Release Date: 1983
Publisher: Activision
Controller: Joystick
Players: 1 – 4
Genre: Sports
Alternate Title: N/A
Model #: AZ-030
Rarity: 3
Programmer: David Crane
Once you get things rolling you have ten events to work through. They are the 100 Meter Race, 400 Meter Race, 1500 Meter Race, 110 Meter Hurdles, Discus Throw, Long Jump, Pole Vault, Shot Put, Javelin Throw, and the High Jump. Up to four people can compete in the Decathlon, however it is restricted to one person at a time.
The events all play out in pretty much the same way, with you having to rapidly move the joystick left and right to build up your speed and executing a timed button press to jump or throw. On events like the High Jump and the Pole Vault, another button press is needed to launch over the bar. All of the events are put together nicely, with the notable exceptions of the running events.
The 100 Meter Race and the 110 Meter Hurdles are just fine, as they are short sprints. The same can’t be said about the 400 and 1500 Meter Races. Rather than switch the running input to rapidly pressing the button, for some reason they decided to leave it to the joystick movement. This presents a very serious problem. The 1500 Meter Race, even if it is run flawlessly, will still take over three minutes. No matter how many old school video game hours you have put in over the years, your arm is going to be burning. Not to mention you are going to do some serious damage to your controller.
(Side Note: For reasons that will become painfully obvious once you begin the 100 Meter Race, it is best not to play this game in front of anyone. Seriously, just trust me on that one)
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Derek began playing video games in the early 80s, cutting his teeth on every Atari 2600 game he could get his hands on. This kickstarted a lifelong love of games, which continues to this day. No matter how advanced the systems and games become, the love for Atari remains supreme, which is why the Atari 2600 Encyclopedia project was done. With this massive project completed, Derek looks to begin work on another system encyclopedia, hoping to pay tribute to the games that shaped his childhood.
