Atari 2600 Reviews T

Since my initial review of this game, I've acquired a full-sized Tapper arcade machine. Has that changed my opinion of this scaled-down adaptation? Not much. Obviously, the graphics take quite a hit when you downgrade to the 2600, but Tapper's original, frantic gameplay remains largely intact. The arcade game licensed Budweiser beer, but this version substitutes the kid-friendly Mountain Dew. Gameplay involves running a bartender between four bars, sliding drinks toward approaching customers to keep them at bay. You lose a life should you toss an extra beer, allow the patrons to reach the end of a bar, or drop an empty. Tapper's graphics are pretty darn good as Atari 2600 titles go. The patrons are single-colored and blocky, but the bartender, drinks, and kegs are multi-colored and finely detailed. The bonus stage (with the Hamburglar-looking dude shaking up the cans) looks particularly impressive. A harmonized soundtrack plays throughout the game, but it's slightly off-key and does get on your nerves after a while. Unlike the arcade version, there are no tips to grab, but the dancing girls do make an appearance between stages. Tapper would be a must-have 2600 title if not for one major flaw - you can only throw two beers at a time. To compensate, the game "remembers" when you try to throw a third, and automatically tosses it at the next opportunity (unless you move your bartender first). This is a reasonable compromise, but it can throw off your rhythm. You'll get used to it, but it does put a damper on the action. The one thing that truly impressed me is how all four stages are reproduced here - including the space cantina! All in all, this is a very respectable version of the fun arcade hit. © Copyright 2005 The Video Game Critic.

This game was released around the time when Atari made the curious decision to cater to younger gamers (hence all the "teddy bear" variations). Taz doesn't have a lot of substance, but there's something to be said for games that are simple and fast. For further proof, see Kaboom! (Activision, 1981). Taz's title screen features an illustration of a younger, slimmer version of the Warner Bros. cartoon character. It's a far cry from the bloated Tasmanian Devil seen in the cartoons and later found dead in a West Hollywood back alley (kids: don't do drugs). The game's playfield consists of eight stacked "lanes" that you can move across and "hop" between. The idea is to snatch up snacks that glide across the screen while avoiding bombs. Mouth-watering food items include hamburgers, ice cream cones, root beers, popsicles, and... turnips? How in the hell did they sneak in there? The game begins slowly, but once you reach the "crazed wave" (around 30K) the action becomes positively frantic. There's a slight bit of strategy involved in deciding whether to aggressively pursue an item several lanes away or just let it go. Overshooting a lane is the primary cause of death, so you'll need a responsive joystick. I like how point values pepper the screen as you snatch up items. Taz is okay but could have been a lot better. Instead of that fancy title screen, why didn't the programmer add more graphics to the actual game? A little scenery (like a desert landscape) would have been nice. Taz is represented as a little whirlwind the entire time, but it would have been awesome if he stood still when you released the joystick. Taz isn't much of a game, but I guess it'll do if you're in the mood for some shallow fun. © Copyright 2014 The Video Game Critic.

Excavated from the land of lost ROMs (where is that?), The Hobbit was an unfinished and long-forgetten project (circa 1983) finally unearthed and revealed at a recent classic gaming convention. The timing seemed awfully suspicious considering the recent Hobbit movie trilogy, and I had to see the game for myself to believe it. I'm not sure anything could have prepared me for The Hobbit's elaborate title screen. This high-resolution image manages to incorporate Bilbo, 13 dwarves (give or take), a spell-casting Gandalf, and even a fire-breathing dragon! Clever use of color-cycling was used to create the whirling spell and flame effects. I was totally pumped when I saw it, but my high hopes would soon come crashing to the ground. Calling The Hobbit's visual style "abstract" would be an understatement. The main character (Bilbo I presume) is rendered as a blue square. This is not so objectionable considering that Adventure (Atari 2600, 1980) also featured a square as its main character. Unfortunately, thanks to a poor design decision, the dwarves are also rendered as blue squares. Gandalf is a gray square... I think. The ring is a yellow circle... or don't I wish! Nope, it's a God-damned yellow square! The dungeons are remarkably blocky. What resolution was this game programmed in, 12x10?! And what's with all the flashing rooms? I swear this game gave me epilepsy. Some may claim The Hobbit is 95% complete, but I find that hard to swallow. I was constantly hounded by orcs in the form of flickering brown squares. After you grab the ring you turn invisible, but the fact that you can't see yourself makes the game pretty much unplayable. After stumbling around blindly for a several minutes you start to wish the developer had not expended quite so much effort on that fancy title screen, which undoubtedly consumes 95% of the game's memory. I'm also starting to think that gray square isn't even Gandalf, because that bastard just killed me and that did not look like an accident! It seems like everything in the game makes the same beep sound. I wish the programmer would have at least mixed in a few "boops" to spice things up a little! Apologists will make endless excuses for The Hobbit, but the game is a cautionary tale. This is one lost treasure that should have been cast into the fires of Mount Doom 30 years ago. © Copyright 2014 The Video Game Critic.