2022/1/18: Colecovision: Centipede, Slither

[VideoGameCritic]

These are two re-reviews. Centipede went from A to B+, and Slither from B- to B+.

I came to this conclusion after running both games by a number of people. Although Slither is less polished, most thought Slither was just as fun, if not more. Maybe because it was new to them??

I decided it was kind of a deadlock. What do you think?

[crimefighter]

If you haven't read or heard about it - there's quite the backstory on the history of Slither the arcade game which was created by Game Domain International and it's remarkable this game which did not do well in the arcades got a home conversion as Coleco really got a big library of the lesser known obscure arcade titles this being no exception.

https://arcadeblogger.com/2017/06/02/gd ... rash-burn/

[VideoGameCritic]

I hate to do a quick about face, but I bumped Centipede up to an A-. It just made more sense if you sort the Colecovision games by grade.

[Breaker]

Is it an about-face when you go from A to B+ and then settle at A- ? Seems like a logical reconsideration to me. They are your grades, and they are all relative to the rest of the system catalog, so I think you're just doing your site proud giving these titles such thought.

[ASalvaro]

i remember buying the roller controller back in 1984 at Kay Bee Toys when every Monday they would get a new shipment of Colecovision games during the crash...that roller controller was very well built

[ActRaiser]

If you haven't read or heard about it - there's quite the backstory on the history of Slither the arcade game which was created by Game Domain International and it's remarkable this game which did not do well in the arcades got a home conversion as Coleco really got a big library of the lesser known obscure arcade titles this being no exception.

https://arcadeblogger.com/2017/06/02/gd ... rash-burn/

The backstory on Slither was a great find. I love that kind of stuff.

[GeoX]

Did you know…
The Colecovision has a Z80 microprocessor (the father of which is the old warhorse, the 8080 intel). A very popular processor it was also used in numerous machines as the wildly popular (in Europe) Sinclair Spectrum, Radio Shack models 1-4 (which is what I learned to program on), Commodore 128 ( as a coprocessor), Bailey Astrocade, the Sega SG 1000 and too many more to list. It was also the heart of the Adam computer which gave it the ability to run z80 programs as well as CP/M software (a very popular language for early business apps). And it was a very popular choice for arcade machines which no doubt helped programmers make great copies on the Colecovision.

I always thought the Colecovision was a deadly specialist turning out perfect clones of arcade games that no system could match for a long time. Non arcade original games I thought usually didn’t look that great. I am not really sure why though the 16 color palate was very limiting. Regardless there were some original games I thought looked good, Wargames, 2010, Cosmo Fighter 3 (just saying it looked good which has nothing to do with how it plays!), Illusions, Fathom and so on…

While the Colecovision vision used the same cpu as the Sega Sg 1000 it also used the same videochip, the Texas Instruments TMS9918. Go look at the SG-1000 game reviews and you can see they are identical in appearance.
Here are screenshots of the game Zaxxon, one from Colecovision and one from the SG 1000, can you tell which is which?





As for Centipede to maintain the aspect ratio they could have the action going from right to left which no doubt be very strange, of course you could tip your tv on it’s side and voila! You have the arcade experience. I remember reading a review here of which I believe it was a 2600 maze game that seriously suggested that in the manual…

[VideoGameCritic]

If you haven't read or heard about it - there's quite the backstory on the history of Slither the arcade game which was created by Game Domain International and it's remarkable this game which did not do well in the arcades got a home conversion as Coleco really got a big library of the lesser known obscure arcade titles this being no exception.

https://arcadeblogger.com/2017/06/02/gd ... rash-burn/

Fascinating article. I've come to think of my reviews as a catalyst for discussing "Games That Time Forgot". I find these feedback threads are often more insightful that my review. Not that I'm complaining! Keep it up guys.

[ActRaiser]

I played the arcade version of Slither on my arcade last night. The cannon is slightly choppy as you move it as well.

It's a fun game. It's not as good as Centipede but pretty darn close. I'll keep trying to beat my high score for a bit.

Per the arcade pamphlet here's a bit more detail on the game play.

The attack begins with a few snakes as the bonus score winds down. When you blast all the snakes, you get the remaining bonus points. Then, additional snakes attack in waves. Everytime the bonus reaches zero, new snakes of a different color will attack. As the snakes are concentrated on, pterodactyls and mutant gorillas move across the screen to increase the danger and challenge. Additional points are scored by blasting those intruders and the closer they are downed by your blaster, the higher the score.
Mutant gorillas can place additional vegatation on the screen which you will have to blast your way through. As the score increases, the snakes get mad and start to chase your blaster which will then have to be manuevered with great skill to avoid attacks. If mutant gorillas touch any of the snakes, the snakes will be invisible except for the eyes. Whenever you blast the snakes, they will turn into grass and the longer you hold off their attacks, the higher your score will get.

I thought the mutant guerrillas were actually demons. We both got it wrong.

https://flyers.arcade-museum.com/?page= ... 70&image=1

[BlasteroidAli]

I never played the Coleco Centipede. So I cannot say how good it was. What I can say is I played Slither back in 1982/3. It was pretty weak, to be honest. Came across as a sub-par centipede clone. Good graphics and it is a game I wish I had played more Feb 21st Edit. Though the roller controller was great. Also, Victory was fun and unusual.