26 Apps For Atari 2600 Fans

26 Apps For Atari 2600 Fans

Atari 2600 was my first home console gaming experience. I'm still pretty nostalgic for those simpler games in the early 80s and if you are too, there are many apps available in the iTunes and Google Play stores to feed your 8-bit needs. I recently set out on a treasure hunt that I think Pitfall Harry would've been proud of. My app quest initially involved just games, but along the way I also managed to find apps for sound effects and even a guided tour inside an Atari 2600 console hosted by a gaming legend. 

I've compiled 26 apps for Atari 2600 lovers to experience for themselves. Now, RD80s isn't exactly IGN and I don't have any minions on the payroll to test and rate each app I've noted below. So I'm leaving some of the leg work up to you and would love to hear your comments on any of the apps listed below. Most are free to download with add-ons or ad-free pay options available. I'm providing links below each description to iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon stores when available (Game pricing as of 5/24/13.) Here is the list in no particular order...

Activision Anthology (free iTunes/Google Play/Amazon)

The official Activision app for 45 classics like Pitfall, River Raid, Decathlon, Barnstorming, Stampede, Demon Attack, and more. This app "offers the entire Activision 2600 catalog in one app, with controls designed and optimized for each game. Each game is presented alongside the original box art and manuals for retro lovers, and features the ability to earn digital versions of the famous game patches!" RD80s: Kaboom! is free, but you'll have to pay $2.99 for 11-game packs or $6.99 for the complete collection.

Download from iTunes Download from Google Play

Atari's Greatest Hits (free iTunes/Google Play/Amazon)
The official Atari app featuring 100 classics like Asteroids, Centipede, and Yar's Revenge. "This extensive catalog pays homage to each of the originals, with controls designed to mimic what Atari fans remember from 30 years ago!" Bluetooth multiplayer available on Tempest, Warlord, and others. RD80s: Missile Command is free, but you'll have to pay $.99 cents for 4-game packs or $9.99 for the complete catalog

Download from iTunes Download from Google Play Download from Amazon

RD80s Podcast 1: Show Notes & Links

RD80s Podcast 1: Show Notes & Links

The debut of the Rediscover The 80s Podcast! It's been a couple months in the making, but episode #1 is finally here. Visit the announcement post from early this week to get the full story behind the development of the show. Each episode, I'll be posting the accompanying notes and links so listeners will have an opportunity to connect with the panel of guests and get a run down of all the topics on the show.

TOPICS

• Movies - Ghostbusters memories, favorite scenes/lines, theme song/music video, Huey Lewis vs. Ray Parker, Filmation vs. Real Ghostbusters cartoons, should they make GB3?
• Wapner's Revenge - Judge Wapner sentences the podcast panel to 48 hours of solitary confinement with either "Dont Worry Be Happy" or "Never Gonna Give You Up" on continuous loop. 
• Cartoons - Which cartoon deserved more than its 13 episode lifetime, Pole Position or Turbo Teen?
• Trapped - The podcast panel finds themselves trapped on a deserted island with two 80s TV commercial pitchmen...Jacko the Austrilian Energizer battery guy and electronics superstore guru Crazy Eddie.
• Food - Which of these fast food offerings from the 80s would you want to make a comeback? McDonald's McDLT, Wendy's Superbar Buffet, or Taco Bell Choco Taco.
• Television - Alf memories, favorite episodes/lines, toys/merchandise.
• Do You Remember? - Do you remember the first movie you watched in the comfort of your home on a VCR or Betamax?
• Fads - Trapper Keeper memories, designs.
• Drive - Which Hollywood vehicle would you rather have parked in your driveway with all features available? Back To The Future DeLorean Time Machine or K.I.T.T.?
• Music - Run DMC memories, favorite albums/songs, impact of "Walk This Way" with Aerosmith

RD80s Podcast Debuts This Thursday May 23!

Rediscover The 80s Podcast

"Your mixtape of 80s pop culture"

Over the past month or so, I've been working on a secret project that I'm excited to officially share with RD80s followers! I'll be debuting the new Rediscover The 80s Podcast this Thursday May 23! The experience will hopefully be something fresh and new to those of you who listen to podcast about the 80s.

Here's a little back story about the development of the podcast. I caught the podcast bug around the end of 2011, when I started listening to shows like the UnderScoopFire Podcast, Cold Slither Podcast, and the Retroist Podcast. I have really enjoyed the "Oh, I remember that!" factor that these shows have given me over the past year and a half. As a result of listening to these shows and also being a guest, I thought about starting a podcast for Rediscover The 80s. I had struggled for a long time about what exactly I wanted to do. My first love about the 80s is the music and even produced a couple shows about a year ago that featured Ultimate 80s Playlists.

I wasn't entirely satisfied though and even discussed with my friend and RD80s contributor Wyatt Bloom about producing a show that had a morning drive radio show feel, one that would incorporate discussion and music. Well, a couple months ago it hit me. I still had the notion to do something different or maybe even something that has not been done before on a podcast. No offense to the shows mentioned above and other 80s podcasts I've enjoyed listening to, but I thought maybe there was a fresh approach to rediscovering 80s pop culture than just discussing one topic at a time. Well, I stumbled onto a clip from the VH1 show "I Love The 80s" on Youtube and thought that its format would be great for a podcast! I thoroughly enjoyed the show when it debuted about 10 years ago. The format of the show was always ripe with that feeling of remembering something you had long forgotten or had not thought about in years. It's the feeling that made me start RD80s in the first place!

'80s Post-Punk/New Wave Artists As Superheroes

'80s Post-Punk/New Wave Artists As Superheroes

I discovered some really cool fan art today thanks to Flavorwire.Com website and simply had to share! Brazillian artist known as Butcher Billy has posted many pop culture mashup projects on his website and his latest is the epitome of fan art. He has taken classic DC superhero characters and combined them with the faces of '80s post-punk and new wave music in a series of comic book covers. They include Morrissey as Superman, Ian Curtis as Batman, Siouxsie (and the Banshees) as Wonder Woman, Johnny Rotten as Firestorm, Mark Mothersbaugh as The Flash, Billy Idol as Aquaman, and Robert Smith as Plasticman.

Butcher Billy says his inspiration for creating the comic books was: 

As a child of the 80's I was heavily influenced by everything from Saturday morning cartoons on TV to the music coming from the radio. Ian Curtis or Johnny Rotten are as iconic to me as Superman or Batman. Real people or imaginary characters, the incorruptible ideals of perfect superheroes or the human flaws and desires sometimes so desperately depicted in song lyrics - all of those influences affect us to the point of defining our character and personality, career paths and life choices.