As a new fan of the Atari 2600, this is my favourite game on that console!
In the game you play as a Yar, a small insect like creature, whose objective is to destroy Qotile. To do this you must destroy a huge barrier surrounding him whilst avoiding a free roaming Torpedo and Qotile's "Swirl" attack. You can destroy Qotile's barrier by shooting and nibbling at it. Once enough of the barrier is destroyed you can shoot at Qotile with your "Zorlon Cannon".
Avoiding enemy attacks is as simple as flying out of the way. There is a flashing, multi-coloured area on the screen called the "Neutural Zone". when in this zone, the Torpedo can't harm you but you can still be hit with Qotile's attack. Also when in this area, you can't use any of your own weapons.
You get a certain amount of lives and when you lose a life your current score will be shown on screen. Also when you defeat Qotile, your overall score will be shown.
The game is a little tough at first, really because there's no explanation of what to do (at least, I didn't know what to do as I had no manual). Once you figure out the basics of the game, you'll be able to get by each level without too much of a challenge, although the game does get progressively harder. You're still required to remain focussed at all times as you could quickly be caught off guard.
The controls in the game are pretty responsive and although the Joystick is generally quite stiff, it won't take long to get used to.
The graphics in this game are better than I was expecting. Having only just gotten in to the 2600 (so late, I know), I was under the impression that all games for it looked like crap. Some games do but that's not the case with this one. Sure there's a limited amount of colours (besides the neutral zone which is packed full of seizure inducing colours) but everything on screen is very clear and easy to see. Both the Yar and Qotile are simple but strange looking and the barrier is a flat brown but it's easy to look past the simpleness and enjoy what the game does offers in other areas.
One of those areas is sound, which is also surprisingly decent. There is a constant buzzing, rumbling background noise which I assume is a mix of Qotile, The Yar and the Torpedo. Also there are the sounds of your attacks, the Swirl attack and when you're destroyed there'll be a small explosion. Overall the sound is great. It does get repetitive but not in one of those annoying ways, you just kinda get used to it.
There's not a lot on offer from Yars' Revenge. It's pretty addicting when you get in to the swing of things but it's only a couple of levels with the same objective. The game gets harder with each level but the looks of the level remain the same. A good addition is the score system as you can keep on replaying the game to get your score higher and higher and then it's just a case of playing until you eventually go mad from the neutral zone and end sequence.
Despite only discovering this game along with the Atari 2600 itself pretty recently, I agree with the more hardcore retro gamers that this is an awesome game that still holds up when compared to a lot of today's games. And if you're in the right frame of mind, chances are you'll have more fun with this game.