolphin doesn't really make you sympathize with the aquatic mammal. "They appeared on Earth 49 million years before we did. Their brains are large and complex. Their radar system - more powerful than any known to man. They are dolphins! And now, they need your help." Well, if they're such a fancy-pants animal species then I bet they can do just fine on their own, helping their hoity toity selves. Anyway, box comments aside, I was pleasantly surprised when I played Dolphin. It's a very simple game at first glance - avoid the squid for as long as you can…but the more you play (or if you're not lazy like me and actually read the manual to figure out the proper way to play) you'll realize that there's quite a bit more to the game. You can move left or right, and arrows appear on screen that can either help you speed away from the dastardly squid, or they can push you right into its multiple arms of death. Likewise, if you happen to see a bird flying up at the top of the screen, and if you can get your dolphin to jump out of the water to catch it, if gives your dolphin invincibility and the ability to actually fight back and send the squid off on its merry old way. Anyway, I found myself hooked on Dolphin for a while when I played it. Rather than just play a few rounds to review the game, I found myself returning back to it to play some more and beat my old high score. If you've got an Atari 2600, and can track down a Dolphin cartridge, I definitely recommend picking it up.

Review added: 12/18/2023

Dragster

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Activision

I've hated Dragster for years and I've considered it to be an awful, awful game…and while I haven't completely changed my tune, now that I've taken the time to really get the hang of everything, I can appreciate Dragster for what it is. Basically, Dragster was the first game published by Activision, and it's considered to be the first third-party game ever released. It sold roughly half of a million copies in 1980 and accounted for over half of Activision's revenue in its first year. Sales-wise it was a success, but gameplay-wise is it? Well, yes and no. To me, a great game is one that's easy to pick up and play, but challenging enough where it takes time to master. Dragster is a game that takes time to simply play it, let alone master it. If you don't have a manual handy, you may play this game and either blow out your engine constantly or sit at the starting line, not moving. The reason is that the cars do not have automatic transmission and both cars start in neutral at the line. To change gears, you need to push the joystick left and let it come back to its resting position, then repeat until you've switched all four gears and can max out the gas without blowing your engine. Even knowing how to get to the finish line doesn't make this game easy to play…it takes patience to really understand how to play without frequently jump-starting or blowing your engine…and since it's boring to play alone, you'll want to find an equally patient friend to learn this game as well, so you can have fun competing against each other. For what it is, Dragster is a passable game…if you're patient enough to learn how to play this game, you'll be rewarded with a game that lasts ten seconds, but one that you can play over and over again in an effort to beat your best time. If you lack patience, though, then much like the title suggests, you'll think that this game is a real drag.

Review added: 11/21/2025