Customer Reviews

Jakks Atari Classics 10 In 1 TV Games

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

This is a great toy/game for anybody who is an ATARI fan, or anybody you want to convert. It's so easy to hook up, extremely portable, and plays great! Some people have begrudged the absence of Pac-Man, but there is another NAMCO system that has that game on it - in it's arcade form! So check for that if you have to have Pac-Man.

Here you get CENTIPEDE, ASTEROIDS, MISSILE COMMAND, CIRCUS ATARI, YAR'S REVENGE, BREAKOUT, GRAVITAR, REALSPORTS VOLLEYBALL, PONG, and ADVENTURE. All of them seem like the exact same games that were out in the late 70s early 80s. It's a lot of fun to see these games again.

Hip, very hip!

Open the box, plug it in, and play some of the greatest classic games of all time. They're not perfect reproductions, and they're not all joystick games, but who really cares? The games are a blast to play, and are still top of the industry in terms of sheer fun. The joystick, with batteries in, weighs and feels just right. My friends are all hardcore gamers, having spent years on XBox and Playstation, etc etc... and players are still visibly tilting the controller and falling into the old habits of "UH!" and "GAH!" and all those wonderful game sounds trying to make the paddle move a little faster or the blaster fire a little harder. This is great for anyone, but especially for people who remember the "old days". This is the golden age of gaming, reproduced as well as need be.

Minor complaints: The sound and authenticity are a little off, and it takes a second to get used to having to hit buttons to advance title screens. Note: DO read the manual/pamphlet. Many of the games have extra play modes, and understanding them can add a lot of value to this toy. Also, there's no true two-player mode. Games that have two-player support only have the old "P1 goes until they lose, then P2 goes" system.

There are some minor complaints to make, but this is the closest thing to Atari short of going out and finding an old system. Overall, 8/10. One point lost for minor sound complaints, and another for lack of true two-player elements. Maybe next holiday season there will be a double-joystick pack to make that possible...

This is an excellent toy. I bought it to introduce my 3-year-old to video games and he's really enjoyed it. While the games have very simple graphics, many are also simple enough for him to play. His favorites include "Moons" (what he calls Asteroids) and "Spider" (aka Centipede). Yar's Revenge, Gravitar, and the volleyball game are a bit beyond him for now. Adventure has provided the best educational experience so far: While I coach him, he's learning up, down, left, right, "kill the dragon," and "no, no, don't drop that key inside the wall...auuughhh!"

The joystick is extremely sturdy. It's a little stiffer than the originals were, but it may loosen up over time. An A/C adapter would have been a nice option as batteries, especially rechargeables, don't last long. Documentation is sorely lacking: I had to look-up the manual of Yar's Revenge at atariage.com to remember how to play it. I recommend that site, or any of the websites devoted to old-school gaming, to find helpful information for these games, such as descriptions of the various level/difficulty settings.

Many have commented on the difficulty of playing a few of these games with a joystick instead of a paddle controller. They have a point; however, Pong and Breakout weren't exactly challenging games to begin with, so playing with a joystick makes them tougher to master, and brings some fun back to playing them.

If you have fond memories of the Atari VCS (2600), you'll be pleased with this device. It's not perfect, but it's likely to bring back a lot of warm memories - or nightmares, if you were always dropping that key inside the wall...auuughhh!

I LOVE ATARI. There. I said it. BUT... I can't believe they released this product the way they did.

I gave this unit 3 stars because some of the games are perfecly translated, but games like Pong and Breakout, which were huge Atari favorites are unplayable without a paddle controller.

Their choice of games could've been much better. Atari made quite a splash with their original game machine in the 70s, so they had a lot of titles to consider. Why they would include games which were designed for a paddle rather than a joystick is beyond reason.

I looked forward to sharing some of my childhood favorites with my young nephew, only to be let down by the execution.

Centipede, Asteroids and Missile command are worth the price for the entire unit... I also enjoyed solving Adventure one more time, but the rest were pretty forgetable.

What kid during the early 80's *didn't* love Atari video games? The Atari 2600 was my very first video game system, and I must've logged *thousands* of hours playing it. Although my old Atari system is long gone, I've never forgotten it or the games. That's why I practically jumped for joy when I saw this goodie at the toy store recently---the Atari Classics 10-In-1 Game System, put out by Jakks Pacific Inc. It's a retro Atari joystick with 10 classic Atari games built right into the joystick, including old favorites like Adventure, Asteroids, Missile Command, Centipede and Yar's Revenge. Just pop in 4 AA-batteries into the joystick, plug it into your TV, and off you go! I agree that the Atari games on this joystick are simply detailed replicas, NOT the originals, and the sound effects are different. But, in my opinion, the games still look, play, and feel pretty darn close to the originals. They're a whole lot of fun, and they do make me nostalgic for my old Atari 2600. Just holding this Atari joystick in my hand makes me feel like a kid again! As for the replication and the different sound effects, I've had no problem getting used to them. Certainly Atari gave Jakks Pacific their permission to replicate these games, so it's not like this is a rip-off job. Consider it an upgrade if you will, a polishing-up of these 20 year-old games for the 21st century. Plus, you can't beat the affordable price or the convienient portability. The Atari Classics 10-In-1 Game System is a terrific stroll down Atari Memory Lane, and I hope that there will be more retro Atari joystick systems with different games released in the future. If you love classic Atari video games, this little retro joystick will provide you with hours of entertainment, just like your old Atari system did in the good old days. A definite must-buy!

Atari fans beware. These are not the actual games we grew up with. They are replicas which is not acceptable in this day of emulators. Graphically most of the games translated well. There are a few exceptions. The secret room in Adventure no longer gives credit to the programmer, for example. The audio, however, was poorly replicated in almost all the games. Yar's Revenge, for example, is unplayable the sound is so irritating. Asteroids and Missle Command also have disapointing sound effects. If you don't care about these things, well, the unit is only $20 and it's not a bad toy. If you want the actual Atari games, though, look for a used system on Ebay.

As a die-hard old-school Atari fan, I was excited to see this in the software store. It is cased in a great authentic Atari joystick, which is very cool looking.

The problem is their choice of games. Of the ten games, four of them are very good: Adventure, Missle Command, Asteroids, and Centipede. These make it worth the cost of the unit, but the other six games have problems. Pong, Breakout and Circus Atari all were played with the paddle control on the original Atari. Since there is only a joystick, they should have picked other games. It's really not possible to play Breakout with a joystick. Volleyball is pretty fun, but it wasn't a very popular game in its day. I wish they had put space invaders and Pac Man on the unit, but I guess they didn't for copyright reasons.
Basically, it is worth the money, but was a bit of a let down.

Even though I have not played my Atari 2600 for about 15 years, I still remember the experience well enough to know that this is not a perfect re-creation of the original games.

The joystick feels authentic. And game play is faithfully reproduced but ONLY for the games that were originally designed for play with a joystick. After 10 seconds of playing Circus Atari, you'll wish you had your old console and a set of paddle controllers.

The games look exactly like the originals. But you'll immediately notice that some of the sounds are not way you remebered them.

My recommendation is to buy the 10 in 1, pop in a CD of your favorite 80's tunes and turn down the volume on your TV. Stay away from the paddle games and you'll never know the difference.

I'll get straight to the point. There are likely two camps that purchasers of this game will fall into: the delighted and the disapointed. Unfortunately, I fall into the second, but you may very well enjoy it. As a hobby, I collect vintage video games, and was excited to find this product. The video and graphics were reproduced to a "t" and were extremely faithful to the originals. Even some of the original Atari's quirks were left in place, adding to the experience. My personal disapointment began with the sounds. In every one of the 10 games, the sounds were quite different than the original Atari...especially things like thrusters in Asteroids and missles in Missle command. They were (quite frankly) of poor quality and felt like a sore thumb on an otherwise great idea. Why in 2003 can we stuff an entire Atari into a joystick, yet we can't come close to reproducing electronic sounds made 20+ years ago? Perhaps it was to keep the price low, which it was - at just under $... Last, while many of the titles were classics, such as Asteroids, Centipede, and Adventure, a few titles such as RealSports Volleyball made me scratch my head. Why not memorable Atari titles like Combat or Space Invaders instead? In conclusion, if you're looking for quick, inexpensive nostalgia, this is for you. If you're looking for all of the classics, reproduced to a "t," I'd suggest buying the real deal in an online auction.

If you grew up in the 80's, this is the toy for you! Although it is primitive, it's still just as fun as what you remembered it to be. My 17 year-old sister who has grown up in the Playstation age, can't seem to get enough of these Atari games. I wish they had included Pac-Man and Space Invaders, but Centipede, Asteroids, Breakout, and Circus Atari are all a blast!