Playing Atari Greatest Hits Volume 2 on Nintendo DS is incredible retro-fun. The 41 Atari 2600 and nine arcade titles are now around 30 years old and it’s a pretty safe bet that the vast majority of current DS users were not even born when these games were originally released.
So how do you make such “primitive” games relevant to players all these years later? I am happy to report that the good folks at Atari did not even think about tampering with these classics. Old favorites such as Breakout, Millipede, Yar’s Revenge, and Asteroids Deluxe play exactly as we remember them. While the game play is not complicated (certainly not by today’s standards), there is an undeniable pleasure in revisiting classics such as Super Breakout on the DS platform.
Obviously, these titles are nowhere near as complex as even something like Legend Of Zelda, but Atari has definitely made up for it by offering 50 different games on one cartridge. Like the first edition of Atari Greatest Hits, Volume 2 seems optimally designed for parents (like myself) to enjoy with their kids. Not to take anything away from the game-play itself, but it was a flat-out kick to play Space War and Warlords with my teenage son.
Like a lot of, shall we say “mature” gamers, I had an Atari 2600 in the early '80s, and I had probably 20-25 cartridges. I certainly did not have anywhere close to all of the games that are contained on Atari Greatest Hits Volume 2. So this has been a fun way for me to get to know many of the ones I didn't previously own. These include a number of sports titles such as Realsports Basketball, Realsports Soccer, Super Baseball, Super Football, and Video Olympics.
There are a number of highly enjoyable race games also, including Fatal Run, Night Driver, Steeplechase, and Street Racer. While there is no point in my listing all 50 titles included here (you can find that list at the official website), suffice to say that they all have something to recommend them. In addition to all of the gameplay, there is a special bonus video interview with Atari founder Nolan Bushnell as well.
Atari Greatest Hits Volume 2 is rated E (Everyone) by the ESRB.
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