Ever get the feeling that some people expect too much out of an Atari 2600 game? Elevators Amiss isn’t going to be the best game you will ever play, but I still think that it’s a lot of fun for what it is. Little Maria is constantly in motion, so it’s going to take a little time to get use to the mechanics of the game. You have to be precise with your movements and you have to anticipate the best moments to run and when it would be better to pull back and retreat. I like the design and the graphics are colorful and remind me a little bit of Activation’s own Keystone Kapers. If you are done playing your 1,000th space shooter and need a change of pace, check out Elevators Amiss.

Elevators Amiss was inspired by a game for the Atari 8-bit computers called Elevator Repairman. I even played Elevator Repairman to check out the original, and Elevators Amiss does do an excellent job of paying homage to that game - right down to the way the character's tiny little feet shuffle along. It's just that I don't care for either game very much.

The object of the game is very simple - move your character across the screen, dodging elevators that are bouncing up and down. When you get across the floor, you move up a row, and run back the other way. The trick is, you can't come to a stop until you get to the end of a floor (except in the novice game) - you can only change direction, and press the fire button for a burst of speed. The faster you cross each floor, the more points you'll earn, except that if you use that extra burst of speed - it will actually cause you to lose points. You have to find a balance between earning points, and using that extra speed only when necessary.

On one hand, Elevators Amiss is a very well-crafted game. The graphics are very good (with no flicker), and the music is excellent. The gameplay from Elevator Repairman has been brought over intact, and even a few extra options have been added.

On the other hand, the gameplay is very repetitive, and after a few games, I began losing interest. Other than getting to the top of the screen, there are no other goals, and no other obstacles to overcome. The timer isn't much motivation either, since if it runs out, you lose nothing except points, and only for the floor that you're on at the moment - not for the entire level. Moreover, I found the controls frustrating. Not being able to stop is maddening at times, since I just couldn't seem to flip the character back and forth fast enough to "stay in place" and avoid the elevators. Elevator Repairman seems slightly more forgiving in that regard, as if the maid in Elevator's Amiss is taking an extra step before turning. (In the Novice version of Elevators Amiss, you can come to a complete stop, but this takes so much challenge out of the game that there's not much point to playing it.)

If I could make one change to Elevators Amiss, it would be to add a "slow" speed that kicked in when you let go of the joystick, giving the player three speeds to work with. This would have helped with maneuverability between elevators, while still keeping the same dynamic of always being in motion. As it is, Elevators Amiss is a good-looking, great-sounding game, and a faithful port of Elevator Repairman. If that's enough for you, then I'd recommend getting it. As for me, I was hoping for a little more.

Reading the low score review above promted me to write my first homebrew review since I highly dis-agree with what he said. I play a lot of Atari, just about every day and this is currently my most played game and all time favorite howebrew. Keep in mind I bought this the day it came out at the MGC and even played it in my hotel room on my portable VCS so I have many hours chalked up on this one. It is not like Freeway, it is a unique and challenging game. I love the color changes as the levels progress, great music that never grows tiresome in my opinion, the music somewhat reminds me of Burgertime actually. The game play is fast and keeps me on the edge. Dodging those elevators seems easy but the difficulty is just right. This would be a Desert Island game for me, I'm not kidding, it is that good. I would say this game is at or even above Activision quality. I would give this game 6 joysticks if I could but 5 is the limit. Treat yourself to many fun gaming memories and buy this game, it's worth it.

I'm not a coder and I can only imagine how difficult it is to code an Atari 2600 game. Also, I have enjoyed Bob's games immensely in the past. Buuuuuuuuuuut.. this game falls just a little short in my opinion.

Basically, I feel that this game plays a little bit too much like Freeway, the David Crane game from Activision. Sure, it's not EXACTLY the same or anything, it just didn't offer anything new! I kept waiting for extra elements, perhaps lights flashing on and off or something. Maybe bats flying around, swooping high and low or something, I don't know. The sounds were a little blah, the graphics were a little blah. For my taste, Power Off! (Ebivision?) is a better "timing" game.

Don't be salty Bob, I LOVE Reindeer Rescue!! LOVE it!