Jess Ragan Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 I guess the topic says it all, doesn't it? For those of you who have yet to be traumatized by Super Cobra, it's the infuriating sequel to Scramble, a game that was already more than hard enough. This side-scrolling shooter is chock full of inevitable deaths and the kind of sadistic hoop-jumping that has cost many a gamer both his hair and sanity. Look at this! I mean, just look at this! It's cruel enough to load your game with the kind of cramped caverns that you can barely squeeze a pin through, but it's just plain nasty when you give the player a chopper the size of a zeppelin and cram those caverns with missiles and depth charges. Which missiles will launch? You've got no way to know. When will they launch? Generally when you're right on top of them and there's no way to defend yourself. And don't even get me started on the last two stages! Trying to zigzag through those tunnels is a complete nightmare... if a single pixel of that gigantic air barge of yours touches any part of the maze as it rushes by, you instantly explode. And that happens a lot because your helicopter is as fast as the queen of sea cows... nine times out of ten, you'll smash into the side of that sheer cliff wall rather than climbing over it because it's so sluggish and the screen scrolls so quickly. Then you get to the part where you collect booty, and it SUCKS big booty! Even if you somehow manage to grab the crate of cash, it winds up getting scraped off your skids because you can't get high enough to clear the ground. Then you have to fly in for another attempt, and another, and another, until you somehow defeat the twisted designs of the developers and escape with the money. It's a good thing that Super Cobra has continues, or else I would never have gotten to the end of the game. Hell, it's a BAD thing that Super Cobra has continues, because if it didn't I could have been doing more productive with my time rather than beating my head against the wall for a straight hour. And this was with a game pad! I probably would have made less progress than a glacier if I had been playing this game with a stock controller. Oooh, just THINKING about Super Cobra makes my blood boil, then curdle, then ooze out of my ears in red chunks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 And this was with a game pad! I probably would have made less progress than a glacier if I had been playing this game with a stock controller. You have NO idea. Super Cobra is one of the worst games available, input-wise. It has NO dead zone in the stick and NO calibration routine. Which means that you will veer wildly back and forth constantly. On the upside, you wouldn't have played it for an hour. Probably not even 5 minutes. I know I didn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted November 6, 2007 Author Share Posted November 6, 2007 What you were saying was just too BAD to be true, so I popped in the game one more time and tested it out with my stock controllers. One of them worked well enough, but the other one reacted exactly as you described, with the helicopter drifting out of control and into the cavern walls. And just as you predicted, it only took me five minutes to quit. Oh yeah, this is a real gem! (Yet strangely, the ColecoVision version is even worse...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.atarimania.com Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Just play the Atari 8-bit version: same game without the controller issues. A highly playable title and I'm not even a specialist when it comes to shooters. -- Atari Frog http://www.atarimania.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 What you were saying was just too BAD to be true, so I popped in the game one more time and tested it out with my stock controllers. One of them worked well enough, but the other one reacted exactly as you described, with the helicopter drifting out of control and into the cavern walls. And just as you predicted, it only took me five minutes to quit. Oh yeah, this is a real gem! (Yet strangely, the ColecoVision version is even worse...) In it's defense... Parker Brothers had a nice cart shell? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walter_J64bit Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Super Cobra has playability if your not using the OEM 5200 Controller I have the Redemption 5200 the 7800 one, the last time I've played I got to level 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jboypacman Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 I imagine that the 5200 controllers is what really hurts this one so i will stick with my 2600 copy.Has anyone played the Colecovision version? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted November 6, 2007 Author Share Posted November 6, 2007 Yeah... it's pretty bad. Here's the capsule review from my web site: "If cobras only bite when they're provoked, you've got to wonder what Parker Bros. did to make this one so mad." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Psionic Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Super Cobra (arcade version) is crazy hard...I love it. (Yet strangely, the ColecoVision version is even worse...) Graphics and sound...maybe. Control and gameplay...no way. Has anyone played the Colecovision version? Yes. Here's a review I wrote a while back: http://www.mobygames.com/game/colecovision...viewerId,74756/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetset Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 I think both versions smell. I never cared for Super Cobra for some reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 Super Cobra has playability if your not using the OEM 5200 Controller I have the Redemption 5200 the 7800 one, the last time I've played I got to level 5 Ummm.... Jess wasn't using a stock controller until I pointed out that the game was even worse with one. And it's not the controller's fault that whoever ported this from the computer paid absolutely no attention to the input device being analog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted November 7, 2007 Author Share Posted November 7, 2007 I think both versions smell. I never cared for Super Cobra for some reason. Oh, I can dig it. Super Cobra was a completely unnecessary sequel to Scramble, with the same gameplay but infuriating levels. It's not just that the game is hard; it's unforgiving and arbitrary, and I don't find that enjoyable at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Psionic Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 Super Cobra was a completely unnecessary sequel to Scramble, with the same gameplay but infuriating levels. Unnecessary? Nonsense...you have to grab that booty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted November 7, 2007 Author Share Posted November 7, 2007 Bah! This game IS booty! I don't want to turn this into a litmus test for judging the game or anything, because I hate when other people do that. But have you guys gotten up to the ninth and tenth stages in the game? They are so completely frustrating that I'm shocked my 5200 was able to survive the experience. If the game wasn't peppered with frequent checkpoints and unlimited continues, I would have lost my bloody mind trying to squeeze through those tunnels. Snatching the cash at the end was no cakewalk, either... if you weren't as far to the right as the screen will allow you to be when it appears, you've got no chance of escaping with it. Arrrgh! ARRGH, I say! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phuzaxeman Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 complaints? i finished this game (goes back to the beginning). yea its somewhat difficult but i think some people are wimps :-) blame it on the controllers again.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+remowilliams Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 I always liked Super Cobra. Finished it lots of times on the 2600, A8 machines, and on the 5200 - of course without the heinous stock controllers on that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted November 7, 2007 Author Share Posted November 7, 2007 Yeah, but you can't tell me you weren't tempted to throw things while you were playing it. I know I was! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Helmet Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 I wonder why PB decided to get the rights to Super Cobra rather than the superior (and original) Scramble? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaf5136 Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 I'm surprised that hardly any 5200 stock controller fanboys didn't pop a blood vessel over all the complaints on this thread!! Redemption Rules!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+remowilliams Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Yeah, but you can't tell me you weren't tempted to throw things while you were playing it. I know I was! Not really, no more so than any other game anyway. The 5200 version was exceedingly frustrating for the 25 seconds I tried to use the stock controllers, but that's about it. I remember playing the 2600 version quite a lot back in the day. I'm a huge Scramble fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goochman Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 So why is it that Scramble didnt make it out to almost any systems? SC with 5200 controllers has to be one of the worst forms of torture! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 I'm surprised that hardly any 5200 stock controller fanboys didn't pop a blood vessel over all the complaints on this thread!! Redemption Rules!! Hey, an unplayable game is an unplayable game. If everyone wants to ignore that Jess was playing with a digital joystick in favoro of bashing the stock controllers, well, it's sad. But it doesn't change the fact that they're right about this game and stock controllers. Whoever at Parker Brothers was responsible for porting this should be ashamed of themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Helmet Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 I wonder if this could be hacked to be playable like 5200 Gorf was fixed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetset Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 (edited) I'm surprised that hardly any 5200 stock controller fanboys didn't pop a blood vessel over all the complaints on this thread!! Redemption Rules!! Or any of the people who have their tounge up the butt of the likes of videogamecritic.net who have nothing better to do than complain about the 5200 or the Jag. Stun shock and disbelief, this is another title VGC gave an undeserving "F", and here you are again in another thread about the 5200 controllers. Really, don't you have anything better to do? Plenty of people like the 5200 stock controllers. Why is that so hard for you to accept? Edited November 8, 2007 by jetset Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Ya know, I've wondered what the reaction would be if someone started trolling the 2600 forum and ranting about how bad the CX40 sticks are in every thread. It's really not worth the effort to find out, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.