Surround

The Good
The Atari 2600 has so many great party games and this one is no exception.

Basically every player controls a square and leaves a trail wherever he goes. The loser is the player whose square hits a trail or a wall. If you are familiar with Tron then you will have no trouble with this game.

Each game is played until a player reaches a score of ten and there are plenty of variations of gameplay. On some mods the wall is removed and the players can go through the edges of the screen, players speed up overtime, can move diagonally or all of the above combined into one mod. So if you are tired of one variation there are plenty of them to try out.

The Bad
Still, this is a game from 1977 so I can't really complain about anything. The sound of the squares moving kind of irritates me at times but that's why I usually turn off the sound and put on a nice techno beat.

The Bottom Line
Blocks or snakes moving around, trying to corner each other. Pretty fun, great for playing with friends and it shows that a game doesn't have to be in HD with a full orchestrated soundtrack to be enjoyed. If you own an Atari 2600 or 7800 pick it up and give it a shot.

The Good
Addictive gameplay especially with two players. This game repays thinking and strategy. Game variations provide actual differences in gameplay.

The Bad
Graffiti game variation is lame. Sound is ear-numbing.

The Bottom Line
In Surround you control a cursor which moves incessantly forward leaving a trail in its wake. You control the direction in which the cursor moves. Your object is to create a wall into which your opponent crashes. You essentially try to surround him with enough walls that he runs out of space. Meanwhile you must avoid crashing into the wall he is creating and the walls you have created.

Despite the low tech graphics and simple gameplay, Surround is, quite simply, fun, especially with a second human player. (Playing against the computer does become very easy very quickly.) This game is quite easy to pick up. Indeed, all you need to do is direct a cursor around a screen. To master the game, however, when playing against a comparable human foe, could conceivably take a lifetime. The game repays strategizing, quick thinking and quick reactions. The game variations, moreover, provide real variation. Among the possibilities are allowing the cursor to wrap around the screen and allowing the player to choose when to leave a wall behind. Each of these variations provides real strategic opportunities and punishes those who fail to take into account the full functionality of the game. Surround is low tech, but timeless fun.

A few settings on the cart allows, essentially, painting. I found the Video Graffiti program limiting (only one color and only one size block) and, ultimately, uninteresting. It doesn't add much to this cart.

The Good
Somebody had to come up this idea. This popular arcade game combines action and strategy to provide hours of entertainment. I particularly enjoyed the Erase variation that allows the players to move their dot without leaving a track. A few tactical moves and the game turns into an evolving maze where you can trap your opponent. Add a speed factor to that and you can play forever without repeating the same moves.

I found interesting to see how the Disney studios integrated their own version of that game in the 1982 movie Tron, which soon inspired the arcade game of the same name.

The Bad
Besides the standard game and its speed variation, all games require two players. And after some practice, you may find ways to beat the computer almost every time, but you will require more experience to achieve the same with the fast variation. So basically, it's more challenging to play with someone else.

Understand here that I don't really consider the Video Graffiti as a game. It reminds me of Etch-A-Sketch and for the purpose of drawing, you're better off with the latter.

Like all games released for the Atari 2600 in 1977, Surround is no visual candy. It merely consists of a little square that generates dotted lines on a flat surface.

The Bottom Line
The replay potential of this game is good enough to make you forget about its poor aspect.