Retro Atari Classics NDS

A load of great old favorite Atari games brought back to life for the Nintendo DS. My daughter had a ball playing these games and at such an extremely great low price ! I would recommend this multi-game cartridge for anyone.

Ordinarily I really enjoy these classic collections. The inclusion of optional graphical modes was really neat, and I wish they'd do something similar in other classic compilations. Unfortunately, the controls made this set of games unplayable. When I'm in the mood for some retro-gaming, I don't want to have to worry about the interface. I just want to sit back, blast some bad guys, and enjoy the nostalgia. Forcing us to use unintuitive controls breaks the vibe and makes the game worthless.

There are many solid collections of retro games out there; this is not one of them. From the mediocre selection of titles to the sub-par ports, as a no-frills "Atari Museum" this would have been a fairly below-average game. But the "retro remix" versions of each title are hideous and add absolutely nothing. If only Atari had given the same care and attention to this game collection as Bandai Namco did its "Namco Museum DS", we might have something worthwhile. As it stands, this game is not worth owning.

Great collection of game for all the old school gamers. It brought back memories of the Atari and Colleco Vision. Also good for the younger generation.

This compilation of classic Atari games includes Asteroids, Breakout, Centipede, Gravitar, Lunar Lander, Pong, Missile Command, Sprint, Tempest, and Warlords. This is a great buy for fans of classic arcade games, offering the additional lure of dual screen action and optional stylus control. Warlords even provides multiplayer action. Each version has both a classic version and a "remix" with new graphics, although in general I found that the remixed versions left me cold.For the most part, the games work well with stylus control, and a few really shine. Missile Command is particularly impressive, and is the first home version I've seen that really captures the excitement of the trackball controlled coin-op original. Both screens are used. Incoming missiles are first visible on the upper screen, although satellites and bombers fly across the top of the lower screen. Antimissiles are fired simply by tapping the target point. Although stylus control must be done on the lower touch sensitive screen, you can hold down L, and your stylus clicks are transmitted to the corresponding location of the upper screen. However, this is a bit tricky, and by later levels I found myself working on the lower screen entirely. Graphics are a bit simplified compared to the arcade original, but work well on the small screen. The one thing I really miss is huge, expanding Game Over fireball, which has been dropped for some reason. Still, it is not a full recreation of the coin-op. As in most home versions, you do not have independent control of your 3 missile bases, eliminating a strategy element that was present in the arcade. Also, the "smart" missiles are much less smart than in the original version.Tempest also works quite well with the pad, although it takes a bit more practice to get used to this input method than with Missile Command. You move your man by scratching left or right on the trackscreen. The lower display depicts a one-dimensional roller controller. Perhaps memory fades, but I remember the original having a spinner knob. I wish there was an option to control it by drawing circles, instead of scratching back and forth. Still, the control of your man works very well, with a bit of momentum that lets you recreate the sensation of spinning the controller.Centipede (which originally had a trackball) also worked pretty well with the pad, but I couldn't get as enthusiastic about it. I'm not sure if it was the control scheme or if I'm just not that enthusiastic about the game anymore. A nice feature is that the two screens does a good job of simulating the sideways monitor of the coin-op.Breakout works perfectly with the pad, providing impeccable control of the paddle. The two screens again simulate a sideways monitor, although there is a small problem (also evident on Missile Command) in that the screens behave "as if" they were contiguous, when there is actually a small gap between them. This creates a refractive effect that makes it hard to correctly extrapolate diagonal movement of the ball (or missile tracks) crossing from the top screen to the bottom one. But Breakout is just too simple a game to have much appeal. I found myself wishing for Arkanoid, or at least Super Breakout.Asteroids doesn't really need a trackpad--it was a button control game in the arcades. Still, Atari has provided a pad control mechanism that actually works quite well, although you can also use the buttons. I was never much of an Asteroids fan, but it seemed to work well. All of the games include "Remix" versions with updated graphics. For most of the games, I did not find the remix graphics appealing. Asteroids was an exception, with a novel geometric theme.Gravitar was ruinously difficult in the arcades. That is preserved here, and made more so by the small DS display. I'm glad to have it, but it really needs a big monitor.For the price, I'd consider the package to be a bargain. Two of the games, Missile Command and Tempest, are topnotch adaptations that benefit from the touchpad, and retain their addictive appeal.Some of the other choices are a bit odd. Why Breakout and not SuperBreakout? Why not Millipede instead of Centipede? Why no Crystal Castles? I'm hoping this means that Atari is contemplating a sequel, perhaps one that would rectify the greatest omission: Quantum. Quantum was a brilliantly original Atari coin-op that was never widely distributed, probably because it was released just before the great arcade crash of '83. You used a trackball to draw circles around "particles." It would seem tailor made for the touchpad. Perhaps next time.I hope that other manufacturers of classic coin-ops follow Atari's example and take another look at their classic games with an eye toward the DS and its touch pad, especially for games with trackballs or other non-joystick controls. I'd love to see a DS version of Reactor, for example.

Even at the dawn of the video game era,gamers were a secretive society. High scores on stand alone quarter machines were a source of tribal pride/secret strategy. The home systems were a source of endless practice sessions,knowing what came next and new levels of game play were costly on the stands in parlors.

While Pong, Centipede, and Asteroids WERE groundbreaking, they aren't "Classic" on this console. If you're one of the rare types who finds the old Atari games more mesmerizing than any of the new stuff on the market, then you could potentially enjoy this title.Otherwise, it's hard to have any appreciation for this if you switch game cartridges from Meteos or Mario Kart to this. Retro Atari just doesn't deliver.It should also be noted that the controls aren't consistent. For some games you have to use the stylus to "Touch the Screen" but as soon as the game begings, you're required to use the directional pad.

I do not remember ordering this item but if I did I am sure I would have returned it because I have no machine to play it on.