donproject
1976
Ugh, paddle controller.
I mean, my paddle controllers always seemed to be slightly broken and maybe not turn quite right or send the right info to the console? Or maybe I'm just bad at games. It's a simple little jam where you just keep the ball from hitting the ground and it bounces up and hits bricks, getting faster and breaking the bricks... you've seen this before. It's been cloned a million times and usually the clones are better. SORRY.
Fun fact: Wikipedia says some dudes named Wozniak and Jobs worked on this game and then went on to make, you know, Apple computer happen.
Beep boop.
Review from thedonproject.com
I mean, my paddle controllers always seemed to be slightly broken and maybe not turn quite right or send the right info to the console? Or maybe I'm just bad at games. It's a simple little jam where you just keep the ball from hitting the ground and it bounces up and hits bricks, getting faster and breaking the bricks... you've seen this before. It's been cloned a million times and usually the clones are better. SORRY.
Fun fact: Wikipedia says some dudes named Wozniak and Jobs worked on this game and then went on to make, you know, Apple computer happen.
Beep boop.
Review from thedonproject.com
1979
I'm not going to hold back here: This is the best bowling game ever made.
Listen, bowling is just mastering a repetitive motion, right? You pick a ball off the rack, put on some old-timey shoes that 100 people put their stinky feet in, cram down some cheap food, walk up to the dots, and do exactly the same thing you did last time. Do the exact same thing 12 times and you get a perfect game.
Atari's Bowling game captures this perfectly. Boil yourself a hot dog and cook up some grocery-store brand fries, put on that pair of bowling shoes you stole that one time, and the atmosphere is basically complete. Your computer image shimmies up to the line and you try to do exactly the same thing you did last time. Do it right and you get a pretty stellar success animation. What more do you need?
Mark it a 4, dude.
Review from thedonproject.com
Listen, bowling is just mastering a repetitive motion, right? You pick a ball off the rack, put on some old-timey shoes that 100 people put their stinky feet in, cram down some cheap food, walk up to the dots, and do exactly the same thing you did last time. Do the exact same thing 12 times and you get a perfect game.
Atari's Bowling game captures this perfectly. Boil yourself a hot dog and cook up some grocery-store brand fries, put on that pair of bowling shoes you stole that one time, and the atmosphere is basically complete. Your computer image shimmies up to the line and you try to do exactly the same thing you did last time. Do it right and you get a pretty stellar success animation. What more do you need?
Mark it a 4, dude.
Review from thedonproject.com
1977
Aw hell. It's math here mucking up my game time.
To be fair, the sounds are tremendous for this game where you simply do arithmetic. It definitely also has colors. But it's an educational game, and if I've learned one thing about education, it's that putting education in a game ruins the game AND ruins the education.
Just sayin'.
Review from thedonproject.com
To be fair, the sounds are tremendous for this game where you simply do arithmetic. It definitely also has colors. But it's an educational game, and if I've learned one thing about education, it's that putting education in a game ruins the game AND ruins the education.
Just sayin'.
Review from thedonproject.com
1982
I think I played this at my childhood friend, J's house. I don't actually remember owning the cartridge.
This game is like Air-Sea-Battle on steroids. Super fast and many colors. I can't believe so many rainbow spaceships want to blow up the lost underwater city of Atlantis! I think I remember the controls being pretty hard to master as well. You've got to press left/right AND the button to fire the side cannons. OOF.
The font for the score is pretty sick, though. The graphics are also pretty advanced for the Atari 2600. But it is just real annoying to try to play.
OOF!
Review from thedonproject.com
This game is like Air-Sea-Battle on steroids. Super fast and many colors. I can't believe so many rainbow spaceships want to blow up the lost underwater city of Atlantis! I think I remember the controls being pretty hard to master as well. You've got to press left/right AND the button to fire the side cannons. OOF.
The font for the score is pretty sick, though. The graphics are also pretty advanced for the Atari 2600. But it is just real annoying to try to play.
OOF!
Review from thedonproject.com
1977
Pew pew!
Do you like tanks and planes and shooting things, like any little boy who grew up socialized in the 80's? Well, this Atari game has all that and some sweet graphics and sounds.
I mean, look at that business. Multiple modes and fantastic sounds made this game a pleasure to play. It's not complex, so you won't be playing it for hours, but it will keep you going for a bit. Just shoot some things and revel in the simulated violence of modern warfare and target shooting and life.
Pew pew!
Review from thedonproject.com
Do you like tanks and planes and shooting things, like any little boy who grew up socialized in the 80's? Well, this Atari game has all that and some sweet graphics and sounds.
I mean, look at that business. Multiple modes and fantastic sounds made this game a pleasure to play. It's not complex, so you won't be playing it for hours, but it will keep you going for a bit. Just shoot some things and revel in the simulated violence of modern warfare and target shooting and life.
Pew pew!
Review from thedonproject.com
1979
I mean, it is what it is, right? It's tic-tac-toe, but there are four levels of 4x4 grids and you can win IN 3-D!
This game has a lot going against it. The sounds are terrible, even for Atari. Basically a beep for placing an X or O, some little explode-y sound for moving around, and a very annoying alarm when you or the computer wins. The game is not super fun and gets boring quick if you're good, or boring quick if you're bad. I'm pretty sure my siblings never played this with me or each other, but even that gets old quick.
Pass.
Review from thedonproject.com
This game has a lot going against it. The sounds are terrible, even for Atari. Basically a beep for placing an X or O, some little explode-y sound for moving around, and a very annoying alarm when you or the computer wins. The game is not super fun and gets boring quick if you're good, or boring quick if you're bad. I'm pretty sure my siblings never played this with me or each other, but even that gets old quick.
Pass.
Review from thedonproject.com
1983
Is this maybe the original party game? Well, it's the first I played, at least!
This one is pretty weird, there's a medieval-themed tug-of-war game, a wizard shooting gallery game, a race of bees?, a race of old west train track pump cart things, and a factory game of putting packages on conveyor belts. It's old school couch co-op, so you need a friend or three to play... which explains why I didn't play this one all that much when we had the Atari and the Supercharger. You get the extra graphics and sounds of the Supercharger, so the graphics are pretty decent and the digitized public domain songs are solid. A few of the games are challenging to control, but the real competition is whoever you play against, so, you know, play against younger siblings and feel like a boss or play some gamers and get all shouty. Up to you.
Party party party!
Review from thedonproject.com
This one is pretty weird, there's a medieval-themed tug-of-war game, a wizard shooting gallery game, a race of bees?, a race of old west train track pump cart things, and a factory game of putting packages on conveyor belts. It's old school couch co-op, so you need a friend or three to play... which explains why I didn't play this one all that much when we had the Atari and the Supercharger. You get the extra graphics and sounds of the Supercharger, so the graphics are pretty decent and the digitized public domain songs are solid. A few of the games are challenging to control, but the real competition is whoever you play against, so, you know, play against younger siblings and feel like a boss or play some gamers and get all shouty. Up to you.
Party party party!
Review from thedonproject.com
1983
Not as good as Defender, but not as hard!
Okay, Starpath, you gave it a shot, but you all definitely did not capture the magic of defender. This game is slower by a long shot, less graphically impressive, and actually a little less fun because of it. There are times in the early levels where you're just waiting for ships to appear and it gets a little boring, actually. The best graphic effect is when you get killed and the whole screen flashes. The addition of overheating weapons is a cool feature, but comes at the sacrifice of saving people and saving people is more exciting than limiting your shooting, for sure. This was probably one of the least played Starpath games we had, I'm afraid. It's not completely terrible, though!
... More like "Mildly Dangerous and Sort of Boring Satellites", am I right?
Review from thedonproject.com
Okay, Starpath, you gave it a shot, but you all definitely did not capture the magic of defender. This game is slower by a long shot, less graphically impressive, and actually a little less fun because of it. There are times in the early levels where you're just waiting for ships to appear and it gets a little boring, actually. The best graphic effect is when you get killed and the whole screen flashes. The addition of overheating weapons is a cool feature, but comes at the sacrifice of saving people and saving people is more exciting than limiting your shooting, for sure. This was probably one of the least played Starpath games we had, I'm afraid. It's not completely terrible, though!
... More like "Mildly Dangerous and Sort of Boring Satellites", am I right?
Review from thedonproject.com
1981
This review is for the Starpath Atari 2600 version...
A solid port of a good arcade game!
The Starpath port of Frogger is pretty darn close to the arcade game, even though it is on the 2600. They do include the race car row speeding up pretty early, which makes this game slightly tougher. Also, you have to play it with the Atari joysticks, which are not as good as the arcade sticks. However, the music and graphics are pretty comparable and you don't have to blast quarters at it when you die, so... good job, programmers!
All the fun of a heart attack at home!
Review from thedonproject.com
A solid port of a good arcade game!
The Starpath port of Frogger is pretty darn close to the arcade game, even though it is on the 2600. They do include the race car row speeding up pretty early, which makes this game slightly tougher. Also, you have to play it with the Atari joysticks, which are not as good as the arcade sticks. However, the music and graphics are pretty comparable and you don't have to blast quarters at it when you die, so... good job, programmers!
All the fun of a heart attack at home!
Review from thedonproject.com
1982
Yeah, Breakout on the Atari 2600 is fine, but what if you had better graphics and more interesting levels? You'd have Fireball!
Okay, Fireball is just a fancier Breakout. It still uses the dumb old paddle controller, but it has some extra modes and the increased ROM of the Supercharger allows for a tiny amount of story to be added to the game. You see, in this version, you're some kind of fire juggler and shooting the ball at the blocks. If you drop one, out comes the hook and off the stage you go. It's not the best story, but the added modes and variation of this Breakout clone give it some extra juice, for sure.
Don't drop the Fireball!
Review from thedonproject.com
Okay, Fireball is just a fancier Breakout. It still uses the dumb old paddle controller, but it has some extra modes and the increased ROM of the Supercharger allows for a tiny amount of story to be added to the game. You see, in this version, you're some kind of fire juggler and shooting the ball at the blocks. If you drop one, out comes the hook and off the stage you go. It's not the best story, but the added modes and variation of this Breakout clone give it some extra juice, for sure.
Don't drop the Fireball!
Review from thedonproject.com
Was this the first 3-D first-person "dungeon" game? Maybe?
I loved this game. Puzzles and traps and mazes all ensconced in first-person 3-D walls and hectic beeping signifying how close the one murderous monster is to you. Mini-games, as well, with amazing start/end jingles! It's a pretty intense and tough game, but I remember winning the game as a young one, though I can't find any complete playthroughs on the internet to verify my hazy memory (maybe I should make one?). At any rate, this tough little game was fun for a tiny nerd such as myself who liked to test memory and reflexes as well as a bit of strategy and stealth.
Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beepbeepbeepbeepbeep.
Review from thedonproject.com
I loved this game. Puzzles and traps and mazes all ensconced in first-person 3-D walls and hectic beeping signifying how close the one murderous monster is to you. Mini-games, as well, with amazing start/end jingles! It's a pretty intense and tough game, but I remember winning the game as a young one, though I can't find any complete playthroughs on the internet to verify my hazy memory (maybe I should make one?). At any rate, this tough little game was fun for a tiny nerd such as myself who liked to test memory and reflexes as well as a bit of strategy and stealth.
Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep beepbeepbeepbeepbeep.
Review from thedonproject.com
1982
Nostalgia plays a heavy role in this review, for sure.
This game is incredibly important but very few folks have played it! My first RPG and probably the first console RPG of all time. I don't remember if I beat the game or not, maybe I got to the final battle, but I definitely played this a lot. It began my love of RPG's and RPG-like story-based games. It is annoying and grinding at times, and the graphics are nothing spectacular, but the introduction fo the menu-based mechanics and turn-based fighting was key to my enjoyment of the strategy of these types of games. Okay, the story isn't very clear or great (you're going to fight a dragon to get a piece of jewelry?), but like I said: revolutionary!
Plus, that name... DragonSTOMPER. Amazing.
Review from thedonproject.com
This game is incredibly important but very few folks have played it! My first RPG and probably the first console RPG of all time. I don't remember if I beat the game or not, maybe I got to the final battle, but I definitely played this a lot. It began my love of RPG's and RPG-like story-based games. It is annoying and grinding at times, and the graphics are nothing spectacular, but the introduction fo the menu-based mechanics and turn-based fighting was key to my enjoyment of the strategy of these types of games. Okay, the story isn't very clear or great (you're going to fight a dragon to get a piece of jewelry?), but like I said: revolutionary!
Plus, that name... DragonSTOMPER. Amazing.
Review from thedonproject.com
What if Space Invaders had more colors, was way faster, and capitalized on the longstanding cold war between the world's super powers? Well, friends, you'd have the game Communist Mutants From Space!
Look, Space Invaders may have started it and Galaga/Galaxian might have perfected it, but how else can we get 7 year old children to rally against a political ideology we barely even understand but know is "bad" because... well, obviously aliens brought it from space, so we've got to blow it up.
Okay, okay, this is a pretty solid Starpath Supercharger game. It is just a "shoot space monsters that come at you vertically", basically, but the fast pace, increasing difficulty, and the varied goals of the gameplay (blow up the mutants, but also blow up the top alien egg-layer, oh, and don't get shot!). The extra colors that the supercharger brings are great, the fun extra options are a nice twist and the game is generally fun. I particularly like the tones when you start a new life, for some reason. I wish there were some more sounds for blowing up the mutants, but in general there's not a lot to complain about here.
Once in high school, a military recruiter responded to my jeers with "When I'm out killing commies I won't be doing it for you." I think maybe he was talking about this game?
Review from thedonproject.com
Look, Space Invaders may have started it and Galaga/Galaxian might have perfected it, but how else can we get 7 year old children to rally against a political ideology we barely even understand but know is "bad" because... well, obviously aliens brought it from space, so we've got to blow it up.
Okay, okay, this is a pretty solid Starpath Supercharger game. It is just a "shoot space monsters that come at you vertically", basically, but the fast pace, increasing difficulty, and the varied goals of the gameplay (blow up the mutants, but also blow up the top alien egg-layer, oh, and don't get shot!). The extra colors that the supercharger brings are great, the fun extra options are a nice twist and the game is generally fun. I particularly like the tones when you start a new life, for some reason. I wish there were some more sounds for blowing up the mutants, but in general there's not a lot to complain about here.
Once in high school, a military recruiter responded to my jeers with "When I'm out killing commies I won't be doing it for you." I think maybe he was talking about this game?
Review from thedonproject.com
1989
Frantic bullet hell weirdo spaceship chaos!
Oh man, this game was tough. I definitely never got to the second top-down level. But I distinctly remember whiling away several hours attempting not to die by some stray bullet/laser I never saw coming. I probably used up most of my lifetime allotment of heartbeats getting pumped up by the manically fast synth music and an onslaught of floaty aliens trying to blow up my unstoppable spaceship. I mean, literally unstoppable. The choice to make the ship never stop moving, the million enemies and their bullets, the devastating maps to navigate, the annoying and constant shooting noises, and the bonkers music all combine to make this an unforgettable torture, for sure.
I'd probably play it again, though.
Review from thedonproject.com
Oh man, this game was tough. I definitely never got to the second top-down level. But I distinctly remember whiling away several hours attempting not to die by some stray bullet/laser I never saw coming. I probably used up most of my lifetime allotment of heartbeats getting pumped up by the manically fast synth music and an onslaught of floaty aliens trying to blow up my unstoppable spaceship. I mean, literally unstoppable. The choice to make the ship never stop moving, the million enemies and their bullets, the devastating maps to navigate, the annoying and constant shooting noises, and the bonkers music all combine to make this an unforgettable torture, for sure.
I'd probably play it again, though.
Review from thedonproject.com
1989
AAAAAAAH!
I don't think I ever owned this game, actually, but I might have rented it a few times or played the arcade version. The game could also be getting confused with tons of others that are like it where you have some side-scrolling, then the screen pauses and you fight some things, and then you are told to "GO!" to the next part where you fight some things and then you keep on doing that until you probably die. This one also has magic and a bunch of fighting moves. The sounds, though. Absolutely ridiculous. The music is fine. Every time you are injured or an enemy dies, though, the music pauses and there is an over-the-top static-y scream of pain. Silly.
AAAAAAAAAAH!
Review from thedonproject.com
I don't think I ever owned this game, actually, but I might have rented it a few times or played the arcade version. The game could also be getting confused with tons of others that are like it where you have some side-scrolling, then the screen pauses and you fight some things, and then you are told to "GO!" to the next part where you fight some things and then you keep on doing that until you probably die. This one also has magic and a bunch of fighting moves. The sounds, though. Absolutely ridiculous. The music is fine. Every time you are injured or an enemy dies, though, the music pauses and there is an over-the-top static-y scream of pain. Silly.
AAAAAAAAAAH!
Review from thedonproject.com