Old Video Game Awards

[StanJr]

While perusing an old Activision catalog for Winter/Spring 1983, I noticed a few blurbs under some of the game titles that appeared to be "Arcade Alley Awards!" Reading these cracked me up! Apparently award standards were pretty low back then, check some of these out!

 

Freeway: Honorable Mention 1982 "Most Innovative Game" !!!

 

Laser Blast: Honorable Mention 1982 "Best Science Fiction Game!!!"

 

Kaboom!: "Best Audio and Visiual Effects!"

 

These could not have been awarded to the VCS versions of these games could they?

 

Nominee Stan

[liquid_sky]

laser blast won something? thats gotta be a lie..

[Albert]

We have a large number of Atari 2600 catalogs online. Here are the pages from the Activision Spring/Winter 1983 catalog Stan is referring to:

 

Freeway

Laser Blast

Kaboom!

 

Enjoy!

 

..Al

[Agent X]

They most likely were for the 2600 versions. As far as I know, Activision never released Freeway or Laser Blast for any other system besides the 2600. (That's not counting their various compilations of emulated 2600 games.) Kaboom! did get ported to a few other systems (the ports to the Atari 5200 and Atari 8-bit computers were done by the father of one of my high school friends), but in the context of the catalog quotes you gave, I would guess they meant the 2600 version.

 

If I recall correctly, those awards were given out by Electronic Games magazine.

[StanJr]

Then how, oh how, did Laser Blast win anything other than "Worst Waste of a PCB" award???

 

Insane.

[NE146]

I thought Laser Blast was pretty nifty. The concept was new (i.e. I had never played anything like it) and besides, I had never seen lasers go that fast

 

But yeah I did eventually get bored of it which in the early 80's was odd....

[ubersaurus]

I like Laser Blast. Don't be dissing the blast, man!

[Albert]

Maybe I was brain damaged as a child, but I remember spending a lot of time playing Laser Blast. I have memories of sitting in front of the TV, eyes glazing as I cleared screen after screen in a seemingly endless trance. I don't remember if I ever got to the "end", but I probably did. Unfortunately I never took any photographs of my Activision feats.

 

A lot has changed in twenty years. These days I can play games like Quake and Unreal Tournament where I can sit in a seemingly endless trance ruthlessly killing one pleeb after another.

 

..Al

[PeeknPoke]

hey, Laser blast! is great, dig those crazy sound FX man!!

 

 

Lee

[liveinabin]

Hmm, well - I'm actually bidding on a copy today - I'm not expecting a lot

I just want it cause its in a box and its Activision

[Big Player]

The problem with Laser Blast is once you figure out the pattern, the game is too easy. At the later rounds when your ship is forced to the very top of the screen, you hardly need to move. Wouldn't it have been more difficult if your ship was forced to fly lower?

 

The graphics aren't too bad for 1982. It's just the game play is so unchallenging, repetitive and boring.

 

I agree with Agent X, those awards are from Electronic Games magazine. I used to have almost all of the issues--and then I threw them all away.

[ATARIPITBULL]

As a kid I too thought that laser blast was kind of fun to play, it's not one of my top ten games to play but it was still OK.

[StanJr]

Yeah, but it must have been a slow sci-fi year if Laser Blast is bridesmaid for "BEST SCI-FI GAME OF THE YEAR!!!" Come on.

[Big Player]

Oops, I looked in my Ken Uston's Buying and Beating the Home Video Games book and those awards were from Video magazine. I believe Electronic Games was a spin-off of this magazine.

 

And it turns out Laser Blast lost to UFO (Odyssey 2) for the Best Science Fiction game.