whats the deal wiht laser blast???

[Room 34]

Yeah...back in the day when I first got the cartridge, I thought that it was a bug (pardon the pun).  I found out later that it wasn't (in AA 'zine, I think), but they didn't let on how it was done.  So I would end up wrecking quite a number of marathon sessions :x

There's actually a hint of it in the game instructions...

 

When you destroy the Qotile, or a Swirl, there will be an explosion, during which the Yar stays on the screen. Use this opportunity to make up your own victory dance. And watch out for the Ghost of Yars! You'll see his mean streak, so stay off it!

http://www.atariage.com/manual_page.html?S...2&currentPage=8

 

Translation: The programmer is desperately trying to get recognition for his work, but we will do what we can to make sure you don't discover it! Kind of backfires on them though. It's always amusing to see the way these old game manuals were written though... creative explanations for some of the weird side-effects of the rudimentary nature of game designs in the old days...

[Nukey Shay]

Nooo...I read that part. Once I triggered it, I didn't know that was what the manual was referring to (since the game appeared to "crash"). And once that was explained to be the Easter Egg, I still had no idea on how I triggered it once in a while. The problem with this EE is that it's triggered much too easily, even after you know how it's done and are trying to avoid it. He should have made it be triggered only on certian waves or with a certian number of lives or something.

[Room 34]

Nooo...I read that part.  Once I triggered it, I didn't know that was what the manual was referring to (since the game appeared to "crash").  And once that was explained to be the Easter Egg, I still had no idea on how I triggered it once in a while.

OK, yeah, as I said in an earlier post, same thing happened to me! I got it a few times by accident as a kid, and never figured out exactly what I had done to get it. I actually thought it was just random. And now that I know, I carelessly set it off all the time! (Maybe some part of my subconscious really DOESN'T want me to play Yars' Revenge for 3 hours straight...)

 

Anyway, yeah, as a kid I had no idea what this bit in the instructions meant. I thought you were supposed to avoid moving across the whole bright flash thing entirely. I wasn't sure what it might do... I might lose points; I might blow up; the Ghost of Yars might come and try to kill me in my dreams... I didn't know but I was scared!

[crom1970]

horrible game, but I did make a million last night. 4 brutal hours latter.

[Goochman]

Not sure about the rest of you but back in the day I bought this cart and it was 'ok' - I figured it was one of the Activision carts I could earn a patch on so I spent the 2+ hours getting 1M - now back then you have ot remember that taking a picture of a TV was a crap shoot - esp at night. You had 24 precious pictures on a roll that had to pay to be developed so its not like your parents would allow you to take 15 pictures of the screen hoping 1 would come out.............

 

I took 2 pictures and fortunately one came out - the other did not!

 

Ive never played it since.

[doctorclu]

This was around the time Star Trek 2 the Wrath of Khan came out. Loved the phaser in that movie, and when this game came out and I saw the ads I loved the laser effect in this game for similar reasons. No, not exactly like Star Trek 2, but well... I was just laser and effect happy I guess?

 

So I really worked to get this game. I want to say I put the game on layaway, but I never finished getting the game.

 

Also remember riding along while mom was driving and finding two $20 bills blowing along the side of the street. I called out to mom, we stopped, and I thought "Great! I can finally afford Laser Blast".

 

Nope. She claimed it was hers since she was driving the car. But did take me and my sisters to see E.T. and Annie.

 

Got to play the game at a friend's. Was cool, but was repetitious quick.

[+save2600]

Yep, kinda fun for a twitch game at first. But then you get used to the pattern and before long, you're zen'ing out on auto pilot.

 

Was the first cartridge I opened up to take a look at the innards, that's how much I must have (dis)liked the game back then.

[Keatah]

My gramma made a big stink over Laserblast. It was one game that she insisted I play all the time. I was beginning to feel stupid though because I kept failing to find a higher purpose to it. Find a goal to it, you know.

[+save2600]

Game needed *something* to break the monotony, that's for sure. Some kind of bad ass dragon (like the one from Imagic's Dragonfire) for instance, that needed to blasted to bits. Imagine that thing twitching spastically to and fro the bottom of the screen with chunks of that rascally robotic-dragon flying in all directions as your ship pierces its metallic scales.