Nobody is make consoles quite like Atari these days .
That may vocalize like an dry gag in 2024 , but anyone who has been paying attention to the fabled company can attest to how serious that claim is . Over the past few eld , Atari has gone to great lengths to preserve its history . It has n’t accomplished that by simply bringing old games to novel consoles , as it did with its excellentAtari 50collection , but also by preserving hardware itself . Last year , the society took that to the next stratum with theAtari 2600 + , a near - perfect refreshment of its iconic system that actually play sometime cartridges . Now , Atari has done it again — and raised the Browning automatic rifle in the physical process .
This class ’s retro diversion is theAtari 7800 + , which return players a fully functional , but cautiously develop replica of its third rest home console ( sorry to the 5200 sports fan in the house ) . Like the 2600 + , it ’s a nostalgic treat that fascinate the precise look , feel , and functionality of its 1986 similitude . This time , though , Atari has gone the extra air mile to lightly upgrade the original system without lose its charm . The issue is the ultimate retro play machine for Atari chronicle buff .
Faithfully recreated
If the 7800 + attend a piddling different than you remember , that ’s because it ’s modeled after the European adaptation of the organisation , which sport a more distinct rainbow decal across the top , as well as a whole unlike accountant . It ’s a gorgeous little console that hold back the exact look of its ’ 80s twin , consummate with its severe black charge plate shell , familiar control ports , and four control buttons ( magnate , pause , select , and reset ) .
That ’s one matter I love about Atari’sbest consoles . I ’ve always found it sorcerous that I used to be capable to control games at a hardware layer rather than in menus . My favorite magic magic here is a switch on the back that let me seamlessly flip the screen between 16:9 and 4:3 on the fly . It ’s a small new pinch , but one that ’s very much in the flavor of Atari ’s former approach to hardware design .
That same level of detail has gone into its CX78 + gamepads , which are based on the orthogonal intention of the European release rather than North America ’s pedal - like one . On the exterior , each one is a pure recreation correctly down to the alloy Atari logotype in their top - right box and the bright scarlet push button that have a soft , plasticky click to them . They mat perfectly reactive during my testing and are sure enough easier to dominate than the 2600 ’s classic , but clumsy joystick .
clone the hardware is a merriment fast one , but Atari went the extra mile here to make the 7800 + more than just an esthetic copy . The big variety is that the CX78 can be used wirelessly . The corner contains a transmitter that can be plugged in ( via Atari ’s vintage controller expansion slot shape ) to patronage wireless play . During my psychometric test , my gamepad connected almost in a flash with slight fiddling needed .
blast from the past
To test it out , Atari sent Digital Trends a fistful of new vivify 7800 plot cartridges ( like the 2600 + , it does not come with preinstalled games like distinctive retro reproductions ) . That list includedFood Fight , Bounty Bob Strikes Back ! , and more . I spend an evening testing each one , slot the plastic cartridges into the top of the console with a familiar thud . All of those games look and feel pixel gross on the 7800 + , giving me a just reason to revisit an era of Atari that I was n’t as familiar with growing up .
The games themselves are a on-key blast from the past , showing off how much of a technical betterment the 7800 was over the 2600 at the time . you could see it in games like the lightning - quickFatal Run , which shows off the system ’s 256 color palette . The system ’s oddball joystick / D - pad hybrid control scheme also makes it much wanton to control a game likeAsteroids Deluxe . The game I tested act quite smoothly considering their age ; the only hiccough is that it takes a surprisingly long prison term to load up them up .
These games are another area where Atari has gone the extra mile to create something peculiar . It ’s slap-up enough that the troupe is procreate unexampled cartridges of 40 - year - old plot to confirm the twist . But it has go one step further by creating a sword - new secret plan too that comes : a fullCrystal Castlessequel dubbedBentley Bear ’s Crystal Quest . Despite being brand new , it feels like a long lost 1980s game . Its a coloured side - scroller with unforgiving jumps and tricky platforming sections that require mastery . That ’s the horizontal surface of effort that has gone into making the 7800 + more than an easy hard currency catch .
There ’s one central particular that really seal the softwood : backward compatibility . I mean that in two way of life . For one , you may plug in an original 7800 pickup and it ’ll play on the gadget if it ’s still functional . That ’s the same lineament that made last class ’s 2600 + such a must - own system for retro enthusiasts . What ’s even better here , though , is that the 7800 + is also amply compatible with both the 2600 + and the original 2600 . I plugged my mother ’s copy ofPitfall!in and it dismiss up with no problem . An even nicer cutaneous senses is that it ’s compatible with the 2600 ’s joystick , as the 7800 + uses the same controller embrasure . It ’s essentially two consoles in one .
Each of these details attain the 7800 + more than a nostalgic collector ’s item . It ’s the fully running , all - in - one Atari console of your dreams . While “ mini ” console are cunning artifact ( see the neatAtari 400 Mini ) , this is the kind of gimmick I so desperately require to see from every major console manufacturer . Give me a work NES that I can gourmandize my old cartridges into and tweak it with wireless gamepad support . Make these old system easier to corrupt again rather than forcing me to hunt for half - working ones at trade shows or live on off a curated snack bar of retro plot catalogs . People who make out games care about account , and it ’s about time that the company who hold the keys to the past tense do too .
So , yes , nobody is make game consoles like Atari in 2024 . These are elaborate diachronic recreations that further histrion to keep playing old games in the same way cinephiles return to black - and - white picture show . I desire everyone else is require notes .
