Atari Flashback: The Essential Companion

Sometimes these guides or companions amount to opportunistic filler with lots of graphics but little meaningful content. This guide however is very well done and thoroughly researched. In addition to some history and information about Atari and the VCS/2600, as well as the newest Atari Flashback 8 mini consoles from AtGames (particularly the new Gold editions), this guide provides in-depth surveys of about 65 games. Now the new Flashback Gold consoles come with 120 or 130 games, depending on which version you get, but the focus here seems to be only on Atari first-party games. For each game their are about 2-4 pages of information including original box art, back story, game development history, objective, and basic rules of play. The guide also goes into great detail about the different game modes and options (some games having up to 60 or more), the effect of the difficulty setting switches, single and multi-player modes, controls, scoring and features. There are interesting historical "fun facts" and snippets of original game reviews scattered throughout, as well as tips and tricks for most games. This guide can really give you an appreciation for the intricacy and sophistication of some of these early video games in spite of their oftentimes primitive and austere graphics. There are also plenty of screenshots of game play graphics and what often appears to be original artwork from game manuals and early Atari marketing and magazine materials. I suppose a lot of this information could be searched for online, but the work done here to collect it in a single place and provide it in such an appealing presentation is well worth the modest price. Early Atari games are not always the most user-friendly and intuitive as to what their options are and how the game mechanics work, so this information can be very useful. It would be great if there could be a second volume covering some of the licensed Activision and M-Network games that appear on the Flashback consoles, but for what is here it is still voluminous and well done. Well worth it if you appreciate classic Atari gaming and want to re-experience or experience it for the first time on the Atari Flashback 8 series of mini consoles.

For the 2017 holidays, At Games shipped the Atari Flashback 8 Gold DELUXE with 120 Games - Includes 2 Controllers and 2 Paddles console (multiple versions were released including an HD version which included a HDMI connection). The console's game menu includes some background on the game, controls, etc. but you really need Bill Loguidice's Atari Flashback: The Essential Companion to get the complete story around these Atari 2600 games. Each game has 3-4 pages dedicated to discussing the game's back story, who created it, game objective and how to play. While many of the 2600 games a fairly simple to understand, Bill and team have a knack for giving some great insights and perspective while also helping you understand things like, "What do each of the 33 Asteriods game settings actually mean?" Believe it or not, the Tips & Tricks are very useful - I wish I had this book back in the day. I dare say this publication is better than having the actual original game manuals. This book is dedicated to 100% Atari published games and for next year, the hope is that Activision and other publishers will be included in Vol 2!

Well done retro guide that looks great, is informative and doesn't cost much. Good book for anyone that likes classic Atari. Not too much is specific to the flashback which is both good and bad. The flashback specific section is very general and feels more promotional than informative. The games covered are mainly Atari published games. I would have like some of the prototype, homebrew, and hacks to be covered. But, that makes the book work even if you don't have a flashback. There's a lot covered but the game list has a lot that could have been skipped. The versions of casino and board games especially and some of the sports games. Despite some issues with the game list what is in the book is really well done and informative. The presentation is excellent and well formatted. Mix of overviews, history, tips, and detailed breakdowns of the different modes the games have. You could read through everything or refer back to it when playing the games covered. Some room for improvement in what's covered but a really good guide to the Atari 2600 and many of its games.

The author did a great job describing all the old Atari games that have shipped on the Flashback units and filling in details on their historical significance. It's a nice read even if you don't have one of the systems, as long as you're interested in the games that made the Atari 2600 great.

Not just a good guide but a great retro read.

This is a fun, informative, and well put together game guide for the Atari 2600. Definitely well worth the 12 bucks, regardless if you have an Atari Flashback or not.

Pros: This book is basically the manual for 67 Atari 2600 games. For each game it contains instructions for play, explanations for difficulty switch setting, and a grid explaining all game varritions. Plus tips and tricks, history, and colorful photos. Also included is an electronic version which is fully searchable. Cons: This book does not contain a reprint of the complete Swoard Quest comic books. There are no instructions for Activision games. There are only 67 games represented here, that’s half the number of games in the flashback 8. There are many games missing here. Hopefully the publisher will print a follow up book with the missing games. Bottom line: If you own the Atari Flashback this book is must own.

This would be a perfect guide if the Activision games were included. But it's still a nice addition to have. Great illustrations and game directions.

Goosebumps when you start to read this book-magazine kind. Provides great information about the games and it comes sortes by year of games launched. If you like atari age you'll love this one!

What a great book! So informative and brings back the memories of my youth!

This guide covers 65 games released for the Atari consoles, it provides a brief history of the game, along with control instructions, hints and tips. It does not cover space invaders, tank command and probably many other popular games. Yes centipede, years revenge and dozens of games you have heard of are covered, ET? No not mentioned. There are a couple of double page pictures but not enough, no single page game cover recreations either, which would of been nice considering how bad the graphics were the art work sold the games. I have various iterations of the Atari classics. This feels like half a book. Hence half the the score. Bought the paper back did look for hard back version but couldn't find it. Would of preferred being disapointed in hardback. There is Prima download code for tablets and smart phones included.

Me encanta libro

This was bought as a birthday present . It has some marks down the side , which I have tried to get off but cant .. Very disappointed!