A-Z of Colecovision Games , livre ebook

Andrews UK - Kieren Hawken

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56 pages

English

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Description

The A-Z of ColecoVision Games features reviews of three different games for each letter of the alphabet. The games range from the very earliest releases in the mid-eighties to the modern homebrew games of today. This book shows you just how diverse the library of titles is for the ColecoVision and how it's become one of the most collectable consoles out there.

Sujets

Indoor games and sports

Informations

Publié par	Andrews UK
Date de parution	30 août 2018
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781785387210
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

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
Colecovision 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 enormous success of the Atari 2600 created an entire industry almost single-handedly and so it’s no surprise that so many other companies wanted a piece of the pie. One of the most notable in these early years was Coleco (a shortening of Connecticut Leather Company) who had already seen notable success with their range of table top games and plug & play Pong-type consoles. Released in North America in August 1982, with a European launch just a few months later, the console was based around the Japanese MSX standard making it much easier to develop for than Atari’s machine and significantly more powerful. The console saw almost immediate success, mostly helped by Coleco’s strategy of licensing top arcade games such as Donkey Kong, Zaxxon and Mr. Do! But the life of the console was unexpectedly cut short when North America was hit by the video game crash and Coleco decided to cut their losses and leave the video game market entirely just three years after its launch. The console then survived a while longer thanks to mail order distributor Telegames who, as well as producing their own games for the system, also sold their own licensed clone of the system called the Telegames Personal Arcade, which was a rebranded version of a Taiwanese system called the Dina 2-in-1 that played both ColecoVision and Sega SG-1000 games (due to the near identical hardware). In the modern age the ColecoVision is hugely popular among collectors mainly thanks to its prolific homebrew scene.
In this book I take you through the life of the ColecoVision looking at a varied cross section of the many games available for the machine 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 ColecoVision Games is just that, my look at a selection of ColecoVision games in alphabetical order. There are three games featured for each letter and these range from the earliest titles released, to modern homebrews and even some unreleased prototypes! 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 presents or inviting your friends round after school for a two-player battle. But most of all I hope you enjoy reading it and remember what makes the ColecoVision such a great home console to own.
Kieren Hawken
July 2017

A
Astro Dodge
Revival Studios - 2012

Astro Dodge is the first game for the ColecoVision by the Dutch team Revival Studios and was released simultaneously for the ColecoVision, MSX and the Sega SG-1000 consoles - taking full advantage of the three systems’ similarity. At first Astro Dodge looks like an Asteroids inspired shoot ‘em up, but in fact it’s actually a frantic avoid ‘em up! The idea is for you to guide your ship though an asteroid belt in deep space without hitting any of the huge space rocks in your path. The longer you survive the higher the score you get and bonus items can also be collected to increase your score further. You can even upload your scores to the Revival Studios website to see how well you compare to other players around the world. One great feature of this game is that two-players can compete at the same for the high score in versus mode! Another nice addition is the trophies that can be earned, much like the modern Xbox Achievements, for completing certain landmarks. Astro Dodge has fantastic graphics throughout and I was especially pleased to see a nice multi-coloured main sprite when they are so often monochrome on ColecoVision. There are also some good sound effects too. When you also throw in some classic twitch gameplay into the mix you have a great homebrew title for the ColecoVision that will no doubt keep you amused for a long time to come.
8/10
Artillery Duel
Xonox - 1983

Artillery Duel is title that goes back to the very dawn of home computing and represents one of the very first video games. It originally appeared in a purely text based form on the giant mainframes of colleges and universities across America. It was also one of the very first games adapted for the early home consoles and the ColecoVision is no exception. This version by Xonox stays true to its roots and is a two-player affair where the simple objective is to take out the opposition before they do the same to you. This takes the form of turn based combat where you must try to work out the correct trajectory and power required to hit your opponent with a mortar on the opposite site of a rocky landscape. The scenery is randomly generated, meaning no play is ever the same, and you also have to take into account factors such as wind speed and direction. You also can’t hang around too long trying to find the perfect placement either as each turn is strictly timed. If you have no friends and would rather play the computer then there are three difficulty levels available: Corporal, Captain and General. Graphically the game is fairly nice, the landscapes are well drawn and colourful. The sound is a particular highlight though with its loud and proud sound effects accompanied by some appropriate title music. Artillery Duel is certainly fun in short bursts if nothing overly exciting.
7/10
Antarctic Adventure
Coleco - 1984

Not many people know that in the earlier days of Konami their mascot was a little penguin known as Penta, his most recent appearance was probably in the Parodius games. His very first appearance however was in this cute title that was first published for the MSX computers in 1983. Antarctic Adventure plays very much like a cross between a platformer and a racing game. Viewed from a third-person perspective, you are trying to guide Penta to the end of each stage before you run out of time. But this isn’t as easy as it sounds (is it ever?) as there are a number of different hazards in your way that will slow you down. Lumbering sea lions will stumble into your path and big breaks in the ice will slow you down considerably. Look out for the occasional fish that jump from these holes however, because catching one will award you with some handy bonus points. As the levels increase your time limit becomes shorter and the hazards become more frequent. As well as pretty standard side-to-side movement, Penta can also jump in order to progress without penalty. Graphically Antarctic Adventure is extremely cute, as you would probably imagine, with a great choice of colours and real personality present. When it comes to the audio, a very nice rendition of The Skaters’ Waltz by Émile Waldteufel plays throughout the game. This is one of those game that will always be remembered as a classic.
9/10

B
Beamrider
Activision - 1983

Activision are probably best known for titles like Pitfall, Ghostbusters and Kaboom! but one of their best early titles without doubt is Beamrider . Much like many of their other early games this is clearly inspired by somebody else’s game - Konami’s highly under rated Juno First . The screen is drawn out like a grid that scrolls into the horizon giving a really good pseudo 3D effect. You control a ship at the bottom that can move left and right and shoot into the distance. Enemies move along the grid towards you at a rapid pace constantly changing their direction. As well as shooting at you they will also try to smash into you so a quick trigger finger and some fast reflexes are required to take them out first or avoid them. Some of the enemies can’t be killed with your normal weapon so you must use one of your valuable missiles. These must also be used to destroy the huge end of level motherships too and timing is the key here. You start with just three and they are replenished when you lose a life or complete a level. Beamrider is very impressive from a graphical point of view with its 3D effect and super smooth scrolling. The sound effects suit the game incredibly well too but it’s the fast action addictive gameplay is the real winner here. Beamrider is a simply fantastic game for the Colecovision and one that you will be trying to beat your high score on for a very long time to come.
9/10
Burger Time
Mattel - 1984

In this conversion of the hugely popular 1982 Data East arcade game you control our hero Peter Pepper who is trying to build himself some burgers! To do this you must go around the screen and walk the length of each