(Insert stupid Blog name here)

Wow. Harsh criticism. I'm really curious now, especially since I actually toyed with the idea of NERDS. I think I got suckered in by the box art. Ninja kinda flew under my radar, never even knew it existed. Although a good ninja should always go unnoticed, right?

Actually, some of the criticism in the review will come from the whole notion of suckering people in with the box. If a game is good enough to justify it, that's one thing... but if more effort was spent on making the box than the game itself...

... but if more effort was spent on making the box than the game itself...

 

The very notion?! That would never happen!

Are these games written in Batari-Basic? I never saw any discussion of them on the site before they appeared in the store? I'm curious to read your reviews now as the screenshots don't look *too* bad!

 

Chris

Actually, some of the criticism in the review will come from the whole notion of suckering people in with the box. If a game is good enough to justify it, that's one thing... but if more effort was spent on making the box than the game itself...

Sounds like the "nicely packaged brick" came into life.

 

Please also blame those who buy that, not only those who just feed the market.

I dunno, I kinda like the idea of lousy homebrews. What could be more authentic to the original 2600 experience than sorting through the bulk of titles available hoping to end up with a game you actually like. I remember back in the day it wasn't uncommon to buy games based on box art and screenshots. There was no internet, just magazine reviews. And magazines cost money, money that could be put towards more games. Sometimes stores would have displays that let you play the games but they were usually unstaffed displays with a locked Space Invaders cart in the machine. One store opened up in the mall that advertised "play the games before you buy" which was a big deal back then. You could ask the staff behind the counter to put a specific cart in for you to play on one of the big TVs to get an idea of what the game was like. As I recall that store only lasted about 6 months though.

Are these games written in Batari-Basic? I never saw any discussion of them on the site before they appeared in the store? I'm curious to read your reviews now as the screenshots don't look *too* bad!

There's no mention of batariBASIC in the manuals. I'm not sure if N.E.R.D.S could be done using bB, knowing what little I do about its capabilities, but then again, I wouldn't have guessed Gingerbread Man was done using bB, either. The Last Ninja, on the other hand, seems likely.

 

I'll have more than screenshots when the reviews go up, so you can get a better look.

There's no mention of batariBASIC in the manuals.

IMO they should give proper credits (if done in bBASIC).

 

I'm not sure if N.E.R.D.S could be done using bB...

It looks like bBASIC, but I am no expert here too.

What could be more authentic to the original 2600 experience than sorting through the bulk of titles available hoping to end up with a game you actually like.

Yes, but games in the bargain bins didn't cost $42. More like $4.20. I sure bought more than my fair share of stinkers from the bargain bins, but I also ended up with some really cool ones, like most of my 20th Century Fox titles.

 

One store opened up in the mall that advertised "play the games before you buy" which was a big deal back then. You could ask the staff behind the counter to put a specific cart in for you to play on one of the big TVs to get an idea of what the game was like. As I recall that store only lasted about 6 months though.

We had a local store like that, too. "Video Hut". It was mostly a video rental store, but they cashed in on the video game boom. The guy who worked there was really cool about letting you test out games, since he was into them, too. He even let me return Pac-Man because it was so bad. Ultimately, they were done in by a combination of the crash, Blockbuster killing off the smaller video stores, and the first Toys R Us opening in the north end of Seattle.

I think part of the problem here is that there was little opportunity to try before you buy. If a game is developed publicly, buyers have a chance to try it out in an emulator first. Another problem is that this game was hyped up before release and (already pointed out) that the game is beautifully packaged, almost deceptively so.

 

(You didn't expect me to blame bB, did you? )

(You didn't expect me to blame bB, did you? )

 

It should be possible to create a garbage game in assembler as well, with bB you're just a lot faster

It should be possible to create a garbage game in assembler as well, with bB you're just a lot faster

I think we had this discussion before. And there are (a few) really cool bB games, which wouldn't exist without it.

 

Anyway, all bad games make the good games look even better.

Anyway, all bad games make the good games look even better.

 

Definitely. All the trash games are needed to make us appreciate the highlights even more!

It's interesting reading all of these comments. I didn't expect the comic strip to generate any discussion, but I figured the reviews would (I'm still writing them). Some of what's being mentioned here gets touched on in the reviews, so it'll be interesting to see people's responses.

 

One thing I didn't mention in the reviews is that N.E.R.D.S is an acronym for Nano Emersion Recovery Devices. However, I think they meant "immersion" (immersing into something) rather than "emersion" (emerging from something). But I guess when you're trying to force an acronym to happen, you can't be too choosey. It makes me wonder though, if they had the idea for the title, and made a game for it, or made the game, and then the title. Personally, I would have gone with Tragically Underprepared Ridiculous Drones, instead. They probably would have earned an extra point in the review, just for being funny.