Certainly a great review of Desert Falcon on Atari 2600. I do feel the same way that Desert Falcon should be left on the Atari 7800 which I do have a copy in Box with Manuel in very good condition. It's also on the Atari 8 bit computer/XE which that version the same as the 7800 gameplay wise suffers the slowdown from time to time. So Desert Falcon plays best on the Atari 7800 no question about it.
It most definitely pales in comparison to the 7800 but I still get some enjoyment out of this version. When I play, I only play on expert and I do actively stay in the middle to get treasure and shoot enemies. I personally find the game a bit on the easy side because you can only have one enemy plus the sphinx dart on the screen at the same time. I think if that dart was harder to avoid the would have been very solid.
I give the designer credit for pulling off the isometric view, recalling how Coleco gave up on that for their 2600 port of Zaxxon. However, it is compromised by the 2600's limitations and was indeed too ambitious to be ported to this old system, much in the way Sega's Congo Bongo was. There are many games just too graphically sophisticated to be migrated to the humble, old Atari 2600.
Tac-Scan is kind of the same way in terms of staying at the edge being a dominant strategy and the game being frustrating otherwise. The difference is that Tac-Scan is a paddle game, the screen layout is simpler, and it is much faster. Nevertheless, I think the 200s rating is too harsh. It's not that bad and I'd flip it with Space Cavern.
This was one of the very last 2600 games I bought. I remember having a lot of fun with it.
Certainly a great review of Desert Falcon on Atari 2600. I do feel the same way that Desert Falcon should be left on the Atari 7800 which I do have a copy in Box with Manuel in very good condition.
It's also on the Atari 8 bit computer/XE which that version the same as the 7800 gameplay wise suffers the slowdown from time to time. So Desert Falcon plays best on the Atari 7800 no question about it.
Good video! And review of this game! I remember this game for the Atari 2600. I remember the Atari 7800 version too! Fun, but challenging game!
It most definitely pales in comparison to the 7800 but I still get some enjoyment out of this version. When I play, I only play on expert and I do actively stay in the middle to get treasure and shoot enemies. I personally find the game a bit on the easy side because you can only have one enemy plus the sphinx dart on the screen at the same time. I think if that dart was harder to avoid the would have been very solid.
Happy to see a 2600 review! Also looking forward to your 260th 2600 game review 🙂
The Fun Is Back!
Yessiree
This almost pulls It off in my opinion. Fun to try though.
This is the first version of this game I played. I loved it as a kid. But yeah I guess the 7800 version is better. But hey, it’s Atari.
Nice box art!
I give the designer credit for pulling off the isometric view, recalling how Coleco gave up on that for their 2600 port of Zaxxon. However, it is compromised by the 2600's limitations and was indeed too ambitious to be ported to this old system, much in the way Sega's Congo Bongo was. There are many games just too graphically sophisticated to be migrated to the humble, old Atari 2600.
Tac-Scan is kind of the same way in terms of staying at the edge being a dominant strategy and the game being frustrating otherwise. The difference is that Tac-Scan is a paddle game, the screen layout is simpler, and it is much faster. Nevertheless, I think the 200s rating is too harsh. It's not that bad and I'd flip it with Space Cavern.
Still need a copy of this one. Looks like a better Zaxxon than Zaxxon on the 2600 (Zaxxon on 2600 suuuuuuucked).
I was never very good at Zaxxon, so don't like it. Glad to see he's done his 259th review for Atari 2600, though. Hope there are more to come.
Lol!!! Have you played Zaxxon on Atari 2600? IT RULES.
SO DESERT FALCON 2600.
Honk if you love 4K diagonal scrolling
The 2600 lives onnn 🥹🫡🇺🇸 its nice to see there’s still more to cover