Snoopy And The Red Baron
According to Snoopy And The Red Baron's instruction manual: "The dastardly Red Baron has stolen important food supplies from the allies during the war. Hamburgers, ice cream cones, popcorn and other tasty treats have been taken by this evil aviator and sharpshooter. Your task is to help Snoopy shoot down the Red Baron and recover the stolen supplies." If you can suspend your disbelief long enough to allow for a beagle with a flying doghouse battling one of Germany's deadliest fighter pilots, surely you can imagine troops on the Western Front in desperate need of ice cream and popcorn.
Gameplay: It takes eight hits to blast the Red Baron out of the sky, and it also takes eight hits to send Snoopy to his horrible death on the desert floor. The Red Baron likes to hang out in the clouds at the top of the screen where Snoopy can't fly (something about not having an oxygen supply in his otherwise skyworthy doghouse), so Snoopy will have to lure him down to combat altitude by flying close to the mountains at the bottom of the screen.
Could be mistaken for: Defender, Ace Of Aces, one of those endless war documentaries on the Military Channel
Kids today might not like it because: It's difficult to feel cool and tough shooting planes out of the sky when you're a cute little dog, and you're picking up root beers and ice-cream cones.
Kids today might like it because: Snoopy's scarf flutters in the wind, and his doghouse shows simply adorable bullet holes whenever the Red Baron scores a hit.
Enduring contribution to gaming history: Snoopy And The Red Baron stands out as one of the very few licensed 2600 titles that didn't suck. In fact, it would be fun to play even if players didn't get to assume the role of everyone's favorite beagle.