M.U.L.E.

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Ozark Softscape

When I first played M.U.L.E., it was in college and I had found it for the NES in a thrift store. I picked it up for cheap, took it home, and immediately enjoyed it. This Atari 8-bit version is one of the original versions of the game, largely the same as the NES version. Essentially, in M.U.L.E., you can either play solo against the computer, or compete against up to three other people. The concept is that each player selects an alien creature to play as, and you've all landed on another planet with the goal of establishing a new colony, competing with the other players over who has the most resources after a set amount of time. Helping you get these resources are M.U.L.E.s - Multiple Use Labor Elements. These robotic donkeys can be fitted to help you establish plots of land for mining resources, energy resources, or food resources - with mountains being the best for mining, river land the best for food, and flat land the best for producing energy. Each turn, every player has a set amount of time to do what they need to do. If there's time left in the turn, then you can visit the pub to (hopefully earn some extra cash) or, if you're lucky, you can catch a Wampus in the mountains, who will pay you to let him go. Random events will occur that can either benefit or harm everyone, which can help people in last place get bumped up towards the lead, or the leader bumped down towards last. This helps keep the game exciting, and makes it so that as long as you don't quit, you've always got a chance to win, all the way up 'til the end. All of this added up results in a very solid multiplayer strategy game that many folks have fond memories of. And, honestly, any game where I can play as an alien named "Gollumer," already makes a fan.

Review added: 07/25/2026

Miner 2049er

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Big Five Software

Miner 2049er was the first game from Big Five Software that wasn't purely a clone of a popular arcade game, that I'm aware of anyway. Despite it being a unique game, it still seems to be inspired by two popular arcade games of the time - Donkey Kong and Pac-Man. The Donkey Kong inspiration is fairly obvious when you play, simply by looking at how Bounty Bob navigates through each level. While there's some unique aspects here, like slides, you can see the Donkey Kong influence. The Pac-Man influence comes in the fact that your goal is to "survey" every inch of the mine that you're in. In other words, you need to walk on every inch of every platform to transform each part of the platforms into a solid color. In Pac-Man, you want to eat all of the pellets to empty out the stage. In Miner 2049er, you want to cover the stage. You can eat stuff here too, according to the manual. In an odd turn of events, there are mutants in the mine with you. If you happen to pick up items from previous miners (possibly those mutants?) then the mutants will change colors and become "happy creatures that are edible." No, Bounty Bob doesn't just eliminate those mutants, that hillbilly eats 'em, like that squirrel he found on the side of the road. With multiple levels to conquer and solid gameplay and controls, Miner 2049er wound up being a huge hit that is fondly remembered by many today. If you've never played it before, I highly recommend giving it a chance to see what all the hooplah was about it back in the early 80's, when it first released.

Review added: 07/25/2026

Missile Command

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Atari

The Atari 400/800 version of Missile Command is a bit more simplified from the arcade version…and that may be a good or a bad thing, depending on your point of view. Part of the appeal of the arcade game was that you controlled three different missile defense bases and the key to survival was picking the right base to shoot from as each missile made its way down to towards the bottom of the screen, so one base doesn't run out of ammo when you need it most. If that aspect scared you off, or if you just wanted the gameplay simplified a bit, then the Atari 8-bit version of Missile Command may be up your alley….and if you loved the strategy needed with three bases, you'll wind up disappointed. Basically, in this port to Atari's line of 8-bit computers, the left and right missile defense bases are gone and they you now only have one, single base in the center of the screen. While you still have limited ammo, it's now all relegated to a single base, making everything much more simplistic and easier for newer players, but also taking away much of the strategy for veterans and/or players looking for a little bit more of a challenge. The good news is that, even reduced down to a single base, Missile Command is still fun…but purists will likely be disappointed with this Atari 8-bit port.

I also want to make note that if you want three bases, there is an Atari 8-bit rom floating around called Missile Command+. I've included a screen of the game here.  I couldn't find out where the rom originated from to give proper credit to the developer and/or list a release year, so rather than include a new review with all of that info missing, I decided to instead write a small comment here. Missile Command+ is an excellent modification and would bring my score up to a 9.0 out of 10. It makes you wonder that since this was possible, why it wasn't done initially…regardless, whoever made this hack, great job.

Review added: 07/25/2026

Mission: Asteroid

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Sierra On-Line

Mission: Asteroid is meant to be an introduction to the Hi-Res Adventure series of games, and it's considered to be number zero in the franchise. Basically, you take the role of an astronaut that has learned that an asteroid is headed towards Earth. Your job is to take a rocket to the asteroid and blow it up before it gets here. To be able to succeed, though, you've got to get through all of the "red tape" at Mission Control…like being told that you stink and need a shower. Once you've showered up and obtain the desired stench, then you've got to board the rocket ship and learn how to fly it before heading out towards the asteroid with some explosives. In terms of the other Hi-Res Adventure games, Mission: Asteroid is probably the shortest one, and possibly the easiest one as well. As an introductory game, it does a decent job of encouraging the player to experiment with the commands found in the manual…and by doing so, they'll figure out ways to advance the story forward. For example, the beginning of the game has you walk into a building (Mission Control) and you're expected to know a password while you hear a bunch of beeping. By using the various commands, you'll eventually figure out what your watch is beeping. By turning the beep off, you'll get a message which happens to also give you the password that you need. Anyway, Mission: Asteroid probably isn't going to be anyone's favorite game or be considered an all-time great classic, but it does what it sets out to do and is entertaining enough while it lasts. If you want to give the Hi-Res Adventure games a try, then Mission: Asteroid is a good start. The lower difficulty, shorter completion time, and design that forces the player to use certain commands will prepare you for how to best tackle the other games in the series.

Review added: 08/01/2026

Mr. Robot and his Robot Factory

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Datamost

Miner 2049er was a pretty popular game when it came out…and like every time that a game gets popular, various, similar games inspired by it came out. Mr. Robot and the Robot Factory is one of the better ones…and I'll be honest, while Miner 2049er clearly inspired this game, in some aspects I may actually prefer Mr. Robot and his Robot Factory over the game that inspired it. Anyway, the concept of the game is the same, but instead of making the ground turn solid, your goal is to walk over the floors with pellets (called power grids in the manual) until all of those pellets/power grids have been obtained. There are 22 levels in total here, that's more than double the number of levels in the Atari 8-bit version of Miner 2049er. I also prefer the level designs in this game, as well. Not just in level design, but in presentation as well - this game is very colorful and looks a bit nicer than Miner 2049er. Also, like in the game starring Bounty Bob, and like in Pac-Man, there are items that you can pick up along the way that allow you to destroy the enemies in your path. And honestly, everything I just explained is technically just "Mr. Robot." The Robot Factory part of the title is the second half of the game - which is essentially an "erector set," according to the manual, that allows you to create an additional 26 levels to play in. For the creative folks and/or wannabe game designers, the Robot Factory alone will keep you busy for hours. And if you take advantage of this part of the game and max out the number of created levels that you can make, you'll be at a whopping 48 levels that you can navigate Mr. Robot through. Overall, Mr. Robot and his Robot Factory is a great game to get. Whether you're a fan of older platformers or a fan of creating your own levels to play in, there is plenty to love here. Bounty Bob may be the more famous of the two, but I can't help but prefer Mr. Robot just a little more.

Review added: 08/01/2026

Ms. Pac-Man

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Atari

The Atari 8-bit port of Ms. Pac-Man is a solid attempt to bring the arcade classic home. As far as I could tell, everything from the arcade version of the game is here, including the cutscenes between levels. Of course, the graphics took a bit of a hit, and the display was made to fit horizontally instead of vertically, but the game still looks good for its time. The thing making me dock the score just a tad, though, is the feel of the controls. The arcade game's joystick feels perfect. The joystick on the Atari 8-bit computer feels less tight, so the game doesn't quite feel like it controls perfectly as a result. It controls just fine, mind you, I'm just nitpicking, but if you play the arcade version, then the Atari 8-bit version, it is a bit noticeable. If you don't mind downgraded graphics, and slightly less-responsive controls, so long as you get a solid port of Ms. Pac-Man, then you'll still be happy with Atari's efforts here. It may not be as good as the arcade original, or even the best home port of the game, but Ms. Pac-Man on the Atari 8-bit home computers is still a solid game in its own right and well worth picking up if you're looking for a solid game for your collection.

Review added: 07/25/2026