As the pilot of a heavy tank, you wander the desolate battlefield, trying to wipe out enemy tanks and landing vehicles. (Atari, 1983)

BattleZone, in its arcade incarnation, was a huge, lumbering hulk of a beast with controls which were at best difficult to master (and at worst impossible), though it did sport some very good faux-3-D vector graphics. How on Earth was Atari going to turn this into a 2600 game?

They actually did it quite well. In fact, given the vastly simplified control system necessitated by using a single joystick, I like BattleZone a great deal better in its cartridge form than I ever did in the arcade. Since I never really cared for the complicated control scheme, I don't shed any tears for losing that part of the arcade experience.

The graphics are outstanding for the 2600, and make up for the lack of vector sharpness by being very colorful. BattleZone ranks right up there as one of Atari's best home translations.

Rating:  Three quarters - worth repeat play, but with some annoying features that might alienate less patient arcade veterans.

Reviewed by Earl Green
theLogBook.com editor/webmaster