Description

Desert Falcon (Atari 2600)

• This is a used Atari 2600 game cartridge that comes with the manual and box.
• Please see the photos for condition.
• Cartridge hasn’t been tested as I don’t have a system to play it on.

Thanks for looking.

Desert Falcon is a scrolling shooter developed by General Computer Corporation for the Atari 7800 and Atari 2600 and published by Atari Corporation in 1987. It was initially announced in 1984 as one of the planned launch titles for the 7800. A cartridge version for the Atari 8-bit family, with XEGS-styled packaging, followed in 1988.

Designed by Bob Polaro, Desert Falcon is loosely based on ancient Egyptian mythology. The isometric graphics had reviewers comparing it to Sega’s Zaxxon ^{from 1982.}

Reviewing the Atari 8-bit version for ANALOG Computing in 1989, Matthew J.W. Ratcliff wrote, “Desert Falcon has good graphics, cute sound effects, and a tired, boring theme.” He cited Zaxxon several times, calling Desert Falcon a visually different spin on the same gameplay. New Atari User wrote, “The scrolling in Desert Falcon isn’t quite as smooth as it could be,” but complimented the animation of the falcon and the use of shadows. In Antic, David Plotkin wrote, “The manual describes a wide variety of enemies. Unfortunately, except for some flying triangles, they all looked pretty much alike”. He still concluded with “It has excellent graphics and is very playable.”

After playing the 7800 cartridge, Len Poggiali of Current Notes called it, “an average arcade game with a below average plot and below average visual appeal.”

Another great retro game available at Escapist Gamer – Tomcat The F-14 Fighter Simulator (Atari 2600)