Space Shuttle: A Journey Into Space
Atari 2600
1983
Like a billion other video games before it, this game is about flying a space ship. However, unlike all those other games, this one attempts to semi-accurately recreate the act of piloting an honest-to-god Space Shuttle, making for a game quite unlike anything else on the Atari.
Upon first consideration, the Atari 2600 doesn't seem the ideal system for a simulator game. While I’ve never actually seen a real Space Shuttle piloted, if the films Armageddon and Space Cowboys can be believed, Shuttle operation requires more subtlety than can be provided with a single joystick and a single button. However, while the Atari’s joystick famously only has one button, the console itself has an assload of extra switches. In addition to a power switch and a reset switch, there is a switch for mode select, a color/b&w toggle, and two difficulty switches, one for each player. Steve Kitchen, the designer of the game, cleverly appropriates those switches for his own ends, turning them into a status toggle, a primary engine ignition, a secondary engine ignition, and cargo bay doors switch.
Utilizing your bank of switches and your flight stick, Space Shuttle takes you from countdown, to launch, to orbit, and back to Earth. Each step of the way, you will need to carefully consult the instruction manual for directions on how to safely control the Shuttle on your mission to repair a damaged satellite. Given the limitations of the system, the game does a marvelous job in providing a Space Shuttle Experience.
Strictly speaking, this isn’t the funnest game ever made. Making minor adjustments to velocity doesn’t have the same zing as blasting invaders. I don't care. It is wonderful. The point of this game is not to test your skills, but to get lost in the act of make-believe. To pretend that you are actually an astronaut. Short of something involving dinosaurs, there is nothing I'd rather pretend.
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