C64 vs. Atari 800XL - 9 games Starting with Letter A

It's time for another episode of C64 vs. Atari 800XL - 9 games Starting with Letter A.
I am looking at 9 games that start with the letter A for the Commodore 64 and the Atari 800XL. In this video, I am showing them running on both machines, so you can see how different or similar they are.
The next Video to Watch is Letter B - Part 1 - • C64 vs. Atari 800XL - ...
Thanks for watching, and let me know in the comments section which system you think is the best? Commodore or Atari or Both? Which system did you own?
00:00 Introduction
00:12 Action Biker on C64 and Atari
02:09 The Activision Decathlon on C64 and Atari
03:12 Air Support on C64 and Atari
04:12 Airwolf on C64 and Atari
05:12 Archon The Light and the Dark on C64 and Atari
06:48 Archon II: Adept on the C64 and Atari 800XL
08:03 Ardy the Aardvark on the C64 and Atari 800XL
09:02 Arkanoid on the C64 and Atari 800XL
10:02 Axis Assassin on the C64 and Atari 800XL
11:03 Outro for the C64 vs Atari 800XL

[@FloppyDeepDive]

📌 Must-Watch Next! 🎮 Dive into the classic gaming rivalry between the Commodore 64 and Atari 800XL! Join me as we explore 5 iconic games starting with the letter B. Which console do you think reigns supreme? Let's find out together! 👉 Watch Now 👈 Share your thoughts and don't forget to support the channel! 🕹❤

[@Spinrekisme]

I started off with Atari 800, then the 130xe before getting the ST, I never owned a Commodore, but playing the games now. I think Commodore wins hands down even in the Amiga. However I will always remember my great times on Atari.

[@geekwithsocialskills]

I played Action Biker so much back in the day on my Commodore 64. After watching your video, I'm going to break it out and play some Action Biker LOL!

[@FloppyDeepDive]

It's been awhile since I played it myself. It was fun to revisit.

[@ClassicGameSessions]

Thoroughly enjoyed this video Tom. Pretty interesting to see the difference between the games on the two systems. I'm more of a Commodore guy and almost needless to say the C64 games rule but there is some distinct Atari charm in some of these games too. Some pretty cool games here - Decathlon, Air Support, and Airwolf are awesome! Look forward to more in this series!

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Thanks, Air Support was fun to to play. I loved the difference in Decathlon. Both looked cool to me.

[@GDLarcade]

I am a Commodore guy through and through with no regrets. Well, the amount of arcade conversions for the Atari 8 bit is pretty impressive comparitively, but IMHO the C64 was a better game machine hands down. Couldn't beat the price to performance ratio either.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Amen brotha! Thanks for watching!

[@nickolasgaspar9660]

Back in the day the C64 was a better deal for a game machine but as a computer the Atari 8bit was ahead of its time even if it came 3 years earlier. The homebrew scene shows that both machines have their pros and cons in different areas whether its about graphics, sound or animation.

[@GDLarcade]

@@nickolasgaspar9660 That's usually the way things turn out between 2 similar computers. Each one has its own strengths. I wasn't trying to dispararge the Atari 8 bits. I have an 800XL in my collection now and really like it. Although I will disparage the craptastic keyboard of the Atari 400, which was the only 8 bit Atari I saw BITD. I didn't live in a very populated area. Looks like you have a very nice retro setup, BTW!

[@lordevyl8317]

@@nickolasgaspar9660 I think the Apple II is also highly underrated and underappreciated as a gaming computer as well. Especially when it came to its innovation in the RPG genre.

[@IsaacKuo]

For me, it's the C64, and I also really appreciate your channel for using NTSC C64 (and, of course, that narrow NTSC C64 pixel aspect ratio). I had a few friends with Atari 400s, so I had some familiarity with what they had to offer. But once the C64 came onto the market, it took over really fast where I lived.

[@nickolasgaspar9660]

You are missing the point of the video. The video presents and compares games of a specific era. It doesn't compare hardware. Now you are talking about Atari 400 and C64...its like comparing the VIC 20 with the 64k of the 800. Again that's irrelevant.The C64 was a good machine but it never really managed to beat Jay Miner's architecture in many aspects. The Home-brew scene proves that. I have both machines and enjoy what they can offer but I can distinguish the innovate from the market hit. Those two things are not the same. Cheers.

[@IsaacKuo]

@@nickolasgaspar9660 Uh, you're missing the point of my comment. The question was whether or not the viewer was a "C64 guy" or an "Atari guy". I stated that I was a C64 guy, but I also had friends with Atari 400s so I saw what it had to offer. I have no idea what you think I wrote, but I didn't say anything at all about hardware capabilities.

[@nickolasgaspar9660]

@@IsaacKuo -"I had a few friends with Atari 400s, so I had some familiarity with what they had to offer". This statement points to what the hardware can offer, right?

[@IsaacKuo]

@@nickolasgaspar9660 No, because I didn't open up the machines and study the hardware. I played games on them, as well as some of the fun non-game software (like this popular kaliedoscope sort of thing that was popular at the time). So in particular, I played Bruce Lee a lot on Atari 400s before I saw the C64 version, and Star Raiders which never did come to the C64. I also did some BASIC programming, because I liked programming graphics and I really liked the Apple ][ style split screen modes (which the C64 didn't have). I did that stuff in store displays, though, rather than my friends's computers. As for hardware specs? I didn't really understand them at the time.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Appreciate you watching Isaac. Glad you understand the aspect ratio; I try to keep it accurate and record precisely as I see it using real hardware.

[@buffalodebill7986]

Just a note, the sound on Atari version of Action Biker is warped here, but in reality it plays really super-clean.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Yep, the capture card I was using messed with the sound. You are correct.

[@RokkitGrrl]

I spent a lot of time playing Airwolf. That was such a fun game. There were some nice things about the Atari 800XL but I'm going to cheer for the Commodore 64 every time.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Right there with you! Welcome to the channel!

[@RacerX-]

C64 for the win IMHO. Of course in the right programmers hands the Atari 8-bit could really be great. Back in the day, there was very few games that took advantage of the expanded color palette to really make the graphics pop. C64 with better sound, mostly smoother scrolling and gameplay just made it much more attractive.

[@nickolasgaspar9660]

You can argue about the sound (mostly the music) but Atari games were generally faster and smoother with more fps. The age and price of the Commodore boosted the sales of the machine resulting to higher profits for the game designers relative to software piracy. That allowed them to increase the cost of game production plus they only needed to target the 64k of RAM while Atari games had to take in to account their 16 and 48 k machines. So the critique should be limited to the games presented in this video...not an over generalizations about the platforms. The atari games of this list sucked in my opinion compared to the C64 ports, and I mean all of them.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

This was letter A. I'm sure I'll find some good ones while I go through the Alphabet.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

It's fun comparing these games because, a lot of times, it's the first time I see the Atari Version. Thanks for watching!

[@FloppyDeepDive]

oh wow that's a rare opinion. C64 has amazing sound. The SID CHIP is legendary!

[@aaronbrowne7862]

@@mortimore4030 Agreed! SID sounds too muffled when compared to POKEY. POKEY sounds awesome here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZi2lmeKa6uWpbc . Clean and clear!

[@robertmiles9942]

I'm both, but as a kid I had the c64 and my friend the Atari. Axis Assassin and Decathlon are the Atari champions in this video. Arkanoid is the clear C64 gem. All others are great on both

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Appreciate your input! Thanks for watching.

[@IntoTheVerticalBlank]

You have the NTSC game playing on PAL it looks like for Atari Action Biker. That's definitely not the right speed fort the game or music. Great video though, I really like these, they are fun. Unfortunately for the Atari 800, Activision would usually port the 2600 code and just slightly improve the graphics. The C64 usually got a full new port. I don't even think Atari 800 Airwolf is the same game. It's another game (Blue Thunder) that the published purchased the rights to and attached the Airwolf name to.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

My system is definitely not PAL. Now for Action Biker, I tried different versions, and they all sounded the same. I even watched videos of other people playing Action Biker on the Atari; they sound the same as mine. So I stick by the experience I recorded.

[@nickolasgaspar9660]

Really bad games for the Atari during that period. After all they needed to include all the machines with less RAM in their sales and reduce the cost of production because of piracy made low quality inevitable. The Homebrew community straighten things up for this amazing platform.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

I really enjoy the Atari Platform too. I load these up using my Atari 800XL and FujiNet and record exactly how it plays directly from the 800XL. I just selected the letter A, went down the list, and picked out games on the C64. Letter B may fare better. We shall see!

[@RandomBitzzz]

I never had an Atari 800. Doesn't look like I missed much 🙂 (j/k). I was surprised that some of the Atari sound effects reminded me of games on the 2600, and that brought back some nostalgia. It's really hard to compete with the 64's SID chip. I'm sure there's good times to be had on an Atari, and hopefully you'll showcase some... but the 64 gets the win for this set.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Lol, it's a fine system. Maybe an Apple II VS Commodore or NES vs. Commodore. I could go a lot of different ways with it, I suppose until I get bored and start a new series. Thanks for watching.

[@bjbell52]

I believe the C64 sound chip has 3 16-bit sound channels. The Atari has 4 8-bit channels or 2 8-bit channels and 1 16-bit channel or 2 16-bit channels. None of these games are using any 16-bit channels for the Atari. The same thing goes for graphics; the Atari is far more capable than any of these demos show. Try looking at this Atari 800 demo kzbin.info/www/bejne/omPPi3R4qp2bkMU

[@FloppyDeepDive]

My glimpse is showing if you played games in the 80s this is exactly what you got on the C64 Atari. Are they capable of more sure but it didn't happen.

[@bjbell52]

@@FloppyDeepDive Yes, I understand.

[@johnps1670]

Atari was launched three years before the C64.

[@CaptainDangeax]

I played Archon a lot as a kid on my C64 while a friend of mine had an Atari 800xl. C64 was a better gaming platform, particularly in the sound area

[@FloppyDeepDive]

SID CHIP was amazing!!

[@lordevyl8317]

To be fair, I think it's a bit unfair to compare the two Airwolfs since they are technically two different games, and Atari Airwolf is technically Blue Thunder on the Commodore 64. I would have went with the Atari and C64 versions of Jeff Minter's Attack of the Mutant Camels instead. As for the other games: Action Biker: Graphics and music are a bit more well-rounded on the C64, the gameplay I think is pretty even though. Decathlon: Pretty even in terms of gameplay, but I prefer the smaller sprites on the Atari version. Air Support: dead even, except for one aspect: I like the helicopter sprite better on the C64 version. Plus I was never a huge fan of pink as a color. LOL Archon: gameplay is pretty even on both versions, however, graphically they are about the same, but I do like the graphics slighty better on the Atari version, specifically during the battle sections. Ardy: Tie Arkanoid: Looks good on both, although it SHOULD be played with a mouse or trackball. It is NOT the same with a joystick, even keyboard control is a better option for playing this game. Axis Assassin: certainly the Atari 800 version for that one. I remember the C64 version getting panned back in the day, but the Atari and Apple II versions are both good games on those systems.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Great review!! Love hearing others thoughts on these classics! Thanks for Watching!

[@dennyhaynes3]

Really enjoyed that video Tom. I'm a Commodore man myself, all but Axis Assassin was better on the 64. What on earth were they thinking with Airwolf on the Atari 😱

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Thanks, Denny! Glad you enjoyed it! I was trying something new and seeing how people responded. It just gives me a reason to play the Atari and Commodore games.

[@nickolasgaspar9660]

the Airwolf was a marketing scam. They relabeled an older chopper game named "blue thunder".

[@FloppyDeepDive]

That's the history behind games I find interesting.

[@nickolasgaspar9660]

@@FloppyDeepDive indeed. As customers we did experience many similar disappointments, but today, being history buffs, we do enjoy such stories. An interesting thing I learned recently was that we are keep finding Z80 code in ports for Amiga and ST! Many game codes in other platforms originated from the humble Speccy.

[@8BitRetroReFix]

Another great video Tom . For me C64 takes the win :)

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Right there with ya brotha!

[@Miler97487]

I had an Atari 800XL bought in 1985 and it left our TI-99/4A (bought at the end of 1981) totally in the dust in terms of graphics and action. I wished we had a C64 instead. It may have not have the 256 color GTIA graphics chip but had superior 16 color resolution and a superior sound chip. I never played any of those games but I can guarantee if I was able to play Airwolf on both the 800XL and the C64 in the day, I'd be mighty disappointed with the Atari version. On the C64 the helicopter looks just like the actual Airwolf on the TV series and the theme song is played throughout. That you don't get either on the Atari. Most of these other games looked and played better on the C64 because of better sound and graphics, even better action, not as sluggish. I also wished I had a C64 because major software companies were still supporting the C64 well into the late '80s while support for the Atari 8-bit seemed to flounder after 1986 so Ultima V never saw a release on the Atari 8-bit, but it most definitely did on the C64 (I was able to get Ultima IV for the Atari). Not to mention Maniac Manson and the original Space Quest were originally on the C64.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Yes, it was sad they abandoned the 8-bit and only did Atari ST. It hurts my comparison videos, too because like you said it all stops in 1986.

[@merman1974]

For each game: Action Biker - C64 is better Decathlon - C64 Air Support - tie Airwolf - looks like different games, Atari is much closer to the earlier C64 game Blue Thunder, C64 Airwolf is notoriously difficult Archon and Archon II - tie Ardy the Aardvark - Atari (narrow margin) Arkanoid - C64 (mainly on the sound/music) Axis Assassin - tie (those early EA games on the C64 seem to have graphics transferred wholesale from Apple II/Atari, leading to that distinct red/white/blue aesthetic)

[@FloppyDeepDive]

I agree with your list, Andrew. Airwolf is a different game. If an Atari and Commodore kid talked about playing Airwolf, they had different experiences.

[@ignoblesurfer6281]

C64 for everything except Air Support, which was dire, so it's a tie ;) Decathlon is probably the least impressive one on the C64, but even so, the parallax scrolling just blows away anything the Atari had to offer!

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Lol! Good stuff; thanks for watching!

[@lordevyl8317]

Axis Assassin was better on the Atari, even the magazines reviews back in the day agreed with that. The C64 version got panned, even by pro C64 magazines like Zzap!64.

[@StRoRo]

I could never beat the computer on Archon 2. It was brutal, every shot it did was a direct hit. Great game though.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Yes, the computer was tough!

[@lordevyl8317]

Archon 2 was much better to play with a second player. Technically, the first one was as well, but the AI was much more forgiving on the first game.

[@madmax2069]

4:18 how could they even call that Airwolf

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Right!

[@mondo8bit]

That’s a new video series 👍👍👍! Well, Airwolf is really not comparable, ‘cause those are two different games with the same title 🤣. Archon is one of my C64 “gems”, so I can’t judge… Decathlon seems better on the Atari, but still I never play on it. Arkanoid way better on C64 Axis Assassin wins on Atari Air support is good on both system Action Biker looks better on C64. Thanks Tom 🙏🙂👍

[@FloppyDeepDive]

I've done C64 vs. Atari, but I always throw in different systems. I tried something new this time, focusing on the two methods only, and I didn't talk. What did you think? Would you like to see more? I just did the letter A. So there is lots of room to make more videos. I could also do the same for other systems if it gets much interest.

[@IsaacKuo]

@@FloppyDeepDive I find the Atari Airwolf game particularly interesting because it's different. There are a lot of "comparison" videos which compare apples-to-apples games, but this leaves out games which were exclusives or very different. But those are more interesting, I think? Although the Atari Airwolf game looks like the controls are lacking, I always thought the C64 game was just too goofy with its nonsensical underground maze with goofy theme-less enemies/obstacles. I mean, Fort Apocalypse had a more compelling coherent theme, that felt more ... I dunno ... military/007 feeling than Airwolf.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

I agree it is more interesting. I was going to show Aztec Challenge, too but I already did a video on it. The games look completely different.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Airwolf is way too hard on the C64! I was lucky to get the footage I got from dying all the time. Lol

[@mondo8bit]

@@FloppyDeepDive yep, I think the format is good, you can go on with other letters 🙂👍

[@Heaven-dy9lj]

WTH happened to the audio on the Atari? Know the Pokey is questionable, but that capture is ridiculous.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

I just load it up and play it. Action Biker just sounded awful on the Atari. Load it up and play for yourself. Very choppy.

[@mjp29]

wow, that first comparison of that motorcycle game, whoever ported it to the 800xl did a $hitty job at it, eh? Especially the sound!~

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Yep, the sound was a mess on that one. Thanks for watching

[@Faceplant-hl5yn]

Most of the C64 games were better, except airsupport which I give credit to the atari. I think it mostly comes down to coding skills and not the system itself

[@FloppyDeepDive]

I thought Axis Assassin was good on the Atari too.

[@mjp29]

@@Faceplant-hl5yn I don't know if I'd fully agree with that. I owned an Atari and C64 back in the day. Some of my favorite games were better on the Atari. Karateka & Prince of Persia are 2 examples of where the faster processor on the Atari actually made the gme playable - whereas, on the c64, it was too slow and choppy.... DID A search and found that probably 7 out of 8 games in this video, were ABOUT THE SAme on both systems... kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpSweZKNj5lgp7c

[@pablo_p_art]

Somehow C64 is superior. It's way better at sound level. Graphics, some games are on par (differences are not quality wise, but how it's made), others better. Airwolf looks like completely different games on both platforms.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

I agree!

[@lordevyl8317]

Atari Airwolf is technically the game that was sold under the name "Blue Thunder" on the C64. Same coder and everything. So they are technically not related apart from the name.

[@geoffreyhoffmann8007]

Atari guy here but in nearly all those the C64 beats it. We're the game devs just lazy? I mean it doesn't even see like they tried especially with the Action Biker one.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Maybe games that start with B will fare better for the Atari. Thanks for watching!

[@lordevyl8317]

I would say only Air Support (except for the Helicopter sprite, which I like better on the C64) and Axis Assassin, all the games were better on the C64. Although I do admit that you can't really compare the two Airwolfs since Airwolf on the Atari is technically Blue Thunder on the Commodore 64.

[@RussMichaels]

from some of the other comparison videos I have seen the atari seemed pretty close to C64 and in some cases better, and I was quite impressed. But quite the opposite in this video, the Atari looks lousy compared to the C64, especially those first 2 games.... oh dear and the music..... C64 won by a landslide here. The slightly less blocky gfx really makes the difference too.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Right!? I'm not cherry-picking either; I'm just playing games that start with the letter A that was made for both systems. Maybe the letter B will fare better for Atari. Thanks for watching!

[@bjbell52]

This video proves to me that trying to comparing 2 computers based upon games is not a very good idea. Being an Atari programmer I know the Atari games in this video were very POORLY done.

[@csgrinds]

C64 is clearly way superior. Had an Atari 800 many moons ago.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Cool. Thanks for watching!

[@bjbell52]

Yes, in this video the C64 looks better than the Atari. But it has more to do with the people who wrote the Atari games not using the features the Atari had to offer.

[@erebos007]

The C64 wins by a mile here

[@FloppyDeepDive]

Yep, these favor the C64. Thanks for watching.

[@timlocke3159]

The Atari sound is terrible in some of these games. POKEY can do better but perhaps the programmers didn't know how or the SID makes it easier with it's different waveforms.

[@nickolasgaspar9660]

I think something is wrong with the sound of the Atari in this video..or its an NTSC issue.

[@IntoTheVerticalBlank]

@@nickolasgaspar9660 That's the NTSC Action Biker running on Pal I think.

[@nickolasgaspar9660]

@@IntoTheVerticalBlank Yes but something sounds weird in other games too...I don't recall now, I will have to check it again.

[@timlocke3159]

@@nickolasgaspar9660 I just watched another video of this game and the sound was fine. It's not good to have comparison videos when the sound isn't accurate.

[@FloppyDeepDive]

I played this directly on my 800XL and tried different versions; they all sounded the same. I even watched other videos, and it sounds like that too. It is what it is; I load them on my machine, play them, and record them. No more, no less. This is what I hear.