Atari Flashback 2 review

Our only lament was that the system didn't also include paddle controllers; playing Pong with the joysticks felt somehow sacrilegious by comparison. But there is a workaround: if you happen to have a pair of vintage paddle controllers in the basement, they actually should work with the Flashback 2; it uses the same connector as the original console--no adapter needed. In fact, the Flashback 2 ups the nostalgia ante by including an Easter egg: enter a secret code, and the paddle-friendly Super Breakout and Warlords games will be unlocked.

Another interesting "feature" of the Flashback 2 is that it's hackable. Because it's essentially the old 2600 on a chip (as opposed to an emulator), truly dedicated gamers can--and have--modified the Flashback 2 to run their collection of vintage cartridges and homebrew mods. Doing so is for dedicated DIYers only--those who aren't afraid of soldering circuit boards or violating warranties. But the fact you can do it at all is still pretty cool.

Compared to other retro gaming options, the Flashback 2 has the edge. It has twice as many games as the original Atari Flashback, which was based on the barely remembered Atari 7800, a console released during Atari's mid-1980s twilight years, when the company was well on its way to losing the gaming crown to upstart Nintendo. Unlike the battery-powered console-in-a-joystick offerings by Jakks Pacific, the Flashback 2 offers head-to-head, two-player action out of the box. Also, while you can play many of these same games on other hardware platforms, including the PC, the PlayStation 2, the Xbox, and the Game Boy Advance, the Flashback 2 is the only one that offers the visceral satisfaction of wrapping your hands around that vintage Atari joystick. Sealing the deal is the price: the Atari Flashback 2 is widely available for less than $30. When you consider that the Atari 2600's price would be a PS3-challenging $659 when adjusted for inflation, how could you say no?