The Atari 2600 is a home video game console developed and produced by Atari, Inc. Released in September 1977 as the Atari Video Computer System, it popularized microprocessor-based hardware and games stored on swappable ROM cartridges, a format first used with the Fairchild Channel F in 1976. The VCS was bundled with two joystick controllers, a conjoined pair of paddle controllers, and a game cartridge—initially Combat and later Pac-Man. Sears sold the system as the Tele-Games Video Arcade. Atari rebranded the VCS as the Atari 2600 in November 1982 alongside the release of the Atari 5200.
The Starpath Supercharger is an expansion peripheral cartridge created by Starpath, for playing cassette-based proprietary games on the Atari 2600 video game console.
Star Castle is a vector graphics multidirectional shooter released in arcades by Cinematronics in 1980. The game involves obliterating a series of defenses orbiting a stationary turret in the center of the screen. The display is black and white with the colors of the rings and screen provided by a transparent plastic screen overlay.
Stargate is a side-scrolling shooter game released for arcades in 1981 by Williams Electronics. Created by Eugene Jarvis and Larry DeMar, it is a sequel to Defender which was released earlier in the year. It was the first of only three productions from Vid Kidz, an independent development house formed by Jarvis and DeMar. Some home ports of Stargate were renamed to Defender II for legal reasons.
Gorf is an arcade video game released in 1981 by Midway Manufacturing, whose name was advertised as an acronym for "Galactic Orbiting Robot Force". It is a fixed shooter with five distinct levels, the first of which is based on Space Invaders and another on Galaxian. The game makes heavy use of synthesized speech for the Gorfian robot which teases the player, powered by the Votrax speech chip. Gorf allows the player to buy two additional lives per quarter before starting the game, for a maximum of seven lives.
Dragonstomper is a video game developed by Stephen Landrum for the Atari Video Computer System and released by Starpath. The game follows the adventures of a dragon hunter who is given a quest by the king to defeat a dragon and reclaim a magical amulet that was stolen. The player makes their way over the countryside, vanquishing various adversaries and gaining gold and experience. After achieving enough strength, the player can enter a shop in an oppressed village where equipment can be purchased, soldiers hired, and special scrolls obtained to defeat the dragon in its lair.
Starmaster is a video game written for the Atari 2600 by Alan Miller and published in June 1982 by Activision. The game is similar to Atari 8-bit family game Star Raiders. Starmaster was not ported to other systems, but has been re-released in collections such as Activision Anthology.
Atlantis is a fixed shooter video game released by Imagic in July 1982 for the Atari 2600. It was written by Dennis Koble who also wrote Trick Shot, Solar Storm, and Shootin' Gallery for Imagic. Atlantis was ported to the Atari 8-bit family, VIC-20, Intellivision, and the Magnavox Odyssey 2. The game was inspired by Taito's 1981 Colony 7 arcade game.
Escape from the MindMaster was a video game for the Starpath Supercharger addon for the Atari 2600 published in 1982 by Starpath.
Space Dungeon is a multidirectional shooter released in arcades by Taito in 1981. Designed and programmed by Rex Battenberg, it was available both as a conversion kit and full arcade cabinet. An Atari 5200 port was released in 1983.
Vanguard is a scrolling shooter arcade video game developed by TOSE. It was released by SNK in Japan and Europe 1981, and licensed to Centuri for manufacture in North America in October and to Zaccaria in Italy the same year. Cinematronics converted the game to cocktail arcade cabinets in North America.
Space Eggs is a fixed shooter video game for the Apple II computer programmed by Nasir Gebelli and published by Sirius Software in 1981. An Atari 8-bit family port by Dan Thompson was released the same year. Space Eggs is an unofficial version of the arcade video game Moon Cresta.
Astro Chase is a multidirectional shooter written by Fernando Herrera for the Atari 8-bit family. It was published by First Star Software in 1982 as the company's first game. Parker Brothers licensed it, releasing cartridge versions for the Atari 8-bit family and Atari 5200 console in 1983 and a Commodore 64 version in 1984. Exidy licensed it for arcade use with its Max-A-Flex cabinet.
Cosmic Ark is an Atari 2600 game designed by Rob Fulop and published by Imagic in 1982. The objective is to gather specimens from different planets in a spaceship which contains the survivors from the city of Atlantis. There are two versions of the cartridge. One allows the player to toggle the starfield display with the Black & White / Color TV switch. In the other the starfield cannot be disabled.
Stella is an emulator of the Atari 2600 game console, and takes its name from the console's codename. It is open-source, and runs on most major modern platforms including Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Stella was originally written in 1996 by Bradford W. Mott, and is now maintained by Stephen Anthony.
Space Cavern is a 1982 fixed shooter video game for the Atari 2600 developed and released by Games by Apollo. Players control a spaceship commander who has landed on a planet and must defend the ship against its hostile creatures. Games by Apollo founder Pat Roper was impressed by the game Demon Attack and tasked Apollo member Dan Oliver with making a game very similar to it.
Oystron is an action game developed for the Atari 2600 by Piero Cavina and released in 1997. It is one of the earliest hobbyist-written games for the console. The game, Cavina's first, was initially made available as a freeware 4 KB binary file designed for use on the Starpath Supercharger and with Atari 2600 emulators. It was later released in cartridge form by XYPE, a group of Atari 2600 homebrew developers.
Yars' Revenge is a video game released for the Atari 2600 in 1982. It was created by Howard Scott Warshaw and is Atari's best-selling original game for the 2600.
Bandits is a 1982 fixed shooter written by Tony and Benny Ngo for the Apple II and published by Sirius Software. The game is a clone of Taito's 1980 Stratovox arcade video game where the goal is to prevent aliens from stealing objects. Bandits was ported to the Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 64, and VIC-20.
Threshold is a space-themed fixed shooter written by Warren Schwader and Ken Williams for the Apple II and published by On-Line Systems in 1981. Inspired by Sega's Astro Blaster arcade video game, Threshold introduces many enemy ship types and wave formations as the game progresses. Reviewers found the variety distinguished the game from the many similar shoot 'em ups.
