Star Wars : The Empire Strikes Back (Atari 2600) Review

May the Fourth be with you! Today I'm reviewing a classic Atari 2600 game, The Empire Strikes Back. This game is based on the 1980 film of the same name, obviously. It was developed by Parker Brothers in 1982 and was later ported to the Mattel Intellivision.

In this game, you are Luke Skywalker piloting Rogue One against the Empires AT-ATs. You have to defend the Rebel base from the AT-AT's who are trying to destroy it. The game scrolls left and right as you battle the AT-ATs. When flying to the end of the map you will begin back on the other side as if the terrain was in a circle.

In the movie, Luke wrapped the walker's legs in wire and dropped them to destroy them. Instead, this game has you just blasting away until they are destroyed. You need to fire at the upper body, leg shots do nothing. When a few shots hit the walker it will change color signifies that it's taken more damage. You'll also see a small flashing box near the walker's head occasionally and if you hit it the walker is destroyed.

While battling the walkers you'll also take fire and change color as you accrue damage. You are able to land to repair your walker so keep that in mind when playing. Once in a while, a walker will fire a smart bomb at you that will chase you until it hits you or it runs out of fuel. If the smart bomb hits your ship it will destroy it.

Sometimes the walkers can be flown through while at other times they cannot. This can be toggled on the Atari as well as if the walkers have a smart bomb and the speed that they move

The graphics aren't too bad for a game from this era. The snow speeder is just a few boxes but the walkers look pretty good. The sound is your typical Atari 2600 sound but unlike some games, the sounds in The Empire Strikes Back aren't too bad to your ears and the Star Wars theme was surprisingly good.

There are two ways to lose the game, lose all your lives and if the walkers destroy the Rebel base. You win if you destroy all the walkers before they can destroy your base.

Overall I had a good time playing this game and it holds up well for an Atari 2600 game. This would be a great game to play if you have some friends over.