Rom Hunter

Tempest, About Pizza Chef: It's a little bit like playing Swordquest with an Italian cook. Personally I don't think this game is totally finished. Some graphics look "marbled" (for example: the light blue graphics in the blue room). What I noticed, is this: If you pick up an object (cup, plate or cleaver) in the "mouse room" and walk to the "blue room", then you can pick up certain "symbols" or "ingredients" you couldn't pick up before. If you can't find an ingredient that matches the object, simply re-enter the blue room. After that you enter the "red room" and if you're lucky, you can "dissolve" one of the rectangles on the right side of the screen by pressing the fire button when you're standing near them. If you're unlucky, you'll end up in "stair room" where you have to drop off the stair to throw away your ingredient in the "trash bin". You walk up the stair by pressing fire when you're near a step (it took me a while to figure out). You have twenty minutes to figure out the combination of how to make all the figures in the red room dissappear. If you run out of time, the game is over and there are twenty five levels. You can't die, but you can be "bothered" be colliding into a mouse, a waiter, a light blue graphic in the blue room or by falling of the stair. Hope this helps, Tempest. Good luck! BTW: I really like the characters, but the "walking sound" is terrible.

Sku_u, Mr. Postman is actually quite playable. Walk to the right and avoid the "bricks" falling from the bird. When you reach the right side of the screen, climb up and avoid the "bullets" from the bird (tricky, but possible). When you reach the top, jump into the vine and then drop on the bird: now you can fly and you will be transported to the second screen, in which you have to shoot the little birds and the "bricks" falling from the sky, while avoiding the lightning and the bricks. If you clear three screens you will be transported to the last screen in which you have to fly carefully through a "maze" in order to reach the house on the right side, where you can deliver your mail. What? Don't you like being a postman?

Two more things: if you run out of time, you lose a life and if you press F2 to select "2" then you get two minutes from the second (instead of the fourth) screen on. I'll take a look at Pizza Chef, Tempest.

The minimal time is two minutes from the fourth screen on. Another puzzle solved, Tempest.

My personal record! There are just two different screens. I managed to get to the fourth screen (in which you get two minutes to hit the "box") and then I died. You get points for time left when entering a new screen.

This is what I found out so far with Spinning Fireball: When you keep pushing the joystick forward, the fireball starts to spin (clockwise if you're facing right). If you then press fire, the fireball will fly in that direction. If you are hit by your own fireball or a fireball coming out of the moving "box", you lose one of your three lifes. I managed (pure luck) to hit the box with a diagonal aimed fireball: the screen changes into another (green) background setting and you get four minutes (instead of five) to hit the box. It could well be that there are five screens (one minute to finish the fifth level). I didn't get that far, because I had to shave a beard and remove some cobwebs... The game is boring, to say the least.

Digital Press states that Pizza Chef was pirated by CCE and Emag. That suggests that Emag is a different company. The Fire Spinner (AKA Spinning Fireball) proto is also from Emag. And I found this in an old list: Emag GN-070 A Mysterious Thief (never released) Emag GN-040 Cosmic Corridor Emag GN-020 Dishaster Emag Fire Bug Emag GN-080 Fire Spinner (never released) Emag GN-010 I Want My Mommy Emag GN-060 Immies & Aggies Emag GN-050 Pizza Chef Emag GN-030 Tanks But No Tanks Zimag 708-111 Cosmic Corridor Zimag 711-111 Dishaster Zimag 710-111 I Want My Mommy (KidStuff series) Zimag Immies & Aggies Zimag Pizza Chef Zimag 707-111 Tanks But No Tanks This also suggests that Zimag and Emag are different companies.

Tempest, great to see that you're reviewing the Zimag - Emag proto's! I have a question: what exactly is the difference between Zimag and Emag? Are these different companies? Or is it one company with two different names?

I know that book, but I don't have it. Is it in good shape?

I think Atari planned on releasing PAL versions of the games. Sorry YOK-dfa, I only have one book (and the earlier version from '83 - '84).

He also reviewed Grover's Music Maker and Track & Field.

There are no pictures in the book. Only text.

Maybe Anthony Verhulst received the NTSC version to review?

Sly, what kind of game is Scuba Diver? Is it Activision's Seaquest or Panda's Scuba Diver?

I still have some questions left: Why does the Pac Kong from Funvision has a Goliath logo instead of a Funvision logo? It doesn't make sense. Can anyone confirm that the Pac Kong with the "octopus" on top really is the Hot Shot version? Where does the NTSC Pac Kong ROM (the incorrect Inca Gold ROM) come from? The ROM is called: Pac Kong (Starsoft) (NTSC conversion)

I already found the answer, sku_u. Inca Gold (Zellers) looks like Spider Maze (K-Tel Vision), only without the Funvision logo. That means there's no Inca Gold ROM available (yet).

Sku_u, you said that Inca Gold looks like Spider Maze (K-Tel vision). Is there also a Funvision logo on screen in Inca Gold?

And these:

Ok, here we go: Are these screenshots correct?

I really would appreciate it, sku_u! A closer look at the differences in sprites and logo's would really clear things up.

I forgot these: Pac-Kong (Quelle) Pac-Kong (Rainbow Vision - Suntek) Pac-Kong (Taiwan Cooper)

Well, I'm confused. I have a Quelle UFO Patrol ROM, which is NTSC (?!) and a PAL Funvision Time Race 2 ROM, which is called Time Warp (from Zellers) by Atari Age (?!). And sku_u, talking about Inca Gold, Pac Kong, Spider Kong, Spider Maze, Spider Monster, Space Monster, etc.: It would be great to see some verified screenshots of these games with the CORRECT titles and company names, because this REALLY drives me nuts. We have: Pac Kong (Funvision) Spider Monster/Space Monster (Funvision) Spider Kong (Goliath #6) Pac Kong (Goliath - Hot Shot) Spider Maze (K-Tel Vision) Inca Gold (Zellers) Can you help me with the correct screenshots of these games?

The Time Warp from Zellers in Atari Age is PAL, not NTSC. Is this correct?

Great to see these pictures, Sly! This really is news.

It works fine.