Video Game Review #484: Atlantis

Atlantis

Atari 2600

Nostalgia Factor:

Atlantis is one of the first video games I can ever remember playing. My dad had an Atari 2600 in his basement, and this game was in his collection. I remember being intrigued by Atlantis, with its fun box art and its mysterious underwater science fiction setting. I always felt as if the game had an interesting story it was trying to tell.

Despite my interest in the game, I was never very good at it. Playing sessions would only last a couple minutes before the city was destroyed and I had to start the whole game over again. I played this game quite a bit as a kid, but once I moved on from the 2600 to the NES, I never bothered to play Atlantis again.

I haven't played this game since the 1980s, which means that at least 30 years have passed since I last played it. How would I feel about this game now? Let's find out.

Story:

Nothing is really explained in-game. Perhaps there is something in the instruction manual about what is going on. I've never read it, though.

From what I am able to gather, you play as a gunman who is attempting to defend the city of Atlantis from a hostile aerial bombardment. There is no way to "beat" the game, you're just looking to get the highest score. Eventually your defenses will be breached and the city will be destroyed. 

Gameplay:

Gameplay is as simple as it gets. There are three mounted defense turrets: one in the middle of the screen, one on the left, and one on the right. Press the fire button to fire a shot from the middle turret. Hold left and press the fire button to fire a shot from the left turret. Guess what? You hold right and press the fire button to fire a shot from the right turret.

Enemy ships will make passes across the screen, starting from the top of the screen. On each successive pass, they get closer to the surface - and by association, your home base. The longer you play, the faster these ships get. If you don't destroy them by their fourth pass, they fire a laser beam that will cut through your defenses if it hits one of your power generators. 

Systematically, they will knock out your canons the more they hit you - leaving you with one at the end. When that canon is destroyed, the game is over.

As I said before, there is no end to this game. It just keeps going and going. Your goal is to get the highest score. I played for about 20 minutes and only got hit one time. I think my score was something in the three millions? Or maybe it was three hundred thousands? Or maybe thirty thousands? It was three something. All I know is that I could have kept playing for another 20 minutes, and another 20 more. I was not getting challenged whatsoever. I eventually had to just let myself die on purpose so that the game would end.

There are three different types of enemy ships: a ship that looks like the Starship Enterprise, a ship that looks like a Star Destroyer, and a super fast little ship that looks an X-Wing fighter. Coincidence? Hmmm...

When you hit the small X-Wing looking ship, it blows up with a flash of white, destroying every enemy on screen. So always go for those ships if you have the chance. They are the smallest and the fastest, so hitting them can be difficult. I had that timing down pat when I was playing, though.

That's pretty much all there is to this game. Don't come into this expecting a deep, lasting experience. After I put in my 20 minutes, I turned the game off. I'd seen everything there was to see here.

Graphics:

Obviously, this is a pretty basic looking game. I mean, this is a 41 year old game for the Atari 2600. It came out in July of 1982, the same month I was born. It's as old as me!

That said, it still looks better than most 2600 games. I always enjoyed the aesthetic of the game as a kid, and how nice and pleasant and advanced Atlantis looks. Well, pleasant if you ignore the attack ships streaking by overhead, of course.

It's bright and colorful. It's an easy game to look at. I mentioned this before, but I love how the attack ships seem to be inspired by Star Wars and Star Trek. I also enjoy how you can see the city take damage the more you get hit - which I always thought was a nice touch. So yeah, for such an old 2600 game this ain't half bad looking.

Sound:

This game doesn't have any music, which is fine. Sound effects are supplied through the standard Atari bleeps and bloops. I swear I've heard half these sound effects in other old 2600 games!

It works, though. Helps add to the mysterious, yet tense atmosphere of the game. There's really nothing remarkable here, but if you put a gun to my head and asked me if I thought the game's sound was good or bad, I'd definitely say good.

Overall:

Despite this game's simplicity and its easy level of difficulty, I still had a good time with it. This is a game, though, that is only good for short bursts at a time. I played it for 20 minutes and got sick of it and had to let myself lose. I wish it got so insanely fast that I was able to lose on my own merits. And maybe it does if you play for something like 40 or 50 minutes. I just don't have time for that, though. Things get boring and repetitive long, long before that.

But I still liked it. And now that I've reintroduced myself to the game, I can totally see myself coming back to it every once in a while when I have a little time to kill. Is it a great game? No. But it is not a trainwreck, either. It's fun! But like I said, only fun for short bursts.

Atlantis is easily one of the best 2600 games I've ever played. The 2600 is extremely outdated and kind of sucks, so I wouldn't exactly consider that glowing praise. But hey, it's something! Definitely check it out if you have the means to do so.

THE GRADE:

C+

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