Food Fight (by Mega Cat Studios) - (in VCS Store) (VCS EXCLUSIVE)

[PowerDubs]

From Discord- Mega Cat Studios, in collaboration with Atari, is thrilled to
announce the exclusive release of Food Fight on Atari VCS on December 15th!

 

JustClaws: I took the liberty to add this VCS launch trailer video, to your post.

 

 

[scifidude79]

I may possibly cry. Literally. I can't buy games right now on my VCS. Or, as Q*bert would say, @!#?@!

 

However, once I can buy it, I will buy it without hesitation. Food Fight is one of my favorite games of all time.

[yorxs]

As a new VCS owner, I too understand your pain.

[Ice Cream Jonsey]

Looking forward to it! Doesn't seem to be on the VCS store just yet, but I'm happy to keep checking.

[marss]

In the store!!!

[livingonwheels]

I'm unsure what to think of this game. Need more time with it. It's a 3D game, so major points for that! Graphically it's similar to Rally Racers on the VCS. Not too great, but gets the job done. Control is a little touchy, I seem to miss certain jumps repeatedly. Frame rate is a bit rough. Seems to have lots of content though (single player campaign, multiplayer, unlockable video games) so you'll definitely get your $15 worth.

Edited December 15, 2023 by livingonwheels

[Atari_JaguarVCS]

My first impressions of Food Fight are very very positive! I keep getting Nintendo Splatoon vibes from it visually and in the gameplay a little too which is definetaly not a bad thing. The visuals are really good although there seems to be the odd bit of slowdown here and there which I'm sure could be ironed out in a software update but for now I'm super impressed, i rate Food Fight highly so far and i can see it doing amazing on the Atari VCS and even better on the more larger platforms, i think its going to be a hit. 

[Mockduck]

The game really doesn't have anything to do with Food Fight the 80's arcade and 7800 game, but it's neat to have a third person online shooter on the VCS.

[PowerDubs]

Be aware that Atari is welcoming all the input on the game- good & bad- from the VCS owners...and updates / improvements will be made.

 

Feel free to speak up here- or over on the Atari Discord channels.

[+swlovinist]

 

[Atari_JaguarVCS]

1 hour ago, swlovinist said:

 

I watched your video and while it sounded mostly positive for the Atari VCS 800 there is quite a few things to take in to consideration with the new Food Fight releasing early on the system. I don't know the full story but the game was almost complete a few years ago and for one reason or another it was scraped and development had to be started all over again from scratch which has really held its release back. The game appeared first on the PC in beta earlier this year and its now early access on the Atari VCS. The games graphics aren't dumbed down or basic in design due to the Atari VCS hardware itself holding it back, the game will look mostly the same across all platforms in the end apart from the resolution which will be higher on the PS5 and Xbox series consoles but there's still scope for improvement on the game as its still in early access on the Atari VCS and will be updated accordingly so the visuals could get improved. I agree with your video about it being great that the Atari VCS got this as an exclusive early, but it didn't really need it as an exclusive and in the end its not going to make much of a difference, VCS is not competing with anything on the market it simply cant as its not sold outside the US to gain a big user base, it is its own thing now, mainly aimed around indie games and homebrew, its a nice stepping stone to for new developers to get there games noticed that wouldn't otherwise on the big platforms. I think its also worth while pointing out that the Atari VCS isn't sold outside the US so Food Fight online with the Atari VCS would never ever have a chance to be as populated as on the other platforms that are sold world wide, but that being said i have managed to play a few online games with no issues. Anyway the new update does allow newly purchased consoles to be updated out of the box now like it should have been from the start 🙂 and the zip code issue is still very much present. I hope you continue to cover the Atari VCS 800. 

[MrTrust]

Hate to say it, but this is pretty cringe.

 

This is obviously the Family Dollar version of Splatoon, and honestly who was asking for that?  Who's going to be convinced they want that?  I don't see it.  This is the kind of thing Atari just doesn't have the muscle or clout to pull off, and it shows.

 

Also, this game is clearly intended for kids, so what is up with all the up-their-own-ass Atari self-reference?  Look, kids, you can talk to Howard Warshaw and Nolan Bushnell!  Did you know that Yar's Revenge was the best-selling game of 1982?  How many different times are we going to unlock the Gravitar 2600 box art as a collective before enough is enough?

 

Atari, you are now dipping your toes into the same swimming pool as Nintendo.  Does Nintendo pummel you with constant declarations of what an important company they are and what history they have behind them.  No, and if that's true about your company, you have to continually say that.  It's one thing in a game like Atari Mania, but to have it here is bizarre, and like I said, just cringe.

 

Other than that, the games all right, but I have a feeling most online matches are going to be populated by bots.

[+jeremiahjt]

10 minutes ago, MrTrust said:

How many different times are we going to unlock the Gravitar 2600 box art as a collective before enough is enough?

Considering we have yet to get the original silver box Gravitar, I have to say it is not enough yet.

[MrTrust]

6 minutes ago, jeremiahjt said:

Considering we have yet to get the original silver box Gravitar, I have to say it is not enough yet.

 

For that, you're going to need the Collector's Edition of the game, with the exclusive NFT thumbnail art!  $185 $149.99

Edited December 16, 2023 by MrTrust

[PowerDubs]

I play tested this moths ago- on my laptop.  I am not a PC gamer so using a keyboard to navigate was not easy or fun...and I expected a controller would be easier / natural.

 

I downloaded it today, while on my phone with my brother in law who also has a VCS- we were excited to play against each other.

 

I was wrong.  I still hate the controls...and looked through the menu- there doesn't appear to be an option to change them.

 

But lets start at all the horrible pop up dialogs...press X just to go to move dialogs- press x to more dialogs. 

 

HORRIBLE.

 

Why even X to begin with?  Most other games I play are press A.

 

Why even have an assigned strafe button on a controller- when pushing left or right on the joystick does essentially the same thing?

 

I much prefer the old N64 007 way- push forward- move forward- push left / right to turn left right as you are walking forward.  Hold a button to sidestep / strafe.

 

I don't want to twin stick to try to move / shoot.

 

Also- am I the only one that didn't see any option for multiplayer? 

 

I gave up quickly... turned it off.... glad it was only $15.. and maybe might go back later...

[livingonwheels]

I've spent much more time with this game today, and I just can't sugarcoat this. It looks and plays VERY low budget. It actually makes me physically sick to play, it's that lackluster. Hopefully it really is in beta because it needs a lot of improvement. Having this be exclusive, even temporarily, makes the VCS look like crap. I see a foundation to work with, but wow what an embarrassment this game is. Everything looks and feels so amateur.

Edited December 16, 2023 by livingonwheels

[chriSBA28]

I would like to have the pleasure of criticizing or praising this game but I can't even try it because of the zip code error. Since the launch of Haunted House I couldn't buy it either, I got frustrated and put the console in its box, now I plug it in again, the console was updated but the zip code error continues.

Atari, how is it possible that you do this to your audience, to your loyal followers. Solve it once and for all !! Meanwhile, I will put the console back in its box and keep it in the closet.

[+Sauron]

I haven't spent that much time in the game yet, but from what I've seen so far I've gotta agree with what most others are saying about this. The game looks a bit amateurish, the controls are a bit spotty, the framerate should be better, and the constant harping on Atari's history feels tacky. The game needs a lot more work done to it. It's a bit disappointing compared to how Haunted House turned out. It could be so much better. I hope they continue to improve on it while its in its exclusivity period on the VCS.

 

[MrTrust]

7 hours ago, Sauron said:

The game looks a bit amateurish, the controls are a bit spotty, the framerate should be better, and the constant harping on Atari's history feels tacky. The game needs a lot more work done to it. It's a bit disappointing compared to how Haunted House turned out. It could be so much better. I hope they continue to improve on it while its in its exclusivity period on the VCS.

 

 

Yes, tacky.  That is a good way to describe it.  Atari doesn't make any of their games in-house, yet they all do this to varying degrees, which makes me wonder if this is not a directive from the top.  It's like they don't understand that Mario is a household name and Bentley Bear is not.  In any case, the schtick is getting really old at this point.

 

I hope the game improves.  At least a few people have pointed out the obvious on Discord: duh, why is there not a Call of Duty Zombies-like co-op mode?  They already have the zombie fruit characters in the game. I guarantee that would be far more attractive to kids than theses deathmatch modes or these marathon jumping levels (what's that got to do with food fighting?) They need more arcade minigames.  No, I don't mean more emulated 1970s Atari arcade games.  I mean little kid casino coin pusher type games, like the things that actually populate arcades now.  No kid is going to give two seconds' time to an emulated version of Outlaw arcade game.

 

There's definitely room for improvement, but even then, you're just kind of salvaging what is a very ill-advised project.  I gather that a lot of the testers for this were True Believer Atari cheerleaders, who were just excited that Atari was putting out the kind of game that a "real" game company does.  I can't imagine how else something like this comes about.  If it's getting a cold reception here, for crying out loud...

[+Sauron]

2 hours ago, MrTrust said:

I hope the game improves.  At least a few people have pointed out the obvious on Discord: duh, why is there not a Call of Duty Zombies-like co-op mode?  They already have the zombie fruit characters in the game. I guarantee that would be far more attractive to kids than theses deathmatch modes or these marathon jumping levels (what's that got to do with food fighting?) They need more arcade minigames.  No, I don't mean more emulated 1970s Atari arcade games.  I mean little kid casino coin pusher type games, like the things that actually populate arcades now.  No kid is going to give two seconds' time to an emulated version of Outlaw arcade game.

Yes, exactly. We can only play the same 1970s Atari arcade games so many times before their inclusion becomes groan-inducing. Having more variety of types of games would be great. 

 

[+swlovinist]

I guess for me I have a different perspective of this game.   Atari went with a different direction with this project and while I understand where the complaints are coming from, I just look at it differently.   Not many 3D games on the VCS so it was nice to see this.    I like the youthful take on a IP that is not relatively known about outside of Atari fans.   Since this will be marketed outside the VCS eventually, I can see this doing okay.   I am curious about all the unlockables, and will try to get some of those today.   As a fan of Splatoon, I just like that Atari was trying something different here.    

 

 

[MrTrust]

51 minutes ago, swlovinist said:

Not many 3D games on the VCS so it was nice to see this.

 

It would be if the game was good.

 

52 minutes ago, swlovinist said:

I like the youthful take on a IP that is not relatively known about outside of Atari fans.

 

I would, too, if the game was good, but this is so Hello Fellow Kids it makes Bubsy look hip by comparison.  If they're going to make a kids' game, where's any of the stuff that kids these days actually like?  Kids like games to be open-ended, have some sort of creative/builder component, long-scale gewgaw collection, cataloging.  This doesn't have any of that.
 

1 hour ago, swlovinist said:

Since this will be marketed outside the VCS eventually, I can see this doing okay

 

Yeah, well, c'mon; you know why it will do okay if it does.  It's going to be bought by middle aged Atari fans whose kids might play it for a few hours just to humor their dads.  I can tell you my 9 year-old, who does enjoy several VCS games with me wants nothing to do with this one.

[+swlovinist]

That is a pretty salty take on the game if you ask me.   You dont like it and you have that right to your opinion.   Comparing this to Bubsy is extreme IMO.   

[killersquirel]

On 12/15/2023 at 5:14 AM, scifidude79 said:

I may possibly cry. Literally. I can't buy games right now on my VCS. Or, as Q*bert would say, @!#?@!

 

However, once I can buy it, I will buy it without hesitation. Food Fight is one of my favorite games of all time.

If you are experiencing the zip code bug, try backing out and going back in.  If you see "1234 1234 1234 1234" for the credit card number, back out.  I did it several times on the featured game list yesterdayday and had the issue.  I backed out and tried to select the game in the new game section and it worked on either the first or second try.  

[MrTrust]

2 hours ago, swlovinist said:

That is a pretty salty take on the game if you ask me.   You dont like it and you have that right to your opinion.   Comparing this to Bubsy is extreme IMO.   

 

If it makes you feel any better, I originally said Awesome Possum, but figured that would be overly harsh.

 

41 minutes ago, killersquirel said:

If you are experiencing the zip code bug, try backing out and going back in.  If you see "1234 1234 1234 1234" for the credit card number, back out.  I did it several times on the featured game list yesterdayday and had the issue.  I backed out and tried to select the game in the new game section and it worked on either the first or second try.  

 

Did you already have your card info saved?