Yar's Revenge Atari 2600 Review

[Atariperson23]

Yar's Revenge is one of the Atari 2600's best games, through and through. Howard Scott Warshaw was truly the master of games, even though he only made four games. He managed to push the Atari 2600 to astronomical levels, for example giving a tremendous amount of depth to a game (Raiders Of The Lost Ark), create a entire world in a game (E.T) and have a boss battle (Saboteur) And all of his games with the exception of Saboteur have the distinction of selling a Million cartridges or more. If the above facts didn't convince you, the fact that all his games except E.T have gotten very positive reviews from critics should convince you. But enough with this crazy talk, let's begin the review!

Originality: A+
Yar's Revenge is completely original. From the gameplay to the graphics to the storyline, to the sounds, the game is one of the most original games i've ever seen. Nothing like it in the arcades, nothing like it in the tabletops, and nothing like it in the 2600. However, Howard Scott Warshaw wanted to do Star Castle, but he thought it couldn't be done. So instead of doing a watered down rip-off, he chose the better path: The path that makes him one of the greatest programmers of all time. In fact, Yar's Revenge is the first Atari game to feature source code in the game, the first Atari game to have a full-screen explosion, the first (and last) game to feature a fly facing off against a spaceship, and the first Atari game to have two easter eggs (Razak, the name of the planet spelled backwards sounds like Ray Kassar, Atari's CEO at the time), and (If you shoot the Qotile at mid-air, a black line will appear, and you go to the lower third of the screen, and when the explosion ends, you'll see HSWWSH, Howard Scott Warshaw's initials.) So yes, Yar's Revenge offers a lot of firsts to make your Atari 2600 experience so darn endearing.

Gameplay: A+

Yars moves fast, but not too fast to make the gameplay frustrating. Yars can also move in eight directions, which is good because it makes gameplay slightly more at ease. Yars can get killed by his own cannon, the Qotile swirl and the bullet. But one thing is that this eventually gets very hard. Very hard, mind you, not impossible. So many game lose their appeal from being nigh-near impossible, for example Fast Food, enjoyable at first but impossible two minutes later. And unlike games like Swordquest which are very hard to understand, Yar's Revenge barely needs a read of a manual. Incredible how simple but addicting this game, Howard Scott Warshaw knew how to push the limits of the Atari 2600 like never before. And this game shows.

Graphics: A

The graphics are about as good as they get on the Atari 2600. Yar's looks like a fly, which is the character he is representing. There are animations like Yars flapping his wings, Yars dying, the Swirl spinning and the wall moving around the place. And the Qotile looked just like a evil starship. Oh, and the Zorlon cannon and wall are brilliantly multicolored. Amazing, isn't it? My only complain is that their is very faint, but a little annoying flicker. I just don't like that part. Other than that, everything is perfect, spot on.

Sound Effects: A+

The sound effects are superb, with Warshaw making wonders with the TIA. There is a very realistic humming noise, with a nice beat to it. And the Qotile transformation noise into the Swirl sounds pretty solid. And the cannon noise? I don't know why the same sound effects can be found in so many games, but it gets the job done. And the explosion sound effect? Really like a 8-bit version of a thunderclap, except with a catchy beat. And finally, the death. I don't know how HSW managed to create a completely original sound effect under a horrible sound chip, but he did it. His Raiders March and Flying Theme in the other two games managed to be decent too.

Final Grade: A+
Wow... what a game. From the ingenuity of the game itself, to the absolutely beautiful sound effects, to the visually appealing graphics, to the addicting but fast gameplay, this game is the reason you should appreciate the Atari 2600. It's just so hard to say anything bad about one of the best games on the Atari 2600, and maybe all time.

 

 

[qrysdonnell]

This is probably the only 2600 game that I'd say is perfect. HSW did such a great job of knowing the system capabilities and designing around it.

[VectorGamer]

OP never heard of Star Castle.

[Yarzzz]

16 hours ago, Atariperson23 said:

Yar's Revenge is one of the best games on the Atari 2600, and maybe all time.

 

 

I cant argue with you on that

[+groundtrooper]

BTW it's Yars' not Yar's. 

 

Great game either way. 

[keithbk]

You're a fly, and your enemy is the Atari logo, turned on its side (sort of)...

 

 

[Rom Hunter]

It's a good game, but A+ is IMO overrated.

After playing several rounds it becomes repetitive IMO and the gameplay wears off for me.

[chewy]

so the source code in the game he mentions............is that the crazy pixilated thing on the screen-part?

Edited January 26, 2020 by chewy

[CommodoreDecker]

On 12/18/2019 at 7:52 PM, Atariperson23 said:

Yar's Revenge is one of the Atari 2600's best games, through and through. Howard Scott Warshaw was truly the master of games, even though he only made four games. [/quote]

100% agreed. He would push game boundaries with Raiders, and E.T. as well...

 

On 12/18/2019 at 7:52 PM, Atariperson23 said:

He managed to push the Atari 2600 to astronomical levels, for example giving a tremendous amount of depth to a game (Raiders Of The Lost Ark), create a entire world in a game (E.T) and have a boss battle (Saboteur)

[/quote]

I've not played the latter... But "Raiders" was always fun and "E.T.", while having quirks, isn't anywhere near as bad as its reputation. Okay, ET is green and not brown and a little something else, and the random chance element in waiting for the ship to come back and hoping no human pops up in the last few seconds is as rewarding as it is unnerving... 

 

On 12/18/2019 at 7:52 PM, Atariperson23 said:

 

And all of his games with the exception of Saboteur have the distinction of selling a Million cartridges or more. If the above facts didn't convince you, the fact that all his games except E.T have gotten very positive reviews from critics should convince you. But enough with this crazy talk, let's begin the review!

[/quote]

In general, "High ratings = really really good" is not always the best correlation to make. I don't recall "Raiders" getting the highest of marks either, but not as bad as ET.'s

 

On 12/18/2019 at 7:52 PM, Atariperson23 said:

Originality: A+
Yar's Revenge is completely original. From the gameplay to the graphics to the storyline, to the sounds, the game is one of the most original games i've ever seen. Nothing like it in the arcades, nothing like it in the tabletops, and nothing like it in the 2600. However, Howard Scott Warshaw wanted to do Star Castle, but he thought it couldn't be done. So instead of doing a watered down rip-off, he chose the better path: The path that makes him one of the greatest programmers of all time. In fact, Yar's Revenge is the first Atari game to feature source code in the game, the first Atari game to have a full-screen explosion, the first (and last) game to feature a fly facing off against a spaceship, and the first Atari game to have two easter eggs (Razak, the name of the planet spelled backwards sounds like Ray Kassar, Atari's CEO at the time), and (If you shoot the Qotile at mid-air, a black line will appear, and you go to the lower third of the screen, and when the explosion ends, you'll see HSWWSH, Howard Scott Warshaw's initials.) So yes, Yar's Revenge offers a lot of firsts to make your Atari 2600 experience so darn endearing.[/quote]

It'd be awesome if a beta still existed where we could see the actual code, instead of its obfuscated form (which looks brill BTW).

 

Changing it from a port into something original probably made this a "killer app" on par with Space Invaders.

 

His story in telling its development (see YouTube, in a video in a series where some company reps don't put in the same level of information and entertainment he does...)

 

On 12/18/2019 at 7:52 PM, Atariperson23 said:

Gameplay: A+

Yars moves fast, but not too fast to make the gameplay frustrating. Yars can also move in eight directions, which is good because it makes gameplay slightly more at ease. Yars can get killed by his own cannon, the Qotile swirl and the bullet. But one thing is that this eventually gets very hard. Very hard, mind you, not impossible. So many game lose their appeal from being nigh-near impossible, for example Fast Food, enjoyable at first but impossible two minutes later. And unlike games like Swordquest which are very hard to understand, Yar's Revenge barely needs a read of a manual. Incredible how simple but addicting this game, Howard Scott Warshaw knew how to push the limits of the Atari 2600 like never before. And this game shows.

[/quote]

It's so complex yet so simple at the same time.  And has the necessary factor of being engaging.

 

On 12/18/2019 at 7:52 PM, Atariperson23 said:

Graphics: A

The graphics are about as good as they get on the Atari 2600. Yar's looks like a fly, which is the character he is representing. There are animations like Yars flapping his wings, Yars dying, the Swirl spinning and the wall moving around the place. And the Qotile looked just like a evil starship. Oh, and the Zorlon cannon and wall are brilliantly multicolored. Amazing, isn't it? My only complain is that their is very faint, but a little annoying flicker. I just don't like that part. Other than that, everything is perfect, spot on.[/quote]

A+ for me.  The array of bricks that Yar  (I named mine "Tasha") eats through, in the even numbered-rounds where they rotate in and out, is sheer brilliance.

 

The use of source code as an asset to draw the safety zone with is eminently clever, especially when working with limited RAM (1/8th byte!!) and ROM space (was Yar's 2K or 4K?)

 

The flicker adds to an ethereal effect. On top of color rotation and using the Atari's palette to its full potential, it reminds why the 2600 succeeded when others failed - despite having superior capabilities elsewhere and more RAM on top of that. HSW knew how to get the most out of it.

 

On 12/18/2019 at 7:52 PM, Atariperson23 said:

Sound Effects: A+

The sound effects are superb, with Warshaw making wonders with the TIA. There is a very realistic humming noise, with a nice beat to it. And the Qotile transformation noise into the Swirl sounds pretty solid. And the cannon noise? I don't know why the same sound effects can be found in so many games, but it gets the job done. And the explosion sound effect? Really like a 8-bit version of a thunderclap, except with a catchy beat. And finally, the death. I don't know how HSW managed to create a completely original sound effect under a horrible sound chip, but he did it. His Raiders March and Flying Theme in the other two games managed to be decent too.[/quote]

The 2600's sound unit reveals its weaknesses in other games, but in this one it all feels so natural. The sounds are well-used, despite being only two-channel.  The 2600 was to have two internal speakers but to save costs they ported those to the RF output. A modification can restore the "stereo" effect they weren't thinking much into at the time...

 

Try this game in a 2600 with the composite sound mod and in a 5.x or 7.x speaker system set to 'stereo full'. That is real immersion, with an ethereal, out-of-this-world sensation that's thick with excitement. It still astounds to this day.

 

Also, compare any of HSW's games to standard fare like "Kangaroo" and HSW's really knows which octaves to use, as well as which speaker to use. Everything about this game is so well-designed...

 

On 12/18/2019 at 7:52 PM, Atariperson23 said:

Final Grade: A+
Wow... what a game. From the ingenuity of the game itself, to the absolutely beautiful sound effects, to the visually appealing graphics, to the addicting but fast gameplay, this game is the reason you should appreciate the Atari 2600. It's just so hard to say anything bad about one of the best games on the Atari 2600, and maybe all time.

 

 

 

It is one of the all-time greats of video game history and always a go-to.

 

[CommodoreDecker]

On 12/21/2019 at 5:53 PM, keithbk said:

You're a fly, and your enemy is the Atari logo, turned on its side (sort of)...

 

 

Given the blocky nature, I thought it was a peace symbol and all the swirling bright colors, which also gave me the munchies, made me think it was anti-hippie for a while. Turn off the volume, light up some incense, and put on some Jimi Hendrix to get the full effect...

 

[ZylonBane]

I'm shocked, shocked, okay not really shocked. that nobody has yet pointed out that no, there is no "source code" in this game, onscreen or anywhere. Source code is the human-readable version of computer code before it's compiled into object code. That's what CPUs actually run.

[orange808]

Assembler still allows for meaningful label and "variable" names--in addition to comments.

 

Furthermore, even assembler has to be assembled into a binary for the VCS to run it. 

 

So, there most definitely *is* source code, thank ya very much. 

 

Check out some sources online.

Edited August 7, 2020 by orange808
Edited out of caution. Removed link to a book. I don't know if the pdf I linked is fair game to post.