Pinball Spectacular

Although I have seen how obscure the "Bee" series of games were upon taking a look at them, thanks to Wikipedia, I saw that a copycat game was made for the Commodore 64.  It's called "Pinball Spectacular". 

I have very, very fond memories of the Commodore 64.  Although PCs are commonplace, and have been for a long time, the Commodore 64 was the first personal computer to really pave the way in the American marketplace.  During its lifespan, it's said to have sold up to 17.5 million units, making it the best selling PC ever.  Like a PC today, you can use the C64 for a lot of different things.  However, a lot of people, myself included, used them to play games.  Most kids had a Nintendo in their home; I had a Commodore 64.  It was the system I remember cutting my teeth on; my brothers also had an Atari 2600, but I don't really remember playing that as much. 

What I find mesmorizing upon looking back at the C64 is its massive library of games.  I remember playing a lot of games as a kid (due to the system being relatively easy to pirate, I remember owning many floppies with both sides filled with games).  However, after looking at various websites and their catalogs of C64 games, I have barely even scratched the surface as far as experiencing even a modicum of Commodore games. 

So, even while booting it up for the first time, I was very eager to try this game out.  What I find very noteworthy is that Pinball Spectacular was designed by HAL Laboratory.  They have been making games for many years, most significantly for Nintendo.  The Kirby series, the Smash Brothers series, and Earthbound were all developed by HAL.  This was one of their first games. 

Pinball Spectacular is indeed a hybrid of Breakout and pinball, just like the "Bee" games were.  Like "Cutie Q", there are only blocks on the top of the screen, and not on the sides (like the other two games).  There are no "ghosts" in the game, and there are "COMMODORE" lights in the center of the screen, rather than "NAMCO" lights.  You hit a letter corresponding to the lights, and you'll score big points as well as light up the sign.  A nice feature is that if you hit the Commodore symbol at the top-center of the screen, you get a temporary shield at the bottom.  So, even if both your paddles miss the ball, the shield picks it back up.   

As in the other games, there is really nothing to write home about in terms of graphics and sound.  Although, like Bomb Bee, there is more going on in terms of sound than in the other two games, which sound barren by contrast.  While good, I felt the controls were a little too loose, and could have been tightened a bit more.  I often ended up moving my paddles faster than I'd wished to. 

But honestly, I enjoyed playing this game more than the ones that it imitated.  It just seemed to have a quality that after I lost, I would want to play just one more game.  In simpler terms, it was more addicting, and I usually don't feel that way about the classics, although I love them just the same.  Perhaps I'm just biased towards Commodore software, I always seem to get a certain nostalgic twinge when I fire up a Commodore 64 game, whether I'd played it before or not. 

Cutie Q

Cutie Q is the last in a trilogy of breakout/pinball games from Namco and the creator of Pac-Man, Toru Iwatani.  These games were pretty obscure and didn't set the gaming scene afire, but they were decent enough, particularly the 2nd entry, Bomb Bee.  Can Cutie Q improve on this formula?  Well, let's find out. 

One notable thing about Cutie Q is that it's the only one of the three games to be released in a format other than the arcade.  This did not come about until 2008, when it was included in the Wii's Namco Museum Remix (I played NM Megamix, which is basically the same game with 6 new arcade classics).  There are three ways to play this game, either the Wii remote, the Wii nunchuk, or the Classic Controller.  I much preferred the classic controller, as it's just a much more traditional way to play games, and it really comes in handy for those Wii games which don't utilize its control features. 

As for the game itself, there really isn't much new to report.  It plays pretty much the same as the first two.  You have the dual paddles, as in Super Breakout.  You have the spinner and rollovers, as you would in pinball games.  However, there are a few things to note.  First, there are no side blocks, as in the first two games.  I felt that this was a good thing, as it makes the game more straightforward and less complicated.  The pinball hook is enough to make a clear distinction between this and Breakout.  Also, and I have not seen this mentioned in my research for the game, the blocks have a "ghost image" and the center area can have up to four ghosts that you can hit with the ball.  The ghosts only come in one color (pink), but I found a similarity to the ghosts in the Pac-Man games.  This makes sense, as the guy behind Pac-Man designed this game as well.  So, in my mind, this can serve as a sorta-prequel to Pac-Man. 

Since Cutie Q was released in the dawn of gaming, there isn't a noticeable upgrade in graphics and sound from the last game.  And, like the other Breakout games of the period, the ball will inexplicably go from a manageable speed to a blazing-fast speed.  However, it is possible to speed up your paddle with the press of a button.  This is a very handy feature, and I'm not sure if it's always been there or was just designed for the Wii port. 

Cutie Q isn't a significant upgrade from Bomb Bee, but it doesn't detract in terms of quality and gameplay either.  It was enjoyable enough, and speeding up the paddle in response to the faster speed of the ball was a very good design decision.  It's definitely worth a play, if nothing else than as a look into history (as Cutie Q is the first Namco game to be playable in a format other than arcade).

Bomb Bee

I recently wrote about Namco's first video game "Gee Bee", which was a combination of Breakout and pinball that really didn't work very well.  "Bomb Bee" is the first of two sequels to "Gee Bee".  Like the first, "Bomb Bee" is relatively obscure, which is surprising because these are Namco's first two games.  Namco, as I pointed out, is one of the best video game developers in history and is still going strong today. 

Anyway, when first booting it up, I noticed that the layout was a slight improvement on "Gee Bee".  Things are a little more spread out in this one.  There are also more blocks and obstacles.  The graphics themselves are slightly more advanced, but not really. 

When I first started playing, I noticed that there was a lot more going on with the sound.  Not only is it better than in "Gee Bee", there are more sound effects and they're utilized more often.  "Gee Bee", like most video games of that period, was relatively sparse and quiet in terms of sound.  "Bomb Bee" is more sonically active, and you'd almost feel like you were at an actual pinball table if you didn't know any better.  I'm speaking, of course, in comparsion to "Gee Bee". 

As for gameplay, I had a much better time playing this than I did "Gee Bee".  It's basically the same game, but I think the layout changes of the "table" made all the difference.  The two bumpers, rather than being below the upper blocks like in "Gee Bee", are on the top right and left in "Bomb Bee".  This makes it much easier to score points, and seems to be more in line in what a real pinball table might actually be designed.  The gamemakers obviously saw that "Gee Bee" fell a little flat and made some changes that improved on the formula and made "Bomb Bee" a much better realized game. 

There are still some problems I had with the game that were present in the original.  At times, not when you lose a ball, one segment of blocks (right below the top) will reappear after you knocked them out.  I don't know how this happens, but it does at times.  At least it isn't the whole set of blocks like in "Gee Bee".  Also, and this seems to be present in every "Breakout"-style game up until "Arkanoid", the ball will inexplicably range from slow to lightning fast.  It very well might be because I suck, but I think overall a slightly faster general speed would be preferable to such a dramatic shift in speed from one extreme to another.  As a result, I'm never able to clear all the blocks. 

To sum things up, I had a very good time playing "Bomb Bee".  I wouldn't list it in with the classics, but am somewhat surprised at how little-known and obscure it is.  It's one of the first games that I have played that may not be a classic in its own right, but does add an interesting twist to a classic. 

Gee Bee

I am going to be reviewing a few of the Breakout clones that followed the standard-bearer, Breakout, but only up to when Arkanoid came out.  This is because Arkanoid is also featured in the "1,001 Games" book.  And for good reason.  It was the first real advance on the classic Breakout formula, and many features that are prevalent in the Breakout clones that have been released since owe a large debt to Arkanoid. 

But that's for further down the road.  For today, I wanted to mention a Breakout clone that came out a few years after that game, back in 1978.  This game is called "Gee Bee". 

This game is noteworthy for a few reasons.  First, it was the first game developed by Namco.  I'm assuming that most of you need no introduction to Namco, but for the one or two of you that do, it will suffice to say that Namco is a pioneer software developer in the video game and arcade business.  They are the development house behind such monumental classics as Pac-Man, Dig-Dug, Galaga, Galaxian, Rolling Thunder, Ridge Racer, Tekken, and many, many other games.  They are still going strong today. 

Also, this game was designed by Toru Iwatani, who would later go on to develop that granddaddy of 'em all, Pac-Man.  Originally, he wanted to design pinball machines, but Namco apparently wanted no part of that business.  So, in a form of compromise, Gee Bee ended up as a somewhat odd mix between Breakout and pinball. 

The game struck that impression on me as I first booted it up.  Obviously, in 1978, the graphics were still primitive, and it looked pretty similar to Super Breakout.  However, games of this period were noteworthy since they were among the first to be in full color, rather than the colors being overlaid over a black and white screen.  But right away, you notice some differences.  First, there are some features you would associate with pinball, like a spinner in the center of the screen, two bumpers and five rollovers that spell out "N-A-M-C-O".  Hitting these could net you big points.  Also, in addition to blocks being placed vertically, there are also blocks on the left and right side.  You hit these using two paddles, so it's sort of similar to the doubles mode in Super Breakout.

I appreciated that even back then, game developers, if not coming up with totally innovative and fresh ideas, were at least willing to put a few new spins on a classic formula.  Unfortunately, I don't think that it worked too well here, and Gee Bee's relative obscurity seems to bear me out (there seems to be no port that exists of the game).  Probably my biggest gripe is that after you lose a ball (you get three), the board resets and all the blocks you knocked out before you lost the ball, come back.  I am not sure what the logic was behind that design decision, but it just did not work for me at all.

Also, pinball was never my game, and I think the inclusion of some of its features in Gee Bee made the game less enjoyable for me personally.  There are side gates like in real pinball, and it's very possible for a ball to go through there.  This leads to a lost ball, through no fault of your own.  And there does not appear to be a tilt button that could have helped somewhat allay this issue.

Finally, the ball doesn't appear to gradually build in speed like in other Breakout-style games, but will veer from manageable speed to speed-demon fast.  The spinner will keep you on your toes, as it will change the ball's direction.

But despite those flaws, I still somewhat enjoyed Gee Bee.  Design flaws notwithstanding, the pinball aspect meshed better than I thought it would have prior to playing it.  Although the graphics and sound were obviously nothing extraordinary, you can still see subtle evolution if you'd played earlier games.  There were two sequels released to Gee Bee, which I will be reviewing in the very-near future.  It doesn't seem like these games caught fire either.

 

Super Breakout

Sorry, I know it's been awhile; been working a lot and I came down with a pretty bad chest cold.  Anyway, I am back to review the sequel to "Breakout", known as "Super Breakout".  Unlike the first game, Super Breakout is programmed via a microprocessor, meaning that it's been much easier to port it to other systems.  Hence, it's been included in numerous compilations, unlike the original Breakout.

The only version of Breakout I'd played was on the 2600, but from what I'd heard, Super Breakout is the same game with some added new features.  I used the "Atari Classics Evolved" game for the PSP to play it.  The first thing that I noticed, and that took some getting used to, was that you have to turn your screen to the vertical side in order to play.  I'm not sure why, maybe the screen wouldn't fully fit in the default horizontal position?  Anyway, as a result, the controls take a little getting used to, but I got the hang of it, to a degree.

Unlike the 2600 Breakout , Super Breakout is more in line with the Breakout gameplay that I remember.  You use the paddle to hit individual blocks with a ball, and you must intercept the ball so that it hits more blocks until there are no more blocks.  The graphics are basic, and the sound is pretty sparse, but that's in keeping with the time.  However, there are three different modes of play that you can choose from.  In Progressive Mode, once you destroy a wall of blocks, other walls come down to the center and gain in speed the longer the ball stays in play.  In Double Mode, you control two paddles (one on top of the other) and two balls, only losing a life when you lose possession of both balls.  In Cavity Mode, you get one paddle and ball, but there are two additional balls that are trapped within the blocks.  Once you free those balls, you can use them to destroy more blocks.  In the latter two modes, you get extra points if you can keep the additional balls in play.

While I was glad to take this stroll down memory lane, I thought what brought the experience down for me was the control.  As I may have said previously, the analog nub on the PSP is infamous for how small and useless that it is, so I went with the digital pad to move the paddle.  It turned out being no replacement for the traditional paddle/trackball setup that was popular at the time, and hence was close to mandatory for many games of that period.  So, I flat out sucked at Super Breakout, missing many balls.  I don't know if I would have missed them anyway if I was playing on the original arcade cabinet, but I will probably never know.

I thought the Evolved version of the game was pretty cool.  Regrettably, there is only one type of version included for the Breakout game, unlike the four included for Pong, but I still enjoyed it.  The graphics look slightly better, with a glowing ball, sparks that fly when you hit a brick, cool sound effects and music.  Maybe it's my imagination, but I found it slightly easier to play than the original version.

I wasn't happy with the one clip that I found of this version, but it was all that I could find.  I recently purchased a Playstation Vita, which has a pretty cool camera built in that you can use to record videos.  I tried doing that with this review, but holding my Vita in one hand to record, and the PSP in the other to play a round of Super Breakout and show you how it looked on the system, was difficult and awkward to say the least.  

 

Breakout

Sorry for not posting in awhile.  I had to take my "1,001 Video Games" copy back to the library.  I intend to buy a copy, but until I do, I will play a few Breakout games, since Breakout is the next game on the list.  First is the original Breakout for the Atari 2600. 

I wanted to note beforehand, that unless one owns an actual Breakout arcade machine, playing the original version of the game is pretty much impossible.  Breakout was programmed with discrete logic, rather than via a microprocessor.  What I'm saying is that as a result, games that don't use processors cannot be emulated.  As it is, there were not many versions of the original Breakout that were ported.  The most well known was for the Atari 2600, and I played it using the Atari Anthology for the original XBox. 

When I think of Breakout, I usually think of the more modern games like Arkanoid, Brickbreaker, and others.  Playing Breakout was taking a huge step backwards in time, as I'd not played it in many, many years.  And with the exception of Pong, you cannot get more simple than Breakout.    I immediately noticed differences.  For one, you do not take out one brick at a time, but rather, there are rows of bricks that your ball must hit, one by one.  Ideally, you should try to hit the ball towards the far right or left, so that the ball gets trapped in the top area, but this is often easier said than done.  When you hit certain bricks, the ball veers quickly and wildly, making it difficult to reach it in time.

Almost needless to say, the graphics and sound are very basic.  And so is the gameplay.  Arkanoid pioneered the use of new elements to the Breakout experience (multiple balls, lasers, other power-ups), and this game was years before Arkanoid.  The variants that can be utilized don't add much to the experience, although I thought the "invisible" mode was kind of cool.  I did not use a paddle controller, but the Xbox 360 controller was serviceable, although I highly recommend using the digital pad to move your paddle; the analog stick is way too loose and I had lost many balls before switching to digital.   

In the end, this game held my attention for awhile, which is more than I can say for Pong.  Not to say that Pong is bad, quite the contrary, but Breakout is more of a single-player affair, whereas Pong was always more of a multiplayer experience.  But it does lose its appeal after a time; I started gaming in around the mid to late 80s, and I tend to struggle holding my attention when it comes to playing games released before that time (there are a few exceptions, most notably Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and Galaga). 

Included below are videos of the original arcade version of Breakout, and a review of the 2600 version.  I was impressed with how the arcade version looked; also, the bricks are separate, rather than long colored rows like the 2600 version.  However, it's actually black and write, with color overlays placed where the bricks are located.

The Oregon Trail (1975 Version)

I promised that I'd get back to The Oregon Trail, and I am a man of my word.  It was kind of mysterious to me that The Oregon Trail was the 1st game listed in the book "1,001 Video Games to Play Before You Die", even before Pong.  This is because it was originally released in 1971.  A few student teachers at a Minnesota college, as part of their history class, wrote a computer program using an early variant of BASIC to help teach the class.  This program, of course, was Oregon Trail. 

I actually found, via Wikipedia, a very interesting blog in which the blogger tries to track down the earliest known version of Oregon Trail to have existed.  The original version was up on the college network until the end of the semester, and it was then deleted.  The creator printed out a copy of the original source code, but unfortunately, the whereabouts of that source code are no longer known. 

However, a friend of the blogger was able to find a tape copy of a program simply entitled "Oregon" at a school, dated 1975.  Upon loading the program up, it turned out to be a version of "Oregon Trail" dated 1975, three years earlier of the earliest known version said to have existed prior to that point.  I found it really cool that a few people were that passionate about the game and about the past of computing. 

But have my feelings changed on playing Oregon Trail for the first time in many years, especially since it is the first copy now known to be in existence?  Sadly, no.  First, there are no graphics whatsoever, unlike the one you probably played in elementary school.  Just purely text-oriented, as basic as it gets.  Not to say that I mind this.  I have a fond affinity for some text-based games I used to play, key among those being "Zork".  But those games were pretty much like interactive novels. 

A key frustration I always had with this game, and this early version is no different, is the lack of control that you have.  You start the game with approximately $700, and you have to allocate so much to clothing, oxen, food, ammo, etc.  After that, the events that happen to you seem entirely random.  After each day, or turn, you can choose to hunt, stop at a port if available (to buy food and supplies), or continue your journey.  If you hunt, you must type the word "bang" very quickly.  And I do mean, quickly.  I can touch-type very fast (between 90 and 100 WPM), and was able to successfully kill an animal for food once.  I cannot guess why that is, maybe because I was playing on a computer screen, rather than via teletype (typewriter) as the game was originally designed?

But anyway, regardless of what you choose, some big event may happen to you and your travelers that you may or may not survive.  The first time I played, I had gotten relatively far; I believe you must successfully complete 18 days or turns in order to "win" the game.  But on later occasions, I survived maybe 3 or 4 days before perishing.

I plan on trying out later versions of the game as I progress through the games in the book.  But so far, I really doubt that my feelings will change.  In order to play either the 1975 or 1978 version, you must open a command prompt window (if you're using Windows, this should be under Accessories) and type in a teletype command.  The blog I linked to has further instructions.  And one more interesting item of note:  the famous "you have died of dysentery" line did not come up in the series until later when it came out on the Apple II.

This Youtube video is a very cool look into the history of The Oregon Trail.