ATARI BYTES

Episode 284 of ATARI BYTES gets its groove ON with the 1982 Sega port of ZAXXON! (That's a terrible set up. But the episode is good. I promise. Probably. Maybe. Look, just listen, please. ) This week's short story: ZACH'S ON Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs "Take a Chance", "Reformat" and "Pinball Spring". Thanks to Sean Courtney for the "Storytime" and "Jason Sez Stuff" themes. www.carnivalofgleecreations.com is where you should go for...

Intellivision Month 2021 concludes this month in ATARI BYTES episode 283. We're playing TRON DEADLY DISCS, inspired by the "cult classic" movie. It's a collision of cult classic movie and cult classic podcast! (I might be delusional.) This week's short story: DEADLY DISCS - A STEVE STETSON, 1980s SUPERSPY, ADVENTURE Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creation commons use of his songs "Reformat", "Take a Chance" and "Pinball Spring". Thanks to Sean Courtney for the "Storytime"...

INTELLIVISION MONTH 2021 barrels forward on ATARI BYTES 282. Much as we do with the twisty maze that is life, we're winding our way through the twisty maze of Mattel's 1982 Intellivision offering NIGHT STALKER, a/k/a the 2600 game "Dark Cavern". (spoiler!) But...are you stalking the bats/spiders/robots. Or...are they stalking YOU? More importantly, who keeps dropping all these guns all over? Seems like very poor gun safety. So many questions. BAD POETRY CORNER: NIGHTY NIGHT,...

You're gliding along peacefully, when suddenly your periscope shoots upward. Through the murky depths you are shocked to see rocketing toward you... ATARI BYTES episode 281! Intellivision Month continues this week with Mattel's 1982 nautical adventure SUB HUNT. Is it a thrilling submarine simulator or a soul-crushingly boring, slow-paced game bogged down by an overly dense manual? Gee, I dunno... This week's short story: Bad Poetry Corner - Floaters and Sinkers Thanks to Kevin McLeod at...

INTELLIVISION MONTH 2021 has arrived in episode 280 of ATARI BYTES! *Deafening cheers erupt* **Also an angry stampede out the door by some Atari purists** We kick things off with Mattel's 1981 title STAR STRIKE, which may or may not be inspired by Star Wars; which is true of much of life really. That's why I dress as an Ewok much of the time. Can anyone recommend a good conditioner? This week's short story: Star Strike Celebrity Bowling Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for...

Doing something a little different this week in ATARI BYTES episode 279. Setting aside the games (Wait! Come back!) to share some thoughts I had while working a booth at a recent convention to promote the show and my books. In short, I noticed Atari did not have a huge presence, nor indeed did very much from before the 1980s. What gives? Could it be Atari is TOO OLD to be pop culture anymore? Whoa. Let's talk about it. We'll also read entries from the Pac-Man-story-t-shirt-giveaway I did...

Take a deep breath. Smell that? That's episode 278's equine-filled game. On this week's ATARI BYTES, we're playing the 1980 horse-racing game, STEEPLECHASE. Jockey your way to this episode and mount your steed. This week's short story: STEEPLECAUGHT Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs "Take a Chance", "Reformat" and "Pinball Spring". Thanks to Sean Courtney for "Storytime" and "Jason Sez Stuff" themes. www.carnivalofgleecreations.com is where...

What's that in your teeth? Why, it's another episode of ATARI BYTES! In episode 277, we take a huge, wet bite out of TOOTH PROTECTORS and let juices drip down our chin. This is the Johnson & Johnson (yes, the one-shot vaccine people) 1983 mail order, promo game. Instead of saving planets, shooting monsters or winning races, the goal is good oral hygiene. What kid doesn't love that?!?! This week's short story: THE PARABLE OF THE SUGAR BUGS Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for...

This planet sucks. Wait! Don't go! This isn't political or cultural commentary. THIS PLANET SUCKS, a self-published Greg Troutman title from 1997, is the name of this week's game on ATARI BYTES. So, absolutely NO sucking to be had in episode 276. Well, no more than usual... Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs "Reformat", "Take a Chance" and "Pinball Spring". Thanks to Sean Courtney for "Storytime" theme and the "Jason Sez Stuff"...

For those of you who lack the physicality to dance to the time warp, ATARI BYTES episode 275 has you covered. In the 1983 Coleco port of TIME PILOT, the time warp requires no dancing, just wave after wave of aerial dogfighting. Not even Tim Curry can help you. This week's short story: MARKING TIME Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs "Take a Chance", "Pinball Spring" and "Reformat". Thanks to Sean Courtney for the "Jason Sez Stuff" theme and the...

In ATARI BYTES episode 274, we're playing LASER GATES. Two guesses what this game is about. Wrong! It's monkeys and gonads, obviously. (You gotta listen to the show to understand that.) This week's Bad Poetry Corner: IF WARREN ZEVON'S A ROBOT Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incometech.com for creative commons use of his songs "Take a Chance", "Reformat", and "Pinball Spring". Thanks to Sean Courtney for the "Storytime" and "Jason Sez Stuff" themes. www.carnivalofgleecreations.com is where you...

One day in April 2021, ATARI BYTES drifted into Data Age's 1982 game BERMUDA TRIANGLE and was NEVER SEEN AGAIN. Episode 273 is the chronicle of that disappearance. If you look up, you might see your host mooning you from the spaceship. This week's short story: BERMUDA SHORTED Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs "Take a Chance", "Reformat" and "Pinball Spring". Thanks to Sean Courtney for the "Storytime" theme. Thanks to The Delroys for the...

This week's ATARI BYTES episode, 272 for those scoring at home, is totally tubular (that's for you Gen Xers) Or is it? We're playing the unfinished 1984 effort TEMPEST, which tries to translate the 3D tubes the action plays out on on the arcade screen onto our home screens. Listen to find out if it works. We also talk about Shakespeare and say the word "panties". A lot. This week's short story from Bad Poetry Corner: Parched in a Tempest. Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for...

ATARI BYTES 271 revisits an old friend. A twitchy, large-nosed, profanity-obsessed friend who just won't just hold still for goodness sakes. We all have a friend like that. If you're not sure about that, it's probably you. It's Q*BERT'S QUBES, the 1983 follow-up to the adorable arcade-er (I'm trying to make that a word. Help me out. I'll be rich!). Is the game fun cubed, or just for squares, man? This week's short story: NOT THE CUBES YOU EXPECTED Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com...

Guys, if life has taught us nothing else, we all should know by now that we must pick up our balls. This is especially true in Atari's 1983 let's-stick-it-to-em-and-see-how-mad-they-get, QUADRUN, our focus for ATARI BYTES episode 270. Tune in to find out just how frustrated this game makes me. This week's short story: CAGE FREE Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incmpetech.com for creative commons use of his songs "Take a Chance", "Reformat" and "Pinball Spring". Thanks to Sean Courtney for the...

In episode 269 of the ATARI BYTES podcast, we play SOLAR FOX, the 1983 CBS Electronics port of Bally/Midway's 1981 arcade game. Much like Icarus, we fly a wee bit too close to the sun, but do we get burned? Listen and find out! This week's short story: THE SOLAR FOXES REBOOT The ComicVine piece about the "Solar Fox" comic ad. Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs "Take a Chance", "Reformat" and "Pinball Spring". Thanks to Sean Courtney for the...

ATARI BYTES episode 268 is bubbling over with tasty goodness. We're playing PEPSI INVADERS, a 1983 cartridge created by Atari to cheer up sad Coca-Cola sales people sad about losing the "cola wars" to Pepsi. This episode is both sugar and caffeine free, so you'll just have to rely on my dulcet tones to keep you awake. Sorry. This week's short story: THE COLA WARS BUBBLE OVER Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his song "Take a Chance", "Reformat", and...

In 1979, Twentieth Century Fox unleashed an iconic sci-fi movie called ALIEN. In 1982, Atari released the game version, in the maze style of iconic game Pac-Man. In 2021, the podcast ATARI BYTES did an episode about ALIEN, episode 267. It was...wait for it...iconic. THIS WEEK'S SHORT STORY: BAD POETRY CORNER - WHEN PERSEVERANCE RAN OUT Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs, "Take a Chance", "Pinball Spring" and "Reformat". Thanks to Sean...

We're back to cram more square pod pegs into your round ear holes. It's another cubist's delight in 266 with RUBIK'S CUBE 3D. The three "D"s are "delightful", "delicious" and "de-wonderful", to borrow from an old song. Or are they? Tune in this week to find out. With this 3D, there are no glasses required. Or pants. Short Story: 3D-NYED Thanks to Kevin McLeod at Incompetech.com for creative commons use of his songs "Take a Chance", "Reformat" and "Pinball Spring". Thanks to Sean...

ATARI BYTES episode 265: Back in the 1970s, Hungarian inventor Erno Rubik, we assume, decided to see if he could drive people insane. He designed a cube consisting of a bunch of smaller cubes of many colors. He said, "Here, take this cube. Mess up the colors, then put them right again." Of course, he probably said it in Hungarian. But that makes it no less insidious. The Rubik's Cube was born. Then in 1982, Atari put out the trademark-friendlier "Atari Video Cube", redubbed in 1983...