Demon Attack, 8 bit/2600

[Paranoid]

I've been mostly been playing the 8 bit version of Demon Attack in Atari800Win Plus lately, when I play Demon Attack (or really, I've *mostly* been playing it on an 800XL... but playing on emulation from time to time also)...

 

Demon Attack lends itself well to emulation on modern machines, looking *especially* good and fresh on an LCD display. I'm not sure why, but it looks almost like it is a paper drawing on most LCD displays, except for the fact that it is animated. Mostly, to this point, I had been playing it on my new HP 17" laptop... just because it looks really nice on this display.

 

Today though, I played it on my 3.4ghz desktop, which has a 17" LCD (not widescreen). The HP display has a kind of gloss finish, I don't know how else to describe it. The desktop display (a Viewsonic), has a more matte finish. It still looked great, though. Something about the uniform black background, I think.

 

Anyhow, I decided to try the 2600 version via Stella, because we've had a lot of discussion about the various versions of this title around here recently, and I've mostly been playing the 8 bit PC version, despite the fact that I cut my teeth on the 2600 version.

 

Oddly, the 8 bit version didn't seem remarkably different than the VCS version to me when I first started playing around with it. But, going back from the 8 bit version the the VCS version, the differences were noticable. One thing I noticed quickly was that the speed of the 2600/VCS version seemed a bit slower. I haven't gone up to compare and verify on real hardware. Anyone else noticed this? Is it a real thing, or is it something related to the emulation?

 

I might have to start playing around with INTV emulation just to play around with the INTV version of Demon Attack on LCDs to see if it holds up as well as the VCS/8 bit version.

Edited October 3, 2006 by Paranoid

[Technosis]

Oddly, the 8 bit version didn't seem remarkably different than the VCS version to me when I first started playing around with it. But, going back from the 8 bit version the the VCS version, the differences were noticable. One thing I noticed quickly was that the speed of the 2600/VCS version seemed a bit slower. I haven't gone up to compare and verify on real hardware. Anyone else noticed this? Is it a real thing, or is it something related to the emulation?

 

I haven't played the 8-bit Demon Attack, but I played this one to death on the 2600. Hopefully the difficulty on the 8-bit version doesn't top out as quickly as the 2600 version, and remains increasingly difficult as you go on. A great game on the 2600 that could have been that much better if it was made more challenging.

 

How's the difficulty curve on the 8-bit version? Does it stay challenging or is it easy to master? Excuse me if this has been covered on another thread. Thanks.......

[Paranoid]

Wow... a response...

 

Um... I'd be hard pressed to give you a difinitive answer to your question, as I'm fairly challenged by this game on either platform in my old age (although I remember being able to play endlessly when I had the reflexes of an 11 year old boy).

 

I'd offer that the 8 bit version is more challenging, having just played both recently, and that the INTV version (while, IMO, grossly inferior) is more challenging than either. The game mechanics of the INTV just aren't as enjoyable, despite the variety, and it might just be bias. But I don't care for it, even though the game itself seems more challenging.

[Technosis]

The game mechanics of the INTV just aren't as enjoyable, despite the variety, and it might just be bias.

 

Agreed. I think the INTV version suffers from control issues. The movement of the ship on the bottom isn't exactly silky smooth (which seems to be a recurring problem in many Intellivision games.....)

 

As a 2600 owner though I couldn't help but be envious of the screenshots of the Intellivision version of Demon Attack, what with that massively cool mothership.

 

[iratanam]

The game mechanics of the INTV just aren't as enjoyable, despite the variety, and it might just be bias.

 

Agreed. I think the INTV version suffers from control issues. The movement of the ship on the bottom isn't exactly silky smooth (which seems to be a recurring problem in many Intellivision games.....)

 

As a 2600 owner though I couldn't help but be envious of the screenshots of the Intellivision version of Demon Attack, what with that massively cool mothership.

 

 

 

Looks like a Phoenix rip-off to me

[Paranoid]

You're right about the control of the player ship. And, while the mother ship image is cool, the fact is that while it LOOKS Phoenix like, the play mechanic is not quite the same, and I couldn't figure out just exactly WHAT results in actually destroying the ship. It seems like you just shoot at it for an arbitrary amount of time, and eventually it blows up. Of course, maybe I should find and RTFM... but... really, Demon Attack shouldn't be a game that requires you to RTFM, IMHO.

[Paranoid]

I'm also curious why Imagic decided to *so* blatantly rip off Phoenix on the INTV, after getting sued on the 2600 by Atari for the FAR LESS PHOENIX-LIKE Demon Attack on that platform. It doesn't make sense to me, but maybe I'm missing the whole story?

[Technosis]

after getting sued on the 2600 by Atari for the FAR LESS PHOENIX-LIKE Demon Attack on that platform.

 

I didn't know about this. Does anyone have a link to a web article or something? Thanks.

[Paranoid]

I'm sure if you search the forums here, you'll find some information about this.

 

Google is your friend:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon_Attack

 

The wiki page gives you a bunch of links that should sufficiently expand on the wiki article.

 

Now, also interesting, is that the O2 version of Demon attack, despite some obvious graphic limitations, is pretty faithful to the 2600 and the A800 versions of the game. It is recognizably the same game. Then you get to the INTV version, and it is a WHOLE different game that only remotely resembles these versions. Clearly, a look at Pac Man, or Defender, or Centepede, or a score of other INTV games illustrates that the INTV is capable of graphics SUPERIOR to the 2600... just like the Atari 8 bit is capable of graphics SUPERIOR to the 2600... so...

 

If you COULD do it with superior graphics on the 8 bit, why do it virtually identical to the 2600 and 02? Or... if you COULD do it superior on the 8 bit, and chose NOT to... why would you do the graphics and gameplay so radically DIFFERENT on the INTV? Surely the INTV could have done a version that was as nearly identical to the 2600 version as the Atari 800 or at least close like the O2?

 

It just doesn't make sense to me, the lack of consistency on the INTV.

 

You would think you would stick to the proven formula across all of the consoles. Is there something that PREVENTS the INTV from reproducing graphics as simple yet elegent as the other versions?

[Paranoid]

http://www.thelogbook.com/phosphor/mattel/2003/d.htm

 

Attempts to explain the reasons behind my question. Did INTV Demon Attack in FACT precede the 2600 version? I would have guessed it was the other way around. I'd sure like to see sources cited on this page.

[Shannon]

There is an interview around somewhere with the guy that did Demon Attack for the INTV and the bottom line is he wanted to make something better rather than simply porting it.

 

As for the similarities to Phoenix, maybe it was due to his lack of experience. I'm do no think that aspect was covered in the interview.