The Anniversary Celebration – The best retro compilation ever

Atari is a name that will appeal to everyone. Some grew up with it, others heard of it, but one thing’s for sure, the name isn’t in the news anymore. Despite a (very) tumultuous life, Atari has decided to seize the opportunity to celebrate its 50th anniversary. To this end, he entrusted the Digital Eclipse studio with producing a compilation of his hits. A developer known for the quality of its retro game adaptations, who has already worked for Capcom, SNK or even Disney. And we can say that they really outdid themselves for this anniversary! In order to, Atari 50: The Anniversary Collection is the ultimate retro compilation. By the amount of titles, videos and images available, but above all by the original presentation. If you are a collector or history buff it should be in your library. For others, Digital Eclipse’s bulbous achievement deserves your full attention. I’m so happy to have been invited to this birthday party where everyone involved is definitely coming out growing!

The ABC of video games

Atari became legendary with the creation of pong 1972 the first arcade game and incidentally a sport of history. The brand of American origin is also the creator of the 2600, a console that allowed the democratization of video games in the early ’80s. In the decades that followed, Atari released several consoles and computers (including the famous ST 520). And something that few may know, but Atari has been a French brand for almost 15 years! All of this information will appeal to older people, but this compilation had thatgreat idea to also address newcomers…

The brilliance of Digital Eclipse for this title is presenting it as a retrospective. Instead of making games accessible in a classic way, such as through a dropdown menu, the developer has chosen a different way and that changes everything! Atari 50 The Anniversary Celebration is traversed as if you were visiting a museum. At the heart of the experience is a “timeline” that begins at launch pong, which ends in the era of the jaguar. Not only do we find the outstanding games that made history there, but Also archive images, interviews and promotional videos

Especially since this collection is anything but stingy in terms of content, with more than 90 games on the program! Invisible footage and interviews from the original developers complement each game, helping to understand the choices associated with the technical limitations of the time. Because without appearances, Atari wasn’t limited to games where two pixels dueled, with the third being the arbiter. The portable Lynx that you really love to own is also part of the selection. Without forgetting the Jaguar, the first 64-bit console in history, which however had a very short fate, signing the end of the production of consoles for the brand.

The art, the style and the tear in the eye

So yes, how much fun most players will have with this build depends on how they play with it. Many titles show their age, but Digital Eclipse’s work in bringing them up to date deserves respect. In addition to the very successful cathode TV filter, the mood-giving screen edges, the general feeling prevails. No store, it’s fluid, clean, pleasant and really makes you want to discover everything.

If a defect were found, it would be on a certain lack of iconic titles. I think in particular Alien VS Predator on Jaguar, or even Blue Lightning etc slime world on Lynx… But that’s understandable insofar as these are titles developed by Atari itself and not by third parties. But with Storm, Missile Squad, asteroids or Yar’s revengewe are at the top of the nostalgia basket. Titles with simple concepts but impressive efficiency. And to top it off, Digital Eclipse has included six brand new games! Mainly updated classics with flashy graphics and thunderous music!

accessibility criteria

test conditions