Colecovision Reviews M-R

I have fond memories of this one from my Atari computer days of the early-1980s. Montezuma's Revenge took the Pitfall brand of exploration to the next level. After your explorer climbs down into a pyramid, he enters an intriguing underground world composed of contiguous screens with branching paths. Some of these screens are surprisingly complex, with ladders, poles, moving platforms, traps, spiders, snakes, and rolling skulls. There are keys that let you access new areas and large gems that add to your point total. Although you can't really attack a creature, it will be destroyed if you're holding a sword item as you run over it. On my Atari computer Montezuma's Revenge was a monument to good programming, boasting crisp graphics and perfectly responsive controls. But despite sharing many of the same traits, this Colecovision edition is barely even playable! To call the controls "touchy" would be the understatement of the year. It doesn't help that your character can't survive a fall of any height. Gravity is not your friend, and it feels like your guy is wearing a freakin' lead vest! You'll fall off the same ledge over and over again, burning through all of your lives trying to make one simple jump. I also hate how you need to be perfectly lined up with a ladder in order to climb it. Scratch that - you have to be one pixel to the left of the ladder, and finagling you way up and down these things is a chore. That's one problem that could have easily been rectified by a good programmer. The game's pacing is too frenetic in general, with scampering spiders and rolling skulls which give you little time to react. On paper, Montezuma's Revenge is an amazing game, but frantic controls render it nearly unplayable. © Copyright 2009 The Video Game Critic.

Back in the day a lot of gamers (including myself) dismissed Mr. Do as a Dig Dug knock-off. While that's not an unfair characterization, this is not a bad game. Mr. Do is a clown who tunnels through his orchard while being pursued by generic gnomes referred to in the instructions as "badguys". Instead of clearing waves of enemies, your goal is to collect cherries scattered around the maze (including the stems). Apples serve the same role as the rocks in Dig Dug, allowing you to crush the baddies for big points. Unlike Dig Dug, these apples can be shoved sideways as well. Enemies can push them too, and sometimes you'll even find yourself in a shoving contest. This apple-pushing adds a new layer of strategy, but long-time Dig Dug fans may have trouble wrapping their brain around the concept at first. Mr. Do's controls are a little stiff, and after tunneling under an apple, you need to move down slightly before moving over to get out of its way. I like how enemies sometimes inadvertently drop apples on each other. Mr. Do also has the ability to fire a "magic ball" which bounces around the maze until it hits something. Bonus items like cake, ice cream, and Wheat Thins appear in the center of the screen, but it's hard to predict the effect of grabbing these. Sometimes it freezes enemies in place, but sometimes it unleashes an army of purple "munchers". A bonus system lets you earn a free life by spelling "EXTRA", but the indicator for this is cluttered by confusing symbols and colors. Coleco prided itself on its arcade-to-home conversions, but this one falls a little short. In the arcade Mr. Do was a colorful clown, but here he's just solid white. His magic ball had a lot more visual pizzazz in the arcade; it's little more than a bouncing pixel here. The maze is well defined however and the bonus items look sharp. In the final analysis, Mr. Do succeeds in taking the Dig Dug formula to the next level. It's a little convoluted, but those who dig in will be intrigued by its depth and strategy. © Copyright 2011 The Video Game Critic.

In the early 80's my local 7-11 announced that they were building an arcade addition onto the store. It was pretty exciting to the kids in the neighborhood, but parents were up in arms, fearing drug dealers would somehow overrun the place and send the property values plummeting. When all was said and done however, that so-called "arcade" turned out to be about the size of a closet, only able to accommodate two machines. One of those was Omega Race, a poorly named shooter with sharp but colorless vector graphics. There's was no "racing" involved, although I suppose the rectangular arena vaguely resembles a "track" of sorts. The big gimmick is how your triangular ship can carom off the walls, allowing you to find just the right shooting angle while remaining a moving target. Staying in motion is key because your geometrically shaped adversaries are pretty good shots. Omega Race embodies the same reckless, halfway-out-of-control gameplay you get from thrusting around in Asteroids. This Colecovision edition not only duplicates the fun gameplay of the arcade, but spices things up with color, customization options, and even a two-player simultaneous mode. The "fast bounce" option makes the walls more elastic, but also makes your ship harder to control. The "tunnel" and "astro gate" options make the vanilla playfield slightly more interesting, but these passages are really too narrow to make much of a major difference. The two-player mode would have been fun had it been cooperative, but instead you just bounce around shooting at each other, which is kind of lame. For the single player however, Omega Race is a worthy challenge, if somewhat forgettable. © Copyright 2006 The Video Game Critic.

Pitfall II for the Atari 2600 was an amazing sequel, turning a side-scrolling jungle romp into an expansive journey with waterfalls, rivers, balloons, and mineshafts. The Colecovision edition more or less captures the same spirit, despite a few notable flaws. First, Pitfall Harry looks ridiculous decked out in his blue sweatshirt and green pants. That angular blue haircut looks like a plastic helmet for crying out loud. Creatures like bats, scorpions, and frogs abound, but they look less detailed than their 2600 counterparts. The controls are responsive but the hand-cramping Colecovision controllers make it hard to finagle your way up and down ladders. Considering he's a world-renowned adventurer, maybe it's time Harry learned how to duck. I can't tell you how many times I met my demise when a bat wing brushed against my forehead. Sometimes when I find myself on a high ledge, I can't resist the urge to jump. It's a risky move, as the chance of colliding with a flying creature is pretty high. Pitfall II's music is catchy but doesn't quite have the punch of the Atari version. The scoring system is highly unconventional. Instead of three lives you play indefinitely. Your score is docked whenever you touch a creature, rapidly counting down as you're transported back to the last checkpoint. The only thing Harry likes more than adventure is getting paid, and there's nothing more satisfying than grabbing a gold bar or diamond ring and watching your points rack up. Pitfall II may be less of a technical marvel on the Colecovision but it's still a lot of fun. © Copyright 2017 The Video Game Critic.

One look at Popeye's crisp, cartoon graphics and you know you're in for some good-time arcade action. This likeable platformer challenges you to collect hearts tossed by Olive Oyl from the top of the screen while avoiding Bluto and other hazards. The graphics are absolutely terrific. The first screen depicts a generic set of platforms, but the level of detail is extraordinary. Olive's name is written in cursive (no small feat for an old-school game) and there are little touches like textured bricks and a daisy growing next to Popeye's house. In the second screen Popeye collects musical notes against a building backdrop, and in the third he scuttles around a huge pirate ship. As for the characters, Bluto and Olive are rendered with colorful detail, so it's surprising that Popeye is solid white. The gameplay is more original than you might expect. Popeye lacks the ability to jump, but this turns out to be a refreshing change. The stages are designed so you can't linger in a particular area - you'll need to use the entire screen. Keep an eye on Bluto because he has the ability to reach up (and down) to grab you from a different platform. A few times he surprised me and literally made me jump in my chair! When you eat spinach you can turn the tables, but it's annoying how Popeye freezes momentarily, giving Bluto a head start. There are a few minor collision detection issues. For example, why is it so [expletive] hard to hit that punching bag? Popeye's harmonized musical score is superb, and the sound effects are arcade-perfect. Add in three levels of difficulty and you're left with a must-have title for Colecovision fans. © Copyright 2010 The Video Game Critic.

Robin Hood features a series of unique screens rendered with some sweet, high-resolution graphics. The lush green countrysides of Sherwood Forest look terrific, but that red sun looks so hideous that it makes me feel embarrassed for the real sun. In the first screen you fire arrows at henchmen who emerge from trees and riverbanks. It's especially satisfying when you shoot them in the head! The controls are pretty good (you can fire diagonally) and the collision detection is forgiving. In crossfire situations, your enemies can inadvertently shoot each other. The second screen contains a bunch of swordsmen milling around zombies. You can engage each with your sword, but your best bet is to systematically sneak up behind each one and bludgeon them in the back of the head. You get unlimited lives for this screen only, probably because of its potential to be frustrating. The third screen depicts a majestic, multi-tiered castle on the right half, with archers that randomly appear in the towers. After killing five archers a switch will appear that opens the drawbridge. Just be sure not to touch any water while crossing the bridge, because in classic gaming few things are more deadly than water! Once inside the castle, your final challenge is to locate the gold and princess behind a series of doors. This stage is a minor disaster. Most doors unleash henchmen, and since you're completely unarmed, you're reduced to running away like a sissy. Navigating the stairways is tricky, and even when you find something it's hard to tell if it registered or not. After exhausting your lives the game awards you with a title (usually something like "stable sweeper"). In terms of audio, an understated melody plays throughout the game, and it sounds appropriate for the period. Robin Hood delivers a very uneven gaming experience, but collectors will be intrigued. © Copyright 2010 The Video Game Critic.