No0b Game Reviews

For this week's review, I'll be reviewing...

Asteroids, for the Atari 2600. This was an arcade game released in 1979 by Atari Inc. It has been ported to many game systems(Atari 2600, Atari 5200, Atari 7800, etc.), but the version I'm going to review is the Atari 2600 version. You start off as a spaceship in the middle of the screen, and the object of the game is to destroy asteroids before they destroy you. This is a rather simple game, using a single button and single joystick for play. The button fires missles from your ship, while the joystick moves you in your prefered direction(to move in a direction, move in the direction, then hold up on your joystick. You can also use hyperspace by hitting up at certain times, having you appear randomly on the screen in a different location). There is a score counter in the upper left corner of the screen, and every 5,000 points, you gain an extra life. Every so often, another spaceship will come on the screen and try to destroy you.

Personal Preference: By far my favorite game by Atari, and for the 2600. A very well done port in my opinion. The graphics pale in comparison to the arcade original, but that's to be expected with the Atari 2600's primitive graphics. Graphics aside, this game is fantastic. Not to brag, but when I go to a pizza parlor with my friends(usually weekly) and I play Asteroids, I get the highest score. If I recall correctly, the highest I've gotten on the machine was 11,000 points, being the highest score on the machine. There is another arcade game I excell at, but we'll save that for later.

For anything else you'd like to know about Asteroids or old-school arcade games in general, e-mail me at Ian@Gab3.net

~Ian

No0b Game Reviews

Here's part 2 of the review:

The next game I'm going to review for this two-parter is Michael Jackson's Moonwalker. This game was released for the Sega Genesis in 1990. Unfortunately, it didn't have a long shelf-life, as Michael Jackson was accused of child molestation only after a little time of this game being in stores. Ironically, the object of the game is to rescue children from hidden places in the game(doors, bushes, rocks, caves, etc.)...yeah...let's not go there.

Anywho, this game was actually one of the earliest Genesis released, along with some arcade ports(like Golden Axe) and sports titles (Pat Riley's Basketball, etc.). Most games(MJM included) that were released early in the Genesis's lifespan were celebrity related so the system would be more popular with an older crowd, thus having Sega more popular than Nintendo. Did it work? Well, we'll save that for later.

Final Score: 9/10

Personal Preference: This was my first Genesis game actually, well at least it was the first I played a lot. At the time I liked it very much, but after time I got bored with it after the first few worlds. True, it is very fun, but it just gets repetitive. Saving kids, fighting enemies...just same old, same old. But, I must say, it has one of the best video game soundtracks on the Genesis in my opinion. The songs used are: Beat It, Another part of me, Smooth Criminal, Billie Jean, and Bad. Yeah, no Thriller, even though there IS a graveyard level...yeah, I know, it's lame. But aside from that, this is a great game, spare the repetition. So, if you can, play it.

For any more info about this game or retro games in general, e-mail me at Ian@Gab3.Net

~Ian

No0b Game Reviews

Hey guys, Ian again with a dual game review. The first review will be short and sweet, as the game itself isn't much, but the second will be of regular length.

The first game I'll review is going to be Minesweeper. Minesweeper is a PC game that comes with the computer when purchased(already installed). The object of the game is to point and click and guess if the spot on the map you clicked has a mine or not. Until you get a mine, you can score number by taking guesses and clicking on certain spaces, otherwise the game resets when a mine is uncovered.

Final Score: 7/10

Personal Preference: This game isn't really anything too special, but if you're in the right mood-set, it can be pretty damn addicting.

For anything else you'd like to know about this game or retro games in general, please e-mail me at Ian@Gab3.Net