Gyruss (Atari 2600, 1984)

Tempest is one of Atari’s crowning achievements. It has fast and exciting gameplay, great vector graphics, and dozens of unique maps. It’s also famous for not getting a home version on the 2600. By the time programmers were able to figure out how to replicate it on the 2600 it was too late. The crash was in full force. So if you were shopping for 2600 games in 1984 and you wanted to play Tempest what could you do? You’d breathe a defeated sigh and buy Gyruss instead. Like Tempest you shoot down at enemies down a circular tube. Also like Tempest it is technically impressive. It is one of the few 2600 games to have background music, and some of the graphics are excellent. Sadly unlike Tempest it just doesn’t have the gameplay.

Basically the game plays like Tempest mixed with Galaga. You are a ship that moves around in a circle shooting down formations of enemy ships. You keep doing this until you reach a planet where you shoot down more formations of enemy ships. After the planet level you are then sent back to shoot down the same formations of enemy ships again. It’s repetitive is what I’m saying. It’s biggest flaw, however, is that it is just too easy.

Usually playing an Atari game on the easy setting still offers a fair amount of challenge. It’s a good way to test out the game and learn how to play. Many games don’t even need to be adjusted. Their default setting is just right. With Gyruss I feel like I’m playing a demo. The enemy aliens never penetrate your invisible circle so they are no threat. They just disappear if they don’t get shot. Their shots move very slowly as well making them very easy to dodge. I could play it without even looking at it, and that is never good. Even on the hardest setting it was still light on the challenge. I did have to dodge meteors and an occasional enemy ship, but I still didn’t have to pay much attention to do well.

So we have botched arcade conversion that strips out all the challenge and mostly just makes me think of a far superior game. This one is easy to put on the list. It’s going all the way to the bottom. At least The Legend of “Valkyrie” was challenging. Hopefully the NES version of Gyruss is better. I will have to check it out sometime.

1. Pac-Mania

2. Metro-Cross

3. Dragon Spirit

4. Baraduke

5. The Legend of “Valkyrie”

6. Gyruss (Atari 2600)

Next time: The wild world of Namco Museum Vol. 2 begins