DoctorSpuds Reviews Things - Phillip the 2600, What has he defiled today?

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This is a little idea that is liable to go nowhere but I feel that I should do it anyway. As those of you who read my ‘I Made a Monster!’ post you’ll know that Phillip the 2600 is a twisted amalgamation of chips, boards, and switches from several destroyed 2600’s. Currently Phillip’s brain is housed in a standard 4-switch chassis with a Vader top and a Sears faceplate, which gives it a very striking look. Despite having shorts in several chips, I only say this because certain parts of chips get very hot when powered on, Phillip still insists on playing games, though what results is usually far from normal. Over time I will play and catalog every game I currently own on Phillip to see what happens, I will do this by publisher, though not alphabetically; I will also be unable to have pictures since I don’t actually know how to put pictures of my own in these posts( only ones from the internet), nor would the pictures look any good. I will have a small changelog beneath this paragraph for every time I update it so you’ll know what’s new, so without further ado let’s see what this monster has done.

Changelog:
Added Publishers:
Taiwan Cooper
Tigervision
Added Game:
Skeet Shoot

Data Age

• Encounter At L-5 – Most sprites are slightly warped but you can see it most on the Data Age logo at the top right. Sounds are mostly the same with an off note here or there, nothing serious. Conclusion… Completely playable
• Bugs – Most ‘Bugs’ are intact but some are scrambled to high hell, the transition scene is unaltered. Sounds are intact with nothing seriously out of the ordinary. Conclusion… Completely playable.
• Warplock – The only sprites that show signs of being off are the score sprites at the top of the screen, everything else is unchanged. Yep sounds are still terrible so there’s nothing wrong there. Conclusion… Completely playable.
• Bermuda Triangle – Most of the graphics are unchanged except now the sprites will wrap around the screen before they emerge from the sides, you’ll see half of a giant fish on either side of the screen before it appears then the two halves vanish. There is a constant buzzing noise that plays while the game is turned on, nothing will change it. Conclusion… Completely playable.
• Sssnake – The graphics are slightly screwed up so that some of the squares are together forming large channels of nothing in the grid. The track that you’re stuck on has moved to be partially inside the grid, I have now found out that the squares do in fact kill you on contact, which they really didn’t need to program. Sounds are fine but the game is completely unplayable.
• Airlock – The color pallet is completely off since the floors and walls are now blue instead of pink/purple. The movement is rather jerky but the enemies still behave the same. Sounds are slightly off but nothing too noticeable. Conclusion… Completely playable.
• Journey: Escape – DEAR GOD THE MUSIC!!! MAKE IT STOP PLEASE!!! The weird swirly background is now relegated to a one pixel vertical strip moving side to side and the opening scene is completely butchered as parts of sprites are either missing or in the wrong place.
• Frankenstein’s Monster – The monster has been cut in half has skinny chicken legs and is yellow, the environment is largely unchanged. The spiders are also yellow, but sounds are pretty much the same, apart from the jumping noise which sounds very off now. It’s still completely playable.

U.S. Games

• Eggomania – The bird has become a twisted evil creation of Satan, the frog is blue, and the music will kill your ears, but it’s still playable.
• M.A.D. – The cities are even more scrambled than they were before but otherwise everything is fine, the sounds are largely unchanged as well. It’s still completely playable
• Gopher – The farmer has three faces, one looking left, one looking right, and one look straight into your soul. Everything else is largely unchanged and is still playable.
• Entombed – some of the corridors are only half the standard width and despite being that perfect size you still can’t squeeze through them rendering the game unplayable in some circumstances, the music is also butchered to hell and back.
• Name This Game – That octopus has seen better days since its pixels are spazzing left and right making it look very frightening. There is some minor sprite warping on everything and the sounds are mostly all right apart from the jingle but otherwise it’s playable.
• Raft Rider – Same things as Bermuda Triangle except there are now thick green vertical bars on either side of the screen. There is some gnarly sprite warping on the moose but otherwise everything is fairly normal and completely playable.

Froggo

• Sea Hawk – The color palette is out of wack since the sky is pink and the waves are green, the sprites are surprisingly intact as well. Also you explode immediately whenever you respawn rendering the game unplayable.
• Sea Hunt – The colors are also out of wack but the sprites are unaffected apart from the Sancho logo at the bottom of the screen. The tune that plays is absolute murder on the ears as it seems almost all the keys have been jumped up several octaves and are being played in the wrong order, the game is still playable though.
• Cruise Missile – The enemies at the top of the screen are stuck as the explosion sprite rendering them invincible and making the game unplayable, otherwise the game is almost completely fine.
• Spiderdroid – some girders are completely invisible or show up in the wrong place but it’s otherwise unchanged in terms of graphics, sound, and gameplay.

Apollo

• Wabbit – All the graphics are unchanged apart from the field which appears to be participating in a rave since it’s flashing through every shade of brown the 2600 can muster at light speed. Sounds seem unaffected as does the gameplay so it’s still completely playable.
• Shark Attack – The diamonds have a tendency to flicker and duplicate giving you twice the normal amount as usual, unfortunately you are unable to access 75% of the maze as you appear to be too fat, rendering the game unplayable unless you want to wait for the shark to eat 45 diamonds.
• Infiltrate – Almost completely unaffected, the only thing wrong is that the elevators are shifted to the side a little bit but you can still use them. This game is completely fine.
• Lost Luggage – Some minor sprite warping and the color palette is slightly off but it’s otherwise pristine.
• Spacechase- Same as Lost Luggage, it’s completely fine.
• Final Approach – Same as Spacechase…
• Space Cavern – Same as Final Approach…
• Racquetball – since it uses sprites for the lines of the room they are either missing or located in the wrong part of the room, the balls shadows are also out of sorts not allowing you to see its proper location rendering the game pretty much unplayable.
• Skeet Shoot – Nothing wrong, but still unplayable.

Taiwan Cooper

• Tank mission/Thunderground – Only some very minor sprite warping coupled with the color palette being completely screwed up.
• Mr. Postman – The graphics are mostly unchanged but the music is absolutely mangled. The final screen, Silent City, makes the game unbeatable since the passageways have constricted not allowing the Postman to squeeze through and complete the game, rendering the game unplayable.
• UFO/Condor Attack – The sprites for the enemies are screwed up but that’s pretty much it, everything acts and sounds normal.
• Mission 3000 A.D. – Everything looks and acts normally but the sounds are now even more abrasive than before.
• Cross Force – There is a constant buzzing noise that is frightening to listen to. The shooting only works on half the screen, and the act of shooting makes the whole screen flash and judder, the game is only semi playable though it’s probably a good handicap for skilled players.
• Karate – the fighters now have pinheads and are missing one of their knees, but the game still acts the same
• Open Sesame/I Want My Mommy – The music is butchered as usual but the graphics and gameplay remain fairly unchanged only everything that was white is now yellow.
• Spider/Spacemaster X-7 – half of the shield is missing and has reappeared on the far right of the screen leaving the left half of the station completely unguarded making the game a breeze to play even in the harder difficulty levels, I easily quintupled my previous high score.
• Squirrel – completely fine, apart from the standard sprite warping there is nothing wrong with it.

Tigervision

• Polaris – the sonar sound effect is even worse to listen to than before, otherwise the game plays the same and apart from the standard sprite warping looks fine as well.
• Jawbreaker – the game behaves normally and apart from some thick blue bars outside the play area and some of the dots not being where they should the game looks fine as well.
• Miner 2049er – First off… Ow my ears that music is mangled to shit, otherwise everything is fairly normal apart from a crazy color palette.

http://atariage.com/forums/blog/729/entry-15431-phillip-the-2600-what-has-he-defiled-today/