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[Agent X]

Atari keeps forging on with their "Recharged" series of games that give new twists to their old classics. They've tackled Missile Command, Centipede, Black Widow, Asteroids, and Breakout. Next on the list is one of the most fiendish and challenging games that the world has ever seen...Gravitar!

Here's a blog post from Atari's site with the game announcement.

The Quiet Classic Gravitar Gets Recharged

The story of the much loved legendary arcade game and how it came to be on the list of classic Atari games to be recharged.

recharged.atari.com

Here's a trailer for Gravitar: Recharged:



Both the original arcade game and the Atari 2600 adaptation were notoriously difficult. The official site says:

Gravitar: Recharged represents a shift from the first five high-score chasing games in the series, offering more depth and a slower pace. The result is an ethereal flying game that involves exploring planets and space stations and the challenge of navigating through varying levels of gravity.

It seems like the difficulty might be toned down somewhat, while the game as a whole will gain some added depth. This should make for a more accessible game.

Some aspects of this game are reminiscent of Gravity Crash on PS3/PSP/Vita, which was featured in this NeoGAF thread, if you need to jog your memory. Of course, Gravity Crash itself was clearly inspired by the original Gravitar. The graphical style also reminds me of forma.8, which you can read about in this NeoGAF thread.

Gravitar: Recharged will be released for PC, Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Atari VCS on May 26, 2022.

 

[wipeout364]

I think they nailed missile command excellent game but the rest have been just decent honestly. I had really high hopes for this series after missile command and I have enjoyed them all but Missile command was really on another level compared to centipede, asteroids, and breakout.

Gravitar was a game I loved back in the arcades( I am aging myself) so will definitely be buying day one.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Thats no my Gravity game

 

[Clear]

Its no Thrust and certainly no Exile. The latter of which is kinda remarkable given that it was a physics-based Metroidvania in 1988!

 

[Agent X]

I think they nailed missile command excellent game but the rest have been just decent honestly. I had really high hopes for this series after missile command and I have enjoyed them all but Missile command was really on another level compared to centipede, asteroids, and breakout.

Missile Command: Recharged was the only "Recharged" game that I've played (first on Android, then later on PC), and I thought it was very well done. That game is to the original Missile Command what Pac-Man 256 is to Pac-Man. Both Pac-Man 256 and Missile Command: Recharged took the basic concept of the original games, but challenged the player to survive as long possible on one life. The games continually ramped up the difficulty, while also tossing in some cool and powerful power-ups to give the player a fighting chance at critical moments.

I haven't tried any of the others myself. Could you tell us what you liked (or didn't like) about them?

Gravitar was a game I loved back in the arcades( I am aging myself) so will definitely be buying day one.

Yeah, this one looks really good, from the short glimpse that they've given so far.

It looks like a spiritual successor to Gravity Crash, and even appears to lift some gameplay elements directly from that game. For example, your ship seems to attract some collectibles when you fly near them (just like in Gravity Crash), and the shield now appears to bounce your ship off of the terrain (again, like Gravity Crash...by comparison, any collision would instantly kill you in the original Gravitar, even while using the shield).

Gravity Crash:

Thats no my Gravity game

It can be your other gravity game!

Its no Thrust and certainly no Exile. The latter of which is kinda remarkable given that it was a physics-based Metroidvania in 1988!

Thrust is cool, but I was not familiar with this Exile game until now. That does look very impressive for a 1988 game!

 

[Havoc2049]

I have Black Widow and Asteroids and really enjoy them. They make great, low priced, quick pick-up and play arcade type games that add variety and compliment a game collection. A nice break from long time sink games. They all use the one life play mechanic, so even when you get good, games don't last that long. I also love going for high scores in the online leader boards. The music in all of the ones I've played has been great. Gravitar looks to be another solid entry into the series.

These were on sale in the Microsoft Store for $6.99, but I just checked and they are back up to $9.99. I always use my Microsoft reward points and get like a $2.50 or $5.00 gift certificate when buying these.

If you''re an Achievement or Trophy junkie, these are great games as well, as they are somewhat easy to 100%.

 

[ReBurn]

I loved the old vector-based games like Gravitar and Tempest. I dumped every quarter I could get my hands on into it. If they keep the fun true to the original I'll day 1 it.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I dont think I ever heard of this old game. But check out the old arcade game. Godly patient skills need.

 

[Captain Toad]

Thats no my Gravity game

Nope. This one isn't completely dead and buried.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[Punished Miku]

I enjoyed Black Widow and Missile Command. Waiting on a sale for Breakout. The games aren't quite worth $10 to me but they're all fun so far and worth getting eventually.

 

[Kdad]

Used to love this game (and Omega Race) back in the day.

I found PixelJunk Shooter really scratched this itch back in the PS3 era (and now on PC)

 

[Clear]

Missile Command: Recharged was the only "Recharged" game that I've played (first on Android, then later on PC), and I thought it was very well done. That game is to the original Missile Command what Pac-Man 256 is to Pac-Man. Both Pac-Man 256 and Missile Command: Recharged took the basic concept of the original games, but challenged the player to survive as long possible on one life. The games continually ramped up the difficulty, while also tossing in some cool and powerful power-ups to give the player a fighting chance at critical moments.

I haven't tried any of the others myself. Could you tell us what you liked (or didn't like) about them?



Yeah, this one looks really good, from the short glimpse that they've given so far.

It looks like a spiritual successor to Gravity Crash, and even appears to lift some gameplay elements directly from that game. For example, your ship seems to attract some collectibles when you fly near them (just like in Gravity Crash), and the shield now appears to bounce your ship off of the terrain (again, like Gravity Crash...by comparison, any collision would instantly kill you in the original Gravitar, even while using the shield).

Gravity Crash:

It can be your other gravity game!



Thrust is cool, but I was not familiar with this Exile game until now. That does look very impressive for a 1988 game!

Exile never really built up the reputation it deserved because its puzzles are pretty difficult, and if you didn't have the manual (and given how prevalent warez were on C64 and Amiga, that was a lot of people) its hard to make real progress.

I mainly played it on Amiga myself around '91, because for me that is by far the best version all-round, and despite the AGA version being the prettiest I never felt it played quite as well as the original OCS version Got a feeling you needed to disable caches on that version on A1200 and higher, so if you're looking to run it under emulation might be a thing to bear in mind.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

What if it's RUSHed to release?

If these words were a complement, I would want it too much

 

[jaysius]

Reminds me of Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, down to the art style.

 

[jaysius]

Used to love this game (and Omega Race) back in the day.

I found PixelJunk Shooter really scratched this itch back in the PS3 era (and now on PC)

These games were awesome, it’s too bad they made those stupid Eden things and that Terriria abortion about soup.

They used to have so much potential and great games.

Sweet fuck their last thing (had to google it) was a Stadia abortio, these guys need a huge shift back to the times they made good games.

 

[wipeout364]

Missile Command: Recharged was the only "Recharged" game that I've played (first on Android, then later on PC), and I thought it was very well done. That game is to the original Missile Command what Pac-Man 256 is to Pac-Man. Both Pac-Man 256 and Missile Command: Recharged took the basic concept of the original games, but challenged the player to survive as long possible on one life. The games continually ramped up the difficulty, while also tossing in some cool and powerful power-ups to give the player a fighting chance at critical moments.

I haven't tried any of the others myself. Could you tell us what you liked (or didn't like) about them?

I don’t want to give you the wrong idea the remakes have all been solid and fun. I personally felt like Missile command with its RPG mechanics took some chances that really made the game stand out. The other games are great renditions of the classics with good gameplay and some small tweaks to the formula but in general played it pretty safe. Missile command rewards you for repeat plays by improving your ability to survive in small ways, this creates more of a gameplay loop wanting to keep playing outside of just trying to beat the high score.

Also Missile command is probably one of my favorite games of all time.