I love Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration. Regular readers know that I’m a sucker for gaming history stuff, and this was one of the slicker packages we’ve seen in that category in quite some time. Atari has been a busy beaver since its release, acquiring quite a few properties and studios. Between that and a few gaps in the initial collection, Atari has enough games in its bag to do some nice DLC. The Wider World of Atari is the first of two, costing $7.99 and adding a full new timeline to the story. It also brings nineteen games with it, so whether you’re in it for the games or the documentary content, you’re getting something here. Let’s take a detailed look.
The Wider World of Atari timeline is a little less focused than the previous ones, but that makes sense. It touches on a variety of topics, with the first being to fill out a bit of the goings-on at Atari back in the day. There are more video interviews with people who worked there at the time, including one very fascinating one with graphic designer Evelyn Seto where she talks about the creation of the Fuji logo and some of the thinking behind Atari’s packaging. It was also interesting hearing about the rivalry between the coin-op and consumer divisions from the people who were there. There’s also a brief mention of the Sears Tele-Games brand.
The next stop on the trip is a brief one, and it mainly seems to exist to have a reason to stick Atari’s newly-acquired Berzerk and Frenzy games in here. It talks about how Atari often brought arcade games from other manufacturers to the 2600, but with these games being the only real examples it feels a bit undercooked. For whatever reason, Atari Video Cube is crammed in here at the end. This was a mail-order Atari Club game and I’m not sure what it has to do with arcade ports, but I suppose it doesn’t matter that much.
After that, there’s a little bit about the post-NES Atari 2600 revival. I like that this timeline brings in some of the games added in the free DLC from a little while ago, making them part of the story. The timeline finishes up with a nod to 2600 homebrew developers and a little bit about discovered prototypes, again bringing those games into the narrative. With plenty of video interviews and a fair amount of extra material, this timeline was fun to experience even if it didn’t have a tight thesis.
As for the games, I’ll follow in my footsteps for when those games were added as free DLC a while back. That’s right: it’s quick thoughts time!
Berzerk (2600): For its time and platform, this is a surprisingly strong port of the arcade game. It’s a little on the easy side thanks to frequent extra lives and the advantage you have over the robots. You can shoot diagonally, and they can’t. Quite fun, but don’t forget to kick the difficulty up. Otto doesn’t even appear on the default one.
Berzerk Voice Enhanced (2600): But really, this is the 2600 version of Berzerk you’re going to want to play. It has voices! Robots can shoot diagonally! A very impressive piece of homebrew that is now official, I suppose. You might even find this more fun than the arcade game.
Berzerk (5200): This port had the advantage at the time of being the one with the voices. It’s good to have another 5200 game in the mix, but I think this is my least favorite of the included Berzerks. It just doesn’t feel as good to play as the others.
Berzerk (Arcade): Berzerk is an excellent shooter for its time, and while you might yearn for some twin stick controls you can rest assured the game is designed around you not having that ability. Tons of character for such a simple game, too. It’s great to have it in the selection.
Frenzy (Arcade): Berzerk’s sequel has some new twists that make it a satisfying variant to dig into after you’ve gotten your fill of the first. Not much of an Atari connection beyond them owning it now, but I’ll never say no to another quality title in the mix.
Red Baron (Arcade): A first-person dog-fighting game from 1981. It uses vector graphics, and shares a lot of its aesthetic with Battlezone. This was probably a little too involved for arcade goers of the day, but it’s enjoyable enough to spend time with when you have the luxury of unlimited credits.
Sky Diver (Arcade): Your plane flies overhead, and you control when your little fellow jumps out and when they open their parachute. You have limited control after that, but you need to try to land on your respective landing pad to earn points. As simple as can be but it’s surprisingly enjoyable and has charm to burn.
Avalanche (Arcade): This might seem like a rip-off of Activision’s Kaboom!, but a quick look at the dates of each will tell you which direction that “inspiration” went in. A fun game about catching falling junk with your paddle.
Destroyer (Arcade): Your ship goes across the top of screen, and you need to blast the ships underneath you. You can set the depth your bombs will explode at, and you can choose when to launch them. Your ship moves on its own. Simple, but decent enough for what it is.
Super Bug (Arcade): A very early top-down driving game where you’re driving what appears to be a Volkswagon Beetle around a course. This was played with a steering wheel and pedals in its original form, and it just doesn’t quite work the same with a controller.
Football (Arcade): An extremely rudimentary take on American football. You’ll need a second player to play this game as there is no CPU opponent. Not very exciting, but it has historical value. This was the arcade game that popularized the use of trackballs, and that’s not nothing.
Stellar Track (2600): If nothing else, this is an oddity in the 2600’s line-up. It’s basically as good of a port of the 1971 mainframe computer game Star Trek as the console could muster. A text-based strategy game, and one where the manual is vital until you get the hang of things. At its 1980 release, some questioned the value of a high-priced remake of an old game. War never changes.
Submarine Commander (2600): A relatively simple shooting gallery type affair. A person could spend a few minutes with it here and there, if they were so inclined.
Atari Video Cube (2600): Clearly inspired by the Rubik’s Cube toys that were all the rage at the time, this one sees you controlling a little guy who has to make all the squares on each side of a cube one color. You can pick up a color by dropping the one you’re carrying, but you’re not able to cross squares that match your character’s color. It’s okay.
Desert Falcon (2600): There were a few head-scratching choices for games in the base Atari 50, and here’s another one. Desert Falcon is a very ambitious isometric shooter in the vein of games like Zaxxon. Indeed, it’s too ambitious for the 2600. The Atari 7800 version is far better, but there’s no sign of it here. Why?
Off the Wall (2600): An amusing little spin on the old Breakout formula. This was one of the last games for the Atari 2600 back in the day, and is notable among Atari games of this sort for not having paddle control support. It was designed for the stick and is thus a bit easier to manage on modern controllers than things like Super Breakout.
Steeplechase (2600): It’s a horse-racing game! Well, really it’s more of a game of hurdles. Various hurdles will come at you, and you need to use good timing to hop over them. More difficult variations will require you to adjust the height of your jumps. It’s fine.
Sky Diver (2600): A decent enough conversion of the arcade game, though one that feels a bit on the redundant side with the original included in this DLC. Interesting to play just to see how it was ported, I suppose.
Avalanche (Atari 8-Bit): A solid port of the arcade game. The smaller vertical space makes it easier at times and harder at others. Good to have another Atari 8-Bit game in the list, even if this one comes off as somewhat redundant with the arcade version available.
If you enjoyed the original Atari 50, you’ll find The Wider World of Atari to be more than worth that meager $7.99 asking price. Be advised that Atari is planning on a physical release in November that will include the base game, this DLC, and the second one scheduled for November. You might want to wait and pick it all up in one fell swoop at that point. Up to you. A terrific addition to an already fantastic set, and I can’t wait to see the next DLC.
Score: 4.5/5
