Rows of toasters come pouring at you from a spaceship. Then butterflies. Then ice cubes, hamburgers and tires. No, this isn't a feverish dream, it's Megamania, one of the most colorful and craziest shooters that ever adorned the Atari 2600.
The game was created by Steve Cartwright for Activision and came out in 1982. Activision was then riding a wave of success as the first third-party publisher for Atari, and Megamania was its answer to arcade phenomena like Galaxian. But instead of hackneyed aliens, Cartwright reached for nonsensically everyday objects, and it is precisely that surreal playfulness that makes Megamania an unmistakable experience.
Mechanically it's a classic fixed-shooter: you control a ship at the bottom edge of the screen and shoot into formations of enemies that descend on you in waves. The key, though, is an energy gauge that constantly thins; you must eliminate the waves briskly, otherwise you'll run out of fuel before you manage to bring down the last opponent. This adds a pressure on pace that ordinary shooters of the time lacked. What's more, ammunition piles up on the screen, so you can't just dumbly hold the trigger.
Megamania also became famous for its incredible smoothness and the number of objects on the screen, which was a programming feat on Atari hardware. Just as with other Activision titles, the patch system worked: whoever reached a score of 45,000 points could earn membership in the Megamania club and a cloth patch. This chase for the score kept players glued to the screen for hours.
To this day Megamania is among the favorite pieces of retro collections and appears in official Activision compilations and in emulation on modern handhelds. It is a title you grasp instantly and yet it won't let you go so easily.
Why play: A fast, visually zany shooter with a clever energy limit. The ideal dose of arcade action for a few minutes or a whole evening.
Game 20 of 69 for Atari 2600
