DMC's Activision Patch Challenge Journey

[DrMooCowz]

TL;DR

 

• Trying to get scores for all the Activision patches
• Streaming attempts on Twitch on Sundays @ 3:00 PM Eastern Time (and HSC stuff) at this address: https://www.twitch.tv/drmoocowz
• Chronicling process in this thread!

 

Full Story

 

Hello! I'm sure this isn't original among 2600 fans, but I thought it would be cool to chronicle my journey of trying to earn every Atari 2600 Activision patch that was created! I'm following https://www.atariage.com/2600/archives/activision_patches.html for criteria and will lookup manuals for additional details. I wanted to wait until I had a physical of each of these games before starting, which I completed in Oct 2021. I stream on Twitch (mostly retro stuff, occasionally a modern indie, and shmups from any era) and you can find my channel at https://www.twitch.tv/drmoocowz ! For now, I'm going to stream these attempts on Sundays @ 3 PM Eastern Time and High Score Club attempts when they're happening. My streams are typically 3-5 hours. I'm using a random wheel picker to determine what game is next, so who knows! There could be multiple games in a single stream if the games are easy to get the goal! I'm using an RGB modded 2600 w/ a SNES style AV plug for use with a HD Retrovision SNES component cable, and routing it through a RetroTink 5x to get the signal to the stream.

 

If you want to watch the journey, hang out, and chat, I'd love for you come on by! Thanks ahead of time!

 

 

Edited July 18, 2022 by Dr Moocowz

[DrMooCowz]

First up on the quest was Robot Tank! I always liked this game as a kid and... still mostly do now! ? Little did I know this was one of the hardest ones to get the highest level patch!

 

I definitely really like the day/night cycle and the changing weather patterns. They're really cool mechanics and really enjoy watching the beautiful sunrise/sunset.

 

There are 3 patches to get with this game:

• 4 squadrons/48 tanks
• 5 squadrons/60 tanks
• 6 squadrons/72 tanks

 

If there's multiple patches and/or multiple ways to earn the patch (e.g. Grand Prix), I'm wanting to do all of them. So, really the 6 squad/72 tanks was the only real goal in this one. My first attempts at it were on May 8th, 2022 after some other games were played. I did not get back to trying again until June 29th, 2022. This was a really tough grind! Once you get to squad 5 and definitely squad 6, you can NOT just go in guns blazing at that point in the game. You have to be patient to get the ideal weather conditions and positioning to try to minimize your chances of losing a life. For me eventually, I was ok with clear weather and fog for squads 5 & 6 after hours of painful mistakes and miscues. Even with this exercise in patience and positioning on squad 6, it still felt like a coin flip if I was going to shoot the enemy before it got me with its ridiculously fast shots! I had plenty of games that ended in heart break with getting 70 and 71 tanks! Only July 4th, 2022, at the end of another 4.5 hour stream (4th stream overall and into hour 17), I finally got the magical run to get the patch and ended up destroying 75 tanks total! What a tough game and a grind! Apparently, it's possible to get 12 squadrons/144 tanks, but sheesh! Hats off to anyone who can do that!

 

The wheel determined Pitfall II: The Lost Caverns will be next! Patch goal is 99,000. However, I want to go for a perfect game at 199,000!

 

Goal: 72 tanks

Final Score: 75 tanks

Date Completed: 2022-07-04

Time: 4 streams at ~17h 7m to complete

 

Next Game: Pitfall II: Lost Caverns

 

[DrMooCowz]

Pitfall II: Lost Caverns completed!

 

Set the goal to get a perfection run aka all treasures, no deaths, no falling to lose a little bit of points. This made it more of a challenge vs the easier patch score of 99,000.

 

Goal complete! Got both the patch score and the extra perfection run! This one only took one stream and ~2h 40m to get it. I added an attempt counter to track for fun and got it on my 18th attempt for the day! Run 12 was a heartbreaker with getting hit by the evil frog right at the very end!

 

This game is still a lot of fun and still impressed with the vertical scrolling and having background music!

 

The wheel determined Space Shuttle: Journey Into Space is next up! I tried it for a little bit at the end of the stream and not sure what I'm getting myself into on this one! Apparently, I need to use the switches on the actual console!? Will definitely need to read the manual before trying this one for real. ?

 

Goal: 99,000 for patch, 199,000 for perfection

Final Score: 199,000

Date Completed: 2022-07-10

Time: 2h 40m, 18 attempts

 

Next Game: Space Shuttle: Journey Into Space

 

Edited July 18, 2022 by Dr Moocowz

[DrMooCowz]

Disappointed I can't seem to edit the original post to keep the master list updated as I progress. 

[5x7]

For Space Shuttle there were two overlays that came in the box, one for six switch and one for four switch models.  I had it as a kid and played on a four switch.  I got a light sizer a few years ago so using the difficulty switches would better in the game

https://atariage.com/overlay_page.php?SystemID=2600&SoftwareID=1313&itemTypeID=OVERLAY

Edited July 16, 2022 by 5x7

[ianoid]

I’ve been doing my own patch challenge but I’m not a streamer. I have some posts on Twitter related @deliciousgames So far I’ve gotten Grand Prix, Skiing, Freeway, Kaboom, Ice Hockey and River Raid. I was working on Stampede when I left off. I got Silver on Decathlon as well. 

 

For Pitfall II did you use any maps or hints? Or is that how long it took you to explore and learn the map?

 

Good luck with your patch quest!

[DrMooCowz]

7 hours ago, ianoid said:

For Pitfall II did you use any maps or hints? Or is that how long it took you to explore and learn the map?

So, I had a bit of knowledge on Pitfall II ahead of time from the 2600 High Score Club. It was played within the past few seasons. That being said, I don't think it would be tooooo bad going into it blind and learning where all the treasures are located. There's definitely one tricky one to get that you have to think outside the box a bit to get it. Once you know where everything is, it became a much more difficult challenge on trying to put it together for a "perfect run" w/ no deaths or stumbles (little bit loss of points). Getting enough points for the purposes of the patch is not super difficult. Perfect run.... a frustrating challenge, but I seem thrive on this while streaming. ?

[DrMooCowz]

Space Shuttle: Journey Into Space... wow this game.

 

This is definitely NOT a pickup and play kind of thing. Near the end of the Pitfall II stream, I popped this in to see what I was in for exactly. I "beat" Flight #1 without knowing that it was automated and did not have any real control. I soon found out this is a game where you use the actual console + joystick to control the game! Woah, what a concept! It became very clear I needed to read the manual and needed to test my console if the Color/B&W switch still worked. When I got the console modded, that switch definitely does not do its intended purpose any more and was not sure if it would still control the game. Some testing later in the week determined "yes, it works in game" and it was smart for the game design that the left difficulty switch could be used as a back up if you couldn't use the Color/B&W switch.

 

I eventually figured out how to do the launch process, but trying to find the satellite seemed basically impossible! After an hour of trying to find the satellite (had X, Y, and Z axes at 0.... got nothing!), had to dig into various other resources that weren't the scanned manual or the console overlay. It was when I finally looked at the html manual and a gamefaq guide that I realized the pitch of the shuttle needed to be at -28 and not +28! That extra space would have helped make this clearer!

 

 

 

 

 

So, after trying again at -28, hot damn, the satellite appears! Actually docking with it was yet another long, painful process to figure out.

 

Fast forward a bit later (hour 3?), doing everything correctly in Flight #3 (aka player controls everything), I docked with the satellite and land successfully. The analysis screen says I did good enough get Pilot ranking, which the manual says:

 

 

I still don't really understand why that happened. Was it truly 4-5 missions in a row or I misinterpreted the manual again or was the game bugged after a period of time? But, reading the manual again, I theorized that maybe I'm supposed to do 6 satellite docks in one go, and that's what I did for the last run. Docking with the satellites definitely got more or more difficult after each success, which made this feel more like Atari-style difficulty. The other thing that happened was my fuel kept leaking like a sieve and I "ran out" several times, yet it kept putting me back to max 9999 units each time. No idea why (again, a bug?), but just rolled with it.

 

Then after about 4 hours of playing, the last run getting the 6 dockings in 1 play, and apparently having over 7500 fuel after running out twice on the descent, the beautiful commander wings logo appeared and the challenge for this game is done (even if questionable with possible bugs ).

 

I definitely can appreciate the scope and innovation of this game and using the actual console to control stuff. It's very cool, but this one is not one of the favorites and probably not coming back to it for a very, very long time.

 

 

Goal: 6 missions and over 7500 fuel

Final Score: I did it

Date Completed: 2022-07-17

Time: 4h 20m

 

Next Game: H.E.R.O.

 

[DrMooCowz]

H.E.R.O. !! awww, yeeeeeah! This one has always had a reputation of being one of the best and I can't disagree with it!

 

This is a bit of memorization on where to go in each level with lots of paths w/ some being impossible to pass. I did say many times that the pacing in this one is quite nice. Keeps things moving quickly, but it's also not overwhelmingly fast.

 

I read in the manual to confirm the 75,000 points for the patch, but also saw the bit about beating level 20 will make the game say "Level: Pro", as well as the mention of 1,000,000 points (!!). I decided to see how the 75,000 point patch goal would go with the possibility of going for beating level 20.

 

As it turned out, the 75,000 point marker was reached in about 40 minutes and I did not find that to be too difficult. With that being the case where it happened so quickly, I immediately decided I wanted to get beat level 20 as a bonus goal. Oof, that turned out to be a legit challenge. Several times, I got to level 19, but ultimately defeated. That was pretty much the story of stream #1 of the game.

 

A week later, it was time for stream #2 of the game and eager to defeat level 20! Lots of failed attempts and was a grind to even get to level 20. Once there, I usually had no extra lives and would perish to the first enemy. It was clear I needed to do better and have lots of lives to even explore and learn the level. Eventually, I made it to level 20 with FULL LIVES and ready to see how we'd do! I kinda had a meltdown with many dumb deaths towards the beginning. I got my composure back with only 1 extra life left. Eventually got to the final screen with the miner in it! First move... smacked into the red wall while trying to dip under it! I didn't like the spawn positioning, so ran back to the opening platform to be "more familiar". Last chance and power running out, went for it..... success! Finally got that level 20 defeated! LEVEL: PRO displaying on the screen! A big pop from me for finally getting it! I finished out the run to see what happens post-level 20. Apparently the answer is the game randomly picks previous level and rinse repeat until game over or you get that 1,000,000 point mark! Huge respect to anyone who has done the 1,000,000 point thing in this game! Not something that appeals to me personally, but I'm impressed if you can do it!

 

Consulted the wheel and it chose Laser Blast as the next game!

 

Goal: 75,000 and beat level 20

Final Score: 192490 and Level: Pro!

Date Completed: 2022-07-24 (for 75,000 patch), 2022-07-31 for beating level 20

Time: 2 streams at ~7h 51m to complete (~40m to get the patch)

 

Next Game: Laser Blast

 

[DrMooCowz]

Laser Blast! I've played this one very little previously... and that was a good thing, apparently. I ended up not liking this one at all! It's basically the same screen over and over and over and over and over and etc. The manual said there's 2 challenges for this one: 100,000 and 1,000,000 points.

 

This was the same stream as H.E.R.O. and was more of a "taking a quick look for next time" kind of thing.

 

Game 1: Got destroyed very quickly and managed to get a high score of 120

Game 2: A bit better with a score of 3420

Game 3: I eventually found a strat that worked really well. Basically, just started trying to attack the enemies before they attacked me and using the straight down shot. This was really effective and with the generous extra life every 1000 points..... this was basically no challenge other than a test of monotony and endurance. I was well on my way to 100,000 at a slow 90 points at a time and just kinda said "screw it, I guess we're getting this now instead of waiting a week". Boom, boom, boom. Screen scroll. Boom, boom, boom. Screen scroll. Occasional death, but easy extra lives. After roughly 30 minutes of this, 100,000 score/patch achieved. I did have a bit of a debate if I wanted to try for 1 million. I extrapolated that it would be 4-5 hours total with no pause and ton of monotony. I'm sure I could get it, but it didn't feel like a fun use of my gaming time and saying the 100,000 patch was good enough! I did try game 4 a bit after to see how that played. Definitely a ton faster, but the same strat worked on it, too. Might be the faster way to anyone aspiring to get to 1 million points out there.

 

Dragster came up next via the wheel. Oh my ?

 

Goal: 100,000

Final Score: 111,420

Date Completed: 2022-07-31

Time: 36m

 

Next Game: Dragster

 

[DrMooCowz]

Dragster! I was a bit concerned about this one from past experience. Would I get lucky and nail it on the first try and be done in 10 seconds or would it be a grind?

 

Took a bit to remember how exactly things worked in the game, but eventually got the mechanics figured out. Tons of blown engines. So much "EARLY". I was using a Sega Genesis 6-button controller (how I prefer playing Atari most of the time) and got to 6.01 seconds at one point. After hitting a wall, I tried to appease the Atari deities and got out the ol' CX-40. I really struggled using it and think the best I got with it was something like 6.68 seconds. I just didn't seem to have the dexterity with it compared to the controller and switched back. And since you're reading this, I think you know what the final result was for this game's patch!

 

Goal: < 6 seconds

Final Score: 5.94 seconds

Date Completed: 2022-08-07

Time: 1h 4m

 

Next Game: Megamania

 

Clip of the run: https://clips.twitch.tv/EnchantingIgnorantKeyboardRuleFive-7Oei5Kl1m44mfBwc

 

[DrMooCowz]

Megamania! This happened in the same stream as Dragster. Before starting, watched an amazing commercial for this game. Highly recommend it, if you've not seen it before like me! I remember playing this one a little bit previously

 

I took the time to read the manual and was amused by the names of the enemies, but confirmed the patch target of 45,000.

 

I really like the variety of enemies, the different patterns, and the fact that patterns evolve over time. Admittedly, I do play a lot of shoot'em ups, but getting extra lives felt way too easy and the score for the patch feels way too low. I decimated this one on the first try. If I quit immediately after getting the score, it maybe was 5 minutes? I played the full game out.

 

Goal: 45,000

Final Score: 259,860

Date Completed: 2022-08-07

Time: 18m (first game)

 

Next Game: Chopper Command

[DrMooCowz]

Chopper Command! This one was considered "mine" when our family got it back in the day and claimed it by sticking an ankylosaurus sticker on it when I was a kid. Watched another commercial for this one before starting. Only 10,000 points for the patch? And that's also the amount of points for getting an extra life? This sounded way too easy.

 

Chopper Command definitely seems inspired by Defender in a lot of ways. Definitely some fun game play, but the shot from the chopper is way too loud and obnoxious.  It took 3 attempts to break the 10,000 point barrier. Again, this felt like the bar was set way too low.

 

Goal: 10,000

Final Score: 16,300

Date Completed: 2022-08-07

Time: 7m (3 attempts)

 

Next Game: Grand Prix (uh oh!)

[DrMooCowz]

Grand Prix! I was dreading this one a bit. I remember from past attempts at this one, it felt like you could NOT make a mistake to have any chance to beat the times in the manual on this one. Was that the case this time? Not 100% true, but it definitely was a factor!

 

Even though the manual indicated you only needed to beat one of the game modes to earn the patch, I opted to do all 4 game modes! Moois Hamiliton did not fear the challenge!

 

Game 1 Watkins Glen <= 0:35

 

The literal first attempt of game 1, I said something like, "I'm not really trying, just doing a sound test to see if the game volume is ok". Then it turned into "ok, I am actually trying". Then 33.58 seconds later, boom, Game 1 patch earned! Off to a great start and technically could have been the end of the challenge for Grand Prix!

 

Game 2 Brands Hatch <= 1:00

 

This one was a VERY different story compared to Game 1. This one took a lot of trial and error (so much error) memorization and execution to get it right. You are allowed 1, maybe 2 mistakes on this one before the time is out of reach. Game 2 easily took the bulk of the time for this challenge. On attempt #117, victory was finally achieved with a 59.32 time!

 

Game 3 Le Mans <= 1:30

 

Game 3 showed some signs of "having lanes where you don't need to move for a while" and proved to make this one easier compared to Game 2. It still was not a pushover by any means. In "section 3" aka after bridge 2, it took a very long time to figure out how to slow down and properly navigate the 4 car wide barricade that it likes to do on this one. "Only" 55 attempts on this before getting 1:28.95!

 

Game 4 Monoco <= 2:30

 

Lastly, was debating skipping this to get some scores in on Vanguard for the 2600 High Score Club or give this one a few shots before... switching gears to Vanguard. As it turns out, the decision to try this one was the correct one! I went full speed not knowing how any of this would play out. Definitely a lot of mistakes, but the high mark proved to be helpful and nailed this on the first try at 2:18.47! And with that, all 4 game modes were defeated and the patched earned now matter how you sliced it!

 

I definitely like this game way more as an adult compared to how I did as a kid. If you're ok with lots of failure in your gaming, this can be satisfying to conquer the times listed in the manual and can see the appeal to the people trying to get the lowest times possible.

 

Goal: Defeat all 4 game mode times (Game 1 - 0:35, Game 2 - 1:00, Game 3 - 1:30, Game 4 - 2:30)

Final Score: All 4 modes defeated (Game 1 - 0:33.58 [1 attempt], Game 2 - 0:59.32 [119 attempts], Game 3 - 1:28.95 [55 attempts], Game 4 - 2:18.47 [1 attempt])

Date Completed: 2022-08-14

Time: 3h 31m

 

Next Game: Crackpots

 

[DrMooCowz]

Crackpots! I always liked this one when I was a kid. Plenty of experience playing this one over the years, but was that enough get the score needed for the patch?

 

I started quite a bit better than I was expecting, getting in the low 60,000 range. A lot spamming pots in the middle while "on the way" to the next became very important for getting over the 75,000 threshold. It ended up being only 3 attempts before getting the score posted below. This definitely was not a pushover and I feel the bar was set about right for being a challenge and not too easy.

 

Goal: 75,000

Final Score: 79,960

Date Completed: 2022-08-21

Time: 35m (3 attempts)

 

Next Game: Plaque Attack

 

[DrMooCowz]

Plaque Attack! What a concept for a game! Took some time to look at the box and manual and the art in it is great and adds to the oddity of the theme!

 

I really like this game! The big, chonky teeth. The variety of the food. The frantic pace. I was a bit disappointed I knocked this out on the first try since I wanted to play it some more!

 

Goal: 35,000

Final Score: 41,210

Date Completed: 2022-08-21

Time: 7m (1 attempt)

 

Next Game: Oink!

 

[DrMooCowz]

Oink! The name definitely grabs my attention. This is a cartridge I got much later in life and "new-ish" to me, but have played it before. A cool concept on making a game based on the Three Little Pigs. I laughed a bit at the wolf being named Bigelow B. Wolf! Was that a real from the fairy tale? I kinda doubt it, but made me question it for sure and want it to be true.

 

The pace in this one is truly constant and scary at the same time. Every time Bigelow's breath hits, you immediately think, "Did he get me!?". This happens several times during a normal play and just keep moving on as fast as you can. Slowing down at all just makes surviving even more difficult. So many close calls with one tiny brick (sometimes the one I just put down) saving you from defeat. My previous experience with the game did not make it too bad for me and knocked it out quickly, allowing me to become an Honorary Oinker!

 

Goal: 25,000

Final Score: 59,536

Date Completed: 2022-08-21

Time: 21m (2 attempts)

 

Next Game: Sky Jinks

[DrMooCowz]

Sky Jinks! I think I got this game as either a birthday or xmas present when I was a kid. At the time, I either wasn't aware of the Activision patches or didn't care. I generally just played the various game modes to see if I could clear the course without missing a pylon.

 

Fast forward to today, I had the goal in mind and read the clarification in the manual of getting less than 37 seconds and not missing any pylons. First attempt was more about trying to remember how things work. Which side of the pylon do you fly, speeding up, slowing down. Took a couple games to get the controls down. Then after that, it really did not take long to get successful game to earn the patch!

 

Goal: < 37.0 seconds and no missed pylons

Final Score: 36.44 seconds and no missed pylons

Date Completed: 2022-08-28

Time: 11m (7 attempts)

 

Next Game: Enduro

 

[DrMooCowz]

Enduro! This is a game I picked up later in life, but it's a great one! I definitely would have liked this as a kid! It's so fun to go maximum speed and dodge cars for any length of time. Gives you that white knuckle feel and the adrenaline rush (similar to dodging tight bullets in shmups for me).

 

After Sky Jinks, I played the 4 games available for the 2600 high score club, then decided to get back to patch progress. I have played this in the high score club in recent years, so this might be a bit unfair to use this as a metric if you're coming into this cold. A minor point of contention, the way I interpreted the wording in the manual was to to get past day 5 to earn the patch. The trophy on the screen definitely appears once you get to day 5 (aka completing 4 days). My first attempt, I fell 11 cars short of completing day 5. Even though that would be good enough to get the patch in the mail, I decided I wanted to complete 5 days as a bonus goal/reassurance. And that's exactly what happened on attempt #2!

 

Goal: Endure for 5 days / Bonus: Complete 5 days

Final Score: Got to day 8, fell 60 cars short, 1411.6 on the odometer

Date Completed: 2022-08-28

Time: 51m (2 attempts, and just now realizing how long I played the game on those attempts! Time flies!)

 

Next Game: Pitfall!

[DrMooCowz]

Part 1 (Part 2, to be continued)

 

Pitfall! The classic! When you talk to non-Atari enthusiasts, this is usually one of the games they mention. And for good reason! It's fun! 255 screens, according to the manual (!!) and lots of treasure to find! In fact, the manual says if you collect all the treasure, you will have a score of 112,000 points! It also mentions, a perfect score with no errors (deaths might be ok) is 114,000. I'm contemplating going for the perfect score (aka the Part 2, to be continued). But, for now, let's just get the patch!

 

I was not really expecting the patch score of 20,000 to be a problem and it wasn't! I do know from previous experience that it is easier to go left than right with the barrels moving at the same pace as Harry. First attempt, no problem and just played the full 20 minutes to get a grasp on what a perfect score might be like to get!

 

Goal: 20,000

Final Score: 85,939

Date Completed: 2022-08-28

Time: 20m (1 attempt)

 

Next Game: TBD or perfect score attempts!

[DrMooCowz]

Beamrider! Been a bit since I got to continue this, but here we are!

 

The manual disagrees with what's listed in the Activision patch page listed in the original post. The manual states you need a score of 40,000 and get to Sector 14, so that's the goal I set. This game also jumped in line without the wheel, because it also happened to be the game for the 2600 High Score Club. 🙂

 

This game is so fun and wish I had more time to do the high score attempts. Everything looks great in it and it ramps up the difficulty in a nice, slow way. Also, my love of shoot'em ups makes this super fun for me, too. Unfortunately (maybe?) I knocked this out in 1 attempt, which is great for the challenge, but sadly meant I didn't play this as much I would've liked! I still had the Pitfall Perfect Game hovering over me.

 

Goal: 40,000 & Sector 14

Final Score: 41,520 & Sector 19

Date Completed: 2022-09-25

Time: 20m (1 attempt)

 

Next Game: TBD

 

[DrMooCowz]

Part 2 of Pitfall!

 

Been a bit since I got any progress here! I started an A-Z 1cc Shmup Challenge in September (the letter G is next!), had some unexpected time away, and tough trying balance all of this together plus usual day to day stuff. That's all a long way to say that I've sporadically trying to get the "perfect score" in Pitfall! since August 28th! Honestly, if I had to redo it, it's smart to do consistent attempts at this and not wait days, weeks, months in between runs. I started trying again on Sunday the 18th when I opened my Atari Age Secret Santa gift! Which you should follow that thread and participate in 2023 when the announcement happens! Always a fun time shopping for others! (getting stuff is fun, too!)

 

Attempts happened on 5 streams from late August until today. 3 of the 5 streams had other things happening and fit this in when the "main feature" was completed. The 18th and 20th were fully dedicated to trying beat this one.

 

So, if you're not aware, the goal is to collect every piece of treasure in the game in under 20 minutes.You are allowed to lose a life, but you are NOT allowed to touch a log (biggest problem) or fall in a pit to the lower level. Either of these actions make you lose points and the run is over. Losing all of your lives or the timer running out obviously an end to a run, too. The vast majority of the time, it was touching a log, even for a moment. Either they surprised me on a screen transition or I died crossing a lake and the respawn made me hit a log. Occasionally my head would graze one while climbing down a ladder (annoying!).

 

I 100% used this awesome map to help me: https://pitfallharry.tripod.com/MapRoom/PitfallMap.html

 

Trying to figure this out from scratch, I imagine it took people many hours to do in the pre-internet days and much respect to you if this was something you did! The map also gives me a greater appreciation of the game on how complex it really is when seeing it all laid out like this.

 

Sometimes I would lose my place on the map with the very little time I had to glance from my TV to the map and reading/interacting with chat, but that's all part of the fun, too!

 

On the 18th, there was a tragic death where I made it to the last screen and jumped a few frames too early and my foot caught the edge of the hole in the middle with 2 seconds left! Huge heartbreaker to be that close!

 

But, my last run on the 20th proved to be the final run to finally get that juicy 114,000 point perfect score! Much rejoice was had! I dusted off "the wheel" and it chose Dolphin for the next one!

 

Goal: 114,000

Final Score: 114,000 (7 seconds left)

Date Completed: 2022-12-20

Time: 5 streams at ~13h (66 attempts)

 

Next Game: Dolphin

[DrMooCowz]

Dolphin! This one is one of those duo patch games with "Friends of Dolphins" set at 80,000 and "Secret Society of Dolphins" set at 300,000. I've played this somewhat recently in the High Score Club and mostly knew about the strategy of it being easier to hop out of the water and over the sea horses rather than trying to find the gaps.

 

I got the Friends of Dolphins patch on the very first attempt, but going for the 300,000 points was challenging! This happened in two streams, first on Dec 21st and then Dec 27th (not long after a 5 hour drive home from a family visit). There was definitely some heartbreakers with some games ending in the 290,000+ range! These bigger runs end up going 20-30 minutes, depending on how much you get side tracked with other things (e.g. discovering male sea horses are the ones that give birth and it's an aggressive looking process from what we saw on the stream! 😆 ).

 

But, finally, victory is mine! Amazing!

 

Goal: 80,000 / 300,000 / Amazing!

Final Score: Amazing!

Date Completed: 2022-12-27

Time: 2 streams at ~6h 15m (12 attempts)

 

Next Game: River Raid

[DrMooCowz]

River Raid! Fun fact: This is literally the only video game my mom will play. Riding high on the Dolphin victory, the wheel selected River Raid. I've played this one quite a bit in my lifetime and if anyone has watched me even a little, you'll know I love shoot'em ups. I had 100% confidence I was going to get this on the first try. Unfortunately, the 15,000 score seems really low and too easy. The manual also mentioned a special screen if you get 1,000,000 points! Based on what my final score is here and it took 20 minutes to get there.... getting 1,000,000 is like 5-6 hours in a single run! 😬 No thank you! It's a similar decision as Laser Blast, although I can take solace in this one that there's not a patch for 1 million.

 

Anyway, awesome game wish there was a more difficult goal that wasn't ridiculously time consuming!

 

Goal: 15,000

Final Score: 65,600

Date Completed: 2022-12-27

Time: 1 streams at ~20m (1 attempt)

 

Next Game: Seaquest

[DrMooCowz]

Seaquest! Still riding high on Dolphin and blowing River Raid aside like it was nothing, I attempted to do Seaquest in the same stream! This one was always really fun to play. Similar to River Raid, awesome game, but wish the goal was a bit tougher. Officially in the "Sub Club"!

 

Goal: 50,000

Final Score: 162,950

Date Completed: 2022-12-27

Time: 1 streams at ~16m (1 attempt)

 

Next Game: Kaboom!