Richard Petty's Talladega

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Cosmi

Back in 1984, nobody was a bigger name in NASCAR than Richard Petty. So, it's natural that his name would be branded on an early NASCAR game for the Atari 8-bit series of computers and Commodore 64 - Richard Petty's Talladega. And I'm going to get two of my best friends angry with this comment, since they adore automobile racing…but let's face facts. Nothing really says redneck, white trash like NASCAR. So, it shouldn't be too shocking that "Dixie" starts to play as soon as you boot this game up. However, aside from its obvious appeal from the core NASCAR fanbase, the song actually serves as a warning. Much like the song says, if someone asks you to play this game, you need to, "Look away! Look away! Look away!" Talladega was a poor racing game for its time, but it had some decent ideas. First, while the graphics are underwhelming, Cosmi did a nice job of making sure that the rival cars are an assortment of different colors since that's what you'd see in a real NASCAR race. The cars themselves, however, suffer from flickering and/or warping…the cars sometimes look like they're made of elastic, stretching outwards before returning to their normal shape. It can also be an absolute pain to drive through groups of cars, and even more of an annoyance to drive around corners…especially when another vehicle is there with you and you have to drop down to the speed of a snail….which, ironically, the other car will do the same, so you can't just slow down and let the computer zoom ahead so that you can speed up. If you slow down, they slow down. When you can actually get up to full speed, there's a minor sense of speed that you get, but you'll eventually hit another turn and all sense of speed will be completely lost at that point. There is a neat addition of going to the pits to refuel and change tires, when needed, which gives a mild element of strategy to an otherwise boring game…but those are about all the compliments I can give. If Cosmi took their good ideas and matched them up with good gameplay, then this game could have been a winner. Unfortunately, since they failed with the gameplay, you should just take this game and toss it in the nearest Talladumpster.

Review added: 07/27/2026

River Raid

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Activision

In 1982, Activision, with help from developer Carol Shaw, released River Raid on the Atari 2600 console, bringing a side-scrolling shooter to Atari's console. A year later, they did it again, bringing it to the Atari 8-bit series of computers. The concept of River Raid is that you control a plane and your goal is to score as many points as possible by destroying enemy tankers, helicopters, jets, and bridges before your plane either crashes, or you run out of fuel. Aside from the enemy vehicles and obstacles, there are fuel depots floating in the river. If you shoot them, if fills up your fuel…so, making those depots explode and leak fuel into the river powers up your plane, essentially. I don't think environmental groups would like that logic too much…but without River Raid, Dawn wouldn't be able to wash those baby ducks in their commercials….so I guess we can be thankful. Because of the plan in River Raid polluting the water, we get to see adorable baby ducks. Speaking of adorable baby ducks…well, I have no transition from that. But pretend I do and let's move on. The river that you fly across is constantly changing, so it's not the same old scenery as you advance on. You'll come across islands, narrow channels, and, of course, all of the enemies and obstacles in your way. The further on you get in this game, the more scarce the fuel depots are, so in the beginning of the game, you may find yourself ignoring your fuel to shoot more enemies….but later on, if you miss the one fuel depot that appears on screen, you very well could find your gas tank hitting E. River Raid is one of those simple, yet fun games from the early 80s that still holds up well today. It's easy to pick up and play, and the gameplay is fun enough where it will likely have you coming back for more. The manual calls the river that you fly across "The River of No Return." This game is fun enough where once you start playing, you may not want to return anyway. If you liked the Atari 2600 original, but want to experience the game with slightly better graphics, then this port is a good one to get.

Review added: 07/28/2026

Robotron: 2084

Also known as: N/A

Developer: Atari

I love the arcade version of Robotron: 2084, so I was convinced that this was going to be my favorite game on the Atari 8-bit series of computers. Thankfully, love does not blind me….mother nature did a good job of that herself over the years, that salty old coot. But even with my Coke bottle glasses, I can see that this port is nowhere near the same quality as the arcade game. It's still playable, however if you've played the arcade original before playing this, you'll immediately notice that the controls just don't feel right. In the arcade, the controls feel tight and smooth. In this Atari 8-bit port, the controls feel rigid and chunky…I don't think I've ever used the term "chunky" to describe controls, but it works here. It also doesn't help that Robotron: 2084 uses two joysticks in the arcade. So, if you're playing with one at home, you'd already be at a handicap, even if the game controls otherwise felt perfect. You CAN play the game with two joysticks, if you have two to use, however, unless you've got something to hold both of them in place, it can feel a bit awkward…even when you're able to make this work, though, you're still stuck with the bad movement animations and such, resulting in a game that is still playable, but it's nowhere near the quality found in the arcade. If you needed Robotron: 2084 at home, and this was your only option, you may have found it to be good enough…for me, though, it just made me want to grab a bunch of quarters and head for the local arcade to play this instead.

Review added: 07/28/2026