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AtariProtos.com Updates


Tempest

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I've finally gotten off my lazy butt and posted two new Atari 2600 prototype reviews. Expect to see a 7800 proto and 8-bit proto review soon.

 

http://www.atariprotos.com/

 

The Bear Game: http://www.atariprotos.com/2600/software/beargame/beargame.htm

Unknown Tank Game (Tank Blitz?): http://www.atariprotos.com/2600/software/tankblitz/tankblitz.htm

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I was kinda/sorta thinking the Bear Game was gonna be a port of the rare Sega arcade game Razzmatazz, but appears to only use just a concept from it as a standalone game.

 

Yeah that idea was mentioned when we first found the proto, but like you said it only uses one idea from that game. I still think this is just a programmer's side project rather than an official game.

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BTW I'm looking for some help on my next review: Star Raiders II (the real one). I'm not a huge Star Raiders fan, so I'm finding it rather difficult to figure out this new prototype. If anyone would like to write a 'guest review' for this one let me know and I'll see if we can work something out. I don't have anything to offer in way of rewards other than the no money and minor fame my website normally offers. All I can do is put your name in up in lights. :)

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The bear game might be based on the Atari game Triple Hunt which got inspiration from a much earlier game called Shoot the Bear.

 

Interesting theory. But much like the Razzmatazz theory the game play isn't really the same since these are all 'shoot the target to keep it from going off screen' type of games. I'm thinking this is an original concept rather than an arcade game. If it IS an arcade game then it's most likely something from Sega or even Sega/Gremlin.

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Here's another crazy theory. The Sega/Coleco connection make me think of the Kid Vid Controller. Maybe this was rejected as being inappropriate for the age group they were targeting. The 32k size is puzzling, there weren't too many that size. Possibly another reason it was rejected.

 

The rom is only 4K even though the label says 32K. Why it says 32K is a mystery.

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Maybe it's labeled 32k because the game rom is 32 kilobit (4 kilobyte) in size, altough the actual prototype is on a board designed for 8 kilobyte games and they just repeated the rom twice on the larger eprom to make it work.
(The picture is too small to read the markings on the chips, but the eprom has 28 pins, so it's definitely at least 8 kilobyte and the extra chips might be for bankswitching logic).

Edited by alex_79
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Your site's awesome Matt. Thanks for maintaining it all these years! Incredibly interesting, the history of these games and there's always something new to discover, fun to read and fun to play. :)

I agree 100%.

Since the first day I stumbled upon Matt's website, I was totally impressed, and entertained. I used it as the very foundation for my website! It was what inspired me to compile & document these key games for history's sake. He has been a treasure trove of information over the years and he has kept it all organized in one great place.

 

The website is very simple, very basic, but that is all that it needs to be. It makes for a much more enjoyable read. Just like games themselves, over the years too many websites focus on eye candy rather then substance.

 

I often get lost clicking & reading the articles on his site! It'll be like 3am, with me having completely lost track of time!

 

Simply awesome.

A thousand thanks Matt!

:)

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I've update the UTG review with some more info. You CAN refuel by touching those box things on the last screen, deeper water will kill you, and the logo doesn't appear to be related to the Videosoft logo (although it looks like it IS a hack of another logo).

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... the logo doesn't appear to be related to the Videosoft logo (although it looks like it IS a hack of another logo).

Exactly. Due to a timing bug, the logo repeats pixel 24 at pixel 40 (counting from 0 to 47).

 

Probably the original logo had all blank pixels in both columns and therefore probably it was only 6 characters. Maybe someone can identify it based on these two assumptions.

Edited by Thomas Jentzsch
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