The Atari 2600's Prettiest Game

Atlantis for the Atari 2600 is a beautifully simple game. Much like in Space Invaders and similar celestial warfare titles, your task is to destroy increasingly rapid sequences of spaceships that speed through the sky above you. It's not as satisfying as those better-known classics, partly because the pacing renders your city blasted far too quickly, but nevertheless it is a servicable high score builder.

When ships get low enough, they let out pretty stunning beam attacks that kill you. The visuals are pretty cool here, painting a mermaid-like teal and green landscape that quite effectively looks both magical and oceanic. There's a touch of Oz to this vision of Atlantis. The spaceships and killable buildings are also made of nice arrangements of colour that manage to look like glittering rainbows. For what it is, it's quite a pretty game.

Beautiful destruction.

There are even flashier moments, too. Sometimes when you destroy a ship, it explodes into firework scatter and the screen flashes white, making it a danger for epileptics and a delightful spectacle for others, and these commitments to detail are fairly satisfying.

It's tough to get into the right rhythm with the oncoming enemy, and the game doesn't allow for quite as much precision and satisfaction as some similar titles, but improving your timing is fun, and the magnitute of the visual results when you fail are pretty spectacular. This is, I think, a contender for the Atari 2600's prettiest game. It has a sparkle to it that elevates it above a lot of other games for the system. I like it.