If you remember the last time Atari tried
to bring their older games to the DS, you can be forgiven for casting a
wary eye on the latest attempt to revive the legendary game company’s
library. The good news is that the company seems to have learned from the
mistakes they made last time and have instead focused on putting as many
classic titles and their evergreen gameplay onto a single DS cartridge
along with many extras and surprises. The larger library consists of both
2600 and arcade titles and covers the spectrum of older games. You’ll
find everything you’d expect with legendary titles like Asteroids and
Centipede appearing in fine form while more obscure games like Sprint
Master and Submarine Commander. The games offer a good variety of genres
from racing, to action, space shooter and even a few sports titles, so
there’s something for everyone. AGH’s implementation is fairly good
and the emulations appear to be largely accurate and faithful
reproductions of the original games.
There are two main
types of control, either a standard mode on most games, or an enhanced
version that uses the touch pad on a few others. These are really cool and
definitely bring a new spirit to these old titles. Players can choose to
play on either the upper or lower screen and while this doesn’t have
much of an effect, the games seem to play better on the top screen for
some reason. Most of the 2600 games included on AGH don’t have any
DS-specific enhancements, which is disappointing but understandable given
their simplicity. These straight ports should bring players back to a
simpler time in gaming. When you play something like Air-Sea Battle, its
important to remember that the original hardware had a lot of limitations,
but the game squeezes in so many different variations, from ships to
flying balloons that it offers a lot of variety if you dig a little
deeper. Most other games in the action section have also held up well,
with the arcade translation of Asteroids remaining one of the most
entertaining games, with the by-now somewhat endearing flicker a part of
its charm. Other highlights such as Sky Diver and Human Cannonball require
a bit more thought in addition to the reflexes. The classic proto-RPG’s
Haunted House and Adventure also make strong appearances this time around,
and their simplicity definitely belies their challenge.
However, there are a
few duds along with the gems. AGH’s inclusion of the borderline
Swordquest titles is probably a bad move, since they’re very difficult
to play and its still hard to figure out what’s happening in them.
Another seemingly interesting idea backfires with the inclusion of a
prototype for the 2600. This is the long-rumored version of Tempest, which
is playable but somewhat disappointing. It’s interesting from a
historical standpoint but, isn’t actually that much fun to play thanks
to the poor collision detection and the fact that it consists of a single
clunky level. While most players have probably heard that the arcade
conversions on the 2600 weren’t the best, Gravitar remains quite a
stand-out and influenced a lot of other titles. Its earlier stages are
quite challenging and difficult, but Gravitar becomes much more enjoyable
once you master its controls. Missile Command and Centipede also remain
surprisingly entertaining. There’s also a few rare and obscure titles
like Quadrun included and the gamers who could never find it will have fun
playing it. Some of the sports games haven’t held up well, with Home Run
and Basketball faring the best, with others like Football and Soccer seem
to just sit there. Most of these titles are far too simple to be playable
for long. The later Realsports games offer better graphics and more
complex play ust try and go a little deeper and there are definitely some
challenging modes to be had on this one. Some of the earlier 2600 releases
like Slot Machine are fun for a short time, but these diversions lack the
depth of other titles, truncating their appeal. In all, the 2600 games
offer a good overview of the classic console and their implementation
accurately recreates the classic titles with their strengths and
weaknesses intact.
AGH really shines in its arcade game conversions, which are accurate and
innovative. Obviously, many of these titles, such as Tempest and Missile
Command have appeared many times before. The difference in this edition is
that they have been enhanced to take advantage of the DS. Instead of
merely using the standard controls, players can now use the touch screen
to control, using it as a virtual track ball or roller controller, which
gives them a refreshingly different feel. Surprisingly, these new play
mechanics give the games a new lease on life, with an added challenge that
makes them feel almost like new. The other big surprise in AGH is an extra
feature that allows players to play the long-rumored but never before
released version of Battlezone created for the US Army. Its not surprising
that this was kept secret, since many of its features are very advanced
for their time. It plays like traditional Battlezone but there are some
new features, such as multiple weapons, an independently moving turret and
the ability to zoom in on enemies that make it much closer to a war sim
than the arcade game. Its surprisingly well done on the DS and this makes
it quite a cool title to play.
Those of you who are
curious about arcade history and this long rumored release will be happy
to know that the touch screen controls are smooth and responsive and the
gameplay itself is a bit more challenging than you’d expect. The other
arcade titles are great and it’s great to play less-known titles like
Space Duel and Lunar Lander. More famous titles like Asteroids and Missile
Command remain enjoyable in the new installment, though there are some
technical points.Given the small screen, some of the titles don’t work
as well on the DS as they could have, and the resolution isn’t that
effective when reproducing the vector titles, but the emulation quality is
mostly acceptable throughout. This is a very good compilation of classic
games and is all the more impressive given the restraints imposed by the
DS’ limited hardware. Its not the ideal environment for playing arcade
games, but the developers have done a good job in adapting these titles
for it. Atari Greatest Hits is a very solid package, and as stated
earlier, much better than the first attempt that was made several years
ago.
-
Michael Palisano
