Pros:
Actual 2600 Hardware Generates Authentic Experience
Cons:
Poor Interface with Older Games, A Few Dog Titles
...And Some You Won't
The Best Sequel Since Godfather 2
Anyone who played the original Flashback was screwed, whether they knew it or not. The original compilation was plagued with terrible gameplay, shoddy graphics and sound, and questionable controllers and game selections. Thankfully, the new Atari cared enough about its fans to correct most of the problems of the original with the Flashback 2.
Original Flashback Problem #1:
Terrible Gameplay, Graphics, and Sound
The Flashback 2 resembles a much smaller version of the original “Heavy Sixer” Atari 2600 on the outside, but the resemblance doesn’t end there. Using modified original 2600 hardware, the Flashback 2 does not simply emulate the Atari game-playing experience; it IS the Atari game-playing experience you deserve. The fact that this is not an emulation at all makes this Plug N Play system the pinnacle of that genre of gaming.
Original Flashback Problem #2:
Controllers
Since the original Flashback was inspired by the Atari 7800, that also meant the package included the “Pro-line” dual button joysticks that people tend to hate almost as much as they hate Hitler. I actually like the Pro-lines (but not Hitler), but even I have to admit that the smaller original Flashback versions were uncomfortable. The Flashback 2 features actual original Atari 2600 joysticks, which most people faun over. These versions seem more durable than the originals, but if you don’t care for them, the FB2 supports any Atari 2600 compatible controllers! Paddles, Trac-ball, 7800 Pro-lines, what have you, even the Resident Evil 4 Chainsaw controller!*
Original Flashback Problem #3:
Value
The original Flashback featured 20 poorly emulated games for 49 smackers. The Flashback 2 is almost a reciprocal by offering 40 games for 29 dollars. That is what they call in economics class value. Plus, there are two hidden games, and the Flashback 2 is hacker friendly. By conveniently labeling different parts on the inside, Atari makes it easy for you to actually mod the system to have a cartridge slot.
Original Flashback Problem #4:
Nostalgia
Though I’m a huge 7800 fan, I did think it was a bit odd that the original Flashback was modeled after the Prosystem. The new VCS looks of the Flashback 2 will surely trigger more happy memories from the 80’s (though the round buttons are a little odd). Many people won't find some of their favorites like Pac-Man, Space Invaders, and ET, but many of the 2600's best games are here. Most importantly, I think almost everyone will appreciate the distinct full size Atari 2600 controllers.
Original Flashback Problem #5:
Game Selection
Logically, the more games you have to choose from, the more games you are more likely to enjoy. Since the Flashback 2 has 42 games compared to the Flashback’s 20, odds are you are gonna have more fun with the sequel. But I would have to say that there are several games included in the Flashback 2 that are very weak. One has to wonder why there are three bad versions of Asteroids included (and I really don’t get that game in the first place… but I guess that’s my loss). But what is included here is for the most part is pretty good. You have the classic games everyone knows and loves, hard to find games that fetch outrageous online auction prices, never before released games, hacks, homebrews, and even two Activision games. Here is a rundown of what you get to play to with the Flashback 2.0:
Most everyone over the age of 25 has played these games before, and these all play as well or even better than you remember. They are fun, but chances are you have played these games to death. Still, the simple, addictive gameplay of these titles is why Atari was what it was and even today these games can draw you in easily if you give them a spin.
Haunted House, Space War, 3D Tic Tac Toe, Dodge ‘Em, Hangman, Human Cannonball, Maze Craze, Outlaw, Space War, Video Checkers, Video Chess.
Maze Craze provides great 2-player fun
Here is where we have some major drop off in the quality of games. Not because the games here are very bad, though some are, but most of these games have poor approachability. They either suffer by confusing gameplay, the lack of a user friendly interface, or by having 87 versions of a game with no guide to help you pick out what you want to do. Hangman requires you to reset the game after every word, although pressing reset normally starts a new game with other titles. With Video Chess, the pieces look so bad it is hard to tell what exactly is going on. “How did your Rook move diagonally? Oh…that’s the Bishop... I guess that's my bad.” 3D Tic Tac Toe allowed me continually place “X’s” on the board. Hmmm… that's odd. Maze Craze is an ingenious two-player game, but finding the variation you want takes the patience of a monk. Haunted House is another game you’ll need an online guide to play if you want to enjoy it for the first time. Since these are the original games and not emulations, something as simple as starting the game may become a frustrating task.
Pitfall!, River Raid
It was a huge surprise to me that Activision lent a hand with the library. Everyone’s favorite tandem of Activision games seems to be Pitfall! and River Raid, so most people will be happy with those selections. However, I tend to enjoy Pitfall 2 and Enduro much more, but I’m kind of a selfish jerk that way.
Adventure 2, Return to Haunted House, Yar’s Return, Wizard, Arcade Pong, Arcade Asteroids, Asteroids Deluxe, Space Duel, Lunar Lander, Caverns of Mars, Atari Climber, Frog Pond, Off the Wall, Aquaventure, Fatal Run, Quadrun, Combat 2, Secret Quest, Saboteur, Radar Lock, Save Mary
Arcade Asteroids, Space Duel, and Asteroids Deluxe all use the Asteroids engine. If you must play one, Arcade Asteroids is the best option, although I'm not sure if the original 2600 Asteroids isn't better than this "upgrade" hack. The other two are so glitchy, they are hard to enjoy and including them in the Flashback 2 was a bad decision.
Yar's Return, Adventure 2, and Return to Haunted House are the Flashback 2's biggest let downs
Adventure 2 was really disappointing. After looking at several great Adventure spin-off developments online (Including an excellent 5200 version and a Quake 3 map perfectly rendered with the Adventure theme), I guess I hyped this one up too much in my mind. Somehow, the same charm was not there when while playing Adventure 2.
Return to Haunted House might disappoint fans of that game as well, mainly because it uses the Adventure game engine. Since I’m not a fan of the original, it didn’t take me long to lose interest in this one.
Yar’s Return was another big disappointment with the Flashback 2. While "Return" offered an engaging new twist on the original gameplay by switching up where things were on the screen, the blinking and glitching tend to bother my eyes. Fun still can be had with this one, but only in small doses.
Wizard just sucks. Sorry.
Arcade Pong was an interesting inclusion, because amazingly enough Pong was ever released for the Atari 2600. I really like how the border that was painted on the Arcade cabinet is included on screen, but the sad fact is the nostalgia wears off fairly soon with this game. Still, it’s a good effort.
Lunar Lander pretends to have vector graphics, but it’s just a mess. Couple the bad graphics with taxing gameplay and here you have a headache inducing experience. Next!
Caverns of Mars is similar to a reverse River Raid and Gravitar, but again the blinking graphics hinder the fun to be had here as well.
Atari Climber is a homebrew originally titled “Climber 5”. Apparently, some incredible, juiced up Hall of Famers attended the Atari picnic ballgame this year, because some poor hack is charged with the duty of retrieving baseballs from the roof of Atari Corporation Headquartes (which in actuality is probably in a strip mall now). I like the menu screen with the waving dunce, but this poor man’s Donkey Kong is not nearly as charming. Some gameplay twists make this homebrew quite addictive if you give it a fair shake.
Frog Pond is a prototype that does a good job of making my 3 year granddaughter think she is really playing a video game, but this 2-player title desperately needs a few wrinkles in gameplay to make this one very enjoyable for long.
Off the Wall has really good graphics and is similar to Arkanoid or Breakout, but it is a really weird experience. I guess the title is a good fit, then. There are tons of power-ups, gameplay wrinkles, and even a dragon doing “The Worm” but the pong-paddle (who looks like a kung-fu man) is tough to control. This should have been a paddle game.
Aquaventure proves to be a hidden gem
Aquaventure is a fun prototype that is quite a bit better than Seaquest and features mermaids, treasure, torpedoes, and multi-screens. One has to wonder how flounder kills a man with a gun, but those mysteries may never be revealed.
Fatal Run was only released in the UK, and from my experience that is never a good sign for Atari games. The 7800 version of this game was really weird and disturbing, though long and tedious. This version just seems to be really bad. Most people will think this is a racing game, though it is supposed to be car combat. The inclusion of this game is great for Americans who couldn’t play it before, but it also made me realize that Pole Position was unfortunately not included in the FB2.
Quadrun fetches STUPID prices on ebay, probably only because of its status of being the first Atari 2600 game with voice synthesis. This convoluted mess of a space game could not be saved if it had 100 mp3s of all of your favorite songs playing in the background, let alone some nerd saying Quadrun three times in a row.
Save Mary is a great puzzle game you will love, if you can figure it out
Combat 2 was great fun, although it feels unfinished. More variations in gameplay would have made this the best 2-player game on the Flashback 2. Running away from a smart bomb while being chased by a tank is hilarious. This game features only 1 on 1 tank combat, so no planes, helicopters, or other such hoop-la for you.
Secret Quest might impress people with how ambitious it is, but without a proper manual, this game is impossible to figure out. The lack of visuals is the missing component of a story it so desperately tries to tell us. Unless you care to locate an online help guide, this game is unapproachable and not very fun.
Saboteur was included in the first Flashback as its only “never before released game!” While is definitely plays TONS better on the Flashback 2, I still don’t know what the hell to do, or what the hell is going on. But one thing is for certain, it will kick your butt quick!
Radar Lock was another game like Secret Quest that was released late in the 2600’s life. This is a dogfight game that uses the Solaris interface… and quite poorly, I should mention. This game is not fun and like many games featured in this section, it is more complicated than it needs to be.
Save Mary is by far the best hard to find game in the FB2. Only previously released through Atarisales.com to play only on the Atari 7800 (due to bank switching problems with the 2600), this is a puzzle/ action game that does many things right. Mary is stuck in a ravine filling with water, and the only way to save her is by dropping large building materials around her with a crane so she can climb them to avoid the rising water. If you build a structure large enough, you can drop down the hook for her to grab and she can be lifted to safety. Though power ups are not explained well, the game gets more challenging as it goes along and is quite addictive.
Warlords, Super Breakout
Yes, two great paddle games are hidden in the Flashback 2, and both are favorites of mine: Warlords and Super Breakout. The joystick needs to be removed and you will need your old paddle controllers to play the game, however. Some people online have said that they have had trouble getting their older controllers to work, but I secretly believe those people are liars.
Oh yeah, you wanna know how to unlock the games? I'll tell ya. From the menu screen, push on the joystick...
Up - 1 time
Down - 9 times
Up - 7 times
Down - 2 times
The code is 1972. The year Atari officially became incorporated. Cute, huh?
So as you can see, the Flashback 2 definitely has some good games, but it has a quite a few dogs, too. Obvious omissions such as Pole Position, Crystal Castles, Enduro, Berzerk, Space Invaders, Defender, Pitfall 2, Solaris, HERO, etc makes
Fatal Run should have stayed in the UK
me scratch my head for now, but it at least gives me hope that the next Flashback will still have some great games to pick from. However, questionable game selection is not the only problem with the FB2. It is not easy to tell whether or not the difficulty switches (or now buttons) are depressed or not… or even whether the button being pushed in means it is easier or it is more difficult. Also, the biggest problem I have with the system is that the interface, although authentic, is not user friendly. How in the hell is someone supposed to know which variation of the game they want to play? “Oh well, game variation 67 wasn’t it… let’s try 68.” The instruction booklet offers no help on game variations, or even how to play the games! This makes titles with fewer variations less of a headache to play. I also hate how you have to turn the game off completely to play another game. Another small issue I have is that there are some awesome Homebrews out there that need to be included next time... games like Thrust, Marble Craze, and Skeleton+.
Regardless of all that, the Flashback 2 offers something for everyone. Gamers who are bored or annoyed with the current generation of games can take a moment and revisit their youth. The mother or father that wants to share a little bit of their childhood with their kids now have an excellent and cheap way to do that. The enthusiast now can play Fatal Run or Quadrun without spending a fortune to acquire those games. Video game collectors have another quality product that looks great on a shelf. Programmers now have a platform to showcase their ability to program homebrews. Hackers can even mod the system to have a cartridge slot, and with further tinkering, eventually one day their Flashback 2’s will perhaps be morphed into playing DVDs and making coffee.
All in all, the Flashback 2 is a success. There is something to be said about playing games on the hardware that was designed to run them. There are several hits and misses included in the package, but these ARE the Atari games you know and love (or hate), not some crappy emulation. Within the big, red box is enough to keep the kid inside of you playing games for a long time to come.
