WANTED: Feedback for Frenzy/Berzerk

[Dauber]

I'm looking for feedback for the next episode of the Atari 7800 Homebrew Podcast (you can find it on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, or use this feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/homebrew78 )

 

What are your thoughts on Frenzy on the 7800? Feel free to share your memories of the arcade games Berzerk and Frenzy, too, as this title is an arcade conversion and includes both games.

 

This game will be covered on Episode 4.

 

You can also e-mail text or audio to homebrew78 -at- fab4it -dot- com

 

Deadline is, kinda-sorta, 11:59pm CST on Thursday, February 9. Any comments from after then will be addressed in a later episode.

[toiletunes]

I played Berzerk a few times in the arcade. I didn't last long, but the voice was amazing! I played it on the 2600 a lot, but lost interest after the robot speed difficulty rolls over.

I never knew Frenzy until the Coleco Flashback- It is a highlight of the system. Then I hunted down a copy for the Colecovision- it felt weird compared to the flashback, the sounds are different or something.

Now- for the 7800: I played it on Concerto, and it moved to the top of my "must buy" list. Having both games on one cart is also a plus, although I play Frenzy about 90% more than Berzerk.

Basically, if you like running around a maze and shooting robots, it doesn't get any better.

[Jinks]

This is a great game. With a two in one plus having voice the gameplay is solid and is a great deal.

I bought the cart the moment it was released. I play this from time to time.

Mostly frenzy. A dr. who hack like the 2600 has would be really cool.

[+sramirez2008]

Frenzy is yet another amazing port by Bob DeCrescenzo. The gameplay is solid (really like the Head to Head and Co-Op options), the speech sounds great and you get Berzerk as a bonus. Eat your heart out Xonox – Double Ender carts!

 

As for as the arcade, I remember the first time I heard Berzerk. I was 13 and the game suckered me in me when I heard it say "Coin detected in pocket". This quickly became one of my favorite arcade games, due to all of the in game speech, sound effects (shooting, electrocution) and robots that reminded me of the Cylons.

 

Ahh...good times.

[Trebor]

First time I played Berzerk was at the local Pizzeria in my neighborhood. I think I recall seeing a Frenzy cab once at the Nathan's close to where I lived at the time, but never played on an actual arcade cabinet.

My first experience with Frenzy was on the ColecoVision emulator ColemDOS during the mid-90's. It was missing from my original cartridge collection in the 80's. Throughout the years though, I have racked up some considerable game time via MAME for the Arcade game and AtariMax cart on my ColecoVision, as well as through emulation for the console. I have had a good taste of the game, Frenzy.

The Atari 7800 port is quite excellent. The higher 320 resolution mode is utilized and the game really shines. All A.I. behavior was carefully ported over including nuances of corner and ricochet shots. Interactive maze elements are present: Big Otto - check. Central Computer - check. Power Plant - check. Robot Factory - check.

The variety of modes are wonderful just like some of the 7800's well-handled retail arcade ports such as Joust and Centipede. Meaning one and two players (alternating) modes, of course are present; additionally, the two player cooperative and competitive is where it really gets interesting for the two-player modes.

Frenzy under the 7800 in its own right goes above and beyond in being a fantastic port; however, we are only halfway through the greatness contained on the cartridge, as Berzerk is present as well in all its glory too. Although a simpler game than Frenzy, Berzerk is my preferred choice between the two (Insert stronger nostalgic factor here).

Berzerk is playing second fiddle to no one and the differences as would be experienced in the Arcade are all present here as well. While walls are reflective or can be shot away under Frenzy, in Berzerk they are just deadly to the touch.

There are different Ottos too. Berzerk's is just flat out 'Evil' and indestructible, while Frenzy's is 'Crazy', can be destroyed, but will re-materialize with a vengeance.

So, play with two players as a team, as enemies, or take the robots (/skeletons/tanks) on solo, enjoy speech similar to their Arcade counterparts, and enjoy having Frenzy (and Berzerk) as an excellent addition to the 7800 library.

[+save2600]

Berzerk was a favorite growing up as we usually had the arcade game in rotation. Never got into or paid much attention to Frenzy BITD, but am glad it exists now for the 7800.

 

Still like Berzerk better* and not just for nostalgic reasons, but love having both on the same cartridge. I'd rate both as sold+ games at least and represent definitive home versions to be sure.

 

*prefer its simpler gameplay, less cluttered playfield, cleaner graphics, style of enemies in how they're drawn and their behavior, electrified walls and the iconic speech patterns. Overall just prefer Berzerk over Frenzy, but enjoy playing Frenzy once in a while for something different.

[+GoldLeader]

I think it's safe to say that I am a FRENZY Superfan!

 

 

While I liked BERZERK in the arcade, I really did; Along came FRENZY and in my humble opinion just blew it away! The best part of BERZERK was that it plays like a plot from a sci-fi horror movie where nothing is safe, But when you first experience FRENZY, BERZERK feels more like a game of "Tag" on the schoolyard playground...

 

FRENZY is the ultimate Robot Maze Shooter! Now you are able to hide against the maze walls like you always wanted to do in BERZERK but couldn't, As the BERZERK walls are electrified...And with 2 (Technically more) kinds of walls, you can now bank your shots, you can make your own entrances and exits, you can shoot through walls, and you can employ strategy like never before.

 

I do absolutely recommend buying all home versions of the game...Well, Both games. But while I like All home versions of FRENZY, they all feel sluggish compared to the actual Arcade game. It often makes it seem that home versions of BERZERK are the superior game.

 

Also I do have a MAME version of FRENZY in a bartop Multicade, but that is also Not the same. I told my friend I thought maybe the computer powering the system was too slow and he told me he thought maybe I had an earlier version of MAME. Although it is a subtle difference, once the game begins, the audio is delayed compared to the action onscreen and the Brilliant death sound (kind of a crisp, electrocution "ZZZZZAAPP!"), is missing Entirely. I assume this has been corrected in newer versions of MAME, but I don't know that for sure...

 

I think I'll include a quick pic of my kitchen...Cheers!

 

[toiletunes]

I just watched some arcade gameplay videos, and just to play devil's advocate, I'll add this: The arcade has more frequent speech and the speech has more variety. Obviously, I'm just nitpicking here, but for the sake of a more balanced review, I felt obligated to come up with something...

[Inky]

I only own three homebrews, and I'm proud to have this in my collection.

The two games on this collection are almost arcade perfect, although since I pretty much suck at Frenzy, I can't verify the special rooms in the game. Given Bob DeCresenzo's eye for quality, I'm guessing the special rooms in Frenzy work they way they're supposed to. It may just be my TV, but I do notice one difference with Frenzy on the 7800 VS the arcade, and it seems that the bits of the wall you can blast away are the same color as the reflecting walls. That's about the only difference I can see.

Berzerk? This is the best home version of the game, and that's not an easy task, given the amazing 5200 official release and the homebrew port to the Atari ST computers.

This is a great addition to the 7800 homebrew library. Put this one near the top of your "must have" list.

[Dauber]

It may just be my TV, but I do notice one difference with Frenzy on the 7800 VS the arcade, and it seems that the bits of the wall you can blast away are the same color as the reflecting walls. That's about the only difference I can see.

I didn't notice that myself. Not near my 7800 right now to confirm, but the screen caps in the store confirm that it's indeed the way the game is.

[+Ryan Witmer]

I think Frenzy was the first homebrew I bought for the 7800. I'm a huge fan of Berzerk (I even wrote my own sequel for the PC a few years ago) and I have no complaints with 7800 Frenzy. Absolutely love it and it probably gets more play than any of the other 7800 homebrews I've purchased.

 

The inclusion of Berzerk is a great bonus, but I prefer the 5200 version so I rarely play it.

[Inky]

I'm a huge fan of Berzerk (I even wrote my own sequel for the PC a few years ago) and I have no complaints with 7800 Frenzy.

So what's this PC sequel?

[+Tarzilla]

I like the ColecoVision version of Frenzy, and other than the fact that the contrast between shootable walls and reflective walls could be more arcade faithful, and the explosions of the robots are too slow, I really like the 7800 version, I am not a fan of adding music to Frenzy, but neither port has music that annoys me so I'm fine with it. I like the two player coop modes in the 7800 port as it adds extra play value.

 

I don't want to seem overly picky/critical, but Frenzy was the first arcade game I could play forever on one quarter. Growing up in the country, that was a big deal since I couldn't just walk to the mall on weekends. Many times, instead of taking the bus home after school, I would go to the pool hall in my small town and play for a few hours, sampling other games as they came in on rotation, but with my last two quarters I would always play Frenzy. I would get into a zone and play for hours, lining up extra men all along the bottom, giving me time to intentionally try out stunts like to kill all the Ottos that come out of the center happy face when you linger too long. Then I would go home with my dad when his shift running the arena ended around 9pm.

 

It stuck with so much that in 1996 I bought one for $250 and I still play it often. I've owned may different arcade machine over the years, but this one will stay, the joke is my wife will bury me in it instead of a casket

 

 

[PacManPlus]

Thanks, guys!

 

A few things:

 

1 - The less frequent speech was due to having to stop the game in order to have any kind of legible speech. The more things you try to do while playing a 'sample', the more it sounds like garbage... and there is a lot going on while playing. It would also be very annoying to stop every few seconds while a sample was being played.

2 - The reflective walls are the same color as the shootable walls. That was just something I had to do here.

3 - There is also one other thing I didn't include: There is a point in Frenzy where the color of even the shootable walls is white. On this level, ALL walls are reflective. This causes every shot to ricochet all over the place, making the level almost impossible. I didn't make the shootable walls reflective here (on that level).

 

All in all, this game was a tough one. For those who remember, I had actually started it a few years ago, and put it aside because I couldn't get it working correctly. It was only when I had an idea for something (I forget what it was now), that made me able to come back and finish it.

ALSO - I must say, Alan McNeil was VERY kind and cooperative answering my questions and giving me advice on how to accomplish certain things when doing this port. It was VERY cool having the original arcade author help with a port.

 

Thanks again,

Bob

Edited February 3, 2017 by PacManPlus

[+Tarzilla]

If you thought it was hard developing it for the 7800, you should try the Intellivision... I quickly realized I was banging my head against the wall...

 

Arcade Frenzy actually is less chatty than Arcade Berzerk, but one of my favorite levels is the completely reflective walls. Occasionally you can shoot a robot on the other side a wall by having the shot bounce 30 or more times traveling all around the maze. Of course I've also shot myself in the ass the same way...

 

Not having dealt much into programming the 7800 other than a few exploritory tests, what was the technical reason for the wall contrast?

 

Again, a great port, I would have bought a 7800 just to play it if it had come out in the 80s

 

Thanks, guys!

 

A few things:

 

1 - The less frequent speech was due to having to stop the game in order to have any kind of legible speech. The more things you try to do while playing a 'sample', the more it sounds like garbage... and there is a lot going on while playing. It would also be very annoying to stop every few seconds while a sample was being played.

2 - The reflective walls are the same color as the shootable walls. That was just something I had to do here.

3 - There is also one other thing I didn't include: There is a point in Frenzy where the color of even the shootable walls is white. On this level, ALL walls are reflective. This causes every shot to ricochet all over the place, making the level almost impossible. I didn't make the shootable walls reflective here (on that level).

 

All in all, this game was a tough one. For those who remember, I had actually started it a few years ago, and put it aside because I couldn't get it working correctly. It was only when I had an idea for something (I forget what it was now), that made me able to come back and finish it.

ALSO - I must say, Alan McNeil was VERY kind and cooperative answering my questions and giving me advice on how to accomplish certain things when doing this port. It was VERY cool having the original arcade author help with a port.

 

Thanks again,

Bob

[PacManPlus]

I am using 320A mode, which only allows for one color. Theoretically, I could have changed the maze drawing routine to use a different palette for the reflective walls than for the shootable walls, but that would require more DL entries, and I'm pretty sure I maxed out Maria with the Playfield DL I already am using, two players, six robots, 7 shots, and evil otto possible in each zone.

Edited February 4, 2017 by PacManPlus

[Wyluli Wolf]

Blast! Another game I need to buy! I love Berzerk and own it on the ol 2600, 5200 and Vectrex. Sorry I won't have it in time for feedback but thanks for bringing it to my attention!

[JFD62780]

April 1992: While living in Long Island, I bought a 4-switch Atari 2600 at a garage sale for $1. (No joysticks, paddle or RF box, but three loose carts. It broke a year later despite experimentation with a certain part from Radio Shack.)

April 1996: I Bought a 6-switch Atari 2600 with The Works at another garage sale for my entire piggy bank, which was in the teens. Said Radio Shack purchase paid off as the part worked better than the RF switch. The 6-Switcher still works to this day.

April-ish 1997: Since moving to Virginia beach, went to a friend's house who happened to still have a 2600 library. Decided to borrow Berzerk, without an instruction manual. (Blockbusters wouldn't even SNEEZE at the 2600, it was so old!) That turned into a well-spent weekend.

Fast-forward to the 2000's. While in my emulation phase, I learned that Berzerk was actually an arcade game, so I emulated it in MAME discovering that the game had speech and there WAS an Evil Otto... Still played it, to this day when the speech was emulated just about flawlessly.

Finally, in the 2010's, while lurking the AtariAge forums, with an interest in the 7800, despite never having owned the console, I noted Our Hero, PacManPlus, AKA Bob DeCrescenzo was making a port of its sequel Frenzy, which included Berzerk, since the two games were that similar. Bob even got Alan McNeil, the original developer, to help out! (If you're listening, Bobby, please forgive me for not purchasing a cart as I don't even have a 7800.)

My review: The ONLY thing gimping this release is the 7800's TIA audio system, unchanged from the 2600 days. Sure, it CAN play digital audio. Doesn't mean it SHOULD, and if you heard digital audio on the Sega Genesis on a slightly related note, you'd see why. The more the 7800 has to do, the more garbled the speech becomes, so Bob had to freeze the console completely for intelligible audio. Other than that, limited sound effects aside, you can barely tell the 7800 apart from the arcade!

Thanks, Bob and Alan!

 

THE FOLLOWING IS NOT TO BE READ ON THE AIR - PS:

 

For more info on what I mean by The Works, refer to this link of my first post on AtariAge.

 

And I mean it, my post is long enough, I don't wanna waste anymore time than I have to; it's your podcast, after all!

Edited February 9, 2017 by JFD62780