Atarifever Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 Old timey spies wore hats. I don't think it's a cowboy hat. And I don't think it has anything to do with McDonald's. Oh, I understand that. But again, the McDonald's conspiracy aside, the box art and manual text are much more "James Bond" and the game is somewhere between Keystone and Donkey Kong. Regardless why that is the case, it feels like a pretty big disconnect in the marketing. As has been pointed out above, there really were people who felt that disconnect after buying the game. Again, if you're making a big deal about old timey spy hats, to the point of making it the extra lives marker and putting it on the character graphic, why not write the story about an old timey spy, or put an old timey spy on the box art, or have the old timey spy fight something besides hampster mutants? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schizophretard Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 According to the manual, the assassins are "programmed" so they're most likely supposed to be robots. My guess is that they are programmed with mind control similar to Project MKUltra and they look like that because they are wearing assassin costumes like ski masks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Random Terrain Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 So it's not a time-traveling Abraham Lincoln on a secret mission 500 years into the future where robots guard precious documents that were stolen from the past? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarifever Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 (edited) So it's not a time-traveling Abraham Lincoln on a secret mission 500 years into the future where robots guard precious documents that were stolen from the past? It is now! New story: You are Abraham Lincoln. One second before the shot is fired that is supposed to kill you, time travellers from the distant future (or the fourth dimension; you're never sure) pull you into the time stream. They replace your body with a lifeless clone so no one ever knows the difference. Upon arriving in the future,they tell you why you are needed: You must infiltrate the headquarters of the communist zombies and steal all their documents! Communist zombies with documents: not on Lincoln's watch! The communist zombies have a very secure base. It is located INSIDE a rainbow. There are no stairs, but only a series of oddly placed elevators. And robots guard it at all times. The robots have no hands, because they don't need them, but shoot death rays from their eyes. When shot, the robots make one last attempt to end your life by expending all the remaining energy in their batteries in a final electrical explosion that can kill you on contact. Just before you are sent into the rainbow base through a magic prism, you are told what it is that you are retrieving. It is actually the shreded parts of a single document. The communist zombies travelled through time to steal a very important document before it could be signed: The constitution of the United States of America! Edited October 3, 2012 by Atarifever 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarifever Posted October 3, 2012 Author Share Posted October 3, 2012 (edited) New box cover could be something like this (obviously the robot needs to lose his head and hands in the final version). Edited October 3, 2012 by Atarifever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godzillajoe Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 I think it needs to become a Zim hack. You are Dib trying to steal from Zim's lab. Guarded by.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaGtGruff Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 New story: You are Abraham Lincoln. One second before the shot is fired that is supposed to kill you, time travellers from the distant future (or the fourth dimension; you're never sure) pull you into the time stream. They replace your body with a lifeless clone so no one ever knows the difference. Upon arriving in the future,they tell you why you are needed: You must infiltrate the headquarters of the communist zombies and steal all their documents! Communist zombies with documents: not on Lincoln's watch! Abraham Lincoln in the 24th-and-a-Half Century: Communist Zombie Killer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinMos3 Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 Not sure how I can justify this now, but as a kid, I thought of the game as a 2600 version of Elevator Action. Except, I never got to play it as a kid because my brand new copy never worked so all I had to go by were screenshots on the box and the manual. I didn't get to actually play it until I bought a used copy somewhere else many years later. Just this past spring, I decided to open up that non-working copy of Infiltrate. It turns out that sticking the PCB in my Atari worked just fine. It appears that the way the PCB sits in the cart housing prevented it from making good enough contact with the connector pins! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranthulfr Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 It is interesting to compare the "Original" box to the "Blue" box layout. Most notably, the Blue box has a screen shot added on the back. But numerous small details in the artwork have also changed. Finding them is like game in itself: 1. Building to the lower right is different. 2. Man's hair and face have changed. 3. Jacket shoulder patch is different (looks like the Original version had the Apollo logo). Front pockets have been revised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarifever Posted October 4, 2012 Author Share Posted October 4, 2012 It is interesting to compare the "Original" box to the "Blue" box layout. Most notably, the Blue box has a screen shot added on the back. But numerous small details in the artwork have also changed. Finding them is like game in itself: 1. Building to the lower right is different. 2. Man's hair and face have changed. 3. Jacket shoulder patch is different (looks like the Original version had the Apollo logo). Front pockets have been revised. I'm pretty certain the enemy who is firing is screaming in one version but looks more straight faced in the other. Man, the rabbit hole for this game is pretty deep. I may have to start a website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 It happened with other games such as kung fu superkicks From what I recall, Tomac the Barbarian was supposed to be Thundar the Barbarian. Not sure if licencing was the reason, but it could very well have been. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxsolo2000 Posted October 4, 2012 Share Posted October 4, 2012 From what I recall, Tomac the Barbarian was supposed to be Thundar the Barbarian. Not sure if licencing was the reason, but it could very well have been. My point exactly. In the world of the 2600 anything is possible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supergun Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 I just happened to catch this thread and for whatever reason I felt compelled to contribute to it. Now, I am not sure if it will help to support the theory, but among my Atari 2600 protos, I do happen to have an Infiltrate proto cartridge. I can take some pics and play test the cart this weekend in order to compare it with the released version and see if it has any differences and then post the results here, if there is any interest in that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarifever Posted October 10, 2012 Author Share Posted October 10, 2012 I just happened to catch this thread and for whatever reason I felt compelled to contribute to it. Now, I am not sure if it will help to support the theory, but among my Atari 2600 protos, I do happen to have an Infiltrate proto cartridge. I can take some pics and play test the cart this weekend in order to compare it with the released version and see if it has any differences and then post the results here, if there is any interest in that. I am unable to imagine how there would not be interest in that. Please do this. Please, please, please. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxsolo2000 Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 I just happened to catch this thread and for whatever reason I felt compelled to contribute to it. Now, I am not sure if it will help to support the theory, but among my Atari 2600 protos, I do happen to have an Infiltrate proto cartridge. I can take some pics and play test the cart this weekend in order to compare it with the released version and see if it has any differences and then post the results here, if there is any interest in that. Hell I would be interested in seeing it too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 I'll bet Ronald shows up in the proto!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godzillajoe Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 (edited) Speaking of Tomarc, how do you keep from faling back down when you jump up through a ceiling hole Never mind, I figured it out, you can't jump straight into them Edited October 11, 2012 by godzillajoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarifever Posted October 11, 2012 Author Share Posted October 11, 2012 I'll bet Ronald shows up in the proto!! Reagan, not McDonald. That's the reason for the Cowboy hat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BydoEmpire Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 (edited) I always dug that game back in the day. I looked at the enemies in Infiltrate as sort of the humanoid versions of the aliens in Space Cavern. I can see where you're coming from, but personally I just looked at it as artistic license with the box art. Regardless why that is the case, it feels like a pretty big disconnect in the marketing. As has been pointed out above, there really were people who felt that disconnect after buying the game. Again, if you're making a big deal about old timey spy hats, to the point of making it the extra lives marker and putting it on the character graphic, why not write the story about an old timey spy, or put an old timey spy on the box art, or have the old timey spy fight something besides hampster mutants? I honestly don't think they put that much thought into the manual, box art or marketing. I like Infiltrate, and I like Apollo's games a lot but I think their thought process was "Will the name sell?" "Does the box art look good, so it will catch people's eye and they'll buy the game?" and "We need someone to slap together a manual real quick..." Could be wrong... Edited October 12, 2012 by BydoEmpire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarifever Posted October 13, 2012 Author Share Posted October 13, 2012 I always dug that game back in the day. I looked at the enemies in Infiltrate as sort of the humanoid versions of the aliens in Space Cavern. I thought on the enemies for awhile and finally realized how I would have seen them back when I was six. Having bought the game expecting assassins or whatever, I'm pretty sure I would have convinced myself (after thinking they looked like Fry kids, obviously) that they were supposed to be robot skulls. Like a red and blue stainless steel robot skull shooting death rays. When I asked google for that image it gave me this, which works for me. http://www.microbotic.org/Photos/Skulls/Skull-3.jpg That's about what I think my six year old self would have imagined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 That skull is awesome! I've not played infiltrate, but the way you guys talk about it makes me want to... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supergun Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 Well, I finally got around to checking this out. There's never enough time. Here is a pic of the cartridge. I did find at least one difference, but it is nothing as exciting as a Ronald McDonald or a Hamburglar sprite. Sorry for the let down. But rather the difference has to do with the "goal" of the game. In the released version, it seems you get to the top, touch some small stick or "wall", and then a special tune plays, and the wall relocates to the bottom, and then you proceed to touch it there, and so on. In the proto version I have, there is no "wall" in the game. Upon reaching the top, the special tune plays, and then again when you reach the bottom, etc. Same as the released version only again, there is nothing to touch once you get there. Kind of strange I guess. Perhaps they added the wall in before release to give the game more of a "goal" or purpose. So I suppose this could be an earlier build of the game. There is an eprom on the games board, and so if there is interest I can read it (dump it) and send the file to RomHunter for the AtariMania site where maybe someone here can play it more thoroughly and someone can also inspect the rom data for perhaps unused sprites and such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariLeaf Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 (edited) My guess is that they are programmed with mind control similar to Project MKUltra and they look like that because they are wearing assassin costumes like ski masks. LOL, maybe I always just assumed they were robots because (a) they're "programmed" and (b) they don't look like humans at all but like androids, especially with the way the legs move up and down as they do. Also, they're apparently electrified as the manual says "Body contact with any of the assassins will destroy your agent as effectively as their laser fire". Even a programmed human couldn't electocute you by touching him (I hope anyway) I think the box art is just artistic license like all atari games. EDIT - check this link at Atarimania - http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-2600-vcs-infiltrate_7348.html read the red "catalog" which appears to be earlier versions of the instructions perhaps? Anyway, it calls them "robot assassins" Edited October 20, 2012 by AtariLeaf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mitch Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Yeah, dump that guy and post up the ROM. Mitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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