Moon Patrol

As if it wasn't obvious already, I highly recommend this game. When people ask me why I bother with that old 2600, this is one of the games I pull out to show them why the system is still great. The only real problem is that two people can't play simultaneously, and people seem to gather around when this one is on and want to take a crack at it. Moon Patrol is fairly common and can be purchased for a couple of bucks at eBay, so you've got no excuse for not owning this if you actively collect carts for the 2600.

Here's yet another high-quality arcade conversion from Atari. All the elements of the arcade game are here, including the intense challenge. Moon Patrol is unique because it forces you to concentrate on two things at once.

Why do we enjoy being frustrated? This is a game that is flat out mean, but yet we continue to punish ourselves, swearing (literally) to get past the next rock pile/hole/land mine combination that's already taken three perfectly good lives. There's no need for explanation. It's gotta be the music.

This space shooter makes a fairly smooth transition to the 5200. Your moon rover is a bit blocky, but the scrolling background looks impressive -- particularly the futuristic city. Moon Patrol is a challenge because you have to concentrate on the road in front of you while shooting UFOs above. On the 5200 controller the jump and shoot buttons are right next to each other, which I found to be awkward (and sometimes confusing). The gameplay itself is virtually identical to the arcade game. There are two skill levels and a continue option.

I loathed this game in its VCS incarnation. Its flickery graphics and choppy scrolling killed the game. I'm happy to report that the 5200 version comes almost indistinguishably close to the arcade original. In Moon Patrol, you take control of an armored go buggy, tooling across the lunarscape. It's just you against alien spaceships, tanks, and a grueling, pockmarked path. In addition to the vehicle-swallowing pits natural to the landscape, the enemy vessels can blast holes in front of you. 5200 Moon Patrol successfully retains both the wild gameplay and the trademark audiovisual effects that helped to distinguish Moon Patrol in the arcades. The background graphics are gorgeous, and the soundtrack does a terrific job of setting a playful mood -- while incorporating some of the eeriest sound effects found in a classic home videogame. And since the key to conquering this game lies in the precise timing of jumps, the joysticks do not detract from the gameplay one bit. Recommended.