There are some things the Atari 2600 just wasn't designed to do. Playing a game with dozens of on-screen enemies, for example, or performing a well-known classical toccata with a modern electronic twist. So, making the system play a game like Gyruss, and having it look and sound even remotely anything like Gyruss, is a very tall order. Surprise: Parker Brothers filled that order.
This is very obviously the most stripped-down home version of the game. There are fewer aliens each round; you cannot see or shoot at the aliens in formation; the 2600's limited sound hardware makes Bach's toccata sound rather odd in some places; there are no sound effects, only music, and there is no on-screen text, meaning you figure out for yourself which planet you have reached or how many bonus points you were rewarded following a chance stage. If those sound like relatively small nitpicks, that's because Gyruss for the Atari 2600 actually is faithful in large part to the arcade game. Of course, the console can only do so much, and even if the game successfully plays like Gyruss, the lower detail, constant flickering and frequently out-of-tune music may leave some players dissatisfied. Still, it appears we at least got the best Gyruss the console was capable of offering at the time, and that's really the best anyone can expect. In this case it is good enough.
Grade: B.