DoctorSpuds Reviews Things

Rom Hunter would almost certainly know. Might PM him. Or post this in the 2600 forum.

So you concluded it is Base Attack / Z-Tack? I was about to suggest that from a screenshot search, but it didn't look close enough to feel confident about mentioning it. I also realize the screenshot is hand drawn, not a 2600 display but that was somewhat common back then, I've seen a dozen hand drawn VIC-20 screenshots too, more or less alike the actual display.

So you concluded it is Base Attack / Z-Tack? I was about to suggest that from a screenshot search, but it didn't look close enough to feel confident about mentioning it. I also realize the screenshot is hand drawn, not a 2600 display but that was somewhat common back then, I've seen a dozen hand drawn VIC-20 screenshots too, more or less alike the actual display.

 

Both Rom Hunter and I believe that the game is Z-Tack, I PM'd him and that is what he told me. I didn't believe him at first, and did a little investigating if you take a look at my Thunderground review I go into a bit more depth, but he was correct. I still don't know why of all the screenshots to use they used one that depicts a giant red bubble firing at a bunch of giant blue boils on a green hill with a blue sky, since apart from your ship being red in Z-tack the screenshot is not indicative of the game on the cartridge. I don't know where these guys got the screenshot from, considering it wasn't on the original Z-tack packaging I'm led to believe that they drew it themselves or gave a brief description to somebody who'd never actually seen the game before and they drew it.

Now pitch the idea to the developers to make a game that matches the hand drawn screenshot!

Now pitch the idea to the developers to make a game that matches the hand drawn screenshot!

 

How about reverse Missile Command where one (or two) player(s) using a standard joystick control a flying saucer on the top of the screen, if you had a controller splitter of some type you could have two playing saucers, perhaps Paddles could be utilized, removing the vertical movement but allowing for more players and more fluid and reactionary movement. The saucers would be limited to the top quarter of the screen to allow some time for the bombs they drop to reach the cites below. The player who is defending the cites will use a cursor system much like in Missile Command, but with Track-Ball support (because we're not neanderthals) to shoot down the bombs and the saucers. The defender will have to have unlimited ammo to protect the cites while the attackers will have limited ammo, if you're playing with two attackers the ammo is halved, of course there'd be variations where the ammo is limited on both sides, or unlimited on both sides. For extra variations, the control of the attackers would be augmented to either allow for increased or reduced mobility. To reduce unfair deaths on the side of the attackers the defender's would have to be limited in their shots to the top quarter of the screen so that they are unable to fill the area up with missiles, or perhaps remove the blast zone like what's seen in missile command and have them stay as small bullets. I'm not sure how possible it would be but to have a one-player mode where the saucers are controlled by AI would be needed for all those Lonely Larry's, like myself, out there.