2021/4/21: Atari XEGS: Space Invaders, Food Fight

[VideoGameCritic]

Let's hear your take on this latest set of Atari XE reviews.

Both are brand new.

[ThePixelatedGenocide]

At least their misplaced priorities make them fascinating case studies. One too hard, one too easy. One sacrificing ammunition for better looking sprites, the other sacrificing sprite quality for a gimmick and a questionable visual.

It makes you wonder whether Atari really could have saved itself by replacing the 2600 sooner, with more reliable hardware.

Maybe it was a good thing the primitive hardware forced them to reign in their ambitions.

[crimefighter]

The 5200 version of Space Invaders was actually a hacked version of the original adding the missing barriers but you can still hear the rocket ship dropping down between each wave --

http://www.atariprotos.com/5200/softwar ... vaders.htm


Deluxe Invaders by Roklan Software comes closer to the arcade but has the Space Invaders Part 2 features.

[strat]

Didn't know there was another version of Food Fight out there and wow, was it butchered on that system.

[GeoX]

My friend absolutely loved Food Fight and was great at it.
I personally found the game to be too hard to be enjoyable.
I still play the arcade machine at the local bar/arcade where the games are free but the drinks are not!
The game has a certain flow that I have come to appreciate and I have gotten better but it is still just too frantic!

[Retro STrife]

Love Food Fight.. it's one of those games I always make sure to stop at when an arcade has it. It's also a great game for more casual gamers.. my wife will play that one too if I drag her to an arcade. I've never thought about the home versions, to be honest. I probably have the 7800 version, I'll have to take a look. Anyway, thanks for the review and reviving my memory on this classic. And I definitely got a laugh at the 'gang' line.

[pacman000]

Foodfight was developed by GCC for Atari. GCC also developed the 7800; perhaps the 7800 version was better because GCC was more familiar with the hardware?

[strat]

You'd expect a better version on 7800 but the XEGS seemed to handle Crystal Castles and Dark Chambers pretty well, so what happened on there with Food Fight?

[ASalvaro]

You'd expect a better version on 7800 but the XEGS seemed to handle Crystal Castles and Dark Chambers pretty well, so what happened on there with Food Fight?

i don't know but i prefer 5200 (8 bit) games over the 7800..i don't know what it is about 7800 games that i just don't like..i do know i hate the sound

a good example is the 5200 Realsports Baseball is miles ahead of the 7800 version in everything graphics,sound,gameplay

[ASalvaro]

Let's hear your take on this latest set of Atari XE reviews.

Both are brand new.

i just heard an interview with the programmer of the Atari 800 version of Space Invaders Rob Fulop and he said the reason
why Space Invaders was so different on the 800 was because he said he was 21 years old and felt he can make a better game than the arcade and he had no clue that people wanted the game to be exactly like the arcade at the time and before it was released his boss at Atari even told him that Atari spent millions to get the license for Space Invaders and he should have made it exactly like the arcade but they still released it...so the next game he programmed for the Atari Missile Command he made sure it was exactly like the arcade version lol..he said he feels bad about this version of Space Invaders

good interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkQZTTxSYQc