Hey, speaking of Atari, perhaps it's an appropriate time to talk about a pretty notable titles for the 2600. Combat, one of the most aptly named video games on the planet, really does get used to the point; fire at your opponent with tanks and planes. Something I treasure from this time period is the simplicity and straightforward nature of the games allowed your imagination to run roughshod. As a child, Combat was my personal G.I. Joe video game at the time.

Developed and published by Atari (headed by programmers Joe Decuir and Larry Wagner with cover art designed by Larry Kaplan), Combat was one of the 2600's original launch titles in 1977, alongside Air-Sea Battle, Indy 500, Star Ship, Surround, Black jack, and Video Olympics. The game had three main modes and 27 different variations between them, alternating maps and vehicle modes. The arsenal at your disposal are tanks, biplanes (with the choice of a large bomber), and fighter jets. 

TANKS

The mode that provides the most fun and is the highlight of the game, Tanks pits you 1v1 on a top-down map with varying barriers and obstacles. Depending on which mode you select, such as Straight Missiles, "Pong Tank", or even invisible tanks (they become opaque once you fire for a brief moment). The controls are...well, for lack of a better term, pretty tank-like. Often, you may find yourself getting stuck on a wall or inadvertently nestled into a corner and it feels like every move you make gets worse. You're just a sitting duck at this point and you're just begging they miss, which happens more often than you'd think. So I think Tanks is the main way to go and has some replay value if you and another really want to mess around and kill a good half hour.

BIPLANES & JETS

This mode is...quaint. That's the nicest way I'll put it. To be more harsh, I find it to be really cheesy and short-lived if you're playing anything other than a one-on-one dogfight. By the way, I mentioned "imagination". It's not fair to rip on the visuals of an Atari 2600 game, but it's hard to not look at these and not see mangled PEZ dispensers. The alternate modes can pit three tiny biplanes that fire in tandem against a larger bombers, who makes up for being such a giant target by firing a wider projectile. 

I wouldn't have as much of a problem with the planes if the shots didn't travel and reappear at the top and sides of the screen, because that's nothing but cheap kills all day. And sure, the giant bomber has the big shot, but it's hard to not get a little bit salty when your bullet threads the needle. Fortunately there's nothing really at stake here, except maybe the end of a friendship. There's no temporary invulnerability either, so there's a chance you might get caught in a string of attacks until the cows come home. Jets is virtually the same as biplanes, but a little faster, so I think I prefer it. Biplanes are stupid. THAT'S the kind of concrete analysis that brings in the readers...

Combat overall is fascinating, even if the fun can be fleeting. Playing tanks virtually carries the whole game, in my humble opinion. I still find it to be a really entertaining Atari 2600 title. A sequel was planned that would've added some variables, like a life bar, more terrain choices, and missile bases to destroy. To think Combat almost could've became Jackal...