Top Ten are ranked, the 12 runner-ups are unranked.
Eligibility: Released on Atari 2600 (or other 2nd gen console). Or released on Arcade/PC during the years 1978-1985 in the US.
Noticeably missing because I never played it: "Combat"
... with "Ms. Pac-Man" sharing the slot!
There are so many different versions of this, the original 1971 version was written for a computer with no screen, only a teletype printer. The versions most people know and love seem to have started appearing in 1978.
The version with real beer or GTFO.
This was totally off my radar but I chanced upon an arcade machine recently and got addicted very quickly.
This is a weird-ass game, but that moment when you line up the shot from the left and hit the Qotile is immensely satisfying. My favorite 2600 game.
A lot of people say Galaga is a better game that improved on the vertical shooter formula, but I definitely prefer Space Invaders. There's something really hypnotic about the music and the way the invaders slowly advance down the screen. As someone that sucks at playing shmups I enjoy it more.
Space Invaders also has extreme historical importance and a pretty good iPhone port, for whatever that's worth.
These runner-ups are unranked, in alphabetical order.
I played through Adventure's short mode (which is basically a tutorial), but the long mode is too much for me. Really impressive for the hardware and time it was released.
I really want to like Defender.
Robotron and Joust are very hard games, but I can at least wrap my head around them and get better with practice. Defender, on the other hand, is completely beyond me. I can barely get past level 2.
I still find it super-interesting, but I'll never be able to make any real progress in this.
Really fun little game where you use a helicopter backpack to go cave-diving and rescue trapped miners. I'm not sure how I stumbled onto this, but its one of the few 2600 games that can hold my attention.
Obscure arcade game with great vector graphics and a really unique gameplay loop: First its a spaceship shooter, then there's a landing sequence, then a side-scrolling sequence where you have to set a time bomb and get the hell out.
Maybe not a good game, but really ambitious.
I can't get into the first game, but Pitfall 2 is a fun time. Love the music.
I suck at this, I keep ramming into the sides all the time. But I can easily see why its considered one of the best 2600 games.
Well worth playing on a real arcade machine with the vector monitor and dial controller. The home ports I tried do not give the full impact.
