K.C. Munchkin!

My grandma had the first game console I knew about. She called it an odyssey (Magnavox Odyssey 2) and she had some great games for it. One of the most fun was K.C. Munchkin! It was pretty much just a pac man clone, but it was far superior to the 2600 version. When we visited her I played this well after my regular bedtime.

Spy Hunter

Dun dun dah duh dah duh dah Dun....Is that the Peter Gunn theme or did they change it enough to pretend it's an original composition.  Who didn't want to pretend that they were in a James Bond car chase.  Apparently Midway used the Bond theme on the initial run of Spy Hunter but was never able to get the rights, so we got the music that really makes this game. The Weapons Van also added a bit of a Knight Rider flair as well.  This game had cool power-ups and a weight to the steering and collisions that really sold the action. Watch out for those 'copters.

Lunar Lander

A simple idea, but a brutally hard game for children with dire fiery astronaut ending consequences.  You get 900 fuel units for your quarter and the lives of the crew of the lunar lander in your hands.  I remember being fascinated by this game but never really finding it to be that fun.  More simulation than game, Lunar Lander is an early warning to game developers to pick fun over reality every time.

Adventure

I could literally play this game with my eyes closed. By sound alone I was able to complete each objective. I know that most often people say literally when they actually mean to say figuratively, but I mean literally. Up for the sword, down and to the right past the first quacking duck dragon and on to victory! If Adventure had been an mmorpg, I would have had 5 level 80's and been supplementing my comic money selling gold. Adventure also contained the first Easter egg that I knew about. By ingenious use of the bridge and the magnet a secret room could be entered. Inside this room was a text message from the developer and the first truly epic item! I of course refer to the Trans-molecular Speck. A tiny black pixel with almost limitless power. I don't clearly remember what it did but I'm pretty sure it was awesome. Did it allow clipping through all walls? I dunno but I loved it.

Raiders of the Lost Ark

The E.T. game always gets blamed for the crash, and I suppose this game is better but licensed games were not off to a great start all these years ago.  This game did recreate some cool moments from the film and it did have some insane puzzles and riveting parachute and grenade action.  The graphics in this could only be kindly described with the term abstract, and that would clearly be a stretch.  I loved Raiders and I wanted to love this game, but this is more Irina Spalko than Marion Ravenwood.

Spelunker

It's not really time for the NES, but this game has been on my mind.  So we are back in a mine here...I wonder when everything changed from being a mine to a warehouse full of crates and barrels?  A study must be commissioned!  This miner may appear to be a plumber.  You might imagine he can jump like a plumber.  You might suppose that he might be able to fall and survive like a plumber, but you would be wrong.  A one inch fall breaks this guy like Sam Jackson in the last reasonable movie from M. Night.  I know Mario, I have worked with Mario, You sir are no Mario.

Prince of Persia

Jordan Mechner made Karateka and then went on to create a certifiable classic, Prince of Persia.  We debated at length why the animation in PoP was so much better than everything else coming out at the time.  We compared it to the rotoscoped animation in Bakshi movies and that was a pretty good explanation.  With keyframes based on a series of photographs taken of Jordan's brother the little prince ran, climbed, jumped, and died with a fluid grace never before seen. While the trial and error game play could be frustrating the original Prince of Persia was an amazing gaming experience that is still being ported to new platforms today.

Lode Runner

I know that gaming has been stigmatized as a solitary activity, but in the late 70's and early 80's you had to get out and about and meet some people if you wanted to play everything.  George C. had Lode Runner so he was on the circuit.  Was this another game set in a mine?  With lots of ladders to climb and lots of holes to dig for hapless AI miners to fall in Lode Runner was an action puzzler that had lots of levels and lots of challenge.  And it was a good chance to go see George C.

Karateka

This game was brutally hard. A predecessor to brawlers to follow, our hero walked or ran to the right and stopped to fight.  Getting hit while running was instant defeat.  The evil eagle was a classic antagonist.  The animation in this game was a standout amongst its peers.

Pitfall

I saw Pitfall the first time in an appliance store just off the square.  It was a beautiful game for the console hardware of the time with good animation, tight control, and enough challenge to keep it interesting.  I was wild for Indiana Jones and I was wild for Pitfall.  I gathered the Treasures of Enarc (Pitfall was developed by David Crane, get it Enarc cranE) while running to the right, jumping on crocs, swinging on vines, and spelunking through caves for hours.