Now, that's what I call *Classic*
Written: Nov 28 '03 (Updated Nov 28 '03)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Easy to learn and control; great sound and graphics
Cons: It's a very hard game in the later stages.
The Bottom Line: A fantastic translation of an amazing arcade game.
|
|
|
| HawgWyld's Full Review: Moon Patrol for Atari 2600 |
All of us "30 somethings" who think well of the early home console game era of the late 1970s and early 1980s must have a soft spot for the old Atari 2600. After all, the little 2600 was truly revolutionary in that it allowed a unit to be attached to a television which played games in color and could accept cartridges which allowed the machine to act like a brand, spanking-new system. While we take that concept for granted these days, it was quite revolutionary at the time.
Unfortunately, the 2600 was overshadowed as years went past by the graphics might of such stellar systems as the Mattel Intellivision, ColecoVision and even that Atari's own 5200 console. Regardless, there are still some games which made the 2600 shine, even at a time when more advanced competitors were cutting into the turf which the old Atari dominated. Moon Patrol, frankly, is one of those games which pushed the Atari to its limits.
Indeed, this one is a *Classic* with an upper-case "C." Although the game is 20-years-old, it's still quite impressive when you consider the weak hardware for which it was developed. Any 2600 fan would be wise to pick up a copy of this great game.
For those unaware, Moon Patrol was a Williams arcade game which came out around 1982 or so. The goal of the game was quite simple -- advance a moon buggy along various given routes in the shortest time possible. Naturally, the tasks were complicated a bit. Alien ships would show up to try to blast the moon buggy, and large rocks, craters and land mines could also crash the vehicle. The player was armed with the ability to shoot both horizontal and vertical lasers and, therefore, the moon buggy could smash aliens, crush rocks and defend itself on the way to various objectives.
Now, Atari was good at a lot of things and solid conversions of arcade titles was one of the things the company typically did quite well (perhaps with the notable exception of that miserable version of Pac-Man, of course). After all, games such as Ms. Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Missile Command and Asteroids were fantastic arcade conversions which boosted Atari's sales in an impressive manner. Go ahead and put Moon Patrol in that category of must-have arcade translations for the 2600.
One of the most striking things about Moon Patrol is the game is, graphically, quite a feat for the 2600. Moon Patrol is a two-dimensional shooter featuring screens which advance along with the buggy. In the 2600 version, the background is rather sparse, consisting only of mountains. However, the background scrolls at a slower rate than the foreground, thus lending a three-dimensional "look" to the game. The player's moon buggy and the nasty aliens are all in one color, but the graphics are large and quite detailed for a 2600 game.
The control scheme is great in that the player can fire, jump and speed up or slow down the buggy quite easily. Since the game requires constant firing, speed adjustments and jumping (to avoid moon craters, for the most part), the fact the control scheme can be learned and mastered in a few seconds is essential.
The sound is impressive, too. The arcade game blasted a constant and simple ditty at the player, and the 2600 version of Moon Patrol captures the looping, repetitive song quite well.
The only complaint I have about this game is that it's so blasted hard. At first, the player concentrates on getting to the end of each level, but that strategy changes once the game gets nasty and the player concentrates on getting from check-point to check-point in the game. Still, Moon Patrol is rather like other arcade games from the same era -- the player is doomed to failure from the start of the game and, as such, there's no chance of winning. Moon Patrol is so tough that getting through more than three levels is an aggravating chore.
All in all, this is an impressive title which showcased the graphics of which the 2600 was capable quite well. Grab it off of eBay or something if you love classic arcade titles and are in the mood to pick up a few for the 2600.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
HawgWyld
|
 - Top 200 |
|
Member: Ethan C. Nobles
Location: Benton, Ark.
Reviews written: 1436
Trusted by: 495 members
About Me:
The oxen are slow, but the earth is patient.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.