Halo 2600 is an action-adventure video game developed for the Atari 2600 video game console, inspired by the Halo series of video games.

The player uses the joystick to control the character of Master Chief as he makes his way through 64 screens, divided into four zones: outdoors, Covenant base, ice world, and a final boss area. Weapons and power-ups are available to combat the many enemies that appear. The player and enemies can each be killed by one hit unless a shield is collected. There are two power-ups in the game, both guarded by what appears to be nine enemies but is actually three. The first is a gun with a faster rate of fire. The second is a pair of boots that allows the player to move faster. In addition to these, by killing certain enemies, the player can obtain an energy shield that will take one shot to prevent the loss of one of the player's three lives. After successfully completing the game once, the game returns to the menu screen, but with a red sky. If the player chooses to play again from that screen the game will run in "Legendary" mode and the player will move and shoot at a slower rate.

Halo 2600 was written by Ed Fries, former vice president of game publishing at Microsoft, who was involved in Microsoft's acquisition of Halo developers Bungie Studios. Fries decided to create a version of Halo for the Atari 2600 after being inspired by a book called Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System by Ian Bogost and Nick Montfort. The Atari 2600 had such limited RAM, only 128 bytes, that drawing Master Chief was difficult, and creating a game with other characters was even more so. Fries later stated that making the game taught him that constraint is sometimes a fuel for creativity.

The game was released in July 2010 at the Classic Gaming Expo. At the exposition, 500 physical copies of the game were on sale. It was one of four new Atari 2600 titles released by AtariAge at the 2010 Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, including Duck Attack!, K.O. Cruiser (a boxing game) and a port of Sega's 1981 arcade game Turbo. The effort was called "rough" but "amazing" by Tech Crunch, citing the immense size constraints involved in creating the game. Destructoid called the games controls "surprisingly capable", and The Escapist called the game's chiptune soundtrack "perfect". The source code of the game was used to create an 8-bit poster representation of Master Chief. The cartridge version was rereleased through Atari Age in 2013.

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Reviews

Reviewer: Jolanxbl - favoritefavorite - January 28, 2023
Subject: No weapon

Could not find any weapon
No sound

Reviewer: The Smart-Casual Gamer - favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - April 1, 2022
Subject: Much better than most Atari 2600 games!

The title says it all. Many Atari 2600 games are less than sub-par, but this game, despite being made for 2600 hardware. The controls are responsive, the gameplay is simple to grasp, but challenging to play. The sprites also look GREAT, almost Pitfall! levels of good.

I don't even know the Halo games that well at all, I played a little bit of Halo Reach as a kid, but I didn't enjoy it very much. This, though, this is bloody brilliant.

Reviewer: cristianjeffryes - favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - May 6, 2020
Subject: excelente porte

Obrigado por ter compartilhado esse jogo.
Achei bem legal.

Reviewer: Armpit time for Aardvarks - favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - June 30, 2019
Subject: Not impossible.

You need to find a gun first, (placed randomly).

Then you use the arrow keys and left CTRL to shoot in the direction you are travelling or facing.

Kind of fun trying to identify the 3D game equivalent enemies.

Most go down with one shot, and some drop shield items, which means you can take 2 hits instead of one before dying. Enemies can shoot diagonally, but you can't. Some enemy bullets travel faster, so watch out.

A very classic timewaster, but I admit I only ran through about 20 screens.
Too many new games to play!

Reviewer: F4R4D4Y - favoritefavoritefavorite - May 14, 2019
Subject: Kinda impossible

Can only shoot one direction, as enemies can shoot all. Very difficult

Reviewer: abetop - favoritefavoritefavorite - April 29, 2019
Subject: Fire button

You must get a weapon first! You know: "I need a weapon" lol

Reviewer: knmerriweather - favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - July 27, 2017
Subject: Very fun game

I like old skool retro stuff. This is fun. I used to play Halo on XBox.

Arrow keys to move.
Left Ctrl to shoot.

Reviewer: Quamworld - favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - February 14, 2017
Subject: question

how does one actually FIRE their weapon in the emulated version? or what is the red "fire" button in the emulated atari games?

Reviewer: tracey pooh - favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - April 28, 2014
Subject: impressive

i was hoping for more, and slightly disappointed when it started, but found the gameplay responsive and fun.
this would have made a perfect 1982 style atari 2600 game!

Reviewer: SourJim42 - favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - January 24, 2014
Subject: Masterful

If you've ever played Adventure for the 2600, and you have a strong enough imagination, you might be able to begin to reckon what this game is like before you play it.

Adventure + Halo.

The graphics are some of the best ever eked out of the platform. The controls are responsive. The boss battles, frustratingly difficult. It's a great game. (Be sure to find the gun to get started. Normally on the top screen, I think?)

Reviewer: Hypercube VisLab - favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - December 4, 2013
Subject: Amazing Recreation

This is honestly one of the better-made of the silliest things available. It's wonderfully responsive in a way 2600 games shouldn't be able to be emulated. Just play this through and enjoy.