Season 12 ~ Weeks 7/8/9 ~ Holiday Break Red Label Games

[Vocelli]

Week 7/8/9

Red Label Games

Atari Red labels were produced from 1986-1990 when Atari was attempting to revive the system. These labels range in color between dark-red and red-brown. For the first year, the pictures were monochrome, then Atari switched to color pictures on the red background. The text is white, and the end label is red with white text as well. Some Red label games are re-issues of previous titles. Others were only released as a Red label. Atari also released all of their third-party licensed games with this label.

Klax

 

 

Xenophobe

 

 

Fatal Run

 

 CLARIFICATION: No use of CHEATS, emulation advantages, bugs, cart frying or other variables that gives you an unfair advantage in this HSC. Please assume you have to follow the game difficulty and mode for the playing week/s. There cannot be any game enhancements or favorite settings to play in the 2600 HSC, unless you are given authorization to do so by your humble yet strict MODERATOR! Vocelli

 

Klax

Released By:  Atari

Left Difficulty: B

Right Difficulty: B

Game Mode: You can start on any level you want.

WARPING ALLOWED, BUT CONTINUES PROHIBITED.

 

Xenophobe

Released By:  Atari

Left Difficulty: B

Right Difficulty: B

Game Mode: Game 1 

 

Fatal Run

Released By:  Atari

Left Difficulty: B

Right Difficulty: B

Game Mode: Game 1 

NO CODES ALLOWED!

 

 

 Post your scores right here in this thread, and we will add them to the list. Remember to play the game with the recommended game mode and difficulty settings as shown above so that your scores will be consistent with everyone else.

The deadline for posting scores is Midnight (EST) the evening of Jan 9, 2022

 

Bonus: NO BONUS

Holiday Break!

Medal Picks Start Jan 6, 2022!

 

 

Klax Scores

You can start on any level you want.

WARPING ALLOWED, BUT CONTINUES PROHIBITED.

 

160245 - OyamaFamily (+50)

111790 - JasonHRB (+49)

  91885 - ClassicGamer (+48)

  87895 - SkippyBCoyote (+47)

  85980 - Kermit (+46)

  55910 - AtariSphinx (+45)

  40440 - DomBradley (+44)

  37945 - JGKspsx (+43)

  36870 - Nads (+42)

  33570 - RetroBreakout (+41)

  33095 - Maloff (+40)

  31150 - CrazyClimber (+39)

  28985 - FakeCortex (+38)

  27815 - Atari_Warlord (+37)

  27590 - AGB (+36)

  27295 - JasonAtari (+35)

  27100 - RoadRunner (+34)

  27005 - Atarian7 (+33)

  26740 - Absalon (+32)

  26610 - Vocelli (+31)

  26540 - DrMooCowz (+30)

  25935 - LaurenTyler (+29)

  22740 - Keilbaca (+28)

  20615 - MoisesTuseto (+27)

  20340 - Evandro (+26)

  15285 - Deteacher (+25)

  11540 - GBAG (+24)

    6195 - RGC (+23)

    5975 - TheActivisionary (+22)

    5400 - Mchetzel (+21)

    

 

 

Xenophobe Scores

 

ROLLAGE! - OyamaFamily (+50)

578925 - AtariSphinx (+49)

517635 - Nads (+48)

349210 - Kermit (+47)

320020 - Evandro (+46)

297010 - SkippyBCoyote (+45)

277725 - JasonHRB (+44)

192550 - Maloff (+43)

143525 - Atari_Warlord (+42)

  91300 - RoadRunner (+41)

  81950 - DomBradley (+40)

  78425 - LaurenTyler (+39)

  75435 - Vocelli (+38)

  72975 - Absalon (+37)

  72625 - FakeCortex (+36)

  66700 - Keilbaca (+35)

  66225 - ClassicGamer (+34)

  64175 - RetroBreakout (+33)

  62285 - DrMooCowz (+32)

  60685 - MarkGriff (+31)

  58650 - GBAG (+30)

  18200 - JGKspsx (+29)

  16925 - MoisesTuseto (+28)

  15025 - JasonAtari (+27)

  14150 - CrazyClimber (+26)

    8500 - AGB (+25)

    7425 - TheActivisionary (+24)

    4990 - Mchetzel (+23)

      525 - Atarian7 (+22)

 

Fatal Run Scores

NO CODES ALLOWED!

 

367340 - OyamaFamily (+50)

247050 - SkippBCoyote (+49)

229240 - MoisesTuseto (+48)

144670 - JasonHRB (+47)

127520 - Nads (+46)

113200 - AtariSphinx (+45)

109370 - Kermit (+44)

100760 - Absalon (+43)

  98340 - Evandro (+42)

  92420 - MarkGriff (+41)

  80530 - RetroBreakout (+40)

  80480 - CrazyClimber (+39)

  75100 - JGKspsx (+38)

  64120 - Maloff (+37)

  40830 - Keilbaca (+36)

  38120 - Deteacher (+35)

  32720 - RoadRunner (+34)

  27980 - Vocelli (+33)

  26190 - DomBradley (+32)

  20670 - Atari_Warlord (+31)

  17040 - GBAG (+30)

  14780 - FakeCortex (+29)

  14660 - AGB (+28)

  10520 - DrMooCowz (+27)

    8100 - LaurenTyler (+26)

    6810 - Mchetzel (+25)

    6120 - Atarian7 (+24)

    4150 - JasonAtari (+23)

    1800 - TheActivisionary (+22)

    1470 - RGC (+21)

    1310 - ClassicGamer (+21)

 

Overall Standings

Remember the Top 32 will qualify for the Bracket Challenge at the end of the Season!

303	Kermit
281	JasonHRB
277	SkippyBCoyote
276	AtariSphinx
267	JGKspsx
263	Nads
261	Evandro
260	MarkGriff
247	Absalon
239	McCallister
234	OyamaFamily
232	Dr Moocowz
232	JasonAtari
232	Vocelli
223	Deteacher
223	Keilbaca
221	CTelkin
209	Atari_Warlord
203	DomBradley
198	GBAG
183	Maloff
179	Atarian7
170	CrazyClimber
169	TheActivisionary
168	AGB
167	LaurenTyler
141	Lord Innit
140	Ed
137	Roadrunner
128	FakeCortex
126	RaymanC
118	Diamonds
112	Krytol
107	RGC
106	Mchetzel
97	GType
96	MoisesTuseto
89	Atariwarlord
86	JacobZu7Zu7
57	RetroBreakout
48	Nester
40	Jblenkle
3	Capitain Classic

 

 

 

Season 12 will have:

~ Gold Medal winner pick from Kermit

~ Silver Medal winner pick from IsaiahAustin

~ Bronze Medal winner pick from DrMooCowz

~ Paper Medal winner pick from McCallister

~ Winter Olympic Games

~ Suggestions and Requests

~ HomeBrew Weeks

~ Chosen Company Games

~ Paddle Weeks

~ Beat the leader weeks

The Season should end at the end of April.

The TOP 32 will qualify for the Medal Bracket Challenge.

Edited January 10, 2022 by Vocelli

[Vocelli]

Because of all the hustle and bustle of the Holiday Season.... Here are the final 3 games for our Red Label Carts.

Feel free to play them all and post scores on all 3 games. I will still be updating almost every day since I do not travel.

PLEASE read the manuals for the games as they are hard to understand without reading the manuals!

 

Enjoy your Holidays! We will start the Medal Winner Picks from Season 11 on January 6, 2022!!!

[Jasonhrb]

Ooh, some more quality picks. I love Klax, and think it's cool that what was apparently the last 2600 game released by Atari 2600 was such a good one. Fatal run is also pretty entertaining , and is another interesting (to me at least, I'm a bit sad like that  ) footnote in Atari history as it is the largest game (32k!) released for the 2600 in its commercial life. Not so keen on Xenophobe (although I enjoy the 7800 version), but another two quality games to add to the collection is pretty good going . . . .especially when you look at how good the games so far have been !

 

[Skippy B. Coyote]

It looks like Klax and Fatal Run were only ever released in PAL territories. For folks in NTSC land, will the PAL cartridges (or ROM files on a Harmony cart) work properly on US Atari 2600 systems or will the north americans have to resort to emulation for this round?

Edited December 16, 2021 by Skippy B. Coyote

[Lauren Tyler]

16 minutes ago, Skippy B. Coyote said:

It looks like Klax and Fatal Run were only ever released in PAL territories. For folks in NTSC land, will the PAL cartridges (or ROM files on a Harmony cart) work properly on US Atari 2600 systems or will the north americans have to resort to emulation for this round?

If I had to hazard a guess based on my past experiences, PAL games don't run properly on NTSC.

[oyamafamily]

Klax - 87,160

Fatal Run - 5,360

Xenophobe - 270,000

[oyamafamily]

Here are my tips which I provided on 2600 OLD HSC Season 8, Week 20 for XENOPHOBE, and revised here:

 

1. Draw a map of each space station. This game has 8 stages (called space stations); if you complete the 8th stage, you will return to Stage 1. It's a good opportunity to memorize the platforms / screens for each space station, and plan your defense and attack.

 

2. Avoid touching the aliens, specially Snotterpillar (the MOST DANGEROUS AND THE BIGGEST MONSTER). This hint will help to save your health, and your weapons in use.

 

3. Count how many aliens you have killed in the current space station. Here are the numbers of aliens which you must kill to complete the level:

Space Station 01 (1 floor) - 12

Space Station 02 (2 floors) - 24

Space Station 03 (3 floors) - 36

Space Station 04 (4 floors) - 60

Space Station 05 (3 floors) - 46

Space Station 06 (2 floors) - 31

Space Station 07 (3 floors) - 45

Space Station 08 (4 floors) - 54

You will earn 300 bonus points per alien killed at the end of current space station.

 

4. On Space Stations 01, 02, 03, 05, 06, and 07, collect the valuable hardware as many as possible, because you will get 1000 bonus points per item picked up at the end of current stage. AVOID collecting a lot of valuable hardware on Space Stations 04 and 08, both with 4 floors.

 

5. If you have at least 1 Grenade, use it to kill the aliens rolled into balls.

 

6. Poofer Gun and Lightning Rifle are the best weapons on this game. If you find these weapons, GET THEM!

 

7. If you find the Phaser (the less powerful weapon), AVOID IT! Only grab this weapon for emergencies.

 

8. Try to destroy the aliens as soon as possible, specially on Space Stations 04, 05, 07, and 08. This action will decrease the risk of finding the MOST DANGEROUS MONSTER - SNOTTERPILLAR.

Edited December 17, 2021 by oyamafamily

[oyamafamily]

To @Vocelli - add a special note for Fatal Run - NO CODES ALLOWED.

Some participants in this HSC (specially new members) can ask questions about CODES which are featured on Fatal Run.

[+jgkspsx]

I keep forgetting Klax and Fatal Run existed. (Klax didn’t come out for the 7800… what a waste.)

 

So those two are emulator only in the lands of 60 cycles per second?

[Skippy B. Coyote]

Question for @Vocelli! For folks with an NTSC Atari 2600 system and a Harmony cart, can we play the NTSC finished prototype of Klax and the NTSC conversion ROM of Fatal Run? They both seem identical to the PAL versions except that they'll run on an NTSC system, but I felt like I should ask before playing and submitting any scores for them.

[Vocelli]

2 hours ago, Skippy B. Coyote said:

Question for @Vocelli! For folks with an NTSC Atari 2600 system and a Harmony cart, can we play the NTSC finished prototype of Klax and the NTSC conversion ROM of Fatal Run? They both seem identical to the PAL versions except that they'll run on an NTSC system, but I felt like I should ask before playing and submitting any scores for them.

As long as the games play the same then yes. Not sure if there is any differences.

So, right now it is a YES... unless someone discovers an unfair advantage.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

32 minutes ago, Vocelli said:

As long as the games play the same then yes. Not sure if there is any differences.

So, right now it is a YES... unless someone discovers an unfair advantage.

 

Sounds good to me! The NTSC games seem identical to me so I'll get to work playing them, but if anyone does discover any sort of differences that would give the Klax final NTSC prototype or Fatal Run NTSC conversion players an unfair advantage then my scores can be rescinded

 

[agb]

Klax 5885 

[agb]

Fatal Run 5188

[+jgkspsx]

Fatal Run 7040. What an amazing 2600 game!

[Crazy Climber]

Klax...31,150

 

 

Played this one a LOT in the arcade (although never really excelled at it) this is one of those games that always seemed to be in arcades around my area, especially at the tail end of the era...must have been an affordable conversion kit, or a good popular earner, I don't know, every arcade seemed to have one though!

 

 

Edited December 19, 2021 by Crazy Climber
Slightly better score

[Crazy Climber]

Xenophobe - 14,150

 

Just something to get on the boards with xeno. I'm going to need to take the time to relearn this one. I remember it being pretty fun once you get the hang of it...

[oyamafamily]

Klax  160,245

 

Edited December 18, 2021 by oyamafamily

[oyamafamily]

Folks, to reach my score posted above, I used my tricks and techniques as presented in the video below:

 

00:12 - Wave 01: I made multiple and complex Klaxs to score as much as possible. The technique which I applied in this wave is named “Big Sandwich”.

01:17 - Wave 02: Same strategy applied to Wave 01

02:34 - Wave 03: I made a “BIG X” to get more points in this Diagonal Stage

04:03 - Wave 04: Same strategy applied on Waves 01 and 02

05:24 - Wave 05: Same strategy applied on Waves 01, 02 and 04, but I had to make a horizontal Klax (5 yellow blocks) first

06:54 - Wave 06: Same strategy applied on Wave 03, this time to get 50K Warp Bonus

08:33 - Wave 51: I just made the required number of Klaxs (horizontal, vertical or diagonal)

12:06 - Wave 52: I just made the required number of Diagonal Klaxs

14:33 - Wave 53: This wave is IMPOSSIBLE to complete!

 

 

The main tip for Klax is watch this video, and study the tricks and techniques to score more points on Waves 01 to 06.

Edited December 19, 2021 by oyamafamily

[Crazy Climber]

Fatal Run - 67,050

 

 

Wow, what a fantastic game! I'll admit, never gave this one much of a chance. Thought it was too hard (and I still hate the roadblocks with every fiber of my being) but damn, this is a top notch release once you get the hang of it. Might spend the majority of the next few weeks playing this one ? 

 

 

Edited December 19, 2021 by Crazy Climber
Got a better score

[Lauren Tyler]

Klax: 6,575 (It just never was my thing honestly.)

 

Xenophobe: 66,250 (I did pretty well I feel.)

 

Fatal Run: 8,100 (A shame we never got this one in the USA.)

[Crazy Climber]

So...Fatal Run...does anyone bother going for the "yellow diamonds" after you smash a car? They appear to the immediate right (or occasionally left) but are kind of hard to nab unless you kick the speed down...they're usually "off road" which greatly risks damage to your car too.

 

I find them to not be worth the decrease in speed...

 

Keeping top speed, as close to 200 as possible throughout the entire level seems to be the way to go and gets you max "apocalypse dollars" for repairing the car at each town. I cant seem to get higher than $650 for the bonus, is that the max?

 

I've also found you can stretch your fuel out pretty far, I rarely top it off, stick to about $100 per town. Its not worth doing a full tank if you need repairs...especially the engine, your top speed suffers greatly if its too beat up.

 

This game would be perfect but the roadblocks annoy me to no end. The oil slicks are manageable, If I stick to the sides of the road and don't hover in the middle I can avoid most all of them. Some of the roadblocks are just flat out impossible to avoid at high speeds, and they do a LOT of damage if you hit them head on.

 

In the later levels,  well, at least past day 5 or so the cars ramming you from behind get troublesome. You can do the stop/ram trick and take one out but if you can't get enough speed to do it again before the next one comes they just eat away your armor.  Haven't found a good trick to allow them to pass yet and thats what usually does me in. 

 

I find the little "cut scene" messages to be motivating haha, once the hi score contest is done I'm definitely going to continue with earned codes and beat this game...I totally NEED to launch the satellite and save humanity now! 

 

I know I already said it but damn, this game is fantastic!! I wonder if it has a legit ending, probably just a cool little message but...wait, no spoilers, I want to see it for myself!! ? 

[Absalon]

First Fatal Run Score: 020490

[Skippy B. Coyote]

I finally got the chance to sit down and play the three games for this round and they're all great picks! Klax is probably the best puzzle game on the 2600, though I'll admit I'm a little burnt out on it since my parents had a Klax arcade machine in the garage growing up so I played Klax absolutely to death as a kid 

 

Xenophobe and Fatal Run were two I've never really played before though, so I had a lot of fun exploring and figuring out strategies in both of them. I should probably try a little harder in Klax, but I think I'm still kinda Klaxed out from my childhood so I'll probably be focusing mainly on Xenophobe and Fatal Run this round 

 

 

Klax (Game 1, B/B Difficulty): 29,885

 

 

 

 

Xenophobe (Game 1, B/B Difficulty): 206,200

 

 

 

 

Fatal Run (Game 1, B/B Difficulty): 59,890

 

Edited December 20, 2021 by Skippy B. Coyote
Score improvement in Xenophobe

[Jasonhrb]

First go on Klax. This is actually one of my favourites, and one I play sometimes "just because". I was kind of hoping I might have been in with a shout of topping the pile for the first time, but Oyama Family's awesome score has put that idea to bed ?. Still, I've hit something very close to my best ever, and am hoping to improve a bit further before the round is out. I have also had a go at xenophobe, but frankly the less said about my efforts there so far the better ?

 

 

Edited December 19, 2021 by Jasonhrb