Dodge 'Em

Developer: Atari	Publisher: Atari
Release Date: 1981	Also On: None

The Atari 2600 runs the gamut in terms of racing games. Indeed, racing games are one of the genres that stand as the most represented on the system. Headlining the genre, of course, is the classic Pole Position, but there are other viable racing games on the system as well. Dodge 'Em, strictly speaking, isn't one of them, but it is rather a different concept involving two cars. What is this new concept, and does it form itself into a game worth playing? Those are the questions that I intend to answer in this review.

Dodge 'Em is sort of a Pac-man prototype. The game revolves around two cars on a square road course split into four lanes. Each lanes has lane markers on it. The objective of the game is to collect all the road markers without running into the other car. I call this game a Pac-man prototype because, released in 1978, this game predated Pac-man. There are no power pellets or anything of that type in this game. You use the joystick to switch lanes at the points where you can, and you can use the button to speed up if you so desire.

For 1978, the graphics look pretty good. The color scheme is limited, but everything looks like it should (for example, the cars actually look like cars), and the pixels are fairly small by 1978 standards. The same can be said of the sound. The sound effects that are there do their job well, but there aren't many. Still, aesthetic quality isn't what one typically looks for in an Atari 2600 game.

So, what does this game have to offer? First of all, it was one of the first games to introduce the concept of collecting objects all over the playing field, possibly contributing that idea to 1980's Pac-man. Secondly, it is a reasonably fun game in and of itself, although, in my opinion, it isn't one you're going to sit down and play for hours on end. Still, it would be good for a quick burst here and there.

This game's creativity and novelty at its time of release are among its main selling points. This game won't last forever, but it will last long enough for you to get your money's worth if you buy the game cheap. If you get the opportunity to do so, I recommend that you take it. This game is a testament of some of the creative things that Atari was able to come up with in the early days of the Atari 2600.

Graphics:	8
Sound:	7
Gameplay:	7
Creativity:	8
Replay Value/Game Length:	5
Final:	7.1
Written by Martin	Review Guide

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