Video Game Diary:
The legendary Steve Smith came to visit today and our plan was to play games all day. At 11:30 am we started with some Wii Sports, Mario Bros. and Excite Truck. I assumed from the gameplay videos of Excite Truck that it would be hard to control but I was able to keep it on the road for the most part. We ate lunch and later the real fun began, we played NES and SNES for a few hours, then visited Scott for more action. We played so much that I felt a list would be a better format for this entry.
Karate Champ (2:13 pm)
Karate Champ was still in the system from Daniel's visit so we played it a little and after winning a match I was able to shatter a flying vase with a well timed foot sweep. Then it was time to try something new.
Yo Noid! (2:24 pm)
| Soon I plugged in Yo Noid! by Capcom (1990). Yo Noid! is a side-scroller implementing the licensed mascot from Dominoes pizza's late 80s marketing campaign. The gameplay is solid using typical jump and attack button configuration. Also the Noid uses a yo-yo to kill enemies so thats pretty cool. In the first level, seen in the screenshot, the entire ground moves up and down and the player must keep above sea-level to survive. This was a very good idea for a first level and I hope to play more soon. Watch out though because it only takes one hit to die. |
Bugs Bunny's Birthday Blowout (2:43 pm)
Next was Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout, a game released around the 50 year anniversary of the popular Warner Brothers character. This game was a side-scroller as well but was terrible. The scrolling and animation seemed to be bogged down and choppy, it reminded me of an emulator. Bugs carried a large grey mallet with which he smashed enemies like walking cans, just like he did in the cartoons.
Day Dreamin'Davey (3:02 pm)
| I am lucky enough to have this game in the box and attained it at ECGX 2006. Daydreamin' Davey's strongest feature is its premise. Davey daydreams the adventure in school and each level, taking place in a different classic adventure setting such as medieval times and the old west, is set up by a cut scene of something happening in school which in turn triggers the fantasy. The perspective is an overhead view in the vein of The Legend of Zelda or Commando. The gameplay is plagued by ever-respawning enemies coupled with poor collision detection. These problems are alleviated slightly by a generous life meter. The old west level was interesting: I shot a horned skull lying next to a cactus and an angry snake popped out and attacked. What a suprise! |
Ninja Crusaders (3:27 pm)
Ninja Crusaders, developed by Sammy, turned out to be one of the best games of the night. The game is a fast paced platforming side-scroller in which the player is a ninja. Two player co-op is possible and icons can be collected that change your weapon from throwing stars to the bow staff and more. Even better, by holding the button down for a two seconds, each ninja can turn into a creature. The type of transformation is determined by which weapon is currently held and beasts include tigers, scorpions and falcons. The simultanious gameplay pushed Ninja Crusaders over the top and this is a great one to look for at your local flea market or video store!
Rollergames (4:12 pm)
| Another fantastic cart from Ultra Games, a subsidiary of Konami who also brought us Metal Gear. I had a hard time getting this game to work properly and a clean working copy is on my want list. Players select one of three roller derby teams to play as but the game is not a roller derby simulation. Instead Rollergames is a beat 'em up on wheels (DJ Boy fans speak up!). One minute you are skating down ramps, jumping over holes and punching out wheeled thugs, the next you are fighting boss characters using the traditional knee slams and shoulder throws. It appears to use licensed teams from a real roller derby league, but I cannot confirm this. Rollergames is one of those little known gems worth the hunt if you can find it. Good Luck! |
Rollerblade Racer (4:33 pm)
Wow, another rollerblade game, man those inline skates were popular in the late eighties/early nineties! The games purpose, from what we could gather, is to skate from one point to another across colorful landscapes while avoiding obstacles. Rollerblade racer has similarities to the classic game Paperboy in its isometric perspective and street hazards like cracks in the streets and dogs. The game allows you to practice before playing the game which is a nice touch.
Battle Blaze (4:50 pm)
| After Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat made the fighter genre a million dollar business, arcades and home consoles were flooded with fighters, many of which were of terrible quality. Thats were Battleblaze came from! This is a game, created by Sammy, that Scott and I bought from his local goodwill and played for the first time with Steve the day we bought it. From the title screen to the funny character design this game is like watching a B-movie, its fun because its so bad. When Steve and I were playing tonight, he asked if we could play Battleblaze I said I thought it was at Scott's house, then I snuck it into the SNES and turned it on for an unpleasant surprise. The moves are very simple, and its hard to develop a strategy. Winning seems to be a matter of luck more often than not. |
Ignition Factor (5:00 pm)
I purchased Ignition Factor by Jaleco (creator of the excellent R-Type III for SNES as well), was at ECGX 2006 in Philidelphia. After a little set up, which includes a mission briefing, choosing which equipment to take, and the location of the firetruck, the player controls a firefighter who tries to save victims and put out fires. The perspective is an overhead view that works well. The fire spreads and unexpected events happen such as bridges collapsing and fellow firefighters going missing. It looks like it could be an involving adventure and I plan on playing more. Its relatives are Firefighter and Towering Inferno for Atari 2600 and F.D. 18 for PS2.
Mr. Do! (5:18 pm)
| I found this classic, based on the 1982 arcade game from Universal, at ECGX as well. You play as a clown who digs through colorful playfields useing a bouncing powerball to defend himself. A level can be cleared by killing all enemies on the screen or collecting all the cherries, making it a cross between Dig Dug and Pac-Man. One of the great features is the many ways you can clear a screen, destroy enemies , and multiply your score. One could play this game and have a different experience every time, it is very open ended. The hit had several sequels in the arcades including Mr. Do's Castle, Mr. Do's Wild Ride and Do! Run Run. |
Around 6:00 pm we took a trip to Scott's house where he would debut a new game in his arcade. Needless to say, we were excited.
Vanguard (6:56 pm)
| This was Scott's latest aquisition, won in an auction in Tennessee. It was created in 1981 by Centuri. You control a spaceship, flying through a scrolling landscape, that can fire in four directions at enemy spaceships and also has the interesting ability to become invincible by flying into energy fields and then ramming directly into the enemy. Further moxy is added to the game by some unique music and a robotic voice. I first played this game in a skating rink in my hometown in the 80s and it was a great surprise to play again in my brother's arcade. We were able to defeat the final boss a couple of times after a few tries and couldn't help but compare it to the Atari 2600 version which we probably played more than we ever played the arcade version. According to KLOV.com the music in the intro is from Star Trek and the invincibility music is from the Flash Gordon movie. Similar games: Scramble (arcade) or Gradius for the NES. |
Moon Patrol (7:19 pm)
This fantastic game was created by Irem and licensed to Williams Electronics Inc. for distribution 1982. In Moon Patrol players use a moon buggy to shoot aliens and rocks while jumping over craters and mines. The action is viewed from the side and this is one of the first games to use parallax scrolling. Another unique feature is the level select, but the game is fairly short and very satisfying to play from beginning to end (The Atari 2600 version of this game is excellent too -ed). Scott bought this game at an auction in North Carolina and it is in great shape! Steve actually played this one, I didn't, I was too busy with Mappy and Vanguard but I am a huge fan!
Mappy (7:30 pm)
| This is a really fun game and the gameplay is hard to explain but i'll give it a shot. As Mappy of the mouse police you must capture all the treasure in the stage before the cat burglers steal them. A board is made up of several levels. One can travel from level to level by bouncing on trampolines at the bottom of shafts and pressing the joystick over at the level you want to get off on. Doors scattered throughout the level can be slammed in the cats faces if they're on your tail and glowing doors fire off a wave of energy that can take out multiple enemies for a big bonus. Namco created this gem and Mappy is still a well known character even though he hasn't starred in a game since Mappy Land for the NES. Scott got this beauty in September at a North Carolina auction. The cabinet and especially the lighted marquee is awesome and although its appeal is hard to explain with words, the game is addictive and has a lot of character. Gamebot Producer Jordan Pike took some great pictures of this cabinet and used it in the design of the gamebot volume 2 DVD menus. |
After we had our fill of arcade games we sat down on the couch at about 8 o'clock where a Colecovision was installed...
Burgertime (7:51 pm)
Peter Pepper is a chef with a problem. Hot dogs, eggs and pickles are out to kill him and the only way he can defend himself is by peppering them. However if he can make all the hamburgers on the stage complete by walking over their parts and making them fall into place, he can advance to the next stage. This is a port of a 1982 Bally Midway arcade game. Steve and Scott had played it the last time Steve came to visit and they wanted me to see it. It was much easier than the NES version!
Illusions (8:00 pm)
| This is an odd one and we never quite figured it out. The perspective is isometric and blobs travel on M.C. Escher inspired stairways and tunnels. The object seems to be to get the blobs to run into each other and merge and we were able to do so by pressing a button to change their direction and hop them onto different paths. As of yet none of us have been able to make them all merge so we're not sure thats the point. Its very unique and on the rare side, but not very fun. If we solve the puzzle maybe i'll change my mind. |
Tapper (8:12 pm)
Tapper is about being a bartender. Customers keep coming and you must slide a drink to them before they get to the end of the bar. There are four bars to manage at once and every once in a while a bonus game of memory provides a breaks in the action. All home versions i'm aware of have the player slinging root beer but the arcade version had real alcohol, also known as the devil, and featured a Budweiser logo in the background.
Antarctic Adventure (8:34 pm)
| Scott and Steve told me I would love this game and it took some doing to get it to work (these 30 year old systems can be fickle -ed). They were right, I had no idea what to expect and was really surprised. As a penguin, I was skating down a path, hopping over hole and catching fish in a third person perspective. It was great and the animation of the scrolling road created an effective 3-D effect. This game is a port of Konami arcade game released in 1984. |
Choplifter (8:45 pm)
A lone helicopter must penetrate enemy lines to save hostages and bring them back to safety. The enemy comes in the form of jets and tanks and the control scheme has one button control rotation of the chopper while another fires your guns. Its a fun military themed adventure in which I enlisted but was eventually kicked out for wearing a dress.
On an another note Scott also showed five sealed Arcadia 2001 games he attained at a flea market recently. One of the more memorable titles was Dog Patch, wherein you play a hillbilly in a shootin' contest! At 9:00 it was time to head back home, but there was one more game we played before the night came to an end.
Super Chase HQ (9:57 pm)
| Super Chase H.Q. by Taito is a port of an arcade sequel to the hit Chase H.Q. This is a great one with non-stop action. After a mission briefing it is your goal to chase down a criminal on the road and ram him until the car is incompacitated. The package is complete with corny cops and robber banter and digitized voice. Memorable moment: As Steve was closing in on the crook a thug leaned out the passenger side window and unloaded on us, leaving the windshield riddled with bullet holes. This is a very original game and could only be compared to Driver (playstation) or Lucky and Wild (arcade). |
- Blake Leftwich, gamebot
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