The Atari 2600+ goes full Pac-Man – with a joystick for each ghost
For the uninitiated, the Atari 2600+ mimics the original console, right down to the DB9 ports and cart slot. That means you can plug in controllers from the 1980s and run vintage carts (assuming you can blow all the dust off). Or you can grab one of Atari's newly released titles. In either case, the experience all feels suitably authentic, but now – and I don't think I can emphasise this enough – the console happens to be bright yellow.
Ghosts in the machine
Play
Even the joystick – a wireless take on the classic, cramp-inducing CX-40 – is banana-hued, and has a little Pac-Man atop the shaft. And because no Pac-Man experience is complete without ghosts, you can buy joysticks featuring every one of them too. Really. Each of the blue (Inky), red (Blinky), pink (Pinky) and orange (Clyde) joysticks will set you back $39.99/£29.99. And, no, they don't all turn dark blue if your Pac-Man joystick wolfs down a power pellet. Although you might when spending that much money on retro joysticks.
So what of the games? As noted, Atari 2600 Pac-Man is included for maximum trauma. But Atari has also bundled a brand-new Atari 7800 version, which in the trailer looks impressively close to the arcade original. If that doesn't make you want to get your waka-waka on, nothing will.
You can place a pre-order with Atari from 23 July. The pack with console, game and Pac-Man joystick will set you back $169.99/£129.99, and will land on 31 October. Which feels appropriate, given all the ghosts.
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Skate 2 (2009) Play After firmly establishing itself as the skateboarding connoisseur's alternative to Tony Hawk's in the groundbreaking first entry, Skate 2 was the classic sequel that built on everything that made its predecessor great (presumably learning from longtime Tony Hawk's developer Neversoft that changing things up too much risks the wrath of fans). The fantastic 'Flickit' control scheme was left largely untouched, with the only significant addition being that you could now get off your board and move objects around in the world to set up tricks. The fictional open world city of San Vanelona was once again the setting in Skate 2, but EA ensured it was bigger and more interesting to explore. It was never going to feel as exciting as the first game, but Skate 2's beefed up campaign and series' best physics systems means it was a superior one in pretty much every way. 2. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 (2020) Play It's easy to be cynical about remakes in the modern era of video games, but when executed as flawlessly as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 it's very hard not to fall head over heels in love. The first two THPS games established a gameplay loop that feels as good today as it did in the early 2000s, blending real skateboarding tricks with an unashamedly video game-y disregard for the laws of physics. Vicarious Visions didn't mess with any of that old-school arcade goodness, but smartly retrofitted mechanics like spine transfers and reverts from later entries to both games, while bringing what were two pre-HD classics into the modern era with a ground-up visual overhaul that gave levels like Venice Beach, School II and the iconic Warehouse from the first game a new lease of life. Probably the ultimate Tony Hawk's Pro Skater game. Well, almost. 1. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (2001) Play Your pick for the best classic Tony Hawk's Pro Skater game will probably come down to which one you recall playing the most of after school or in your university halls, and for me the debate always comes back to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. It had some all-timer levels in the likes of Airport and Cruise Ship, a great soundtrack, and at the time was a real graphical showcase. THPS3 is also a hugely significant entry in the series for what it added to gameplay, introducing reverts for the first time, which allowed you to link combos with manuals by tapping a button the moment you land a trick on a ramp. At this point we were about as far away from what is actually feasible in real skateboarding as you can get, but it further cemented the Pro Skater skater games as competitive multiplayer classics. Oh, and you could unlock Darth Maul and Wolverine as playable characters, so there was also that.
