Michael Hogan: Atari Stole My Childhood

If you were born between 1972 and 1978, you may recall spending a good many hours gazing in puzzlement at your parents’ TV screen trying to figure out the Atari 2600’s dismal Raiders of the Lost Ark video game. I know I do. Looking at this unintentionally hilarious instruction video, I can’t believe that my little eight-year-old friends and I actually managed to solve the stupid thing. My favorite line: “Surprises like snakes, thieves, and hidden rooms lurk around every corner as you walk Indiana through all sorts of adventure scenes you’ll remember from the movie.” Commenter JaymaBear took the words right out of my, uh, keyboard: “Hahah yeah I remember these from the movies…. I almost can’t tell the difference…..”

Ah, video games. Thank God they don’t make ‘em like they used to.
