The Activision Decathlon

The Activision Decathlon
Developer(s) Activision
Publisher(s) Activision
Designer(s) David Crane[1]
Platform(s) Atari 2600 (original)
Atari 8-bit family, Atari 5200, ColecoVision, Commodore 64, MSX
Release March 18, 1983
Genre(s) Sports
Mode(s) Single player, up to four players on the Atari 8-bit

The Activision Decathlon is a sports game written by David Crane for the Atari 2600 and published by Activision in 1983.[1] It was ported to the Atari 8-bit family, Atari 5200, Commodore 64, ColecoVision and MSX platforms. Up to four players compete in the ten different events of a real-life decathlon, either in sequence or individually.

The game became somewhat notorious for the amount of wear or damage inflicted upon console controllers, namely the Atari 2600 version where rapid back-and-forth movement of the joystick propels the athlete down the track.

The game was later reissued simply as Decathlon by the UK budget label Firebird.[2] It was subsequently featured on the PlayStation 2 compilation Activision Anthology.

Gameplay

Events

  1. 100-Meter Dash
  2. Long Jump
  3. Shot Put
  4. High Jump
  5. 400-Meter Race
  6. 110-Meter Hurdles
  7. Discus Throw
  8. Pole Vault
  9. Javelin Throw
  10. 1500-Meter Race
Commodore 64 version

Reception

The Atari 2600 version of Decathlon was reviewed by Video magazine in its "Arcade Alley" column where it was described as "an absolute triumph of imaginative programming" and as "a masterwork".[3]:28

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "The Giant List of Classic Game Programmers". dadgum.com.
  2. ↑ http://www.atarimania.com/detail_soft.php?VERSION_ID=6177&MENU=8
  3. ↑ Kunkel, Bill; Katz, Arnie (December 1983). "Arcade Alley: Super Gifts for Gamers". Video. Reese Communications. 7 (9): 28–29. ISSN 0147-8907.


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