In this era of nostalgia selling well, we have the likes of Nintendo to thank for that. In a way you can add Sony to the mix too as well as any company that wants to cash in on the nostalgia factor. One of my appointments during day 2 of E3 was with Atari and part of their marketing plan is nostalgia with some of the games they brought to LA with them.
First up was a game called Tempest 4000, which is based off of the classic arcade game with the same name. This game plays similarly to the classic game where it relies on fast-paced gameplay. You control the Claw, your spaceship, that is able to destroy space creatures you’ll come across in the 100 levels in the game. Tempest allows for rapid fire shooting and you’ll need it to eliminate all the enemy forces before you can move on to the next level. There are three game modes to choose from which include Classic, Pure, and Survival mode that will push you to the limit during gameplay! There is a leaderboard for you to compete for top spot as well as a quick soundtrack that combines techno and rhythmic sounds/beats!
Next up I got to see Transit City Touch where you get to build your own city and operate amenities in the city. You’ll be able to move people all over your city as well as manage things for the people in the city. What I mean by that is you’ll have the ability to grow the city by building things in the city via card packs. You’ll have to think smart about where you want to put certain things in the city and in turn that will help grow the city faster. You’ll be able to build residential areas, industrial, and commercial buildings that can be leveled up and if you level them up, the more they can be used for. You’ll have to take on contracts to help the city such as staff a factory or keep stores stocked with food. You can complete objectives anyway you see fit such as using two different transport vehicles to stock the factory and store at the same time. Transit City Touch gives you control over the town and the denizens who inhabit it!
Atari brought with them two versions of the Atari Flashback Classics collection with them to E3. The Atari Flashback Classics is on Nintendo Switch and Flashback Classic Vol. 3 is for Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Vol. 3 has 50 classic games; some of them were Atari 5200 games. You’ll be able to play with your friends in local and online multiplayer as well as online leaderboards to see who the best players are! Atari Flashback Classics, on the other hand, allows up to four players, 2 players online for the Nintendo Switch and some of the games have classic artwork on the screen from the arcade cabinets. This version has 150 games, and an online leaderboard as well. One of the cool features on the Switch is games like Centipede have the ability to play off TV mode and allow you to turn the Switch to play vertical. Some of the games have so-so controls for the PlayStation 4 but the Switch version of the games felt fine to me.
Lastly, I was able to play probably the coolest game Atari was showing at the show and that was Roller Coaster Tycoon: Joyride. This is a PlayStation 4 game that can be played with the PSVR and allows you to ride roller coasters after you design them. The developers said the one I rode during the show was crazy and one guy before more said he felt sick after riding it and I can totally see where he was coming from. You’ll be able to do all kinds of crazy things like corkscrew turns, rocket boosts, sharp turns, quick up and downs. If you can think it, it can probably be built in Roller Coaster Tycoon Joyride. There is another cool feature during VR mode where you can shoot targets but during crazy coaster riding, you won’t be able to shoot too well. The target game is something you can compete against friends for the top spot on the leaderboard but it’s pretty tough. Another neat feature is that you can build your coaster in the desert or in the city. If building roller coasters aren’t your speed, the game has pre-built roller coasters to let you skip the hard stuff and jump right into the fun. I’m a big roller coaster guy and I have to say, the VR aspect really felt like I was riding a real roller coaster!