Atari 5200 Review: CENTIPEDE by Atari The 5200 version of Centipede is perfect as far as I can tell, although I'm the first to admit I'm not a Centipede expert so I don't know why I'm tossing around these prophetic statements. What I do know for sure about the 5200 version of Centipede is that the graphics and sound effects are excellent, and the control is good. With a trak-ball instead of a joystick, the control and overall gameplay improve dramatically. I'm really at a loss as to how this game could be made closer to the original. For those who don't know, you are a gnome or some other little forest guy and you are alone in your quest to blast an approaching centipede as well as most of the mushroom forest with your powerful magic wand. I'm not sure exactly why you'd want to punch holes into mushrooms or centipedes, but I think it has something to do with suspension of disbelief. Anyway, there are also innocent scorpions and fleas to peg with your wand. In fact the only critter that's actually out to get you is the spider, but perhaps he's simply pissed off that you're offing all of his buddies! At any rate, this explanation makes more sense than any reason you can come up with as to why you'd want to shoot centipedes. I was never a huge fan of Centipede (for no particular reason, just never "got into it"), but for those who are, the 5200 version delivers. It's also easy to find and inexpensive, which is why I picked it up. An extremely faithful translation of the popular arcade version. Title Centipede Publisher Atari System Atari 5200 SuperSystem Graphics 7 Sound 7 Gameplay 6 Overall 6 Reviewer Karlis Povisils