Gamasutra has posted the latest book excerpt, this time on the Atari 2600 Video Computer System (VCS), as part of their "A History of Gaming Platforms" series.

From the article:

I've been following this development on the Bally Astrocade (ballyalley) mailing list and it looks like the author will soon be ready to go into production. I'm slightly disappointed that this game is not an original concept, but it looks undeniably great, even with the rash of quality homebrew Warlords clones on Atari systems in recent years (Castle Crisis, Medieval Madness). Paddle games are obviously ideally suited to the Astrocade since it has joysticks that double as spinners. Check out more info and a video here. As you can see, it makes superb use of color and really pushes a system with infamously limited system memory!

Commentary from author Mike G. from the list:

In a record store (there's an anachronism for ya), I would call it the cutout bin. I guess at Toys R' Us it could be called the same. I laid out the $9.99 for Atari Anthology for PS2. Is it worth it? I'm not sure.

I never had the Atari 2600, having only played it at friend's houses, until I got my Atari computer, but I always remember looking at the JCPenney catalog each year at the screenshots of the games and circling which ones I would get if I actually had an Atari. This is back when the JCPenney in East Brunswick, NJ still had a cafe and I would eat the blueberry cheesecake with my older sister, who worked in the catalog department.

So tonight, I tried a few of these games, in lieu of a few extra hours of sleep, job hunting, paying bills, or whatever else folks do at night when they're not playing video games (yeah, I could think of a few others).

I'm impossibly busy this weeked with work (yes, days, nights and weekends at the new job!) and trying to get as much done with the book before Monday's deadline, but I just had to quickly release this press release for Adventure II: Limited Edition on the Atari 5200 SuperSystem from AtariAge. The homebrew was just released after a long, long wait, and from all reports it's been worth it. On top of that, this package also includes lots of goodies ("feelies" if you will), creating a tremendous value and opportunity for collectors and enthusiasts of the system, alike. There's only a few boxed copies left, so I suggest you hurry, hurry, hurry!

The press release:

Archon's Amazing Box Cover Art: From WikipediaAh, Archon for 8-bit computers, besides having one of the greatest videogame covers of all time on the famous Electronic Arts album format, was nearly a perfect blend of strategy and action. It's almost like a chess/checkers combination, but where the pieces battle for control of squares in fast action arcade style combat. The game was arguably best on the Atari 8-bit computers and Commodore 64 (C-64), but it was released on many other platforms of the day, including the Atari XEGS (same as the Atari 8-bit version, just on cartridge) and NES consoles. While the game spawned a sequel, Archon II: Adept, in a short amount of time, that *gasp*, tried a totally different angle, it didn't have the same magic as the original. In fact, that would be a problem with other off-shoots and inspired-by's on various platforms, they just didn't capture the same feel as on the Atari 8-bit or C-64 for whatever reason.

Our friends over at AtariAge have incredible online store deals for the Atari VCS 2600 and Atari 7800 Pro System going on now. Check out the new homebrew stuff! Information below:

Dani Bunten's multiplayer trading game, M.U.L.E., is the best family-friendly multiplayer computer game ever designed. It combines the tension and excitement of arcade-style games with carefully balanced strategy and a wealth of zany humor. Although several later developers have tried to "update" it for later systems, none of them manage to capture the unique ambiance of the original. If you've never played M.U.L.E., then you've not only missed out on a masterpiece, but have likely failed to recognize just how powerfully a personal computer can bridge the generational gap and bring a family together. In 1983, Bunten showed us one path game developers could take--but it sadly became the road less-traveled. It's time to show this game some love!