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One mention of Atari these days, and most gamers will treat you to a painful essay on how much the Jaguar sucked and how Atari left the market quicker than David Letterman left NBC. Others, however, will reflect back to simpler, older times, times when the likes of Centipede and Tempest sucked up dollars like government taxes. Lose a game, play again, lose a game, sell some blood and play again, that sort of thing.

Ahh, nostalgia. Well, here's yet another collection of classic games put together in a slick package by Midway, an AGH compilation with Atari's finest hours packed right in. As I did with the last AGH collection, I'm reviewing each game individually and saving goodies for the end of the review...so here we go.

ASTEROIDS- You control a little triangular ship and fly around the screen via a thrust button, destroying huge asteroids that break up into smaller asteroids upon firepower contact. Also, there's some pesky UFO's that fly out and attempt a player flambe' now and then. This is easily one of the best of the pack, an easygoing coin-op that translates just fine to 32-bit hardware. The complicated button set-up on the arcade game is simplified to the Saturn control pad, resulting in a good time for all the Asteroid nuts out there. Oh, classic moment in Asteroids- hyperspacing out of one jam, and landing right between two big rocks that squash you like a bug. That cracks me up...

TEMPEST- Lately, I've been getting more of a Tempest fix by the release of Tempest 2000, but it's still fun to come back to the original. You slide around in multiple closed playfields, controlling a lightning-colored cursor as it flies around screen and destroys enemies within its contained area. Also a good one for the classic lovers, and it blows away T2000's Traditional Tempest mode by a mile...there's just so much more here.

MISSILE COMMAND- You are a little on-screen cursor, and your mission is to call upon three nearby missile bases and protect cities from invading armadas of missiles and fiendish alien craft. Screw up and it's..."THE END!!!". Win, and you get to save the world all over again. Not exactly the ideal game to put in the White House (Yeltsin would get in a drunken binge and let the cities perish), but its strategy is superb. Sure, I miss the trackball, but the control is top-buttoned as well. Another fave.

CENTIPEDE- Yet another game that used a glorious trackball in the 80's (and also one that's caused my girlfriend to call in sick numerous times), Centipede allows you to control a small spade-shaped craft at the bottom of the screen as centipedes, spiders, and other natural terrors raise havoc. Your mission, blast them. Simple. Oh, eh, maybe not so simple. The addictiveness of this title hasn't worn off over the years, and it still remains a treat for males and females alike (although I haven't played it lately- I swear, she hogs the control like a madman). The control, again, is solid.

BATTLEZONE- The ultimate tank sim, regardless of the likes of today's big time Desert Tank simulators. Yeah, the vector graphics are old, but the real-time action remains fluent. You control a tank with left and right tread movements, and your job is to blast enemy tanks, missiles, and UFO's before...that's right...they get you. Good strategic fun, and the 2-handed control is great (skip one-hand, though, it's about as complicated as finding a Yugo repair shop).

SUPER BREAKOUT- The only letdown in this collection, although it's still fun. You control a small paddle at the bottom of the screen, and you bounce a little ball upward at the invading sea of tiles that keep bearing down on you. I would say this is almost as addictive as Tetris, but the emulator simulates more of an Atari 2600 game than the actual coin-op. Also, the ball moves so fast in the later stages, you're actually lucky if you get more than two bounces on a life. It could have been better, but, then again, if it's not broken, why fix it?

The history feature on the Atari Collection is better than the one offered in the first AGH disc, because it involves more candid interviews with the creators, rather than bits and pieces as before. Was a special version of Battlezone produced for the military? Did a creator meet his wife over Asteroids? What's with the turtles? Playing through this history feature will give you the answers- and it is fascinating.

Bottom line, this is yet another great nostalgia disc to add to your collection, whether you are a bonafide 80's arcade nut or a 90's Gunblade NY-kinda freak. There's tons of gameplay to be explored here and it dare not be ignored by today's shallow offerings. I offer it a cool 8 out of 10. Now, lessee if I can get my girlfriend to stop playing Centipede for a minute...honey? (BAM!) Well, I guess there's always the arcade...