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ATARI BYTES

Remember those great Atari 2600 games? I have fond memories of playing classics like Pitfall or Yar's Revenge or River Raid. In this podcast, I take another look at the games, but as a writer, not a gamer. When I think of these games now, I see writing prompts; taking inspiration from the game plots or maybe even the titles to create original short stories. But this isn't simply fan fiction. The stories, more often than not, spin-off into some weird places in all kinds of genres. Sometimes funny, occasionally serious, always unique.
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Now displaying: July, 2017

Remember those great Atari 2600 games? Sure, they were fun to play, but didn't you ever wonder why they sent a plumber to take out Donkey Kong? What Yar was seeking revenge against? What the Defender was defending or why those robots went Berserk? Me too! ATARI BYTES is a game review podcast like no other. We review not just the game play, but the STORY within these classic games. We take a BYTE out of the story (get it?) and see if that story BYTES us back (now do you get it?).

Jul 30, 2017

If you learn only one thing from ATARI BYTES episode 79, let it be this:  Bears who live in crystal castles, shouldn't throw magic gems.

Wait. That's not it.

Actually, throwing magic gems is exactly what you should do in this 1983 Atari port of the proto-3D arcade adventure game CRYSTAL CASTLES. I mean, how else is Bentley Bear going to defeat the evil witch Berthilda? With an earnest heart-to-heart over steaming lattes?*

*I'm totaling waiting for someone to make a steaming latte adventure homebrew game.

Why is Bentley the only bear for this job? Did Fozzie, Yogi and Smokey say no? Is crystal really the ideal building material for a castle? So many questions...

Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs "Take a Chance," "Reformat" and "Pinball Spring".

Atari Bytes show notes, episodes and more here.

It's a Podcast, Charlie Brown - Hey! That's my other show. Check it out here!

Support the show financially at our Patreon page here.

Pick up Atari Bytes merchandise here. Zazzle.com AB_Pod_Store

Jul 23, 2017

EPISODE 78 of the podcast is in the ZONE, baby!

Unfortunately, the zone is the BATTLEZONE. So, you know, duck!

We are tank-ful for this 1983 Atari port of the 1980 arcade tank shooter. And we know after you listen, you'll give us your TANKS for the episode too!

My thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs "Pinball Spring", "Reformat" and "Take a Chance".

Atari Bytes show notes and more here.

It's a Podcast, Charlie Brown episodes here.

Support the show financially at our Patreon page here.

Pick up Atari Bytes merchandise here at Zazzle.com

Jul 16, 2017

In episode 77, we find out whether the Pac-Apple falls far from Ghost Tree. Then we gobble it up because....mmm, pac-apples. 

We're playing JR. PAC-MAN, the 1984 son-of-a-classic-arcade icon. Does the game surpass it's predecessor? Or is it an embarrassing disappointment to the family? Then we dig into whether Jr. Pac has daddy issues or if he's his own Pac. 

Also, we eat some ghosts! And a bicycle! Good times! Join us!

Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs "Reformat", "Pinball Spring" and "Take a Chance". 

Atari Bytes show notes and more

It's a Podcast, Charlie Brown - Hey! This is my other show. Go here and check it out.

Check out cool Atari Bytes shirts and more here at Zazzle.com. AB_Pod_Store.

Support the show financially on Patreon.

Jul 9, 2017

EPISODE 76: SPIDER-MAN swings in on a web to fill your earholes with sticky podcasting fluid. We're playing the 1982 Parker Brothers adventure in honor of SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING being in theaters right now. (As this episode drops.)

The Green Goblin has planted a super bomb in the high voltage tower atop a skyscraper. Will Spidey defuse the bombs in time? Will the Green Goblin get away? What exactly does the high voltage tower do? Who should get fired for signing off on the design choice of having a high voltage tower so accessible to people who want to scale it?

These questions and more will have you climbing the walls like...well, like you-know-who.

Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs "Reformat", "Take a Chance" and "Pinball Spring".

Atari Bytes show notes, links and so much more are here.

It's a Podcast, Charlie Brown - Hey! That's my other show!

Consider supporting the show financially at our Patreon.com page here.

Check out the merchandise in our Zazzle.com store here.

Jul 2, 2017

EPISODE 74: SKY JINKS. In this 1982 high-flying adventure from Activision, you need cat-like reflexes (though, ironically, felines are notoriously bad pilots. They prefer train travel.) to bank left and right around those pylons while dodging trees and hot-air balloons. Sure, you want to finish the time trials in record time, but, hey, don't let all those fast, high-altitude turns make you queasy or anything...

Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs "Reformat", "Take a Chance" and "Pinball Spring".

Atari Bytes show notes and more!

It's a Podcast, Charlie Brown - Hey! That's my other show...

Consider supporting the show financially on our Patreon page here.

You can also find cool Atari Bytes merchandise at our Zazzle.com store AB_Pod_Store.

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