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cessnaace's Blog - Game Review #8: Tapeworm


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Game: Tapeworm
System: Atari 2600/VCS/Sears Video Arcade
Publisher: Spectravision
Catalog Number: SA-205
Programmer: ?
Cartridge Size: ?
Copyright: 1982

I like to credit the programmer when I do a review, but I couldn't find out who it was through my research.

Genre: Snake
Controller: Joystick (Sega Game Pad Compatible)
Players: 1; 2 (alternating)

Rarity Rating: 3

FROM THE MANUAL
Please welcome to your T.V. set our hero "SLINKY" the SPECTRA-WORM. Good OL' SLINKY loves fruit, and knows where to get it. The Trouble is, that before SLINKY can get to the fruit, he has got to eat all those fattening beans first.

Every time SLINKY eats one of those beans he gets longer and longer, making it awfully tough to get around. Especially since he has got to stay in the bean patch all the time. Some time poor "SLINKY" gets all tangled up which is no good at all!

And then these two villains "SPANKY" and "BEEKY" are always trying to make a meal out of "SLINKY".

So, SLINKY wants you! To get your bean and fruit finding joystick of yours and help him out.

"SLINKY'S" DIET
Bean
Apple
Orange
Grape
Stawberry
Banana

BEEKY'S AND SPANKY'S DIET IS SLINKY !!!

I didn't change a single word or punctuation mark. I typed every word of the above from the manual scan at Atari Mania. Every time that I typed "Slinky" all that I could think of was the TV commercial for the Slinky toy (which I had as a child. To this day I drive people crazy singing it).

It’s Slinky; it’s Slinky. For fun it’s a wonderful toy.

What walks down stairs, alone or in pairs, and makes a slinkety sound? A spring, a spring, a marvelous thing! Everyone knows it’s Slinky.

It’s Slinky; it’s Slinky. For fun it’s a wonderful toy. It’s fun for a girl and a boy.

But what I remember is the :30 TV Commercial. The song is even longer.

FULL :60 TV COMMERCIAL FOR SLINKY



Anywho, back to the task at hand, and my review of Sl..., er Tapeworm. This game isn't bad, but it does make sounds that hurt my ears. I'm talking about whenever Beeky or Spanky are on-screen. OK, I admit it. Whenever I type Spanky I think of the ancient "Our Gang" comedies, aka, "The Little Rascals." I'm old so that explains that, I think.

There are 5 patches that Slinky must make his way through, eating the beans one at a time until the fruit can be reached. When he eats a bean the next one will appear. If he fails to reach the bean before the Beetle at the bottom of the screen reaches the fruit displayed on the bottom-right of the screen, more beans will appear. It's tempting to delay reaching the fruit by traveling in a circle, and if the game rewarded you by giving you bonus points for the length of his wormness once he has eaten the last bean and makes it to the fruit, it might be worth it. But it doesn't. So it isn't.

Patch 3 is in the dark. The screen will light briefly (about :02 seconds) after Slinky eats a bean. If you hit the Fire button that will also light the screen for the same length of time. It's tempting to hit the Fire button repeatedly. Don't! Each time you use this feature you lose one of the beans that you've collected. Loose them all and you lose a life.

SCORING
The Patches appear in the following order:

  • Apple Patch. Each bean is worth 5 points. Fruit 50 points.
  • Orange Patch. Each bean is worth 10 points. Fruit 100 points.
  • Grape Patch (Night). Each bean is worth 15 points. Fruit 150 points.
  • Strawberry Patch. Each bean is worth 20 points. Fruit 200 points.
  • Banana Patch. Each bean is worth 25 points. Fruit 250 points.
With the Difficulty Switch set for A your worm is on a diet. I score fewer points this way (A Position). If it's in the manual I missed it.

A bonus worm is awarded every 1,000 points, but you can only have 4 at a time.
The game will allow a maximum of 30 beans per patch.
Maximum Score: 9,995 points.

YOUTUBE TAPEWORM PLAY VIDEO



HOW TO PLAY HOME VIDEO, VOL. 2: THE HOT NEW GAMES: TAPEWORM SEGMENT (1982)



I really struggled as to where to place Tapeworm in the ranking. I moved a few games in the end from how I was originally going to rank them. I originally ranked Tapeworm 7th, but figured with the sound turned way down it should rank higher. Don't get me wrong here, I like every game that I've reviewed so far to some degree, with the exception of Fire Fly.

RANKING: 5 out of 8
  • Worm War I
  • Demolition Herby
  • Allia Quest (Home Brew)
  • Naughty List (Home Brew)
  • Tapeworm (with the sound turned down low)
  • Bell Hopper (Home Brew)
  • Alligator People (Prototype)
  • Fire Fly

REVIEWED GAMES IN THE DATABASE AT HIGH SCORE http://highscore.com
  • Bell Hopper
  • Demolition Herby
  • Fire Fly
  • Naughty List
  • Tapeworm
  • Worm War I
OTHER GAMES PUBLISHED BY SPECTRAVISION Rarity only listed if above 5. P = Prototype
  • Bumber Bash - Rarity 9
  • Challenge of Nexar (Own)
  • Chase the Chuck Wagon - Rarity 8
  • China Syndrome
  • Cross Force
  • Gangster Alley
  • Gas Hog - Rarity 8
  • Kreuzer - P
  • Mangia - Rarity 10
  • Master Builder - Rarity 8
  • Planet Patrol (Own)
  • Super Baumeister - Rarity P
Please Like, Follow and Comment. I spent 5 hours on this thing, including the new lyrics to the tune of the Slinky jingle that I wrote as a review of Tapeworm. Be thankful I decided to not include it, although that was an hour wasted.















http://atariage.com/forums/blog/760/entry-15754-game-review-8-tapeworm/
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