Games that were nearly great!

[midget35]

This is a bit of a slant on the whole best / worst debate, but I thought it might inspire a few design suggestions and such!

 

To kick off, I thought Dark Chambers was close to being a 'classic', though just off the mark. Fewer & higher quality levels would have been a boost, in place of the monotonous sprawling levels that exist.

 

Also- I felt that a lot of 2600 adventure games suffered from bad clues... Raiders, the sword quest series, even superman. My understanding is that many of these puzzles were difficult to decipher, with no real in-game hints.

 

Nonetheless, I feel these are all ok games, though their potential may not have been met.

[Christophero Sly]

Mountain King and Entombed are two titles I would consider "great" if their control was a little better. I can't get the hang of pushing up on the joystick to jump in Mountain King and if you didn't stick to the walls in Entombed, that game would be outstanding.

 

... I felt that a lot of 2600 adventure games suffered from bad clues... Raiders, the sword quest series, even superman. My understanding is that many of these puzzles were difficult to decipher, with no real in-game hints.

 

Nonetheless, I feel these are all ok games, though their potential may not have been met.

 

Superman doesn't really use clues. It's not an "adventure" game per se. I consider it a genuine classic!

[supercat]

This is a bit of a slant on the whole best / worst debate, but I thought it might inspire a few design suggestions and such!

889287[/snapback]

 

Well, "BASIC PROGRAMMING" would have been great if it could have used a RAM-plus cartridge and had come with something resembling a keyboard. In many regards, it was actually more sophisticated than other systems at the time (e.g. its simultaneous display of source code, variables, stack, and output). It took almost a decade for such features to appear on "usable" computers.

 

Pesco would have been great with some sound effects. Of course, Nukey Shay seems to have fixed that. Wish I could somehow get the Hack'Em code into the Pesco cart. Though since Ebivision's got my $$ I don't feel guilty about playing Hack'Em instead.

 

I'll have to think about some more--there are actually quite a few 'near great' games on the 2600 and many platforms. Fortunately, some of them can be (and have been) 'corrected'.

[cvga]

I always thought Video Pinball could have been great if it would have included a couple of additional playing surfaces. I like well done video pinball games (like Devil's Crush for the TG16) better than actual pinball.

[mos6507]

Phoenix looks great but the difficulty doesn't ramp up enough to make it challenging enough vs. something like Demon Attack. But Demon Attack doesn't have the mothership.

 

Phoenix is in desperate need of a hack to make the speed increase more.

[+Random Terrain]

E.T. would have been perfect if it used something other than wells. How about having the stuff behind trees or bushes or boulders? Instead of a well screen, you'd have a 'behind the bush' screen and when you walk off the left or right side of the 'behind the bush' screen to leave, E.T. is plopped to the appropriate side of the object he was just behind. Then there would be no complaints from people who can't figure out how to levitate or catch themselves in mid-air or who constantly fall back into a well. No more levitating, just waddle or zip over to side of the screen. Edited December 17, 2007 by Random Terrain

[moycon]

Hmmm I kinda like the pits because in the movie they found E.T. down in that ravine almost dead so I'm sure HSW was going for that effect. The pits would have been better if you could just keep pushing up and get out. People seem to have an issue moving either down or left or right at the last second to keep from falling back in. That alone would make the pits easier.

 

My vote goes towards Popeye.

I really missed the bucket to punch on to Bluto/Brutus's head.

That was the first thing I noticed when I got the game. Where's the bucket?

[Goochman]

Agree on ET - Overall an excellent 2600 effort with pit problems

 

Venture - 3rd level

 

Donkey Kong - 3rd level and fireball movement on rivot screen

 

Ms Pac Man - Intermissions

[+FujiSkunk]

I agree about Phoenix. It's a good port, but it gets monotonous in a hurry.

 

Kangaroo could have used a little something extra as well. I'm not quite sure what, since that fourth screen would have been darn near impossible to recreate on the 2600. Perhaps the backgrounds and/or the characters could have had some additional color. Perhaps the monkeys could have looked like something other than houses on stilts when climbing up and down the tree. I don't know, but as it is, it's just "good" instead of "great."

[pinball22]

I always thought Video Pinball could have been great if it would have included a couple of additional playing surfaces. I like well done video pinball games (like Devil's Crush for the TG16) better than actual pinball.

889351[/snapback]

 

While I like good video pinball games, none of them can ever completely capture the fun of pinball for me...

the ability to control what's going on by moving the machine is too important.

I find myself shaking the controller or keyboard trying to move the screen.

(Yes, I realize most games have a "bump" option, but it's usually hard to get to in time and doesn't provide

a choice of HOW to shake the machine.)

[Lord Thag]

Dragonfire. Sure, it's a fun, fast little game, but it gets monotonous after awhile. Another screen or maybe some different enemies on the moat screen. Anything to add a bit of gameplay depth. As it stands, I'd probably score it an 80%. I know a lot of people love this one, but it always seemed to be a bit lacking to me.

[Mindfield]

I actually liked the way they did E.T. on the 8-bit Ataris. It didn't have the greatest graphics but I found it much more enjoyable than the 2600 version.

[Rob Mitchell]

Hmmm I kinda like the pits because in the movie they found E.T. down in that ravine almost dead ...

889622[/snapback]

 

You actually remember what happens in that movie??

 

Basic Math would have been useful if they had used the keyboards instead of the joystick.

 

Cookie Monster Munch would be great if it used the joystick! Some of the kid controller games would work with joystick control too.

 

Rob Mitchell, Atlanta, GA

[Foxsolo2000]

Defender and Pacman had the potential to be something truly great and it wasn't until their sequels that they became something great. I agree that Basic Programing could have been a lot better as could Video Pinball which was too sparse to work up an interest. I also agree that Dragonfire could have been better with an extra screen.