ATARI BYTES

Episode 110 of the podcast is silent...but DEADLY.

That is to say, we're playing DEADLY DUCK, the 1982 20th Century Fox game. It's sort of like waterfowl nested inside a Space Invaders game and QUACK…

Ding-Ding! In the left corner, weighing in at episode 109, it's BOXING by Activision, 1980. In the right corner, weighing in at...well, he's working on it. Gotta get back on that treadmill. It's PODC…

Our salute to the Olympics continues this week in episode 108. Like all elite Olympic athletes, I've got a beer and a pocket full of nachos (I hope those are nachos). Why? Because we're going BOWLING…

As the episode rolls out, the 2018 winter Olympics are underway. The competition! The pageantry! The steroid scandals! To celebrate, we're leaping off the ski jump into the future to play the 1985 ga…

This week on the podcast, we're going commando!

Aren't you glad this is an audio podcast?

Of course, we're actually referring to this week's game COMMANDO RAID, a 1982 game from U.S.Games, a division…

When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are...though retro gamers get preferential treatment. Am I right???

Well, we wished upon a star and we got episode 105 of Atari Bytes - STAR VOY…

If they only knew.

If only Elliott and those soft-hearted scientists knew.

In 1982, extra-terrestrials invaded Earth - by leaving a so-homely-he's-cute alien being to wander the planet, seeking only …

In 1978, Atari was all set to unleash upon the world another maze game. But then someone said, "We can do better. We can make this maze game something more...something with higher stakes. We can turn…

We can thank the 1981 arcade game VANGUARD, and the 1982 Atari port we're talking about this week, for giving us many firsts: the "continue" feature, four-direction shooting, multi-direction stage sc…

As 2017 slinks off the stage wiping from it's jacket bits of rotten tomato, we prepare to usher in a new year full of promise and, of course, Atari games. The (root beer) taps are open. Let's celebra…

Egg the nog, yule the log and send Rudolph to guide Santa through the fog. It's CHRISTMAS EVE!

Oh, and it just happens to be episode 100 of this here podcast thingy. 

So what does all this mean for t…

So, here's what I think happened:

In 1982, game company Parker Brothers wanted to make another video game. One of the designers had her heart set on making a space battle game. Another designer reall…

ATARI BYTES STRIKES BACK...

...With another episode. Number 98 to be specific.

This week, in honor of the oncoming cinematic blockbuster STAR WARS EPISODE VIII: THE LAST JEDI, we're playing the game …

Build a better mouse trap and the world will beat a path to your door.

Well, that's assuming they can find the door. It's like a maze out here. Hasn't anyone heard of Google Maps?

This week on episod…

The bomber in Activision's 1981 game KABOOM! is mad. How do we know? The exclamation point in the title, obviously!

That doesn't stop him from dropping bombs with cartoony lit fuses though. What are …

In the Spectravision B-movie pirate serial THE CHALLENGE OF NEXAR...*Show notes interrupted by a note passed to the host by the editor*

What? THE CHALLENGE OF NEXAR is an Atari game?**

**Yes. Yes, it…

Feeling claustrophobic? Like the walls are moving in on you? No, you're not coming down from one too many espresso shots. You just have SQUEEZE BOX fever!

And you know what they say about fevers: sta…

As Jimmy Buffett sang, "I like mine with lettuce and tomato. And hot dogs. And ice cream. And pickles. Not the purple ones though. Eatin' my pickle in paradise!"

(Parrotheads send your angry emails n…

This week's episode of ATARI BYTES, number 92 for those keeping score, is all about Benjamin Franklin.

Well, not really. But thanks to this week's co-host, my kid Henry, there is a long digression fr…

EPISODE 91: SPACE JOCKEY, 1982, from U.S. Games, looks a lot like a game made by a company that mostly just makes oatmeal. 'cause it is! But we're playing it anyway. 

Why so much space? Who, exactly,…