Has it really been 50 years?!?
There are no shortages of classic game compilations on the market these days. When it comes to these types of collections very few do it as well as Digital Eclipse. Their latest however, may be their finest work and the most interesting and unique selection of games ever made. It is hard to believe it, but Atari is turning 50 this year. Video games are finally at their mid-life crisis. The Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration brings together every year of the classic company in a timeline sort of documentary with plenty of games to play along the way. It is an incredibly unique way to do one of these collections and I had an absolutely blast digging through every single piece of material found within.
Unlike other classic compilations, Atari 50 is set up like a timeline. There are five sections each with their own set of memorabilia, videos, and of course games to dig through. It starts at the beginning with titles like Space Race and of course Pong and works through the ill-fated Jaguar. Along the way there are all kinds of things to discover. The timeline moves left to right with branches that showcase specific moments in the company’s history. There is so much here to dig into from old advertisements down to quotes and even some scans of old business cards.
MSRP: $39.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $39.99
Each item on the timeline is captioned with more information to dig deeper into. The videos are collections of interviews with the original developers such as Howard Scott Warshaw and Nolan Bushnell as well as industry icons that were influenced by these games like Cliff Bleszinski and Tim Schafer. Every video is incredibly interesting as we get to hear stories about the development of specific games as well as how the hardware and software was created. There is simply so much content poured into this collection and every corner feels covered. I loved reading about the ads from the era and even watching the commercials from that era.
Everything in the collection is presented in super high quality too. While the old commercials are obviously lower resolution, things like the ads and box art have been re-scanned at a super high resolution. Each with their own information and ability to be zoomed in to see all the details. It is amazing how much there is here. I spent hours just looking at all the original concepts. Heck, this thing even includes every issue of the SwordQuest comics in super high resolution. This thing is packed with content.
All of this is before the games, and that says something. Normally when I check one of these things out I go to the games first, then check out the special features. Atari 50 broke that mold. I skipped most of the games upfront because I wanted to see all the content before diving in. For those that want the games though there is a game library without the timeline that can be accessed at any time by pressing the X button on Xbox. Here there are well over 100 games ranging from the original Atari VCS and 2600 titles all the way up to Lynx and Jaguar. There are even six new games made specifically for this collection. There is plenty here to play.
Sure a lot of these games are for novelty. I didn’t find myself playing hours of Food Fight or Crystal Castles (even if Bentley Bear rules beyond belief,) but revisiting these games was a lot of fun. I loved how every single game had its own wrapper that made it feel unique. The features are similar for each one with the traditional filter and border settings, save states of the like, but each one feels unique. It was as if each game was its own separate instance and that is amazing considering how many games are here.
The collection is expansive with little bits sprinkled in from each era. There are also unique versions of games as well as original titles. The team at Digital Eclipse didn’t just toss a bunch of roms into this collection. They went and actually finished the fourth and final game in the SwordQuest series. Players can now play and finish Airworld which is ridiculous. Watching and reading up on the history of those games is super interesting, and now we can finally complete all four titles. Sadly we can’t win the gold chalice, but this is truly the next best thing.
One of the most interesting things coming into this collection was the Jaguar emulation. For anyone familiar with the scene this system has been one of the most complicated to recreate over the years. For this collection the team at Digital Eclipse actually created a working emulator for the system that works flawlessly. While the collection of games is missing some key titles, likely due to licensing issues, what games are here run beautifully. Playing Cybermorph and Atari Karts without graphical issues is amazing. I also appreciate the high quality scans of the key overlays for the controller.
That is another thing to point out here. Controlling these games feels incredible. It can be hard to emulate some of these control types. These old systems had unique ways of working. Such as rolling joysticks and trackballs. Digital Eclipse has done an amazing job of translating all of that to a controller. Sure things like Warlords and Pong feel slightly delayed, but it still works. Visually the games all look great too. The emulation wrappers do a nice job of making these games look good even on modern TVs. The filters help hide some of the blemishes they were designed around. Also who doesn’t love the iconic Atari explosion sound? Man it brings back memories.
There are a couple setbacks with the collection that I am sure will be ironed out. This mostly affects the videos contained within. The audio is all over the place with some of the interviews. Some are much louder than others. There is also a weird blur at the bottom of the videos that can be distracting. I also noticed the captions were broken on the final interview. Again nothing game breaking, but something that will likely get patched out over time.
This collection goes above and beyond any other to date. Digital Eclipse continues to outdo themselves with these classic compilations each time. This one sets a bar though that will be nigh impossible to outdo. Not sure what is next on their docket, but I cannot wait to play it. As it stands this collection is a must for anyone who calls video games their hobby. It is absolutely incredible on every level and I spent hours just absorbing all the content here. Sure I would love some DLC (Ultra Vortek anyone?) but what is here is more than worth the price of admission.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
