Xonox Lovers Society

[Stan]

Alright, I've got enough of their games now to make a general opinion. I have to say I like Xonox games. There are a few I haven't played, like Artillery Duel, that probably suck, but I have to say for the four games I own thus far, I, well, like these guys. Am I alone in this love? Does anyone else out there enjoy a good romp in Xonox paradise? My brief opinions on the following:

 

1. Spike's Peak. Alright, so it looks TERRIBLE. I get it. However, I've found that even the later stages aren't as random as people think. There's actually a strategy and difficult pattern to each of them. I've found this game quite fun, mainly for its difficulty level. Takes some real skill to beat it. I must say I felt pretty satisfied when I did and for some reason continued to play...

 

2. Ghost Manor. Most people seem to like this one, so not too much for me to say here. It looks good and has some interesting play.

 

3. Tomarc the Barbarian. This game gets a pretty bad rap. Finally got myself a copy that I assumed I was going to sell at some point in the future. Though it's not nearly as good as some other versions, I have to say I enjoy this game as well. The controls take some getting used to, but really aren't that hard. Switching between characters is interesting, but not as well implemented as it could have been. A little more variety in enemies would have made it a lot better, perhaps the inclusion of more weapons too. But as it stands I enjoy it. I have this thing for 2600 titles that primarily rely on mindless point collecting and lull you into blissful peace as you zone out and play them. This is pretty easy to zone out too, not sure if in a good way yet...

 

4. Motocross Racer. This is probably one of the most impressive motorcycle games I've ever played. It's pretty amazing how much they managed to cram in this baby. A lot of variety, good programming, interesting controls that though not intuitive are easy to master (at least on the second part I mean, first part is obviously easy to figure out) and plenty of challenge. This is now one of my favorite 2600 titles, I'm very impressed with it.

 

So what do you guys think? Opinions on their other titles before I pick them up? Artillery Duel is said to be pretty lame, but it looks similar to this old PC game called Scorched Earth. I used to play that for hours, though I'm sure the Xonox title lacks the same depth as it had. What about their other games?

[Mirage]

My neighbor had Artillery Duel when I was a kid, and we had a lot of fun with it. It was novel (to us at least) at the time. Maybe just hasn't held up very well with all the other versions over the years.

[Canadian Paul]

I've got Sir Lancelot and Motocross Racer. I'm not a huge fan of the latter, but I love Sir Lancelot. The first part is basically Joust with a slightly different set of rules and the second part is at least a bit creative in terms of game play, even if the theme is a bit clichéd (rescue the damsel from the dragon). It's a great game if you want to pop something in for 5 or 10 minutes before you have to go do something else because the games don't generally take long and they don't get too repetitive as the game progresses. The key point is that it's fun and entertaining, which for me is the most important part of any game. For me, a good Atari game is one that makes you want to keep playing it, even if you suck at it (Enduro comes to mind for me...)

Edited February 2, 2009 by Canadian Paul

[holgibo]

I have four Xonox games:

 

Artillery duel: Can be fun played against a friend. But it's very slow.

 

Kung Fu Superkicks: This game sucks. The controls are very bad. It should be renamed as Kung Fu Slowkicks. Because of the poor gameplay the funniest thing is the name of the game itself.

 

Robin Hood: This one is playable, but boring. You can shot opponents with your arrows, but as long as they fly you cannot move. A very dumb idea. Another thing I hate is the fact, that the opponent can appear just at your position, and you lose a live instantly without any chance. But is has good graphics, a nice title music and it has three different screens.

 

Sir Lancelot: This is a real good one! The Joust-like part is well done with different difficulties at each level, and the second part of each level has a nice dragon in it. The graphics are good. For me this is the best game of these four.

[Tempest]

Xonox Lovers Society

Gonna be one lonely society...

 

I've only played a handful of Xonox games and I've never found them all that great. They're not as bad as some other games on the 2600, but most are below par. Here are my takes:

 

Artillery Duel - It's alright with two players, but the graphics seem to be much more blocky than they should be. This was done better on other systems (I'm fond of the Vic 20 version actually).

 

Ghost Manor - A mixed bag. The first screen with the ghost seems pretty pointless, while the second screen with the castle is pretty cool. The final screen with the vampire is more frustrating than fun.

 

Spike's Peak - This game is pretty fun and has some promise, but I can't get past the difficulty curve. The game isn't good enough to make me want to practice so I can get past the second screen.

 

Sir Lancelot - One of the few Xonox games that I'll play. It's a pretty fun Joust type game.

 

Chuck Norris Superkicks - The controls on this one are a bit too hard so I end up getting my butt kicked far too often. Since it doesn't have an ending the whole game is sort of pointless...

 

I've never played Motocross Racer, Tomarc, or Robin Hood so I can't comment on those.

 

Tempest

[moycon]

As a kid I loved the Xonox games.

 

My father and I would play Artillery Duel every day when I was in my mid teens. At the end of rounds we'd always try to guess if the one soldier was going to mis-step and have to catch up. We were easily amused.

 

I thought the graphics on Spikes and Ghost were odd (like no other game) and amazing at the same time. The fact the games had so many different screens was a big plus.

 

When I was a kid I could get to the top of Spikes peak easily enough. Seems to me I tried this game a few years back and couldn't get anywhere in it.

 

I was disappointed with Chuck and it's lack of ending. Apparently there is an ending of sorts, in that you can beat all the ninja's, but if I remember correctly, they just are gone at that point, no special...Congrats or anything. I could usually get to the end but I always ran out of time.

 

I had bought Tomarc as a kid and I'll admit I was a bit disappointed (Probably because I spent my own $$ on it) My thought was that they were only offering one game instead of two so it was probably double the quality. It wasn't. The whole floating jumpy game play didn't make me think I was a barbarian of any kind. I could be wrong but I think Tomarc was supposed to be Thundar??? In any case and whatever name, kind of a lame game.

 

Sir Lancelot is a great Joust clone with even better graphics in my opinion.

 

I certainly have fond memories of the Xonox games.

[iwan-iwanowitsch-goratschin]

I avoid it to play Xonox games because they suck!

[Impaler_26]

I like Ghost Manor, Robin Hood and Sir Lancelot. Spike's Peak is too frustrating to be fun and Super Kung Fu (Chuck Norris Superkicks) is not that bad IMO.

[frenchman]

I avoid it to play Xonox games because they suck!

 

That doesn't make sense somehow, it's like 'I don't watch TV because all programs are bad'. How would you know?

 

 

Anyhow, Ghost Manor is an excellent game, mixture of catching, shooting, searching, fighting/rescue. I can ace the game on fastest/darkest level. Sex selection, that was an awesome feature back in the days.

 

Spike's Peak, I loved the graphics too, as moycon already mentioned. The eagle looks very well drawn, and getting to the top of the mountain cartainly was a challenge.

 

Sir Lancelot, like most people said, very good Joust clone, but better with the Invisible Invincibles at the later levels. And wasn't it fun just to let the princess drown once in a while?

 

Robin Hood was a bit of a let down, graphically a mess, but I did enjoy that game very much too.

 

Artillery Duel, not much fun playing alone :-(

 

Chuck Norris Superkicks. I guess it was an early attempt of a scrolling fighter, it probably invented the somesault-kick, but for me it was a boring title, not played very often.

 

Tormac and Motocross I'm still hunting out, so I cannot comment.

 

All in all, the double -ender library from Xonox did deliver.

Edited February 2, 2009 by frenchman

[yeaadudee]

lol iv played all of them besides robinhood and sir lancelot but the only one i really found anywhere near playable/likeable is ghost manor. Spikes peak seems like it could be ok after figuring it out ~_~

[Stan]

LONELY?! HOW DARE YOU! The myth must be destroyed! Xonox = awesomeness. All must play. From what has been said, Lancelot sounds pretty cool. I saw some videos and pictures of Robin Hood and it looked pretty weak. Not sure if I'll go for duel either because if there's one thing I don't like, it's a game that requires a second player to enjoy it. The only reason I really own games like Combat and Air Sea Battle is I'd feel like a poseur without them. Looks like I need to pick up Sir Lancelot.

 

Tomarc could probably be a pretty good game if a few features were added. The ability to actually attack enemies with Tomarc, for example, would make sense since he's supposed to be a barbarian and all. I know in one of the other versions, I think at least, Senta is attacked by other enemies other than bats.

[birdie3]

Artillery Duel freakin' rules, man!! One of my absolute faves. I would love to see an updated verison of this perhaps with improved graphics and weapon variations.

[S1500]

IIRC Xonox's former headquarters is somewhere in the twin cities. Tempted to take a picture of what it is now to show you all.

[Dan Iacovelli]

I have a Chuck Norris/ghost manor cart (according to DP guide it's rare)

I like both games,haven't played much though)

[Mirage]

I avoid it to play Xonox games because they suck!

 

That doesn't make sense somehow, it's like 'I don't watch TV because all programs are bad'. How would you know?

 

 

Don't let him fool you... he just won't open the boxes!

[yuppicide]

I had Chuck Norris Superkicks.. way too hard.

 

When I was young though, I had Artillery Duel and Spike's Peak. Loved both of them and still do. Spike is very hard, but I can bet it sometimes. As for Artillery Duel my Dad and I played countless hours against each other.

[Stan]

The one thing I can't seem to figure out about Spike's is the usage of what they call the 'piton' during the third part. Not sure what I'm supposed to be accomplishing with it.

[Stan]

The one thing I can't seem to figure out about Spike's is the usage of what they call the 'piton' during the third part. Not sure what I'm supposed to be accomplishing with it.

[MMyers]

I have Ghost Manor/Chuck Norris Superkicks cart, although the second game is mislabeled Spike's Peak. I thought both games were different and inventive which is kind of a rarity in Atari games. Even some of the better games from other companies are generally just improved versions of other titles.

 

The main thing was I had a lot of fun playing them. I'd like to collect more Xonox's games but just haven't come across any.

[bohoki]

i like spikes peak and shost manor ive played chuck norris but it annoys me artilary is neat but it requires a friend but i like its physics

i though tit was so neat how color or bw selected a boy chasing a skeleton or a girl chasing a ghost i had no idea that they could do that

 

never had the other games

 

i have them all on my commodore64 though

[Lord Thag]

Yes! Another counterculture game club for me to join!

 

I have all of the VCS xonox games except Motocross and Robin Hood. I agree Stan, I do like most of them passably well:

 

Spikes Peak: Good, hard, and fun. Yeah, it takes a bit to get the 'trick' of it, but once you do, it's weird, challenging, and I generally find myself playing several games in a row.

 

Ghost Mannor: Weird, fun, multiscreen game. Kind of reminds me of my old tabletop 'Dracula house' gae for some reason. The last screen is tough, but that's what makes it fun to keep trying.

 

Sir Lancelot: AWESOME joust clone with an extra screen and a big dragon. Best Xonox game by far.

 

Chuck Norris Superkicks: It's Chuck Norris. Chuck. Norris. You know, the guy with an extra fist in his beard? Right and left legs named 'law' and 'Order'? It's like owning your very own piece of Awesome. What's not to like? This game has Chuck Norris. And Ninjas. It doesn't matter if it sucks, you have to like it. If you don't, Chuck Norris shows up at your house and roundhouse kicks your head into a spray of supersonic red goo

 

Artillery duel: Not the best version (I like the Astrocade one), but still a blast, and a great tourney game. Good stuff

 

Xonox games are good, solid stuff. Well worth playing, even if they lack the flash of Activision or Imagic.

[Stan]

Oh my god I had a Spike's Peak epiphany. Because I didn't have the manual and didn't bother reading it here I didn't know, but you can THROW your dang stick thing at the abomindable snowmen in the fourth part! Awesome! Some of the level designs are so strange, though. Like the fourth part. So I can walk on the path and climb off of it? What am I holding on to?

[King_Salamon]

I had the original 3 for the 2600.

 

Ghost Manor/Spikes Peak-Both were fun to play... spikes peak had more of a challenge but I enjoyed both and the novelty of a 2 in 1 cart was awesome at the time!

 

Robin Hood/Sir Lancelot... I didn't play this one as much but I did enjoy Robin Hood.

 

KungFu superkicks/Artillery Duel... Played kung fu forever and Artillery Duel I played a ton at a buddies place.

 

I picked up Ghost Manor/spike Peak at Zellers before the crash for $30 or so... the other two I got after the crash from a local pawn shop... apparently Xonox had a Canadian distribution warehouse in town and when they shut down, a couple pawn shops ended up with the inventory.

 

I still remember the warranty card had a local address on it and I wanted to check it out... but I was too late.

 

The cool thing was finding Kung Fu/Artillery Duel for the Colecovision and I also got a Vic 20 double ender which was a real sight to behold... the cart was massive!!! And they all were really cheap!!

 

So am I a fan of Xonox... sure... it was the only game company that had a local distribution warehouse so they get a 2 thumbs up from me!! I wish someone who was part of that location would log onto Atariage and read this. I'm sure there were some stories to be told!

[Stan]

You'd be surprised how generally easy it is to find some of these people using the internet nowadays. I've done some interviews with people from the Master System era including the former head of R & D, the guy in charge of marketing, an old producer, a programmer and some other people. A little bit of looking, find a name or two and go for it, you'd be surprised what pops up.

[moycon]

WOW!! I had no idea Xonox released games for the VIC20!!

That is too cool.

I knew they had released some on the Colecovision but not the VIC20 or the C64.

I'll have to look into trying to find some of these other versions.

Edited February 4, 2009 by moycon