Atari 2600

Atari 2600

The Atari 2600, the definition of classic gaming. Unfortunately, it has the most shovelware of any console to date, so we're here to help you pick the right games from those garage sale bins. The Console itself is worth owning because it looks nice and isn't too costly but the Atari 5200, Intellevision 2, Coleco-Vision, and Atari 7800 can all play 2600 games. The 7800 is the only one that dosen't need an adaptor to play them but none of the adaptors are expensive.

To put the list in order of genre, just click the arrow next to Genre.

The List

Title	Genre	Description	Game Screen
Adventure	Action-Adventure	One of the earliest action-adventure games, Adventure is a rather abrupt little adventure game that is often considered the predecessor to games like Zelda.
Asteroids	Shoot 'em Up	If you haven't heard of Asteroids, clearly you've been living under a rock for the last fourty years. Move your ship around, shoot the Asteroids for as long as you can. Simple and addicting. Obviously not the same as the arcade original, which had vector graphics, this port used colored sprites (because the 2600 couldn't do vector), which makes it a bit more cheerful I think.
Atlantis	Defense	Basically like Missile Command but with some added depth for good measure. Three guns to take out the invaders! Since you're protecting Atlantis, I always figured you're shooting down humans, which would be ironic and awesome.
Berzerk	Arcade/Combat	Robots, maze, blaster and you. It's self explanatory.
Chopper Command	Defense/Shoot 'em Up	Oh shit is dis sum Chopper Command? This game stands as one of the best 'Defender' games on the Atari because YOU'RE FLYIN' CAP'N! Seriously dickloads of fun, it added some much needed speed to a dulling genre. Also one of the first games with HUD-map. Hoo-rah!
Combat	Shooter	One of the launch titles for the 2600, it still stands as a great multiplayer game. Combat has been remade and remade again (even though technically it itself is a remake of the Arcade game Tanks), none of them beat how much fun the multiplayer was and the sheer amount of content for an early 2600 game this cart packs.
Demon Attack	Shoot 'em Up	Fun Atari 2600 shooter that was pretty popular in it's heyday.
Dig Dug	Arcade	All the gameplay is perfectly intact, one of the better ports and Atari games even as it's one of the few games to even have music too!
Donkey Kong	Arcade/Platformer	Now, obviously, this is not the best port of the original Donkey Kong by any means. If you want an arcade perfect port, look no further than the one of the various NES releases. However, it's a almost a rule to own Donkey Kong if you have an Atari 2600. Why? I'm not sure. But it is. Still fun after all these years, but if you want extreme-authenticity, you're looking at the wrong edition.  Note: Also released on Colecovision with the same must own status.
Dragonstomper	RPG	The first console RPG. While a lot of it's appeal is pure novelty, there is a rather lot you can do for a seriously small Atari 2600 game. Can only be played with the SuperCharger on a cassette. Yeah, that's right; cassette tape games. It is still one of the best games by the standards of the Atari 2600, but it's often overlooked.
Enduro	Racing	A very solid racing game by Activision. Enduro itself stands for endurance race, so the point is to pass a certain number of cars each day to progress. There are some neat ideas to create challenge, such as fog. Probably the best racing game on the 2600. A classic.
Fast Food	Arcade	Weird-ass fucking game, an arcade-ish title where the object is to eat as much fucking food for you as possible. You control a pair of lips, and you literally just try to eat fast food as it flies by you (fast)! The only thing you don't wanna eat are the purple pickles, they're bad. Something great for wasting a bit of time. Every time you 'level up' the screen scrolls "You're getting fatter!" which is just fucking hilarious. The rate of the food flying at you then speeds up (or did you slow down because you're fat?).
Frogger	Arcade	You should help a little frog to cross a street, while cars trying to smack you, and then a pool, with dangerous water. The difficulty would increase as you progress.
Frostbite	Platformer	Activision was the king of the Atari 2600, and made better games than Atari did. In this game you have to jump over ice blocks collect stuff and try not to die, pretty basic.
Haunted House	Survival Horror	Quite possibly the first survival horror title, Haunted House plays a lot like Adventure in concept. While not really scary by any means, it's still a solid little title especially if you're looking for another title that plays like Adventure.
Joust	Arcade	Just like the Arcade game, but in within Atari limits!
Jr. Pac-Man	Maze	The only home port of the game, and it's really good! The graphics and sound are great for an Atari game.
Kangaroo	Platformer	A Donkey Kong like game by Atari, not as good as the Atari 8-bit ports of course but still fun and worth a buy if you don't have the stronger systems.
Kaboom!	Puzzle	Some crazy jack-hole is dropping bombs everywhere! Using the paddle controller, douse the flames on the bombs before they explode! Multiplayer is endless fun, and allows for some serious friend-trolling. Quite possibly, the world's first counter-terrorist simulation.
Missile Command	Defense	Plenty of missiles were launched towards the city you've sworn to protect, be a man and shoot those fuckers down!
Montezuma's Revenge	Platformer	One of the better platformers for the system, and gives even pitfall a run for it's money.
Pengo	Maze / Puzzle	Classic Sega arcade game where you have to break blocks in a strategic manner. Very fun, though it's on much stronger systems.
Pitfall	Platformer	It's Pitfall, one of the original platformer adventures. What more do you need to know? It's probably the most loved Atari 2600 game of all time, though I'm not entirely sure why, as there are much better games. However, still one of the best.
Plaque Attack	Shoot 'em Up/Dental Hygiene Simulator	Another Activision gem. This one-screen shmup has you play as a tube of tooth-paste defending what appears to be a British person's mouth against the evil damage of not-to-scale junk food. Fast-paced action and an ammo limit (your tube of Colgate doesn't last forever does it?) makes this a fun but nonetheless strategic shooter absolute bliss. Highly recommended.
Pong	Pong	It's fucking Pong. There's really nothing else you need to know. There was so many Pong clones on the Atari 2600 that it became a nuisance and even constitutes it's own category. Pong itself though, just good old, official Pong, is always fun. Really just a remake of the Pong-consoles.
Pressure Cooker	Simulation	A game where you have to make hamburgers according to the chart at the bottom of the screen. It starts out pretty easy, but soon the game turns evil and shafts you on ingredients and speed. It's also pretty addictive, and it's from Activision, so what the fuck are you waiting for?
River Raid	Shoot 'em Up	A vertical scrolling shooter. In my opinion, it's not as good as Vanguard, but most 2600 fans tend to remember this game more fondly, probably because it was a much more accessible and easy to pick up title. Usually makes then top ten list of 2600 games. A solid title.
Space Invaders	Shoot 'em Up/Arcade	Do I really even need to introduce Space Invaders? One of the few games that actually shaped the gaming industry into what it is today. Shoot dem' aliens man.
Vanguard	Shoot 'em Up	One of the original shmups, Vanguard set the way for a lot of your favorite spaceship/airplane shooters to follow! Has levels of both horizontal and vertical scrolling, fast-paced action, and the ability to fire in all four directions! Very fun and challenging. Way before it's time, Vanguard stands up as an extremely solid shmup that should definitely get an update.
Yar's Revenge	Arcade/Defense	Yar's Revenge is easily one of the best Atari 2600 games ever made. Which is hilarious considering it was made by the same guy who made the abysmal E.T. game. This game is hard. And amazing. The gameplay has a lot of depth and yet is really simple; it simply cannot be described here. It's in your best interest to look up this game!