If any computer or game console of the early 1980s is capable of reproducing Gyruss's music in worthy fashion, it has to be one of these. In fact, both the Commodore and Atari ports of Gyruss do quite well in the music department. Graphics are less of a certainty. Really no 8-bit machine is well-built to do 3D, even the psuedo-3D "forced perspective" graphics of a game like Gyruss. There also aren't any 8-bit home systems desigined to handle swarms of rapidly moving aliens. Fortunately, the programmers at Parker Brothers handled the challenge quite well, and neither of these ports disappoint. There are some obvious compromises, to be sure. The C-64 version flickers frequently and is prone to slow-downs, while the Atari version looks very blocky and almost monochromatic. Even so, Gyruss makes the transition very well these systems. A couple of little things keep these versions from being as faithful as they could have been, most notably the way initial swarms of alien ships always fire at the player's ship, even at the beginning of level 1. Nitpicks aside, these ports will satisfy any need for a Gyruss fix, especially with the volume turned up.
(Note: The Atari 5200 and the Atari 8-bit computers have very similar hardware, and games were often published with the same code for both. Gyruss plays the same on both platforms.)
Commodore 64 grade: B+.
Atari 8-bit and Atari 5200 grades: B.