It has been quite a blast from the past this week with Atari. The first item of interest was Atari 50’s The Namco Legendary Pack DLC, which was reviewed earlier today. The second, and this current review, is of the Atari 2600+ Pac-Man Edition, a recently released special edition Atari 2600+ console that celebrates 40+ years of Pac-Man with a special edition system and a special edition Pac-Man cartridge.
As much as it’s glitz and glamour for the 2600 in this edition, the system comes with more modernized hook-ups, as it features an HDMI connection, wireless capabilities for the included joystick, and the ability to play older Atari cartridges that are beautifully delivered in clearer visuals than the old VCS could do. And to be quite honest, I was most excited about the latter of the bunch, though that HDMI connection is a close second. Up until this time, I had to connect my old Atari 2600 VCS via RF into a VCR, take it out via RCA, run that RCA into an HDMI converter, and then that HDMI converter into a video capture device to play it or stream it. I call that the ‘Patrick Helm’ method of making things work because he suggested that successful path to stream old systems.
Anyway, this recent release of the system proved a few things: Atari cartridges from yesteryear can be relevant and beautiful again, there is an interest in bringing back classics, and Atari of new still respects Atari of old, which is more than I can say about Warner Communications of old. On that preachy note, let’s dissect this new edition of an old system.
Design
The concept of the Atari 2600 from 1977 is firmly intact with the Atari 2600+ Pac-Man Edition, even though the design is somewhat smaller and with less wood paneling. Out of the box, the system is small and plastic, almost feeling cheap in design. The weight of the system is considerably lighter than the original, as most of the old hardware isn’t needed, and it feels like it essentially has nothing inside except some ports and an HDMI output.
Now, all of this might seem like a knock, but it’s not, as the system is easy to carry around and doesn’t feel as breakable as the original 1977 VCS. In fact, it’s durable with its easy design, and doesn’t feel like hardware that you could hurt if you press a switch down the wrong way or yank a controller out of the port by accident. What that ultimately means is that you’ll have less stress with the system and won’t feel like you need to be overly protective with it, moving it from place to place. For example, the first day I had this system out of the box, I accidentally dropped it while hooking it up to my Elgato 4KS Capture Device. I feared the worst after the drop and was prepared to find one on eBay to replace it, but was surprised when it just magically was fine when turned on. And believe me, it fell a distance. It is built to survive idiots like me.
Durability aside, what about the style and looks of this system? Well, the yellow exterior is quite obnoxious, but it goes with the Pac-Man Edition moniker that it touts, which makes it feel like it visually is headed in the right direction. When the system is turned on, there is a warm, glowing picture of Pac-Man and the Ghosts in the front that is lit by LEDs. When those shine, the yellow becomes less obnoxious, and the system just looks gorgeous. The people who designed this went all in on the Pac-Man theme and color, and that lone LED glow really brings it all together.
To cap off the Atari 2600+ Pac-Man Edition design, the joystick included is yellow with a Pac-Man symbol on top of it. The quintessential chef’s kiss on the overall Pac-Man design. It goes with everything, and most importantly, feels like an Atari joystick of old. How you take that last comment depends on how you felt about the VCS controller back in the day.
As an older gamer now, who is approaching 50, I can say with pure confidence that I hate that controller design and its stiff feel, so it’s super accurate to the original system. Thankfully, it’s not wired, so there is some freedom of movement with the stiff, one-button beauty. It comes with a dongle that connects with the controller, which gives you the ability to sit as far as you would like from the television screen. Being that I’m old and blind, I don’t take full advantage of that distance.
Overall, the system is everything it’s advertised to be on the design side of the tracks. It’s truly a beautiful representation and a tip of the hat to Pac-Man, in every imaginable way. It is a unique and beautifully designed system.
Functionality
Looking the part of the old 2600 isn’t like functioning like one. This system clearly runs with some clever emulator software with a hardware input that identifies and seamlessly plays old cartridges. You can tell from the moment you put in the Pac-Man Double Feature cartridge included, and see the ‘loading’ signal come up on the screen, that it is more software-driven than hardware. That isn’t a knock either, it just means there is far less failure over time, and easier correction should the software need it.
Staying with software and cartridges, the Pac-Man Double Feature brings with it the old Atari 2600 version of the game, and the more updated version that looks more like the arcade title. The cartridge is built like an ancient 2600 game, with the only difference being that there are flip switches on the back of it. The switches cleverly change the type of game you play, such as turning your game from color to black and white, a choice we had to make back in the day because not everyone had a color television.
Anyway, back to the game, it features the terrible version of Atari 2600 Pac-Man that was infinitely far off from the arcade game. It gives you modern options for difficulty change and number of lives. You can also play the arcade version of Pac-Man from the same cartridge, which is far better than the former, and it looks and feels amazing. The included cartridge does the Pac-Man series honor, and much like the design of the system, fits perfectly within the theme of this edition.
Beyond the system’s included cartridge is the system’s actual ability to play older ones. I was honestly skeptical that this could be done with the system, but it didn’t take long for my skepticism to be proven wrong.
I pulled old games off my shelf that I have had since they were released in the ‘80s. This included Activision’s Pitfall and Imagic’s Demon Attack. You can see how that went in the video below, but I tried these carts built on the old VCS hardware, as well as a baseball game that was built for the 7800. All of them worked, which means that my entire library of games will more than likely be okay with working on this system. Sadly, that will probably include E.T., which I preferred was buried back in the New Mexico desert from whence it came.
Humor and truth aside, what I was curious about during my time with the system, but couldn’t find a working controller for it, was whether the Sega Genesis controller worked with this system. Since the control port for the dongle was the same as the original input of the VCS, the Genesis controller should work with it because Sega ‘borrowed’ that input for their 16-bit console (they were not sued for it – I was inaccurate in my video – apologies, I’m old). The Genesis controller worked on the old VCS, so one would think that would be the same for this. Anyway, it probably does work and will probably make for a better time on the hands during gameplay. I will have to get back to you when I find a working Genesis controller.
Regardless of the controller, the possibilities of different 2600 and 7800 games working on this are endless. There were a lot of good and bad games on the older systems, so the Atari 2600+ Pac-Man Edition’s ability to handle those libraries and deliver that same type of gameplay is impressive. It’s nice to see some old relics have relevance again without spending an arm and a leg to get them to work on a modern television.
Conclusion
Overall, the Atari 2600+ Pac-Man Edition plays the games it says it does, delivers a cool and unique design, and even allows the same annoyances, like having to reset the games using a switch to replay them (see my Pitfall play for details). The modern amenities of wireless capabilities and HDMI connection just make the entire package that much sweeter. It’s a good console for gamers who enjoy old games.
