Combat (video game)

Combat
Developer(s)	Atari[1]
Publisher(s)	Atari[1]
Programmer(s)	Ron Milner Steve Mayer Joe Decuir Larry Wagner
Platform(s)	Atari 2600
Release	1977
Genre(s)	Shooter
Mode(s)	Multiplayer

Combat is a 1977 video game by Atari, Inc. for the Atari Video Computer System (later renamed the Atari 2600). In the game, two players controlling either a tank, a biplane, or a jet fire missiles at each other for two minutes and sixteen seconds. Points are scored by hitting the opponent, and the player with more points when the time runs out wins. Variations on the gameplay introduce elements such as invisible vehicles, missiles that ricochet off of walls, and different playing fields.

The game was being made while the Atari 2600 was still in development. Combat was based on Atari's popular arcade game Tank. It was initially developed by Steve Mayer and Ron Milner. Joe Decuir later tested it on the developing Atari Video Computer System hardware, and Larry Wagner completed the game while adding the two plane variations to the game. The game was released as a pack-in game with the Atari Video Computer System.

By the early 1980s, reception towards Combat commented on its graphics and game play as being out-of-date. A sequel titled Combat Two was planned for the Atari 2600, but never completed. A prototype of the sequel was later released in various formats. Retrospective reception by publications such as Classic Gamer Magazine and AllGame have praised the game, while PCMag and Flux included it on their list of Best Atari 2600 games and Best Game of all time lists respectively.