My experience is the same as yours, with the 2600 version feeling chaotic and hard to control, as well as lacking in that strategic feel the original had with a galactic chart full of enemies converging on multiple star bases. Activision's Star Master is a great Star Raiders clone on the 2600; I highly recommend that to see it done well on that hardware.
I got Star Raiders new when it came out and it was disappointing, or maybe I just wasn't good at it, since I never beat it on hard. I don't think my parents would have allowed me to return or exchange a toy or game, so I never tried. Probably Circus Atari would have been more fun. I remember once playing a similar game, Star Voyager by Imagic, because it had some kind of port to dock with or portal to go through. Long after 1982, I eventually got Activision's Star Master, which is similar, and it's a little easier to play, I guess. M-Network ported its version with Space Attack, though I think there's no scoring. The original launch game, Star Ship had some of the same first-person attack mode though the consensus is that it's boring and deserved to be retired. I did like Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator at the arcade, which has part tactical display and part first-person perspective though it's two-dimensional.
Wow, I used to have this game the same time I had the Atari 2600 with the wood console for 36 or 37 years, never quite really understood this game but it seems alright.
I'm not surprised it's as limited as it is - I guess the cart restrictions there weren't quite enough. I think with some proper movement logic, and less bee swarm in the enemy craft, it'd be okay… but not much more. I was given a loose copy many, many moons ago… but without the Video Touch Pad, so you can imagine how far one could get. I'd wondered if it was worth the hassle to find a VTP, but honestly? Like you, I'd rather go back to the proper A8 version… or dust off Solaris anytime!
Somehow I ended up with two copies of the 2600 Star Raiders on my shelf. Might have been a bargain buy at some Toronto store, but I don't know why I wanted a second one. Perhaps for the second keypad controller. Star Raiders for the 2600 is pretty good when you consider when it was released and the hardware on hand. But I confess I was more a fan of Starmaster by Activision on the 2600. I didn't get into Star Raiders until I got it for my XL computer...in the BIG box! However, Star Raiders II (or The Last Starfighter) was a dramatic improvement for the XL/XE line for this type of game. Played that one for hours when I first "obtained" it.
Looking into it after I recorded this, I believe it was originally one of those 2600 games that shipped with a DC Comic. Perhaps that ties it further into the "continuity" (if indeed there is any!) of the Atari universe!
Yes, the references to the "Doomed Planet" and Commander Champion and Li San are from the comic originally included with the Star Raiders 2600 game and to some extent the Star Raiders graphic novel published later. In the comic, the Atari Force crash land on the planet and they find the "Star Raider" spaceship that allows them to strike back against the Zylons for destroying the planet. It doesn't really fit with the setup of the original game, which portrays you as part of a greater space force battling the bad guys, but that's how those Atari Force comics went. They were actually kind of fun but made a hash out of whatever video game concepts they were using and often came across like the comics creators were having trouble wrapping their heads around these newfangled TV games. (The comic ends with Champion and Li San realizing they and the Zylons were all being mind-controlled by a greater enemy and that "no one EVER wins at war!" - take that, you stupid vidiot games!)
@@sheets75 I didn't think much of my Atari Force™ mini comics (about the size of the wide manuals), so I eventually lost them. I didn't buy the SwordQuest games new, so never got their comics, that are apparently required to look at when you get page and frame numbers from the game to find the secret words. I guess I'll have to watch his review of those games soon.
I don't have any of the games that use the keyboard controllers (Basic Math, Brain Games, Concentration, Codebreaker, and Basic Programming) and didn't find any at the thrift store in the 1990s, so don't know if the Star Raiders controller would work with them.
I have to give them credit for porting it to the 2600 but it just doesn't feel the same. I remember playing this version for the first time in the Xbox 360 Game Room (remember that?) and wished it was the 8bit version.
Yep, I remember Game Room; not a day goes by I don't miss that excellent celebration of retro gaming! I wish they'd bring it back in some form -- I used to really like the real-time leaderboards, they really added a fun sense of competition to those old games.
@@ThisIsPete I think they had a neat challenge feature too so instead of just leaderboards you could send an invite to a friend and whoever got the best score on that run was the winner. Nice call back to the good old days. The only one I ever won on was Gyruss I think... 😊
Playing games that came with bespoke controllers, like Indy 500 or Star Raiders, on emulators is not a good experience. Bad enough playing regular paddle/joystick games on an emulator but this is a massive no no.
Given the keypad is only really needed to switch between the galactic map/forward view and engage the hyperspace jump modern controllers have more than enough buttons to handle this. The problem is they just stripped so much of the original away for this port that it's just not very good. StarMaster did this so much better on the 2600 even if it also feels stripped down compared to the original Atari 400/800 version.
My experience is the same as yours, with the 2600 version feeling chaotic and hard to control, as well as lacking in that strategic feel the original had with a galactic chart full of enemies converging on multiple star bases.
Activision's Star Master is a great Star Raiders clone on the 2600; I highly recommend that to see it done well on that hardware.
I got Star Raiders new when it came out and it was disappointing, or maybe I just wasn't good at it, since I never beat it on hard. I don't think my parents would have allowed me to return or exchange a toy or game, so I never tried. Probably Circus Atari would have been more fun.
I remember once playing a similar game, Star Voyager by Imagic, because it had some kind of port to dock with or portal to go through. Long after 1982, I eventually got Activision's Star Master, which is similar, and it's a little easier to play, I guess. M-Network ported its version with Space Attack, though I think there's no scoring. The original launch game, Star Ship had some of the same first-person attack mode though the consensus is that it's boring and deserved to be retired.
I did like Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator at the arcade, which has part tactical display and part first-person perspective though it's two-dimensional.
Wow, I used to have this game the same time I had the Atari 2600 with the wood console for 36 or 37 years, never quite really understood this game but it seems alright.
I'm not surprised it's as limited as it is - I guess the cart restrictions there weren't quite enough. I think with some proper movement logic, and less bee swarm in the enemy craft, it'd be okay… but not much more.
I was given a loose copy many, many moons ago… but without the Video Touch Pad, so you can imagine how far one could get. I'd wondered if it was worth the hassle to find a VTP, but honestly? Like you, I'd rather go back to the proper A8 version… or dust off Solaris anytime!
Somehow I ended up with two copies of the 2600 Star Raiders on my shelf. Might have been a bargain buy at some Toronto store, but I don't know why I wanted a second one. Perhaps for the second keypad controller. Star Raiders for the 2600 is pretty good when you consider when it was released and the hardware on hand. But I confess I was more a fan of Starmaster by Activision on the 2600. I didn't get into Star Raiders until I got it for my XL computer...in the BIG box! However, Star Raiders II (or The Last Starfighter) was a dramatic improvement for the XL/XE line for this type of game. Played that one for hours when I first "obtained" it.
I never knew the 2600 version had a different story & enemy name from the original
Looking into it after I recorded this, I believe it was originally one of those 2600 games that shipped with a DC Comic. Perhaps that ties it further into the "continuity" (if indeed there is any!) of the Atari universe!
Yes, the references to the "Doomed Planet" and Commander Champion and Li San are from the comic originally included with the Star Raiders 2600 game and to some extent the Star Raiders graphic novel published later. In the comic, the Atari Force crash land on the planet and they find the "Star Raider" spaceship that allows them to strike back against the Zylons for destroying the planet. It doesn't really fit with the setup of the original game, which portrays you as part of a greater space force battling the bad guys, but that's how those Atari Force comics went. They were actually kind of fun but made a hash out of whatever video game concepts they were using and often came across like the comics creators were having trouble wrapping their heads around these newfangled TV games. (The comic ends with Champion and Li San realizing they and the Zylons were all being mind-controlled by a greater enemy and that "no one EVER wins at war!" - take that, you stupid vidiot games!)
@@sheets75 I didn't think much of my Atari Force™ mini comics (about the size of the wide manuals), so I eventually lost them. I didn't buy the SwordQuest games new, so never got their comics, that are apparently required to look at when you get page and frame numbers from the game to find the secret words. I guess I'll have to watch his review of those games soon.
I don't have any of the games that use the keyboard controllers (Basic Math, Brain Games, Concentration, Codebreaker, and Basic Programming) and didn't find any at the thrift store in the 1990s, so don't know if the Star Raiders controller would work with them.
Still an amazing port. I like Star Master more though.
I have to give them credit for porting it to the 2600 but it just doesn't feel the same. I remember playing this version for the first time in the Xbox 360 Game Room (remember that?) and wished it was the 8bit version.
Yep, I remember Game Room; not a day goes by I don't miss that excellent celebration of retro gaming! I wish they'd bring it back in some form -- I used to really like the real-time leaderboards, they really added a fun sense of competition to those old games.
@@ThisIsPete I think they had a neat challenge feature too so instead of just leaderboards you could send an invite to a friend and whoever got the best score on that run was the winner. Nice call back to the good old days. The only one I ever won on was Gyruss I think... 😊
Playing games that came with bespoke controllers, like Indy 500 or Star Raiders, on emulators is not a good experience. Bad enough playing regular paddle/joystick games on an emulator but this is a massive no no.
Given the keypad is only really needed to switch between the galactic map/forward view and engage the hyperspace jump modern controllers have more than enough buttons to handle this. The problem is they just stripped so much of the original away for this port that it's just not very good. StarMaster did this so much better on the 2600 even if it also feels stripped down compared to the original Atari 400/800 version.