MATT HUTZLEMANN'S TOP TEN ATARI CONSOLE AND COMPUTER GAMES mhutz@juno.com All games 2600 unless otherwise noted. I didn't put any Jaguar games, mostly because they all suck. These might not be the greatest Atari games, but they are the ones that have a special place for me. 10. Video Pinball (2600/Atari) Sure, it got boring, and it was easy, but it played. I still love the counter (I got 35 once), the easy extra ball, and the 1000 point thing that looked like a Crispex. Once, I got over 2,000,000; my mom made me turn it off. 9. Super Challenge Baseball (2600/Mattel M-Network) Forget World Series for the Saturn, this is real baseball. I rule at this game. But the best part of this game was if the ball was hit to one of your fielders, and you threw it the *instant* you caught it, the ball would curve toward home. And the first time this happened, it was a homer!!!! Against me!!!! And I lost!!!!! This beats RealSports, and of course beats Home Run. And hitting a home run (which sounded like the name of an old Phillies player Bob Dernier) made the day. 8. Raiders Of The Lost Ark (2600/Atari) I might have put more hours on this than any adventure game. Hell, any game, period. Still, to this day, I never got the fabled initials with 18 (or 19) rings. Raiders had it all, strategy, action, religious artifacts that looked like pretzels, and the raving lunatic. 7. Superman (2600/Atari) Had to have this. With the beginning trick (X-ray hold) My brother once finished it in 57 seconds. Plucking Lex Luther out without getting hit by the Kryptonite was such a feeling. But Lois was a pain. 6. Food Fight (7800/Atari) Had to throw in one 7800 game. The replays made this game. And of course unlimited watermelons were the best. 5. Decathlon (2600/Activision) THE original joystick wiggle, button push game. And contrary to what any historical revisionists claim, >I< discovered the button push trick for the pole vault. This game is still a challenge, and is still tiring as all hell. Still contains the all time hell event, the 1500 meters. (Hey, I ran it for real in college) 4. Robot Tank (2600/Activision) Hey, sure this game it repetitive, but isn't Tetris? I remember when I first brought this game home and first witnessed my tank being blown apart and losing contact. Talk about awesome!!!! By the time you got up to five squadrons, this game got impossible. I also loved when every part of the tank was damaged (video, radar, turret, cannon) and I was hanging on for dear life. 3. Adventure (2600/Atari) Hey, sure you were a square, but it was marvelous. My thanks to Warren Robinett and the magic dot for creating the first real easter egg. Nothing can make your heart race like being chased by a red dragon when you're stuck in the maze. To pack all this into the 2600 was amazing. 2. Warlords (2600/Atari) Super Bomberman might be the multiplayer game, but the original was Warlords. I still remember playing four player with my friends. I was always yellow. The best was the bug in catch mode that made someone self destruct when they tried a fast move. Great fun, nerve racking. 1. Pitfall II: Lost Caverns (2600/Activision) Yes, like my friend Craig, this has to be considered the greatest Atari 2600 game ever. Going light years beyond any other game for the 2600, this combined story line, with great sound, music, action, strategy, and fun. Nothing beat the balloons, and the final push to get Quickclaw was *damn* hard. Honorable mention... Enduro (Activision/2600) Xevious (7800/Atari) Defender (2600/Atari) Pitfall (2600/Activision) Star Raiders (2600, 5200/Atari) Indy 500 (2600/Atari) Ice Hockey (2600/Activision) M*A*S*H (2600/20th Century Fox) Blackjack (2600/Atari) Ms. Pac-Man (2600/Atari) Vanguard (2600/Atari) Joust (7800/Atari) H.E.R.O. (2600/Activision) Track and Field (2600/Atari) Skiing (2600/Activision) Basketball (just kidding) and a few more I could mention or just forgot.