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Flying ostriches straddled by lance-wielding knights on the ColecoVision? Surely you Joust! The vintage Williams arcade game merits cult classic status for its offbeat mixture of elements, and Atari snatched up the rights to port Joust to its home consoles, and a few others. But the plunge of the videogame industry in '83-'84 prevented Atari's ColecoVision edition of Joust from ever seeing the light of day. Limited copies from the original prototype, finished except for any kind of sound effects, were sold at the Classic Gaming Expo in 2001, and it's actually as close to the arcade game as any of the 1980s consoles could get (with the possible exception of the Atari 7800 version). The graphics are crisp, almost perfectly replicating the coin-op's unique look, and control of your onscreen character is smooth (if anything, the "flap" button gives you a little too much lift). It's sad that the game remains in a permanent "mute" mode due to its cancellation before the sound work could be completed. The finished version of Joust for the ColecoVision might have been one of that machine's best arcade games, and certainly one of the better home versions of Joust. Definitely a playable prototype worth getting your hands on, if you can. ~ Earl Green, All Game Guide