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Now it's the 2600's turn for some arcade action! But the ol' gal has some new tricks up her sleeve, even though two of these games have been on the 2600 in one form or other for over 35 years. And yes... I copy-pasted some of my Scramble review from the 7800 version. Nice to see you're paying attention. I probably need to make my reviews a little more succinct though. My review for Pac-Man 4K is actually larger than 4K. Pac-Man 4K I probably shouldn't have to describe Pac-Man any more than I should have to explain Pong, but in Pac-Man you move a yellow pie-shaped character through a maze of dots, eating them as you go. Your goal is to clear out all of the dots, and move along to the next maze. There are four monsters that chase you around, and if they catch you, they'll kill you. If you eat one of four energizers in the maze, you can turn the tables on the monsters and eat them too. There are also bonus fruit items you can pick up for extra points, and after clearing a certain number of mazes, the game will show you short little intermissions featuring the game's characters. I remember the first place I played the arcade version of Pac-Man - the Fred Meyer store on 185th and Aurora, just north of Seattle. My friend Martin and I were already in the habit of riding our bikes over there during lunch, getting a hot dog or pretzel at the cart parked out front, and then playing the handful of arcade games they had inside. We started playing Pac-Man before hearing anything about it becoming popular - we just played it because it was fun. We began developing our own patterns too, without knowing about other people doing it. By the time Pac-Man became a phenomenon, we were already moving onto other games (Battlezone and Defender, in particular). But it was still a favorite of mine, and when Atari announced they were going to make Pac-Man for the 2600, I had to have it. The store I frequented for video games at the time (Video Hut) was primarily a videotape rental place that had expanded to carry video games. The guy who worked there was a great source to hear from about the latest games, because he played them all and got a lot of feedback from customers. Despite his warning that the 2600 version of Pac-Man was awful, I bought it anyway. I was so disappointed with it, I returned it for a refund and bought something else. People often knock Atari's version of Pac-Man as being awful... but why is it awful? For me, it was just that it was so far removed from the arcade game. Pac-Man himself didn't look right. He never faced up or down, had an eye, an his mouth animation was weird. The controls felt sluggish. The maze looked nothing like the arcade game and the colors were all wrong. There were no fruit bonuses (just a square). The monsters were difficult to see. And the sound was terrible - even annoying. Since then, hacks have proven that even simple changes like altering the colors (providing more contrast), or making Pac-Man look more arcade-like, significantly improve peoples' perception of the game. It wasn't that Atari's version of Pac-Man was irredeemable, but rather that by effectively ignoring all of the details from the arcade version that made Pac-Man what it was, you were left with something that could only disappoint fans of the original. There have been previous attempts to bring an improved version of Pac-Man to the 2600 - at least one homebrew and numerous hacks - but nothing has yet come as close as Dennis Debro's Pac-Man 4K. Dennis set out to create the most accurate port of Pac-Man possible within only 4K - the ROM size of Atari's version - and what he was able to pack into that space is impressive! The first thing you'll notice is the maze - the layout from the arcade version has been brought over intact. This is no easy task, given that the arcade game uses a vertical monitor, and the 2600 a horizontal one. The monsters, Pac-Man, and even the fruit items are faithfully reproduced from the arcade game as well - you even see the point values pop up wherever Pac-Man eats a monster. The opening music is nicely reminiscent of the original, as are some of the sound effects. But what matters most is the gameplay. The attention to detail doesn't end with the presentation either, as Dennis put a lot of effort into making Pac-Man 4K play like the arcade game too: tight controls, difficulty progression, even having the monsters' behavior mimic that of the arcade game. There are no difficulty settings, but you can choose to start at different levels. As an aside, I've always found it interesting how people have long used different colloquialisms to name the bonus items. In the manual Dennis uses Peach rather than Orange, and Mush rather than Bell. He also uses Grapes instead of Melon, however right up until I looked it up for this review, I always thought they were grapes, too. (I still think they look more like grapes.) Dennis describes Pac-Man 4K as "no frills", and there were are a few compromises he had to make for the game to fit into 4K: points aren't displayed when you eat fruit, there are no intermissions, no title screen or high score saving, and everything flickers at 20 Hz (which is perfectly acceptable, and a definite improvement over Atari's version). To me, the game feels just a little bit fast (although this may have to do with the maze being squished to fit a horizontal monitor); also the distinctive "wakka-wakka" sound has been reduced to a simple "blip", and the Galaxian level icon has been replaced by an AtariAge logo. Really though, all of these are insignificant. Pac-Man 4K plays like Pac-Man, it looks like Pac-Man, and it's the Pac-Man game Atari should have at least attempted to make in the first place. Now, you can play Pac-Man on your 2600 the way it should be played. Very highly recommended! Pac-Man 4K gets a 5/5 (4.5 on a 1/2 point scale) Space Rocks Full disclosure: I worked on this game, designing the in-game graphics. Space Rocks is Darrell Spice, Jr.'s version of Asteroids. As in the original arcade game, you fly a space ship around the screen, blowing up asteroids. Your goal is to clear out all of the asteroids without colliding with them, or being shot by UFOs which appear from time to time. Atari's original 2600 version was an impressive conversion for its time. I owned it and played it a lot. So much so that I built two five-button controllers with a friend of mine, so we could play the game with proper arcade-like controls. A joystick just wouldn't do! As fun as the 2600 version was though, it did have some limitations - the rocks generally just moved vertically, the asteroids looked like floating blobs of ice cream, you could only fire two shots at a time, and there just couldn't be enough objects onscreen to really replicate the arcade game. Space Rocks fixes all of that... and more. Darrell has managed to put an astonishing number of objects on screen. Even though the asteroids do flicker, you're so busy trying to survive you rarely notice it. The rocks (which rotate) are rendered in high-resolution detail and move in every direction, fully bringing the mayhem of the arcade version to the 2600. There are options to play the game with either solid or outline ("vector") graphics, and to either have multi-colored asteroids or choose from one of over a dozen colors. This let's you mimic the look of the original 2600 Asteroids (multi-colored, solid graphics), arcade Asteroids (white vectors), Asteroids Deluxe (cyan vectors), or customize the look to your choosing. The options don't end there though. The Killer Satellites (renamed Magna-Mines) from Asteroids Deluxe are here too - if you shoot one of these, it splits into six smaller ships that chase you down. Your ship can have shields, hyperspace, or instantly flip 180°. There are several two-player options including Co-op and Fight!; gamepad support; selectable friction and bonus life settings; and even a few Easter Eggs! The gameplay is flawless. Controls are precise and collision detection is pixel-perfect. Your ship rotates smoothly and has 32 firing angles for precision destruction (the 2600 version of Asteroids had only 16). Your ship can fire four shots at a time, and you'll need every one of them. Sound effects are excellent. Difficulty progression is nicely balanced. And there may be no more satisfying moment in video gaming than when one of those tiny UFOs that has just taken out your ship with a cheap shot, gets pulverized by colliding with a big honking space rock. Space Rocks is a must-have for the 2600. It brings home the frenetic arcade action from Asteroids and Asteroids Deluxe, with even a little bit of Space Duel thrown in for good measure. There are enough options to keep you from ever tiring of the game, and they're all presented neatly in an intuitive and simple menu. The only (minor) knock is that there is no AtariVox or SaveKey support for saving high scores or your favorite game options. But given everything else Space Rocks offers, those are non-issues. Dave Dries' label and manual artwork nicely evoke the original Asteroids arcade cabinet, adding just the right touch to an already outstanding game. This one is simple: buy it. And get yourself a proper controller, too. Space Rocks gets a 5/5 Scramble (2600) Full disclosure: I worked on this game, designing the in-game graphics and converting the arcade level layouts. Scramble is Konami's classic side-scrolling shooter where you fly a spaceship over different terrains and through tunnels, destroying ground targets, avoiding enemy missiles, and shooting down enemy saucers. Along the way are bonus targets to take out for extra points, and fuel tanks that you'll need to destroy in order to replenish your own dwindling fuel supply. Get through all five stages and you'll enter the enemy base. If you can destroy it, your reward is a quick congratulatory message before getting sent right back out to do the whole thing all over again at a higher difficulty. The more bases you destroy, the faster the enemies will be, the faster you'll fly - giving you less time to react, and the faster you'll use your fuel up. If you run out of fuel, crash, or get hit by an enemy, you'll lose a ship. Lose all of your ships, and your game is over. John Champeau did an amazing job bringing Scramble to the 2600. The 2600 doesn't usually handle horizontal scrolling very well, and even though this version of Scramble effectively "pulses" along rather than scrolling smoothly, it doesn't matter. All of the gameplay is intact, and the game is so faithful to the arcade version, you can actually practice on one version and improve on the other. A rare feat for any 2600 game. While the resolution of the 2600 is dramatically reduced from the arcade version, all of the terrain, tunnels and caverns from the arcade game are present. If you're familiar with the arcade game, the 2600 version is a screen-for-screen match. Even the dreaded tunnel level has all of the same twists, turns and obstacles of the original. The multicolored graphics vividly reproduce all of the details of the arcade game including enemies, explosions, buildings, the progress bar, fuel gauge and even background stars. John has managed to fit an impressive number of objects on the screen at the same time, all with negligible flicker. The sound effects and music by Bob DeCrescenzo and Mike Haas are excellent, nicely bringing the atmosphere of the arcade game home. As great as Scramble looks and sounds, one of its most impressive feats are its controls - especially compared to Parker Bros.' version of Super Cobra. Scramble's controls are perfect. The ship feels just like the arcade version, even down to the ground-scraping collision detection. Best of all though, are your ship's weaponry. Somehow, John has managed to make a single fire button work for both lasers and bombs. It feels completely intuitive - you're actually firing both at the same time, yet you can still bomb or shoot exactly when you need to. John also included a much-welcomed "burst mode", which is a rapid-fire feature that will save your thumb a lot of work; and there's also support for Genesis gamepads - so you can have separate buttons for lasers and bombs - just like the arcade game. If all of that wasn't enough, John added multiple difficulty levels, including an Expert mode which ramps up the challenge to Super Cobra levels; high score saving with an AtariVox or SaveKey; and even a Pause feature. Dave Dries' fantastic label artwork recalls the look of 70's-era blacklight posters, and the manual is written and illustrated as a comic book, spinning a backstory for the game while also describing how to play it. Scramble is an all-time classic arcade game. I was always disappointed that it was never brought to the 2600 back in the day. Had it been, I probably would've been disappointed with the results. Now, I can fully enjoy a no-compromise version that's every bit as good as the arcade original. It was well worth the wait, and is something that belongs in everyone's 2600 game library. Scramble gets a 5/5 Up next: because I didn't want to write five reviews for this entry, we'll have Arcade Assault, Vol. 4 < PreviousHomebreviews IndexNext >

Ever wanted your own arcade at home? Well, it's time to dust off the 7800 again and give it some much-needed lovin'. Here are three classic arcade shooters for your 7800, brought home by Bob DeCrescenzo. Astro Fighter Astro Fighter was an early vertical shoot 'em up developed by Data East. It was one of the earliest multi-stage shooters featuring different enemies and even a boss battle, pre-dating both Phoenix and Gorf. Your mission was to blast your way through four waves of enemies, then fight the Master ship, all the while keeping an eye on your ever-dwindling fuel reserves. If you ran out of fuel - regardless of lives remaining - your game ended. The Master ship required a very precise hit to destroy, and once you did you could then steal its fuel and continue on, fighting your way through the enemy formations at a higher difficulty. Astro FIghter sits somewhere in the era between black-and-white Space Invaders knock-offs, and better-remembered shooters like Galaxian, Phoenix, Gorf, or... just about anything. Within a year of its release, Astro Fighter already looked and sounded primitive and was largely consigned to the back row of arcades next to the likes of Starhawk and Space Encounters. Initially released about a year and a half after Space Invaders, it was only marginally a step up from there. Graphics were simple and flat-looking with only a handful of primary colors, and the sound effects were sparse, sounding like leftovers from Space Invaders. Dated presentation aside, Astro Fighter has to be given credit for having multiple enemies, varied attack formations, and a boss stage. Unfortunately, despite the thought put into those elements, its biggest weakness is its gameplay. The rate of fire is agonizingly slow and the controls feel sluggish. Compounding that is if any single ship gets past you, you have to take on that entire formation all over again, and the game doubly punishes you by moving your spaceship up higher on the screen, giving you even less of a chance to clear them out. It only takes a couple of missed ships to burn through all of your fuel reserves, and then your game's over. Sometimes it actually makes more sense to collide with an enemy ship, since if you lose one of your ships, at least you don't lose any additional fuel. Astro Fighter is one of those homebrews I find difficult to review. Bob DeCrescenzo did an excellent job porting the arcade game over to the 7800. The graphics, sounds and gameplay are all intact. Unfortunately, I just couldn't find anything about Astro Fighter that made me want to go back and replay it. It's an interesting relic of the past, but the gameplay is tedious. I can acknowledge it's an excellent port, but it's an excellent port of a very outdated game. If you like Astro Fighter, you should definitely pick this up. If you're looking for a fast-action vertical shooter, you may want to look for something else. Astro Fighter gets a 3/5 (2.5 on a half-point scale) Moon Cresta Moon Cresta is one of those games that I don't remember from the arcades at all. I'm sure there were some around, but I don't think I ever played it until it was emulated in MAME. It was one of just a handful of arcade games that Nichibutsu produced, along with their more well-known Crazy Climber. Moon Cresta is a vertical shooter with a variety of aliens swooping down at you, trying to collide with your ship. Initially, you're controlling just a small ship with a single slow-firing laser cannon. If your ship is destroyed, it's replaced with a larger one with two slow-firing laser cannons. And if that one gets destroyed, you get an even larger ship with, again - you guessed it - two slow-firing laser cannons. Each time you die - your ship is essentially replaced by a larger target, with your two guns spaced farther apart. However, if you can clear enough enemy attack waves, you'll be given the opportunity to dock your ship with the one that's the next size up. While this makes you an even bigger target, it greatly increases your firepower, especially if you get all three ships stacked together, since you get to use all of their guns. Even though the fire rate of each set of cannons is still slow, you can now effectively fire them off in rapid succession. It's this ability to stack up ships and pile on more firepower that makes Moon Cresta stand out (and it did this over a year before Galaga). Your advantage is short-lived however, since as the game cycles back to the first set of enemies, you're reduced back to a single ship and you have to start building it up all over again. I played Moon Cresta a lot for this review, both on the 7800 and in MAME. The reason isn't because I like Moon Cresta - it's because I don't. In fact, I don't like it a lot. I'm not sure what a "Cresta" is (besides an old Toyota or a soft drink), but if I had to guess, I suspect it means "Cheap Death". Moon Cresta was designed to steal quarters. The game takes cheap-shots at you - including materializing aliens literally on top of you, or throwing planets at you without any warning. Plus the collision detection seems suspect - both in the arcade version and the 7800 port. There are times I'd swear my shots passed right through an alien. If you lose your first ship, the subsequent ships' guns are so far apart, they can actually bracket an alien and miss it entirely. Finally, there's the aforementioned fire rate - it's agonizingly slow unless you can survive long enough to stack up your ships. At that point, the game becomes playable. Fun, even. That's why I kept playing it - to try to get back to that point. But it's such a tedious, frustrating grind to get there, I'm not sure it's worth it. More often than not, I just found myself getting not only frustrated, but angry. At that point, it's time to put the controller down. There are certainly people who like Moon Cresta and have fond memories of it. Those who have put the time into it to get good enough at it to overcome the frustration factor and avoid the cheap deaths. I'm not one of them, and as I said, I've been playing this game a lot, trying to give the game every chance. Bob DeCrescenzo did an excellent job porting Moon Cresta to the 7800. The quirky-looking graphics are almost spot-on, as are the unique sounds and music. It plays almost exactly like the arcade game - including the sluggish laser cannons and cheap deaths. Fortunately, you can switch to "Easy" and the game becomes somewhat less frustrating, but even then I got to the point where I simply didn't want to play it anymore. It had worn out its welcome. Despite that, the 7800 version of Moon Cresta is a treat for fans of the arcade game. I can't deny the amount of effort and attention to detail put into this port. One minor complaint unrelated to gameplay - Reset doesn't work while your ships are appearing on screen between lives. While not a big issue, I was reaching for Reset a lot while playing this, and it was annoying to have to wait for the game to finish it's "You just lost a life and now you have this many ships left" routine before I could get out of it and start over. Because it's a such a well-made port, and because it has the potential to be fun at times, Moon Cresta gets a 4/5 (3.5 on a half-point scale) Astro Blaster "Fighter pilots needed in sector wars... play Astro Blaster!" I didn't see Astro Blaster in the arcades much back-in-the-day, but when I did, I played it. The distinctive voice was calling me to action - I was needed! For sector wars! How could I refuse whoever these poor people were who were clearly under assault by... whatever those things are? Astro Blaster is a vertical shooter where your ship is blasting away at a huge variety of enemies, each with different attack patterns, all dropping tons of firepower on your head. But you're not just sitting idly there waiting to die - your ship has a ton of firepower at its disposal too. But there's a catch - if you fire too much too fast, your lasers will overheat and shut down until they can cool off. This presents a bigger problem than just being temporarily disarmed, because time is against you too. You're burning through fuel, and if you take too long to take the enemies out, you'll run out and your game is over. If you get through enough enemies, you'll fly through a meteor shower where you can shoot flaming meteors to regain a little extra fuel (because you know... video games), and if you make it through that - you'll have a chance to dock with your mothership and refuel. But there's no rest for the weary - as soon as you've topped up your tanks they throw you right back into action against even fiercer enemies. Astro Blaster had distinctive, detailed graphics unlike anything else at the time, and absolutely frenetic gameplay that begged you to overheat your lasers. It also had something still rare in arcades at the time: voices. From its call for pilots during the attract mode, to in-game speech warning you of your fuel level and other threats, Astro Blaster was packed with distinctive and actually understandable voice samples. Astro Blaster had two other tricks up its sleeve, too: limited use of a "warp" button which would slow down all of the enemies for several seconds, giving you a chance to accurately mow down tricky enemy formations; and secret bonuses that you could earn depending on how you played the game (not overheating your laser, shooting enemies in a certain order, not moving during the refueling stage, etc). All of these added up to an incredibly challenging, fun, and surprisingly deep shooter. Activision apparently thought it was influential enough - they based Megamania on it. Bob DeCrescenzo has done an impressive job bringing Astro Blaster to the 7800. All of the enemies are there, all of the frenetic gameplay, the secret bonuses, the distinctive sound effects, almost everything is remarkably intact. He even uses the difficulty settings to let you choose between the different ROM sets that the arcade game had. The only places the adaptation falls short are that the graphics (notably the enemies) aren't quite as colorful, and sadly, most of the speech didn't make it into the game. The only phrase that survived is the opening call for pilots during the title screen. Fortunately, Bob did include that one (it wouldn't be Astro Blaster without it), and he managed to make clever use of onscreen text to fill in for other phrases that would normally happen during the game. Astro Blaster is a classic shooter that never got much recognition back in the day. Perhaps there was just too much competition at the time for it to stand out. But now you can give it the attention it's due and bring it home for your 7800. Astro Blaster should be part of any 7800 owner's game library! Astro Blaster gets a 5/5 Up next: Bob brings even more arcade games home to the 7800 in Arcade Assault, Vol. 2 < PreviousHomebreviews IndexNext >