Battlezone Review by: Eirinn - 8.2/10
Quiet possibly the best game on the Atari 2600Ah, Battlezone; one of the greatest games to ever grace the Atari 2600, or at least I think so. This little gem took all of the things that made the Atari 2600 what it is, and capitalized on it. It even used the system's limitations to make the game incredible. When a developer can take the negatives of a system, and use them to make positives in a game, that is true video game genius. The charm here is more than just nostalgia, it's the type of charm that a game carries from the moment you take it out of the box. The type of charm that makes you fall in love with a game from the moment you put it in the system and turn the power on. The type of charm that keeps said game from being removed from your system for weeks on end. Ever gotten a new game, put it in, and spent 100% of your gaming time playing it for the better part of a month? Battlezone would have been one of those games, had you bought it in 1983 when it first hit the shelves. But before you get tired of hearing my endless raving about how great this game was, and still is, let me break it down step by step, to show you why I'm such a fan of it.
Graphics: 10/10
Incredible.
First pitch of the ratings game, and Battlezone has already knocked one out of the park. That's right, this one surpassed most (if not all) games on it's system in many ways.
First up is the color scheme: first off, a lot of people say that the Atari 2600 only had eight colors in the color palette, but this isn't true. While there were some Atari's with only eight colors, the ones released in the United States were actually capable of 256 colors. Don't believe me? Fire up Battlezone and you'll immediately be greeted by a screen containing no less than twenty-nine colors (yes, I counted), and as you proceed to play, you'll find more.
That said, Battlezone utilizes colors perfectly. They take several colors, and manage to make them blend together beautifully, using them to add depth to the image, and give a good amount of depth to the scenery in general. I especially love the colors used on the ground: various yellows and greens that shift back and forth, giving the impression that you're actually driving across the grassy plain.
There aren't too many sprites, but there are about as many as the average Atari 2600 game, and there are some that only appear as you progress through the game (reaching certain scores unleashes different foes). You start off facing tanks, and eventually see flying saucers, and a few other baddies, and the various enemy sprites are more than just superficial changes, they actually have different attack methods and movement speeds, and must be battled differently, if you want to defeat them. I also found the working radar to be a very nice addition that gave the already great graphics that extra little push that they needed to reach a ten.
Sound: 7/10
Very Good.
Though in typical Atari 2600 fashion, Battlezone doesn't offer a lot by way of audio, what it does offer is well above average for the system. Bear in mind, this one is from an era when the average game went straight to a silent demo when you switched them on, played a one second tune when you pressed a button, and then went silent except for a few beeps and bloops during gameplay, and explosions. Can't forget those explosions. It's been said that if it was on the 2600, something in the game was going to explode at some point, and such often proves true. While Battlezone may not deviate from that pattern, it does do a few things to seperate itself from it's companions.
The first sound effect you notice is quiet probably the most memorable in the game: the sound of your tank moving. Yeah, that's it. It's a simple humming sound, but it actually sounds pretty good, and it (unlike many constant sound effects in Atari 2600 games) somehow doesn't get repetitive or annoying. In fact, it goes a long way in making a game like this more addicting. If that doesn't make sense to you, it's probably because you haven't played many games from that system. Long time fans of the console will understand, and appreciate that attribute in this game. It just sounds...real, in a four bit system kind of way. There are a decent amount of other sounds in this game as well, such as the sound of a shot being fired, which doesn't sound realistic in the least, but serves it's purpose, and you will learn to fear that sound, and pull out the fanciest maneuvering that you can manage, when you hear it and know it wasn't you that fired it. Then there's the notorious explosion sound when you or a foe take a hit. There's an alert that let's you know when an enemy has been spawned (there are typically two enemies on your radar at a time), and then we have the sound that impressed me the most: the radar blip. Everytime your radar scans over an enemy blip, it emits a small beep to let you know. This was a very small detail that could have easily been left out, and no one would have ever missed it, but they included it still. Being the sucker that I am for small details, I couldn't help but love this little extra. It's one of those moments when no one would have known if the developers had omitted it, but the developers would have known, and so they didn't pass it by.
The only problem I find with the music is that it doesn't really exist. There's the typical one second tune at the start of a game, but no more after that. This isn't exactly uncommon for a game on the Atari 2600, but it didn't have to be that way. There were other games on the same system that boasted a full music track for the game, but again, that wasn't exactly the audio standard for games at the time. All in all, Battlezone does quiet well in the sound department.
Story: N/A
It's an Atari 2600 game. Enough said.
Depth: 6/10
Good.
While Battlezone may only contain one playing field (as opposed to multiple levels), it does gradually raise the difficulty as you gain points. It also offers three difficulties which can be
selected before starting the game. One tank equals easy, two tanks equals Normal, and three tanks equals hard.
With a handful of sprites, and some decent animations, it manages to live up to it's competition. I especially like the visual effects when your tank gets destroyed.
So while it may not be the deepest of games, it does fairly well in comparison to other games on the same console.
Addictiveness: 10/10
Incredible.
I find it amazing that with a stack of modern games with several unlockables, multiple endings, Hi-res graphics, and top-notch sound quality, I still come back to this game so often. Don't get me wrong, I still prefer modern games to this title, but this is one that I will never tire of playing. Battlezone is definitely among the greats of the Atari 2600. It's simplistic gameplay is quiet charming in a day when games are increasingly complex and time consuming, and serves as a reminder of why Video Games as a whole have made it as far as they have, and why people had faith in them even when they were so limited by technology. Games of this caliber paved the way to modern gaming, pushing us to develop more in-depth and realistic games, and kept us entertained all the while.
I also loved that they went for 3D movement, rather than the typical top-down view of that day, or even a 2D side scrolling approach. It was a very good move on their part, and it's a large portion of what made the game so incredibly addicting. Drop the player in the middle of a battle field and make them watch their back-- and every other angle, while destroying everything in sight or out. The thrill and chill that hits you when you hear a shot fired from a foe behind you, and you are forced to try and figure out which way to move to evade the attack, never gets old. I could go on, but suffice it to say, this game is a pixelated blast.
Difficulty: 4/10
Easy.
You'll not find a game easier to pick up and learn to play, and on easy, it starts out so gradually that everyone can have time to adjust. This game can get pretty tough if you want it to be, but it's extremely simplistic style makes it easy enough for all.
Overall: 8.2/10
Exceptional.
Battlezone on the Atari 2600 is an incredible retro adventure that you'll not soon forget. With incredible graphics, good sound, and simplistic yet addicting gameplay, this one is worthy of every bit of the rating it's receiving here, if not more. In fact, my personal rating of it (based on fun factor alone) would be no less than a 9.5, and possibly as much as a 10. It was games like this that set the standard for games of the future, and actually afforded us a glimpse into the future of the gaming world, in a day when we wouldn't dare dream of Video Games being three dimensional. Battlezone is a gem among the retro game world, and is certainly one of the best titles on the Atari 2600.
Battlezone is a game that I can highly recommend to anyone who enjoys Atari 2600 games of any kind, and to most retro game enthusiasts. Even if you have never typically enjoyed Atari 2600 games, this one could still be worth a try. It shows you some of the best of what the system has to offer. It's very entertaining, and well above the standard of quality for games of it's time. Bottom line: give this one a go. You won't regret it.
Graphics
10 Sound
7 Addictive
10 Depth
6 Difficulty
4
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