The Retroist

The Retroist

Share this post

The Retroist
The Retroist
Alien for the Atari 2600
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More

Alien for the Atari 2600

Retroist's avatar
Retroist
Dec 04, 2009
1

Share this post

The Retroist
The Retroist
Alien for the Atari 2600
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Share

There was a time when the idea of a movie tie-in video game did not repulse me. That was before I was pummeled with decades of rushed garbage tie-ins. So when Alien came out for the Atari 2600 I was all over this title. And the day I brought it home, I brought all my friends over for an iced-tea fueled game fest.

Two hours later we were playing Combat and Warlords.

The problem with Alien is not that it is horrible, it is a completely passable Pac-Man clone with some odds bells, and whistles thrown in. It’s just that it gets really repetitive really fast and the whole time you're thinking. I cannot believe I spent $25 on this, and it is nothing like the movie. Oh, what high expectations will do to a gaming experience. I am talking to you E.T.

In Alien, you are, I guess, Ripley, and you move through a maze squishing alien eggs like Pac-Man eats dots. The entire time you are doing, so you are being pursued by Aliens, but don’t worry you have a flamethrower that is very difficult to use, and if that fails you have pulsars, which work just like power pellets.

If you can destroy all the eggs something really weird happens, you get to a bonus stage where dozens of Aliens are moving horizontally across the screen and you need to move past them. So it is like Frogger, but the thing is you can not move side to side, only up and down. If you get the bonus great, if not, back to the maze and the Alien eggs.

So to sum up, the game is half Pac-Man and Half Frogger. The Pac-Man part is OK, it just lacks the adorable themes you usually get with Pac-Man clones. The Frogger part is tedious and pointless. Maybe if I could move horizontally it might make a difference, but I doubt it, the game had potential, but the sum of its parts make it slightly sub-par. I give Alien 2 out of 5 stars.

Gameplay Video


Subscribe to The Retroist

Launched 4 years ago
A Retro Podcast, Blog, and Newsletter.
1

Share this post

The Retroist
The Retroist
Alien for the Atari 2600
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Share

Discussion about this post

User's avatar
The Mystery Of The Red Quarters…Solved!
Did you ever find a quarter painted red and wonder if that red served a purpose? It does.
Feb 11, 2017 â€¢ 
Retroist
45

Share this post

The Retroist
The Retroist
The Mystery Of The Red Quarters…Solved!
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
6
Remember when Mickey Mouse decided to commit suicide?
Unless you lived in the 1930s or are a fan of vintage comic strips you might not be aware of the attempted Mickey Mouse suicide.
Aug 30, 2017 â€¢ 
Retroist
9

Share this post

The Retroist
The Retroist
Remember when Mickey Mouse decided to commit suicide?
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
Monkey’s Blood (Mercurochrome) for those boo-boos
Remember when you were a kid, and you would were out roughhousing with your friends.
Oct 23, 2019 â€¢ 
Retroist
4

Share this post

The Retroist
The Retroist
Monkey’s Blood (Mercurochrome) for those boo-boos
Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More
2

Ready for more?

© 2025 Retroist
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share

Copy link
Facebook
Email
Notes
More

Create your profile

User's avatar

Only paid subscribers can comment on this post

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in

Check your email

For your security, we need to re-authenticate you.

Click the link we sent to , or click here to sign in.