51 replies to this topic

[thursday83]

Desert Falcon is great, and if you are comparing it to Zaxxon, see how long you last on the 5200 Zaxxon compared to the fun and challenging game you are going to get out of the 7800 Desert Falcon.  Great game, he is right, the reviews are wrong and this one is a winner, with an obvious objective and easy controls.  And the 7800 controller is fine for this one.

[Rik]

I dont let reviewers influence my decisions on what game is bad or good,i decide that for myself.I collect games i dont have,even if the game aint all that great.Games that were reviewed as "CRAP"by some,have turned out to be my favorites.What game is good or bad is all a matter of personal opinions and tastes.Many games can be had for relatively cheap,so if a game turns out to be a dud in your opinion,well at least you have it in your collection,thats how i look at it.I remember in the early days,the department stores would let you try a game before buying,that was great.The games i passed on i wish i had now.Reviews are good to get a rough idea what a game is like,but hey,games are getting tougher and tougher to get,i buy them anyway,duds or not.

[Lord Thag]

Yeah, everyone should always make up their own mind. Problem is, once one person says it on the internet, EVERYONE says it, whether they've played the game or not. Kinda like the pits in E.T.

I'm surprised that this thread got as many posts as it did. Proof positive that Desert Falcon has a lot more admirers than I thought.  Nice to see a good game get the respect it deserves

So, for those of you who play the game, what are your favorite heiroglyphs strategies? I generally go for Hold Sphinx or Invlunerability on the first two boards, and then I shoot for the three birds = 1up combo on board 3 and beyond. If I make it to 5 (yeah right) I *try* and get a warp. Someday, I want to see board six on Normal  

[Godzilla]

I'll never forgot when I saw the pictures of Desert Falcon in Eletronic Games magazine before the crash. Gods that game looked awesome. I drooled hard for it. My heart broke when the 7800 never came out. Then, it lept when the 7800 did finally come out and I was able to buy DF. Seriously under-rated game and one of my faves on the 7800.

[STICH666]

xZanU, on Wed Feb 18, 2009 9:57 AM, said:

That video review was great. A nice well rounded review with game footage is always best. I can't wait for this game to hit the HSC.

Home Shopping Channel?

[roadrunner]

STICH666, on Thu Feb 26, 2009 1:24 PM, said:

xZanU, on Wed Feb 18, 2009 9:57 AM, said:

That video review was great. A nice well rounded review with game footage is always best. I can't wait for this game to hit the HSC.

Home Shopping Channel?

  
  

7800 High Score Club if you didn't know.

Edited by roadrunner, Thu Feb 26, 2009 2:30 PM.

[roadrunner]

Lord Thag, on Mon Feb 23, 2009 2:51 AM, said:

Yeah, everyone should always make up their own mind. Problem is, once one person says it on the internet, EVERYONE says it, whether they've played the game or not. Kinda like the pits in E.T.

I'm surprised that this thread got as many posts as it did. Proof positive that Desert Falcon has a lot more admirers than I thought.  Nice to see a good game get the respect it deserves

So, for those of you who play the game, what are your favorite heiroglyphs strategies? I generally go for Hold Sphinx or Invlunerability on the first two boards, and then I shoot for the three birds = 1up combo on board 3 and beyond. If I make it to 5 (yeah right) I *try* and get a warp. Someday, I want to see board six on Normal  

I don't really have any favorite hieroglyphs strategies. I just pick up random hiero's. I usually get points. The ones i like are
Warp Speed, Quick Shots, Hold Sphinx, And Invincible.  The one i don't like is Slow Down.
I can get to board 4 on the standard skill level. Hopefully i can do better if we ever play Desert Falcon in the 7800 HSC.

[FireTiger]

Bakasama, on Wed Feb 18, 2009 6:26 PM, said:

FireTiger, on Wed Feb 18, 2009 1:08 PM, said:

I'm still hoping someone fixes the 'second player lag' bug-

the one that drops the 'wrong' level enemies into the level of the player that is lagging behind.

It kills hubbie when we play (to the point he won't play) because even if he is first player I can get to level 3 on easy in one life.

That's my only real problem with "Desert Falcon."  It works great as a single player game but it utterly fails as a 2 player game.  It's sucks to play the first level and to have it play like the it was the difficulty at level 12 or so.

Ok, great so If I made a list of people that might be willing to buy the fixed version... would you be interested? IF they can fix it...

(I couldn't see the bug myself but my programing skills are poor)

[marcfrick2112]

Grrr... Now I'll have to play some DF after reading this thread
IMO, Desert Falcon is an aquired taste... My first 7800 came with DF and Ballblazer, played 'em like mad for about 2 days, then the 7800 died... fast forward to my 'new' 7800 that came with DF, Ballblazer, and about 20 assorted 2600 and 7800 carts.... I really couldn't get into DF at first, but after a while, I do enjoy it quite a bit....

Quote

So, for those of you who play the game, what are your favorite heiroglyphs strategies?

  Umm, I just shoot stuff, and try not to die..  
  
Rik said it best :

Quote

I dont let reviewers influence my decisions on what game is bad or good,i decide that for myself.I collect games i dont have,even if the game aint all that great.Games that were reviewed as "CRAP"by some,have turned out to be my favorites.

[7800atarifan]

This is an old thread, but I have to say Desert Falcon is the reason I got a 7800 back in the day, and the reason I just bought one again.

Anyway just curious, how far has anyone made it in this game, Ive made it to level 9. Is  there an end?

[Classic Pac]

DF fan here as well, I may not play the game as much as I like. But it is really a pretty good shooter, and I totally agree with the first post.

[Lynxpro]

Yeah yeah, old thread but I popped in and had to share my $0.02.

I loved Desert Falcon.

Now some posters previously said the sound/audio was bad but I'd have to say the sound is better on the 7800 versus the XE version. And here's the proof:




That was the 7800 version. Now check out the XE version:




That's pretty bad when TIA audio beats the Pokey. Maybe that was a deliberate choice or maybe the XE conversion was a rush job. I myself figured the XE version would have superior audio and I was actually thinking about suggesting the porting of its audio for an XM enhanced release but alas, that would be a waste of time here. Maybe if the TIA+Pokey combo could be done like with the Commando cartridge that would be something...

[zylon]

While I won't nit-pick the game, I gave my copy away within a month.

[DracIsBack]

I used to believe their was some conspiracy among the Tramiels to deliberately cripple 7800 games to make XE games look better. Karateka was a better conversion, Summer Games had more events, Fight Night had more features etc.

The reality is likely more monetary and DESERT FALCON is a good example of it going the other way.

In the game of those XE titles, Atari licensed the pre-existing code and the license to release. With the 7800, they had to pay to develop and were cheap.

Desert Falcon was a 7800 launch title programmed by the original developers that Atari Corp inherited from GCC with the acquisition. They, in turn, had to hire someone to convert.

[CRV]

The XE version seems a bit choppy.

[Inky]

I never had a problem with Desert Falcon's sound.  I had a problem with the muddy graphics, and how difficult it was to figure out your altitude.

[spiffyone]

My main issues with Desert Falcon has to do with playability.  Part of that is due to the isometric viewpoint.  There are too many height/plane variants that enemies can be on, and it makes it difficult to aim and shoot them.   Another issue is the fact that power ups being on the ground make the game very start/stop.  I tend to play the game by sticking to the ground, tbqh, to avoid both issues.

I would've liked to have seen more boss battle variety as well.  

It's a good game, IMHO, and a showcase for 7800 graphics in the early going, but it could've been more.  Maybe if they had stuck to a ground run 'n gun style set up, with all the action happening on one plane/height.  Actually, I think that could've worked quite well, and much better than the final product.

[Rik]

Reviews to me are only good to get a brief idea of what a game is like.Taking a review to heart and not buying a game just because a reviewer said to avoid ,which some do, is totally moronic.But i guess a collector would buy just to get the game into their collection bad or good, where as a picky gamer might not buy, their choice and perogative.Point is, everyone has different tastes to what is a bad or good game, it's all relative.So for me, i judge for myself.Funny thing is, a lot of games that were judged as lack for a better word "CRAP" buy some reviewers, turned to be my favorite games.One would miss out on a lot of great gaming if they listened to reviewers!!And yes,i agree that Desert Falcon is a cool game!One can't expect everyone to like and dislike the same games.So i say who cares what a reviewer said, if you enjoy the game, that's all that counts.

[Random Terrain]

Lord Thag, on Wed Feb 11, 2009 10:39 PM, said:

Desert falcon, on the other hand, randomly generates all levels, items, treasures and enemies every single game. It's a different game every single time. Name one other shooter that provides unique, different levels each and every time you play. I'll wait  

I like that part of it, but I don't like games that have semi-diagonal scrolling like Zaxxon and Paperboy.

[AtariBrian]

I agree with rt, but I have never played desert fox

[Austin]

I've tried to get into this game multiple times, but I just can't. The biggest problem for me is judging the altitude. All too often it looks like you should be hitting enemies, yet you don't. It would have been better suited as an isometric shooter where you can only move left, right, forward and back--not up and down as well. The game isn't terrible, but I don't think it's great either.

[Stun Runner 87]

I agree with the o.p of this thread.

It also ticks me off about all the negative internet ratings about Desert Falcon for the 7800.

The graphics (considering the game was made in 1984) are very good for the times and underapreciated, probably do to the fact that most people back in the days didn't know it even existed or even what an Atari 7800 was because it wasn't popular or even marketed properly.
Nintendo ruled the World by the time it became available to the public.
LoL, I remeber getting made fun of for even having an Atari 7800.

As far as the game play goes, I always thought it was fun and not hard to control at all with the standard proline controller.
It is much easier than Zaxxon for the 5200 which sucks.

I think Desert Falcon is a unique game and on my top 10 lists of 7800 games.

[R.O.T.S]

Yeah i like it too,how often do you see a shooter where you can land and hop along on the floor?,made the game more interesting in my eyes.

[H311bender]

I like this game as well.....though it does make me curse because I can't play it worth a crap at this point

[gorfcadet]

I have always sucked at this game... most Zaxxon perpective games kick my butt for that matter.  Still like it.