Play Seven Forgotten Atari 8-Bit Computer Gaming Classics (30-60 mins)

Task: Play Seven Forgotten Atari 8-Bit Computer Gaming Classics

Needed: Web Browser, Emulator

Time: 30-60 mins

Introduction

One of my favorite things to do is to play an Atari 8-bit game I have never played before. Benj Edwards reviews seven classics in this PC Magazine article from 2018 which might not have received as much attention as more popular games. This is a great list because I didn’t play any of these back in the day and have only played several more recently. These were really fun to explore and become familiar with. I highly recommend giving them a try!

Instructions

You can read the article here which provides a summary of each game. I have listed each game and its download link below. These can played using the Altirra emulator. You could also put these on an SD card device like FujiNet to play on original hardware.

Salmon Run – ATR and XEX files available.

Dandy – ATR available

The Dreadnaught Factor – COM file available

Juice! – ATR available

Necromancer – ATR file available

The Halley Project – ATR file available

Mr. Robot and his Robot Factory – ATR file available

Dandy start screen
Dandy start screen

Comments

The most interesting games for me are Dandy and Necromancer. Dandy was published by the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1983 and was the inspiration for the Gauntlet coin-op from Atari. Not sure how I missed this one as a kid. I would have loved it! Necromancer is just a crazy cool game with great graphics and challenging gameplay. The others are fun too!