For the game that comes with the Atari 2600, it's a great way to showcase the real appeal of the system both then and now ngl. The best moments from this console come from the simplicity of the games combined with the social aspect of playing the games with a friend. Combat absolutely fills that role quite well, as the games within are simple and easy to understand (shoot each other) and the selectable game modes and maps provide enough variety to keep things interesting for a long time. While the standard tank mode is fun enough, there's a surprising amount of fun to be had in the tank-pong mode, where bullets ricochet off of walls allowing for insane trick shots, or the sneakiness that comes from Invisible tank, where the only time a tank is visible is when it's firing a shot, allowing for extra strategy as you try to estimate where you and your opponent are (and yet neither player is always perfectly on-the-mark thanks to the stiff controls both players have to deal with). The plane modes are kinda lame tho. If you've never done it before, I'd highly suggest getting a homie, throwin on some music in the background, and just playing Atari games with them while talkin about whatever. That shits always a good time. I'm honestly surprised that this is the pack-in game instead of a safer pick like Pong, but I guess they probably did that to differentiate themselves from the plenty of already-existing dedicated pong machines at the time. Can't say it's one of the best Atari games due to the fact that it's basically useless to the solitary gamers out there, but it's a damn good statement of intent for the 2600.

Yes, this is just a compilation of 1v1 games to play with another person, two of which is pretty much identical in layout.

But this being a launch title for the Atari 2600, I was more fascinated by how the cartridge itself works directly with the hardware. Game selection wasn't made through a menu screen, but programmed onto the cartridge and controlled by analog switches on the front of the console. It's this "reverse arcade board" design for integrating video gaming into households that actually blows me away, for a time in the late 70s evolving from simple toys to a more interactive medium. This goes for other 2600 titles of course, but this being one of the earliest. It's pretty ingenious.

Also, I have no idea why they have inverted flight stick controls for the biplanes, but standard controls for the jets.

there's two big points i want to make off the bat about combat, which i feel is generally snubbed in discussions of historically important atari games -

1. combat was born into a world where pong was the dominant form of Electronic Television Game. but take your pong ball, snatched from the gentlemans sport of choice, and try blasting it through the barrel of a tank or a biplane's gunner and see if that doesn't shake things up. the combat here is obviously meant to be horrific warfare but the early limitations of programming for the 2600 (mainly in terms of visual & auditory presentation) leave your tanks feeling more like little creatures, squealing and groaning and spinning violently when hit. at the time this all must have been very unnerving

2. video game consoles used to for family entertainment and not for you lonely saps. i can't deny that the game being two-player only makes it a bit difficult to work with in 2023 but why judge it by those standards when its perfectly novel and sick within its own context. one can only imagine how thrilling it must have been to unwrap your brand new sleek wood-grain gaming rig in 1977 with the most gnarly looking launch title you'd ever seen up to that point. no more sticky plastic overlays of state capitols that peel off the tv screen for me mom, im going to WAR

another point worth mentioning is that you're not just getting one game here, you're getting a whopping 27. of course these are just different variations on the tank and biplane game modes but theres a lot of nuance to be found in there. the wall-bounce modes and the invisible tank mode are probably the most popular for good reason, both being very simple but novel twists on the base formula. we dont even have invisible tanks yet in real life

so overall i think combat is an understandably frustrating but still very worthwhile game that i very much appreciate knowing its place in history. the guys who made this were beating their heads against the wall trying to figure out how the fuck to make those dudes on your screen drive around and shoot each other, be grateful. its the 2600 launch title for gods sake...

Combat 1977 | Atari
emulador Pc

1-interacción: 6.4
2-mundo/apartado artístico: 7
3-concepto: 7
4-puesta en escena: 6.4
5-narración: -
6-sonido/apartado sonoro: 6.2
7-jugabilidad: 5
8-historia: -
9-duración/ritmo: 6.7
10-impacto: 6.7

7
7
6.7
6.7
6.4
6.4

40.2/60pts

67 promedio

Played (with a friend) as part of Atari 50.

Honestly? Not bad, for a 2600 game. Obviously your enjoyment of this is entirely predicated on finding someone who will play an Atari 2600 launch title with you (thanks, @saturday), but the tank game is perfectly competent. Bare-bones, yes, but it plays better than the 2022 Quadratank also in this collection (which probably says more about Quadratank than anything, but still). Plane games aren't as good, but they're still kinda novel for a couple minutes I guess. Really nothing here if you're trying to play it solo, though.