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My Favorite Atari Arcade Game


StormSurge

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The last two mentioned, Tempest and Crystal Castles are really good choices....I think it's very interesting how some games simply cannot be emulated properly due to controls -- and these are two prime examples. 

 

And in a darkened arcade, that light up red track ball was magic.

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Sticking with Atari arcade games that I've actually played in the wild, I would go with Star Wars too.

 

However since that was already called for, I will also give three others I enjoyed as a kid. 

As some of you know, I didn't play a lot of arcades until the mid to late 80's.

By then, most of the classic games were either gone or hidden in a back corner where they mostly went unnoticed.

Also, several of these games may not have aged well, but at the time I thought they were the bee's knees.

 

#3) Pit-Fighter: At the time of it's release, the big digitized characters were a sight to behold and the simple controls made it easy to get into. And who didn't like being fork lifted over a pile of cash at the end?

attachicon.gifATARI_-_PIT-FIGHTER_1990.jpg

 

#2) Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom: The movie was a big deal among kids and the game gave us a chance to enter the same world thanks to decent graphics, digitized voices, mine car rides and off course your trusty whip.

attachicon.gifindy.jpg

 

#1) Hard Drivin' (Sit down version of course!): Probably the first sit down game I played and I remember it costing more, probably 50 cents per play, but it was worth it. It split off into two tracks: A speed course and stunt course. But really, it was all about stunt track with the massive loop de loop. And don't forget to hit the cow to make it moo! 

attachicon.gif17532b98384e3d59f1a19ccee7bfa18d.jpg

 

Indy was an amazing, I say WAS like it's a thing of the past, ni it is an amazing game.  I loved Temple of Doom when I was a kid and to be a be able to play a game like this + the digitized voices... this was a thing of beauty.  The Atari System 1 and 2 cabs I feel were some of the best arcade games around for that time.  You always knew your quarter would return a solid and fun game experience. 

Host of The Jag Bar • Lynx Lounge  7800 Avenue

:youtube: Watch now on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrhPvmALbHpBUqrbBOms5Vw

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It isn't my favorite but it is a cab I would like to own...and that would be an I-Robot. Otherwise non Atari cabs that I hope to own someday would be a Sunset Riders and Xenophobe.

 

Oh..wait..I am also a fan of Toobin' ! and that is Atari. I passed on one back in 2004 that was fully working for $450...such past regrets in life...

See what I'm up to over at the Ivory Tower Collections: http://www.youtube.com/ivorytowercollections

 

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Asteroids

Tempest

Space Duel  (why was this not mentioned?  The arcade version had great bass sound which is hard to duplicate in the recent home conversions even with a decent sound system)

Millipede

Star Wars (sit down version)

Good choices. 

 

Sound is one area that doesn't get mentioned enough.  Emulation just doesn't cut it in many cases.  The rich bass of Donkey Kong or Tron in an arcade is very hard to duplicate at home.  Not to mention the ambient sounds of other games and people at a real arcade.

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My favorite Atari arcades are, most definitely, Marble Madness and Crystal Castles. I always loved those two games. Been playing them since the 1980s, for sure. :)

Excellent choices.  I probably said this earlier (forgive me -- I'm getting old and repeat myself :) ), but I really dig the games that don't emulate well when I hit an arcade now.  Any track ball game.  Any vector graphics game.  Any sit-down cabinet.  Any game with special controls -- those are my favorites these days.  It means I really like some of the more modern games too (Big Buck Hunter, Big Mother Trucker, etc).  The experiences I can't get at home. 

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