KEN ROSEN'S TOP TEN ATARI CONSOLE AND COMPUTER GAMES mct_fm_k@msn.com Here's my own personal top ten list: 10. Stellar Track (2600/Sears Telegames) I'd have loved to put Star Raiders on my list, but I never really played it on a console, just on the computers. But I really dug the galactic strategic combat scenario, and I went nuts for Stellar Track. I originally bought it because I couldn't figure out which Atari game it mapped to (I didn't know Sears had a few exclusives back then), and it sounded like the old "Star Trek" game I typed into a TRS-80 from an issue of Creative Computing some time before. It was almost exactly the same game, which was fine by me! I played it countless times, and it was the first computer/video game that was able to grab me and hold me with pure strategy and no action. A classic. 9. Vanguard (5200/Atari) The game that finally won me over to a 5200. This was one of my all-time favorite coin-ops, and I was sorely disappointed by the 2600 version (especially the music, or lack thereof). The SuperSystem version, however, was a beautiful, faithful port. 8. Pele's Soccer (2600/Atari) (also known as Championship Soccer & Pele's Championship Soccer) Home Run, Basketball, Football... all the early 2600 sports games sucked, and not just in retrospect. All except for Championship soccer, that is. Even today, the game is still intensely challenging. At its time, the overhead graphics were an innovative way to escape the need for detail. The action was fast and smooth, and the gameplay was tough, especially with penalties enabled. And the fireworks still tickle me as much as they did back then. 7. Yar's Revenge (2600/Atari) The closest thing to Star Castle, and something quite different at the same time. Smooth graphics, great sound, intense action, and an easter egg to boot! My favorite 2600 shooter, by far. 6. Super Breakout (2600/Atari) I bought this game for the sound effects, and played it for the "Progressive" round. I was never a big fan of the original Breakout, but this game won me over immediately. 5. Stampede (2600/Activision) Of all the Activision games, this one is my favorite. Don't know why exactly, but I suspect it's due to the originality of the game at a time when 2600 carts were mostly coin-op adaptations or variations of a coin-op theme. It still challenges the heck out of me. 4. Tempest 2000 (Jaguar/Atari) Like so many others, I bought the system for this game alone. And although I own a couple of dozen others, no other Jag game comes close to matching the beauty of this game. The true measure of its success: I still find myself entering the "Tempest Trance," the closest thing to one-ness I've ever experienced with a video game, except maybe for the original Tempest coin-op. 3. Video Olympics (2600/Atari) I dug Pong, and I really dug Super Pong. Long before I had my own VCS, I was digging Video Olympics to death on my friend's system. Like Warlords, the four-player games rocked, and the wild angles and speed changes made the game almost manic at times. 2. Superman (2600/Atari) I had to choose between Superman and Adventure for my top ten list, and although I love them both, there's something about Superman that gave it the edge. As primitive as it seems today, there was a sense of realism back then that made me feel like I was really in the game, and I think that was the first home game that actually did that for me. Gotta play this one with both difficulty switches on "a;" the game remains challenging even today. 1. Warlords (2600/Atari) When I first bought my Atari 2600, I bought two games to go along with it: Asteroids, which ceased to be a challenge before long; and Warlords, which became my immediate and all-time favorite video game. What really set the Atari 2600 apart from Intellivision was the ability to play with up to three other people simultaneously, which added an entirely new dynamic to game play. Warlords was the best example of this: it needs to be played with four people. I tried it once or twice by myself, or with another person, and quickly decided never to play it unless all battle stations were manned. With four skilled players, no modern game can match the tension and action of Warlords. There are others I would like to have included. My honorable mention list, in no particular order: 2600 Combat Adventure Circus Atari Dodge'em Kaboom! Atlantis Super Challenge Baseball Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Turmoil 7800 Xevious Food Fight