I’ll be trustworthy: A part of the rationale I needed the Pac-Man Version Atari 2600 Plus console was as a result of I assumed it could look cute in my lounge, the place I’m making an attempt for a type of late ’70s look. However having spent a number of days with Atari’s retro console, it’s much more than only a dialog piece. When you’re interested by retro video games and ephemera, these new-old consoles are the purest dopamine rush.
The yellow Pac-Man 2600 Plus console is pretty petite, particularly in comparison with beefy trendy consoles just like the PS5 and Xbox Sequence S. Although it’s light-weight, the development is strong and strong. There are 4 massive toggle switches flanking the cartridge slot, that are satisfying to fiddle with. Whereas Atari’s standard-model 2600 Plus console options wonderful late ’70s woodgrain, the Pac-Man Version, which is on the market to pre-order now for a late November arrival, has a distinctly ’80s really feel to it, with vibrant yellow panels making a stark distinction to black trim. Better of all, the entrance illustration of Pac-Man and the 4 ghosts on the lights up when the console powers on. It’s a pleasant contact that lends the console a bit of contemporary flourish with out sacrificing retro aptitude.
The Pac-Man Version Atari 2600 Plus additionally performs 7800 video games, and Atari has dozens of titles accessible in its on-line retailer, with cart costs topping out at $35. In case you have an present assortment of retro carts that you simply’ve been holding onto, the 2600 Plus can play these too. The particular version will set you again $169, and comes with one CX40 Plus joystick in an identical vivid yellow hue, embellished with pellets surrounding the joystick and a Pac-Man cap on the high. Not like the unique 2600, the controllers are wi-fi, and straightforward to arrange because of the included USB dongle. Extra controllers will set you again $34.99 for conventional black and $39.99 for Pac-Man-themed colours.
Coming from the dual-thumbstick period of contemporary consoles, the CX40 Plus takes a little bit of getting used to. It’s fairly actually only a joystick and a single purple button. (It took me a minute even to determine that the button is supposed to be going through away from you — I used to be spinning the controller round in my fingers, pushing up on the stick just for my cursor to maneuver down on the display screen.) As soon as I truly acquired it going through the correct manner, I discovered myself “lacking turns” in Pac-Man, largely as a result of I used to be being slightly too light with the joystick. You’re gonna need to crank the CX40 Plus a bit greater than you’re accustomed to with newfangled controllers, however it’s strong sufficient to deal with it.
The special-edition 2600 Plus console is bundled with a Pac-Man Double Function cartridge, which incorporates each the acquainted arcade model of the enduring pellet-gobbler and the 2600 model, which may be very flickery, elongated, and trippy. (To be trustworthy, I loved the 2600 model extra in a lava lamp / historic oddity manner than as an precise online game.) All people loves Pac-Man, and one thing about enjoying with an old-school joystick makes it a bit extra pleasurable.
I additionally had loads of enjoyable with 1980’s Berzerk and its sequel. Frenzy, each of that are top-down shooters the place you dodge skeletons and aliens whereas weaving by way of a maze. These have been each completely new to me, but additionally felt unusually acquainted. It took me a number of runs to appreciate it in all probability (at the very least partly) impressed the Jackenstein boss battle in Deltarune Chapter 4 from earlier this 12 months. The visuals have been tremendous easy, however the vibes have been there all the identical.
One other new one for me was 1984’s Meals Struggle, the place you’re a child dodging a bunch of lethal cooks with the intention to safe an ice cream cone. As you cross the display screen, you possibly can decide up bananas and cupcakes to toss at your foes. When you attain your goal, the child’s head opens freakishly large and his tongue unfurls like a magic carpet to gobble up the cone. It appears to be like like one thing out of a nightmare, and I really like that.
As somebody who pored over printed recreation guides as a child, I admire that every one of Atari’s new-wave 2600 and 7800 video games embody detailed instruction manuals. Each contains fundamental “the way to play the sport” data, which may be genuinely useful with stuff from an period the place in-game textual content is tremendous minimal. A number of additionally embody historic particulars in regards to the recreation’s improvement and restoration, together with cool archival artwork and illustrations. I’m positive there are authorized and not-so-legal methods to play 2600 video games for much lower than $35 a pop, however the packaging and presentation are an enormous a part of the attraction right here. In an period when video games libraries are more and more digital, it’s refreshing to see this stage of care and a spotlight dedicated to paper packing containers, cartridge sleeves, and pamphlets.
A few of Atari’s recreation cartridges, together with Pac-Man Double Function, additionally embody an array of 4 small “dip switches” on the underside. These may be toggled up and down with a fingernail. For Double Function, it’s the way you select between the arcade and 2600 variations of the sport. As a ’90s child, this entire idea was completely new to me, and I really like that Atari retained this tactile aspect of the cart design, quite than simply making the alternate model an possibility to pick in the principle menu.
So who is that this for? There’s no manner round it: older video games may be fairly darn unforgiving. Giving a contemporary little one an Atari 2600 is like giving them a duplicate of The Canterbury Tales: in all probability extra of a intelligent punishment than anything. A candy summer time little one raised on Pikachu and Peely would get their shit wrecked by Galaga or Bounty Bob Strikes Again. When you give this to a child, they may hate you.
Even so, the Pac-Man Version Atari 2600 Plus is a unbelievable vacation present, particularly at a time when it’s all however unattainable to get any recreation console beneath $200. (Hell, even Soulja Boy’s new bootleg handheld is $400+.) When you’re in any respect interested by gaming historical past, it’s tremendous rewarding to take these older video games for a spin and see all of the connective threads which might be nonetheless there, even 40+ years later. That is one for the old-heads and the retro followers, the collector sorts with too many Ikea Billy bookcases to rely. You understand who you might be.
The Atari 2600 Plus Pac-Man Version was reviewed utilizing a unit supplied by Atari. Yow will discover further details about Polygon’s ethics coverage right here.
