Atari Releases a New Game for VCS After 33 Years

[AleksandarK]

Atari, once a leader in video game consoles, has today published... a new game! Called Mr. Run and Jump, the game is a classical 2D platformer, following Mr. Run and Jump with his trusty pal Leap the Dog, who defeats the terrifying Void and collects all the Power Gems from the Realms of Color. The gameplay is self-explanatory, as this 2D platformer aims to bring some of the vibes of older games with modernized stories and elements. Interestingly, the game is available for Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, PC, and Atari 2600, also called Atari Video Computer System (VCS). The last game for Atari VCS was developed in 1990, and this game comes after 33 years to the platform.

Coming in a cartridge for the VCS console, the cartridge design has been updated a bit. It now has beveled edges and gold-plated connectors. Atari prices the cartridge at 60 USD, with availability on July 31. This version of the game is toned down a bit, as the older VCS hardware can not support all the features that modern console/PC versions have. There are 80 levels in the game and as many as five different enemy types, with a unique high-score system.


Below are more screenshots of the game.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[lemonadesoda]

Where's a video of the game in action? And I see design elements of Scramble (Konami), Defender (Williams), Tempest (Atari) - ok the last one was an Atari title. USB 60 seems a bit steep for a remashup. oh, "as many as five different enemy types" explains it!

 

[john_]

A new game for VCS. Thats a terrific marketing idea.

 

[lemonadesoda]

Are we sure about the Atari 2600 compatibility? The Atari website and photos suggest it is for (new) Atari VCS, that uses a "AMD Raven Ridge 2 APU and AMD Ryzen processor GPU with 8GB DDR4 RAM (upgradable), and 32GB eMMC fixed internal storage."

Oh, it seems there's a specially coded game indeed available for the Atari 2600. Here's the link: https://atari.com/products/mr-run-and-jump-2600-limited-edition

Super crappy. They could have done better. Some of those original 6502 games did far better. There's a "full 64K" available to the 6502, and games like defender, pacman, Mr EE, Scramble, etc. ran on them. I think Mr Run and Jump 6502 edition could have been a little better

I guess it comes down to „cool marketing idea“: lets get a dummer student who doesn’t know 6502 assembly to program something in a modern framework and we‘ll compile it to 6502 as target. The difference between old school machine code and intimate knowledge of CPU and video chip and a general purpose compiler that will eat memory and not know how to get the most out of the video chip.

 

[silentbogo]

... because "Atari pubilshes a platformer from Graphite Labs - a small-time developer with a couple of mediocre indie titles under its belt" doesn't have a ring to it....

Are we sure about the Atari 2600 compatibility?

I think @AleksandarK is a bit confused. Yes, they are both VCS, but only one is a 2600.
ah... now I get it...two games, one for nerds, one for gen pop.

 

[AleksandarK]

... because "Atari pubilshes a platformer from Graphite Labs - a small-time developer with a couple of mediocre indie titles under its belt" doesn't have a ring to it....


I think @AleksandarK is a bit confused. Yes, they are both VCS, but only one is a 2600.

Mr. Run and Jump 2600 - Limited Edition

Discover classic consoles and cartridges, modern titles and never-before-seen art and gameplay from Atari.

atari.com

 

[Daven]

I’m a bit confused. How does the game come in a new cartridge design for the VCS? I can’t find any ports for a cartridge in the VCS box itself nor any pictures of VCS cartridges.

 

[Bones]

OK - Why do the screenies of the game (Esp the last one) remind me so much of the boss stages in the castles of Super Mario 3?

 

[Super Firm Tofu]

Actual screenshots from the 2600 version.

 

[JAB Creations]

It took five seconds to rip the irresponsible title apart: VCS was released in 2021 and 33 years ago was 1990. So they were making games for a console that didn't exist some 30 years before the console released? I doubt that. When life gives you melons you need to proof-read.

 

[Super Firm Tofu]

It took five seconds to rip the irresponsible title apart: VCS was released in 2021 and 33 years ago was 1990. So they were making games for a console that didn't exist some 30 years before the console released? I doubt that. When life gives you melons you need to proof-read.

They were called the VCS prior to November '82.

I know, because I had one. In 1981.

 

[64K]

View attachment 300997

They were called the VCS prior to November '82.

I know, because I had one. In 1981.

I got mine in 1980 but I don't recall anyone referring to the original 2600 as a VCS.

You can still buy the original 2600 on Ebay. Some people must have taken really good care of them to last that long.

 

[Super Firm Tofu]

I got mine in 1980 but I don't recall anyone referring to the original 2600 as a VCS.

You can still buy the original 2600 on Ebay. Some people must have taken really good care of them to last that long.

Yeah, back then it was just called 'Atari' among my 11 year old colleagues. It did have 'video computer system' written atop the console (unless you bought the Sears branded machine, an then it was 'tele-games').