C64 vs. Atari 800XL - 5 games Starting with Letter B - Part 2

Join us for another exciting episode of C64 vs. Atari 800XL, where we dive deep into the world of classic gaming. In this video, we look at 5 of the best games, starting with the letter B for the Commodore 64 and the Atari 800XL. Could you watch as we compare each game's gameplay, graphics, and sound on both systems and decide which reigns supreme?
Next up - C64 vs. Atari - Games starting with the letter C - • Retro Gaming Showdown:...
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Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
00:21 - Blue Max
01:23 - Boulder Dash
03:06 - Bounty Bob Strikes Back!
04:29 - Bop 'N Wrestle
06:31 - BMX Simulator
08:00 - Outro
Join the conversation in the comments section and let us know which system you think is the best - Commodore or Atari, or both? If you owned one of these systems, share your favorite memories with us.
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[@FloppyDeepDive]

Next up - C64 vs. Atari - Games starting with the letter C - kzbin.info/www/bejne/hai5fahtaLmAZtE

[@1Terrapin1]

Blue Max was my favorite game on the c64 when I was a kid. Still love playing it now as an adult. Great video!

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Thank you! I appreciate you watching!

[@PrimeRibb69]

It’s ironic that Jack Tramiel caused the demise of both companies by opposite means. Commodore by leaving and Atari by coming aboard.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Yep very ironic! Thanks for watching.

[@ShamrockParticle]

Tramiel left Commodore over managerial disagreements. He did help save Atari, but a new rut was encountered a few years later. Atari as we knew it did last a year longer than Commodore as well. Amiga had the better chipset. But ST had the best overall experience...

[@ClassicGameSessions]

Boulder Dash is an absolute classic, what a great throwback that I played a lot on the old Apple's and Commodores. Pretty neat seeing BMX too, all great games! I enjoy seeing the comparisons with the Atari 8 bit versions which I certainly didn't get to play and see as much. Awesome!

[@FloppyDeepDive]

I wish Atari 8 bit stuck around longer so the games in the late 80’s got made. I guess they went all ST. It deserved better. It is fun to play. Atari fans are passionate about this system.

[@ClassicGameSessions]

@Floppy Deep Dive Well said - I think it deserved better too. ST is nice but it would have been cool to see more games on this system. Great to see you covering it!

[@paullee107]

I like this format, but prefer one system sound at a time with name of active sound on screen.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

I get that; I'll keep that in mind next go-round.

[@skeggjoldgunnr3167]

We all know that the C64 SID chip is amazing.

[@ThomaniacsRetrogamingZone]

That's a cool comparison format. Would like to see more of that. 🙂

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Thanks! More will be coming! If you haven't checked out my other videos, check them out too! Thanks for watching!

[@MarkWhich]

It difficult to compare Boulder Dash, but the 800XL had the edge on the Construction Kit, A much larger palette of colors to choose from than the C64's choice of only 16.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

How many colors did Atari have?

[@MarkWhich]

@@FloppyDeepDive 128 Colors

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Sweet, how many could it have on the screen at one time? Which game took full advantage of it, in your opinion?

[@harrylor66]

Not all 128 colors, but many more😉: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rqDMeJishraKgqc (up to 54 colors), or here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kH_JiJRqeN6Ynqc 😎 (also more colorful than the old program junk for 8 bit Atari) The old games for the XL also had to run on the old Atari 400/800 (max 48 kb).🤔 The 8 bit Atari from AMIGA father Jay Miner is also a little bit older (1979) than the newer C 64 (1982), you should not forget that!🤨 No Commodore 64 game had to run on the Commodore VIC 20 (1980)!🧐😉 Of course the C 64 is a great gaming computer, I have one too.🙂 Best regards!😁

[@RacerX-]

Nice format, I like it. Excellent video as always, Tom. C64 would be my pcks for most of these, although Boulder Dash looks pretty similar. The others seem to be smoother on the C64 and the graphics less muddy.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Thank you sir! Boulder dash is great on both systems. I pick Blue Max for the C64. Bigger plane and handles better.

[@RacerX-]

@@mortimore4030 For sure since the Atari has far more colors then the C64. No argument their. But colors aren't everything and in the 8-bit era game play trumped color usage and most of these games did play better on the C64, at least to me. Also the Atari versions of games rarely used these extra colors so it didn't seem to matter much with popular games. Of course there were exceptions to this rule and there were a few games designed with the Atari in mind. W hat is wrong with the Atari set up in this vide? I am pretty sure Tom uses actual hardware...

[@8BitBoyzRetro]

Bop n Wrestle on the c64, man was I obsessed with that for a while back in the day. I would get amped up after watching the WWF on the weekend and go play bop n wrestle all night! 🤣

[@FloppyDeepDive]

That’s awesome! The C64 was faster and much easier to control then the Atari version which was rather slow.

[@jkeelsnc]

I used to laugh myself to death playing that game. I’d stand up on the corner and flop down on the opponent. Somehow this seemed like the funniest thing at the time.

[@smila007]

Blue max - draw Boulder dash - draw Bounty bob - draw Bop n wrestle - c64 BMX simulator - c64

[@FloppyDeepDive]

I say you hit it on the head! Thanks for watching

[@pauldaniel9199]

Thanks for featuring this comparison, but it is unfortunate the Atari display is hampered by jailbars. There are several ways around that however.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Thanks, please share, always open for advice to make it better.

[@michaeldaniels8880]

You picked a set of games I have not played on either system. I will try them out. I was at the user group meeting. It was great to learn some new things and meet some enthusiasts. I look forward to seeing you at the Commodore meeting in April.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Very cool! Yes I plan on being there in April. Look forward to chatting to you in person. Yes, Blue Max is a must play! Load that up first! Thanks for watching!

[@RetroDawn]

The first 3 were all top-level classics that were developed first on the Atari HCS. The first two are particularly a couple of my favorites.

[@cristoburg64]

I miss having your comments while the game is being played, comparing and contrasting.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Appreciate the feedback! I can bring that back Just always trying something new. I didn’t know if anyone was listening. lol. Thanks for watching!

[@Aegelis]

C-64 gamer back in the day. Played so much Blue Max over many years, I only finished once but what a rush bombing in the final city and hearing the ending theme! Boulderdash was a blast, never got too far, but played a good bit of stages. Never heard of Bounty Bob Strikes Back! but played a whole lot of Miner 2049er on Atari 2600, seems similar. Bop 'N Wrestle looks awful 😆. BMX Simulator looks like Super Sprint, but less exciting. California Games was the BMX game to play! Thanks for the previews, great assembly as always.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Bounty Bob was the sequel to Miner 2049er. It's much harder. Bop N Wrestle was very slow on Atari. The C64 was the best of the two for that game. BMX Sim was a value game. The BMx flips on California Games was awesome. I'll get it to that in my collection one day. Thanks for watching!

[@nickolasgaspar9660]

I have both systems (PAL) on CRTs and I have to say that at first I thought you mixed up the titles of the machines . This purple-greenish tint we see here on NTSC Atari games is something we observe on C64 PAL machines.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Hey Nickolas, since we last spoke I learned about the potentiometer on the Atari 800 XL. You mentioned my colors looked off so I went looking for a solution. This was it! On Blue Max my colors went from greenish water to blue water. I then viewed each game on KZbin and matched them all to it as I created the video. So each one custom tuned, so this is as close to matching exact colors for all 5 games. The potentiometer is a game changer. I'm thinking about making a quick video about it. Anyway thanks for bringing the colors to my attention.

[@AussieAmigan]

You have to make the playable area of the screens the same size. I didn't see an indicator for which version's music I was hearing. Also, the first couple of games were exceedingly old. Perhaps a comparison of the specs and their utilisation would be helpful.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

I'm playing on original hardware. Thanks for Watching!

[@bryede]

The Atari's screen area is naturally larger than the 64's because of 2 factors, the 64's pixel clock is faster which shrinks the screen horizontally, and because the height of the display (scan lines) is arbitrary on the Atari. You can make it whatever you want.

[@AussieAmigan]

@@bryede Interesting... I thought pixels on TVs were in a standard positioning. For instance, PAL with 768x592, which I think is the max OCS Amiga borderless interlace resolution. I always assumed non interlace put this at 384x296 (or 768x296), which would mean the borders would be 42 pixels wide and 48 pixels high on a typical 320x200 PAL display. Are scan lines arbitrary on an Atari then allowing the res to be lower to fit more of the screen area? Or is the res actually higher? I would have thought only multi-sync monitors were capable of altering frequencies like that.

[@harrylor66]

These game comparisons only show, that the programmers made less and less effort for Atari 8 bit. But, the old games for the XL also had to run on the old Atari 400/800 (max 48 kb).🤔 The 8 bit Atari from AMIGA father Jay Miner is also a little bit older (1979) than the newer C 64 (1982), you should not forget that!🤨 No Commodore 64 game had to run on the Commodore VIC 20 (1980)!🧐😉 Of course the C 64 is a great gaming computer, I have one too.🙂 An innovation 1982 at the Commodere 64 was the synthesizer chip "SID". The C 64 has a higher resolution, more and better variable sprites, color cache and can display its 16 colors simultaneously. Very good for computer games.😎

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Well said, agree 100%

[@RandomBitzzz]

Looks pretty close. My eye thought the 64 looked better on BMX and Bop & Wrestle. I loved Boulder Dash (maybe it's good fodder for a many faces of video, they ported it to a ton of systems)

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Yep, agree. Boulder Dash would be a good one to explore. I haven’t done a many faces in a while. The systems are very similar but Atari just lacked colors that C64 used in some games. Bop N Wrestle being one of them. Always good to hear from you.

[@lurkerrekrul]

Despite the Atari having a much larger palette of colors, it's usually the C64 that has the more colorful graphics in games.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Right! That is the truth. Not sure why the Programmers for Atari didn't go crazy with it.

[@RetroDawn]

@@FloppyDeepDive They did on a bunch of games, just not any of these. There are Atari HCS games with dozens of colors onscreen via DLIs. The C64 had the color RAM architecture going for it. Like the VIC in the VIC-20, the VIC-II had a 12-bit data bus. It allowed for individual character-sized (8x8) blocks (character or bitmap modes--later only avail on C64) to have different colors defined. Pity both chips only had a 16 color palette, though.

[@bryede]

The 64 had more freedom with color placement. One you'd used up the (usually) 4 screen colors and the 4 (sometimes 5) player (sprite) colors, you had to do clever tricks to change things on the fly, which most programmers didn't do, especially if porting a game from another system.

[@delboy3k1]

Great stuff. 1 thought though...add a volumn indicator and give each machine 30 seconds...having both on i could not tell which one was playing and there both different sound chips i.e. rock n wrestle. Did the atari have a tune ? Was it all the c64 for that game ? Just a thought. Just add a speaker indicator and present it over each machine when its playing.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

It’s an excellent idea and it’s exactly what I did in the most recent C64 vs Atari video. Check it out here kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3jPoH-rbqaqaJo Greats minds think alike.

[@delboy3k1]

​@@FloppyDeepDive lol the link took me to this same video..... i am sure i can find it no worries

[@IsaacKuo]

The new format is cool, although I think the brightness/contrast may need some adjustment. It's really hard to see the darker colors on the C64 side, at least on my monitor, and the Atari side looks a bit desaturated maybe. Or maybe it's just that the C64 side has the contrast up too high, while the Atari side has the contrast a bit too low. Anyway, I looked up to find Bop 'N Wrestle is from 1985. That would explain the less than optimal port ... by 1985 software houses were really not putting in the effort to their Atari 8-bit ports. Bop 'N Wrestle could have been better. The Atari's display list could have trivially mixed in high quality text mode for the top line, and HIRES monochrome mode for the lights (matching the C64 version). Oh well. The only one of these I played a lot of was Blue Max, and it was really cool. Unfortunately, I did not know what you were really supposed to do because I ... uhh ... "lost" the game manual. Yeah, that's the ticket.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Lol, yep we all lost our manuals back in those days. The format is a work in progress. These systems just come across different. Atari a 5 pin vs 8 pin of the Commodore. I could always try my 5 pin Commodore and see if that balances it out. I don’t have any control of the contrast/brightness to the capture card and I use the same for both. That makes sense for Bop N Wrestle because they clearly didn’t do a very good job on it for the Atari.

[@mondo8bit]

Great video as usual 🙂Tom, Boulder Dash is a classic , and BMX I remember it as a very difficult game… - but It’s a lot of time ago….! - 👍

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Thanks! BD is a classic and still fun to play. BMX controls were rough. I would crash 💥 whenever the other guy would touch me.

[@SchardtCinematic]

I grew up a Commodore 64 user. But I am shocked the graphics are basically the same on both systems. I also have an Atari VCS when I was kid too. That predates having my Commodore 64.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Yep, very similar in most instances. Thanks for watching!

[@SchardtCinematic]

@Floppy Deep Dive You're welcome. I miss the simpler days of the 80's and 90's

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Me too!

[@Dalgren969]

The Atari version of Blue Max is leaps and bounds ahead of the C64. Much better handling, bombastic sound effects and fluid, speedy graphics!

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Hmm, I do not agree but they are both great! Thanks for Watching!

[@mechamania]

Great vid, but to be fair, the Atari 8-bit games would look much better on an OG 800 with the stock 5-pin monitor out...

[@FloppyDeepDive]

So OG 800 got it, but the XL didn't. Why did they do that? It sounds like they went backward.

[@bobstewart420]

What is VCF in June in Dallas. I’m in OKC and retro gaming is almost nonexistent. Don’t know why to look for conferences or trade shows in the Metroplex. I’m willing to drive for good shows. HELP PLEASE.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Here is the link www.vcfsw.org/

[@carlopepi]

For all the colours the atari had the c64 looks more vibrant

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Agree, on some games you can see Atari didn't even use many colors.

[@WhiteFalconus]

Interesting how some games look rather bland on the C64 (Blue Max) and some much better than what I remember from my Atari (BMX). Especially BMX looks so crisp and colorful on the C64.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Right, might be the year it came out they got better to make it more clear

[@hardkoregamer1981]

Every game looks sharper and more vibrant on commadore 64 than on the Atari 800Xl.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Sure seems like it. Thanks for watching.

[@ITGuyinaction]

🤔🤔🤔🤔 Why Atari image is so unsharp...? Another thing is how games looked like and how they could like if programmer use all the possibilities. Which computer provided better graphics and music and other capabilities overall? Some time ago I tried to answer on this question by preparing a short video, even if the answer is of course not easy...

[@FloppyDeepDive]

That's exactly how it captures compared to the C64. I even find tuned each game with the potentiometer. You can see Bop N Wrestle and BMX Sim just didn't use much color like the C64 used. Thanks for watching!

[@ITGuyinaction]

@@FloppyDeepDive 🤔🤔🤔 But with that quality it's difficult to compare both computers...

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Nah, both systems are straight out of the box like if you bought them in the 80s. The fact that one is brighter and vibrant versus not so vibrant I think is part of the true comparison. I could always emulate it and do HDMI but to me that is not a true comparison. That's tricking it up. I only use what the machine has built-in and then capture what it delivers.

[@IsaacKuo]

@@FloppyDeepDive What sort of cables are you using? Composite, or S-Video? With composite output on both, the C-64 might appear sharper due to the way it alternates phase each field to eliminate NTSC chroma artifacts. But with S-Video, capture should look better on both. In terms of what people actually saw back in the day, I think the majority of NTSC C64 users saw S-Video. The out-of-box included cable paired with the rear input of the 1702 monitor - S-Video through two RCA jacks (Luma and Chroma). However, Atari 8-bit users used composite, I think. I think the computer's video output actually did include S-Video output like the C64, but you'd have to custom build a cable to take advantage of it. I'm not sure about that.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

S Video doesn’t work on the Atari 800 XL out of the box. There is a mod but again that’s tweaking the system. I’m using SVideo on C64 and Composite on Atari because that is all it allows me to use.

[@dennyhaynes3]

Nice format Tom. Have to say I prefer the C64 on most games. Colour pallet feels better to me. Boulder dash is close though.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Thanks, Denny! Glad you liked it. I thought it helped compare them easier.

[@mechamania]

Yeah... but whether you liked Atari or Commodore, you thought the Apple IIe sucked - and that hate will keep us together...

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Lol 🤣

[@jkeelsnc]

Yes, although I liked the Apple Ii series computers their graphics and sound capabilities seemed so primitive by comparison.

[@robertmiles9942]

Although Blue Max looks better on c64, I think the Atari version feels and sounds better. The rest are either a wash or clearly c64 (bop n wrestle)

[@FloppyDeepDive]

I'm a huge fan of Blue Max on the C64. It's been a minute since I last played the Atari version, so will need to load it up again. See if I agree with your assessment. 🙂

[@OldAussieAds]

I don't know enough about this sort of thing to know for sure. But I wonder how much of the differences were a result of lazy programmers? Take Bop 'N Wrestle for example. Are you telling me the Atari port developers were just so stretched with the platform's resources that they couldn't colour in the ring mat white? Compare to a game like Fight Night - It honestly looks like it could have been done. And BMX Simulator... Have a look at the colourful graphics on Atari 8-bit games like Rescue on Fractalus or Alternate Reality: The City and tell me they couldn't make that Hot Dogs building colourful. Were the lack of colours because the Atari was in some high res mode or something?

[@FloppyDeepDive]

I think it was lazy programmers. I think the later games they were just getting them out.

[@amigachris]

Atari pretty good considering the hardware is about 5 years older...

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Yep, both awesome systems!

[@Antiorganizer]

Color and sharpness on the Atari capture is off. It will make many people feel that the C64 version is better when really, they're about the same.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

I used the potentiometer to adjust the color to match others atari videos who posted on KZbin. So the color is not off. The capture is Composite which is exactly what I use for the Commodore 64. My point is that this is what both machines would of looked like right out of the box in the 80s. I should not have to use an emulator and HDMI to make Atari 800XL look good so it can compare to the video output of the C64. The Atari is what it is on its output. Commodore 64 just works and the Atari I have to adjust just to get the colors right. Which is accurate and to the point. It’s just fact. Thanks for watching.

[@tdrewman]

The colors looks better on the C64

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Agree, Atari seemed to not use as much color. Thanks for watching!

[@sbroumley]

The Atari 8 bit has a palette of 256 colors but can only display a few of them on screen at once unless you use some coding tricks. The C64 only has a palette of 16 colors but the hardware could easily display all of them on screen at once.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Exactly!

[@orion31410]

Where is Bruce Lee ?

[@FloppyDeepDive]

I made a whole video about Bruce Lee. Retro Gaming Revival: Bruce Lee on 6 Classic 8-Bit Systems kzbin.info/www/bejne/homqimZqmZKEeck

[@rafalwronowski1893]

The Winner is C64

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Yes sir!

[@astra6712]

I dare say C64 Wins.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Thanks for watching!

[@astra6712]

@@FloppyDeepDive I’m gonna buy the c64 for Evercade 👍 cheers bro

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Cheers!