This particular version of ASTEROIDS was released in 1981 for the Atari 2600 home gaming system. While it's still fun, it pales in comparison to the 1979 arcade version.
First of all, the graphics are substandard, shoddy, and generally inferior to its predecessor. The arcade version showcased clear and very well-defined vector-based graphics that were truly top-notch for the time. The 2600 version has a bunch of brightly colored messy blobs that are constantly flashing because of the unavoidable "too many sprites on the screen at one time" dilemma. It's a real eyesore, and becomes too tough to stand after a while.
Secondly, the sound here is irritating and repetitive. The constant high-pitched noise of the spaceship firing is seriously headache-inducing. Also, in the coin-op version the ambient background sounds really helped get the adrenalin pumping, and sometimes made the game just too nerveracking to handle. In this version, these sounds just plain don't work.
Lastly, and most upsettingly, this game is just too damn easy! Even on the maximum difficulty level I was able to max out the high score with very little effort. While playing the arcade version, it was a one-of-a-kind, exhilarating experience if you made the high score list. With this particular version, however, the gameplay is way too monotonous to really want to bother trying.
In spite of this game's many faults, though, it remains a classic, important addition to any Atari afficionado's cartridge collection. Just be sure to play it with the volume down!
First of all, the graphics are substandard, shoddy, and generally inferior to its predecessor. The arcade version showcased clear and very well-defined vector-based graphics that were truly top-notch for the time. The 2600 version has a bunch of brightly colored messy blobs that are constantly flashing because of the unavoidable "too many sprites on the screen at one time" dilemma. It's a real eyesore, and becomes too tough to stand after a while.
Secondly, the sound here is irritating and repetitive. The constant high-pitched noise of the spaceship firing is seriously headache-inducing. Also, in the coin-op version the ambient background sounds really helped get the adrenalin pumping, and sometimes made the game just too nerveracking to handle. In this version, these sounds just plain don't work.
Lastly, and most upsettingly, this game is just too damn easy! Even on the maximum difficulty level I was able to max out the high score with very little effort. While playing the arcade version, it was a one-of-a-kind, exhilarating experience if you made the high score list. With this particular version, however, the gameplay is way too monotonous to really want to bother trying.
In spite of this game's many faults, though, it remains a classic, important addition to any Atari afficionado's cartridge collection. Just be sure to play it with the volume down!