34 replies to this topic

[rmaerz]

Pengo

You are a penguin in a maze of ice-blocks. Slide the blocks to squash the Sno-Bees chasing you or electrocute them by trapping them along a wall. Score 10,000 points for aligning three special diamond blocks. Bonus points are awarded for finishing a level quickly.


Game Information
Game Name: Pengo (set 1 rev c)
Released By: Sega, 1982
MAME ROMset: Pengo
Dip Switches: Lives: 3; Bonus Life: 30000; Difficulty: Medium
Chosen By: Cynicaster, LarcenTyler, patbb
ROM Location: http://romhustler.ne...nload/mame/3341
AtariAge Arcade/MAME HSC Record: 59,620 MaximRecoil

Competition ends Sunday, October 16 @ 12PM EDT

Leaderboard
1. 79,810 richard stewart
2. 70,660 patbb
3. 67,910 Cynicaster
4. 62,300 NE146
5. 52,780 M.A.M.E Offender
6. 36,140 bigbee99
7. 32,600  mr. toast
8. 12,230 LarcenTyler



Season Standings
Calculations through round 6
1. bigbee99 144
2. patbb 102
3. Cynicaster 90
4. M.A.M.E Offender 83
5. mr. toast 72
6. kojr 39
6. keilbaca 39
8. roadrunner 34
9. richard stewart 18
10. LarcenTyler 14
11. JohnnyBlaze 11
12. retrorussell 5
13. rmaerz 4

Edited by rmaerz, Sun Oct 16, 2011 10:56 AM.

[Cynicaster]

32,760

Man, this game is tough.

[bigbee99]

Cynicaster, on Sun Oct 9, 2011 11:41 AM, said:

32,760

Man, this game is tough.

You did better than me.

19,000

I remember seeing a Pengo cocktail for sale locally about a year ago.  They were only asking $100.  I was unfamiliar with the game so I picked up the ROM to try it out.  Needless to say, even though the price was right, I couldn't see paying $100 for Pengo.  And me with my limited knowledge of what other boards would work in that cab, I passed.

B

Attached Files

•  pengo19000.jpg   9.66K   3 downloads

[M.A.M.E Offender]

Getting those special cubes aligned is quite the daunting task.  

Sometimes you get lucky and they are very close to each other right at the beginning of the board.


41,870
 pengo-41870.jpg   237.51K   2 downloads

[LarcenTyler]

12,230

Man, this brings back memories of last year's trip to FunSpot.

[richard stewart]

79,810 ANOTHER FAVE
BUT THOSE SNOBEES are a bitch t higer levels

Attached Files

•  pengo2.png   1.11K   2 downloads

[patbb]

25,580

I have 4 pages from Joystick magazine about this game.  Let me know if you would like me to post it.
It's not a patterns guide a la pac man, but for those who don't know much about this game,like me, it's a good guide.

Attached Files

•  peng0000.png   1.18K   2 downloads

Edited by patbb, Mon Oct 10, 2011 7:45 AM.

[M.A.M.E Offender]

There is a type o on Richard Steward's score.  I'm sure it was an accident, but I thought I would bring it to your attention, Rob.

BTW, that is a decent score for Pengo, Richard.

[M.A.M.E Offender]

@patbb - That would be wicked for you to post some tips on this difficult title.

[patbb]

M.A.M.E Offender, on Mon Oct 10, 2011 7:30 PM, said:

@patbb - That would be wicked for you to post some tips on this difficult title.

As Requested:

 pengo1.jpg   1.73MB   26 downloads

 pengo2.jpg   1.84MB   27 downloads

 pengo3.jpg   1.41MB   24 downloads

 pengo4.jpg   1.43MB   15 downloads

[Cynicaster]

patbb, on Tue Oct 11, 2011 7:47 AM, said:

M.A.M.E Offender, on Mon Oct 10, 2011 7:30 PM, said:

@patbb - That would be wicked for you to post some tips on this difficult title.

As Requested:

 pengo1.jpg   1.73MB   26 downloads

 pengo2.jpg   1.84MB   27 downloads

 pengo3.jpg   1.41MB   24 downloads

 pengo4.jpg   1.43MB   15 downloads

The author in that article is shown as Steve Sanders... is that Billy Mitchell's sidekick?

Thanks for posting, although this article has been plagiarized verbatim somewhere on the net; I know I've read this before.

[patbb]

Cynicaster, on Tue Oct 11, 2011 11:34 AM, said:

patbb, on Tue Oct 11, 2011 7:47 AM, said:

M.A.M.E Offender, on Mon Oct 10, 2011 7:30 PM, said:

@patbb - That would be wicked for you to post some tips on this difficult title.

As Requested:

The author in that article is shown as Steve Sanders... is that Billy Mitchell's sidekick?

Thanks for posting, although this article has been plagiarized verbatim somewhere on the net; I know I've read this before.

I don't know.
I saw his name spell two ways.
Sanders and Saunders.
In the same magazine his the one with the Donkey Kong World record of over 3m points.

 10-11-2011 1-45-33 PM.jpg   306.97K   9 downloads

He eventually confessed his sins ... as we can see in the movie  King Of Kong.

Edited by patbb, Tue Oct 11, 2011 11:50 AM.

[Cynicaster]

The article makes mention of the fact that there are no patterns in this game like there are in games like Pac-Man and Nibbler.  That's kind of cool from a competition standpoint because it removes most of the enormous advantage that experienced players of a game have over those just trying it for the first time.

It's not totally random though, I read somewhere that there are about 30 different maze configurations, and the first maze that pops up immediately after powering up the machine will always be the same.  In MAME terms, I'd assume selecting the game and loading it up from a non-saved state would be equivalent to "powering up" the machine.  For subsequent levels, I guess the mazes are selected pseudo-randomly from the lot of 30.

[bigbee99]

I asked Steve and he said it was him.  He also said it was the only time he wrote for them.

B

[patbb]

bigbee99, on Tue Oct 11, 2011 2:51 PM, said:

I asked Steve and he said it was him.  He also said it was the only time he wrote for them.

B

Cool.
Thanks, and thank Steve for that great Tutorial/Tips article.

I also found a book about Donkey Kong written by him.
I think I'll read that next.
http://www.digitpres...donkey_kong.pdf

[bigbee99]

patbb, on Tue Oct 11, 2011 8:54 PM, said:

bigbee99, on Tue Oct 11, 2011 2:51 PM, said:

I asked Steve and he said it was him.  He also said it was the only time he wrote for them.

B

Cool.
Thanks, and thank Steve for that great Tutorial/Tips article.

I also found a book about Donkey Kong written by him.
I think I'll read that next.
http://www.digitpres...donkey_kong.pdf

WHOA!  COOL!  I've always wanted to take a look at that book!  Never had a chance too.

B

[NE146]

Only played one game.. died twice in the first stage, but then got to 44,720 on the same game. Diamond blocks are key!

[patbb]

bigbee99, on Tue Oct 11, 2011 9:58 PM, said:

patbb, on Tue Oct 11, 2011 8:54 PM, said:

bigbee99, on Tue Oct 11, 2011 2:51 PM, said:

I asked Steve and he said it was him.  He also said it was the only time he wrote for them.

B

Cool.
Thanks, and thank Steve for that great Tutorial/Tips article.

I also found a book about Donkey Kong written by him.
I think I'll read that next.
http://www.digitpres...donkey_kong.pdf

WHOA!  COOL!  I've always wanted to take a look at that book!  Never had a chance too.

B

You should go to this site: http://www.digitpress.com/library/
They have Books, Magazines and Instructions manuals.
In the Magazine section you will find "Joystik " from where I took the Pengo article.
Another excellent magazine is "Electronic Games"

[Cynicaster]

NE146, on Tue Oct 11, 2011 11:17 PM, said:

Diamond blocks are key!

Maybe, but I think they also put you on a wild goose chase for the elusive 10k bonus, which (at least for me) usually results in a pile of dead penguins.  

47,210

Attached Files

•  IMG00466-20111011-2352.jpg   389.45K   2 downloads

Edited by Cynicaster, Wed Oct 12, 2011 7:40 AM.

[patbb]

43,050

Attached Files

•  peng0006.png   1.15K   2 downloads

[NE146]

56,250

[M.A.M.E Offender]

Man, this game is for the true gamers.  You really earn your bonuses in this game.  Nothing is given to you on Pengo.  You have to go and take it.  

I noticed the Sno bees get smarter as you go.  One key example is freezing them with the outer walls.  In the early boards, the Bees will hastily head to the wall and kind of hang around it, giving you plenty of time to shake them up.  As you get further, however, they tend to go to the wall, tag it, then quickly run away from it.  

The main thing that makes this game so challenging is the unpredictability of the Sno bee's travel.  It's not like any other maze game ever made!

Things start getting really tough after the fourth intermission (Round 9)

49,820
 DSCF3765.JPG   1.24MB   2 downloads  DSCF3761.JPG   1.23MB   3 downloads  DSCF3762.JPG   1.25MB   4 downloads

[patbb]

M.A.M.E Offender, on Wed Oct 12, 2011 8:31 PM, said:

I noticed the Sno bees get smarter as you go.  One key example is freezing them with the outer walls.  In the early boards, the Bees will hastily head to the wall and kind of hang around it, giving you plenty of time to shake them up.  As you get further, however, they tend to go to the wall, tag it, then quickly run away from it.  

Did you know that you  can eat them while they're freezed for 100 points.


my score: 53,780

 peng0007.png   1.98K   2 downloads

[bigbee99]

I am just sucking this week

B

[Cynicaster]

M.A.M.E Offender, on Wed Oct 12, 2011 8:31 PM, said:

Man, this game is for the true gamers.  You really earn your bonuses in this game.  Nothing is given to you on Pengo.  You have to go and take it.  

I noticed the Sno bees get smarter as you go.  One key example is freezing them with the outer walls.  In the early boards, the Bees will hastily head to the wall and kind of hang around it, giving you plenty of time to shake them up.  As you get further, however, they tend to go to the wall, tag it, then quickly run away from it.  

The main thing that makes this game so challenging is the unpredictability of the Sno bee's travel.  It's not like any other maze game ever made!

Things start getting really tough after the fourth intermission (Round 9)

49,820
DSCF3765.JPG DSCF3761.JPG DSCF3762.JPG

Yep, this game is the ultimate example of risk/reward gameplay.  The scores only come from going for the bonuses, but that strategy also leads to dying left and right.  Very frustrating!