The Atari 8bit computers received their share of early 80’s action games where you play a lone soldier or adventurer running through the outdoors, buildings, caves, or rooms in order to blast everything in sight and sometimes accomplish a task or two .
After 1985, the flood of ports slowed down a bit, being replaced with a smattering of licensed games and an abundance of budget clones from the UK and mainland Europe. The library also has been supplanted in the last 20 years with a nice collection of home brew creations and uncovered unreleased gems to satisfy almost any Atari 8bit gamer.
In this video you will find 25 of my favorites run and gun style from the well over 75 or so that I found in my deep dive into the library. Some of these I had when I was 14 and some are very new to me. I have left out a few genres and games that might fit this list so that I can concentrate on them in deeper dives.
You won’t find games that contain just a little shooting and a lot of adventure here, and you also won’t find space ship or vehicle style shooters.
What follows are 25 contests in the Gauntlet, Commando, Berserk and Robotron styles as well as some unique and clone platform games that contain enough shooting to offset the exploration and adventure elements that they contain.
There will be a second video of run and gun games and some games like HERO that should fit on this list were covered in previous videos. The Atari 8bit library is extensive and fun to explore, so let’s start with a 1992 reworking of a classic 1983 Atari 800 classic Atari Program Exchange Game game
- Aliens 1992 Futura – 4 (Based on Dandy)
I was going to have the John Palevich classic Dandy, which was the inspiration for the arcade game Gauntlet ,on this list, but found this 1992 Futura release, Alien,created with the original Dandy, a unique gem and a must play. - Berzerk 1983 Atari 4.5
For some reason Atari never officially released this well crafted Berzerk port for the Atari 8bit computers, but it did come out for the similar hardware of the 5200 and can be found on the 400 Mini’s built in games list. - Captain Beeble 1983 Inhome 4.5
Inhome’s 1983 release, Captain Beeble is not 100% a run and shoot game, but it represents that best of the early efforts on the Atari 8bits at adding some minor tasks and adventure elements to what could have been just a simple side scrolling blaster - Commando 1989 Atari 5
Commando, a 1989 a 99% complete unreleased port of the Capcom classic, is a joy to play. The blasting is fun, fluid, and fast and is in my top 10 of arcade ports for the Atari 8bits. - Dark Chambers 1988 Atari 5
In 1987, US Gold and Minscape released the official port of Gauntlet for the Atari 8bits, and not to be outdone by them, Atari ported its forebear, Dandy reimagined as Dark Chambers, for all of its cartridge based systems. In my opinion, this is a better crafted game than the official Gauntlet port. - Druid 1987 Firebird 5
The Atari 8bit received some good later years ports of C64 classics, and while Druid, a 1987 Firebird release, might at first glance appear to be just a more colorful version of Gauntlet or Dark Chambers, the game play is much more diverse with more spells and adventure in the mix. - Druidarium 2018 KK 5
On the heels of Druid, we have this 2018 Masterpiece of running, blasting and adventure, Druidarium by KK, that seemingly uses a side view of the Firebird Druid characters to create one of the best adventure blasters that you’ll find on the Atari 8bits or any other 8bit system. - Gauntlet 1987 US Gold / Mindscape 3.5
The official Gauntlet Port for the Atari 8bits, released in 1987, was actually quite a surprise to research. While some Atari 8bit fans were disappointed with this port, Bob Armour did all he could with the time and budget he was given to make a good playable port of a later years Atari Games arcade machine, which was quite a when it was released.
- Hobgoblin 2008 GR8 4.5
Sadly, most of the best later year arcade ports, such as Ghost and Goblins, didn’t make it to the Atari 8bit, and although there were some budget attempts at this game, Hobgoblin, a Homebrew by GR8, release in 2008 does justice to the arcade and the A8 while retaining all the difficulty of the source material. - Into Deep! 1987 Computronic 4.5
While I have the Activision classic, HERO in the essential platformers list, it’s best clone, 1987’s Action Arcade romp INTO Deep takes the HERO formula and amps the shooting up enough to be added to this list. While there is possibly more saving and exploring than shooting I wanted it here. Hey, it’s my video, I can do what I want. (I forgot I wrote that) - Into The Eagles Nest 1988 Atari 4.5
In 1988, Atari released this Pandora created, Gauntlet inspired game, as an XEGS cartridge. I find Into the Eagles next to be closer to a spiritual inspiration for IDs Wolfenstein 3D than the Apple II Castle Wolfemnstein,a much more cerebral game game ported the the Atari 8bits in 1982 - K-razy Shootout 1981 CBS 4.5
When we had our Atari 8bit in 1984, K-Razy Shootout, released first by K-Byte and later by CBS, WAS our version of Berzerk, as the planned Atari 400/800 arcade port never materialized, This fun take on the arcade machine with a few unique elements such as a countdown bonus bar and fun original animations - King Tut’s Tomb Antic 1985 5
The released version of Tutankhamun for the Atari 8bits will be in another video, but this 1985 Antic released clone, King Tut’s Tomb, looks and plays better than the official version. I did find a problem with this version that is probably just user error as I can’t obtain one of the keys to exit the first level. - Kowalsky’s Fury 2018 Agenda 5
This 2018 platform shooting adventure blaster home brew, where you are tasked with battling human animal hybrids is quite enjoyable and stylistic.
I don’t know if the hero namesake is a reference to the bad ass mofo that Clint ERastwood played in Grand Turino, but I certainly hope it is. - Lord of the Orb 1983 Antic 5
At first glance Lord of the Ord, a classic released by Antic in 1985, might be mistaken for as a vertical Tutankhamun clone, but the action, game play and adventure are far more diverse than the arcade title, especially because you can shoot in more than 2 directions, but also the limited ammo nature of the game adds more strategy than just simple blasting alone. - Los Angeles SWAT 1988 Mastertronic 4.5
While Los Angeles Swat, released by Mastertronic in 1988, might not have the best story or the deepest game play, it certainly has the running and blasting where it counts. It hit the same gaming thrust spot in the 8bits library that the unreleased Commando clone would have, but at a budget price. - Mission Shark 1991 Zeppelin 5
There is blasting and a lot of adventure to be found in 1991 ‘s Mission Shark, which to me, is probably the best of the bunch of Polish and Czech later years LK Avalon action adventure titles imported to the UK as Budget Atari 8bit Zeppelin game releases. - Phantom 1987 Tynesoft 4.5
While I was originally compelled to place Tysesoft’s 1987 Phantom in the upcoming video on maze-based action arcade games, I wanted to make sure to give it a highlight spot on this list not just because of the ghost and ghoul blasting, but because the very unique addition of the scare meter represented by a heart rate monitor that tracks sheer terror as well as the level of isotope affecting your player. - Plan B 2012 Fandal, Miker, PG 4.5
Some people dislike the high resolution mode of the Atari 8bit for games, but I disagree and find it a perfect method to port games such as Plan B, a 1987 for the BBC Micro release , as a 2012 Homebrew for the Atari 8bits. It’s a great deal of fun to play with crisp clear visuals and a wonderful mixture of adventure and platform blasting - Psyclotron 1985 Eclectek 4.5
This unreleased gem by Atari programmer Jeff Milhorn, who also did the Sinistar arcade port, should be held as one of the ultimate classics of Atari 8 bit gaming, but this is the first time I have ever played it. Possibly I’m in the minority and everyone already knows about this robotron style blaster where you need to seemingly save a brain from bad ideas, collect the good ideas, and blast everything else, but I’m certainly happy to have found it now. . - Robotron 2084 1983 Atari 5
Like Donkey Kong, the 1983 Robotron Arcade classic conversion to the Atari 8bits is a fan favorite that, like the 5200 version, can be played with dual joysticks in a coupler, or on your 400 Mini with a modern controller and two thumbs sticks mapped to create the best home console Robotron experience this side of the Atari 7800. - R.O.T.O 1985 Analog 4.5
Analog’s 1985 release, ROTO may look like a HERO clone, but this magazine published gem is more about blasting, exploring and collecting fuel cells than about rescuing lost miners. LIke most Analog games It’s challenging and very well crafted for a especially Magazine game. - Shamus 1982 Synapse 5
In what is quite possibly the all time best room-based shooter on the Atari 8bits, the 1982 Synapse release, Shamus asks the intrepid player to explore and blast their way through multiple 32 room levels looking for the exit and the answer to the mystery of SHADOW’s lair. - Space Dungeon 1982 Atari 5
Space Dungeon is a homebrew cartridge code conversion of the Atari 5200 classic Tatio twin stick room-based shooter that amps the graphics, blasting, exploring and fun to high levels of entertainment. - Trax Demo 2022 Shanti77 5
In 2022 Shanti77 created this demo version of TRAX, obviously inspired by Amiga ad ST classic, The Chaos Engine, and it blew Atari 8bit fans’ minds. Seen here is that playable demo, and Shanti is currently working on and has been releasing a new playable version for what will be an outstanding final release. He has also been testing this game engine with other genres of games for the Atari 8-bit computers.
Wow, that was fun. There are quite a few more that I can add to the second video and I’m always looking for more, so please send me your favorites so I can make sure to cover all the best the Atari 8bit has on offer.
Until next time, have fun running and gunning and blasting with your own favorite games, in the vertical blank.