Tag Archives: Atari

Painfully Boring: Texas Chainsaw Massacre on the Atari 2600

I would rather listen to someone describe paint drying than play this game. Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of the most boring games I’ve played. It is all about the high score, but why would you want to get it? Your lives go by fast, the graphics aren’t all that great, and the gameplay isContinue reading “Painfully Boring: Texas Chainsaw Massacre on the Atari 2600”

Board Games to Pixels: Parker Brothers on the Atari 2600

I’ve looked at quite a few companies that published games on the Atari 2600. While many of them were shut down in 1983 and 1984 following the North American Video Game Crash, some kept going. A few companies left the video game market but kept going because of other business ventures. This brings us toContinue reading “Board Games to Pixels: Parker Brothers on the Atari 2600”

Digital Blood: A Story about Wizard Video Games

Making a video game based on a movie is a good idea. You get instant name recognition and might get fans of the film to buy the game. The game doesn’t have to be good, but it does have to be playable. As long as the movie has fans, you can exploit the source materialContinue reading “Digital Blood: A Story about Wizard Video Games”

A Brief History of Sega on the Atari 2600

I’ve looked at several video game companies that published games on the Atari 2600 over the years. Next up is Sega. I wasn’t expecting to see them as a publisher/developer on Atari’s console. I would’ve expected them to do something similar to Nintendo and license their arcade games to other companies. That isn’t what happened,Continue reading “A Brief History of Sega on the Atari 2600”

The Short Tale of Xonox and the Double Ender Cartridges

There are some strange-looking cartridges out there. You have the unlicensed games on the NES and the EA-manufactured games on the Genesis. The Atari 2600 has a fair share of them, but I think the Xonox Double-Ender games are the strangest. I wonder if these were the first multi-carts. They’re the earliest ones I’ve seen,Continue reading “The Short Tale of Xonox and the Double Ender Cartridges”

Journey Escape to Frankenstein: The Unfinished Tale of Data Age

Data Age is an interesting company, not because of the owner, not because of the developers, but because they just disappeared. The company released eight games and had several in the prototype stage. Like many companies from this time, there is very little information about it. However, Data Age is a bit different. It doesn’tContinue reading “Journey Escape to Frankenstein: The Unfinished Tale of Data Age”

Top Five Video Game Biographies

There have been several biographies from people in the video game industry written in the last few years. They range from developers to world record holders. Some of them have come from people who made my favorite games. Back in the 90s, I never thought I would be reading books written by Sid Meier orContinue reading “Top Five Video Game Biographies”