What is a Hack you might ask? In the realm of classic video games and the definition we're using here, a hack is taking an existing game and modifying it in some fashion so that it differs from the original. Almost always this involves just changing the graphics, which is pretty easily done in many games. Some changes are done to make a game more faithful to the original (Space Invaders and Pac-Man seem to get the most attention here), others are done to give a game a different theme entirely and still other hacks, well, we haven't got a clue. And then there are controller hacks that allow you to play games with a different control scheme, or perhaps even using a different controller entirely.
Hacks abound for the Atari 2600 and there are several tools available to assist would-be hackers in their endeavors to improve their favorite games. A great page with lots of technical information about the 2600 is Dan Boris' Atari 2600 Tech Page. You'll want to grab 2600gfx.zip, which is a utility that extracts graphics from Atari 2600 binary files, allowing you to edit the graphics in any text editor.
If you know of any Hacks we're missing, or you're an author of a Hack and would like us to include it here, please contact us. We also have an entire page of 2600 TV Format Conversions that are hacks of a different nature. Many original PAL games were never released in NTSC, so they are difficult or impossible to play on NTSC televisions. These conversions allow you to enjoy these PAL games on NTSC televisions without having to worry about your screen rolling.
Click on a Title for more information and screenshots