Unboxing 1983 Atari 2600 Sports Illustrated Wall Ball by Avalon Hill

Today we are unboxing the 1983 Atari 2600 Sports Illustrated Wall Ball by Avalon Hill. Wall Ball was released in 1983 by Avalon Hill and Officially Endorsed by Sports Illustrated. Also we will be playing this video game using the Retro Game Boyz Custom Built Atari 2600/7800 Controller.
Atari 2600 Manual For Wall Ball - archive.org/de...
The Collectors Zone Show Featuring Retro Game Boyz Custom Built Controllers - • The Collectors Zone Sh...
Retro Game Boyz Custom Built Controllers are handmade with precision and care using quality materials. Check out their Custom Built Controllers here - retrogameboyz....
Wall Ball is one of only five Atari 2600 games released by The Avalon Hill Video Game Company. Avalon Hill was already a well-established company who was known for their strategic table top wargames. Along with many other companies, they briefly entered the video game industry in the early 1980s. Despite their best effort, the company did not survive the video game crash. Interestingly, Wall Ball received an official endorsement by Sports Illustrated magazine. The game plays like Breakout, but from a 3D perspective.
Controlling a racket at one end of a rectangular room, your objective is to continually hit a ball to break the bricks at the other end. The ball's direction of travel is dictated by where it hits the racket, but you can also hold the fire button to perform a straight shot. Each match consists of five sets (broken down again into four games) and if the ball lands behind you you'll lose one of your lives (ranging from 10-99 depending on the starting level).
Upon starting a match, the most obvious problem is the lack of a floor shadow to indicate how close the ball is to your racket; this causes huge spatial distance issues and there will be many occasions where you unfairly miss the intended target. It's almost as if the developers knew this, which is likely why they provided so many spare lives.
With repeated play you can become slightly more accustomed to the game's speed though (especially as the ball doesn't vary its momentum like in Breakout) allowing you to time racket hits with greater consistency. The most impressive aspect is the ball physics, as they're incredibly accurate and once you're familiar with how to direct shots to a particular part of the wall you'll start having a lot more fun.
Also, the sense of depth created by the 3D effect is sensational for a 1983 game. The end of each set features an Eliminator game variation with five lives, a smaller racket, as well as jumping bricks; everything moves at a ridiculously fast rate and the reduced hit radius and lack of lives usually result in a quick and frustrating Game Over. Even if you do survive, the repetitive gameplay starts to wear out its welcome as you continue.
Wall Ball is definitely worth a play-through and it does an admirable job of updating the classic Breakout formula into a 3D world. However, there's no denying its shortcomings in the gameplay department (namely its lack of ball shadows) that hold it back from being anything other than a neat curiosity.
You can find me on Instagram (thecollectorszone5150), Facebook (MasterCollectoroftheZone) and on The Geek and I Podcast TH-cam Channel. The Geek and I Podcast is also on Apple, Spottily and other services that air Podcasts. Thank you for checking out The Collectors Zone.
The Collectors Zone eBay Store - www.ebay.com/u...
The Collectors Zone TH-cam Channel - / thecollectorszone
The Collectors Zone Facebook Page - / mastercollectorofthezone
The Geek and I Podcast Facebook Page - / thegeekandipodcastwith...
The Geek and I Podcast TH-cam Channel - / @thegeekandi
** FYI ** MY VIDEO WAS MADE FOR PURE ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSE. THESE COPYRIGHTS BELONG TO ITS RIGHTFUL OWNER.
NO copyright infringement and NO commercial benefits intended! Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational, or personal use is in favor of fair use.
#wallball #sportsillustrated #avalonhill #retrogameboyz #atari #atari2600 #atari2600plus #thecollectorszone #thegeekandipodcast #thegeekandiwithjohnandjeff #thecollectorszoneyoutubechannel #thecollectorszonefacebook #collecting #videogames #popculture #unboxing #arcadegames #arcade #gameplay #collectibles #classicarcadegames​ #retrogames​ #retrogaming #vintagetoys​ #retroarcadegames​