Donkey Kong (Atari 2600)

by Atari

Product Features

• For Atari 2600 VCS

Product Details

• ASIN: B000HMAVS2
• Product Dimensions: 4 x 3.2 x 0.8 inches ; 6.1 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,145 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Vintage game for the Atari 2600 video game console.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A classic ported to a classic system, November 18, 2010

By 

SMB Madman - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Donkey Kong (Atari 2600) (Video Game)

Nintendo was about to go bankrupt, but then Miyamoto was tasked to create an arcade game. That arcade game is Donkey Kong. It became as big as Pac-Man (Okay, maybe not as big) and lived up to even today. The Atari 2600 port was a good game. There was one major flaw though: 2 levels are missing. So you only get to play through 2 levels.

However, the game is still great to play.

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth playing, worth owning, November 10, 2010

By 

Ty Johnston, Author (USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Donkey Kong (Atari 2600) (Video Game)

In the early 1980s, it seemed every company was making it big in the arcade business. Nintendo wanted to do the same thing, and how did they do it? They released on the market a game known as Donkey Kong.

Immediately Donkey Kong was a smash hit. It was the first popular platform game, meaning a game with jumping and climbing, and it included plenty of lovable and/or interesting characters.

Of course fans of video games wanted to be able to play Donkey Kong at home, and since the Atari 2600 was the most popular home video game system, it was a natural that Donkey Kong would eventually find it's way to the system.

Coleco was the company who gained the rights to release home game versions of Donkey Kong, and they wasted no time putting out a version of the game for the Atari 2600.

Unfortunately, some gaming lovers were less than impressed. The graphics for the Atari version weren't nearly as good as those of the arcade game, and there were only two different screens as compared to the four in the arcade game. Fans weren't completely disgusted, as they would be with the Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man, and fortunately most of them realized the at-home systems of the day were quite limited compared to the arcade games.

Personally, I think Donkey Kong for the Atari 2600 is a pretty solid game in its own right, and it's held up decently over the decades. Sure, it's not the same as the arcade Donkey Kong, but it doesn't have the worst graphics I've seen for a 2600 game and it does have pretty good sound and excellent gameplay.

If you're a collection of retro video games, you deserve to have an Atari 2600. And if you have an Atari 2600, you've got to own a copy of Donkey Kong by Coleco. Why? Because it's a classic game on a classic system.

3.0 out of 5 stars Ah, the 80's, October 1, 2010

By 

Brian A. Wolters (Cabot, Arkansas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Donkey Kong (Atari 2600) (Video Game)

I remember this game fondly. We were having a garage sale and I was making some money and someone said a store had Donkey Kong for Atari. I was like...what?!?!? For Atari?? Sure enough, they had it. But I was $5.00 short in getting it. So, I went down to a neighbor and asked if I could mow his lawn...he said he would give me $5.00 and I did it and had my parents take me to the store and I got my copy of the game. I however did such a rush job on his lawn, that I noticed it, went back and did it again for free. Early life lesson...but on to the game!

I put it in my console and I was like "eeeeee"...what is this? Without even starting the game, I was horrified at the sight of the Kong and Mario. When I started playing it, I was equally horrified. It just didn't look or feel like the arcade game. Both the graphics and game play seemed rushed. But, to be fair, the more I played, the more I liked. Though it didn't seem fair that we didn't even see Donkey Kong fall on his head and it only had two screens, but it was fun anyway.

The strangest thing about this game is that the sound effects, as bad as they were, still show up on commercials, movies and tv-shows.

All in all, I believe Coleco did the best they could do with the 2600 version and still made it playable.