On June 27, 1972, Atari, as we all know it immediately, was born. Properly, technically, it was born a couple of months earlier underneath the title Syzygy Engineering, however the title Atari began life in 1972. I do know this and lots of extra attention-grabbing information in regards to the firm due to Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration, Digital Eclipse’s love letter to the gaming big.
Atari 50 is actually a playable documentary, strolling you thru 50 years of Atari’s video games, residence consoles, handhelds, and PCs break up into 5 totally different timelines. Every of the 5 timelines focuses on a special facet of the enterprise, with dates generally operating concurrently. Every one is full of movies, photos, design paperwork, and extra. It is a museum exhibit in a field and a pleasant one in addition.
This magical historical past tour incorporates an astounding 103 playable video games, from the unique 1972 arcade model of Pong to a range from the Jaguar and Lynx, Atari’s remaining residence console and handheld, respectively. Every is a 1:1 port as if Digital Eclipse ripped the motherboards from the machines themselves and transferred the sport into my console. Whereas there are many outdated favorites like Asteroids, Breakout, and Journey, I discovered a number of the lesser-known titles, like Quantum and I, Robotic, fascinating in their very own proper.
Not content material to easily port over outdated titles, Digital Eclipse included a handful of different titles elevating this assortment to the stratosphere. Two separate homebrew video games seem within the story, one for the Atari 800 PC and the opposite for the Atari 2600, which showcase simply how a lot can nonetheless be carried out with older consoles within the current day. Seeing a recreation firm even acknowledge the homebrew scene is uncommon, however for Atari and Digital Eclipse to embrace the neighborhood sufficient to incorporate it right here is fantastic.
Nevertheless, it is Digital Eclipse’s personal creations that steal the Fiftieth-anniversary present. The Reimagined sequence consists of seven old-school Atari video games rebuilt by the group for the fashionable age, and seeing these older video games is splendidly nostalgic. Haunted Homes is my favourite reimagining, because the outlined 3D setting fully transforms the unique expertise. Yars’ Revenge Enhanced can also be excellent, regardless that it would not stray as removed from the unique.
I have to embody one essential caveat: these are Atari video games of their authentic kind, which means they’re as rudimentary as traditional video games get. Some video games have the lifespan of a mayfly, whereas others – the multiplayer video games specifically – have extra to supply. Even the Reimagined set, whereas well-crafted, could solely final 15 to twenty minutes per session. It is a assortment of fast hits, and it would not take very lengthy to get by means of the 100 video games included within the library, which means your mileage could fluctuate from a replayability standpoint.
Exterior of the sport library, the love and care Digital Eclipse put into this venture is unmistakable, as is obvious by a number of the relics it has included in every of the timelines. The tons of of photographs, outdated field artwork, and movies supply an unbelievable look again at what Atari was on the top of its powers. The outdated Nineteen Eighties-era TV commercials are notably notable; seeing a toddler categorical pleasure for E.T. is hysterical in hindsight.
A few of these inclusions go above and past. Take The Swordquest sequence, which had three launched video games and a fourth that by no means launched. Again within the day, every recreation was bundled with a small comedian e-book that not solely informed the story of the sport, but additionally gave clues on methods to clear up the puzzles throughout the corresponding recreation. Atari 50 consists of every a type of comics of their entirety so you will get the complete expertise and profit from these clues.
As for that fourth unreleased Swordquest, Digital Eclipse discovered the design ideas from the sequence’ creator Tod Frye, constructed it from scratch, and included it as one of many seven “Reimagined” video games. To say that this assortment is thorough is an understatement, and Digital Eclipse’s respect for the supply supplies is observed and appreciated.
My favourite a part of the historic inclusions are the handfuls of video interviews with not solely members of the Atari group all through the years however different outstanding recreation builders throughout the business. Notable Atari alumni featured embody firm founder Nolan Bushnell, Al Alcorn who’s credited because the creator of Pong, and programmer Eugene Jarvis. Different featured names embody Double High-quality’s Tim Schafer and Gears of Struggle creator Cliff Bleszinski. Every interview provides new tales, anecdotes, and a little bit of technical knowledge to the legend of Atari, whereas giving the entire assortment that particular documentary really feel, with little moments of rationalization peppered all through a treasure trove of digital artifacts.
With Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration, Digital Eclipse has set a brand new bar for future historic compilations in video video games. It is a digital touring museum exhibit, as the sport bursts on the seams with nostalgia because of greater than 100 playable video games and tons of of relics from the developer’s vault. Whereas quantity of the video games provided will move by shortly, these temporary life spans can not overwhelm the wonderful historic worth of Atari 50, and I hope Digital Eclipse has extra wings of its digital historical past tour opening within the coming years.
