A-Z of Atari 8-bit Games , livre ebook

Andrews UK - Kieren Hawken

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110 pages

English

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Description

The A-Z of Atari 8-bit Games: Volume 1 features reviews of three different games for each letter of the alphabet. The games range from the very earliest releases in the late 70s to the modern homebrew games of today. This book shows you just how diverse the library of titles is for the Atari 8-bit computers and how it became one of the popular computers of all time.

Sujets

Indoor games and sports

Informations

Publié par	Andrews UK
Date de parution	30 août 2018
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781785386916
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0100€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

The A-Z of
Atari 8-bit Games
Volume 1

Kieren Hawken

Published in 2017 by
AG Books
www.agbooks.co.uk
Digital edition converted and distributed by
Andrews UK Limited
www.andrewsuk.com
© Copyright 2017 Kieren Hawken
The right of Kieren Hawken to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998.
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without express prior written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted except with express prior written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1956 (as amended). Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damage.
The opinions expressed herein belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect those of AG Books or Andrews UK Limited.
Game screenshots are included in this publication legally under applicable fair use law which allows such material for the explicit purposes of commentary and criticism.

Introduction
The Atari 8-bit computer range has an outstanding legacy in the video games industry. The very first models, the 16k Atari 400 and 48k Atari 800, were released way back in 1979 and instantly became the most powerful home computers on the market. With 256 colours, four-channel sound and advanced features such as hardware scrolling and sprites they were clearly designed with playing video games in mind. Of course this is what Atari was great at and it wasn’t long before all their hit arcade games started appearing in home form. Upgrades of the machine followed in the XL range (600XL, 800XL and 1200XL), which stood for eXtended Line, and the popularity of the computer grew further. Queue the takeover of Atari’s consumer division by former Commodore owner Jack Tramiel and the range was designed one again. The 64k 65XE (also released in Eastern Europe as the 800XE) and 128k 130XE was joined by the XE Games System, a 65XE in console form to appeal to a different market. The XE moniker stood for XL Expanded and these new computers were designed to closely resemble the company’s leading 16-bit Atari ST computer.
In this book I take you through the life of the Atari 8-bit range, affectionately known as the A8, looking at a varied cross section of the 600+ games available with a small review and screenshot of each one. This is not a list of the best games, a list of the worst or indeed a complete guide to what’s available. The A-Z of Atari 8-bit Games: Volume 1 is just that, the first volume of my look at a selection of A8 games in alphabetical order. There are three games featured for each letter and these range from the earliest released in the late seventies, to modern homebrews and even unreleased prototypes. Hopefully this book gives you some inspiration to try games you’ve never played before or bulk up your personal collection. Hopefully this book gives you some inspiration to try games you’ve never played before or bulk up your personal collection. You might even find it that brings back happy memories of unwrapping Christmas and birthday presents or inviting your friends round after school. Most of all though I hope you enjoy reading it and remember what makes the Atari 8-bit computer range so great.
Kieren Hawken
May 2017

A
Asteroids
Atari - 1981

Developed by the legendary Ed Logg this is game is officially the most popular arcade game ever produced by Atari and also one of the most converted games ever too. The original coin-op of Asteroids was one of the first games to feature vector graphics and involved you shooting the big space rocks into oblivion. You could thrust your spacecraft around the screen and if it went of one side it came back on the other, this technique became known as wrap-around. You also had a handy hyperspace button to get you out of trouble where your ship would disappear and then re-appear in a random place on the screen, not always a good place though! Each time you shot a rock it would split into smaller one which would move much faster, after enough shots they vanish completely, clear all the space boulders and its on to the next level. Simple but addictive and as the levels get faster you also encounter more rocks and those UFO’s which could be shot for bonus points. The Atari 8-bit translation of this classic arcade game is a lot like the Atari 2600 version. Rather than wire frame vectors it uses filled in raster graphics. Strangely it uses far with less colours than the famous 2600 version but is higher resolution and has much better sound effects. It’s still a solid version of the game but doesn’t really add anything new like some of the other versions do.
7/10
Ant Eater
Romox - 1983

The most interesting thing about this game is that it was programmed by none other than Ed Fries, the man who would later become the Vice President of Microsoft’s games division. At first this game seems to be nothing more than a Dig Dug clone, but once you start playing it you realise that it is actually quite a different game. You play the part of an ant whose eggs have been stolen by a greedy anteater. You are deep underground in your nest while the anteater roams the ground above looking for some nice juicy ants to eat! The object of the game is to dig your way to the surface and grab your eggs, one at a time, and take them back to the nest. But be warned that the anteater will lay chase so you will have to be cunning if you want to succeed. The only way to stop your foe is by dropping boulder on his head. This is very like Dig Dug as you have to dig under it with him in chase then time it just right to crush him. The only other way to escape is by digging complex tunnels, when you do this the anteater will soon get frustrated and return to the surface. Ant Eater is nothing special in either the graphics or sound department, in fact it’s pretty simple. But where this game succeeds is in the compelling and enjoyable gameplay. Ant Eater is an interesting and fun title that will definitely appeal to fans of titles like Mr. Do, Boulder Dash and Dig Dug.
7/10
Adventures of Robin Hood (The)
English Software - 1984

English Software’s Adventures of Robin Hood is the kind of game that was ten a penny back in the golden era of home computing. In essence it’s a generic arcade adventure loosely based on the popular story of Nottingham’s favourite son without any sort of official licence attached. The basic idea is to run around collecting the bags of money and not get shot by the Sheriff of Nottingham’s men. Of course you have a bow and arrow of your own, so I don’t need to tell you to fire back. You will also find Maid Marian trapped in the castle and if you find her she will give you a big smacker on the lips that restores your life. Apart from that there isn’t that much to do except for one very bizarre element of the game I haven’t yet deciphered. This is the ability to climb up anything that is coloured brown! Be it trees, walls or the local pub it doesn’t seem to serve any purpose at all in the game, but maybe I am missing something or it’s just there because it’s fun! The graphics are pretty poor with ugly sprites and basic scenery. The sound is also pretty harsh on the ears, so Robin Hood doesn’t impress here either. English Software have a pretty solid reputation as far as Atari 8-bit games go, but this title, which does work on 16k machines and up, is not one of their better efforts and one you should leave for the Sherriff to lock up in his grotty dungeon!
4/10

B
Battlezone
Atari - 1987

Battlezone is one of several games that Atari re-made for the XE range despite an original A8 version existing (other include Mario Bros. and Choplifter). The original version made under Warner Atari used a mix of 3D wire frame graphics and 2D rasters and didn’t really work. This version made under Tramiel Atari however is a straight port of the arcade game that uses 3D vector-style graphics to portray all the action. For those that somehow don’t know, in Atari’s classic Battlezone arcade game you drove a tank around a 3D battlefield taking out the enemy tanks and shooting the UFOs for a big bonus. Angular buildings also litter the landscape with the iconic exploding volcano and mountains in the background. You had full 360 degree movement and used the handy scanner to locate the opposition. The game was considered so realistic when it was released in 1980 that the US Army actually used a modified version of the game to train their tank battalion! Graphically this new version is incredibly impressive. The glowing green vectors have been faithfully reproduced and move smoothly, if a bit slowly. The sound effects are also very good and help round off what is an authentic arcade experience. This version of Battlezone is a huge improvement over the original one and shows that the Tramiels did in fact get things right occasionally!
8/10
Berzerk
Atari - 1983

First released into the arcades by Stern Electronics in 1980, this game proved to be their biggest ever hit and is still one of the best remembered titles from the golden age of arcade games. It looked very simple but the fiendish gameplay and digitised speech really made the game come alive. You are trying to escape an enemy stronghold made up of maze like rooms with doors that lead into others and electrified walls that kill you on contact. That’s not the only danger awaiting you though, as all these rooms are guarded by robots that will