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Atari Anthology Xbox Atari Until someone works out how to simulate abacus games (presuming they exist) or those oh-so-hilarious calculator tricks that always end up spelling 'boobs,' this is as old school as it gets. Actually, it's quite a shock to the system to be reminded just how rudimentary these games are (all 85 of them). But as we all know, it's all about the gameplay: just because a game looks like it was born before the demise of the woolly mammoth doesn't necessarily mean it won't be a rollicking roller-coaster ride of pixilated merriment. In this case, however, that's exactly what it does seem to mean. Unsurprisingly, the Atari Anthology is presented as equal parts reminiscence and celebration of Atari's place in the gaming pantheon. The extras include interviews and screenshots of unreleased games of the era, scans of cover art and manuals, and even sales brochures and instruction sheets for arcade managers. And as cute and comprehensive as all this stuff is, it's also the first source of irritation, at least for those of us who don't own a humungo TV. On a 51cm TV the print size is simply too small, even when toggled to the largest setting, to actually read any of this stuff. On a more positive note, the menus are easily navigable and attractively configured as constellations divided into different realms of the Atari universe: racing games, arcade games, sports games, mind games etc. Selecting any one game brings up a cute solar system graphic with a selection of unlockable modes. 'Trippy' mode endows the selected game with video smudging that looks pretty enough but makes gameplay more annoying than fun. 'Time Warp', as the name suggests, auto-toggles the speed, which is fun more often than not. 'Hotseat' generates random mid-game switches between variants of the same game, while 'Time Challenge' and 'Double Speed' are self-explanatory. So how do the actual games stack up, then? Put it this way; the fact that I found myself returning again and again to run-of-the-mill parlour-game simulations like backgammon and chess doesn't say much for the rest of the offerings here. To be fair, moments of kitschy pleasure were derived from old favourites like 'Asteroids' and 'Millipede', but I'd wager that the only way to enjoy 'Math Gran Prix' is to be a) severely drunk, b) under seven, and c) a monkey. Moreover, some of these games just don't play well with a standard controller. Despite options for thumbstick sensitivity, I found 'Pong' difficult to control even on the easiest setting. And while I'm more than willing to accept the charge that I'm just deeply uncoordinated and let it slide, even backgammon required a frustratingly inordinate degree of dexterity to move from space to space without overshooting. In sum, if you're a dyed-in-the-wool Atari fan, you'll probably want this no matter what. And if you've been struggling to come up with a stocking-filler for an Xbox-owning, arithmetically-inclined, alcoholic simian juvenile, your prayers have been answered. If you're anyone else, however, this may not quite make it to the top of your 'must have' list.  |
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