atarifan95

It may come as a surprise to others reading this but Adventure on the 2600 was one game that I missed completely. From the time it first hit store shelves until now I have never had the chance to play the game that has been considered one of the best on the system. Even when my mother and I would find lots of 2600 consoles with lots of games Adventure simply wasn't there. And since the 5200 was my first game console I felt the 2600 was lacking and never gave it a fair chance. 
It's almost fall 2016 and I have been blessed, thanks to Atari.IO members, with a 4-switch woody console and a copy of Adventure. I finally got the chance to see what all the hype was about with this game. So...I plug it in and flip the switch. As usual I just start a game with default settings. I don't even bother to check the difficulty switches. It's just something I don't think about.
 



I'm moving my block along after picking up the gold key to get my sword. Then off I go to find the black key and get the chalice. I run into the gold dragon (which looks like a duck to me, sorry Adventure fans) and he ate me. So I reset the switch thinking, "Alright. I got your number!", and set off again. I managed to kill the gold dragon, find the black key, and retrieve the chalice. On the way back I find the green dragon. He chases me all the way back to the gold castle and I get stuck just for a split second on the entrance. I'm dragon food, again. So I try again and ... success! The 1st level became clockwork in about a half-hour's time. 
Being brave, and taking one for the team, I changed the game setting to the 2nd level. Oh my word. You would have thought I was trying to start world war three or something with the things I was saying, no...yelling at the images on the TV screen. I couldn't find half the items I needed and when I did that stupid bat would come along and switch whatever he was carrying, which was a dragon most of the time, with what I was after and fly away...leaving me defenseless and fleeing for my life! I spent about a week trying to complete a level 2 game just once...just ONCE! And I finally did it before I started writing this review. I have yet to embark on a level 3 journey as I am still trying to re-cooperate from the level 2 journey. But it is on my to-do list.
 



After all of that I sat down and gave it some thought while I stare at the square on the TV standing next to the gold-flashing chalice. The adventure I embarked upon already took me in dark catacombs to find items, fighting very aggressive dragons, searching for items a bat would take off with, only to have been rewarded with what some would expect to be the fact I managed to make it back with the chalice. The true reward was all the challenge I was put through just to get that chalice and bring it back. This game can easily be your classic Dungeons & Dragons stuff, of which I've never had the chance to play before either. But from what I've heard about D&D from regular players the 2600 Adventure is easily the first video game adaptation of the popular D&D games. That is where I would expect to find this game on store shelves because it really is in a category all of its own. In other words, the Adventure title fits perfectly. 
This is a well thought-out game and as simple as the game's graphics and sounds may seem beneath that cartridge shell is a game that is very well capable of giving the player one heck of an adventure. I recommend bringing a joystick along for the ride that you know will not break. You will find intense moments where the joystick in your hands will most likely receive extra force that it normally wouldn't receive otherwise. A highly recommended game for 2600 owners.
 
With all of that being said I am updating my favorites list. I actually need to start a new post about how my 2600 games rank as I get them. This, unfortunately, would be way too similar to NoSwearGamer's method...and I don't want to be a "me-too" thing. That is his way...but, sadly, that is a method I would have to use for the time being until I can come up with my own method.

Jungle Hunt was one of many games Atari would bring to their consoles, meaning the 2600 and 5200, that I would not have the joy of experiencing. I'm not sure why this game never made it in my library of games in the past unless we simply could not find it. But it is here now and I have been trying to enjoy the game.  
Jungle Hunt is a side-scrolling, run-and-jump style game. You play as a guy trying to rescue a woman who has been captured by savages. Sound a bit familiar? The game offers four stages of game play and two difficulty settings. Difficulty switches are not used in this game. So, in pops the cart and on goes my 2600. I grab the controller and press the fire button.
 




At the start of the game I'm swinging on a vine and have to jump from vine to vine to reach the next level. Timing of jumps is vital as a mistimed jump can lead to death from a nasty fall. One jump after another what seems like a few seconds and I'm on the next lever before I know it. 

That was a breeze. My guy is swimming in what I believe is a really huge river. In this river are alligators or crocodiles, not sure which, and I don't think it would matter should one have me for lunch. On the right side of the screen just above the "water" is a diving meter. If you dive below the surface of the water the guy can only hold his breath for so long...and that meter is a timer for how long he can hold his breath. Stay underwater too long and you lose a life. I lose two lives in this round; one from an alligator and another one for not paying attention to my breath meter. Opps.
 

The next round our guy has to avoid boulders either by jumping over or ducking under them. There are two size of boulders. The smaller boulders are not difficult and only require timed jumps. The larger boulders, however, are a bit more difficult and I soon learn it is easier to duck under them than to try to jump over them. Before I know it
 

...I'm suddenly standing next to a jumping savage. It takes me a few times to figure out this area and I lose all my lives and have to start over. By the time I make it back here I have managed to keep all of my lives from the start. I study the movement of the savage. Jumps to the right and then jumps back left and seems to pause for a second before jumping again. That's it! I manage to get next to him on his jump right and as he jumps left I move close to him. As soon as he lands I jump over him. Ah HA! Success!! Another savage, same move as before, and jump!
 

And I have managed to save our jungle lady in distress ... for the first time. After my bonus points have been added up we are back at the beginning of the game, ready to do it all over again. This time things are a bit tougher than before. I only manage to make it to the swimming round because the alligators are faster than before and I can't hold my breath as long as I could before. So...game over at the swimming round.
 



Jungle Hunt is a good game. The graphics are not that bad for being a 2600 game. It's easy to visually tell what everything is suppose to represent. There are not many sounds in this game other than when jumping, the bonus points being counted up, drowning or being eaten by alligators, and short tune between levels and at the beginning of the game. Other than that the game is pretty much quiet. The controls are tight and respond very well. It might take a while, however, to time jumps in later levels but as soon as a direction or button is pushed the game responds immediately. 
Jungle Hunt is fun and looks good. I especially enjoy the label artwork that I would have expected to see on the side of the arcade cab. Jungle Hunt is sure to provide with a few minutes to an hour of entertainment. It should also be enjoyable sitting next to more games in a 2600 library.

Before I start going into details I need to be clear about what this post is about. This is not a journalistic review of the console nor am I going to repeat, or try not to repeat, the memories of this console as I have already done that. Nope. This is more about the what and how that wood-grain console has worked its way into my heart in a short amount of time. So...here we go.
 
As mentioned in the post I made called 2600 Memories I never gave the 2600 a fair chance. My first console was the 5200 which I thought blew the 2600 out of water at the time. Then the NES came along and I was blown away. The poor 2600 never caught my attention for long when I would find one. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy the games I played it was the fact that they didn't hold my interest for very long. Of course, I've already mentioned that.
 
Since the arrival of a 4-switch Woody I have had a hard time not wanting to play the system. I've had a Junior model before I acquired the Woody model but it just didn't catch my interest as much for some reason. It wasn't the games. We all know the variations in the consoles is not going to change the games. But there is something about that 4-switch Woody that is appealing. From the insertion of the cartridge, plugging in the controller required for the game to be played, using those shinny chrome switches, to holding the joystick that only offered one fire button, there is a need to satisfy this video game crave. Sounds wild I know but that's the only way I know how to explain it.
 
The 2600 wood-grain design is distinctively associated with the "Atari" name. As is the letters V, C, and S and the number 2600. When you see the wood grain it's hard not to think of Atari, VCS or 2600 and vice versa. What has really captured me is the amount of good games that have made it to the 2600. Most of the games I never knew of simply because it was Nintendo's section or no video games at all for a while. I never knew the 2600 was still being produced for years after the NES became a hit. And even during the NES' popularity Atari was still making 2600 games that I would never hear of until long after Atari was sold off. Only one store in my hometown sold anything Atari and that's where I discovered the Junior model. But if you think about it, the Junior model was already no longer being produced by the time I found it so it might have been a store trying to help sell off some leftover stock for Atari. Who knows.
 
Since the arrival of the 4-switch Woody 2600 my interest in the console has grown so much that the 2600 has found a permanent home in the living room. Normally game systems get used for a bit and then put back in the bedroom on a shelf I have for storing consoles. The 2600 remains attached, plugged in, ready for use. Not a single day has went by where I didn't play a game on it even if it was at the end of the day. I am beginning to wonder if the 2600 has managed to surpass my feelings about the 5200 that has more sentimental value than the 2600 in any shape or form. I can not be certain just yet but I do know I am enjoying every game for the 2600 I have been blessed with.
 
My journey with the 2600, full-force, had only started about a year ago. I am discovering for the first time what this console was all about when it was top-dog. And I am liking everything about the system. The controller variations, arcade-style games, and a few days with Adventure really changed the way I thought about the 2600 years ago. This is a very capable, constantly able to change, piece of gaming hardware. It's no wonder why it has be crowned the king of all consoles. For me? It has become a number one favorite surpassing the NES and my beloved 5200. Since owning the 4-switch my 4-port 5200 has not been used hardly at all. I'm constantly wanting to see what other games are out there...although a bit too late in the game. Now I wish I would have held on to all the hardware, controllers, and games my Mother and I found decades ago. Oh well, live and learn.
 
I owe the Atari.IO members more thanks than I can ever give. Because of you guys I have been able to give the 2600 a much needed chance to show how much it could really entertain. So, thanks to StormSurge for the console and thanks to everyone here who has become my Atari family. The 2600 is truly a remarkable system. It just goes to show that graphics and sounds are not everything...it's all about the game play.

I've been playing the Atari a lot lately. I got some games from a comic store that sells used games. My favorite so far has to be Robot Tank. The reason being, it is amazing in the aspect that it is 3Dish. I can't wait to get more games for the 2600. What's a game you guys recommend?