Need some feedback on a few games

[bergbros]

I need some impressions on the following games: Batman Returns, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Dracula, Gauntlet, Power Factor, Paperboy, Scrapyard Dog, Switchblade, Toki, Turbo Sub and Viking Child. These games I guess you would call, second tier games- games that are not bad, but not usually on anyones top 5 list. Are any of them worth a look and if so at what price? I understand Gauntlet is not really like the arcade version which is a shame. I pretty much have almost all of the top 20 games on Jung's list and I want to see if there are any worthwhile games beyond it.

[Tom-Lynx]

I think you will get a wide variety of responses to this because it is all a matter of taste and what you like to play. Many folks swear by Viking Child, and it was one of my first Lynx games I ever owned, but I find it boring to play.

 

Keeping in mind that this is my opinion, I would say....

 

Out of that list I like Bill & Ted, Gauntlet, Power Factor, Switchblade and Toki.

 

I think Dracula is well written, but you need to devote the time to finish it. It really is an old fashioned adventure game. It is also the game on this list you will pay the most for.

 

Scrapyard Dog and Paperboy are so-so.

 

Batman got lots of hype, but I never enjoyed it much and found it pretty difficult.

 

Turbo Sub is terrible and if you paid more than $3 you paid too much.

 

Tom

[glitch]

I have to agree w/ Tom that peoples opinions will vary greatly regarding any games. With that said my impressions of the games are:

 

Batman Returns: Very nice graphics but it's a fairly simple side scroller that didn't impress me much. I was found it fairly difficult the first few times I played it but then my 10yr old son made it all the way to the end of the first level the first time he played it by just running past everything (I guess it was my fault for thinking I actually had to do something with all the villians coming after me). I payed less than $1.00 for both of my copies and it's definatly worth more than that but I wouldn't go over $5.00.

 

Dracula: I really like this game. It's an old style adventure game in the King's Quest I style. It does take a while to complete and there are no saves so you have to do it all in one sitting. Once you have completed it though there really isn't any replay value to the game. I paid $22.00 for my copy and still think it was a good purchase. www.myatari.com has it for $14.95 which is cheaper than you'll see it on eBay.

 

Gauntlet: I found this to be disappointing because I love the arcade versions. My main complaint with this game is the way the monsters vanish when they touch you so you can't tell if you're shooting them or they are just disappearing. I will admit that this game is a lot more enjoyable w/ multiple players. I paid around $10 a piece for my copies and don't think it's worth much more than that.

 

Paperboy: If you like the arcade game you'll like this. I thought it was a very accuarate port but the original never thrilled me too much. I'll still break this out every now and then to play. I paid $9 for mine and would probably pay a little more if I had to.

 

Switchblade II: I found this game to be way to easy. My son on the other hand loves this game just for that fact. He still plays it, I don't. Graphics are fair. I paid $1.50 for two copies (one new in box) and again wouldn't go over $5.00

 

Turbo Sub: Great concept, poor implementation. I paid $4.16 for my copy and I don't think I would go any higher.

 

Viking Child: I didn't care for this game at all. I like side scrollers & I love RPG's and this game just seemed to fail at both in my opinion. I found the controls to be poorly designed and the game play to be mediocore at best. I seen others swear by this game though so my opinion might be in the minority. I paid $9.99 and think I paid too much but I believe in general it is going for more than that.

 

Power Factor: I own this but haven't opened the box because the graphics on the back didn't really thrill me (Dirty Larry is another one that I haven't opened because I wasn't sure I was going to keep it). I may open it up to play it if the general opinion is that it is a good game. I paid less than $1 for this game also.

 

I don't own Bill & Ted's, Scrapyard Dog, or Toki yet but should soon.

[Videology]

That’s the advantage about being a collector and a gamer. There are some games I got strictly to say I had them and found out I liked them!

 

For me, I though.....

 

· Batman Returns got old quick.

 

· Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure I thought was fun, but it is hard to get around the monsters to get the notes. I got upset because I kept starting over.

 

· Dracula, well I have to agree with Tom-lynx.

quote

 It is well written, but you need to devote the time to finish it (NO Saving Your Place). It really is an old-fashion adventure game.

The only real two complaints I have about the game are its color pallet is done in browns, blacks and tans to give you the feeling of reading an old book. It makes it hard to see the true game play. That's one of the reasons I want to try the Sega super wide screen you have bergbros. The other complaint is you can’t save your games. (I would love to devote some time and money into figuring out a way to save games. This would be a great thing to keep in mind if there is anyone seriously considering a Lynx III someday)

 

· Scrapyard Dog I think is a “Cute” game… Reminds me of Mario Brothers. My wife likes this one, but I haven’t spent that much time looking at it. I never liked Mario Brothers either…

 

· Gauntlet I got board with but admit that I don’t have an owner’s manual with it, so I am probably missing something. Owner’s manual or not, I don’t think a lot of time was spent on developing the graphics. It could have been a lot better had the developers at Atari relied more on the Lynx ability to display 3D graphics.

 

· Power Factor: I thought this one was fun. I haven’t gotten very far, but I do like this one!

 

· Paperboy is fun but I’m not very good at it. I remember not being very good at it in the quarter arcades as a kid either… Hum…

 

· Switchblade: I have not given this one much time. Reminded me of Ninja Gaiden a little but I think I would rather play Gaiden.

 

· Toki: On my list to find (anyone have an extra copy they want to trade???)

 

· Turbo Sub: To once again quote the words of Tom-lynx,

quote

 Turbo Sub is terrible and if you paid more than $3 you paid too much.

Enough said…

 

· Viking Child: I like this one. It reminds me of Scrapyard’s game play, but I do like it… I hate trying to get pass the small rats or what ever they are though.

 

Once again... These are just my opinion at the time I tried them... I strongly sugest picking them up anyways and trying them...You can always sell or trade them later if you don't like them...

[Ze_ro]

I'll comment on the ones I've played...

 

Batman Returns: I think this game is overrated... it's hard, and fairly annoying. However, the graphics are good.

 

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure: Very underrated. Pretty much the only thing close to an RPG on the Lynx (Until Daemon's Gate comes out). However, some of what you do is rather unintuitive and confusing.

 

Dracula: Another very good adventure game. Less of an RPG, and more like the old Space Quest or Police Quest games from Sierra. However, I find the controls a little clunky.

 

Gauntlet: It's a bit like the arcade version, but at the same time quite a bit different. It's hard to describe how, but I think it's a good game nonetheless.

 

Power Factor: A good platformer game. Although I still can't figure out how to beat the dinosaur in the rocket ship after the first level....

 

Scrapyard Dog: Another decent platform game, but it doesn't really compete against Ninja Gaiden III, or Switchblade II in my opinion.

 

Switchblade II: Sort of slow paced, and a little easy, but a good game, and can be had for fairly cheap.

 

Toki: A surprisingly good conversion from the arcade, but there's some subtle differences that can get a little annoying. If you liked the arcade version, you'll like this one.

 

Viking Child: A lot of people have said that they didn't like this game, but I love it. It's a complete and total rip-off of Wonder Boy in Monster Land, so if you liked Wonder Boy, you should like this game. My only complaint is that the game is slow. Other than that, I think it's great.

 

I'm not sure of the price ranges for each individual game, but most of them can be had for fairly cheap. Bill & Ted, Power Factor, Switchblade II, and (I think) Turbo Sub can probably be found for around $5, and for that price, I think any game is worthwhile. Gauntlet, Dracula, and Viking Child will probably cost more like $15 or so, but I think they are worth it at that price.

 

If you really want to find out what the games are like before buying them, try playing them on an emulator.

 

--Zero

[HawgWyld]

quote:

---

Originally posted by bergbros:

I need some impressions on the following games: Batman Returns, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Dracula, Gauntlet, Power Factor, Paperboy, Scrapyard Dog, Switchblade, Toki, Turbo Sub and Viking Child. These games I guess you would call, second tier games- games that are not bad, but not usually on anyones top 5 list. Are any of them worth a look and if so at what price? I understand Gauntlet is not really like the arcade version which is a shame. I pretty much have almost all of the top 20 games on Jung's list and I want to see if there are any worthwhile games beyond it.

---

 

I've only had a Lynx since December or so, therefore I don't know enough to comment about most of the games you've listed.

 

However, I bought "Paperboy" and enjoy the heck out of that one. It's a pretty good port of the arcade game, which I also enjoyed. There's just something about busting out windows with newspapers that I like. That game is one that I often play when I need a quick "arcade fix" and the ol' Lynx is handy.

 

I haven't seen the Lynx version of "Scrapyard Dog." I do, however, own the Atari 7800 version of that one. I call it, affectionately, "Crapyard Dog." Enough said there.

[ataribob]

Viking Child Is a great game if you don't mind slow motion play.

[Gunstar]

Ok. Lynx games, for me, came in to distinct catagories for a while because I had nephews whom I gave a Lynx to and games i didn't want. The keepers and the nephew's pile.

 

Keepers:

bill&Teds (Zelda type game, good if you like RPG/adventures

 

Power Factor (I just love tje graphics and gameplay, very smooth platformer that i think is under-rated, should be considered a top game)

 

Paper boy (true to the original)

 

Switchblade (very fun platformer who's graphics are greatly improved after the first couple levels...change in artists?)

 

Nephew pile:

 

Batman-sucks

 

viking child-not my cup o' tea

 

scrapyard dog-ok, i guess

 

 

The rest I have never tried. I no longer give my unwanteds to my nephews as they sold their Lynx, and i have been playing more of VC and SD latly since I salvaged them back. they're ok platformers.

[SwedenLynxer]

I think VIKING CHILD is the best of these games.

 

VIKIG CHILD: Is a incredibly fun adventure-game with some RPG-elements. Your mission is to save your family that has been captured by the evil God Loki. The game has nice graphics. Big variety in levels, fun bosses and it has a password feature. The lack of music is the only weak point (But it has a nice intro- and ending-tune). I rate it 9,5/10

 

My rating of the rest of the games:

 

DRACULA: One of my absolute favorite games for the Lynx. Excellent RPG. 9/10

 

SCRAPYARD DOG: The best platform game for the Lynx. I would pick this game before Toki.

8/10

 

TOKI: Very good sound. Ok graphics. Ok gameplay. Much better than most of the Donkey Kong games. 7,5/10

 

SWITCHBLADE 2: Not the best graphics and very poor sound (no music during the levels) in this action-platformer. But I like this game anyway 7/10

 

TURBO SUB: This game, which is always underrated, has incredible graphics! 7/10

 

BATMAN RETURNS: Great Graphics but way to hard! Better than Kung Food and Dirty Larry but worse than Double Dragon. 6,5/10

 

BILL&TEDS E A: Adventure game whith some RPG-elements also. Password feature. 6,5/10

 

GAUNTLET: Never plays this game. I hate this typ of game where you have to hold your Lynx in a vertical position. 6/10

 

POWER FACTOR: Has some of the coolest looking bosses I have ever seen on a Lynx game. But the sound effects are terrible and every level looks exactly the same. 5/10

 

I never played PaperBoy.

[rfvgyjm320]

For me, the best game of all was Xenophobe, especially in multi-player mode. Being able to play a Xenophobe in multi-player mode is a blast. Most multi-player games do not allow you to be the bad guy.

 

The way the game was implemented, being able to pick up a comrade's bones and inhert stuff was cool.