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Games are rated relative to other games for the same system.
As you wind down into the maze, pipes extend to keep you connected to your starting point. If any creature touches your pipe you lose a life. You can't reverse direction, but you can quickly "wind up" at any time by holding in the fire button. It's like pressing the button on a vacuum cleaner that sucks in the electric cord. As you venture into the deeper parts of the maze you'll need to keep an eye out for critters and be ready to hit the button.
Then again, there's usually a bomb (that looks suspiciously like a power pill) near the bottom of the maze which freezes all enemies. This adds an exciting risk-versus-reward dynamic. During later waves the underground maze is replaced by a little town of buildings. The scenery looks a lot more interesting but the dots tend to be squirreled away in hard-to-reach nooks. I suspect most gamers have never heard of Oil's Well, but it's kind of an ingenious little game. © Copyright 2017 The Video Game Critic.
One of those was Omega Race, a poorly named shooter with sharp but colorless vector graphics. There 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.
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.
Eventually your tires start to change color, and if you let them turn red, they can bust -- ending your game. That's where the strategy comes in - should you pull into the pitstop now, or can you squeeze in another lap?? The highlight of this game is the remarkable pitstop screen, with four members of the pit crew (two for tires, one fuel, one flag) which you control individually.
It takes practice to get in and out as quickly as possible; it's a nice bit of realism. The game offers a plentiful number of tracks, but since there's no scenery, they all look the same. Pitstop really isn't very hard as long as you keep your wheels in good shape. The longer races (9 laps) can get pretty monotonous. You may also want to try playing this with the Colecovision steering wheel controller. © Copyright 2000 The Video Game Critic.
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.
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Screen shots courtesy of Video Game Museum, Console Classix , Colecovision.dk, Games Database, The Dreamcast Junkyard, Moby Games