Atari Flashback 2+ Plug-in-Play

by Atari

• All-in-1 TV compatible gaming system
• Wood grained updated console case, approx 2/3rd the size of the original 1977 release of the Atari 2600
• Play all your classic favorites, from Pong and Centipede to Breakout and Missile Command

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00093DHIK
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 15 x 4.2 inches ; 2.9 pounds
• Media: Electronics
• Release Date: July 2, 2006
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (112 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,633 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

The Atari Flashback 2+ delivers the classic gaming sights, sounds and action that introduced so many people to the world of video games. It features the same wood grain paneling and look of the Atari 2600, and will capture the feel through two classic joysticks for multi-player competition and vintage controls. The system comes pre-loaded with over 30 classic games. No new purchases are required, just connect it to your TV and play! The system that brought you hits like Asteroids, Breakout, Centipede, Lunar Lander, Millipede, Missile Command, Combat and Pong now has them all collected on one handy system. Expereince the start of the gaming revolution!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

354 of 360 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite woodgrained system is back! May 24, 2005

By Jon Folkers

Imagine yourself at a flea market or garage sale. There's a big shoebox with 40 different Atari cartridges in it for 75 cents each. Interested in that dusty old junk? Maybe, maybe not ... but what if it were all neatly self-contained in one tidy, legally licensed package? Cool!

What an improvement this machine is over the original "Flashback" console! The Atari Flashback 2.0 uses updated Atari 2600 VCS hardware, joysticks with the original "classic" feel, and 40 games built in. The joysticks aren't as nicely rubberized as the originals, but they feel similar, and if you had one of these systems in the 1980's, they'll immediately feel familiar to you.

The hardware is well built and is quite faithful to the original controls. A nice touch: the included joysticks are compatible with vintage computers and consoles from the era, too. Hardwired AV cables provide cleaner video than the original system did, and allows you to attach this toy to any modern TV set, and an AC adapter lets you play without running out of battery power like similar toys. Modern users might be annoyed with the crude graphics and sound, plus the fact that you need to get up and turn the thing off and then on again to change games. There's no pause button should you need a bathroom break. That's the way things were in the 1980's, and that's the price we pay for fidelity to the source material.

The console's built in 40 games are separated into "Adventure," "Arcade," "Space," and "Action/Skill" categories. There's enough variety here for everyone. Many of these games are "homebrews" and unreleased prototypes, meaning that unless you are a die-hard collector of Atari trivia, you haven't played these games elsewhere. Not even on an emulator running ill-gotten ROMs....

The full list of games: 3D Tic-Tac-Toe, Adventure, Adventure II, Aquaventure, Arcade Asteroids, Arcade Pong, Asteroids Deluxe, Atari Climber, Battlezone, Caverns Of Mars, Centipede, Combat, Combat 2, Dodge'm, Fatal Run, Frog Pond, Hangman, Haunted House, Human Cannonball, Lunar Lander, Maze Craze, Millipede, Missile Command, Off the Wall, Outlaw, Pitfall, Quadrun, Radar Lock, Return To Haunted House, River Raid, Saboteur, Save Mary, Secret Quest, Space Duel, Space War, Video Checkers, Video Chess, Wizard, Yars' Return, and Yars' Revenge. Supposedly, there are some secret hidden "easter eggs," but I haven't found them yet...

How did the games turn out? Well-known games came out just like the source material. That's good! They deliver a solid, nostalgic game experience. "Battlezone" (a last minute replacement for a homebrew that didn't make it-- and is MUCH better than the poor Flashback 1 version), "Missile Command," "Centipede," "Millipede," "Adventure," "Haunted House," "Combat," and "Yars' Revenge" -- many of these were included on other plug & play units as well as "Atari Anthology" and they work just fine here. If you're into Atari, you may well already have copies of these as they're pretty common. If not, you're in for a treat! Also included are the Activision mainstays "Pitfall!" and "River Raid," a nice touch.

Some other old, familiar games don't hold up so well. They come off as primitive, but it's nice to see them here in the spirit of "family fun": Outlaw, 3D tic-tac-toe, Hangman, Video Checkers, Video Chess, Dodge'Em, Space War, Human Cannonball, Maze Craze are all here and playable. You might like them for some quick plays, but I would wager that many adults, let alone modern kids, would find them ugly and boring.

Some rarities are included for those of us who don't like to spend hundreds of dollars on Atari games. Most of these were released late in the lifespan of the original system, so they show a little more technical flair than the early games. "Secret Quest" (designed by the founder of Atari, Nolan Bushnell) and "Off the Wall" are weird little games that are fun in their own way. "Radar Lock" appears to use the beautiful Solaris engine for an Afterburner-like game which is worth playing. "Fatal Run," only released in Europe, appears to use the Pole Position engine and adds some violent crash-em action to the racing. "Quadrun," an obscure title that fetches big bucks on auction, isn't much fun to play, and the game's main gimmick, a synthesized voice, didn't work on my unit. The manufacturer stated there was a problem with some of the chips in the early run which would be fixed later; since this was the only flaw I could find, I think I'll live with it.

How are the homebrew and unreleased prototypes? A mixed bag. "Saboteur" appeared on Flashback 1 and is redone more faithfully here, but the game is unlikely to become a favorite. "Lunar Lander," while interesting and never seen before, is slow and flickery and looks nothing like the nice vector lines on the box. "Arcade Asteroids," "Asteroids Deluxe," and "Space Duel" are all tweaks on the old Asteroids game, offering a few different play modes but nothing radically new. "Yars' Return" and "Return to Haunted House" are modestly tweaked version of the originals -- in my opinion, these are sequels no one asked for.

Don't despair, though, because there are better homebrews and prototypes on this thing: "Arcade Pong" uses the old Atari paddles if you plug them in when you choose the game, which give you much more control over this simple classic. "Save Mary" has excellent gameplay and graphics. "Atari Climber," also available on the GameBoy Activision Anthology set as Climber 5, is a fun little game that originally appeared on 8-bit computers. Another remake, "Caverns of Mars," is a flickery, upside-down River Raid-esque shooter that gets very manic very quickly, like a classic game should. "Frog Pond" features the best digital insects I've ever seen, and "Aquaventure"'s smooth scrolling and multiple screens suggest an early NES game. "Wizard" is a maze-bound shooter that doesn't seem finished but is still compelling to play, and if you liked "Combat" and "Adventure," the unimaginatively titled "Combat 2" and "Adventure 2" are here for your amusement and are worth trying.

For the hacker, there are instructions on the internet to solder a ribbon cable to the motherboard and add an Atari cartridge slot. This would allow you to play just about any released Atari VCS cartridge, but will void your warranty should you mess something up. I wish there were a simple way to get some of my favorites into the system, like "Solaris" (iffy version on the Flashback 1), or any of the non-Atari games that didn't make it for licensing reasons.

This is a great value for people who like classic games! Read more ›

61 of 64 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Many of Your Favorite Atari Classics in One Unit November 15, 2005

By Jeffrey T. Munson

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

This great game system contains 40 of the original Atari 26000 games. Included are such classics as Combat, Asteroids, Adventure, and Pitfall. Two classic joystick controllers are also included. The set-up is quick and easy. Just plug the unit directly into the i/o jacks of your TV and plug in the ac adapter to an outlet.

The game graphics are exactly the same as they were on the original Atari games. I loved playing Atari games as a teenager, and this game contains not 1 but 40 great games. The price is what makes this game such a great value. For about $30, you get 40 games. When the Atari 2600 was first introduced, a single game cost upwards of $30.

I highly recommend this great game unit. With the fast and easy set-up, you'll be playing your game in a matter of minutes. The games are exactly as they were years ago, and they are just as much fun now as they were then. My children especially like this game, but I enjoy it as much as they do. Pick up this great game value and enjoy a "blast from the past" from Atari.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Atari Goodness! November 17, 2005

By David V. Shook

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

Like other reviews have said this Atari plug-n-play product is the real deal! It comes with 20 Classics, the other 20 games are prototypes and 'homebrew' games made from hobbiest programmers. The game Atari Climber is an example of a 'homebrew' game written in 2005 that is included in the flashback. Each game looks, sounds, and plays exactly the same as they did in the 1980s!

Others have complained about the manual not being well detailed. If you memory is fuzzy on these old games you can to this page on Atari's site.

[...]

You can view it online or download a PDF file for printing. The PDF version is 110 pages and goes over each game in great detail.

For $30 this Atari product is a steal.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Flashback 2 Rocks! November 17, 2005

By J. Persinger

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

This retro system is great. I just bought one and played it last night. The collection of games is good, though missing are some beloved classics like Ms. PacMan, Defender-Stargate, Space Invaders and Galaxian. I think this was because of licensing reasons. Oddly enough though, Activision's Pitfall and River Raid were included because of a deal Atari worked out. That was a nice touch. In any case, the system works great right out of the box and will attach to any modern television with ease. (If you ever tried using an old 2600 with a newer t.v., you know what I mean. Those front-connector A/V jacks on t.v.'s are nice, but not compatible with the old "2600 VCS".) Not so with the Flashback 2 - just plug it right in!

From what I have heard, there are also two "hidden games" that can be unlocked through a series of joystick movements. Apparently these two games require paddle controllers though, so I am not sure most people will care anyway. (I doubt many people out there have old 2600 paddle controllers on hand anymore.)

I only have two complaints about this system. One is the sparse instruction manual included. When you have 40 games included, you would think the manual would be more than a few pages. How in the world are we supposed to know which game options in Asteroids, for instance, gives us "shields" instead of "hyperspace" when we pull back on the joystick? Again, a little more detail would have been helpful here. Either you have a REALLY good memory or just go through trial and error until you figure it out.

The other complaint is the lack of a cartridge port on it.... Since this system uses actual 2600 technology inside (instead of an emulator like the Flashback 1), it is possible to attach a cartridge port to the system and play additional games you may have on hand. Apparently hackers can find the instructions on how to do this on the Internet, though must of us would not feel comfortable attempting it. (Besides that, it would void the warranty.) I love the idea of having 40 games built in, but it would be even nicer to have a cartridge port too!

If you think about it, one has to wonder why Atari just does not re-release the original 2600 or 7800 with modified Audio/Video connectors. If they priced it reasonably, people would buy a ton of them! Oh well, until that happens, the "Flashback 2" is well worth the money. It's a ton of fun for the whole family! Read more ›