E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Atari

E.T. probably would not have been such a frustrating game had it not been for those dang pits. Falling into pits to find pieces of a phone so the hairless-sloth-looking alien we all love can go home is one thing. Floating out of the pit only to fall right back in...Over and over and over and over and over and over again...Well, that's a whole 'nother story. Though, seeing E.T. die and watching Elliot insert himself into E.T. to revive him did make me chuckle more than once. I’m not sure if Elliot revives E.T. in that way or if Elliot is now who you’re controlling and the kid is wearing E.T.’s skin like the maniac that the child is. He’s probably just reviving E.T….the boring option is usually the correct one. Anyway, apparently there's a ton of these buried in some landfill somewhere. One has to wonder if the games fell in a pit, and after multiple attempts to float out, were unable to exit, and there was no Elliot in sight to revive them…if that’s the case, seems like a fitting end for this domino that helped send everything tumbling down for the crash that nearly killed video games back in the early 80s.

Review added: 07/21/2019

The Earth Dies Screaming

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Sirius Software

The Earth Dies Screaming is a little-known, movie-based video game. Yes, it’s based off of a movie. The Earth Dies Screaming is a game published in 1983 based off of a film that was hit theatres in 1964…it’s one of the rare video games based off of a movie that was released a few decades prior. And honestly, it’s not too bad. Basically, the game has you in the cockpit of some spacecraft, with a first-person viewpoint, as you try to shoot down enemy ships while also avoiding their fire. It's not perfect by any means, but back in '83, this was actually fairly well done for its genre. If you’re absolutely obsessed with the 1964 film, then you may enjoy the novelty of this game. Likewise, if you're into cockpit-perspective, first-person shooters, then the Earth Dies Screaming might be worth checking out. If the movie and the genre aren’t your cup of tea, then while the Earth Dies Screaming, you may be running away from the television while screaming.

Review added: 09/24/2019

Enduro

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Activision

When it comes to racing games on the 2600, Enduro is probably the best overall game of the bunch. Like other racing games of the time where the perspective is behind the rear of the car, your goal in Enduro is to stay on the road as the course twists and turns while also avoiding any and all traffic that comes your way. What makes Enduro so enjoyable is that this game, like the title suggests, is an endurance race. Each portion of the race takes place over the course of an entire day, with little touches tossed in like weather effects and only being able to see tail lights at night time. If you pass enough cars over the course of the day, then the game continues and you get to race your way through another day. If you manage to make it through five or more days, an on-screen trophy appears. Back when this game was released, if you sent a photo of that trophy to Activision, they’d mail you an “Activision Roadbuster” patch as a reward. If you’re into early video games and haven’t given Enduro a chance yet, I highly recommend doing so. It’s a very solid, early racing game with a lot of good ideas.

Review added: 09/25/2021

Escape from the Mindmaster

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Starpath

Thanks to the Starpath Supercharger accessory, Escape from the Mindmaster may be the most visually impressive Atari 2600 game. For those of you that have never heard of the Starpath Supercharger, it was basically a device that would plug into the Atari 2600's cartridge slot and it had an audio cassette cable coming out of it. You could then plug the cable into any standard cassette player and plug in the Superchager games (which were in audio cassette form) into that cassette player. It has been my dream to see if he Starpath Supercharger works with a Teddy Ruxpin…I feel like that could be good fun, like when I put Wrestlemania: The Album in ol' Teddy when I was a kid. Anyway, in Escape from the Mindmaster, the improved graphics allow the player to navigate a neat-for-the-time looking maze, and solving somewhat basic puzzles, while also avoiding the dreaded Alien Stalker…and Teddy Ruxpin is more intimidating-looking than the stalker. Anyway, back to the puzzles. I call them "basic" because it's essentially a case of you finding a puzzle peg, then finding the location in the maze that has a place to put that specific peg in. Once all pegs have been located and inserted in their proper location, then the exit door becomes unlocked and you can enter it to access the next maze. There are also "tests" hidden in the first five mazes that, when completed, adds to your final score upon completion of the game. Escape from the Mindmaster's basic puzzles and tests are offset by knowing that the Alien Stalker may be around the corner. So, while this isn't exactly an action-packed game, it's also far from boring. The only bad thing about Escape from the Mindmaster is that it is dependent on the Starpath Supercharger and a cassette player, which makes it a bit more difficult to track down and play on the original hardware than a typical Atari 2600 game is. So, fewer people have likely played this gem than most other Atari 2600 games as a result. But, if you've got an opportunity to play this game, I highly recommend doing so. This game, along with the Official Frogger, are the two best games for the Supercharger, that I've played thus far, anyway, and one of the better games on the Atari 2600 as a whole.

Review added: 07/21/2019