The following article was written by @TheKingofRetro
The Atari 2600. What a gaming console. It was one of the first to gain a massive following and brought limitless possibilities to people discovering home video games back in the late 70’s and early 80’s. I personally have a ton of memories with my Atari 2600 that go back to the early 80’s, some in the mid 90’s, all the way to just a year or so ago because I’ve never put the joystick down and continue to discover new games as the years unfold. But there is one 2600 game that is very near and dear to my heart that I wanted to be my first video game review and it’s a game that I feel has flown underneath the radar with many retro-gaming hobbyists out there. The game was published by Activision and is called Megamania and I’d like to talk a little about it in depth.
Growing up with the Atari 2600 I was too young to know which games I really wanted and which games were the ones everyone was playing seeing as how I was probably 3 or 4 at the time, so I pretty much settled for whatever my mother or father would buy me for Christmas or my birthday. Luckily they did a pretty good job and many of the games I owned as a child were fantastic and stuck with me throughout the years and have become cherished classics that I revisit yearly. Megamania was one of those games. I can remember early mornings before school playing Megamania in my basement in between sessions of E.T, Pac-Man, Atlantis, Defender, and Return of the Jedi, and being really upset when it was time to put the controller down and leave for the day. I still get those feelings today before I have to leave for work but I don't want to ramble on about me and my gaming habits, I want to discuss this gem of a game and hopefully sway those who haven't tried it yet to give it a shot. Now, as a game Megamania is very similar to Space Invaders where you are controlling a spacecraft at the bottom of the screen and shooting at objects as they drop down toward you, doesn’t seem like anything special by that description I’m sure. But it’s all in the mechanics. The objects change every level and move in patterns which is different from the other shooting games of the era, plus the sound effects are top notch and really help this game to stand out. Everything from the sound of the ship shooting to the sound it makes when you die is etched into my brain for the rest of my life and of all the Space Invaders style shooters on the 2600 I’d place Megamania at the top, though there are other space shooters that are just as good that aren’t of the same variety. It’s funny because throughout the years I’ve talked with many old school gamers and many of them haven’t even heard of Megamania, with some having played it but not having the same warmhearted feelings toward the game as I did. I guess gamers at the time were really all about the arcade experience and wanted to play games like Space Invaders, Asteroids, Millipede, Centipede, and other ports.
Now it’s time to move onto the technical aspects of Megamania as a game putting aside my personal feelings and looking at its performance and how well made it is (or isn’t). The game looks and feels a lot like any other Atari 2600 game that came out around that time with simple graphics and standard looking pixels. It’s a single blue ship at the bottom of the screen that kind of looks like the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek with enemies descending upon you trying to destroy your craft. One strong suit I would like to mention is that the flying enemies look pretty cool and are modeled very originally with things that look like diamonds, hamburgers, bow ties, and dice swirling around on the screen. It was refreshing to see something other than the traditional fare of aliens and other space ships coming down at you. As for the controls of the game if you've played any other 2600 game of similar style then you’ll be right at home because the controls are simply to move left and right and hit the fire button to kill the baddies. It doesn't get much simpler than that. But don’t get me wrong, as simple as the game is it becomes addicting very fast due to the enemies picking up speed and the rush of old school arcade-style action begins to overtake you while you’re playing trying to beat your (or your friends) high score. It’s downright a blast to play! It’s one of those “points games” that if you had it as a kid and had a brother or sister you’d be trying to beat each others high score over and over again. I used to do this with friends while playing other games back in the day and we often kept a notebook with the date and score, it was so much fun.
Throughout the years I've always made sure to pop the cartridge into my Atari at least once or twice a year and I always have those warm and fuzzy feelings whenever I sit down to play it. If you own an Atari 2600 and don’t have this game I recommend you pick one up on eBay or at a flea market or something, it’s not very expensive (maybe $6 maximum) and will provide you with some fun moments as you engage in intergalactic war. Megamania as a game has left a mark on my soul that only a hundred or so other games have been able to do (I’ve played thousands of games) and it’s a title that’ll always live on in my heart and in my soul as long as I draw breath.
8.5/10
Do you remember this game? Did you have it as a kid? Any fond memories you'd like to share? Questions? Comments? If so than feel free to post them in the comments section and I'll reply as soon as possible.
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