Atari Today

http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/interviews/dennis_koble/interview_dennis_koble.html
 
Dennis Koble started his illustrious career as one of Atari's early coin-op designers.  He started at Atari in 1976 and was the 4th programmer hired.  During his 5 years there, he worked in nearly every division before leaving to co-found Imagic.  He got back into coin-op games with Sente, and later co-founded another company that specialized in games for the PC and Sega Genesis.  Most recently, he tried his hand at designing mobile app games.

Atari Today mentioned Tunnel Runner, too.  That is definitely a hidden gem!

Tunnel Runner is fun game! If my list was a top 11, it would've been included

Thank You!
 
There are sooo many great recommendations mentioned here, many of which I have yet to play.
It says a lot when after covering 136 games in depth, that there are still a whole a bunch of games I haven't even tried.
It makes me excited to see what other hidden gems pop up!

Atari Today just reminded me that I had Moonsweeper.  Played it a few times but not enough to figure it out.  Fun game!
 
Sega made one game for the 2600 called Thunderground that I have only played through Stella.  I had great fun with that one.  The 2600 has sooo many games that it is difficult to narrow it down to just 10.  There's probably some that none of us here even know about.

You've got some solid choices in that video! I couldn't agree more with the picks of Popeye, Frankenstein's Monster, and California Games.
 
Here are a few of my picks for hidden gems:
Solaris - a later release in the Atari library and boy did this push the limits on what was possible on the 2600.   Moonsweeper - Imagic is commonly known for it's hits Atlantis and Demon Attack but this game seems to be forgotten at times.  I love this one! BMX Airmaster - originally released by TNT (and re-released later by Atari), this game is action packed and features some solid tunes to boot Tunnel Runner - Pseudo 3-D version of pac-man where you play the ghost?!  Not quite but I have an active imagination Turmoil - twitch gaming at it's best 

You've got some solid choices in that video! I couldn't agree more with the picks of Popeye, Frankenstein's Monster, and California Games.
 
Here are a few of my picks for hidden gems:
Solaris - a later release in the Atari library and boy did this push the limits on what was possible on the 2600.   Moonsweeper - Imagic is commonly known for it's hits Atlantis and Demon Attack but this game seems to be forgotten at times.  I love this one! BMX Airmaster - originally released by TNT (and re-released later by Atari), this game is action packed and features some solid tunes to boot Tunnel Runner - Pseudo 3-D version of pac-man where you play the ghost?!  Not quite but I have an active imagination Turmoil - twitch gaming at it's best 

Let's see...have most of the games mentioned in the video.  Gravitar, Defender II, Kung-Fu Master, Popeye (although this is not favorite and least played game in my collection), and a couple of others.  Kung-Fu I agree with...it amazes me how well made that game was done on the 2600...and no flickering.
 
However, while I agree with some of those choices I have discovered many 2600 games that were new to me which left very good first impressions.  My choices would be based on game play alone and not their rarity.  So my list will have titles that are very common to many but left such a lasting impression that I would consider them hidden gems in my book.  Not listed in any particular order.
 
Robot Tank -- This Battlezone clone uses many features Activision became famous for like daytime and nighttime environments, snow, rain, and fog elements, while keeping some of the game play from the game it seems based off of.  Easy to pick up and play, hard to put down. Enduro -- Out of all of the racing/driving games on the 2600 Enduro pratically set the standard for future driving games.  For which it was named, Enduro is more of a test of endurance because a single game can last a long time creating long game playing times than any other 2600 game produced.  The only two aspects against the player are time and number of cars passed.  Position has no meaning in Enduro, it's all about passing all of the predetermined number of cars before the next day starts.  I first discovered this game in 1988 with the purchase of a used system with some games.  I was blown away then and it still blows me away today with the things it does. Mountain King -- Agreeing with GRay Defender on this one, this is a neat adventure game with arcade elements mixed in.  When I played this game earlier this year for the first time I really didn't know what to do.  Watching game play and review videos I learned how to play and found the game very enjoying even when I have never been able to make it to the top with the crown on my head.  Sooo many things are against the player once the crown is on the character's head that it makes for some heart-pounding moments and frustration.  This game turned out to be more fun than I anticipated. Star Voyager (Imagic) & Starmaster (Activision) -- I'm including two games on this line because while each is unique as Star Raiders clone they are quite similar.  Both of these games are more fun than the 2600 version of Star Raiders.  I've played them a few times and had great fun.  It was a nice surprise.  Not often played out of all the 2600 games I have but they are much better than expected. Solaris -- Great space action adventure game with lots of strategy elements.  As simple as it looks the heart of Solaris is in the layout of the map and the enemies the player will encounter.  Solaris can only be experienced on the 2600 as no other game has ever tried to duplicate it.  Just be sure to bring your best controllers with you. Radar Lock -- About as close as you can get to Sega's After Burner on the 2600 and it does not disappoint.  Good luck finding it, however, as it seems to be a bit rare. Video Chess -- I love to play chess but finding another human player to play a game with me is not easy.  And the VCS plays a mean game of chess. Midnight Magic -- A more common title and easy to find, Midnight Magic blows Video Pinball out of the water.  A very well made pinball.  This one surprised me when I bought my first Junior model as a teenager. Warlords -- I enjoy the arcade, and many arcade ports, of this four-player breakout battle of kings.  However, the 2600 version has a more simplistic approach that is visually appealing while keeping the .  But it also has a single-player option for some fun time again three computer opponents as well. Dark Cavern -- Mattel tried to bring their INTV Night Stalker to the 2600.  And I've played that one.  To my surprise I find Dark Cavern a bit better.  This maze-style, gun blasting, game will keep any 2600 gamer on their toes.  It is also one of the first 2600 games I've come across where you have to be aware of your ammo situation.  You can't just go in all gung-ho with guns a blaring.  Ammo must be conserved and used sparingly.  Those would be my hidden gems for the 2600.

Lots of great choices already.  Here are some from me:
 
Rescue Terra I - VentureVision's sort-of prequel to Laser Gates (same programmer).
Shuttle Orbiter - Orbital mechanics and action puzzling?  Sweet!
Tapper - Solid, fun, and wholesome (Mountain Dews for everyone!)
Subterranea - I so wish this game were more readily available; it deserves far more recognition IMO.
Bump 'N' Jump - It's a bit of a memorization game at its core, but besides that there's plenty of fun to be had here.
Room of Doom - A cool action shooter, probably my favorite CommaVid game.
Montezuma's Revenge - a better action/explorer game than Pitfall II.  Yeah, I said it!   

You've got some solid choices in that video! I couldn't agree more with the picks of Popeye, Frankenstein's Monster, and California Games.
 
Here are a few of my picks for hidden gems:
Solaris - a later release in the Atari library and boy did this push the limits on what was possible on the 2600.   Moonsweeper - Imagic is commonly known for it's hits Atlantis and Demon Attack but this game seems to be forgotten at times.  I love this one! BMX Airmaster - originally released by TNT (and re-released later by Atari), this game is action packed and features some solid tunes to boot Tunnel Runner - Pseudo 3-D version of pac-man where you play the ghost?!  Not quite but I have an active imagination Turmoil - twitch gaming at it's best 

I thought that meant it was made out of organs!  Dang it! 

But it says it's organic.  I'm afraid it might turn me into a vegan.

Again, not a candy bar, but candy. I have some vivid recollections of eating these at the movies.
 

Just finished eating breakfast on our cape cod vacation and saw an interesting store (Greg's used books), figured I'd kill some time while my wife went into a shoe store. Place was very cool, other than used books they had some records, movies, board games and best of all games. Picked up these carts, all pretty rare. It's not often I find carts I dont have in the wild, especially this many. Owner was very cool also.

You've made same solid points here Justin.  
-I'm a huge fan of the 7800 and would love for others to give the 7800 games some love since many missed out on it back in the day.  As a random thought Hyperkin could possibly release an adapter for the Retron 77 similar to the 3-in-1 adapter they released for the Retron 5 system.  This plugged into the system and provided support for Sega Master System carts, Master System cards, and Game Gear games.  I'm dreaming of a 77 adapter that provides me with the ability to play 7800, atari 8-bit computer, and lynx games.  Dreaming rules!
 
-I do expect a renewed interest in 2600 carts once this thing hits store shelves.  Look what happened to the NES, SNES, and Genesis market once the flood of repro consoles hit.  Prices have gone up over the last few years and I do believe a portion of that is due to the increased amount of folks who had the ability to again play original cartridges.  Supply and demand...better grab those 2600 cartridges you've been skipping out on now.

Star Tropics is a GREAT one!! I can't believe I forgot Star Tropics. I remember playing it for the first time and it reminded me of the one thing I liked about SwordQuest, that there were clues hidden in the instruction manual or the "letter" from your uncle that was included in box. Dip it in water and a clue appears. It was a fun game, I'd love to see a modern equivalent. 

Nothing new here, but I made this in an attempt to put everything vital we know so far about the Retron 77 into one, easy to digest video.

Coleco should take notes from that communication style.

Thanks for posting this @MaximumRD.
 
 
This is the one thing I was waiting to hear. If they can include 7800 compatibility I'd be deeply grateful. That will introduce a ton of people to the Atari 7800 and spark more homebrewing and new 7800 developers. Then who knows what new strides would be made in 7800 programming, potentially new NES-quality games.

UPDATE TO MY POST #40 - RE:ANDREW STEEL form HYPERKIN - 
 
I want to thank everyone for their input and warm welcome. Your opinions are truly important, both personally for me and for our company.   We licensed an early version of Stella, and being fully aware of its certain technological issues, our software developers continue working hard to implement the promised features. We at Hyperkin fully understand that all the newer versions are subject to different license terms, and therefore plan to ship the product with our own build. Stefan, please contact us at developer@hyperkin.com, hopefully we can negotiate the opportunity to use your newer builds, for the sake of making the product better.    What we initially plan to offer is basically a convenient piece of hardware, with a properly configured and licensed Stella (early version). It will not include any other proprietary parts of Stella code from further revisions (unless we negotiate that with Stefan). That build is expected to have the full set of features I listed in my previous post, and hopefully some more.   As an additional tinker-friendly feature, we expect to leave an opportunity (for example in a form of a service port) to install other versions of Stella -- we honor everyone's IP rights, but since it's open-source, I believe users are free to rebuild and deploy any build of Stella they want.    Also, many of you requested 7800 compatibility. I cannot really promise that at the moment, but we are working on it.    Thanks again for your support! 

HYPERKIN posted a live video demo from E3 -
 
https://www.facebook.com/HyperkinGames/videos/1380516251983467/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED

You've made same solid points here Justin.  
-I'm a huge fan of the 7800 and would love for others to give the 7800 games some love since many missed out on it back in the day.  As a random thought Hyperkin could possibly release an adapter for the Retron 77 similar to the 3-in-1 adapter they released for the Retron 5 system.  This plugged into the system and provided support for Sega Master System carts, Master System cards, and Game Gear games.  I'm dreaming of a 77 adapter that provides me with the ability to play 7800, atari 8-bit computer, and lynx games.  Dreaming rules!
 
-I do expect a renewed interest in 2600 carts once this thing hits store shelves.  Look what happened to the NES, SNES, and Genesis market once the flood of repro consoles hit.  Prices have gone up over the last few years and I do believe a portion of that is due to the increased amount of folks who had the ability to again play original cartridges.  Supply and demand...better grab those 2600 cartridges you've been skipping out on now.

You've made same solid points here Justin.  
-I'm a huge fan of the 7800 and would love for others to give the 7800 games some love since many missed out on it back in the day.  As a random thought Hyperkin could possibly release an adapter for the Retron 77 similar to the 3-in-1 adapter they released for the Retron 5 system.  This plugged into the system and provided support for Sega Master System carts, Master System cards, and Game Gear games.  I'm dreaming of a 77 adapter that provides me with the ability to play 7800, atari 8-bit computer, and lynx games.  Dreaming rules!
 
-I do expect a renewed interest in 2600 carts once this thing hits store shelves.  Look what happened to the NES, SNES, and Genesis market once the flood of repro consoles hit.  Prices have gone up over the last few years and I do believe a portion of that is due to the increased amount of folks who had the ability to again play original cartridges.  Supply and demand...better grab those 2600 cartridges you've been skipping out on now.

No RetroN anything is needed but having a newer machine and a better image is nice. Our systems, modded or not, are getting old and tired. Cheap alternatives are always welcome and the fact that there is no crazy things needed to hook it up makes it easier with today's techknowledge.  But the REAL reason I like this unit is not for all it can do but more so the IDEA of what it is. Maybe more interest might hit the market to preserve the history of the pre 8 bit systems and carts. A little respect for the older stuff. New 3rd party products such as affordable alternatives for the 5200/7800 controllers as only an example. Me personally I am SO SICK of NES/SNES love in the clone aftermarket of convenience, it is about time we 2nd generation console gamers were offered the same love and respect in the market. Last it makes playing Atari more accessible to the casual kat that wants to be nostalgic or share with their kid the amazing games of the 70's and 80's without the (small I know) issues that come with Flashback systems.
 
Just my thought!  

Looking at the back, I guess that means it is HDMI only? I don't have one so I'm not sure. Missing the physical switches will affect some games like Phil said. I guess it will work with a Harmony cart, that is good news. The price point is incredible. As long as they don't find a SNES inside later on, this should be a great thing for the community. Except for cart prices going up.