ENDURO
1983
◼︎ One of the best racing games on the 2600,
Enduro
presents a tough but thrilling challenge. It sets you a per-day goal of beating a prerequisite number of rivals as well as an overall objective of staying in the race for as many days as possible. As might be predicted, your fellow drivers get faster and make themselves more difficult to overtake as the days go by. Since you can be at the wheel for days on end, you of course have to drive at night, which is brought to your attention by a setting sun at the end of each day. As you drive through the dark, you only have your opponents’ rear lights to guide your attempts to overtake them. Beyond its day/night cycle,
Enduro
tests you with icy roads where your steering is less responsive. As with the sunsets that tell you night is coming, there are mountains in the backgrounds that turn white shortly before you hit ice by way of a heads-up. Lastly, there’s thick fog that stops you from seeing the other drivers’ back lights until you’re practically in their boots!