Pac-Man (Atari 2600 review)

Developer: Atari, Inc.
Publisher: Atari, Inc.
Released: 1982

Pac-Man is a maze game that was first released in the Arcade in 1980.

+ Features eight different game variations that allow you to customise the moving speed for both the ghosts and Pac-Man.

+ As long as you expect a very rough approximation of the original, there is some fun to be had with the altered maze layout.

+ Turn-based multiplayer mode is a great inclusion that enables two friends to battle for high score bragging rights.

- Rampant sprite flicker, making the last few moments of an energy pill nervy as it's tricky to tell when foes return to normal.

- Ghosts no longer have unique behaviours, which is a blow to strategic play for those who enjoy learning enemy patterns.

- Additionally, ghosts sometimes rush towards you instead of playing defensively when you have an energy pill.

- Has many graphical deviations from the Arcade, and all the charm and personality has been lost in translation.

Qix (Atari 5200 review)

Developer: GCC
Publisher: Atari, Inc.
Released: 1982

Qix is an action game that was first released in the Arcade in 1981.

+ Gameplay is addictive and despite the simple premise the fast-paced action always forces you to think two steps ahead. 

+ Considerable amount of techniques you can employ to fill the screen, so you always have new strategies to try out.

+ Sparx are brilliantly devious, as they stop you from moving safely by chasing your lines around the playfield.

+ Genius points system, as while you can move fast to claim territory, navigating slowly racks up an even bigger score.

+ Expertly dividing two Qix is thrilling and the game rewards you for consecutive splits by increasing the score multiplier.

+ Unlike the NES version (1991), this port has multiple difficulty options to cater to your particular skill level.

- Action can become quite repetitive and there's no gameplay variations to increase its long-term appeal.

Missile Command (Atari 5200 review)

Developer: Atari
Publisher: Atari
Released: 1982

Missile Command is a shoot-em-up that was originally released in the Arcade in 1980.

+ Trak-Ball brings the Arcade game home in spectacular fashion, as it affords pinpoint accuracy over movement and shots.

+ Tasks you with strategic and resourceful play, as you only have a limited amount of shots to protect your bases.

+ Necessity to shoot in front of an enemy missile to create an explosion radius forces strategic planning ahead of your target.

+ Includes many ways to rack up bonus points, and it helps that multipliers are displayed prior to each wave.

+ Impending doom of missiles encroaching is anxiety-inducing, and the closing 'The End' screen is dramatically poignant.

+ Practice mode is a great addition, as it switches things up by only including homing missiles with deft manoeuvrability.

- Doesn't include any difficulty settings, and there's only one silo instead of the three featured in the Arcade original.

Pick Axe Pete! (Philips Videopac G7000 / Magnavox Odyssey 2 review)

Developer: Ed Averett
Publisher: Magnavox, Philips
Released: 1982

Pick Axe Pete! is an action game that's exclusive to the Philips Videopac G7000 / Magnavox Odyssey 2 console.

+ Various layouts on offer to encourage repeated play, and you can even program your own mazes using the keyboard.

+ Strikes an intriguing balance of simplistic gameplay and frantic multitasking that quickly becomes addictive.

+ Interesting dichotomy of feeling invincible when carrying the pick axe compared to extreme vulnerability when it breaks.

+ Avoiding boulders on two platforms by climbing halfway up a ladder widens the playfield and gives more evasive options.

- Gameplay and overarching objective isn't perhaps immediately intuitive without first reading the instruction manual.

- You only have one life per attempt and it can be demoralising to constantly be thrown back to the first stage.

- Can spend an exorbitant amount of time waiting for things to happen, and the sloppy controls will often let you down.

K.C.'s Krazy Chase! (Philips Videopac G7000 / Magnavox Odyssey 2 review)

Developer: Magnavox
Publisher: Magnavox
Released: 1982

K.C.'s Krazy Chase! is a maze game and the sequel to K.C. Munchkin! (1981, Philips Videopac G7000).

+ Differentiates itself from Pac-Man (1980, Arcade) by affording you the option of being the constant aggressor.

+ Forcefully munching the Dratapillar's body is a neat contrast to simultaneously playing defensively to avoid other enemies.

+ Managing to cut the Dratapillar close to its head results in dispersed parts which adds to the multitasking fun.

+ Option to eat trees scattered around the playfield for extra points adds a terrific risk-reward system for high score chasers.

+ Sprite animation is outstanding and K.C.'s smiley face and flopping ears brings oodles of personality to the game.

- Like its predecessor, it still only provides you with a single life, so improving your skills in higher levels takes real patience.

- Despite having five included maze types, there's no option to randomise them during a singular high score run.

Alpiner (Texas Instruments TI-99/4A review)

Developer: Texas Instruments
Publisher: Texas Instruments
Released: 1982

Alpiner is a mountain climbing game that's exclusive to the TI-99/4A computer.

+ The levels are randomly generated which makes each play-through a fresh and unique experience.

+ Collecting bonus points from the mountain beasts puts you in harms way and adds a great risk-reward element.

+ Being able to wrap around the sides of the mountain is very handy for dodging hazards and saving precious time.

+ There's a real visceral satisfaction when you finally manage to conquer a previously unbeatable mountain.

+ The Speech Synthesizer brings some personality to the game and helps to notify you of perilous falling rocks.

- Graphics are a little rough around the edges, and the jerky scrolling and flickering sprites are an eye sore.

- Very little is added to each successive mountain, so the gameplay can feel stagnant after a handful of levels.

Parsec (Texas Instruments TI-99/4A review)

Developer: Jim Dramis, Paul Urbanus
Publisher: Texas Instruments
Released: 1982

Parsec is a side-scrolling shooter that optionally uses the Speech Synthesizer module.

+ Resembles Scramble (1981, Arcade) in that the action is broken down into small sections with unique enemy patterns.

+ Inability to constantly fire results in strategic gameplay, especially when trying not to overheat your lasers in higher levels.

+ The 5-second countdown while you attempt to survive an asteroid belt is both exhilarating and terrifying!

+ The Speech Synthesizer module adds a great deal of charm to the action and assists you with incoming enemy alerts.

+ Background stars and foreground scenery creates a cool faux parallax scrolling effect that's very visually appealing.

- Once the sections loop and you advance to the next level you've seen everything it has to offer in short order.

- Occasional issues with lasers shooting through enemy ships, and the controls don't quite offer precision movement.

Cosmic Ark (Atari 2600 review)

Developer: Imagic
Publisher: Imagic
Released: 1982

Cosmic Ark is a shooter that's exclusive to the Atari 2600 console.

Piloting the Cosmic Ark, your mission is to rescue creatures before the sun of Alpha Ro fades. There's two distinct gameplay scenes, with the first tasking you with pressing the joystick in the direction of incoming meteors to destroy them. The gameplay is seriously intense and it never allows you to take a moment to relax, resulting in a somewhat stressful experience that always errs on the right side of fun. A big part of this is that the difficulty curve is spot-on and it gently eases you in before unleashing an absolute onslaught of meteors your way! Being a stationary target adds to the anxiety and I love how the sound of meteors heading your way seems to increase in treble noise as the wave continues. The second scene tasks you with exiting the Ark in a shuttleship and rescuing two creatures using its tractor beam. Care must be taken to avoid the defence systems that move up/down and fire at intervals, and a warning sound will alert you if the Ark is in danger of incoming meteor attacks. It's very much a game of 'cat and mouse' and the most enjoyable aspect is the constant battle of trying to rescue as many creatures as possible, while giving yourself enough time to protect the Ark from impending doom. This multitasking feature gives the scene a real edge and the controls respond admirably throughout. A nice touch is how the creatures change their appearance after the first few waves, which includes separate animations; this provides incentive to keep playing in the hope that other species appear. Also, the scrolling backgrounds that twist and rotate are mightily impressive and perfectly suit the space theme.

Cosmic Ark is a terrific game and somewhat of a technical showcase for the console given its refined graphics and overall presentation. Thankfully the action is just as impressive and its solid controls, twitch-based gameplay and multi-screen approach result in an exceptional title that quickly gets your heart-rate pumping!

Random trivia: The awesome background effects were actually created due to a bug in the Atari 2600 hardware.

Super Breakout (Atari 5200 review)

Developer: Atari
Publisher: Atari
Released: 1982

Super Breakout is a block busting game that was originally released in the Arcades in 1978.

It requires either the analog joystick or the Trak-Ball controller, and the objective is to continually bounce a ball off your paddle to smash walls. Points are awarded based on the brick colour you hit, with the most valuable being towards the very top. You only have five balls per game and if one lands below your paddle a ball will be deducted. The joystick works well to mimic the precision movement of the Atari 2600 paddles allowing you to delicately move across the playfield or dash at lightning speed. There is some jitter though which isn't helpful when the ball is careening back at full speed. The Trak-Ball provides a good alternative (with zero jitter), but it's tough to stop on a dime due to having to take your hand off for a split-second (resulting in very slight travel). There's only four variations compared to the 2600's twelve, the first of which is Breakout where you face regenerating 14x8 walls; it's a simple, yet fun concept that advances the Pong (1972, Arcades) formula to create more intense gameplay. In Progressive, the walls constantly move downwards in 14x4 staggered patterns; it's the standout variation as the gaps in the walls give you ample chances to lodge the ball so it repeatedly bounces off bricks for huge points. Double includes two balls in play at the same time, along with an extra stacked paddle; the fast speed that each ball travels makes it unwieldy to keep both in play and you'll likely lose one of them very quickly. Cavity sees two balls trapped inside two sets of walls; it suffers from the same problems as Double and instead of being an interesting hook the trapped balls are a hindrance.

There's nothing particularly 'super' about Super Breakout, and while it is a fun game in small doses, the lack of variations when compared to its Atari 2600 counterpart makes for a less appealing package. On top of this, the controller options (while admittedly decent) aren't quite as refined as the paddles for high score attempts.

Random trivia: Super Breakout was the pack-in title for the Atari 5200 console.

Spider-Man (Atari 2600 review)

Developer: Atari
Publisher: Parker Brothers
Released: 1982

Spider-Man is an action game and the first ever title to feature the famous web-slinger.

Your job is to save New York City from the Green Goblin, who's booby-trapped the city with super bombs. Each level sees you shooting your web upwards to climb skyscrapers in an attempt to reach and defuse the bomb at the very top. Capturing criminals along the way (by crossing over them during a swing) is crucial to keeping your web fluid topped up, and you must also be careful not to shoot your web onto a window or any part of the sky, otherwise Spider-Man will start to fall. The ability to control your web length is great, especially when you're in tight quarters and need to move upwards a small distance. You'll totally feel like a superhero when you do successfully swing onto a meagre piece of scenery and the risk-reward element is perfectly balanced. Even falling doesn't mean immediate death, and it's fantastic how you have an opportunity to save yourself by quickly web-swinging back onto the building. It packs a good challenge too, and the steadily increasing enemy speeds and fiendishly placed bombs force you to use all parts of the building structure, rather than relying on the same patterns. Approaching the top makes for some fun, yet tricky climbing, as the 'safe' areas on the building become much smaller and the Green Goblin starts to move side-to-side in an attempt to break your line (basically acting as a boss-like area). However, the game's biggest downfall is its repetitive nature, as there's no significant stage layout variations or additional gameplay mechanics to peak your interest; once you've completed the first few levels there's literally nothing else to see.

Spider-Man is certainly entertaining for a few play sessions, but it simply doesn't do enough to keep you invested past the 10-15 minute mark. More gameplay modes or variations would have gone a long way to boosting its long-lasting appeal, something that even Space Invaders (1980, Atari 2600) managed to do with its 112 modes!

Random trivia: This was also the first videogame based on a Marvel Comics character.

Aztec Challenge (Atari 8-bit review)

Developer: Robert T. Bonifacio
Publisher: Cosmi
Released: 1982

Aztec Challenge is an endless runner that bears no resemblance to the popular Commodore 64 title of the same name (1983).

Your mission is to complete an endurance-based obstacle course in order to escape being sacrificed by the Aztec priests during their annual ritual to the gods! There's seven phases that can be played with 1-2 players, and depending on which direction is held on the joystick, three jump types are available (High, Medium and Low); once you've lost all four lives it's Game Over. Phase 1 begins as a bog-standard endless runner, as your character slowly plods along. It certainly doesn't show much initial promise, but things start to heat up in Phase 2; here, the game starts to resemble Flappy Bird (2013, iOS) with its vertically tiered hazards that you need to jump through; it's essential that you learn to use the three different jump types, and once you start to recognise these patterns there's a certain mindless enjoyment to the action, even if it is highly repetitive. Phase 4 is where things fall apart, as the game starts to demand absolute pixel-perfect precision; it tasks you with jumping between platforms while avoiding the fire below which is seemingly impossible even if you press the button at the very edge of the structure. Unlike the previous phases, its gameplay mechanics are unintuitive and even the manual only gives vague hints that are completely useless. As maddening as this is though, a really nice feature is the ability to continue on your current phase with a full stock of lives. I also like that points are received each time you jump, as it adds a risk-reward element where you can try to leap repeatedly between hazards to bump up your score. Another fantastic idea is the competitive co-op mode which is unique and provides a totally new way to tackle the steep challenge.

Aztec Challenge provides an interesting insight to the beginnings of the endless runner genre, but despite some neat ideas, its obtuse and rigid style is a real turn-off the further you delve into it. The level design could have used some refinement too, and once you've spent 30-60 minutes with the game there's little reason to return.

Random trivia: An updated version of the game was developed by Robert T. Bonifacio and released on the Cosmi label in 1983.

Donkey Kong (Atari 2600 review)

Developer: Imaginative Systems Software
Publisher: Coleco
Released: 1982

Donkey Kong is a platformer that was originally released in the Arcades in 1981.

You control Mario and your mission is to rescue your girlfriend from the clutches of Donkey Kong. The action takes place across two screens (that simply loop once completed), rather than the four featured in the Arcade version. The first tasks you with reaching the top of the screen while climbing ladders and jumping over barrels; there aren't any fireballs here and the barrels don't move diagonally, but everything else is pretty faithful. Graphically, the stage can best be described as functional, with Donkey Kong looking like a tasty Gingerbread Man, and barrels resembling chocolate chip cookies! However, thankfully the gameplay is up to scratch with zero slowdown / flicker and great collision detection, all complimented by responsive controls. The second screen sees you attempting to remove all eight rivets while dodging fireballs; unfortunately, some of the challenge is lost as the fireballs can't move up or down ladders (allowing you to safely camp on a ladder until the coast is clear). It's still somewhat entertaining, but the repetition of the same two screens does grow tiresome after a few rounds. It's a real shame that Coleco refused to use an 6K cartridge and instead tried to fit everything into 4K as it seriously hinders this otherwise fun port. To make things worse, this is perhaps the easiest version of the game I've ever played; there's no difficulty settings either and the challenge only seems to increase marginally as you progress. In fact, most times I lost a life was as a result of 'zoning out' or trying to force Mario into a tricky situation in a lazy attempt to create some drama!

Donkey Kong is an odd version of the Arcade classic due to its lack of screens, but it plays well and is a decent representation of the game. Due to the use of a minuscule 4K cartridge it's not a patch on the superior Colecovision port (also released in 1982), but there's certainly some fun to be had, if only for a brief play session.

Random trivia: In 1983, a sequel called Donkey Kong Junior was released on the Atari 2600.

Bomb Squad (Intellivision review)

Developer: Mattel

Publisher: Mattel

Released: 1982

Bomb Squad is an action game that requires use of the Intellivoice Voice Synthesis Module.

Your mission is to disarm a bomb within 30 minutes that's been planted by an evil terrorist. To do this you listen to instructions given by a disposal expert using the module's speech capabilities. The main objective is to figure out the bomb code which can range from 1-3 digits. Each digit is contained within a 4x5 grid and by repairing circuit boards one element of the grid will either light up or stay blank; this then allows you to guess the exact digit by its visual shape. The circuit repair screens make up the majority of the game and you replace parts using Cutters, Pliers or a Soldering Iron. The expert gives detailed instructions and you simply have to carry them out in the correct order. The game makes clever use of the Intellivision controller and while the button placement is awkward it works great once you get the hang of it. Trying to figure out the code is really enjoyable and I love that you don't have to be perfectly accurate when placing pieces onto the board. Dropping the wrong piece is terrifying though thanks to the sped up music and the fact that the bomb timer accelerates! It intensifies the action as you're constantly aware of the clock due to either a mistake or the voice samples that occasionally let you know how much time is remaining. The Intellivoice is crucial to the entire experience and I was impressed with its capabilities and how it smartly integrates with the gameplay. It completely guides you in everything you're doing (e.g. telling you how to approach each circuit board, or letting you know if you're slightly out of alignment when placing chips) and the clear voice samples have lots of personality.

Bomb Squad is a fantastic game that all Intellivision owners should experience and it's worth the price of the voice module alone. Compared to most other titles of its time it's incredibly advanced as it seamlessly blends multiple genres together to create some truly captivating gameplay.

 

 

Random trivia: The game manual has an error when detailing what digits make up the number seven! (5th column, 3rd row is incorrectly lit up).

RealSports Volleyball (Atari 2600 review)

Developer: Atari

Publisher: Atari

Released: 1982

 

RealSports Volleyball is a sports game and one of several RealSports titles to appear on the Atari 2600.

 

The object in each match is to score 15 points before your opponent. When the ball is on your side of the court it needs to cross the net within three hits and you can choose to either move a player into position for an automated high pass or press the Fire button for a spike. The difficulty switches determine the speed from slow to fast with the latter being preferred so it doesn't feel as if you're wading through treacle! You control both team-mates at the same time and they can individually only cover certain parts of the court. However, there is a 'dead-zone in the centre that's inaccessible to both players; this leaves you completely helpless if a shot is hit there which is massively frustrating. The shadow of the ball helps to position your player but unfortunately it disappears once the sun sets which makes the game almost unplayable. The computer A.I. isn't the smartest and will sometimes refuse to defend a ball that's hit towards the net area. What disappointed me most was how easy it was to defeat the computer on each setting as they barely put up a fight. Unless you have a friend to play with you're stuck with demolishing the CPU repeatedly and as a result you likely won't spend too much time with the game after a couple of matches. There's also a second mode that removes the ability to pass and instead each hit returns the ball across the net. I found it to be pretty pointless, as without the option of both spiking and passing it basically turns into a one-on-one game of Pong (1972, Arcades), only less enjoyable. The annoying SFX are meant to sound like rolling waves, yet resemble a rocket taking off!

 

RealSports Volleyball is marginally playable for a few minutes but unfortunately it has some design and gameplay flaws that hold it back. Roping a friend in for some competitive matches does help but even then it's unlikely that you'll stay interested past the ten minute mark.

 

 

 

Random trivia: The other RealSports games released on the Atari 2600 were Baseball (1982), Football (1982), Soccer (1982), Tennis (1982) and Boxing (1987).

Star Trek: The Motion Picture / Star Ship (Vectrex review)

Developer: GCE

Publisher: GCE

Released: 1982

 

Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a first-person space shooter that was released in some markets as Star Ship.

 

It supports 1-2 players (alternating) and your mission is to pilot the Starship Enterprise and destroy the Klingon Mothership. The joystick moves your ship, Button 4 fires your laser and Button 3 puts up a protective shield which defends against incoming torpedoes. Both the laser and shield have limited strength so you must watch your gauges, hunt down the Space Station and press Button 2 to lock your ship onto the door to refuel. There's nine sectors and once you've eliminated all Klingon and Romulan ships in a sector you move onto the next. The gameplay reminds me of Star Raiders (1977, Atari 8-bit) as the fast paced action forces you to multitask at all times. It does have a learning curve but once you master the controls it's enjoyable and the graphics, while primitive, do an outstanding job of making the play area feel expansive. It's challenging, in the best possible way, as the collision detection is great and every death feels like it was completely your fault. One of the hardest elements to master is refuelling as the Space Station needs to be rotated with the door facing you; while you're trying to time your shot enemy torpedoes still rain down on you so it's a careful balancing act that lends the game a real intensity that the best Arcade games have. The Klingon Mothership appears in Sector Nine and it fires a wide range of torpedoes in your direction; to defeat it you must shoot directly onto its nose. This battle is awesome as it adds some variety, tests your nerve and challenges you to be even more precise with your aim. Before each game you choose which sector you'd like a Black Hole to appear in which warps you straight to the Mothership if you lock on; this adds strategy as if you're struggling with a specific sector you can just skip it completely.

 

Star Trek: The Motion Picture is an engaging and well thought-out shooter that I found to be more immersive than most other Vectrex games. It's amazing how much it draws you in (and tricks you into believing it's a bigger, free roaming world than it actually is!) and there's simply no other experience like it on the system.

 

 

 

Random trivia: The game made a brief appearance in a 1982 movie called Android as a character called Max 404 is seen playing it.

Space Wars (Vectrex review)

Developer: GCE

Publisher: GCE

Released: 1982

 

Space Wars is a shoot-em-up that was first released in the Arcades in 1977.

 

It supports 1-2 players and the objective is to destroy the opposing ship ten times to win. The controls are similar to other Vectrex shooters as the joystick rotates your vehicle, Button 2 transports you to a new location, 3 thrusts forward and 4 fires lasers. As you battle you'll need to watch your supplies (located in the top-right) as you only have a certain amount of fuel and laser power; once a round ends the stock replenishes. Although you can occasionally take multiple hits you must dodge meteorites that float around as well as avoiding the sun (located in the centre) as they'll instantly kill you. There's seven gameplay variations which affect the skill level, ship and laser speed, as well as the strength of the sun's gravity which can pull you in. Despite the different setting the gameplay is reminiscent of Armor Attack (1982, Vectrex) as it's essentially a one-on-one battle in an enclosed arena. The game's strongest point is that there's multiple ways to win; for example, you could just go all-out and hunt straight after the enemy, guns blazing. However, there's the more tactical approach which is to keep your distance until the opposing ship runs out of fuel; at this point you can swoop in and shoot down their immobile vehicle. One of the main difficulties I found though is that it's annoyingly tough to fire accurately and frustration quickly sets in as you beam lasers all around your opponent instead of hitting them! Also, even on the easiest setting the CPU is extremely intelligent and puts up a strong fight; they can even kill you within a split second of a round starting so it's best to immediately move your vehicle. The higher difficulty settings are utterly ridiculous as the ships move too fast and the sun's gravity is too strong which literally makes the game unplayable.

 

Space Wars is a mildly entertaining shooter with a few layers of strategy to its simplistic gameplay. However, I just didn't find it very engaging and unless you have the social element of two human players battling it out it likely won't hold your interest for very long.

 

 

 

Random trivia: There's a way to gain temporary invincibility in this game; find out more here.

Solar Quest (Vectrex review)

Developer: GCE

Publisher: GCE

Released: 1982

 

Solar Quest is a shoot-em-up that was originally released in the Arcades in 1981.

 

It supports 1-2 players and your mission is to destroy alien vessels and rescue survivors before they float into the centrally located sun. The game makes full use of the Vectrex controller as Button 1 transports you to another part of the playfield, 2 smart bombs those around you, 3 thrusts you away from danger and 4 fires rockets. You too have to avoid touching the sun as doing so will deplete your reserve of three lives; additional lives can be earned by rescuing 25 survivors. The gameplay is fast-paced and the shooting action is solid. Having the sun in the middle really changes the dynamic compared to games like Mine Storm (1982, Vectrex) as there's impending doom lurking beyond your every move. It's exhilarating once you get used to using all four buttons at once and the control scheme is well thought out; I especially love making small incremental moves around the centre to dodge enemies when they're hot on your tail and even though you don't receive any points for doing so it's satisfying when they end up hitting the sun! Interestingly, if you don't want to rescue survivors you don't technically have to; instead you can shoot them and still earn a lower amount of points! This basically gives you two different ways to play the game which is brilliant for replayability and for suiting what mood you're in! To keep things stimulating there's seven types of alien vessel and some wander around and only home in on your direction when you're close, while others zigzag around in unpredictable patterns. There's also ghost ships that randomly appear and if you manage to shoot them you'll gain a massive 3,500 points. The game packs a real challenge and it doesn't take long for things to heat up so you'll need serious practice to last more than a couple of minutes.

 

Solar Quest is an excellent shooter with fantastic controls and it provides an interesting twist on the usual Asteroids style gameplay. While it's extremely challenging those who take time to master it will find it to be surprisingly deep with multiple ways to rack up a high score.

 

 

 

Random trivia: Both Solar Quest and Space Wars have exactly the same overlay except with a slightly different colour scheme.

Venture (Colecovision review)

Developer: Coleco

Publisher: Coleco

Released: 1982

Venture is an action game that was originally released in the Arcades in 1981.

Playing the role of Winky your mission is to travel through perilous dungeons and collect all the treasures. You initially start off as a small unarmed dot on a map screen that shows all the available rooms you can enter. Here you must guide your character around safely without touching any of the Hallmonsters that kill you with one hit. Once you're inside a room the action zooms in and you now have access to a bow and arrow; this is used to destroy enemies that include goblins, dragons, snakes and skeletons. Similar to Berzerk (1980, Arcades) you need to quickly make your escape from the room after collecting the treasure otherwise an invincible Hallmonster will appear and attack you. Interestingly, one room in each level features no enemies; instead it's known as the Wall Room and it tasks you with collecting treasure from the middle of the screen while avoiding moving walls. It's a really nice change of pace and keeps the action varied. After you've collected the treasure in all rooms you move onto the next level with increased difficulty. The action is intense like the best early Arcade titles but it also has an adventure feel to it as you strategise the best way to reach each room. It's enjoyable working out your route and outsmarting the speedy Hallmonsters as they try to catch you! Each room brings something new to the action to keep things fresh and I love that they have their own individual music (uncommon for the time). Minor annoyances are that you can sometimes exit a room and be killed by an enemy the instant you reach the map screen, and diagonals aren't easy to consistently pull off.

 

Venture is simple in nature but it feels very expansive and much deeper than many other early 1980s Arcade titles. The amount of variety in both the enemy types and gameplay is fantastic and the creepy atmosphere draws you in for a fun and truly engrossing experience.

 

 

Random trivia: The game was also released on the Atari 2600 and Intellivision.

Rip-Off (Vectrex review)

Developer: GCE
Publisher: GCE
Released: 1982

Rip-Off is a shooter that was first released in the Arcades by Cinematronics in 1979.

You control a ship and your mission is to stop incoming pirates from stealing your valuable fuel cells. These cells are located in the middle of the screen and your method of attack is firing a laser or Thrusting forwards. There's technically no life counter and you can crash into enemies to destroy them at a cost of not having a backup ship appear for a few seconds. It's an interesting mechanic as it gives you another attack option while temporarily penalising you. The game's main objective is to rack up a high score which you do by shooting pirates; there's six types available including some with quick moves and others that fire lasers. Once you've destroyed all six types you enter a Bonus Round where larger points can be earned by surviving additional waves. Incredibly, there's 16 different gameplay options to choose from that affect the number of cells you have to protect, as well as variations on which enemies and bullets can wraparound the screen (i.e. leave one side and enter the other). The latter sounds like a good idea but having wraparound fire is a major disadvantage as you can't shoot as fast due to bullets being visible for longer. The game becomes difficult quickly as after a couple of waves the pirates start speeding into view. The shooting action works perfectly well and the ship controls are sharp and responsive. However, the overall gameplay just isn't very engaging and it seems like you spend as much time waiting for enemies to enter as you do shooting them. While some might argue that the downtime heightens the anticipation of impending waves I personally felt it created a lack of atmosphere. I also wish there was a way to pick up stray fuel cells and bring them back to the centre pod as it would have added a much needed layer of strategy.

Rip-Off plays perfectly well but I found it to be a bit generic and somewhat uninspired. The action just isn't interesting enough and the lack of strategy involved leads to some sparse gameplay with little depth and minimal replay value.

Random trivia: By holding buttons 1 + 2 + 4 on the title screen until the music ends you can access a hidden developer credit.