If you are a big fan of the Atari 2600 console, you would be thrilled to get your hands on an Atari Flashback 2. It would give you the same thrilling gaming experience of its predecessor at a very affordable price. The Atari 2600, the inspiration behind Flashback 2, paved the way for home video gaming way back in the 70's. Today, the Atari sports a much modern and slimmer look. It's only 2/3 of its original size and is very handy. You would no longer see a cartridge slot on an Atari Flashback 2 but instead, it has 40 carefully picked built-in games.

Simplicity is what most people love about the Atari. Compared to today's modern console games that have way too complicated controls- the Atari's joystick and single button controls is something that even your kids and wife would love to play with. If you are looking for the paddle controllers that makes it so much easier to play Adventure Pong- unfortunately, the Atari Flashback 2 does not come with one but your old paddle controllers would work fine. You can just plug it on your Atari Flashback 2, which uses the old connector as its original console.

Specifications

The Atari Flashback 2 comes in a black enclosure that comes with a colored screen. You can enjoy navigating through the colored display of your console that renders both supported and composite video. Audio quality is fair enough, which uses mono sound output mode. It has 2 external joysticks for a more enjoyable gaming experience. It also uses movement detection technology so your mechanical moves can easily be read by Atari's gaming system. It also has a pointing device or a manipulator to navigate through the system easily and allows you to play your games with ease.
The Atari Flashback 2 does not come with extra memory storage. You can't use any type of memory card on it simply because the console doesn't come with a slot. What games you have in your Atari would be the same games that you would get to play for the rest of your console's life. This gadget also comes with one composite audio/ video output and includes one A/V cable.  It has an external power adapter that works with AC 120 V and consumes only 7 Watt.

Games

The Atari Flashback 2 includes 40 games in total. If you were already into gaming decades ago, you can recognize a lot of the games installed in this console. The games are divided into four categories which include Arcade favorites, Adventure Territory, Action Zone and Space Station. Some of the games you may be familiar with are Yars' Revenge, Outlaw, Combat, River Raid, Missile Command, Centipede and Adventure Pong, among others.

You can definitely find some of the games that you grew up with, especially classic games that you loved all these years. But for those who are a big fan of Pac-man, surprisingly, you would not see the game in an Atari Flashback 2. Most non-Atari break out games can't be found in this console. You can also enjoy new games that you thought never existed but eventually, you would learn to enjoy.

Here is a full list of the games you can find in the Atari Flashback 2:
 
•    3D Tic-Tac-Toe
•    Adventure
•    Adventure II
•    Aquaventure
•    Arcade Asteroids
•    Arcade Pong
•    Asteroids Deluxe
•    Atari Climber
•    Battlezone
•    Caverns of Mars
•    Centipede
•    Combat
•    Combat II
•    Dodge 'em
•    Fatal Run
•    Frog Pond
•    Hangman
•    Haunted House
•    Human Cannonball
•    Lunar Lander
•    Maze Craze
•    Millipede
•    Missile Command
•    Off the Wall
•    Outlaw
•    Pitfall
•    Quadrun
•    Radar Lock
•    Return to Haunted House
•    River Raid
•    Saboteur
•    Save Mary
•    Secret Quest
•    Space Duel
•    Space War
•    Video Checkers
•    Video Chess
•    Wizard
•    Yars' Return
•    Yars' Revenge

If you are a die hard fan of the original games of the Atari 2600, you can get the system hacked and play original games from the Atari 2600. To do this, you might have to bring out your soldering kit that may possibly void warranty if done wrong. If done successfully, you can run your old school game cartridges on an Atari Flashback 2 console. But if you are not up for a DIY project, you can always get a professional hacker to work on your Atari.
 

Downside

If there is one thing that users complain about the Atari Flashback 2 it's its graphics. This gaming console is such a downgrade compared to today's 3D and full colored PC games. Atari's graphics are somehow basic and very elementary, which adds to its simple beauty.
For real gamers, 40 games is not a mountain of choices. Most of the Atari games are also deemed simple and repetitive.  A lot of the games that are included in this game console are basically compilations of old PC and other console games. So if you are the modern type of gamer who wants screaming graphics and hard core excitement, the Atari Flashback may not be for you. But if you are a big fanatic of old school fun, you would enjoy each game in this console.

At what price?

The Atari Flashback 2 would cost you $49.99 if shop from Amazon.com. You can buy it for less than $30 if you are a good online bargain hunter. You can scout the Internet for discount coupons and promo codes to get bigger discount. The price of an Atari console is much cheaper than most PC games and game consoles in the market. At $49.99 and 40 games that you can play all day long, the Atari Flashback 2 is a good deal for its price. Catching a Deal for it at $29.66 is even better.

If you are a gamer who wants to go back to the basics, go get an Atari Flashback 2. Classic games and old school fun never go out of style.