WALTER LAMBERT'S TOP TEN ATARI CONSOLE AND COMPUTER GAMES waltam@webtv.net I've never claimed to be an expert, but I've had a video game system since 1978, when my uncle gave me his old Atari Pong system after it destroyed his old TV set! A year later I got a 2600 after seeing my other uncle's Sears Tele-Arcade, you know, the system with the silver front! I've owned ColecoVision, the 5200, Intellivision, etc., but I would have to say looking back that the Atari always held a soft spot for me! Well, on to the list, and a note to any reader of this, e-mail me sometime and I'd love to talk shop with you! 10. E.T. (2600/Atari) I'll agree that this game was nowhere near revolutionary, but I always enjoyed wiggling the joystick and watching E.T. do a weird dance while getting out of the well! 9. Basketball (2600/Atari) It seemed early on that I had no problems with mastering ANY Atari game, but this one challenged me for a while! Gotta admit, it was fun watching the computer player's fits when you got a 10 or more point lead! 8. Video Pinball (2600/Atari) The only thing that can trigger a headache faster than a Slurpee from 7-11 is playing this one for 10 minutes in total darkness! 7. Skiing (2600/Activision) Whenever I had friends over, this is the one game that we would play for hours on end, trying to get that "Perfect" run! 6. Demon Attack (2600/Imagic) I read once in an old Electronic Games Magazine about a guy who played this one so long that after (I think) the 6th screen of the 6th wave the screen would go completely blank! The editor's response, which I remember clearly, was that there would be only a handful of players that have ever seen that! I knew right then I had to become one of those people, and about 2 months later, I was! The game itself was pretty much the same, over and over, but the accomplishment I made puts this one in my list! 5. Ms. Pac-Man (2600/Atari) During the years from 1979 through 1986, I was continuously disappointed by the fact that most arcade games translated so poorly into Videogames! (Examples: Donkey Kong (VCS), Burgertime (VCS), Atari Pac-Man (VCS), etc.) Ms. Pac-Man was, in my opinion, one of the first coin-op to Videogame translations that brought the arcade home! (Quiz: Remember who advertised "Bring the Arcade Home?") 4. Berzerk (2600/Atari) I had a thing for maze games at the time, and this one was really challenging! My favorite part was getting down to one enemy and watching the robot shoot constantly at the wall while I was on the other side! 3. The Dreadnaught Factor (5200/Activision) You are the only line of defense against an army of heavily fortified ships seeking to destory Earth! I apologize to all of you, because you've died several times over! Wasn't my fault though, it was those lousy non-centering joysticks! One cool thing about Activision is that they didn't just call their game options Level 1, Level 2, etc., they made you a Space Cadet, or a Wing Commander, or a Bronco Buster, or all sorts of things! On this game, the highest level has 125 ships, and is called the YGTBK level!!!! And anyone who's played this game knows it's true, You've Got To Be Kidding!!!!! 2. Enduro (2600/Activision) If Night Driver and Pole Position were Camaros, Enduro was the Corvette! Ground, snow, night, dusk, all made for some GREAT racing! 1. StarMaster (2600/Activision) After reading through all of the other's favorites, I was shocked that this one was hardly recognized! There's so much to do in this game! Your mission, protect the Star Bases from being destroyed by the enemy. Easier said than done! I think it was revolutionary that the game designers made you use the console switches as well as the joystick to play this one! For those who've played this, the most knuckle-gripping scenario? Your star-bases are gone, your shields are gone, and you have 3 ships left to destroy! Energy is about half, and one more hit and you're a goner! Honest, I pulled that one out once, and I felt like I should've won a trip to Disneyland! Well, those are my favorites! Other great ones that just missed the list for me were: Frogger (2600): Close enough to the arcade for me! H.E.R.O. (2600): I actually enjoyed the 2600 version MORE than the Commodore 64 version! Q*bert (2600): Lousy arcade translation, but fun I'm outta here! Like I said, if anyone ever wants to talk shop, you have my address!