THE most underappreciated 2600 game...

[RickR]

A little love for a game that rarely gets any.  Nope, not ET....Combat! 

 

Yeah, I know we all have 5 copies in our duplicate pile.  But give me a minute to 'splain.  It's a GREAT game!  A few reasons:

• Three different games in one...tanks, bi-planes, and jets.
• 27 variations
• Programmed by Joe Decuir.  Who dat?  Let's see....basically one of the hardware designers of the 2600 itself!  And the 8-bit computers.  Let's just say he was an important part of Atari and the 2600.
• Given the point above...Combat is essentially a tech demo of what the 2600 was designed to do.  Player/missile graphics -- Combat is players and missiles.  Copying sprites like stamps = the multiple plane variations.  Double sizing sprites = the large plane vs. small plane variations.  Lots of colors.  No flicker.  Hardware designer showing off what he designed by writing a killer piece of software. 
• Probably the best game of the initial Atari release-day games.  And they included it with the console.
• That awesome box art!
• You ever notice how every system of that era has a Combat-esque game, but none of them compare to Combat?  I'm looking at you Intellivision and Odyssey 2.
• It's FUN.  Admit it!  How many hours did you spend with this game as a kid?
• I personally can totally annihilate my kids at this game.  No practice needed.  They can kick mine at anything with more than 2 buttons, but there is no question...Dad is Combat KING.

Post your Combat opinions and memories below.

[greenween]

You are dead on Rick!! I played Combat with my friends more than any other game! Fishing Derby too!

[StormSurge]

I agree completely. Combat is a go-to game whenever I have friends over. I enjoyed it when it was in its heyday & still love it now. (See my avatar)

[Rowsdower70]

Everyone had it, so we all played it.   If a kid had a bunch of games you didnt like, or you ones they didnt like...you could come together and slug it out in combat.

It is what it is, a pack in game....and a solid one to keep a kid entertained on Christmas morning.

[Arenafoot]

Its a good 2 player game - not so much as a 1 player. And I was an only child til I was a Junior in high school............

[RickR]

Its a good 2 player game - not so much as a 1 player. And I was an only child til I was a Junior in high school............

The following people can also get their butts kicked at Combat:

• Cousins
• Neighbors
• Parents
• Babysitters
• School chums

[Sabertooth]

Loved Combat and Air Sea Battle. Some great memories there for sure.

[chas10e]

I got my "Atari" (2600 - VCS) Christmas of '77 with one other game (Star Ship). Combat got the most play til later games came out. I liked the bi-planes with machine guns blazing the whole time

 

my more recent Combat experiences playing with the nephews ...

 

• one of my twin nephews , decided to play through all 27 variations in one sitting ( swapping controllers only on the bi-planes vs Bomber ), was great time , but talk about hand cramping & STILL wanting to play more !!!!
• another younger nephew , no matter what game I had in he'd always ask if I had another game to play .... I had Combat in & told him we'd play that ... he made no effort to defend himself ... BUT when ever I shot him , his brother would bust out laughing .... THAT was the game I was playing making his brother laugh 
• the other Twin nephew, he's quite competitive & usually a really good gamer  ... I was mopping the floors with him in Tanks .... then I looked @ his controller & saw he was holding it with the button to the upper LEFT right    .... I think he was a little embarrassed so we prolly went on to a more modern system to play 

EDIT: I dunno my own right from left 

[AlamoAtari]

That reason with the controller is why they had to put top on the upper housing

[StormSurge]

 

• the other Twin nephew, he's quite competitive & usually a really good gamer  ... I was mopping the floors with him in Tanks .... then I looked @ his controller & saw he was holding it with the button to the upper LEFT   .... I think he was a little embarrassed so we prolly went on to a more modern system to play 

 

 

Wait a minute. I've been holding the joystick wrong my whole life??? What's the preferred way to hold it??

[chas10e]

whoppsie ... I meant upper right :unsure:

 

will edit , thanks

[Atari Adventure Square]

SO true Rick

 

Combat is a classic

 

It was the perfect game for the Christmas arrival of the system, as family and friends would come over and 4-bit warfare could happen.

I was also an only child, Arena, so yeah it was not a game that offered much to the lone soldier.

 

Maybe that's why I have fond memories of this one, as the camaraderie with pals comes back to mind when thinking about it.

Also recalling the proud showmanship of detailing the awesome coolness of the sparkling new 2600 to bemused, inrigued or slightly bored cousins, aunts and uncles, as I shoved the cart in the slot and let 'er rip before they could walk away.

 

Good times.

[Atari 5200 Guy]

I have this game but since I'm generally the only one who plays the 2600, and we have no company, it doesn't get played.  I agree...easily a classic.

[MaximumRD]

COMBAT...perhaps the greatest pack in OF ALL TIME! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image courtesy of my amazing MS Paint skillz. 

 

[correagonzalez]

I dont think its a bad game just a little repetitive after a while lol

[Bakerman]

I think we all played it to death with friends and family back in the day, and I would still play it if i wasn't a lone gamer for years on end. But my half-dozen copies still sit collecting dust because it is a multi-player game, no fun against the 2600 alone, imho.