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Indy 500 XE - Atari 2600

Indy 500 XE - Atari 2600

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Atari created a great driving controller for the Atari 2600, but only released one game to take advantage of it: Indy 500. While Indy 500 is great fun to play, it has a limited number of tracks. Gustavo del Dago developed a new version of Indy 500 titled Indy 500 XE, featuring more tracks (the game has been increased in size from 2K to 4K), double-resolution tracks that allow for more detailed and interesting levels, different car graphics for each player, and more game variations.

Additionally, Gustavo created an easy-to-use Windows-based track editor that allows the easy creation of new tracks, loading and saving of tracks (so you can go back later to refine them), selection of background, playfield, and player colors, and the ability to generate a binary so you can immediately test your creations. AtariAge and Gustavo sponsored an Indy 500 XE Track Design Contest on AtariAge to allow everyone a chance at creating tracks that might be included in a cartridge version of Indy 500 XE. We chose 16 different tracks from the many entries received. You can view the winning entries at the top of the page here, and you can view here and you may view all 274 entries on the submissions page. You can even download the binaries to try them out!

Features:

  • 1 or 2 Players
  • 16 Unique Tracks
  • Four Game Variations: Race Car, Crash n' Score, Tag, and Ice Race
  • Double-Resolution Tracks (compared to Indy 500)
  • Uses Driving Controllers
  • Two Different Car Designs
  • Beginner and Advanced modes

Includes cartridge and full-color manual.

Author Gustavo del Dago
Number of Players 1 - 2
Controller Driving Controllers
Cartridge Size 4K
Label and Manual Design Tony "Xot" Morse

Customer Reviews

Based on 1 review
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K
Kain Xavier
Review

Being the first review here, I am hesitant to rate Indy 500 XE with anything less than a perfect score. It's a great game, and I whole-heartedly recommend you buy it! In fact, I'd argue it's one of the best Driving controller games available for the 2600. It's also superior to the original game, Indy 500, in nearly every way. The only area where the game falls short for me is in terms of content. I'll explain.

Indy 500 XE has twice as many race tracks as its predecessor. The problem is that very few of these tracks are what I would deem beginner-friendly. All of the courses were designed by people who probably loved the original game and were extremely good at it. While there's no real penalty for crashing into walls, the complexity of the courses means it'll happen more often. I can see new players becoming frustrated. That said, I still think the tracks are brilliant. I especially like the ones in Games 3/4 and 13/14. They feel very organic, and the track in Game 13/14 uses screen-wrapping to masterful effect.

My only other complaint is that none of the race tracks from the original game are included in this release. I suspect they had to be removed to keep the cartridge size under 4k, but I still wish some of them had made it in. The courses in Indy 500 are less complex and would have helped to round out the game more. I could also fully recommend that you buy XE over the original. That said, it still makes for a wonderful companion title.

4.5 / 5 Stars

P.S.: Indy Race 500 XE is one of the cheapest titles available on AtariAge. It deserves more love and more reviews.

P.P.S: The Driving Controller also deserves more love. I'm looking at you, Atari.