One of my favorite games growing up was Defender on the 2600. Defender was one of those games that completely owned me whenever I played it at the arcade, because the controls and difficulty were so different. The Atari version was simplified for their controller which made the gameplay a lot more natural and intuitive. Instead of thrusting and turning with additional buttons, it was mapped directly to the joystick, making the game really accessible (and easy) for 7 year-olds like myself.
Visually, the game barely resembled the arcade game but to be honest, I actually prefer the 2600 version. Despite the game blinking like crazy, having the city down at the bottom made you feel like you were actually defending something, as opposed to the arcade version’s endless jagged hills. Plus the score font is sci-fi awesome.
I’ve been thinking about Defender (and even playing it a bit lately, hence the screenshot) and trying to remember what made the game so fun for me when I was a kid. I think the main appeal was the game’s sense of speed and the ability to button mash. To be honest, I’m having trouble remembering another 2600 game I had that featured button mashing at all. I love the fact that it’s not a side-scrolling rail shooter, giving you the chance to alter your approach and speed heading into each setup. The difficulty ramps up in a nice way, letting you get your bearings a bit before turning into an all-out, frenetic shooter. Plus, the sense of urgency to intercept the ships abducting your humanoids and ultimately flying them down to safety added some real tension to the gameplay, tying back into the importance of visually having the city down at the bottom.