CRAIG MUNDT'S TOP TEN ATARI CONSOLE AND COMPUTER GAMES Craig.Mundt@nte.com A few weeks ago my mother found my old Atari 2600 and about 40 games in the garage and asked if I wanted it or should she just throw it away. I had her ship it to me (in two big boxes) and when I hooked it up I was instantly transported back to 1982. Here is my list of my top 10 Atari 2600 games... 10. Combat (2600/Atari) It came with the system so it was the only game we had at first. My brother and I would play all day and it never seemed to get boring. I loved the times when you could hit your opponent 5-6 times right in a row before they would be able to move out of the way. 9. Raiders of the Lost Ark (2600/Atari) One of the first true RPG and one of the best. I spent a lot of time playing this one and had a blast every time. 8. Joust (2600/Atari) Still one of my most favorite games. The idea of flying an ostrich, collecting eggs and stabbing your opponents is one of the most original and fun ideas ever. 7. Venture (2600/Coleco) My friend had the Colecovision version with better graphics and I was so jealous. But I still had fun with my lowly 2600 version. 6. Pitfall II (2600/Activision) I remember playing all night once until I was able to win, and when I did I screamed and yelled and was so proud of myself, too bad it was at 1:30am and my parents were sleeping, the "chewing out" I got from them didn't dampen my victory one bit. 5. Dodge 'Em (2600/Atari) The graphics were terrible and the sound was terrible, but I lost many an hour to playing it. Just goes to show that game play makes great games not great graphics. 4. Warlords (2600/Atari) The epic battles with my brother and friends playing 4 person were some of the best times I had with my Atari. Unfortunately my older brother was better and would always win and do his victory dance over all his fallen opponents. 3. Decathlon (2600/Activision) I loved beating all my friends because I was the only one who knew the Pole Vault trick. I also used it to get just enough points to earn my gold medal patch. 2. Adventure (2600/Atari) I don't remember how we figured out the dot trick when we were kids, but that was the first thing I did when I got my old 2600 hooked up a couple weeks ago. I still have a blast killing the "ducks" and I still hate the bat when he takes the exact item I need. 1. Yars' Revenge (2600/Atari) I just got a hold of another copy and have been playing a lot. Great game and easy to play. One of the best games ever on any system. This game definitely deserves an updated version.