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Games are rated relative to other games for the same system.
The bottom of the screen displays a map of targets, a radar screen, and a diagram of your plane and its missile supply. A more realistic game would force you to painstakingly hunt down your first target, but in Strike Eagle, a wire-frame enemy plane appears right in front of you from the start! Shooting it down causes a chaotic pattern of blacks lines to appear. Bombing triangle-shaped ground installations is also straightforward, with a hit resulting in a bright flash and a satisfying "boom!"
The joystick makes it easy to maneuver your plane and fire weapons, but the game has a sophisticated side as well. The entire keyboard is used for a myriad of functions, like adjusting your speed, arming missiles, and discharging chaff to neutralize incoming missiles. The game has remarkable depth and is far more satisfying than most games of its kind. The manual contains a series of diagrams illustrating how your plane will react to the laws of physics.
There are seven challenging missions to choose from, and a score is displayed after each game. The cockpit view was impressive in its time, but now its wire-frame terrain and triangular planes look pretty rough. The ultra low frame-rate doesn't help matters, resulting in choppy animation and less-than-crisp controls. It may not be the prize it once was, but for gamers with some patience and imagination, F-15 Strike Eagle still has the "right stuff". © Copyright 2008 The Video Game Critic.
Moving your cursor near an enemy base causes a screen with an inset window to appear. In this small window you navigate a pseudo-3D green grid, blasting pink UFOs you position in your sights. Once they're wiped out, you'll need to deal with one or more launched missiles. After you track them down on the map screen, you play another mini-game where you move a crosshair over scaling missiles on a black screen.
Your third option is to engage warships at sea by firing torpedoes at skittish pixelated boats on the horizon. But since that seems to have no bearing on events, what's the point? Final Legacy wants to be more than the sum of its parts, but unfortunately, it's exactly the sum of its parts. And those parts don't add up to much. © Copyright 2007 The Video Game Critic.
Taking off is easier than one would expect. You basically just set your flaps and apply throttle, and the plane takes off automatically. But once you reach the proper altitude, you begin to notice just how incredibly boring this whole affair is. There's really not much to see besides a few lines on the ground. If you're lucky, you'll fly over some wireframe buildings, but there aren't many of these. There's not a whole lot to do either. While there's an impressive array of gauges and controls, you won't even need most of them.
Besides using most of the keyboard, FS2 uses the joystick which is terribly unresponsive. The plane's movements lag far beyond your joystick commands, making you prone to oversteering. FS2 comes with two 90-page highly technical manuals. The Operations Manual contains plenty of good information but is poorly organized. The second book contains all kinds of crazy flight physics information and diagrams which you'll never need to know. Certain games do not age well, and I think flight simulators fall into that category. I bet few people who bought the XE game system ever completed an entire flight. Even the WWI flying ace variation is sleep inducing. © Copyright 2002 The Video Game Critic.
You control a blocky biplane flying over a side-scrolling screen with generic trees and perfectly-rounded mountains. On the road below is a procession of trucks, jeeps, and artillery units. Blasting these requires good timing, because once you begin your dive (to aim your guns) there's little room between you and the ground. After hitting your target (or missing) you need to pull up immediately. Complicating matters is a black biplane hot on your tail. Eventually the road ends and you need to land on a short runway. The directions for landing are unintentionally hilarious [view here].
Flying Ace isn't bad but it's not good either. I like the fact that you can evade the black plane and sometimes shoot him down. The thing is, once you get into a rhythm each stage is just the same thing over and over. Though hardly a paragon of programming prowess, my friends seem to have a soft spot for Flying Ace. In my school days, my buddy Eric F. would have a ball playing this. And recently my friends were quick to defend it, telling me not to be so harsh. There's not much to Flying Ace, but I guess there's a certain charm in its innocent graphics and simple premise. © Copyright 2014 The Video Game Critic.
You can grab your own food to throw by passing over piles of pickles, tomatoes, and bananas. Hitting a chef will knock him back against a wall, often clearing a path. The layout of food and manholes is random each time so you need to be quick on your feet.
Frankly the best course of action is usually to make a bee-line for the cone and snag it as soon as possible. The longer a stage goes on, the more likely you'll get caught in a violent crossfire of fruit, vegetables, and cupcakes. Upon reaching the ice cream your boy opens his mouth super wide like a snake unhinging his jaw to consume it in one big bite.
Food Fight for the Atari XE is just okay. It looks exactly like the Atari 7800 version but doesn't play nearly as well. Why? Because this version is faster and that proves detrimental. You can't really load up on food items and toss them in a rapid-fire manner. You only throw one at a time and if you miss you're a sitting duck. The animation is so choppy you'll often be nailed by food you never saw coming. What's odd is that both Food Fight games were released around the same time. © Copyright 2021 The Video Game Critic.
After loading up an arrow (push forward and backward), you simply aim and shoot. It's fun for a while, and between stages your guy performs a little dance routine. The graphics are not bad! Some enemies scale in and out, and eventually you face larger foes like spear-chucking skeletons and creepy floating phantoms. Forbidden Forest has a few things going for it, but playability is not one of them.
Too many monsters approach directly from the side, and since you can't shoot below a 45-degree angle, you're forced to flee like a total wuss! Another major problem is the super-low difficulty. Most gamers will be able to play this thing indefinitely! The headache-inducing looping background music doesn't help matters. Forbidden Forest is a prime example of what happens when a game is hastily ported between systems. © Copyright 2009 The Video Game Critic.
It's freakin' awesome, but the controls take some getting used to. As in Choplifter (Atari 5200, 1984), you fire shots at a downward angle allowing you to strafe the surface. If you stop and rotate 90 degrees you can fire straight downward. Your challenge is to infiltrate a multi-level fortress, rescue prisoners, blow up the core, and escape. Its caverns are narrow so expect a lot of combat in tight spaces while blasting away at walls and dodging laser beams. Certain sections have rotating blocks which you need to follow closely. The problem is, the blocks are so large it's hard to tell which direction they are cycling.
Another tricky element is the laser beams. Some teleport you to a different area (good) but some incinerate you (less good). Is it unfair? Probably, but this is an apocalypse for crying out loud! Hey - you have ten lives so stop crying! The blue helicopter is your constant nemesis, often appearing unexpectedly (and scaring the hell out of you) - like Jason from Friday the 13th. Mobile missile launchers unleash heat-seeking missiles that get a "second wind" just when you think you've eluded them. Sometimes the missile will drop on its own launcher, which is awesome. The main flaw of the game is its brevity. After two gangbuster stages the game is over, prompting my friend Scott to ask, "that's it?" It brings the grade down, but the fact that Fort Apocalypse leaves you pining for more says a lot. © Copyright 2014 The Video Game Critic.
The arcade-style graphics won me over in a big way, especially those big, crazy looking cars. Too bad the in-game melody of the original game is missing or this would have been the ultimate Frogger. There are two difficulty settings, and the fast one is a worthy challenge that kept me coming back for continual punishment. The turtles dive quickly, and the game is rather unforgiving when you try to jump onto the very edge of the log. But thanks to its simple yet engrossing gameplay, Frogger remains a timeless classic. © Copyright 2003 The Video Game Critic.
Frogger II contains three distinctive stages. You begin underwater where you'll find a menagerie of colorful sea life. While swimming up toward logs you'll battle the currents while swimming past deadly crocodiles and barracudas. On the water surface the game reverts to its original style as you hop between turtles, ducks, whales, and lily pads. A mother duck will transport you to the sky stage where you'll bounce off clouds and hop between birds.
The graphics deliver exquisitely-detailed creatures, smooth animation, and colors that really pop. Frogger II is a clever game, but it's not quite as intuitive or fun as the original. It takes a while to figure out what creatures will harm you. That, combined with its late arrival, may explain why this game didn't make a bigger splash. © Copyright 2019 The Video Game Critic.
The game has a nice tutorial, followed by a series of lengthy missions, most of which involve sinking enemy ships with torpedoes. It doesn't take long to figure out how to navigate, and the keyboard is used to view charts, radar, damage reports, captain's logs, and various periscope views. The problem is, your targets are usually halfway across the Pacific Ocean, and it takes forever to reach them. It's particularly painful when you need to navigate around islands.
The developers clearly put realism ahead of fun. Not only are ships named after actual WWII vessels, but your mission instructions are transmitted via Morse code! Unfortunately, Gato's sub-par graphics provide minimal pay-off. Once a wire-frame boat appears in view, it's only rendered from the side, even when it's speeding away from you.
When your torpedoes hit their mark you'll see a splash and bright flash, followed by a pathetic sinking animation (the ship goes down horizontally). Considering all the work involved to hunt down a single ship, that's pretty lame! Repairing damage requires you to rendezvous with another friendly ship, but that just prolongs the agony, and Gato is one game experience you'll prefer to end sooner than later. © Copyright 2008 The Video Game Critic.
The characters and monsters look like chunky blobs, the scrolling is jerky, and the animation is practically non-existent. The monsters essentially "hop" from one spot to the next, and your projectiles never even touch their targets. Enemy herds simply "thin out" as you shoot them, and it's unsatisfying to say the least. This couldn't hold a candle to the frenetic dungeon-shooting action of the original game. Your projectiles move remarkably slowly, making it impossible to keep the hordes of pixelated demons at bay.
And then you have the putrid audio track. Calling the sound effects sparse would be an understatement. If not for some mono-tones and static, you'd be playing in complete silence. The arcade version of Gauntlet may have been a demanding game, but I find it hard to believe that this was the best the XE could do with it. Mindscape had a lot of balls to release this garbage. I'm sure it completely disgusted many gamers back in the day. © Copyright 2005 The Video Game Critic.
As a kid I would have flipped over a game like this. You control a single warrior who can freely explore underground caverns. You'll shoot skeletons with your bow, wield magic spells, and collect treasure from chests. Although the keyboard is used heavily, moving and shooting is done via the joystick, which is very convenient. This game immerses you in a world of mystery. It's exciting to see what the next room has in store, and searching for loot is fairly effortless.
The keyboard allows you to toggle weapons, search chests, and page through your inventory. Some of the mappings are a bit confusing, like pressing slash to use an item. I wish there was some audio feedback just to confirm I actually used the thing! Take care not to accidentally hit the "break" key or it bring your game to a screeching halt.
The graphics look sharp with craggy cave passages and well-defined monsters. You'll encounter skeletons, ghosts, eyeballs, blobs, and demons, among others. Faint "footsteps" can be heard when something is approaching, adding tension. The animation however is a little stiff. Creatures move one "space" at a time, and the controls feel clumsy when trying to line up a shot.
The caverns are a connected by doors. When passing between areas the new one is rendered via a nifty "dissolve" effect. The instructions advise you to map your progress, but it's not very practical. For one thing, the rooms are very irregular in shape. Also, when trying to write stuff down random monsters are constantly approaching.
Figuring out what the items are can be a mystery. The hand-drawn objects in the manual don't look like those on the screen. A useful object like a goblet (heal) can easily be confused for a gourd (poison). I find it amusing how your warrior sometimes comes across a 5.25-inch floppy disk described as an "ancient black thing".
I had to shop around for a working floppy of Gemstone Warrior, so if you obtain a good one, please take care of it! These games are a dying breed. I like Gemstone Warrior but you have to be in the right frame of mind and willing to put in the work. Then again, if you're a seasoned D&D tabletop fan, that's probably not asking too much. © Copyright 2024 The Video Game Critic.
The fact that you play as a bad guy on the run was a radical idea in and of itself. You drive a car freely around an expansive, scrolling, maze-like town with all sorts of neighborhoods and distinctive landmarks. There's a school, church, factory, airport, and even a golf course. There are telephone poles, different types of trees, and sailboats on the water. As if that's not enough, the time of day changes! As you cruise around you'll need to avoid the police while collecting dollar signs, diamonds, and other loot. Adversaries are marked by a "radar" cursor that slides around the edge of the screen. Keep an eye on your fuel because you'll need to stop at a gas station when it gets low.
Knocking off a white armored van will advance you to the next stage where you'll face more aggressive cops. The boys in blue tend to stick to your tail but you can take temporary shelter at your hideout location. Your score is the amount of loot you stash. Getaway won the $25,000 Atari Star Award and deserved every penny. This was decades ahead of its time. Note: This disc would not work on my Atari 800XL but it did run on my Atari XEGS. © Copyright 2019 The Video Game Critic.
Ghostbusters tries to mix skill and strategy while incorporating elements of the film. It looks great on paper, but playing the game is a repetitive exercise that usually ends in frustration. You spend most of the time staring at your hearse driving down a featureless road. Even wrangling ghosts becomes monotonous since there's minimal strategy involved.
After about a half-hour the giant marshmallow man finally appears to unleash his destruction. You'll need to quickly hit the "B" button on the keyboard to "bait" him. That's inconvenient, considering you've been just using the joystick up to that point. Next thing you know, you're staring at the "better luck next time" screen. By that time, you may be wondering if there will be a next time. © Copyright 2009 The Video Game Critic.
Considering the limitations of the system, the graphics are drop-dead gorgeous. The first stage takes place in a decrepit house with cobwebs, a rickety roof, and moonlit reflections. Someone illustrated this pixel-by-pixel and it shows. The craggy passages, sparkling water, and elaborate contraptions make each screen fun to explore.
The controls are a little touchy considering the degree of precision required, and you have to press diagonally to execute precarious leaps. There is definitely a lot of trial and error involved, but once you beat a screen you feel a true sense of accomplishment. The music, a melodic rendition of Cyndi Lauper's "Goonies R Good Enough", is icing on the cake. It's a shame so few people have played Goonies, because this game is a treasure. © Copyright 2015 The Video Game Critic.
I thought my work was done when I purchased a complete boxed cartridge version for a fairly low price. Sadly, the cartridge contained therein did not work on my Atari XEGS. A little late-night research in a dusty Vienna library revealed Gorf is one of those oddballs carts that only runs on the original Atari 400/800 line of machines. I don't have one of those!
But all hope was not lost. My next move was to obtain the prized floppy disk version. On a careless impulse I purchased an "untested" copy off Ebay. That didn't work at all, teaching me a valuable lesson in the process! As my last gasp, I ordered a second Gorf disk, this one listed as "tested". Sadly, it did not work on my Atari XEGS. *Sad face* But wait - it did run on my Atari 800XL computer. Victory is mine!
Was it worth all the time, money, aggravation, and excessive review embellishment? Perhaps not but I'm super-hyped over this version of Gorf. This was probably the definitive home version until Gorf (Jaguar, 2005) arrived a decades later. There's no voice synthesis but its four stages of galactic shooting play like a dream.
The opening "Astro Battles" stage is faithful to the arcade, including the overarching force field. What I find strange is how this barrier only disappears when you hold down the fire button. To get a shot through you need to hold in the button each time. It's a bit awkward but I like having total control over that shield!
"Laser Attack" is intense because enemies tend to home in on your position before unleashing a long, vertical beam. "Space Warp" is visually-impressive with red lines emanating from a black hole as enemy ships emerge and swirl in. It's tough to hit them from far back, but up close you can pick them off with some rapid-fire shooting. Just keep moving to stay clear of the sizzling fireballs.
The flagship boss screen is exceptionally well-done. I love the way aliens piggy-back on that thing and try to dive-bomb you. Striking the boss' hull sends wreckage flying, adding to the chaos. When you finally hit its core, the resulting explosion is so violent it startles me! Gorf offers six skill levels plus the ability to save high scores to disk (still works by the way). I consider myself a collector of rare antiquities, but this one doesn't belong in a museum. It belongs in my Atari 1050 disk drive! © Copyright 2023 The Video Game Critic.
Things don't improve much when you hit the road. I instantly blew out my engine and was forced to push my car to the nearest gas station. How? By incessantly tapping the button. And here I thought video games were supposed to be fun! The poorly-written manual (which tries to cover three systems) explains how I needed to quickly push up and down to shift or blow out my engine. The problem is there's no gear indicator! After much teeth gnashing I figured out how to drive the damn car, but it was far from great.
The sparse scenery is limited to mountains and phone lines, and the cars look like colored blobs whizzing by. Police are out in force, and when you see your radar light blink you're as good as pulled over. The audio seems to be limited to buzzes and rubberband noises. In addition to blowing out your engine you're constantly running low of gas. It's really easy to overshoot the gas station even when pushing your car! Once I pushed my out-of-gas car over the finish line, only to begin the next race with - you guessed it - no gas! Seriously? I feel like the designers of Great American Cross Country Road Race took a decent racing game and did everything in their power to deconstruct the fun. © Copyright 2020 The Video Game Critic.
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Screen shots courtesy of Atari Mania, Video Game Museum, Retroist, Giant Bomb, YouTube, Moby Games