The flagship game for the Atari VCS Console has been announced, and it's a reboot of a classic 1980's arcade game. Missile Command: Recharged will combine Atari's retro style with punchy updated graphics and modern gameplay mechanics.
For those who aren't familiar with the original title, Missile Command is one of the most iconic arcade and Atari games, standing proudly beside timeless titles like Pong and Breakout. The player is tasked with protecting a collection of bunkers from incoming missile attacks. The player controls a central cannon that shoots missiles.
Missile Command is so iconic that it as been remade for many platforms, including mobile devices, but it is still Atari's pride and joy. One mechanic that will make a huge difference in gameplay strategy is the player's ability to upgrade their cannon. The upgrades available are Power, Reload, Speed, and Rebuild. It's easy to guess that these variables apply to increased damage, shorter reload time, faster missiles (or perhaps faster aiming), and the ability to rebuild damaged bunkers.
It seems that the developers have been really thinking hard about how to get this relatively simple game to really stretch its legs on updated hardware. The Atari VCS is powered by Atari World, a Linux-based OS that can even install other operating systems (such as Windows 10) in "sandbox mode," meaning the console can functionally work as a dual-boot PC if the installer provides their own OS.
The Atari VCS started shipping mid-June with the capability to play classic Atari titles and access streaming services such as Netflix. It has been described as a "hybrid PC/console" capable of playing modern titles such as Celeste. The VCS definitely far surpasses the Atari 2600 console Missile Command was originally ported to. It has Bluetooth, WiFi, and 4k Graphics, just to name a few features.
The original title ran on just 128 bytes of RAM. That's barely more than one-one thousandth of a megabyte, and not even enough space to hold the poem "The Walrus and the Carpenter" from Through the Looking Glass as a TXT file. Seeing how far a console can come in 40 years is nothing short of mind-blowing.
Missile Command: Recharged is available now for Atari VCS, mobile devices, PC, and Nintendo Switch.