t was a kinder, gentler time, when baseball players didn't switch teams every year, Christmas decorations weren't strung till after Thanksgiving and video games weren't all about violence, scantily clad women and curse words. It was the time of Atari, and it's a time that Atari (really Infogrames, which bought the Atari name) hopes to cash in on with the release of its Atari Flashback console system.
The flashback console is a hybrid of the late, great Atari 2600 and 2800 consoles. It's a small, stand-alone unit that ships in a box only a couple of sizes bigger than those computer game boxes of a couple of years past. The box includes the console—preloaded with 20 Atari retro games—two retro-type controllers/joysticks, and the cable to hook it all up. Doing so is easy. Plug the one cord into your TV, the other into the wall, and you are ready to flash back (lime-green bell bottoms, peace signs and long hair are optional). On the other hand, learning to use the hybrid joystick controllers is tough after years of gamepadding (sic) it.
The games that ship with the console include true blasts from the past, such as Asteroids, Centipede and Breakout. Titles that are familiar to parents, and easily accessible to their children. Additionally, Atari has thrown in never-before-released fare, including Saboteur. No doubt some of the games are focused on single-player play, but many can be gamed by two players, hence the two controllers that ship with the game.
A date with the dated
Make no mistake, the Atari Flashback console and its entourage of games are a blast. Heck, sitting on the couch, blasting those incoming asteroids, you can almost believe you are 11 years old once again. These classic games are classic for a reason—they are just great fun. Unfortunately, they are also classics for another reason—they are tired, extremely pixilated and paper-thin shallow compared to today's titles.
Let's face it, you can only dodge so many asteroids, destroy so many blocks or cut back so many centipedes before you switch off your Atari Flashback and return to the Master Chief and your game of Halo 2. That isn't really a knock. Comparing Centipede to Halo 2 is like comparing video-game apples and oranges. Both taste good; it just depends on what you are in the mood for. Conversely, some of the new material, such as Saboteur, doesn't quite make gaming muster. It's dull, draggy and butt-ugly. Hey, there was a reason some of this stuff wasn't released on the first go-around.
Nevertheless, the majority of the console's games are an enjoyable, albeit brainless, way to spend a few moments in the video-game hall of fame. Pretty? No. Complex? Not hardly. But they do hearken back to a time when video games weren't about realism and all the semi-sick ways video-game publishers interpret it, but rather about fun. And a game that is fun is a good game to buy.
A blast. A great Christmas gift. Don't, however, expect to be playing it past January. It does get old quick.
— Mark
Back to the top.
