Atari Collection I
PlayStation * Midway

Review by Michael Vafeas
7.5

Retro gaming has become a recent source of hype, controversy, and nostalgia. Companies such as Namco and Williams have already released compilations of classic games, which include several arcade translations from the good ‘ol days of gaming in the late '70s and early '80s (Should we break out the Madonna and Michael Jackson tapes yet?). Without becoming involved in a detailed discussion about the worth and merits of retro gaming, I will give my opinion on this particular offering and have you decide if this bunch of classics is for you.

Graphics? HA! I suppose that it is impossible to judge the visual quality of this game by any conventional standards, considering that over fifteen years of technological development has taken place between the games' inception and their recent reincarnation. Since the graphics are true to those of the arcade --- though lacking of anything even mildly interesting --- they are fair. The full-motion video in this game is average, which leaves me to consider whether or not the inherently poor quality of 70's video was intentionally emulated as well. The rendered sequences of the different games that appear before each game are an intriguing addition, though they are quite short and had me hoping for more silicon which never did materialize. The sounds, like the graphics, are arcade-perfect. Thus, the game scores points for nostalgia value but fails to quench any thirst you might have for any new material. By today's standards, the sound effects are --- well --- primal, which is expected.

Equally primitive is the gameplay of the various games. The different games all have their moments (short as they may be). Centipede is still a blast, as is Tempest. Breakout brought back memories of the good ol' days of the Atari 2600, while Asteroids reminded me that chaos existed in games long before Doom. Missile Command and Battlezone were more focused on strategy and ended up a bit boring in comparison to the other games, which relied less on strategy and more heavily on lightning fast reflexes and control --- which brings me to my biggest gripe.

The PlayStation controller (or any digital controller for that matter) is ill-equipped for playing these games or even accurately simulating the arcade experiences that they offered. Most of the games on this disc used to be controlled via a trackball or the legendary paddle controller, which blessed their respective games with perfect control and allowed for pinpoint accuracy. For better and for worse, such precise accuracy is something that remains a necessity in these games, and the constant speed of the cursor (or shooter, or spaceship, etc.) just doesn't work as well. Thus, although these games are graphically and sonically identical to their arcade counterparts, their trademark, addictive gameplay is apparently something that has been lost with the passage of time. Without their stellar gameplay, these games cease to exist as anything more than cursory representations of what were once complete packages which were noteworthy for their playability and fun, not their graphics. While the games are still interesting to look at --- especially for someone who has yet to see how simplistic graphics used to be --- veteran players will undoubtedly notice something important missing, and that has made all the difference.


Quicklinks
Game Reviews Articles Code Bank News Flash Fan Scene
Who We Are The Paper Game Mag Links Feedback Search Home




We want to hear from you! E-mail the Editor of Game Mag at gamemag@kcnet.com.

© 2000 Game Mag
Website design by Elite Grafx.