Desert Falcon reviews tick me off

[Lord Thag]

Well, seeing how I'm on a 7800 kick, I decided to post a bit of a rant about something that bugs me to no end: The poor reviews that Desert Falcon, my favorite 7800 shooter, gets.

 

Now don't get me wrong, we all have our opinions, and there is certainly nothing wrong with not liking a game because you just can't get into it. Everyone is like that. Take Ballblazer. Most 7800 afficianados like it a lot. It bores me to tears. However, you will never catch me saying it's a bad game. It's not, in fact, it's very well done. I just don't care for it. That's what annoys me about the Desert Falcon reviews. They aren't fair.

 

Most reviews and posts I've seen about the game basically state that it's a 'second rate Zaxxon knockoff' with a 'weird power up system' that's 'way too hard'.

 

Boooooo

 

First off, comparing Desert Falcon (DF from here on) to Zaxxon is not very fair. It's always presented like DF is some cheap copy of Zaxxon in most reviews, and this is just not true. To me, this is like saying that a great shooter like Raiden is just a 'Xevious knockoff', since Xevious pioneered the vertical scrolling shooter. That's lazy, and inaccurate. Raiden EVOLVED the vertical scrolling shooter, and that is exactly what DF does to the 'isometric' shooter.

 

Look at it objectively. First off, Zaxxon consists of two short, endlessly repeating levels with the same layout every time. It's pretty repetitive. Desert falcon, on the other hand, randomly generates all levels, items, treasures and enemies every single game. It's a different game every single time. Name one other shooter that provides unique, different levels each and every time you play. I'll wait

 

Then, there's the power up system. It's simple enough. Pick three heiroglyphics, and get a neat power right? Of course, when you calculate just how many actual combinations there are, the number is ... staggering. You could spend ages trying to figure out all 512, not to mention many of them change after level 3. This gives the system a ton of depth. Sure, you can pick a few combos and just go for those, or you can spend hours trying new ones to see what happens. It's really a fun, and incredibly deep system that adds a great deal of depth. Do you try for three birds and get a free life, or go with a hold sphinx or maybe some extra bonus time to knock your multiplyer up? It's a power up system that has been duplicated absolutely NOWHERE else.

 

Then, onto the game itself. It's got an awesome Egyptian theme, and there are a ton of enemies, both on the ground and in the air. New levels add new dangers (and new powers to deal with them) like the fire pots and the mini-sphinxes. You never play the same level twice, and the sphinx fight at the end of each level is always tough, and always fun. The bonus round and score multiplier (which depnds on the treasures you collect in each level) adds a frantic intensity to the bonus round as you scramble for your current best treasure. The graphics are good, and even the 7800's limited sound manages to do just fine.

 

In short, whether it's a game you happen to like or not, it's a damned fine game that is far more than a 'second rate Zaxxon clone'. It's the only console shooter in existence with randomly (and intelligently) generated levels, hundreds of combinations of power ups in an original, unique system, that manages a white-knuckle level of intensity without ever becoming unfair.

 

I love it. I know many people do. But please, if you don't happen to like it, be fair and just say so. It's not a cheap knockoff of Zaxxon. It's an original, fun, clever little shooter that's different every time, and you can only play it on an Atari. Desert Falcon deserves some respect. Who's with me?

 

Yeah, yeah, I'm gettin' off my soap box now

Edited February 12, 2009 by Lord Thag

[+TrekMD]

I have to say that I agree with you. I always liked DF and wondered why people gave it such negative reviews. DF is not an easy game and it does take some time to learn but, to me, that's part of the fun with it!

[Classic Pac]

I like DF and find it a very challenging game.

[xZanU]

I like the reviews, just shows I have better taste because DF is fantastic.

[roadrunner]

Another DF fan here. Great review! Keep 'em coming!

[cybercylon]

I like DF, generally, but I think it is one of those that could have really benefited from real sound hardware.

[Inky]

I don't like it. The graphics are way too muddy, and a lot of times its too hard to judge how high you're flying. I don't have much problem with the sound, but visually, it could have been a lot better, given the hardware its on.

[+remowilliams]

I've always liked DF on the 7800, it's a very good game. However the A8 version sucks badly.

[MrFish]

I like DF, generally, but I think it is one of those that could have really benefited from real sound hardware.

 

More than other 7800 games?

[Lord Thag]

The sound, in general, for most 7800 games is pretty sub par. That's the one common complaint about the console I will not argue with. Desert Falcon did not have amazing sound, but what it has works, as far as I'm concerned. The simple background sound loop creates a distinct mood for the game, which works for me.

 

I disagree on the graphics being sub par though. I've always felt they were like a good arcade game: simple and well defined. I enjoyed the egyptian motif as well. The howling sphinx was particularly well done, and I always found it to be a very memorable boss. Like the rest of the game, there' not much else like it.

[+remowilliams]

Desert Falcon did not have amazing sound, but what it has works, as far as I'm concerned.

I agree. Way too many 7800 games have absolute shit sound, but DF is one of those games that it's functional enough that it really doesn't bother me at all.

[MrFish]

I agree... I think they did a very decent job on Desert Falcon's sound.

[DracIsBack]

I agree. Way too many 7800 games have absolute shit sound, but DF is one of those games that it's functional enough that it really doesn't bother me at all.

 

Taking aside the fact that the 7800 uses a TIA to generate sound, I think a lot of 7800 games have sound that is a lot worse than it should be.

 

When I first got the 7800, my friends and I were playing various 2600 and 7800 games on it. When we played 2600 California Games, a couple people asked why the music was better on the 2600 than the 7800. Kind of spoke to the effort put in at times. That, and a tendency to use high pitched, excessively loud and bleepy sound and music. Tower Toppler's main theme comes to mind ...

 

I think some 7800 games do a decent job with music and/or sound effects despite being on a TIA. Others include Midnight Mutants, Scrapyard Dog, Dark Chambers and Jinks. And certainly there are lots of 2600 examples.

 

Back to the original topic, I'm not a huge Desert Falcon fan but I do play a level occasionally. I can see both sides of the graphics argument. I think the first level where you're in the desert during the day looks terrific. Love the look of the Sphinx too. Does a great job scrolling diagonally while chucking around a lot of objects in spots too. (IIRC it slows down later but the first couple levels seem fine).

 

It's the later levels with the odd color schemes I'm not into. Like when the sky is dark purple etc. Also, it doesn't hold my interest beyond a level or two.

Edited February 14, 2009 by DracIsBack

[the.golden.ax]

Back in the day when I bought my Desert Falcon new from Toys R Us it was one of my favorite games of all time. Now I can't seem to get into it. I still like Desert Falcon, but I just can't seem to stick with it for more than a few moments.

In the 90's I got a BallBlazer from Big Lots for a buck and thought it sucked on ice. These days BallBlazer is fun... odd how time changes some things like that.

 

AX

[Almost Rice]

Back in the day when I bought my Desert Falcon new from Toys R Us it was one of my favorite games of all time. Now I can't seem to get into it. I still like Desert Falcon, but I just can't seem to stick with it for more than a few moments.

In the 90's I got a BallBlazer from Big Lots for a buck and thought it sucked on ice. These days BallBlazer is fun... odd how time changes some things like that.

 

I have noticed the same depend on the game I play and if I have an opponent. BallBlazer is a lot of fun when you have an opponent that is evenly matched with you. If you or they are consistently better, one of you would be quick bored of the game. I find it no fun playing against the computer.

 

I could never get into playing Desert Falcon, Tower Toppler, MIA and a few more. I know I probably would given enough time and more understanding of each game, but I fill my time with Robotron, Beef Drop, Pacman Collection, Super Pacman and Centipede TB. I used to play Joust and Galaga more often but not right now.

[thegamezmaster]

Great game, still love it today!

[chrisbid]

 

and while he makes the zaxxon comparison, he seems to appreciate some the design aspects of the game

[Lord Thag]

Thanks for the link. I usually like his reviews. At least he had some positive stuff to say. I swear though. Everyone whines about the 'it's hard to shoot and dodge' thing. It's like the damned pits in E.T. Everybody bitches and moans about them, and it takes all of like, five minutes of play, to be able to not fall in them. Desert Falcon is the same. Twenty minutes of play and you are shucking and jivving like a pro. It's not hard to shoot and dodge at all! Well, until umm, level five. Then it's hard to do ANYTHING and not die

[chrisbid]

Classic Game Room is great, I love his dry sense of humor and his taste in games (namely action and arcade style games) is rare to find these days when everyone seems to only cares about storylines, framerates, and polygon counts

[xZanU]

That video review was great. A nice well rounded review with game footage is always best. I can't wait for this game to hit the HSC.

[FireTiger]

I'm still hoping someone fixes the 'second player lag' bug-

 

the one that drops the 'wrong' level enemies into the level of the player that is lagging behind.

 

It kills hubbie when we play (to the point he won't play) because even if he is first player I can get to level 3 on easy in one life.

[Bakasama]

I'm still hoping someone fixes the 'second player lag' bug-

 

the one that drops the 'wrong' level enemies into the level of the player that is lagging behind.

 

It kills hubbie when we play (to the point he won't play) because even if he is first player I can get to level 3 on easy in one life.

 

That's my only real problem with "Desert Falcon." It works great as a single player game but it utterly fails as a 2 player game. It's sucks to play the first level and to have it play like the it was the difficulty at level 12 or so.

[Chris-in-NJ]

I've just been playing it at the advanced level, and my hand hurts from the PainLine joysticks. One strategy I've been using is to fly as little as possible. If you just hop on the ground, most of the enemies will fly directly into your arrows.

 

During one of my games just now, I managed to collect nine purple jewels, though when I got another one the counter didn't go to ten. During the bonus round I managed over 34,000 points and got four extra lives!

 

I love Desert Falcon, flaws and all.

[phuzzed]

I loved Desert Falcon (I need to break it out sometime), and I played it a LOT back in the day. I found it to be very fun and challenging, and I thought the graphics were top notch for the system.

[Atarifever]

I never really loved or hated this one. I think it may be time to give it another go.