Someone set up us Da Bomb!
Written: Mar 21 '08 (Updated Feb 09 '10)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: easy to learn, difficult to master; always fun to play; ADDICTIVE!
Cons: You have to start over at the beginning every time
The Bottom Line: If not the best game for the Atari 2600, certainly the most addictive, but definitely the best paddle game!
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| Chad9976's Full Review: Kaboom! for Atari 2600 |
“Kaboom!” has all the makings of a lame game: one screen, a Sisyphus-style gameplay, simple graphics & sounds, and yet it’s one of the best games ever made for the Atari 2600. If not the best, certainly the most addictive because it can be played so quickly and repeatedly without growing old.
PRESS FIRE TO START
This cart has one of the most basic premises in video game history. There’s a “Mad Bomber” at the top of the screen who is dropping bombs at you. You control three buckets of water that must catch the bombs, otherwise they all blow up and you lose a bucket. The game ends when you lose all of your buckets.
This is one of few games that uses the paddle controllers and might possibly be the best game suited for them. As the game advances, the bomber moves back and forth faster and faster and the bombs fall quicker and quicker. The challenge of the game is totally dependent upon the player’s hand-to-eye coordination.
Points are awarded in higher increments as you advance in stages, each of which contains more bombs than the previous stage. At every multiple of 1,000 points you earn a 1-Up in the form of a replaced bucket if you have only one or two buckets, but you can’t have more than three at a time. In fact, a strategy to take is to actually lose a bucket right before you hit a 1,000-point multiple so as to slow down the action for a bit, since you’re going to earn another bucket anyway.
PLAYER 1 – READY!
How can such a rudimentary game be so much fun? I mean, really, there’s nothing to this game other than moving the buckets under the bombs and yet I love it. It certainly is a shining example of the “Easy to learn, difficult to master” law of great vintage games. “Kaboom!” is perfect in terms of challenge - the game designers deserver accolades for making the game’s difficulty increase at such a reasonable pace.
One of the nice features to this cart is that after each stage, the action stops to allow the player to “catch their breath,” so to speak. It could act like most Sisyphus-style games and simply give you a warning and then start, but it doesn’t. In fact, after playing this game for extended periods (and you will because it’s so much fun), it’s almost annoying to have the break between rounds. You’re so excited you don’t want to stop. But sometimes it is nice to give your eyeballs a rest.
It’s amazing how fast those later stages will become. I find a good strategy to take is to stare at the screen as you would one of those hidden 3D pictures. Try to give yourself tunnel vision and stare only at the green field of play where the bombs drop and not the bomber. Instead of trying to get directly underneath the bombs, attempt to hit them from the side. When the action approaches ultra-hyper speed your brain itself will be challenged to see if the input from your eyes to your brain to your hand can process it all fast enough.
It’s funny how it takes your brain some time to get used to the gameplay of “Kaboom!,” but the more you play the further you’ll advance. It almost has something of a psychological and biological effect on you because your coordination skills will be challenged and because the game is so quickly-paced you might even find your heart rate speeding up. It’s the video game equivalent of a cup of espresso.
JOYSTICKING
I prefer games that use the paddle controller on the Atari 2600 because they have a more interactive feel to them than joystick games. Because the controller itself is a potentiometer, the play control is completely reliant upon your hand’s movement. Plus the controller is simply more comfortable for marathon sessions, and with “Kaboom!” you will find yourself playing for extended durations.
It’s not surprising that great games almost always have perfect play control, and this game is a great example. “Kaboom!” would be unplayable if the play controls were anything less than perfect. I know this is true because my paddles weren’t working that well and I couldn’t get past the first few stages. So I used some penetrate lubricate on the paddles’ internal potentiometer and now they work like new and the gameplay is silky smooth.
SPRITES & PIXELS
Technically, the graphics to this game are pretty standard for a VCS game. Everything has a cartoony look, giving the game a lighthearted feeling. It’s appealing to all ages and doesn’t feel intimidating, rather, quite inviting. The use of a medium shade of green as the background color was a wise choice and is easy on the eyes. Had this game been black and white or any of those hideous pastel color combinations early 2600 games were known for it wouldn’t have worked so well.
CHIPPED TUNES
“Kaboom!” doesn’t have much in terms of aural variety, but the sounds it does employ are quite complimentary. The “splash!” sound every time you catch a bomb is cute, as is “Ka-ka-kaboom!” sounds made when the bombs explode. Of course, the most notable sonic feature here is the fact that the pitch of the splashing sound increases every round. Not only does gameplay speed up, but increasing the pitch adds to the tension perfectly. By the time you reach 3,000 points your head will be ready to explode! (and I mean that in a good way).
INSERT COIN TO CONTINUE
Half the appeal to “Kaboom!” lies in its replay value. This is such a simple, easy-to-learn game that you’ll find it quite addictive. The only problem is starting over at such a slow pace after having just played at such a faster rate. Still, I can’t think of many games for the VCS that are as difficult to walk away from as this one.
GAME OVER
The only thing I could criticize this cart for would be that there are no difficulty settings built in to the game other than selecting the size of your buckets with the difficulty switch on the console itself. I think the brilliance to this game lies in its simple-but-challenging gameplay and its high replay value. Activision sticks it to Atari again!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Chad9976
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Member: Chad Polenz
Location: Albany, New York
Reviews written: 686
Trusted by: 153 members
About Me:
Hi, I'm Chad and I like beer.
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