Atari 2600 review: Gaming like it's 1977 again
Atari 2600+ review: Gaming like it’s 1977 again | CNN Underscored

                    
            From Atari Interactive, Inc. comes the Atari 2600+, the highly anticipated refresh of the Atari Video Computer System (VCS), Atari’s legendary console that was first released in September 1977. Launching on Nov. 17 and retailing for $130 at Atari, the Atari 2600+ ships with the console, a standard controller and a 10-in-1 games cartridge. The cartridge includes the following games: Adventure, Combat, Dodge ’Em, Haunted House, Maze Craze, Missile Command, Realsports Volleyball, Surround, Video Pinball and Yars’ Revenge.
    

    
            The timing of the Atari 2600+ couldn’t be better. Retrogaming — that is, playing video games from the 20th century — is alive and well in the here and now. Retrogamers enjoy the nostalgia, the simplicity of the gameplay and, in some cases, the pulse-pounding challenge. Sure, these games may be older, but at times, they required the brains of a Cray supercomputer combined with the reflexes of a tween hopped up on Pop Rocks. (We’re looking at you, Gravitar, with some serious side-eye.)
    

    
            First-generation consoles like the Atari 2600 are becoming harder to acquire as they age and become nonfunctional. Enter the upcoming Atari 2600+, which is available for preorder now and will be available to purchase on Nov. 17. The Atari 2600+ provides gameplay of the 2600 and 7800 game cartridges, yet it easily hooks up to your TV’s HDMI inputs.
    

    
            We spent the better part of 11 days gaming with the Atari 2600+ console and its bundled games. Retrogamers will quite simply love the Atari 2600+. As for the rest of us gamers, well, read on to find out what we liked and didn’t like.
    




        
            
                
                
                        Atari 2600+
                                
                
            
        
                The highly anticipated refresh of the Atari Video Computer System (VCS), Atari’s legendary console from 1977
        
                    
        
       
    

    
        
        The Atari 2600+ is 100% effective at its intended purpose, which is to faithfully reproduce the experience of the original Atari 2600 from 1977. From the look of the console to the feel of the joystick, it succeeds. If you're a gamer into retrogaming, be sure to pick it up when it launches on Nov. 17.
            


  

  

    
            At first glance, the Atari 2600+ looks exactly like the 2600 with its pre-Jony Ive aesthetic of pull-down switches and wood veneer. You will eventually notice that the Atari 2600+ is a mere 80% of its 1970s predecessor. You may think the size difference is because you, yourself, are older or bigger. But no. This new version is genuinely the diet-size version of its former self.
    

    
            The console’s innards are another story. It may act like a 2600 met a 7800 and had a playful baby, but inside it’s powered by a Rockchip SOC microprocessor.
    

    
            One hat tip to the 21st century is an HDMI port instead of RF out, so we were able to play the Atari 2600+ on a 77-inch television. In color. (If our preteen selves, with our tiny black-and-white Panasonic, could see us now!)
    


       
    

    
            Setup was quick and easy; just bring your own power brick for the USB-C power input. There’s also a widescreen toggle on the back of the console, which stretches the screen sideways, though we preferred the original aspect ratio.
    

    
            Another way we knew this was an updated Atari: The logo at the base glows gently when the console is turned on.
    

    
            The Atari 2600+ comes with one C40+ joystick in the box, which is visibly identical to the original, down to the original connector — no USB here. The joystick felt pleasantly familiar in our hands; it was stiff but workable. Only time will tell if it’s more durable than the original version, whose rubber sleeve tore away from the stick after months of kid wear and tween tear.
    


       
    

    
            And then came the true test: Adventure, the first adventure game with the first documented Easter egg. We slotted in the cartridge, and suddenly we experienced déjà vu. The sounds that emitted when we returned the chalice to the Golden Castle flashed us back to 1980 so thoroughly that we could practically smell cigarettes and the Love’s Fresh Lemon and Enjoli perfumes.
    

    
            It’s been a very long time since we felt that present with the past. Thanks for the time travel, Atari.
    

  

    
            The Atari 2600+ comes with a 10-game cartridge, where you can access your preferred game by selecting the corresponding DIP switches. It’s only an adequate selection (see the “What we didn’t like” section below). Yet there’s a game for everyone in this 2600-games-only 10-pack. Atari 2600+ owners: You will be able to coax any friend into joining you on your journeys to a time where you could get a home computer in any color you wanted, as long as it was beige.
    

    
            Besides Adventure, the cartridge comes with the two-player death match Combat. Other genres include sports (RealSports Volleyball), classic arcade (Missile Command, Video Pinball) and a first-person shooter (Yars’ Revenge).
    

    
            You can also find Haunted House, Dodge ’Em, Surround (think Tron lightcycles before Tron) and Maze Craze, which has a cops-and-robbers theme in the same way that Pong tells a story of two tennis adversaries facing off at Wimbledon.
    


       
    

  
        It’s compatible with most 2600 and 7800 games


    
            According to Atari’s game compatibility list, the Atari 2600+ is compatible with most games, excluding RealSport Boxing, Super Cobra and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. That said, Atari hasn’t tested every game with the 2600+, so the list of unplayable games may or may not grow from there.
    

    
            But why take Atari’s word for it when we could test a few old cartridges ourselves? (And we did, thanks to Jeremy Powers, a retrogamer and podcaster who sent us several games from his own collection.)
    

    
            We’re here to report that, yes, many original games work with the new console. Space Invaders plays as seamlessly as it did when Jimmy Carter was president. Donkey Kong is as entertaining as it was when E.T. was phoning home. E.T. still plays like E.T. You can believe that Superman still flies.
    

    
            That said, our versions of Spider-Man and Pac-Man didn’t work, despite repeatedly cleaning the circuit boards.
    

  


  

  

    
            Of the 10 games that came with the console, only Combat and Missile Command were worthy of replays.
    

    
            If you’re coming for nostalgia, then it’s a disappointment that Atari failed to include such classics as Asteroids, Defender, Donkey Kong, Frogger, Pac-Man, Space Invaders and others.
    

    
            We still enjoyed our childhood favorite Adventure’s lo-fi looks and sounds, and its small but satisfying puzzles. But Adventure and Yars’ Revenge use flashing, which can cause seizures, motion sickness and migraines. Even though we know these games are beloved, we can’t recommend them, not even with photosensitivity warnings.
    

    
            Although it doesn’t come with the console, Mr. Run and Jump 2600 — a sidescroller designed for the 2600+ — can be purchased for $30. It’s a challenging game for those with patience and exquisite timing, made slightly less devastating by its automatic saving at the end of each level. (Helpful hint: Jump a bit sooner than you think.)
    

    
            Atari will also sell you a brand-new copy of the classic 2600 game Berzerk for $30. Berzerk is a fun game, but we wish we had the option to buy the 7800 version of its sequel, Frenzy.
    


       
    

  

    
            The Atari 2600+ is aimed squarely at us retrogamers — and right at our wallets. At $130, it isn’t some instant gratification purchase, and it will likely remain out of reach for curious Gen Zs. (Only our Magic 8 Ball knows if Atari will soften that price.)
    

    
            The Atari 2600+ comes with only one joystick, and two-player games will require a separate joystick purchase at $25. Left-handed gamers can find an ambidextrous, two-button joystick for $16, thanks to Hyperkin; this left-handed option wasn’t available at all back in 1977.
    

    
            It will also set you back $40 if you want to buy Atari’s paddles, but this purchase also comes with four games: Canyon Bomber, Night Driver, Video Olympics and the fabulous Breakout.
    

  


  
        There are cable and power brick issues


    
            The power and HDMI cables are 3 feet long, and the joystick cable is the traditional 56 inches long, aimed at players who used to sit cross-legged on the floor, close enough to their 19-inch TVs to catch the action. But in the 21st century, we all sit back farther from our ginormous screens. This means the old cables can’t keep up with the times.
    

    
            Yes, you can buy extension cables. But you shouldn’t have to.
    

    
            That said, the Hyperkin joystick’s cable is more century appropriate at 10 feet long. A shout-out to Hyperkin for actually considering the issue.
    

    
            Also, the Atari 2600+ doesn’t come with a power brick. Apparently Atari is following Apple’s lead by assuming you would have one or two power bricks lying around. However, we venture that not all people looking for a retrogaming experience will have spares available.
    

  

    
            The Atari 5200 had a different cartridge design than the 2600 and the 7800, which means that games for the 1982 to 1984 system are incompatible with the new 2600+. Retrogaming enthusiasts will be disappointed to know they can’t play the 5200 games, which includes favorites like Qix and Space Dungeon.
    

    
            Atari could set this wrong to right by issuing a “Best of 5200” games cartridge with compatible pins or even support a cartridge adapter. But we wouldn’t bet our “Revenge of the Jedi” T-shirt on that.
    

  


  

    
            Do you remember that Combat is three games in one (tank, biplane and jet), with invisibility/obscuring features and difficulty modes? We didn’t. Our version of the 2600+ came with no gameplay instructions, only a leaflet on how to install the console.
    

    
            After we requested one, Atari gave us a link to the original manuals; you can also find the same guides at atariage.com. But even with instructions, the gameplay can be unclear. We had to rely on YouTube to refresh our memory about how to play some of the games.
    

    
            Even the console is opaque to modern sensibilities: To start a new game, you need to toggle the “Game Reset” switch.
    


       
    

  

    
            The 2600+ is 100% effective at its intended purpose, which is to faithfully reproduce the experience of the original 2600. From the look of the console to the feel of the joystick, it succeeds. Other than its mediocre selection of games, it’s hard to fault the Atari 2600+ for being exactly what it is. Because of this, the market is limited to gamers who want to relive the dawn of video gaming, have an existing collection of 2600/7800 cartridges but no console, want a backup of their aging 2600 console and/or feel the Atari 50 collection — which includes far more games — is not faithful enough.
    

    
            But the more gaming changes, the more the Atari 2600 stays the same, and we think the Atari 2600+ is a hard sell for newer gamers, especially at the price Atari is charging.
    

    
            If we were handing out free advice to Atari, then it would be this: Issue another combo cartridge with a better selection of games (including 5200 and 7800 ones), and drop the price below $100 for the base console. That would put the 2600+ in impulse-buy reach for the retro-curious.
    

  

    
            Check out the official Atari 2600+ Reveal Trailer here or below:
    

  

              