The Ultimate U.S. Games/Vidtec/Atari 2600 Tier List - ALL RELEASED GAMES RANKED
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 มิ.ย. 2024
- During this renaissance of Atari 2600 games in the wake of the release of the 2600+, prices for those decades-old cartridges continue to climb. So it's even more important now to know the caliber of the game inside the increasingly-expensive little plastic boxes. In this video I rank every title published by third-party developer, U.S. Games.
U.S. Games Corporation originally produced handheld electronic sports games, but pivoted to focus exclusively on video game software in 1981, and was acquired by cereal company Quaker Oats in 1982 to develop games for the Atari 2600. Some of their early titles bear the name, "Vidtec," but that was soon dropped and all remaining releases have the "U.S. Games" branding.
During their short run which lasted just over a year, US Games published fourteen games for our beloved VCS. As usual, I am trying to evaluate these games not from today's perspective, but from that of twelve-year old little Jonny - the twelve-year old me. How would he have ranked these games after begging his parents for the purchase and then tearing off the celophane and throwing it in his console?
#atari #usgames #atari2600 #genxgrownup
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🟢 C H A P T E R S
00:00 2600 Renaissance
00:42 US GamesVidtec
01:35 Commando Raid
02:32 Eggomania
03:20 Entombed
04:03 Gopher
04:40 M.A.D.
05:22 Name This Game
06:22 Picnic
07:46 Piece O' Cake
08:31 Raft Rider
09:26 Sneak'n Peek
10:23 Space Jockey
11:30 Squeeze Box
12:40 Towering Inferno
13:29 Word Zapper
14:41 Summary - บันเทิง
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Thanks!
Aw, thanks so much for your kindness & generosity, Jimmy! 😁
@@GenXGrownUp no problem man, as a fellow GenX'er your videos are awesome, thanks for making them!
I absolutely had Towering Inferno and it was one of those games you played for a little bit as a pallet cleanser before moving on to something more fun. I don't know where i got it from, but it feels like the kind of game that you get from an adult who needed to get you a birthday present and saw that an Atari game was on sale
I can’t believe how many of these games I played as a kid
I can't believe how many I DIDN'T PLAY! These US Games Atari "tapes" flew under my radar with the exception of towering inferno which I cried and threw a fit to have. In my Lil mind I probably thought it was a simulator or something. But my mom and her mean pill addicted husband paid top dollar for it from a small local model shop that also sold "Atari tapes". I remember getting the belt to the back of my legs for wanting that steamer lol
I was lucky enough to find Space Jockey, Word Zapper, Commando Raid, and Eggomania, at thrift stores like Salvation Army and Goodwill, back in the early-mid 1990s when they were dirt cheap. i played the heck out of them too, even up to the early 2000s after i graduated Highschool... good luck finding them now for a reasonable price.
I wasn't familiar with these games until about 10 years ago when I stared Atari emulation. Space Jockey is definitely my favorite of this group.
Space Jockey is my favorite too.
I love these Atari lists! I was born in ‘78, and my earliest memories are of playing Atari 2600- your lists bring back all those good vibes for me- thanks!
I'm so happy to hear that. Thank you for watching! 😁
Agreed. Love these lists. Born in '68.
It always amazes me the variety of game genres that were attempted on the 2600! First person perspective games, puzzle games, action/adventure games, etc. pretty much any modern genre was in some way attempted on the 2600 way back when.
YES! Finally, the long awaited US Games/Vidtec ranking video! I have owned a few for decades... Word Zapper (it's 💯 true about explaining to mom that it's "educational" as an excuse to play video games, LOL!...imo, it was a solid B when I was 12 years old, but to each their own) Commando Raid and Eggomania, are a solid A in my book too (that music and the bird taunting you in Eggo was fantastic!) Space Jockey was a lot of fun, blowing up houses and trees and the army like a true evil Alien invader should! Picnic was okay, but yeah...frustrating about the food.
meanwhile, for those i don't own, Mad seems a lot like Atlantis, but it looks okay, Towering Inferno has been on my bucket list, as is Squeeze Box. Name that game looks like fun too(the shark dragging you off by it's Jaws, bwahahahahah!) i bet some of these are priced much higher than most 2600 titles nowadays. Thanks for the video, and the reviews!
Only heard of Space Jockey. I'll need to check some of these out.
These lists are insane!!!
I love em.
Keep em comin'!!
Thanks! Will do!
@@GenXGrownUplove your reviews . I wish you would do one on all the different 2600 consoles. I just bought a heavy sixer and a vader 😊
Commando Raid looks pretty cool. I didn't know any of these games ever existed even though I played a lot of Atari 2600 and still do. Great video! 👍
Thanks for watching. 😁
@@GenXGrownUp 👊
@@joshh8245 Commando Raid is hella cool, i was still playing it all through the 90s even though i had a Sega Genesis and Playstation with much more modern games. if you can find a cart for a reasonable price(under ~$15) i recomend buying it.
I enjoy your Atari 2600 publisher list vids! Squeeze Box reminds me of a fuller version of the fun arcade Tron Cylinder/Breakout level. These are some interesting ideas, but none seem to have been executed all that well. I'd have never chosen any of these over Atari, Activision, or Imagic games, as a kid.
I do not recall having any of these as a kid, but I have collected them all now. There are some good games here. I kind of want to give Sneak 'N Peek a real try considering how much it is disliked. Great video, as always.
Thanks, Jeremiah. If you find something to like in SnP, you'll have to clue me in!
@GenXGrownUp It is two player simultaneous, that could make it more interesting.
The gameplay of Piece o" cake reminds me a lot of Activision's Pressure Cooker. Anyway, I just love these tier list shows on your channel, keep it up.
The baker in Piece 'o Cake gives strong Swedish Chef vibes 😁
Bork, bork, bork! 👨🍳
Verr-deeberrdee-Duurr
@@GenXGrownUp don't always agree with your grades, but love watching them.
How about sneak and fuck 😅
@@christopherpennington106 That's cool. These ratings are subjective, but seeing and hearings others' opinions can often help us fine tune our own. 😁
If Towering Inferno featured Paul Newman & Steve McQueen, it would definitely be "S" Tier :-) Keep up the awesome work Jon!
Hahaha! Thanks, Jamie. 😁
Bwahahahah! they should have made a sequel...BackDraft! with Kurt Russel, Baldwin(William, not Alec), De Niro, Sutherland, etc.
I remember enjoying Gopher back in the day, but we had the Zellers version, called Farner Dan.
Actually, theres an idea for a video! Zellers was a Canadian department store chain that actually sold bootleg Atari games. They'd take existing games and put their own labels on them (some of them having nothing to do with the game, Challenge for instance had a picture of Ghostbusters on the cover). So they sold Gopher as Farmer Dan, and Atlantis was renamed Ocean City Defender, for example. Could be an interesting deep dive.
Are those the Taiwanese bootlegs? They've got the chubby Cooper font (from the Garfield comic) on the front of the boxes and cartridges.
@@jessragan6714Not to my knowledge, but I admit that my knowledge is limited on the matter. All I really know is that Zellers sold those games in Canada, but for all I know, maybe they did get them from a Taiwanese supplier.
_Sneak n' Peek._ Wise words to live by.
Absolutely fantastic video once again! I LOVE the Atari topics, thank you!
Glad you like them! Thanks for watching. 😁
Space Jockey was the only one I had or even knew about back then. Bought it at a local record shop called Rock 'n' Video. Had a lot of fun in that place. Besides getting a few albums and games there they also had a few arcade cabs in the back.
Nice roundup here. I didn’t know many of these games. The graphics on a lot of them seem pretty advanced for the 2600.
These titles, overall, were quite decent compared to a ton of other titles
I had Gopher and Space Jockey and enjoyed them both, but definitely agree with your rating!
Nice job, I really enjoyed this video! 😃
Most of these games I have not even heard of... Great video!
Glad you enjoyed!
good video jon....i have a soft spot for some of these old companies giving the vcs a shot! 8182 the best years of my life and i like some of these games!!by u.s games good times...
Thanks for watching! 😁
Prices climbing is right! I went looking for a Pitfall cartridge the other day, and the good ones are outrageous! I finally found one that looked pretty beat up, to say the least, but works perfectly, and I ordered a replacement label for it as well. About $17 for both.
MAD looks like a combination of Missile Command and Atlantis.
With a company that barely lasted more than a year and was late to market, I bet a lot of these titles had very short deadlines. I wouldn't be surprised if the company came up with the name and a rough idea and then just delegated a cover artist and a programmer to quickly crank them out. The Sneak n Peek especially does not seem like an idea that a sane developer would come up with. Nonetheless, this was an interesting historical dive!
Had Towering Inferno and Commando Raid growing up. (I always thought the tank looked like an elephant shooting snot rockets.😂)
Current cart collection I've got five of these: Eggomania, Entombed, Space Jockey, Squeezebox and Word Zapper.
Looks like I need to give Word Zapper a chance and clearly I need to play way more Space Jockey! 🕹
Thnx!
Word Zapper is great! Jon is a bit skeptical of it, but if you're a sucker for old school Atari sound and graphics and quick reflexes...and "educational" games, it is totally a B...maybe an A, imho.
the replayability is in the randomness of whatever word it makes you need to spell, and mastering the timing of the fast scrolling letters 😉
@@pex_the_unalivedrunk6785 Thnx! It was the fast pace and the mental challenge that drew me in. 🙂
Excellent video, I've only heard of Space Jockey, thanks~
European fan here and I don't think I ever saw any of these titles before. There's some good looking games in amongst them (although few mechanics seem to appear in a few of their games). Many thanks as always for the video.
Thanks for watching from the other side of the pond! 😁
Omg these games! Pretty good! Hilarious that there are some good ones!! As always, great stuff boss.
Great ranking!
We LOVED Sneak n Peak back in the '80's. I will admit it takes a bit to master the hiding spots but once you do the computer will never beat you.
But the love of the game comes from the two player version. It was one of those games like Atari Warlords, a game that becomes more fun the more players involved. Trying to hide fast enough not to allow your opponent enough time to find you had everyone fighting to get a shot to best everyone else....Of course you had to trust your opponent kept their eyes closed while you hid.
I can definitley see how fun could be had with the right second player. That's true of pretty much any game, though! 😁
cheers for this ... The 2600 is definitely a system I need to dive into more. These game look amazing.
Squeeze Box reminds me a lot of the VCS game 'Ram-It'. Ram-It can be fun, so this game seems fun too.
I am only familiar with 2 of these. I now have some searching to do. A couple of these look quite fun. Thanks, Jon!
Which two did you know? I'm guessing Space Jockey was one?
@@GenXGrownUp towering inferno and space jockey
Appreciate the list. Sneak n Peak was defintiely an acquired taste to play. I always thought Towering Inferno was based off of the movie (I think that's the reason my parent's bought it in the firs place). And now, I have to go see if I can find the music from Eggomania when you miss an egg. Thanks so much for this video!
Thank you Jon, you're videos and lists have inspired me to decide to build my own atari collection
That is awesome! Go get 'em! 😁
You should rate Entombed higher. I read an article about someone who had disassembled the code for Entombed to study how it generated the maze. After looking at it, they still couldn't figure it out. Turns out the author was pretty good at writing the routines.
Also Name This Game was released in Europe as Octopus. A Fanzine back in the 90s held a contest to name it & the winning entry was "Going Under." 😆
I'm aware of the intriguing maze generation of Entombed, but that doesn't make it more fun! 😁 Thank you for watching.
Little Jonny, play for life...
Here comes Little Johnny playing golden oldies...
"Bloop and bleeps is the sound of play."
Here comes Johnny singing, "I Gotta winning"
Down in the Tunnel Runner, by CBS, so not for the USGames video today...
He got the action, he got the motion
Oh yeah, the boy can play
Dedication, devotion
Turning all the night time into the day
🎸🥁🎹
I had MAD, Raft Rider, Sneak'n Peek, and Squeeze Box. Your ratings are fair.
Nailed it. Solid opinions.
This video is awesome alot of cool information as someone who likes tech older then myself for the history and gaming aspect of it this will help me look for games for my game collection
Thanks for watching and for your kind words. So glad you enjoyed it! 😁
Space Jockey was one of my favorites.
Nice video!
Glad you enjoyed it
I would have put Space Jockey in the A ranking even if it reminds me of Defender. I couldn't quite follow if side-to-side was a capability earned with progression or from the game's start. The control smoothness and enemy field looked well coded and balanced unlike many of the other titles. Nice to see they had a solid paddle representation. Back in the day, I found very few titles required that controller. To my knowledge, our one store to carry Atari in town didn't have this company--all these titles were new to me!
It's a little boring. I mean, not like Laser Blast, which is a LOT boring. Just a little boring.
Oh wow, thanks Jon you unlocked a memory from so long ago. When I saw Squeeze Box, I finally remembered that the death screen of that devil 😈 had been stuck in my head for decades lol. I think that was the hot ending 😂.
Gopher looks like it could be one of those pornographic 2600 games if it was changed just a little bit. Also, I think Telesys (video when, by the way...?) did the Squeeze Box concept better with Ram It. Not as good looking, sure, but it's got it where it counts. The gameplay!
Anyway, thanks for the video!
Also, one thing worth mentioning is that Space Jockey (one of the cheapest 2600 games) was modified into Air Raid (one of the most expensive 2600 games).
Towering Inferno is one of my favorite games
I remember playing Infiltrate and thinking that the enemies looked like the Fry Guys; it should’ve been a McDonalds game 🍟
Ai-yi-yi! I've played that game. I wasn't lovin' it.
OH, and if you're looking for a game that dang near deserves it's own vid.. I want to say it's called "wall defender" .. I had almost every release ever made including a ton of proto's but I'd never heard of it. Played it via rom and it's incredibly fun.
Man, I put a lot of time into Squeeze Box back in the day. Got it really cheap and wore the cart out.
US Games was an interesting developer - their best titles are pretty good, if derivative of better-known games, but they also had a penchant for making shovelware that ultimately helped crash the whole industry.
Love these reviews. Watch before I buy
Thank you for watching! 😁
Thanks again jon you spoil us too much 😆
Haha! Thanks for watching. 😁
I have a surprising amount of these! About 8 on the list. I agree with you re: Fire Fighting games, those and fishing games always get me for some reason.
I think Gopher was inspired from the Disney's cartoon "Pluto and the Gopher". We can see the similarity of the Gopher's taunting attitude between the game and the cartoon. But in the cartoon, Pluto is the main character.
It would be a great idea to do this ranking series on the Atari 8 Bit line!
I agree. Unfortunately, just not as much interest in the 8-bit line, despite THE400 Mini's recent release.
I had no idea that Quaker Oats owned U.S. Games. Nor did I know that we’re supposed to catch what the bird is dropping in “Gopher”! I assumed it was you-know-what so I always moved out of the way! 😂🤷♂️
I'm pretty sure it is you-know-what, but the duck had eaten a carrot, so carrot seed included! 😁
@@GenXGrownUp DuckTurds! A-whoo-ooo!
Someone unofficially gave Name This Game the name "Octopus" in the 2600 ROM dumps way back when. I'd allow it as it's the game's most prominent feature.
Also Commando Raid always felt to me to be like an unofficial port of the Apple II game "Sabotage".
Squeezebox is similar to the MCP Cone in the Tron arcade game! Cool!
There is a video on TH-cam about the maze generation algorithm of the Entombed game. Apparently the programmer was high on pot when the idea came to him.
I had the Commando Raid game and Sneak and Peek. S&P is very frustrating because you seem to have to line up your character to the pixel to access the hiding places. With all the rooms in that game it would've made a good mystery type game or an early escape room type game.
I remember reading a couple articles about it some years back. Fascinating stuff.
I owned Word Zapper and Space Jockey but I don't think I ever saw any of the U.S. Games-branded titles here in Canada. Certainly heard of Squeeze Box and a few others via the gaming magazines of the time. They had some interesting ideas but the execution wasn't there. They at least offered paddle games in a day companies were shying away from supporting that great controller.
Squeeze Box reminds me of the MCP Cone stage in the TRON Arcade Game.
I use to love sneak and peak lol I would hide under the steps in front of the house lol I did that at least 6 times before my brother figured it out
Back in the day, I found many US Games titles in the budget bin at Revco for $5. They were decent games, though.
Some good paddle controller games.👍🏻🇺🇲
Great review and list … dumb question, where do you get that ranking app? And I am still trying to get used to the whole “S” tier does it stand for “superior” above the A?
Thanks
Not a dumb question. It's just tiermaker.com. You can customize it a bit and give it the levels you like.
As for my S ranking: th-cam.com/video/H5LVWMBGRk8/w-d-xo.html 😁
(Also, you shouldn't click on the above video link.)
@@GenXGrownUp thanks so much!!
It's a Japanese thing. A isn't quite good enough, so they made a new grade above that. And I'm pretty sure some Japanese games grade you with triple S's too. It's like, great, there are all new ways for me to underachieve!
@@jessragan6714me too then as well!😂
Awh, man; I actually *liked* Sneak 'n' Peak. Played that with my brother a bit back in the day. (Definitely much more fun with two people -- though you have to trust that your opponent will look away from the screen while you're hiding.) The time you had to search was directly related to the time it took the other person to hide. I remember there's a hiding spot in the very first room, so you could hide almost instantly and give your opponent only a second or two to find you. (Though if they see there's only a second or two on the clock, it's a little obvious what room you're in.)
I also remember tormenting my brother by hiding in a couple of places that were really difficult to get into, meaning he knew where I was but couldn't get the button/stick combo just right to "find" me. 😈
I can definitley see how fun could be had with the right second player. That's true of pretty much any game, though! 😁
Interesting fact. The games of U.S.Games were republished in Europe by a french company names Carrere. Name the Game became the name Octopus!
I love this...
🥰
I have a small eBay biz. Since the 2600+, I've sold my doubles in record time.
Oh, I'll bet. I have boxes & boxes of doubles that I'm sure I could move if I listed 'em.
Remember to put the volume low before starting the VCS with M.A.D.!
Eggomania and Gopher are masterpieces!!
I feel like some of these ratings just depend on how good your reaction time is. Entombed is a better game than I feel like you gave it credit for. I remember being able to get through a dozen mazes or so before losing as opposed to the four you specify in the video. The frantic pace of the latter levels can be fun, but you do eventually run into straight up RNG issues as you can die from a string of dead ends or simply not being near the pickups you need. But still, I can't see it being higher than a C. Word Zapper was another one I actually found fun as a kid. There are actually strategies you can build around allowing yourself to be hit by obstacles and winning the game on the fast speed is very doable if you have good timing. Although again its probably a C at best.
Thanks for sharing your alternate viewpoints. Always welcomed!
I think these are all new to me which is amazing. Some of the shooters look decent.
Bought SneakN Peek in the discount bin after the crash. The 2 player mode is light years better than playing against the computer. Also Entombed gets a B from me. The regenerating random mazes are quite clever with an addictive concept, very playable for its time.
I can definitley see how fun could be had with the right second player. That's true of pretty much any game, though! 😁
This feels like a complete fever dream
I’ve NEVER in my life seen any of these games on a shelf
In a store
In a retro store
Online in lots
Nothing
Wow - you've really dodged them, then. I've got a stack of 7 or 8 just accidentally from buying random lots. 😁
I'm going to throw my 2 cents in before watching. We had Commando Raid and Towering Inferno when I was a kid, and I loved them both. When Evercade released The Ignition Factor on Jaleco Collection 1 I had never even heard it it. I was, like, "OMG! It's Towering Inferno from the future!"
We also had Sneak 'n' Peek. I liked that game back then because it was the one of the few games my little sister took an interest in, so we'd play that a lot. As an adult, I still play the other two. Sneak 'n' Peek not so much. 😅. I've played them all by now, mostly through my Harmony cart, and ohhhhh boy, I'm glad Santa never bought any of those back in the day. 😂 Maybe Gopher. That's fun for a few minutes here and there. I wanted to like Space Jockey, but there were just too many better side scrolling shooters on the 2600 at the time. Bermuda Triangle and Chopper Command were my usual go-to games for that.
Anyway, thanks for what I'm sure will be another fun watch!
Watching now. Oops. Forgot about Egomania! As a Kaboom! superfan that's a new one for me that stands up! Forgot about that one.
I did not realize G. Wiz Kitchen wrote Jockey. Or maybe I forgot? Lol. No telling. Now I feel kinda bad for dissing it. 😅
I tried to get into Squeeze Box, but I was game surfing on the Harmony at the time, and had no instruction manual, so I didn't spend much time on it. Didn't know about the different variations. Might have to give that one another look-see.
Keep this between us, but I've never beaten Inferno either. 😂 I'd put TI and CR in the S tier, but different strokes! Great video. Have a happy.
I own a good number of these but I honestly don't like any of them. The North American crash happened because of these sorts of companies. Not true junk, but nothing that great either.
Space Jockey is probably the best game they put out, but spoiled by choice, it very rarely gets any play. I don't own Word Zapper and your short review made it sound interesting. So maybe if I ever spot that for a decant price I'll pick it up.
Good 🎉
M.A.D. kinda reminds me of Atlantis because of the gameplay, but Atlantis definitely did it better. And I can't blame you for giving Sneak N Peek an F, it's not really much of a game.
i think entombed is the best concept of their catalog.
I have to disagree on your ranking on raft rider. You can press left on the joystick to stop mid movement. This will give you more control over the raft's movement. Then you should play on difficulty A/A for an intense game.
I thought it was cool to find these games in the food store when my mom went shopping.
As a kid growing up in this era who else only had Electronic Games magazine as a reference for alllll these games?? I also read quaker oats and immediately thought these US Games carts were gonna be 💯 lame-o. I begged and prolly cried for Towering Inferno but even my broke, lower middle class mom & stepdad laughed at me when they saw how blocky and crappy it was😢
Do you get penalized for shooting letters that don't solve the Wheel of Fortune puzzle when playing Word Zapper?
No penalty for wrong letters.
@@GenXGrownUp I guess you could spam the laser if the roulette was flying past you too fast. There were a couple of these word puzzle games I played bitd which involved some action game taking place on one screen. I remember one involved a racecar going around a track where you had to drive into letters, though I can't remember the title of the game.
My copy of Towering Inferno must be from the nadir of U.S. Games, close to bankruptcy. It doesn't have a real label on the cartridge. Instead, someone typed "Towering Inferno" on an Avery label and just stuck in on the cartridge.
Wow.
Sneak and peek sounds like those “ADULT 2600 GaMES”
Entombed was a lot more fun when 2 players played, or at least that's my memory of playing the game with a cousin way back.
I can definitley see how fun could be had with the right second player. That's true of pretty much any game, though! 😁
I went to an all boys Christian boarding school and Sneak and Peek was one of our favorites.
🤔
Commando Raid was a great game!
👏
I love Atari 2600 games.
I bought "Entombed" for $1 in the early 80s, played it once and stuck it in the closet.
And it didn't have a Make-Break, so it couldn't get out.
I don't remember all of these games, actually.
Agree with all except raft rider. Is a b maybe c at lowest
Name that game ok I'll call it underwater treasure trouble.
The grading scale this time around was very generous.
🕹️ 💜
So, I'm curious, Kat. I know you're not much of a gamer these days - do you ever watch one of these and think, "Wow, I really would like that one. I'd like to try it," or are you just being sweet & supportive? 😁
@@GenXGrownUp It’s the latter. ☺️But if someone sat me down in front of an Atari and said, “Let’s play!”, I’d be on board!
Entombed is famous for it's clever and unsolvable programming.
Agreed. Unfortunately, I wish more of that genious had to been applied to making the gameplay more fun.
I think you misspelled "Riddle of the Sphinx."