RollerCoaster Tycoon Adventures Deluxe

RollerCoaster Tycoon Adventures Deluxe

Theme park simulators are a dime a dozen these days but none capture the simplicity and joy that I had playing RollerCoaster Tycoon and Atari brought it BACK!

The folks at Atari are on fire with all of their gaming reskins/reboots/recharged titles and I was hoping that RollerCoaster Tycoon would be on deck soon. I even told my wife I would love for them to revisit the game again. As the name would imply, the game is centered around building theme parks full of various rides and themes, including rollercoasters. As your park grows there are dozens of features and attractions that can be researched to further fit certain themes or styles.

Do you have what it takes to manage the needs of your guests while also keeping the park profitable. The first step towards these ends for me was to raise the prices of EVERYTHING. Sounds counterintuitive to keeping guests happy but you can raise the prices without it negatively impacting the park. This means you can revenue faster and allowing your park to grow faster. Anytime you need an influx of cash you can always speed up the time mechanics. I only recommend doing this when you have enough facilities in place to keep everyone happy, otherwise you risk the deterioration of your overall park happiness.

Originally designed for computer, the user interface was designed to work best with a mouse on a computer but is one of the easiest to navigate compared to other park builders. Menus are divided into categories, each with subcategories that allow you to find everything rather easily, focusing on overall simplicity. The graphics have also received an overhaul, looking crisp, vibrant and better than ever. The overall simplicity of the game may not be too flashy but it all just works so well. The ability to quickly switch between menus and the simple controls makes playing much more enjoyable than most of the alternatives out there.

Haunted House from Atari

Haunted House

Atari has returned to their classic Haunted House game with a major facelift and other than the story it doesn’t resemble the original title.

When Atari isn’t Recharging their classic titles they are doing them again from the ground up and that’s what they’ve done with Haunted House. You play as Lyn, a female teen who’s uncle has vanished inside this haunted place and you’ve been tasked by one of the many ghosts to find him but also put together a magic vase that will entrap the other restless spirits. The game features procedurally generated stages so no two runs will be the same. As you complete objectives you move from room to room collecting powerups and solving puzzles to unlock the next door. Guided by a friendly ghost, you must use the tools he provides to disable and eliminate the other ghosts. From what I’ve played, this is the ONLY friendly ghost in the game. Each time Lyn is knocked out, the game starts over with an entirely new map, so try not to let that happen.

Gameplay looked like you were playing through the old Scooby Doo cartoons but with actual ghosts instead of people wearing costumes. The scare factor is minimal so this is one that can be enjoyed with the family as I wouldn’t consider the jumpscares to be jumpscares. Sure a ghost may jump out of a painting or two and try to grab you but the surprise is minimal. Controls are simple to learn but the tutorial feels like it takes longer than necessary because of this. The graphics for this remastered Atari classic look better than any recent remaster or recharged title I’ve seen with vibrant colors and immense details. The stealth mechanics are great without feeling overpowered as are the flashlight combat ability. Overall we found the game far exceeded our expectations and look forward to playing it again.

Days of Doom from Atari

Days of Doom

Sneakybox and Atari team up to bring a tactics roguelite game with Days of Doom to consoles!

The last tactics styled game I remember playing before Days of Doom was another playthrough of Final Fantasy Tactics. FFT was the gold standard in Tactics gaming. No other team has been able to capture the magic of a world and the ease of gameplay as well. Sneakybox built the original version of this game for mobile devices but under a new team has rebuilt the game, saving mostly a few characters and maps, and released it to consoles. This was with publishing assistance from Atari.

The game focuses on the world after the zombie apocalypse is here, like in the movies, comics and other games, you must venture out and collect supplies and fight to live. Gameplay follows the classic tactics format where the area of the stage is laid out on a grid and you move your characters like a tabletop game. With my obsession with tabletop gaming it’s pretty obvious why this style appeals to me. visually the game is vibrant and looks like it jumped right off a page from a comic or graphic novel. The controls are easy to learn and feel natural with the gameplay. Overall I had a ton of fun and the game appeals to me on so many levels- tactics and zombies just to name the two big ones. This game is well worth the play and I look forward to playing again.

Quantum: Recharged

Quantum: Recharged

The folks at Atari are back with another Recharged title, giving it a much needed facelift and marketing it towards newer players. That game is Quantum: Recharged.

Atari have redesigned quite a few of their games under the Recharged label, the latest of which is Quantum: Recharged. You fly a ship with a tail of sorts that leaves a trace behind you and if you cross the trace, creating a loop, it creates a destructive void that will destroy enemy ships. Additionally the game comes with a mission mode that challenges and refines your skills as your progress.

The controls are smooth as hell. I’ve never played a game before where your control of the ship was so well defined you could literally thread a needle with it. This is the first. Can’t tell you how many close calls I had that thanks to the controls I was able to avoid danger. The ships and powerups were quite simple in appearance but the overlay or HUD for the game was incredibly crisp. This game is another example of why you shouldn’t be sleeping on Atari’s Recharged titles. Now if only I could actually get good at the game, then I might make it to the end. It’s time to practice some more.

Caverns of Mars Recharged

Caverns of Mars

Atari has given another classic the Recharged treatment with Caverns of Mars where you fly ever deeper into the core of the red planet.

Originally developed by Greg Christensen, Caverns of Mars was the first vertical scrolling game and a smash hit on Atari. Prior to receiving the Recharged treatment I had only heard of the title but never played. The concept of the game is that you are rapidly flying towards the center of Mars and ammo is limited. You must defeat your foes and reach the reactor before your fuel and ammo run out. Conceptually it’s quite simple. The gameplay is less so.

While it is a vertical scrolling game you don’t have much control on the vertical movement other than slowing it with firing your guns. You do have control over your horizontal movement though. As you descend further in to the planet there are more and more enemies and obstacles to avoid. In short time it will become quite chaotic.

Visually the game is crisp and highly detailed for the world around you and the world can be blown away to clear you a path but a slight shift in direction can spell your doom. The game is easily played in short spurts and a hell of a lot of fun despite the frequent dying.

Akka Arrh- another Atari Recharged title

Akka Arrh

Artari has returned with another Recharged reboot title and this time it is from the cannon firing Akka Arrh!

Atari and Jeff Minter have teamed up again to reimagine or recharge their classic AkkA Arrh for current generations. You play a turret that shoots bombs with some massive areas of effect. These shots when hitting an enemy turn that enemy into another explosion of similar size and shape and can lead to some massive chain reactions. The fights are chaotic and can be a little hard to follow with the constant explosions.

With super bright imagery the came looks like a stoner’s dream or if a bad trip, then their worst nightmare. If you suffer from light sensitivity then I would suggest avoiding this title. I played it with a migraine and it made the head pain worse by the time I stopped. This was before I learned there is a way to toggle the visual mayhem off. It made a huge difference. Atari fans will enjoy the classic playstyles and those without light sensitivity will enjoy the effect. I personally found the game to be repetitive too early into gameplay. This early into the game should continue to be fresh and engaging. Hard pass from me on this one.

Missile Command Recharged

Missile Command

Missile Command is the latest to get the Recharged treatment from Sneakybox and it is just as chaotic as it has always been.

Sneakybox brings us another Atari title getting the Recharged treatment and this time it is absolutely brutal. Missile Command was always one of the most brutal titles I’ve ever played. This is by far worse than I remember. By worse I refer to the insanity of the game, or my skill, or both. I remember playing this game and being able to get several levels into it before losing my base. With Recharged I couldn’t complete the first level. The missions however I could complete a few.

This game is pure chaos. Simple as that. You man orbital cannons that are tasked with destroying missiles as they fall from the sky. Placing your shots you must lead the missile and force it to crash into it. Graphically it is crisp and yet simplistic. It really captures the look and style of the classic game. Controls are easy to learn but a nightmare on a controller with drift. If you deal with drift this game will be virtually impossible. All of my controllers drift.

If you are looking for a game like the classic or something you can easily pick up and dive into without much effort you’ll enjoy this one.

Yars: Recharged

Yars

Another classic Atari 2600 hit has returned with the Recharged treatment with Yars: Recharged!

Originally published in 1982 on the Atari 2600, Yars has returned with Yars: Recharged from SneakyBox and Adamvision Studios. The game features an alien bug that resembles a dragonfly that is sent to destroy the alien ships that have come to subjugate the planet. Do you have what it takes to survive this remastered bullet hell? As more bullets fly it is natural to panic and I am prone to panic in these situations.

I had only ever heard of the original game but never played. It was one of those that my friends steered my away from due to its difficulty in grade school. It’s THAT old! Playing this one is a ton of fun. If I had known this is what the game was like I would have likely played it when I was much younger. Graphically it reminds me of the Dead Space arcade game that was on the 360 but it is pure chaos. Some levels require pure luck to survive. If you like a game that is sleek and an absolute challenge you will love this game.

Atari classic Gravitar returns with Recharged

Gravitar

Gravitar is the latest Atari title to receive the Recharged treatment for the current generation of consoles.

The last time I had even heard of Gravitar was in the days when Atari gaming was in its prime. Playing it then I never got very far but my dad had the patience and skill to pilot the ship to victory. Fast forward a couple decades and not much has changed on my end with this Next Gen release.

In both iterations of the game you play a lone pilot trying to get home. While the controller themselves are entirely different the experience feels very much the same. A little too much acceleration when pointing the wrong direction can spell certain doom for this pilot. Each map is a new solar system where you must complete various challenges before being able to move on to the next solar system via a massive black hole. The question remains, will I ever bring this pilot home? For the now the answer is easy, its not going to happen. I al simply too heavy handed when it comes to a game that requires so much finesse and because of that I have yet to complete the first system. Despite my many, many failures I found the game to be challenging but enjoyable.