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{{Good article}}
{{Short description|2010 action-adventure game}}
{{Infobox video game {{Infobox video game
|title = Halo 2600 |title = Halo 2600
|image = Halo2600atari.jpg |image = Halo 2600 box art.jpg
|image_size = 220px |image_size =
|developer = |developer =
|publisher = ] |publisher = ]
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}} }}


'''''Halo 2600''''' is an ] developed for the ] video game console, inspired by the ] of video games. ''Halo 2600'' was written by ], former vice president of game publishing at ], who was involved in Microsoft's acquisition of ''Halo'' developers ].<ref name="Engadget"/><ref name="SeattlePI"/> '''''Halo 2600''''' is a 2010 ] developed by ] and published by AtariAge for the ], a video game console released in 1977 that ended production in 1992. Inspired by the '']'' video game series, the game sees players control ] and fight through 64 screens with varied enemies. Completing the game once unlocks a tougher "Legendary" mode.

''Halo 2600'' was written by Ed Fries, former vice president of game publishing at ], who was involved in Microsoft's acquisition of ''Halo'' developers ]. Fries enjoyed the creative problems involved with creating a game with extreme technical constraints. Upon release, the game was generally well-received, and was selected for inclusion in a ] exhibit.


==Gameplay== ==Gameplay==
] ]
The player uses the ] to control the character of ] as he makes his way through 64 screens, divided into four zones: outdoors, Covenant base, ice world, and a final boss area.<ref name="kotaku"/><ref name="VGDInterview"/> Weapons and power-ups are available to combat the many enemies that appear. The player and enemies can each be killed by one hit unless a shield is collected.<ref name="kotaku"/><ref name="destructoid"/> There are two power-ups in the game, both guarded by what appears to be nine enemies but is actually three. The first is a gun with a faster rate of fire. The second is a pair of boots that allows the player to move faster. In addition to these, by killing certain enemies, the player can obtain an energy shield that will take one shot to prevent the loss of one of the player's three lives. After successfully completing the game once, the game returns to the menu screen, but with a red sky. If the player chooses to play again from that screen the game will run in "Legendary" mode and the player will move and shoot at a slower rate. ''Halo 2600'' is an action-adventure shooter video game, with gameplay inspired by the Atari titles '']'' and '']'';<ref name="kotaku"/> it plays as a "]" of the '']'' video games as if they were created for the ].<ref name="venturebeat-halo2600"/> The player uses the ] to control the character of ], the protagonist of the ''Halo'' video games, as he makes his way through 64 screens, divided into four zones: outdoors, ] base, ice world, and a final boss area.<ref name="VGDInterview"/> Weapons and power-ups are available to combat the many enemies that appear. The player and enemies can each be killed by one hit, unless a shield is collected.<ref name="destructoid"/> The player has three lives. After successfully completing the game once, the player can play through the game in "Legendary mode", with the game tweaked for an extra challenge.<ref name="VGDInterview"/>


==Development== ==Development==
]
Fries decided to create a version of Halo for the Atari 2600 after being inspired by a book called '']'' by ] and ].<ref name="AtariAgeForum"/><ref name="boing"/> The Atari 2600 has such limited RAM, only 128 ]s, that drawing Master Chief was difficult, and creating a game with other characters even more so.<ref name="techcrunch"/> Fries later stated that making the game taught him that constraint is sometimes a fuel for creativity.<ref name="industry"/>

] got a taste of game development in his teenage years, developing ] games at home. Fries took a summer internship with ] in college and eventually joined the company.<ref name="gamasutra-edfriesinterview"/> In 2000, he was head of Microsoft Game Studios, trying to develop a launch lineup for Microsoft's unproven ] console. After being contacted by developer ]'s vice president about a possible acquisition, Fries shepherded Microsoft's purchase of Bungie and their developing project, a game that would become the Xbox's ], '']''.<ref name="vice-untoldhistoryhalo">{{cite web|author=Haske, Steven|date=May 30, 2017|url=https://waypoint.vice.com/en_us/article/xwqjg3/the-complete-untold-history-of-halo-an-oral-history|title=The Complete, Untold History of Halo|work=]|publisher=Vice Media|url-status=live|access-date=March 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315011247/https://waypoint.vice.com/en_us/article/xwqjg3/the-complete-untold-history-of-halo-an-oral-history|archive-date=March 15, 2018}}</ref> Fries left Microsoft in January 2004, after 18 years with the company.<ref name="gamasutra-edfriesinterview"/><ref name="SeattlePI"/>

Fries read the book '']'' by ] and ],<ref name="AtariAgeForum"/><ref name="boing"/> which is about programming for the Atari 2600, and was inspired to create his own game.<ref name="smithsonianmag-edfrieshalo2600"/> Initially, Fries only intended to recreate the Master Chief, but decided to finish the project after encouragement.<ref name="smithsonianmag-edfrieshalo2600"/> He was aided by an extensive community of ] enthusiasts, where he found emulators, example code, and documentation.<ref name="VGDInterview"/> Despite having been released in 1977 and ending production in 1992,<ref>{{cite book|author=Monfort, Nick|author2=Bogost, Ian |year=2009|title=Racing the Beam|publisher=MIT Press|page=150}}</ref> the Atari 2600 retained a dedicated hobbyist industry who still bought and played classic games.<ref name="venturebeat-halo2600"/>

Fries found the challenge of ''Halo 2600'' one of adapting to constraints. The Atari 2600 has millions of times less space and memory than was available for ''Halo''.<ref name="smithsonianmag-edfrieshalo2600"/> With only 128 ]s of RAM, drawing Master Chief was difficult, and creating a game with other characters even more so.<ref name="techcrunch"/> Fries later stated that making the game taught him that constraint is sometimes a fuel for creativity,<ref name="gamesindustry.biz-fries presentation"/> comparing the process of adapting ''Halo'' to the effort in turning a novel into a poem or haiku.<ref name="smithsonianmag-edfrieshalo2600"/><ref name="gamesindustry.biz-fries presentation"/> "It felt more like writing poetry than it did like writing regular code", he said. "It felt like everything had to be so tight, so perfect. If even one of these tricks didn't exist, if I didn't have this incredibly clever way of drawing this sprite, or if I didn't have this incredibly sick code for drawing the missiles, I wouldn't have been able to fit it in. I couldn't have made the machine do what I wanted it to do." Fries pointed to other artists' work such as ] or elaborate ] as examples of deliberately setting constraints to create something more interesting.<ref name="gamesindustry.biz-fries presentation"/> The full game takes up just 4 ]s of space.<ref name="ign-old school halo"/>

==Reception and legacy==
{{Video game reviews
|Retro = 83%<ref name="RetroHalo2600">{{cite magazine|last=Kelk|first=Jason|title=Homebrew: Halo 2600|magazine=]|issue=82|publisher=]|date=October 14, 2010|page=99}}</ref>
}}


The game was released in July 2010 at the Classic Gaming Expo.<ref name="retro"/><ref name="promise"/><ref name="Engadget"/> At the exposition, a limited number of physical copies of the game were on sale. It was one of four new Atari 2600 titles released by ] at the 2010 Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, along with '']'', ''K.O. Cruiser'' (a boxing game) and a port of ]'s 1981 arcade game '']''.<ref name="AtariAgePreview"/><ref name="1UP-CGE2010"/> The game was also made available for play on modern computers via an emulator.<ref name="venturebeat-halo2600"/>
==Reception==
The game was released in July 2010 at the Classic Gaming Expo.<ref name="retro"/><ref name="promise"/> At the exposition, 150 physical copies of the game were on sale. It was one of four new Atari 2600 titles released by ] at the 2010 Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, including '']'', ''K.O. Cruiser'' (a boxing game) and a port of ]'s 1981 arcade game '']''.<ref name="AtariAgePreview"/><ref name="1UP-CGE2010"/> The effort was called "rough" but "amazing" by ], citing the immense size constraints involved in creating the game.<ref name="techcrunch"/> Destructoid called the game's controls "surprisingly capable", and ] called the game's chiptune soundtrack "perfect".<ref name="destructoid"/><ref name="escapist"/> ] noted the incongruity of seeing a "modern blockbuster" transformed into a ] on the 2600's "aesthetically abrasive" hardware.<ref name="AVClub"/>


''Halo 2600'' was generally well received.<ref name="RetroHalo2600"/><ref name="31HGWP">{{cite web|last=Winterhalter|first=Ryan|url=http://www.1up.com/features/31-homebrew-games-worth-playing|title=31 Homebrew Games Worth Playing — We track down some of the game industry's most interesting homebrew games from over the years|work=]|publisher=]|date=April 29, 2011|pages=1–6|access-date=2023-02-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503220427/http://www.1up.com/features/31-homebrew-games-worth-playing|archive-date=2011-05-03|url-status=dead}}</ref> '']''{{'}}s Owen Good and '']''{{'}}s Conrad Zimmerman considered it an entertaining diversion,<ref name="kotaku"/><ref name="destructoid"/> while '']'' called it a "technical marvel" for condensing ''Halo''{{'}}s core to such a small size and pushing the 2600 to its limits.<ref>{{cite web|last=Winterhalter|first=Ryan|date=April 18, 2011|url=http://www.1up.com/features/best-playable-demakes|title=New Games, Old Systems: The Best (Playable!) Video Game Demakes|website=]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160524114005/http://www.1up.com/features/best-playable-demakes|archive-date=May 24, 2016}}</ref> The gameplay was called "rough" but "amazing" by John Biggs of ], who cited the immense size constraints involved in creating the game.<ref name="techcrunch"/> Zimmerman called the game's controls capable, and ]{{'s}} Andy Chalk highlighted the game's ] soundtrack.<ref name="destructoid"/><ref name="escapist"/> Anthony John Agnello, writing for '']'', noted the incongruity of seeing a "modern blockbuster" transformed into devolved version on the 2600's "aesthetically abrasive" hardware.<ref name="AVClub"/>
The source code of the game was used to create an ] poster representation of ].<ref name="poster"/> The cartridge version was rereleased through ] in 2013.<ref name="KOTAKU: Play Halo's Atari 2600 'Port' With This Cartridge Now On Sale">{{cite web |url=http://kotaku.com/play-halos-atari-2600-port-with-this-cartridge-now-o-464790227 |title=Play Halo's Atari 2600 'Port' With This Cartridge Now On Sale |last1=Good |first1=Owen |date=March 31, 2013 |work=] |accessdate=17 April 2013 |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/6FwZUumiv |archivedate=17 April 2013 |deadurl=no }}</ref>


In 2013 ] added ''Halo 2600'' to its "The Art of Video Games" exhibition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/207252/Flower_Halo_2600_head_to_Smithsonian_American_Art_Museum.php|title=Flower, Halo 2600 head to Smithsonian American Art Museum|last=Wawro|first=Alex|date=17 December 2013|work=]|publisher=Think Services|accessdate=17 December 2013}}</ref> The source code of the game was used to create an ] poster representation of Master Chief.<ref name="poster"/> The cartridge version was rereleased through ] in 2013.<ref name="KOTAKU: Play Halo's Atari 2600 'Port' With This Cartridge Now On Sale">{{cite web |url=http://kotaku.com/play-halos-atari-2600-port-with-this-cartridge-now-o-464790227 |title=Play Halo's Atari 2600 'Port' With This Cartridge Now On Sale |last1=Good |first1=Owen |date=March 31, 2013 |work=] |access-date=17 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130404012611/http://kotaku.com/play-halos-atari-2600-port-with-this-cartridge-now-o-464790227 |archive-date=4 April 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the same year, the ] added ''Halo 2600'' to its "The Art of Video Games" exhibition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/207252/Flower_Halo_2600_head_to_Smithsonian_American_Art_Museum.php|title=Flower, Halo 2600 head to Smithsonian American Art Museum|last=Wawro|first=Alex|date=17 December 2013|work=]|publisher=Think Services|access-date=17 December 2013|archive-date=17 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217230345/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/207252/Flower_Halo_2600_head_to_Smithsonian_American_Art_Museum.php|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- As of August 2019, ''Halo 2600'' is still the second-best selling game on AtariAge (the exclusive store to purchase the game).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_list&c=bestsellers|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804200845/https://atariage.com/store/index.php?l=product_list&c=bestsellers|url-status=dead|archive-date=2019-08-04|title=Bestsellers|date=2019-08-04|access-date=2019-08-04}}</ref>
-->
{{-}}<!-- needed to prevent screenshot from running into next section -->


==References== ==References==
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| title = Ed Fries: Creativity and constraint, Halo 2600 and a Donkey Kong haiku | title = Ed Fries: Creativity and constraint, Halo 2600 and a Donkey Kong haiku
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| accessdate = December 12, 2013 }}</ref> | access-date = December 12, 2013
| archive-date = December 12, 2013
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131212042650/http://www.avclub.com/article/back-from-the-dead-9-modern-games-for-obsolete-con-105772
| url-status = live
}}</ref>
<ref name="smithsonianmag-edfrieshalo2600">{{cite web|author=Fawcett, Kirstin|date=March 2014|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/de-making-halo-remaking-art-180949802/|title=Demaking Halo, Remaking Art: Halo 2600 Developer Discusses the Promise of Video Games|work=]|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|access-date=September 6, 2019|archive-date=August 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818125838/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/de-making-halo-remaking-art-180949802/|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="gamasutra-edfriesinterview">{{cite web|author=Alexander, Leigh|date=August 14, 2009|url=https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/115775/Interview_Former_Microsoft_Exec_Fries_Talks_Xboxs_Genesis.php|title=Interview: Former Microsoft Exec Fries Talks Xbox's Genesis|work=]|publisher=UBM Technology Group|access-date=September 6, 2019|archive-date=January 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112235824/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/115775/Interview_Former_Microsoft_Exec_Fries_Talks_Xboxs_Genesis.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="venturebeat-halo2600">{{cite web|author=Takahashi, Dean|date=July 31, 2010|url=https://venturebeat.com/2010/07/31/for-classic-video-game-nostalgia-fans-halo-debuts-on-the-atari-2600/|title=For classic video game nostalgia fans, Halo debuts on the Atari 2600|work=]|access-date=December 8, 2019|archive-date=December 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209011030/https://venturebeat.com/2010/07/31/for-classic-video-game-nostalgia-fans-halo-debuts-on-the-atari-2600/|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="ign-old school halo">{{cite web|author=Harris, Craig|date=May 8, 2012|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/08/02/halo-goes-old-school|title=Halo Goes Old School|work=]|publisher=Ziff Davis|access-date=December 8, 2019|archive-date=December 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209011020/https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/08/02/halo-goes-old-school|url-status=live}}</ref>
}} }}


==External links==
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{{Halo series}} {{Halo series}}
{{Homebrew}} {{Homebrew}}
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Latest revision as of 11:24, 15 August 2024

2010 action-adventure game 2010 video game
Halo 2600
Publisher(s)AtariAge
Designer(s)Ed Fries
Platform(s)Atari 2600
ReleaseJuly 2010
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single player

Halo 2600 is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by Ed Fries and published by AtariAge for the Atari 2600, a video game console released in 1977 that ended production in 1992. Inspired by the Halo video game series, the game sees players control Master Chief and fight through 64 screens with varied enemies. Completing the game once unlocks a tougher "Legendary" mode.

Halo 2600 was written by Ed Fries, former vice president of game publishing at Microsoft, who was involved in Microsoft's acquisition of Halo developers Bungie. Fries enjoyed the creative problems involved with creating a game with extreme technical constraints. Upon release, the game was generally well-received, and was selected for inclusion in a Smithsonian American Art Museum exhibit.

Gameplay

Gameplay screenshot

Halo 2600 is an action-adventure shooter video game, with gameplay inspired by the Atari titles Adventure and Berzerk; it plays as a "demake" of the Halo video games as if they were created for the Atari 2600. The player uses the joystick to control the character of Master Chief, the protagonist of the Halo video games, as he makes his way through 64 screens, divided into four zones: outdoors, Covenant base, ice world, and a final boss area. Weapons and power-ups are available to combat the many enemies that appear. The player and enemies can each be killed by one hit, unless a shield is collected. The player has three lives. After successfully completing the game once, the player can play through the game in "Legendary mode", with the game tweaked for an extra challenge.

Development

Ed Fries in 2015

Ed Fries got a taste of game development in his teenage years, developing Atari 800 games at home. Fries took a summer internship with Microsoft in college and eventually joined the company. In 2000, he was head of Microsoft Game Studios, trying to develop a launch lineup for Microsoft's unproven Xbox console. After being contacted by developer Bungie's vice president about a possible acquisition, Fries shepherded Microsoft's purchase of Bungie and their developing project, a game that would become the Xbox's killer app, Halo: Combat Evolved. Fries left Microsoft in January 2004, after 18 years with the company.

Fries read the book Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System by Ian Bogost and Nick Montfort, which is about programming for the Atari 2600, and was inspired to create his own game. Initially, Fries only intended to recreate the Master Chief, but decided to finish the project after encouragement. He was aided by an extensive community of homebrew enthusiasts, where he found emulators, example code, and documentation. Despite having been released in 1977 and ending production in 1992, the Atari 2600 retained a dedicated hobbyist industry who still bought and played classic games.

Fries found the challenge of Halo 2600 one of adapting to constraints. The Atari 2600 has millions of times less space and memory than was available for Halo. With only 128 bytes of RAM, drawing Master Chief was difficult, and creating a game with other characters even more so. Fries later stated that making the game taught him that constraint is sometimes a fuel for creativity, comparing the process of adapting Halo to the effort in turning a novel into a poem or haiku. "It felt more like writing poetry than it did like writing regular code", he said. "It felt like everything had to be so tight, so perfect. If even one of these tricks didn't exist, if I didn't have this incredibly clever way of drawing this sprite, or if I didn't have this incredibly sick code for drawing the missiles, I wouldn't have been able to fit it in. I couldn't have made the machine do what I wanted it to do." Fries pointed to other artists' work such as Bach's fugues or elaborate origami as examples of deliberately setting constraints to create something more interesting. The full game takes up just 4 kilobytes of space.

Reception and legacy

Reception
Review score
PublicationScore
Retro Gamer83%

The game was released in July 2010 at the Classic Gaming Expo. At the exposition, a limited number of physical copies of the game were on sale. It was one of four new Atari 2600 titles released by AtariAge at the 2010 Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, along with Duck Attack!, K.O. Cruiser (a boxing game) and a port of Sega's 1981 arcade game Turbo. The game was also made available for play on modern computers via an emulator.

Halo 2600 was generally well received. Kotaku's Owen Good and Destructoid's Conrad Zimmerman considered it an entertaining diversion, while 1UP.com called it a "technical marvel" for condensing Halo's core to such a small size and pushing the 2600 to its limits. The gameplay was called "rough" but "amazing" by John Biggs of TechCrunch, who cited the immense size constraints involved in creating the game. Zimmerman called the game's controls capable, and The Escapist's Andy Chalk highlighted the game's chiptune soundtrack. Anthony John Agnello, writing for The A.V. Club, noted the incongruity of seeing a "modern blockbuster" transformed into devolved version on the 2600's "aesthetically abrasive" hardware.

The source code of the game was used to create an 8-bit poster representation of Master Chief. The cartridge version was rereleased through AtariAge in 2013. In the same year, the Smithsonian American Art Museum added Halo 2600 to its "The Art of Video Games" exhibition.

References

  1. ^ Good, Owen (August 2010). "It's All Headshots In Halo 2600". kotaku. Archived from the original on July 24, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  2. ^ Takahashi, Dean (July 31, 2010). "For classic video game nostalgia fans, Halo debuts on the Atari 2600". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  3. ^ Doree, Adam (August 3, 2010). "Interview: Ed Fries reveals Halo 2600". Kikizo. Superglobal Ltd. Archived from the original on August 6, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  4. ^ Zimmerman, Conrad (August 2, 2010). "Master Chief joins the Atari age in Halo 2600". Destructoid. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  5. ^ Alexander, Leigh (August 14, 2009). "Interview: Former Microsoft Exec Fries Talks Xbox's Genesis". Gamasutra. UBM Technology Group. Archived from the original on January 12, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  6. Haske, Steven (May 30, 2017). "The Complete, Untold History of Halo". Vice. Vice Media. Archived from the original on March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  7. Bloomberg News (March 24, 2004). "Microsoft to simplify its Xbox software". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on July 7, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  8. Fries, Ed (August 1, 2010). "Halo for the 2600 Released at CGE!". AtariAge. Archived from the original on August 5, 2010. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  9. Beschizza, Rob (August 3, 2010). "Former Microsoft VP brings Halo to the Atari 2600". BoingBoing. Archived from the original on August 6, 2010. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
  10. ^ Fawcett, Kirstin (March 2014). "Demaking Halo, Remaking Art: Halo 2600 Developer Discusses the Promise of Video Games". Smithsonian. Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on August 18, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  11. Monfort, Nick; Bogost, Ian (2009). Racing the Beam. MIT Press. p. 150.
  12. ^ Biggs, John (August 2, 2010). "Halo 2600: Halo Redone For the Atari 2600". Tech Crunch. Archived from the original on July 3, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  13. ^ Pearson, Dan (May 12, 2011). "Ed Fries: Creativity and constraint, Halo 2600 and a Donkey Kong haiku". Gamesindustry.biz. Archived from the original on August 31, 2011. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  14. Harris, Craig (May 8, 2012). "Halo Goes Old School". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  15. ^ Kelk, Jason (October 14, 2010). "Homebrew: Halo 2600". Retro Gamer. No. 82. Imagine Publishing. p. 99.
  16. Kohler, Chris (September 14, 2010). "Retro Halo 2600 Reaches Into Videogames' Past". Wired.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2010. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
  17. Gilbert, Ben (August 1, 2010). "Promise you'll play Halo 2600 (that's a covenant we can get behind)". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on November 17, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  18. Melanson, Donald (August 3, 2010). "Former Microsoft VP brings Halo to the Atari 2600". Engadget. Archived from the original on August 4, 2010. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  19. Yarusso, Albert. "AtariAge at CGE2010". AtariAge. Archived from the original on July 28, 2010. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  20. Kent, Brian (August 1, 2010). "Halo 2600: The seminal franchise finally comes to the Atari 2600". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
  21. Winterhalter, Ryan (April 29, 2011). "31 Homebrew Games Worth Playing — We track down some of the game industry's most interesting homebrew games from over the years". 1UP.com. IGN Entertainment. pp. 1–6. Archived from the original on 2011-05-03. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  22. Winterhalter, Ryan (April 18, 2011). "New Games, Old Systems: The Best (Playable!) Video Game Demakes". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2016.
  23. Chalk, Andy (August 2, 2010). "Halo 2600 Brings Seriously Old-School Action". The Escapist. Archived from the original on August 5, 2010. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  24. Agnello, Anthony John (November 19, 2013). "Back from the dead: 9 modern games for obsolete consoles". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
  25. Hannley, Steve (December 31, 2012). "'HALO 2600' POSTER INSPIRES ATARI NOSTALGIA". hardcoregamer. Archived from the original on March 29, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  26. Good, Owen (March 31, 2013). "Play Halo's Atari 2600 'Port' With This Cartridge Now On Sale". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 4 April 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
  27. Wawro, Alex (17 December 2013). "Flower, Halo 2600 head to Smithsonian American Art Museum". Gamasutra. Think Services. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
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