RETRO REBOOT | Seaquest (Atari 2600)

RELEASE DATE: February, 1983

Publisher: Activision

Designer: Steve Cartwright

I'm so happy with my recent purchase of an Atari 7800+. On top of it being my first experience with a platform that has long eluded me in my video game collecting and analyzing, it grants me the privilege of revisiting many of my childhood favorite 2600 games. When my dad brought home a huge box of Atari paraphernalia (system, several controllers, power cords, etc.), it came with a good handful of games that were pennies on the dollar in 1986. Including some bangers like Missile Command, Yar's Revenge (first video game I ever played), Warlords, and Seaquest.

While arcade shoot-em ups like Asteroids, Space Invaders, Galaga, and Defender were more revered and prominent in the grand scheme of the genre's history, there's a quiet dignity and addictive nature to Seaquest. It's certainly more serene, probably one of the few video games I'd describe as "buoyant". It can be as hypnotizing as watching an aquarium.

Now all isn't peaceful and tranquil. Piloting a submarine (ironically guided by a video game controller) you must rescue divers, who are being pursued by hangry sharks. Defeat them with your torpedoes and get your swimmers (six in total) to the surface to save them. I had forgotten when oxygen is replenished, you HAVE to have a swimmer aboard, or you explode.

It's a solid game, certainly lacking some of the intensity of its contemporaries. It takes a good minute for the difficulty to ramp up, making this one of the easier Atari games I've played. At least until you reach rounds ten and up. It's the video equivalent of starting a car in the winter. Whether it's using the 7800's NES-esque controller or Joystick, Sequest's controls are pretty responsive, and the game has a fairly generous hit box. Sharks change color, indicating an increase in their speed, and the frequency of enemy subs becomes paramount. I've always wondered; who exactly is attacking you? And why??! Are you Red October, and the Soviets are trying to take you down? Are they in the pocket of Big Shark?

The visuals are good, I have always been a big fan of the gradient indicating the sundown. It's minimalist, but effective. My love of marine and aquatic life finds the heavy blue for the ocean captivating. Well, as captivating as an Atari game can be. Imagination runs wild during this period of video games. As far as the music goes, the alert noise that blairs when you're running low on oxygen used to send 6-year old me into a mild panic.

Seaquest, like many Atari games, is a quality time killer video game. The environmental threat of your sub's oxygen depleting, along with the sharks, which chase the individuals you're trying to rescue in the opposite direction makes for a fairly engrossing dynamic. I like to turn it on and mess around for a half hour, and occasionally the drive to achieve higher scores each time I play. It's not as addictive as Kaboom! in my eyes,and the Darius series is a better fish blaster, but it remains a favorite.