Saturday Supercade!

Things are getting a little spooky around the vault!

What better way to begin the celebration of Halloween than some awesome Atari 2600 Haunted House art? Even better, thanks to Playeronepodcast.com we have the above photo of Haunted House pencils...that is just so incredibly awesome that I can think of no better word for it at this moment!

Box Art Wednesday...Halloween Edition!

Oh, my friends, look at what we have here! The ultra rare and some say mythical Universal Monsters and more importantly, Monster Squad, Atari 2600 titles. Unfortunately I was unable to secure the boxes for Monster Squad, The Wolf Man, nor Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man. I've spent almost everything I have in the bank for these rare items but the Gypsy I bought them from swears that there is a Frankenstein and The Mummy cartridge in the back of her wagon.

I'd probably be even more ecstatic about these purchases if not for two things:

1) I was able to post some screenshots of the gameplay. My primitive computer won't let me.
2) When I purchased these titles I was bit by the Gypsy's dog, well, it was more like a wolf.

At least she threw in the Invisible Man title for free after that...huh...never noticed how bright the moon is tonight...friends, it seems so very hot here in the vault...Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Box Art Wednesday.

Click the pics to Embiggen!

I've not had the pleasure to play Mr. Do!'s Castle on the Atari 2600 but I can honestly say I had no knowledge of the other two titles existence until this evening.

Doing a little research on the Mr. Do! title it seems that it was ported to almost every system during its time with the likes of ColecoVision, MSX, Atari 5200, and the Commodore 64 to name a few. Gameplay seems to consist of Mr. Do! trying desperately to avoid horned monsters that slightly resemble Unicorns by climbing up and down ladders and when standing above the beasts, using his giant mallet to slam the ceiling down upon them. I've included a video of the gameplay from YouTube below:

I have to say that I absolutely love the music that is in that title, very catchy.

Off the Wall was released in 1989 by Axlon, the game company that Atari founder Nolan Bushnell created after leaving the company, and is basically a breakout clone with a Chinese theme. Players take on the role of Kung Fu Lu as he tries to destroy an evil Dragon that is hiding behind a wall. YouTube has once again come to the rescue:


Finally we have Rescure Terra 1 where you try to combat Space Pirates, Asteroids, Robot Interceptors, and worst of all the galaxies most horrifying force fields...Fish Force Fields! What? Perhaps luckily we have no video of this title from VentureVision...at least we have the box art and advice from it's designer, Dan Oliver.

As always a big thanks to Atari Age for the box art posted above as well as to Highretrogamelord89 for his awesome YouTube videos!

Atari 2600 Surprise!

No, you haven't skipped ahead a day and arrived on Box Art Wednesday, dear reader. As I stated yesterday I had planned on reviewing Dead Rising 2 after I picked it up at my local Gamestop at midnight. However that was not to be. I arrived at the store to pick up my collector's edition to learn that they were delayed and wouldn't arrive until this afternoon. I did get my copy today though so perhaps I'll write up a quick review for a bonus Box Art Wednesday post.

What you see posted above, rather crookedly, thanks to the scanner here at the vault are Atari 2600 titles I purchased today at my local Vintage Stock...still in box and miraculously still containing their instruction manuals. Good friend and loyal reader, Jon B., spotted these as they came into the store and was kind enough to send me an e-mail.

Jon, we here at the Victory Pellet Vault salute you! Expect one of my best Radium Chimps as a present...just keep it away from small children and pregnant women.

Box Art Wednesday.

For today's Box Art Wednesday we are focusing on three games that I've been enjoying on X-Box Live's Arcade. Two of these titles have been reviewed by myself last year...but I'm on low output today so I'll beg you to indulge my laziness for this post.

I've held no secret of my admiration for Dan Kitchen and Steve Cartwright and their amazing work with Activision back in the glory days of the Atari 2600, you can play any of these three titles presented today and find yourself challenged as much as any recent release on the store shelf.

Steve Cartwright (MegaMania, Seaquest, Plaque Attack) programmed both Frostbite and Barnstorming for Activision in 1983. Frostbite has you donning the fur lined shoes of Frostbite Bailey as he attempts to cross ice flows, avoiding various animals that are bent on pushing him into the frigid waters, each successful jump adds one block to his Igloo and he needs to move fast as the temperature is quickly falling.

Barnstorming puts you in the pilot seat of a Biplane as you navigate obstacles in a bid to reach the finish line with the lowest time possible. You must contend with geese, windmills, and flying through a set number of open barn doors.

Crackpots was programmed by Dan Kitchen in 1983 (Ghostbusters) and has you aiding Potsy the rooftop gardener as defends his building from an invading swarm of insects that are dead set on eating the entire building. By dropping potted petunias on the creepy crawlies he is spared watching the insects eating his home one level at a time.

If you find yourself on X-Box Live, look me up in the Arcade, my gamertag is Unicron2005! Thanks as always to Atari Age for the great signed box art pics posted above.

The Girl At The Videogame Store - Parry Gripp

Box Art Wednesday.

It has been an incredibly busy day here at the Victory Pellet Vault and I almost didn't have to time put up this post. So submitted for your enjoyment is the original scanned art for the Atari 2600 Berzerk manual. Evil Otto is looking pretty terrifying in this piece of art.

Pressure - Billy Joel

Box Art Wedneday.

Click on the pics to make 'em Atari 2600 sized!

Check out that awesome Berenstain Bears game, you hooked up a tape player to the console to hear the voices. Speaking of consoles...I'm not sure if that is a 2600...maybe on of your dear readers can clear up this mystery?

May This New Century Be Yours - Trevor Jones

Still Saturday Supercade!

How many times lately have you been saying to yourself, "What I really need now is an Atari 2600 cartridge that is also a flash drive."

Battle for Atlantis!

The Xbox Live Game Room launched last week to varying degrees of acceptance. While I am enthusiastic about being able to play two arcade games I've never even heard of and the joy of revisiting old Intellivision and Atari games...most players are not as impressed as we at the Victory Vault and for quite understandable reasons. At the moment there is about 15 games available for purchase and spread across three systems. Arcade, Atari, and Intellivision titles.

Most players I have talked to are reserving final judgment on the Game Room until more titles come out, which is what is scheduled to occur every week throughout the summer.

The title that I really took a shining to is called Battlantis, short for Battle for Atlantis, though I've found nothing beyond a very short wikipedia entry in terms of background history. It was released to the arcades in 1987 by Konami and seems to have had a sequel but that looks only to have been available in Japan.

In the game you fill the shoes or sandals of Cripeuss the III and attempt to repel the monsters invading your castle. While most sites compare its formula of game play to that of Space Invaders as the main monsters move back and forth firing their spells, spears, and arrows at you before dropping another level you must also be on guard for the monsters that run straight at your parapets and if not stopped they will climb up and strike you down where you stand. In later levels you also have to contend with flying enemies that will try to swarm down and unless you have obtained a power-up that allows you to shoot sideways...it's the end for Cripeuss.

I enjoy this game quite a bit but I'll not fool anyone for this is a very, very tough title. I've only been able to advance to level 4 but at the very least it seems the game is made up of clearly recognizable patterns to the enemy movement. So with time and patience I am sure I'll be able to reach the end...someday.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Oh, adding a new bit starting with today's post. Music of the day. Richard asked what might be playing through the Victory Pellet Vault as I observed my world domination schemes and for that inquisitiveness I promise tomorrow's Box Art Wednesday will be featuring Sega Genesis Titles.

It's Still Rock & Roll To Me

Box Art Wednesday.

Found some odd titles this go around. Bermuda Triangle looks quite promising as does Coconuts, hopefully I might stumble upon these cartridges at a Gamestop or flea market someday.

However, I fear that the real treasure here would be Forest...with it's deadly peril so expertly painted on the box cover, 'Tis a Sirens song that must be answered! Will your trapper lose his life to reptile venom or by the sharp, nay, ripping tusks of the warthog? Is that tree spitting at the trapper? Only playing the game will give the answers.