Atari and Apple are really bringing us an Asteroid-sized blast from the past and a real treat for old school gamers by launching an Atari app featuring a classic selection of gaming titles on iOS for iPad and iPhone through the iTunes store.
With no less than 100 titles claimed in the retro collection, gamers downloading the app get to play PONG for free and buy the lot for $14.99 or choose individual packs for 99c. These individual packs feature specific genre games or a popular title from yesteryear and all its successors. So for example, if you were to buy the Centipede pack you’ll be able to play the whole series including Centipede, Centipede 2600, Millipede and Millipede 2600.
This makes that claim of such a whopping number of titles a little bit of an ambiguous one, since many of the titles included are in fact follow-ups and so-so sequels. Read a little deeper into the preview spiel on the official iTunes release page and it’ll go from claiming “100 Classic Atari Games” to “What we feature is: 18 Classic Atari Arcade Games including PONG”.
The vintage box art and arcade graphics are a real treat, a real a nostalgia kick and without a doubt a great collection of classic Atari action is available. Bluetooth connection offers multiplayer gaming and there’s many a title here we’d be excited to play again (the full list can be viewed on the Atari Greatest Hits page on iTunes).
However, we’re a little disappointed by a no-show by Pacman – clearly the greatest of Greatest Hits Atari ever released. Heck, we’d even settle for a Ms. Pacman appearance!
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