Conquest of Mars (Champ Games 2006)

Wow. This is quite an impressive outing on the 2600. This incredible game is based (and quite like) Caverns of Mars, which was a 1981 game programmed for the Atari 8-bit computers, which kind of was a vertical scrolling version of the Konami arcade game Scramble. I hated this game at first; the laser gate level seemed to hard to get through with out any visual ques to help...but it is doable, and once that hurdle was overcome I began to realize what a fantastic game this is. You scroll downward through six martian caverns avoiding all kinds of obstacles to defuse a bomb at the bottom. Then you must make your way back up before the bomb explodes. This game DOES have a high difficulty level; so much so I thought of downgrading it's rating a little....but I can't, this title is pure genius. Plus, the programmer states that there's a nice ending if you can complete all levels.

Rating: A

Aquaventure (Atari Prototype 1983)

Given my love for many things seafaring, this unreleased title gives me the warm fuzzies. I can't tell if it's completed or not, but the difficulty increases gradually and I find myself fighting to beat my last high score. You are a diver with a spear gun descending through various stages of sea depths to grab a treasure chest and make it back up to the top before your oxygen runs out. There are various nicely drawn sea-creatures which you must avoid on the way down, and on the way back up. It's best if you try not to shoot them though...because they get replaced by fast swimming hard to hit fish that are more difficult to get around. Prudence is essential. A turtle keeps track of your air supply at the top. It moves from left to right....if it gets all the way to the right you lose a life. Now an appealing aspect to this game is that you have to touch a mermaid to complete the dive!! She carries you the rest of the way to the top were your air is replenished and your imagination runs wild!! This game along with the Classic Intellivision title Shark! Shark! help me get through the long winter months by giving me a taste summertime pleasure when I'm engaged in my water activities. Very pleasant, I must say.

Rating: B-