In this review, things get adversarial while we play the Atari 2600 game Combat. we find out how well this action game plays.
This game was released in 1977. It is a launch title for the system.
This game is strictly a two player game. You face off against your opponent in a variety of arena settings. The player with the most kills wins.
Some of these settings involve slow moving tanks in an arena. Among the settings are specific rules. In a few, you can only fire one at a time. In another, your shots will bounce around against the walls. In a few, the rule is that you must hit your opponent with a bank shot and not directly.
A second scenario involves flying planes. While you are constantly moving, the level contains no barriers and the map wraps. If you fly down all the way, you’ll appear at the top of the screen. Fly all the way to the left and you’ll appear on the right hand side of the screen. In some instances, you’ll only be able to fire one shot. In other instances, you can fire as many shots as you like, but the range is short. Sometimes, you’ll be able to fly multiple planes in a row, making you and your opponent an easier target.
The final set plays a lot like the plane one. Instead of planes, however, you’ll be flying jet air craft. Probably the biggest difference is the fact that the controls are slightly different as far as movement is concerned.
While this game is pretty interesting at first, after a few hours, the novelty of this game can wear out. This is because combat is generally repetitive and is largely the same thing repackaged over and over again. Still, it does serve to entertain for a while.
One thing I didn’t like is the lack of one player features. If you don’t have someone to play with, you are pretty much out of luck in getting much mileage out of this game. It would have been nice to have a few modes dedicated to target practice.
Generally speaking, this game does serve to entertain for a bit, but the novelty does wear off. It’s unfortunate that this game is strictly a two player game with no single player options.
The graphics aren’t bad. They do a decent enough job of depicting what needs to be depicted. The changing color pallet also adds variety to the visuals. So, pretty good overall.
The sound effects are respectable. There are explosions and shot sounds that work well for the game.
Overall, this is a half decent game. It’s unfortunate that there is a lack of single player support. Still, the variety in the game does help keep things interesting for a while. Even then, the novelty of this game will wear out after a while given that gameplay is pretty repetitive after a while. The graphics are pretty decent and the sound effects are alright. Good if you have a buddy to play with only.
Overall
Furthest point in game: N/A
General gameplay: 17/25
Replay value: 6/10
Graphics: 7/10
Audio: 3/5
Overall rating: 66%
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Facebook.
