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-^CrossBow^-

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  1. -^CrossBow^-
    Been doing a few composite AV mods on client intellivisions. Though I would video the process I go through for doing a capacitor replacement. I'm working on trying to get the videos down to be more watchable in smaller amounts of time but perhaps too much compression on time is used in this video?
     
    Big special thanks to Adan Toledo for his permission to feature some of his music from the CollectorVision homebrew release of Sydney Hunter & the Sacred Tribe for the Intellivision!
     
    - Order your official OSTs for Sydney Hunter and Mecha 8 from Adan himself here: http://adan.eu5.net/europe.html
    - Order your copy of Sydney Hunter & the Sacred Tribe plus other homebrews from CollectorVision here: http://collectorvision.com/
     
    Comments always welcome and much appreciated!
     

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  2. -^CrossBow^-
    Replaced the original 7805 regulators from my atari 5200 recently and installed a pair of DC/DC switching converters in their place. In this video I show the power measurements from the original 7805 and from the DC/DC converters. Next up with be the Intellivision once I get additional parts in.


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  3. -^CrossBow^-
    Replaced the original 7805 regulators from my atari 5200 recently and installed a pair of DC/DC switching converters in their place. In this video I show the power measurements from the original 7805 and from the DC/DC converters. Next up with be the Intellivision once I get additional parts in.


    View the full article

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  4. -^CrossBow^-
    This was my first review I did for a video game. It was done several years ago now and was and still is originally hosted at the now defunt musuem known as Jose Q's Emuviews. Grab something to drink and get comfortable. My reviews were and still are quite the read.
     
    Title = Starmaster
    Platform = Atari 2600
    Genre = Shooter (early Space/Sim)
    Released = 1982
    Players = 1
    ---------------------
    1982 was a good year to be the proud owner of an Atari 2600 VCS system. Atari made several releases that year made possible by such previous successes as Space Invaders, Defender and even the bane of all conversions…Pac man. However, Atari weren’t the only ones making games for the VCS at that time. Another company comprised of basically ticked off former Atari game programmers decided that they could do things better. Hence the company Activision was born. Activision made many great games of which some were fresh new innovative games…while some were simply remakes of previous Atari ideas and releases. The game Starmaster fits into this second category of game types. Which borrowed the ideas from an already existing Atari release called Star Raiders.
     
    Starmaster’s basic story is an old one that has been done time and time again. Basically you are the lone fighter piloting your starfighter against the enemy starfighters in order to protect starbases in your home galaxy. Again, nothing new as far as story is concerned but the action is what counts after all right? So how does Starmaster hold up? Well before I get to in-depth with this review please remember that you the reader must remember the age at which these games were released. With that said…let us take to the stars in finding out what Starmaster is about and how much interest it can really hold.
     
    Starmaster places you in the cockpit of your starfighter, therefore all the action takes place from a first person perspective. You warp from sector to sector blasting away the baddies at each sector. Deciding which sector to navigate to is accomplished with the aid of your Galactic Chart, which shows you all your starbases and enemy locations in the galaxy. You then warp to any sector shown to contain enemy ships to engage in battle. The neat thing about all this is that the game is semi strategic in where you decide to warp to as a number of factors come into play in your decisions. For one you have an energy reserve which ticks down anytime you warp, fire you laser cannon, get hit by enemy fire, and hitting meteors during the warp sequence. Also you have to watch the Galactic Chart to make sure none of your starbases become surrounded and overrun by enemy starfighters. If they do…Boom to you and yours on that starbase. The game ends when your energy runs out or you last starbase is destroyed. In addition to your energy reserves running down, you can also sustain hits to your ship damaging certain components like radar, laser cannon, warp engines, and shields. In order to repair these components you must warp to a neighboring starbase sector and dock with the starbase to return to battle once again. All of these elements combine to make for a really satisfying game.



    The graphics in Starmaster are typical of Activision during this time. Which means to say that for the most part the graphics are really decent on the VCS hardware. There are a few beefs that I have with graphics in this game which I feel could have been improved upon easily. For one all the enemy starfighters look alike. No variety in ship design or movement. Once you have a method for taking down one you have the knowledge to kill them all. Also our starfighter shoots laser beams whereas the enemy shoots fireballs. These fireballs look just like the meteors you have to dodge in the warp sequence. But there are a lot of other areas where the graphics are quite good. For one the warp effect is convincing and the stars move like a nice episode of classic Star Trek. The starbases also look good during the docking stage. The Galactic map isn’t much in graphics…but it is functional and it is easy to discern between enemy and starbase. Also the Galactic map will show you how many enemy fighters there are in the sectors, which makes the decision factor easier when deciding where the greatest threat lies. All in all the graphics kick the crap outta Atari’s Star Raiders.
     
    The sound is also good considering the VCS capabilities. Everything has a distinctive sound and seems to fit properly within the scope of the action. There are warning Klaxons alerting you to damage or when your reserves get low. When any of your starbases is destroyed you will know, as you will hear an explosion alerting you to the demise regardless of where you are in the galaxy. The play control is where this game really takes off past Atari’s Star Raiders. Raiders required a separate keypad controller. This controller usually came with the game, however it drove the price of the game up originally. Atari could have learned a lesson from watching how Activision dealt with the multiple screen views. In Starmaster you use the BW/Color switch on the VCS to select between the Galactic Chart and your ship view. This method of screen switching eliminates the need for an extra controller making Starmaster avail to everyone who had a joystick controller to be able to play this gem.
     
    Replay is hard to say on this one. Starmaster’s lower levels of difficulty are not that difficult at all. But attaining the rank of Supreme Starmaster requires some quick reflexes and even more efficient planning on your decisions of where to warp when. Plus the final score you achieve is based on how long you take, plus deductions for starbase dockings to repair. Also major deductions for losing starbases of course. All in all I find Starmaster to be extremely fun and very replayable but mileage will vary on this.



    Starmaster was created to directly compete against Atari’s flagship starfighter game Star Raiders. Does Starmaster pull this off? I would say it most definitely does! The decision of utilizing the BW/Color switch was a wise move on Activision’s part. Also unlike Star Raiders, I have always been impressed with the fact that I know exactly how many punks are waiting at the next sector for me instead of warping in and finding out I may be way in over my head. Starmaster’s ability to have your components get individually damaged rather than having a simple one hit and your dead attitude makes the gameplay far more interesting at times. The adrenaline pumps when your down to less than a thousand energy units…and your lasers, shield, and radar have been knocked out as you desperately hide from those meteors and slip past the enemy shots on your way to that last surrounded starbase. Doesn’t get much better than that people. If you ever happen to find this one at your local Thrift store or pawnshop or whatever, grab it and get the instructions on how to play from the web. You won’t be disappointed.
    ---------------------
    Graphics = 6 (Nice variety of screens, but enemies all look alike and few colors used)
    Sound = 8 (I still stand by this score on sound. Everything sounds like you would expect and the explosions are nice!)
    Controls = 8 (Controlling the ship is nice and tight, but using the console for switching screens might be considered tedious to some)
    Challenge = 9 (You really have to know how to navigate quickly and be a dead aim to score the maximum Starmaster level on this game)
    Replay = 7 (Nothing really changes much from game to game, but you always strive to do better and maximize that score)
     
    Overall -^CB^- grade = 7 (Worth buying but it won't be on everyone's favorite list)
  5. -^CrossBow^-

    Atari 7800: Crossbow

    By -^CrossBow^-,

    Another of my older reviews that I apparently never posted here to AtariAge. This was originally posted and still to be found over at Jose Q's Emuviews website, this review is of one of the many games that made me want the Atari 7800 back in the day and is one of the elements related to video games in my life to help create my online alias today. I present to you my original review of the Atari 7800 arcade port of Crossbow!
     
    Title = Crossbow
    Platform = Atari 7800 ProSystem
    Genre = Shooter (Can use a lightgun!)
    Released = 1987
    Players = 1 
    ---------------------
     
    When Atari released their 7800 Pro System, they promised to the masses true arcade quality and sound for the home. Several conversions on the 7800 live up to this claim. One such game is a personal favorite of mine. That game is none other than Crossbow…
    You and a band of your trustworthy friends set out on a trek across dangerous landscapes and adventure to seek out and destroy an evil wizard who has stolen all the treasure of the land and claimed himself ruler. So begets the story behind this masterpiece. The graphics, sound, and game play were excellent on the arcade. So how does this console conversion stack up? Let’s get to it…
     
    The basic idea behind the game is that you take the role of protector to your “friends”. You choose the scenes by shooting at colored boxes on the bottom of a map screen. Depending on which colored block you shoot after which scene will depend on where you go next. Then a scene will appear where your friends will walk across the screen one at a time, (usually...). As they walk across the different scenes, they will face dangers such as bats, flying lava, arrows, lightning…etc. It is your job to prevent your friends from perishing by shooting those items which threaten your friends’ survival. Sometimes it will be necessary to shoot at some objects in order for your friends to even cross the scene. This only sounds easy until you start to get to some of the more difficult levels where so much is happening all at once. The archers at the drawbridge are good example of this; all those little thin arrows can be hard to take down at once.
    The graphics in Crossbow are some of the best I have seen in any Atari system of the time. Although not really listed on the cart...the game is considered a Super Game class for the 7800. Almost all the scenes are created exactly as the arcade version in every detail. The resolution isn't up to the arcade version but we are talking about a console version here. However, all the animations from the arcade are included in the 7800 version. About the only scenes which do not look quite up to par with the arcade are the river bridge scene and the statue room just before the final boss. Although in my opinion, the final boss scene looks better than the arcade version if that is possible.
     

     
    The play control in this game was originally to be used with the light gun accessory which was for sale separately. Crossbow on the other hand can be used with either the light gun or the joystick controller. I must admit that I have never played this version with the light gun. But I am pleased to say that even with joystick controllers, I find the game is more than responsive and doesn't really require the light gun. I would imagine that with the gun the feel of the game would more closely match the actual arcade feel. But again, I do not feel that a player needs the light gun to enjoy the game thoroughly.
     

     
    The sound is the only blemish on the surface of this game. Since the 7800 basically uses the same sound as the 2600…the sound basically “bytes” in most games on the 7800 or sound exactly like the 2600 as the 7800 version of Crossbow does not use a separate Pokey sound chip in it. But I am pleased to tell you that it certainly makes very good use of what it does use. There isn’t any music but that isn’t to say this is a bad thing. Music in a game like this would distract you from what is most important, which is the sound of the critters that come after you. Each creature or object on the screen that poses a danger to your friends has a separate sound to go with it making it easier to know what’s coming. Some sounds may be repeated for different things in the game, but they aren’t repeated within the same scene.
     

     
    But all this sounds like a good game. Is Crossbow a good game? I believe it is. If you’re into the shooters of that era (think Operation Wolf), then this game certainly fits within as being a fairly unique title. The game play is very smooth although sometimes you feel as if it is taking forever for your friends to cross the screens. The challenge is also an area where the game will be a mixed bag to players. For me I find that it isn’t all that difficult once I have played it for a while. I have so far been able to defeat the wizard at the end a total of about 4 times in a row. But I own this cart and have played it quite a bit. There are some monsters which always come from the same side of the screen and roughly at the same intervals. That makes prediction an easy thing on some scenes. On others however, things can be random and change in their attack speed. The Jungle scene frequently will get me from time to time on that.
    Over all I would say that the 7800 version of Crossbow is favorite console conversion of the title I've played. Overall, if you can find this game anywhere! You should grab it and perhaps pay the premium they may ask. I still feel the game is worth the $40 or so that was spent to get it back in 88. I hope you find it to be the same for you.
    ---------------------
    Graphics = 10 (For the Atari 7800 it is a very detailed game with all scenes from the arcade presented intact)
    Sound = 9 (It is the standard TIA sound but the use of different sounds for each enemy is quite nice)
    Controls = 7 (I find the joystick controls to be more than playable, though a light gun might give better control)
    Challenge = 8 (The game has a lot of enemies that can attack your friends, learning the enemy and sounds is a must)
    Replay = 6 (Once you know the most direct path to the castle and learn the enemy patterns, there isn't much to come back to other that higher scores)
     
    Overall -^CB^- grade = 8 (Another solid 7800 arcade port faithfully brought home!)
  7. -^CrossBow^-
    I've seen something similar to this before although not in the way I was seeing with a recent 4 switch console I was servicing. As part of diagnostics I will use Paul Slocum's excellent Test Cart program as it should some primary colors, shows the current state of all switches minus power of course, but also has a basic graphical view of each controller and small block on the bottom that will move left/right when you plug in paddles to test those too. So all in all a nice utility to know that all controller functions are working properly on the console.
    Well, on this one, player 1, player 2, and player 4 paddle controls would move from left to right and back turning the paddle as you would expect. But player 3 paddle control would just site on the left side, and then after a point when turning the paddle, it would suddenly just be on the right. No movement of any kind. Just one sec on the left, and then next thing you know it is on the right. So it was acting more like a digital control vs analog. It wasn't the paddles since I used the same set to test player 1 and 2 and that was working fine.
    Going through the service manual will yield some interesting stuff to help isolate this, but unless you have the diagnostic controller plugs and the 2.6 diagnostic rom, you aren't going to be able to see exactly what you need to see. But lets review that..
    If you have the diagnostic plugs, plugged into the controller ports and the diagnostic rom up and running with the controller matrix screen up. Then you use an Oscilliscope to probe the paddle lines off the TIA pins 37,38,39, and 40. They represent player 4, 3, 2, and then player 1 on pin 40. Well, what you should see on your scope if you have it set to the right settings, is something like the picture below from the service manual:

     
    However, when I probed pin 38 that is for the player 3 paddle line. I was getting a flat line. Well, actually I was showing a flat line of about 1v but the point is...not pulse like you see in those pictures. (And btw...I was seeing that same pulse line on my o'scope for the other paddles). 
    Well honestly there isn't much in the way of electronics from the controller port to the TIA where the paddles are read and handled. In fact, there is really only 1...just 1 component in the middle of the mix from the controller port to TIA. At least on the 4 switch and above units this is the case. That one component is usually a small ceramic disc, or poly capacitor that doesn't usually go bad. So I first checked that the traces from pin 5 of the player 2 controller port to that cap (C220) was good. It was, and then checked from the cap to pin 38 of the TIA. That too pinged out good. So I went ahead and replaced the capacitor just to see if anything changed. Sadly.... no.
    What did fix it?
    Well, if you've gotten this far and read my description of the very simple circuit from port to TIA... it should come as no surprise that is was the TIA itself. This is even more sad considering how rare these IC chips are now becoming and there isn't any projects I'm aware of to make new ones or something to replace the TIA. 
    But yeah... if you find the paddle lines aren't working, chances are that it is the TIA chip itself that has failed if the actual traces are good. Apparently this was less of an issue with earlier 2600s as they used buffer ICs to help control this and therefore the TIA was more protected. Just more cost cutting at work as the console lived on...
     
     
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  8. -^CrossBow^-
    As some might know by now, I've got an MT-200 that I picked up over a month ago now. Really cool little device from Roland that was originally intended for use in teaching music. But these devices have the ability to play back midi files through built in disk drives that use IBM formatted 3.5 inch disks. They can also be used as sound modules and with modern day computers can still be made to be used with ScummVM and Dosbox for classic gaming. Anyway I was getting frustrated with my disks seeming to work one day and then a week later suddenly given me read errors. So I read up on using one of these cheap Gotek floppy emulators into mine. But information on actually making one work with my MT-200 wasn't to be found. I did find Gotek's pre-configured to work with devices like my Roland MT-200 and its variants on eBay, but at $80 + shipping that seemed crazy to me. So I bought a generic Gotek with the intention of figuring out how to make it work in my Roland MT-200.

    I was quite successful and it turned out to be MUCH easier than I thought it would be. I did a video last week on the process of which jumpers are needed, the installation, and the software I found to make it all work in my Roland MT-200. I now share this knowledge in my recently released YT video so that you don't have to pay those crazy prices on eBay either and can hopefully find this useful:


  9. -^CrossBow^-
    I am only a hobbyist and NOT an electrical engineer. As such I'm sure my terminology and explanations of things will be off or perhaps completely wrong. As such, please let me know in comments on such mistakes as it helps me and all others who might view this video to learn.

    With that, this is my basic intro to my BK 1474 O'scope that I got some time ago and some ways it can be used. This video is only meant for fun and not as instructional as most of my other videos are. Enjoy!



  10. -^CrossBow^-
    Been doing a few composite AV mods on client intellivisions. Though I would video the process I go through for doing a capacitor replacement. I'm working on trying to get the videos down to be more watchable in smaller amounts of time but perhaps too much compression on time is used in this video?
     
    Big special thanks to Adan Toledo for his permission to feature some of his music from the CollectorVision homebrew release of Sydney Hunter & the Sacred Tribe for the Intellivision!
     
    - Order your official OSTs for Sydney Hunter and Mecha 8 from Adan himself here: http://adan.eu5.net/europe.html
    - Order your copy of Sydney Hunter & the Sacred Tribe plus other homebrews from CollectorVision here: http://collectorvision.com/
     
    Comments always welcome and much appreciated!
     

  12. -^CrossBow^-
    So the other night I tackled a hardware upgrade that I had seen mentioned in a youtube video that seemed really interesting. It was a video where a another retro gamer and hardware modder was showing his latest modification using a Yamaha 3438 discreet synth chip to produce the music and sounds in place of the stock Yamaha 2612 that came with the model 1 genesis units. The advantage of doing this was that the 3438 was essentially pin compatible but featured a true 8-bit DAC within it and better overall stereo separation and some improved instrumentation. In fact I've heard that the yamaha 3438 was used in Sega's arcade machines BITD. The video had music samples at the end to demonstrate the enhanced audio and clarity and it was pretty amazing! You also have to realize that wile the 3438 is essentially pin campatible, it does use different timings and logic from the 2612 that prevent it from being a drop in replacement. So to make it work you have to piggy back it off the 2612 in a way that the 2612 handles the timing and logic of the music passing it to the 3438 to produce the actual music and sound. Also the model 2 Genesis and variants from that, use the 3438 synth embedded in the logic of the all in one Sega ASIC that came about in these machines. So technically, the model 2 and above variants should have the benefits of the 3438 already, but due to very poor audio amp and mixing circuits in those variants of the genesis...it sounds worse than the 2612s used in the original model 1 HDG Genesis systems.

    So we fast forward about a year from my viewing all of this and I decide to give this a try for myself on my AV modded Genesis 1. I purchased the 3438 (A pair of them actually since you can always get two for twice the price...), the resistors and caps needed to perform the mod. And near as I can tell, I was successful in doing this on my Genesis va3. I've been making quite a few sound sample recordings of my own directly from my gensis's RCA ports I added to it. The audio is really clear on many of the instruments and especially noticeable on drums. But, there were also quite a few games that took advantage of the semi flawed original 2612's architecture to make the games sound the way they did that is lost in the process. For me the biggest change is that some instruments now come out way stronger and too loud compared to the other voices on many songs. In many cases this actually sounds better but in others it sounds off because those voices weren't as noticeable before and hence might have had odd audio tricks they were using that blended well originally, but now stand out way too much.

    The two games I've tested so far that have had the largest negative impact with this mod, has been with some music from Steets of Rage 2 and several tracks from Gunstar Heroes. However, the SOR2 tracks that seem affected by the changes, do NOT appear to actually play in the game themselves? I hadn't noticed this before because the audio was essentially the same. Now that I know what tracks sound off (Because you can really tell when you hear them), it was interesting to me that I never actually heard them in a play through of the game itself? I assume these music tracks were unused tracks and perhaps this is the reason for them sounding off. I don't know. I will try and get the SOR2 tracks I did and the Gunstar Heroes tracks upped to youtube when I can hopefully tonight.

    In the meantime, most tracks sound pretty amazing and it is more interesting to think what might have happened had the Genesis been released with this synth driving it. I think the audio comparisons between the Genesis and SNES would have been...a bit more balanced and less critical of the Genesis all the time in reviews BITD.

    Take a listen for yourself and see:

    Theme from Toejam and Earl 2 on the Genesis through the 3438 synth:



    Here is a song that sounds better than it did originally but the main bass note is a different instrument so it sounds perhaps a bit off: Also from Toejam and Earl 2 on the Genesis through the 3438.


    And then you have a great example of how much clearer the drums and stereo separation is with this wonderous Synth. This is from the unreleased game ResQ - Level 5 music composed by the great Matt Furniss. (I think he knew how to make a Genesis play FM music better than anyone!)
  13. -^CrossBow^-
    Just did a capacitor replacement on my Atari Lynx model 2 this weekend. One of my two units was suffering from some nasty audio clipping, distortion and overall low volume. The camera was on a lower quality shooting mode and I did realize until I was done with the filming. I apologize for that but you can still make out enough to get see the overall process and results afterwards.
     

     
  20. -^CrossBow^-
    Another of my older reviews, one of my first in fact. Again originally and still posted over at Jose Q's Emuviews website, this review was more of a comparison between the arcade and 7800 version of Ms. Pac-Man. It was to demonstrate how close the 7800 port of this game is to its arcade parent. The 7800 version is considered to be one of the best ports of the arcade brought to a home console. I've updated the review in a few places but it appears largely as it was when originally posted.
     
    Title = Ms. Pac-Man
    Platform = Atari 7800 ProSystem
    Genre = Maze Runner
    Released = 1984
    Players = 1 - 2
    ---------------------
    This little pink bowed wonder has managed to get herself ported to just about every console and system ever made. And while the arcade is still the best and cannot replaced, there is a conversion done to a home console that does justice to this classic coin op. The Atari 7800 ProSystem’s version of Ms. Pac-Man once again shows just how close Atari could have come to taking back the market if not for bad timing and poor marketing. This review is not meant to be a review on the game itself. Rather, this review will measure how well the 7800 conversion is to the arcade original. So sit down, relax, get a cool drink and let’s get to it.
     
    I have to admit that I didn’t have high hopes for the 7800 version at all when I first heard about there being a Ms. Pac-Man for the ProSystem. After all, the specs on the cart itself didn’t appear to be all that different from the 2600 version. So I was truly amazed at what I saw when I first fired up my 7800 and saw the title screen. Yes! A true blinking light marquee displaying the names of the ghosts as they wonder in from the lower right followed at the end by the lady of the hour herself. The title screen is worth mentioning because Atari actually recreated the title screen faithfully. I mean, instead of plain “Ms. Pac-Man” in text, they actually put in the fancy logo from the cabinet in there. Pretty cool to see and was a complete surprise to me. The graphics in Ms. Pac-Man are okay but certainly not anything that taxes the 7800’s Maria chip to any real depth. However, Atari has recreated the mazes accurately to the arcade such that the colors and layout are pretty much dead on. The fruits and bonuses are present and even bounce as they should, they even appear to follow the same patterns as the arcade. The only problem fans of the arcade will have with the graphics are that the overall perspective of the game is “squashed” from the arcade in order to fit the mazes for standard TV resolutions. Also perhaps due to the same squashing effect, the ghosts appear a little on the rotund side. There is also noticeable jagged effect to graphics. This is really noticeable on the maze boundaries. But the intermissions have been included as they should be. All the mazes appear to be in the 7800 version and even do the randomizing after the last one has been completed.



    The sound is one area I was actually quite impressed about. The 7800 version of Ms. Pac-Man does not use any special chips to create the sound just standard 2600 TIA. So I was more than impressed when I actually heard the starting theme accurately played when I began the game! Even the background siren noise is present. The sounds are a tad off compared to the original but still the fact they are all there is interesting. Even the “Gulp” when eating the fruit is here!
     
    The control in the 7800 version still can’t replace the original stick of the arcade but the Proline joysticks do well in this arena. I imagine any good controllers that can SELF CENTER would be fine for this game. I use the prolines that came with my 7800 and do okay. But then I’m not very good at the original to begin with. My recommendation is to use a controller your most comfortable with. I do however; have a few problems in the way of the control. To me it seems as though the 7800 version lags a tad in response. Sometimes I will want to go up and Ms. Pac-Man has other ideas and instead takes the next available up and not the one I wanted. But then again, my controllers are original with my 7800 so they may be a bit worn. I also feel that this version of Ms. Pac-Man will be found to be easier than the arcade. For one the play speed is upped for Ms. Pac-Man but the ghosts seem to start off slower than the arcade. Also with the screen being squashed it is easier to see the whole playfield at once and watch all the ghosts. There are some differences in the gameplay, the biggest being that the ghosts do not follow the same exact patterns as they do in the arcade. In addition, though I never paid that much attention while playing, I've read the biggest change is that the ghosts in the 7800 version will reverse direction at any time, rather than when a certain number of dots have been eaten or so much time gone by…etc. Again, I can't notice this since I'm too busy trying to stay alive to count how many dots I've eaten or how many seconds have gone by but this could make it more difficult to line up the ghosts for the power pills to finish them off as well as predicting where the ghosts will go when.



    Overall the 7800 version of Ms. Pac-Man would make a fine addition for anyone to add to their 7800 library, especially if they are fans of the Pac-Man games. All the elements of the arcade classic have been recreated in true fashion for the 7800 console. The mazes, fruit, sound, intermissions, and even the blinking marquee for the title screen are all present. For most game players and collectors, this is as close as you can get to the arcade version to play at home on your Atari. As a first for me, I am going to provide screenshots of the 7800 version next to the arcade of the same scenes to better compare the two with visually.
    ---------------------
    Graphics = 7 (Everything is present but some colors are a bit too pastel and the ghosts still lack detail)
    Sound = 9 (For TIA sound it is great! Everything is present effects wise though a bit off from the arcade)
    Controls = 7 (Control is good for the most part, but it seems to lag and get caught on some walls)
    Challenge = 8 (Starts off with you faster than them, then once getting past a few mazes it evens out very well)
    Replay = 9 (This is Ms. Pac-Man, you always want to come back and get another maze further than before!)
     
    Overall -^CB^- grade = 8 (Another solid 7800 arcade port faithfully brought home!)
  21. -^CrossBow^-
    Another of my older reviews hosted from Jose Q's Emuviews website. This time I delve into the one game that made me want an Intelly in the first place! Had I known that a game like Microsurgeon existed originally back in the day, I might have wanted the Intellivision much earlier in my life than the late 90s...hehe.
     
    Title = Microsurgeon
    Platform = Intellivision
    Genre = ?Shooter/Simulation?
    Released = 1982
    Players = 1
    ---------------------
    Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be able to go inside your own body and see first hand what is usually only visible in microscopes? Fantastic Voyage was a 1960's movie based on this very concept in that a prominent man suffers from an inoperable head trauma. Several games in the early 80's have tried to recreate the feel of this movie including one made by 20th Century Fox for the Atari 2600 VCS named after the above mentioned movie. The problem is that while the 2600 game is a good shooter in it's own right; it just doesn't capture the feel of being inside a human body trying to fight off foreign invaders. Thankfully one game does. And astonishingly it isn't an Atari game but one for a competitor system known as the Intellivision made by Mattel Electronics. That game is known as Microsurgeon programmed and published by the masters at Imagic.
     
    While Microsurgeon isn't really like the movie Fantastic Voyage, there are many similarities in the game. Instead of controlling a small submarine piloted by some inept scientists playing doctor, we actually pilot a small robot. Also in the movie the main goal for the scientists was to zap away some dead tissue in the brain of the man they were in to save his life. In Microsurgeon you have more than dead tissue in the brain to worry about. In fact there are tumors in the brain that have to be zapped, in the lungs there are tar deposits which must be destroyed, the entire body suffers from clogged veins and arteries due to cholesterol and infection in the organs. In short when you start up a game of Microsurgeon you could be given a patient that has problems in just about every major organ in their body. Piloting the robot around destroying the infections, clogs, tumors and other maladies is the ultimate challenge and goal of the game. To accomplish this task your robot is given the ability of not using a laser beam or any other fancy ray but instead, your robot is able to administer shots of antibiotics, aspirin, and even waves of ultrasound to eliminate the bodily invaders. Luckily the game really lets you explore the body since you basically don't have any onscreen enemies that harm your robot directly other than time and an energy reserve that you're given.



    The graphics in Microsurgeon aren't exactly a Di Vinci masterpiece, but they get the job done extremely well. The game basically plays from a 3rd person perspective in that you are constantly looking at your robot "blip" on a large map of the patient's body. It basically looks like one of those pictures from you biology book in high school showing a cutaway of the human body with the arteries, bones, organs, etc exposed. Picture that you and get a good idea of what the playfield looks like in Microsurgeon. The graphics are blocky and the colors are everywhere. But the details that Imagic put in make up for this. Basically there is an eyeball and the pupil will dilate and contract. In the brain there are little sparks showing neuron synaptic action going on. Also many of the organs in the screen are easily identified such as the lungs and heart area. However, it must also be stated that many of the areas in the game representing the organs of the body are difficult to tell the difference between as they look nothing like the pictures in out science books. I still have a difficult time discerning when I leave the Intestines and the Kidney s begin. To assist in this the game has a separate Patient Status screen you can refer to for information on your current location, the patient's status in the various parts of the body, and your current energy reserve level. This screen proves to be very useful for both knowing when you enter a particular part of the body and for letting you know where your help is needed most. The enemies you destroy representing the infections, pain, and other problems in the body look cheesy except for the graphics used for the tumors. Basically most of the stuff either looks like dark spots on the organs as in the tar deposits or like small bugs, which are used to represent the infections and pain traveling in the body. Imagic could have kept the little moving legs off of these items and instead used green blobs for infections and maybe a rogue spark traveling around to represent pain. The sounds in the game are nothing spectacular but they are what I would call clean and useful sounds. Basically there is zero music anywhere in the game, which makes sense, since your operating on a body using a robot as your scalpel. Sounds are therefore, mainly ambient. Some of the nice touches to the sound include things such as the sound of rushing air whenever you're in the lungs. The sound actually grows louder and then fades out to simulate the patient's breathing. Also as you near the heart and actually go into the heart the sound of the thumping gets louder and louder, and then it too will fade out as you pilot your robot away from the heart. There is one sound that while useful is also annoying. This is the sound of the heart monitor in the background that is constantly pinging. This sound lets you know when you have to get moving on the more serious parts of the body as the patient can flat line on you. The closer the patient is to perishing the faster the ping will become. There are also sound effects for when you administer you shots and explosion sounds when you destroy tumors, bacteria, or deposits in the body.



    Intellivision games are notorious for having only so-so control. This usually isn't any fault of the game but actually the design of the Intellivision disc pad controllers. Thankfully Microsurgeon actually benefits from this awkward control scheme in that it allow a person playing to have much better control over their shots and direction. This is important because the longer you take to navigate and the more shots you use to knock out tumors...etc takes up precious energy needed to heal the patient. Also finite control will be required to navigate the many twists and turns of the arteries and veins you use as your expressways to the organs. Your robot moves much quicker will less energy taken up when traveling through the blood stream. Shots are administered by first selecting which shot you want to shoot. Using the Intellivision's keypad accomplishes this easy enough. The keypad is also used for switching between the patient status screen and your inside body view screen. Control for the most part is very presise and fluid. However, sometimes your robot seems to get stuck on the edges of the blood vessels. Minor annoyance but it does occur.
     
    Microsurgeon really is a game that no Intellivision fan should be without. Imagic demonstrates once again their excellence in games with the solid game play, useful sounds, and tasteful detailed graphics in their games. If you ever feel the need to wander around a human body and kick the crap outta bodily foreign invaders, then Microsurgeon is the prescription this doctor prescribes.
    ---------------------
    Graphics = 8 (You're inside a body and....you can tell!)
    Sound = 6 (Sound is very sparce, but what is there does what it needs to)
    Controls = 9 (This game was made for the Intelly controller!)
    Challenge = 9 (The easy level is too easy but anything afterwards is a very good challenge)
    Replay = 9 (Game plays different each time and the more difficult levels will keep you coming back)
     
    Overall -^CB^- grade = 8 (One of the Intellivision's Best titles!)
  22. -^CrossBow^-
    My first Wii review and like the rest of my reviews, it is very wordy. Not sure if that is a good or bad thing? Anyway, here is my take on the game which, has changed a tad since my first initial review on the game I made last month. Sorry for the pics, I took them with my digital and it doesn't like my CRT HDTV too much.
     
    Title = Dewy's Adventure
    Platform = Nintendo Wii
    Genre = Platform (Tilt mechanic)
    Released = 2007
    Players = 1 - 4
    ---------------------
    First for those that don't know, the game was made by the same creators who brought us Elebits. The cartoon drawing cutscenes at the beginning and such mimic the look of that used in Elebits. I think some of the same annoying voice actors were brought back as well... In the game we take on the role of a magical dew drop by the name of Dewy. Dewy has been created and brought down to rid the land of the ominous black rain and the evil Don Hedron to restore beauty and purity to the world.
     
    The game is more or less a platformer but with a marble madness twist. You see, controlling Dewy is done by tilting the Wii remote, which in turn tilts the gameworld Dewy is navigating like a giant labyrinth. The tilting naturally causes Dewy to move towards the direction in which you tilt. Tilt just a little and Dewy will wiggle slowly in the direction you're tilting. Tilt more and Dewy naturally moves a bit faster and requires more time to stop and turn. Dewy doesn't just slide around all over however, he does have some powers. Powers that are required to navigate the worlds he explores such as the ability to change the surrounding temperature. Selecting it to be cold will cause Dewy to form into Ice Dewy. As ice you have the ability to slide over frozen ponds and deal out more damaging attacks. Some enemies even get frozen when freezing the area allowing you a few seconds of time to attack them first without fear of damage. You can also increase the temperature, which in turn will cause Dewy to form into Mist Dewy or cloud. As a cloud Dewy can then target and unleash a powerful lightning bolt capable of killing lesser enemies in one hit and stunning most others for a few seconds. However, in cloud form Dewy cannot move about the world unless acted upon by wind currents. You also shake the Wii remote while playing to cause earthquakes and windy gusts to blow about. These are used for some of the puzzle elements of getting past some barriers in the various worlds. Finally, Dewy can and must jump around sometimes to reach higher ledges and areas in each level to get about to the stage goal.



    A typical level will begin with Dewy in standard water mode dropping in at the beginning of the level. You then slide about defeating enemies wtih the various attacks and locating your buddies who have been held captive. Freeing your buddies will unlock areas in the game such as character galleries, music, and photographs...yeap...photos...a bit on that later. Some areas of a level will require you to defeat all the enemies before the barrier will lower or platforms appear or mystery boxes containing keys, and health items to appear. Some of the levels even contain a mid level boss before completing the stage. Some of the pathways in a level are obvious and can be easily seen. In fact the main pathway through a level will have arrow signs and markers telling you which direction to go. Some will require careful observation and listening to know where some of your buddies are located on platforms you can't quite see. In these cases you either have to find an alternate route to reach them, or look for something in the enviroment that might help you get across large gaps. For indeed, Dewy in all of his power can fall off the ledges of the world and lose a health drop in the process. Falling into ponds and getting hit by the baddies will also cause Dewy to lose health.
     
    Graphically, this is a pretty impressive game. I've already seen some things in this game that give me a pretty close idea of what to expect Super Mario Galaxy to look like. There are lots of bright vibrant colors throughout each stage with each of the stages being themed from something like jungles, icy tundras...etc. There are lots of glittery particle effects and the animation present on Dewy and the enemies is very smooth. The game appears to run at about 30 frames but it isn't so fast paced that it requires anything more. Aliasing is still present though and even on my 30inch HDTV it isn't much of a bother or noticable in most places to me. The backgrounds are the only disappointment here. In the videos of the game shown prior to release it looked as if the backgrounds were also 3D and were using the depth of field blur effect. In reality the backgrounds come in and out during the level as you play. This is a cool effect, but gets killed by the fact that once a part of the level goes into the background and blurs it shows heavy pixelation and artifacting as if they were zoomed in jpegs. Even with this, Dewy and all the other characters have excellent shading and texturing on them. The textures and bump mapping are especially impressive on the bosses. All in all, Dewy's Adventure is one of the prettiest games I've seen on the Wii.
     
    In the area of sound, the game seems to be locked in Dolby Pro Logic II mode and the options do not give you the choice to change between mono, stereo, or dolby as most other games do. I can therefore only assume the game is already in Dolby Pro II mode since the logo is prominent on the disc case. You can adjust the sound volume of the effects, music etc individually if needed, which is nice. There aren't any options to change the display. As a result Dewy's adventure seems to fix the display mode based on what your Wii is set to. Since my Wii is set to widescreen 16:9 and 480P Dewy's Adventure is also showing up in this mode by default. You can also adjust the tilt sensitivity in the options between low, medium and high. To be fair though, I found the medium setting (Default) to be the best thus far.



    There is also some limited multiplayer in the game. You can edit and create custom levels on which to have up to four players play at once against each other in 4-way split screens on one TV. You can also send created and edited levels to friends using Wii-Connect24. However Wi-Fi multiplayer is not an option. The game also has both the basic story mode doing each level one by one to complete the story and unlock everything, or you can select the Goody mode. This is the mode required for multiplayer games and level editing. There is also some single player levels offering different challenges such as racing against the clock, collecting stars, and defeating all the enemies in set amount of time. These other game modes offer some additional variety to the game when the main story mode isn't as interesting any longer. You can also take in-game screenshots as you play the game. This is done by simply pausing the game. Choosing the photograph option and taking the picture. From that you can select the photo gallery in the goody mode and send the pics to your friends via Wii-Connect 24. It basically works the same as it does for Metroid Prime 3 if you've played that and unlocked the screen grabber tool, then you know what to expect.
     
    There are few cons with this game however. I've already mentioned my disappointment with the static background images. Other issues are the games main control itself. Basically Dewy is supposed to slide according to which direction and how far you have the Wii remote tilted. In most cases, the game doesn't seem to sense this movement very accurately all the time. I've even had instances where Dewy would get stuck in the game levels on obstactles. Jumping will free him from this, but I frequently would end up jumping off the ledge to free myself causing some health to be lost. Many places require some leaps of faith to find the next area you should get to or large jumps that can be difficult to gauge the distance and direction for accurately. Many times, I would jump towards an area I needed to get to only to find I was a smidging off and would end up falling off the side loosing some health. You never really feel like you fighting the control per se, but it does have some lag to it that takes getting used to. In my opinion I think the game would have been easier to control and perhaps moved even smoother graphically if Dewy was the only thing you were controlling. In other words tilting the remote to move Dewy instead of tilting the remote to move the whole level. Another con against the game is while the music is very good and uplifting, some modes of music don't fit the action very well. Listening to the music in the gallery reminds me of this more. Music while you're invincible sounds more like it should be menu selection music etc. Just seems off. In addition, the sound effects seemed muddy and Dewy's voice and the sounds of his buddies called Eaus will irritate you pretty quickly. In addition the game seems easy for the first few levels, but quickly gets frustratingly difficult. Many leaps of faith type jumps begin to appear later in the game. In addition some of the mid-level bosses can be quite nasty to deal with. The last main boss I have yet to still defeat!!!



    All in all I do find Dewy's Adventure to be a very fun and addicting game. You're rated at the end of each level based on number of buddies saved, time, items found...etc. This lends replay value so you can strive to get those higher rankings on the levels. This game also has a feature I haven't seen on any other Wii games to date. If you fail to get past a boss and then quit the game without deafeating them, you will likely find a message waiting on your Wii from the game. The messages usually contain a small pic of the boss you were trying to defeat and a tip on how to possibly beat them. This was most unexpected and is a welcome addition I would like to see added to more games. The graphics are very nice (Just don't look at the backgrounds much), and the music is mostly lively and fits the scenes well in most cases. The controls will take some getting used to, but once you do you shouldn't have too much trouble and shouldn't find yourself fighting them too often.
    ---------------------
    Graphics = 9 (Some of the most detailed bosses I've seen ever.)
    Sound = 6 (Sound effects are muddy and most of the music is forgetable. Still it is at least in Dolby II mode)
    Controls = 5 (Takes much getting used to and does have some slight lag to it)
    Challenge = 9 (Game starts off easy, then gets frustrating on the later levels and bosses)
    Replay = 8 (Lots of items to try and find defeating the enemies and getting higher grades ensure you'll come back)
     
    Overall -^CB^- grade = 7 (Worth playing through, but not likely to be a favorite)
  23. -^CrossBow^-
    This is considered to be one of the best games available for the 7800. I do agree that the game is an excellent arcade port, but I still feel that this game doesn't show any justice to what the 7800 could really do. As such while many of the comments in this old review seem negative I actually score the game pretty highly. Review is posted below as it appears on Jose Q's Emuviews site.
     
    Title = Food Fight
    Platform = Atari 7800 ProSystem
    Genre = Platform? (Run 'n Splat more like it)
    Released = 1987
    Players = 1 - 2
    ---------------------
    So it is a hot day outside and your visiting the local carnival. How do you spend the time? Why trying to cool off of course, and what better way to do that than to enter a huge food fight contest where the prize is an ice cream cone! You have to give Atari some real credit in the originality department on a lot of their games. Food Fight certainly ranks in as one of Atari's strangest ideas that is also very entertaining to play. Here I take a look at the Atari 7800 conversion of this arcade classic. So how well does Atari do on this port over? Well, let's see...
     
    The story is the weakest aspect of this game. Basically you play a boy named Charley Chuck (wonder how long it took them to come up with that...) who is visiting his local carnival on a hot summer day. Charley as it turns out loves to eat and so it only seems natural that he should enter a Food Fight contest where the prize to be won is a huge ice cream cone. Yeah sure that is how I would prefer to cool off?! Wouldn't you? As I stated the plot is very thin indeed. Thankfully there is a lot more to the game that more than makes up for this.
     
    The graphics in the 7800 version are very accurate to the arcade in that all the food items seem present and the layout of the playfield matches. The game on either the arcade or the 7800 really doesn't have much in the graphics area, as they are both very simple and similar. The sprites are decent sized and proportional to the arcade. The animation on the 7800 version is very good as all the animation including the expanding mouth effect on Charley as he eats his prize are complete and fun to watch. There are a few things on the graphics that I think Atari could have done more with. For one the chefs while appearing different could have had a little more detail added to them. Also the food looks as it should but some items like the pies and bananas I know could have been done better graphically. The pies look like 2600 graphics and the bananas look like jack knives (ever notice all bananas in Atari games look like that?).
     
    The sound is standard 7800/2600 TIA sound chip fanfare. In other words there isn't much in the sound to this game. There is an opening tune which plays before the start of each round. This tune however never changes and does get very monotonous. Also the sounds aren't varied. It sounds the same whether I smack a chef in the face with a banana or a chunk of watermelon. Also the sound of the actual throwing of the item sounds the same. Somehow I would think that a hard object would sound different upon the throw and impact to that of a soft object such as the pies or spinach. No real high marks here either I am afraid.
     
    The game is played on a very simple idea with simple control and this is the strong point of the game. The game basically has you as Charley running around the chefs clocking them with food, which is scattered randomly on the playfield. To add to the challenge not only must you dodge the chefs but they chefs can also throw food back. Another Old Man Murphy thrown into the mix is the fact that the chefs appear from manholes, which are also randomly scattered. Charley has to be careful while he runs around the screen that he doesn't fall into an open manhole, otherwise a life is lost. At the end of the playfield will always be the ice cream cone prize waiting for you. Atari figured the chefs, manholes, and the throwing of food wasn't enough because all the while your doing this, the ice cream is slowly melting away. Yes there is a time limit to each wave. If you spend too much time tossing the salad at the chefs an alarm will sound to indicate the ice cream cone is almost melted. You will also see the ice cream slowly drip away from the cone and grow smaller (nice touch). You then have only a few seconds to grab the ice cream and end the level to continue onto the next screen. As you progress the game will increase in difficulty in several ways. The chefs will become faster and throw food more often. Also the chefs get much smarter at where to throw the food and almost seem to be able to predict where you will go. On some levels food will not be as plentiful to fight off the chefs with. There is one other feature that was present on the arcade version that Atari did port over thankfully. It is the one feature that really makes this game fun to play. If you should really kick some serious chef hat in the wave you will be awarded with an Instant Replay, which shows the wave again while playing some fun slapstick comedy type music in the background. Very nice touch! There are a few gripes I have with the gameplay. For one all the food will travel the full length of the screen with the exception of the spinach and salads. While this is a valiant effort to vary challenge, I feel that Atari could have made each food type travel with a different distance depending on such factors as weight and consistency of the food. Perhaps that is asking too much from such a simple game but it would have been a nice touch.
     
    Controls and challenge I shall group together in this paragraph. The controls couldn't be easier. You run Charley around using the joystick and throw the food by pressing the fire button. You can control the direction of the throw once again with the joystick. It feels natural as if I were in such a food fight as Charley I would be running in the direction of my throw also . Only recommendation is to use a joystick your comfortable using for this game, as the play will get fast and more furious as your progress. The game bases the score on several factors which all depend on how you play the waves. You are awarded a bonus at the end of each wave for the leftovers. However, you get points in a progressive manner the more chefs you can smack with food in a wave. Also you get more points for tricking the chefs to walk back into the open manholes from which they appear. Overall there really is no right strategy for gaining the most points. For me I have more fun smacking the chefs around with the food than trying to leave food left over. Also the Instant Replay will never appear unless you really throw a lot of food around and make slick narrow escapes between thrown food or chefs. There is a nice feature in the game in that when you start a game you can select your starting level. There is also a two player option in this game but sadly it is the standard one player at a time approach where the next player doesn't start until your hit with food or fall into a manhole. Atari could have added a simultaneous mode to this game making it either co-operative or competitive where your thrown food either hurts the other player or passes through them. Even a two player slip screen where whoever got the ice cream first would win the points would have been possible. I think even a duel mode of just you and player two against each other would have been a cool touch.



    Food Fight is another of Atari's great arcade classics which was ported to almost 100% accuracy to the 7800 system. The graphics are adequate though simple, yet the gameplay is addictive and keeps you coming back for more. More obstacles in the playfield would have added to the challenge and variety but overall this version is a truly faithful converion. The faults that the game has are present on the arcade as well and really aren't any fault of the 7800 version itself. I have fun playing this game from time to time when I want simple throw something fun. I would recommend this game to anyone with a 7800 especially if you're a fan of the arcade original you cannot be disappointed here. Have fun!
    ---------------------
    Graphics = 7 (Most stuff looks good with the chefs and some items needing more detail)
    Sound = 6 (Standard 2600 TIA being used. Sound effects all the same just lack of variety)
    Controls = 9 (Very intuitive control scheme)
    Challenge = 8 (Game starts off easy enough, but ramps up pretty fast)
    Replay = 7 (While it lacks any real story or any additional game screens. You always want to come back for because throwing food is fun!)
     
    Overall -^CB^- grade = 7 (Not the 7800s best but worth owning and playing from time to time)
  24. -^CrossBow^-
    The D&D arcade games are my favorite arcade games ever! Many don't care for the fact that these were just upgraded hack n slash games in the vein of Golden Axe etc. But I love that side scrolling brawling action and to me the D&D games were the creme de le creme of their day. Here is my entire review of one of the D&D arcade games and my favorite of the two released.
     
    Title = D&D: Shadow over Mystara
    Platform = Arcade (Capcom CPS2)
    Genre = Hack 'n Slash/ w some RPG elements
    Released = 1996
    Players = 1 - 4
    ---------------------
    Add a bit of might, a dash of magic, a pinch of agility, throw in a few really nasty monsters, scatter some treasure, and then have Capcom make it. What do you get? You get the recipe for one of the best Hack 'N' Slash games ever made. The first time I spotted a D&D game in the arcades...I almost laughed at the spectacle before me. Not really because of the way the game looked or played, but rather that anybody could conceive of making a game out of the most well known role-playing series of all time. Think about it. How do you turn a role playing series into an arcade game? After all, you can't make it a true RPG and expect the casual arcade gamer to play it for 40-60 hours to beat it can you? So you can imagine my surprise when I popped in the quarters, (note plural), and pressed, "Start".
     
    D&D2 picks up where D&D1: Tower of Doom leaves off. Basically several years have passed and your adventurers decide to strike out in search of danger and treasure once again. Little do they know what they shall discover… It may not be a very engrossing plot, but then this is an arcade game based on role-playing elements. As it turns out the plot thickens more and more as you battle your way through hordes of various monsters and traps collecting treasure along the way.
     
    The game play in D&D2 is really unlike any other arcade game I have played in the hack 'n' slash genre. For this reason alone the biggest part of this review will be devoted to the game play alone. To begin with, you have the option of selecting the character class you wish to adventure with. Choices include being a Fighter, Mage, Dwarf, Elf, Cleric, and Thief. Choosing whom to be will be up to you and your preference of skills. Yes, the different classes have different abilities within the game. As an example many of the treasure chests that you encounter along the game are trapped. Once opened you only have a second or two to get out of the way of the deadly trap waiting to spring. If you play the game as the Thief you do not worry about springing the traps, nor do you need to find keys for the chests that are locked. The Cleric has the cool ability to turn undead, a popular spell to use for disposing of skeletons, zombies and the like. The Magic user has the ability of casting not only magic but also has increased speed and agility above the others, (Plus the Mage's spells kick serious butt and look cool to boot!). Each class is also lacking in skills compared to the others to balance their abilities equally. Fighters are strong and powerful and can take a beating...but they cannot cast magic. The Mage can cast those mighty spells but is unable to wield certain weapons.
     
    Another great aspect of the game is the ability to choose the paths you will take along the way. There are several key points in the plotline where the adventurers will be presented with a choice of where they want to go. Those decisions dictate what lies ahead to come and really adds to the replay value. There are also numerous secrets hidden within the game. Secrets include the finding of hidden rooms and levels filled with treasure and bonuses. Other secrets are actually more complex such as the one involving how you enter your name at the end of the first wave on level one. One secret I found interesting was the ability to change your character when continuing a game. There are actually two characters per class which you can choose between them by using the Player 1, Player 2, etc. keys during a continue. The second characters are exactly the same as the primary only they appear different, and usually start with different spells or weapons. Again this adds to the replay and makes the game even more interesting in deciding which character is best suited for which levels. Multiplayer is probably the greatest game play aspect of this game. The game is setup for as many as 4 players at once! As great a game as this is for the single player, there is nothing like teaming up with some friends to go on an all night bash fest! It really works best with multiplayer as everyone can select different classes and thereby have the power and strength of the fighter or dwarf while also having the powerful magic of the mage and cleric. Throw the thief in to team up with for agility, and the ability to steal from the monsters. Yes, multiplayer is how I see most gamers playing this game. The graphics in D&D2 are fantastic and fit right in with the action on screen. You will visit such wondrous places as dark forests and caves to fighting intense battles atop a giant war machine. There is a lot of variety in the backgrounds and you may catch yourself loosing a fight or two because you were busy looking at the fine details put into the backgrounds. Effects used in the game, use the CPS2 hardware to it's fullest. Great examples of this are the spell effects. Some spells do not produce much on screen such as magic missile. While others produce brilliant light shows that would make any club dancer feel at home. I sometimes found myself casting spells even when nothing was around to feel the wrath of the spell just to gawk at the graphics.
     
    Also much attention to detail has been given to each of the monsters that you encounter. Each boss is also rather large, many taking up more than half the vertical height of the screen. Also each boss has an array of attacks independent of each other. These attacks from spells to basic smacking you around the screen are all very well animated and full of effects and color. Also many of the backgrounds have animation which can be anywhere from flickering torches to parallax scrolling clouds as is seen in one level. To say the least...D&D2 is a visual feast for the eyes and boasts some of the best graphics I have seen on CPS2hardware. The sound in D&D2 uses the standard Qsound setup. But that is not to say this is a bad thing, far from it as the sound in D&D2 is truly awesome to hear. Sounds are abundant throughout with constant low level background music that delivers full driving force when it is needed to the clash of steel against steel. Yes I have played other CPS2 games and D&D2 seems to have more sound than any I have heard. There are background ambient sounds, which add to the environment. Each monster you encounter also has the proper accompanying sounds like grunts, yells, and screams during their demise. The spells in D&D2 are also full of their own unique sounds. Such as the satisfying boom of the fireball, to the sizzle and crackle of the lightning spell. There is even haunting chants from the magic user and elementals when they conjure their devastating spells! The sound is full and there is much to hear in the world of D&D2. The controls are one area that I believe take some getting used to in the game. Whether you have a decent game pad like controller with programmable buttons or have to use the keyboard. You will find yourself having to remap the buttons and find a comfortable setup you can use. D&D2 like the older D&D1 uses the exact same button control. Basically you don't use any 6-button combos or anything fancy such as that. But then this isn't a fighting game so you don't need many. But that is where the problem lies. You only use 4 buttons in D&D2. The buttons control Attack, Jumping, Inventory/Spell selection, and finally the use of the selected inventory/spell item.
     
    The idea of having the inventory is a really neat feature of the game and is one I do enjoy using. But the need to keep hitting the inventory/spell selection button to get the one I want is somewhat clumsy when in the heat of battle. It is difficult to be surrounded by enemies on all sides who also wield magic and there you are fumbling through the selection key to find the one you need. Then of course you have to actually invoke the selection with another key, all the while you're trying to dodge and jump out of the way of the monsters. It can get frustrating at times. Then again, maybe I just need to learn how to play better. Either way it isn't difficult to use...but the margin for making errors and hitting the wrong key at critical times is greatly increased. It is a minor frustration factor but one that I believe will irk the average player.
     
    I can say that in D&D2 they have improved the inventory selection itself by representing the items as icons, which rotate around your character rather than a text box that you have to look away from the action for to read. Items in the game also do not seem to be immediately evident as to their use. For instance many times you will pick up a magic wand or some other such item. One might think that you physically select the wand and then use it as a weapon. However, when such objects are picked up they actually will add a magic spell to your inventory list to be used. Some items will take effect immediately and increase your stats like speed or damage dealt.



    I think that D&D2 is one of the best games in the Hack 'n' Slash genre that I have ever played. There are many other factors in the games favor. The graphics are sharp and colorful. The soundtrack music should be on a CD in my car to listen too. And the game has a great replay value with the multiplayer and variety of secrets in the game. Golden Axe may have started it all, but D&D2 takes it to new levels in the style that only Capcom can do. Please enjoy this wonderful game and remember to watch where you point your Melf's Acid Arrow spells.
    ---------------------
    Graphics = 10 (Still a great looking brawler today)
    Sound = 9 (The music is very epic. Some sounds are muddy but the Q-sound really brings it to life!)
    Controls = 7 (Character movement is excellent, but switching between items and spells is a pain when the moment requires them)
    Challenge = 7 (Many of the enemies are easily defeated with only the bosses presenting any real challenge)
    Replay = 6 (Once you have gotten through it, there won't be much to keep you coming back again. Playing with 3 other friends is a blast though!)
     
    Overall -^CB^- grade = 8 (Definitely one of the best in the Hack 'n Slash brawler genre)
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