BurgerTime
Platform: Arcade
The object of the game is to complete a number of hamburgers while avoiding enemy foods. When the player's character walks the length of an ingredient, (bun, meat patty, tomato, etc.), it falls one level. If it lands atop another ingredient, the latter in turn falls one level. A burger is completed when all vertically aligned ingredients have been dropped out of the maze and onto a waiting plate. Once all burgers are completed, the game level is finished. Below is the DOS version.
Choplifter
Platform: Apple II
In Choplifter, the player assumes the role of a combat helicopter pilot. The player attempts to save hostages being held in prisoner of war camps. The player must collect the hostages and transport them safely to the nearby friendly base, all the while fighting off hostile tanks and other enemy combatants. Choplifter was one of the few games that first appeared on a home system before being ported to the arcade. Below is the Apple II version.
Dig Dug
Platform: Arcade
The objective of Dig Dug is to eliminate underground dwelling monsters by either inflating them with an air pump until they explode or by dropping rocks on them. There are two kinds of enemies in the game: "Pookas" (a race of round red monsters, said to be modeled after tomatoes that wear yellow goggles) and "Fygars" (a race of green dragons that can breathe fire while their wings flash). Below is the Colecovision version.
Donkey Kong Jr.
Platform: Arcade
This game is the sequel to the video game Donkey Kong, which featured Mario as the hero and Junior's father as the villain. In this game it's the other way around. Mario has captured Donkey Kong and placed him in a cage as punishment for kidnapping his girlfriend Pauline. Donkey Kong Jr. must rescue his father from Mario by working his way through a series of stages. Mario attempts to stop DK Jr. by releasing animals and putting obstacles in his way. When DK Jr. succeeds at the final level, Donkey Kong is freed and kicks Mario into the distance, leaving him to an unknown fate. The link below will take you to a site where you can play the game for free.
Click here to play Donkey Kong Jr.E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Platform: Atari 2600
This game is often cited as one of the most important titles in the industry's history. Not because it was good, but because it was so bad! The game was negatively received by critics, with common complaints focused on the plot, gameplay, and visuals. Billboard magazine's Earl Paige reported that the large number of unsold E.T. games along with an increase in competition prompted retailers to demand official return programs from video game manufacturers. The game is also considered to be one of the causes of the video game industry crisis of 1983. Unsold copies of E.T. (3.5 million of the 4 million produced were sent back to the company as unsold inventory or customer returns) were crushed, encased in cement, and buried in the Alamogordo, New Mexico landfill. You can see for yourself just how bad the game was by trying to play it below.
Joust
Platform: Arcade
Joust is a platforming game where the player controls a yellow knight riding a flying ostrich or stork. Using a two-way directional joystick and the button for flapping the ostrich's wings, the player flies the knight amidst the floating rock platformsand above pools of lava. The rate at which the player repeatedly presses the button causes the ostrich to fly upward, hover, or slowly descend. The objective is to defeat groups of enemy knights riding buzzards that populate each level, referred to as a "wave". Upon completing a wave, a subsequent, more challenging wave begins. Below is the DOS/VGA version.
Jungle Hunt
Platform: Arcade
Jungle Hunt changed names several times during development. The original prototypes were called Jungle Boy and later became Jungle King for release to the arcades. In these earlier versions the playable character was a bare-chested man with a loincloth who resembled Tarzan. Taito, the developer of Jungle Hunt, was sued by the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate for copyright infringement. This led to a re-release as Jungle Hunt with the several changes made to the game.
Miner 2049er
Platform: Originally developed for the Atari 800, was first released for the Apple II
Miner 2049er was awarded the "1984 Electronic Game of the Year". The judges noted that the game was available on so many platforms that it had become "the most widely played home electronic game of all time", and that "no home-arcade title has had the impact" that the game had. Below is the Apple II version which requires a joystick.
Moon Patrol
Platform: Arcade
The player takes the role of a Luna City police officer assigned to Sector Nine, the home of the "toughest thugs in the galaxy". The player controls a moon buggy that travels over the moon's surface. While driving, obstacles, such as craters and mines, must be avoided and various enemies, such as UFOs from above and tanks on the ground, must be destroyed. Below is the Apple II version.
Mr. Do!
Platform: Arcade
Similar to Dig Dug, the object of Mr. Do! is to score as many points as possible by digging tunnels through the ground and collecting cherries. The title character, Mr. Do is constantly chased by red monsters resembling small dinosaurs, and the player loses a life if Mr. Do is caught by one.
Pengo
Platform: Arcade
The player controls Pengo, a red penguin that resides in the Antarctic. The game takes place in an overhead maze made of ice blocks, where Pengo fights the trolling, blob-like Sno-Bees. The objective of the game is for Pengo to survive a series of rounds by eliminating all Sno-Bees, while amassing bonuses by bringing together the three diamonds dispersed in the maze. Below is the Sega Genesis version.
Pickaxe Pete
Platform: Odyssey 2
Pickaxe Pete is similar in many ways to Donkey Kong. You play a miner named Pickaxe Pete, and you start off in the middle of the screen with a pick-axe. There are three doors from which boulders are coming, bouncing down the mine-shafts; every time Pete destroys one of these he gains 3 points, although the axe wears out after a while and disappears. When two boulders collide, they explode, and out comes either a pick-axe which floats to the bottom of the screen, a key which floats to the top, or nothing. If Pete has no axe, you can either jump over boulders (gaining him 1 point), or get to the bottom of the mine to retrieve a new axe (gaining a 5-point bonus). If he collects a key then he can enter the doors, which lead him to the next level.
Pitfall!
Platform: Atari 2600
David Crane, creator of Pitfall!: "I sat down with a blank sheet of paper and drew a stick figure in the center. I said, "Okay, I have a little running man and let's put him on a path [two more lines drawn on the paper]. Where is the path? Let's put it in a jungle [draw some trees]. Why is he running [draw treasures to collect, enemies to avoid, etc.]?" And Pitfall! was born. This entire process took about ten minutes. About 1,000 hours of programming later, the game was complete." Pitfall! was the No. 1 video game on Billboard for 64 weeks in a row. The television commercial for Pitfall featured then-child actor Jack Black at age 13 in his first TV role.
Pole Position
Platform: Arcade
Released in 1982, Pole Position was the most popular coin-op arcade game of 1983. It was the most successful racing game of the classic era, spawning ports, sequels, and a Saturday morning cartoon. It is regarded as one of the most influential video games of all time. Below is the ZX Spectrum version.
Pooyan
Platform: Arcade
The player controls "Mama", a pig whose babies have been kidnapped by a group of wolves. Below is the Atari 2600 version.
Popeye
Platform: Arcade
Unlike most platform games, the player cannot jump in Popeye; the only button is "punch". The Popeye characters were originally going to be used in the game that later became Donkey Kong. However, at that time on the development of the game, Nintendo could not get the licenses to use the characters. Below is the Atari 2600 version.
Q*bert
Platform: Arcade
It is a 2D action game "isometric" graphics to create a pseudo-3D effect. The objective is to change the color of every cube in a pyramid by making the on-screen character hop on top of the cube while avoiding obstacles and enemies. Q*bert was well received in arcades and among critics. The game was Gottlieb's most successful video game and among the most recognized brands from the golden age of arcade video games.
River Raid
Platform: Atari 2600
Viewing from a top-down perspective, the player flies a fighter jet over the River of No Return in a raid behind enemy lines.
Robotron: 2084
Platform: Arcade
The game is set in a fictional world where robots have turned against humans in a cybernetic revolt. The aim is to defeat endless waves of robots, rescue surviving humans, and earn as many points as possible. It was critically and commercially successful. Praise among critics focused on the game's intense action and control scheme.
Satan's Hollow
Platform: Arcade
The player must shoot flying formations of gargoyles in order to pick up pieces of a bridge that must be built over a river of lava. Once the bridge is completed, the player can cross it to face Satan. Destroying him scores bonus points based on the number of waves completed to that point, and also upgrades the rocket launcher. The player then resumes the battle against the gargoyles and must start building a new, longer bridge in order to fight Satan again.
Time Pilot
Platform: Arcade
The player pilots a fighter jet trying to rescue fellow pilots trapped in different time eras. The player must fight off hordes of enemy craft and defeat the mother ship present in every level. The background moves in the opposite direction to the player's plane, rather than the other way around; the player's plane always remains in the center. Below is the Apple II version.
Tron
Platform: Arcade
The game consists of four subgames inspired by the movie released in the same year. It was followed by the 1983 sequel, Discs of Tron, which was not as successful as the original.
Xevious
Platform: Arcade
Xevious was a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game that was released by Namco in December 1982. In North America the game was manufactured and distributed by Atari. Below is the Apple II version.
Zaxxon
Platform: Arcade
The object of Zaxxon is to hit as many targets as possible without being shot down or running out of fuel—which can be replenished, paradoxically, by blowing up fuel drums.