KAZ Posted May 7, 2002 Share Posted May 7, 2002 I played Phoenix on my Atari 2600 today, for the first time, and I gave the game "a chance". I never played it that long on my emulator, because I thought it was some sort of neverending sequence of just shooting creatures above. What I found put a smile on my face.... Because I played it longer than about 30 seconds, I ended up getting to round 4 (somewhere around there), and found that I had to fight that cool ship thing, and you had to fire at those blocks going by. What a treat! That level was so cool. One of the other levels has a neat concept also, because if you hit the enemies in their wings, it does not kill them, only destroys their wings. If you hit them in the center it will kill them completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smile_walle Posted May 7, 2002 Share Posted May 7, 2002 Hey Kaz, I do love playing Phoenix on Atari 2600, lots fun shooting at aliens!! Great to hear that you did enjoyed!! Sometime I made fusturations to control and beat the aliens, I getting tired!! Phoenix is great game!! Have fun! Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarinvader Posted May 7, 2002 Share Posted May 7, 2002 Yeah, its nice to see a game where your in a space ships and you've gotta shoot aliens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted May 7, 2002 Share Posted May 7, 2002 Hey hey! I was playing my recently (re-)purchased Phoenix last night too, and surprisingly, I found I liked it more than Demon Attack! I used to love playing the arcade version. Atari did a good job on this 2600 version, with multi-colored birds and fast gameplay. It looks to me like all the birds are actually the same 'player' or sprite, talking hardware issues here. That would make your ship the other player, the bombs are of course missiles. I wonder if they use the ball sprite? Then again, what is the shield? The same player as the birds? Remember (if you don't know this), the 2600 only has 2 players and a ball sprite from which to build in-game characters. Oh, bg graphics can be used too, which is what the ship is made of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted May 8, 2002 Share Posted May 8, 2002 I was big into Demon Attack back in the day- the graphics and sounds were top notch and although it was repetitive, the different types of aliens gave the game a sense of "levels". At first, Phoenix turned me off probably because it seemed bland (especially compared to Demon Attack), but after a while it grew on me. Today, I'll play Phoenix for an hour but haven't played Demon Attack in a looong time... As for the question on the arcade game, it does give you two shots in the 2nd level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAZ Posted May 8, 2002 Author Share Posted May 8, 2002 I played it again on my emulator to try out the shield thing (which I hadn't done when playing it on my Atari 2600). Overall then, I do like this game more than demon attack. There's so many extras in phoenix than in demon attack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted May 8, 2002 Share Posted May 8, 2002 quoteThis is an unbelievably niggling question, but in the original arcade Phoenix, or any home version, has anyone ever noticed if you get double shots, instead of single, during each second wave of identical aliens Why of course! Everyone who played the arcade game knows that that's just the way it is. You get rapidfire on the 2nd stage. By the way did you know that in the arcade version you do NOT have to shoot out all the orange stuff underneath the Mothership to kill it? This is kind of a cool trick. Just shoot out all the moving purple band (shooting to either the far left or right of the ship) then when it's gone and the mothership is ALL the way down to the bottom of the screen, move to it's center and shoot. Your shot will travel right through the barrier it and finish it off. Yeah it's not too useful, but fun for a "show-off" type of trick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratfink Posted May 8, 2002 Share Posted May 8, 2002 I loved Phoenix in the arcades as a kid and wasn't disappointed at all by the 2600 port. I loved it. And of course Demon Attack rocked but if you really want to have your mind blown try the Intellivision version of Demon Attack. It's got a mother ship level just like Phoenix only cooler backgrounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
san-d-2000 Posted May 8, 2002 Share Posted May 8, 2002 I still think Demon attack is much better, the programming on the movement of the enemies is realy clever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NE146 Posted May 8, 2002 Share Posted May 8, 2002 The only reason why people compare Demon Attack and Phoenix is because they occasionally have similar looking birdlike enemies. But in my mind they are totally different shooters. Demon Attack is a 2600 game and has things like steerable missiles and splitting enemies. Phoenix is an arcade game which happened to also be ported to the 2600, and has those seperate stages and the mothership etc. If we're going to keep comparing the two we might as well throw in Space Invaders and Galaxian to the mix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skatepunk60 Posted May 8, 2002 Share Posted May 8, 2002 I purchased this game because my dogs name is pheonix .. but i must admit going through cycles of different colors / size bird makes the game more fun to play rather than doing the same level over and over again plus the alien thing is REALLY cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuckandCover Posted May 9, 2002 Share Posted May 9, 2002 I never owned a copy of Phoenix back in the day. I only got my hands on a copy about a year ago while I was trying to fill some holes in my cart collection. I was really amazed (still am) by what a good port of the arcade game the cart was. I've put quite a number of hours into the game since. The different challenges it offers help to keep it fresh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted May 9, 2002 Share Posted May 9, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Chris Federico: This is an unbelievably niggling question, but in the original arcade Phoenix, or any home version, has anyone ever noticed if you get double shots, instead of single, during each second wave of identical aliens? I was disappointed that all the VCS waves only allow one shot at a time You still get rapid fire on the second wave of little birds. But just like the arcade, only there, not on the other levels (if only...) I wanna know what's up with only getting 1 extra man??? A lot of Silver Label Atari games pull that crap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mos6507 Posted May 9, 2002 Share Posted May 9, 2002 I'm not very good at playing most videogames, but Phoenix is just too easy because I can play it endlessly. The only wave that has any challenge is the mothership wave. The game just doesn't ratchet up the difficulty well enough in the higher waves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquid_sky Posted May 9, 2002 Share Posted May 9, 2002 the arcade version's mothership round is killer. If only the 2600 had pleiads.. I rock at that game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
san-d-2000 Posted May 9, 2002 Share Posted May 9, 2002 I actually remember when it came out, Phoenix was one of my favourites in the arcade at that time, so it was a big disappointment. when I look at the game now, I also like it. and for cafeman quoteI was playing my recently (re-)purchased Phoenix last night too, and surprisingly, I found I liked it more than Demon Attack! Impossible, someone must have slipped something in your coffee. Demon attack rules! - Sandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris++ Posted May 9, 2002 Share Posted May 9, 2002 Yeah, Demon Attack might rock, but the superior appeal of Phoenix might be due to the fact that its waves offer different challenges as you progress, whereas the Imagic classic just keeps throwing aliens at you (except on the Intellivision). This is an unbelievably niggling question, but in the original arcade Phoenix, or any home version, has anyone ever noticed if you get double shots, instead of single, during each second wave of identical aliens? This happens on the C-64 version, allowing you to rapid-fire really quickly during every other wave; so I was disappointed that all the VCS waves only allow one shot at a time (like a faster-shooting Space Invaders cannon). Is the 2600 version more true to the original in this sense, or is it the Commodore version that's got it right? CF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Cafeman Posted May 9, 2002 Share Posted May 9, 2002 don't know about that question, but I also prefer Phoenix over Demon Attack for the very reason mentioned -- the different types of birds & spaceship of Phoenix breaks up the game better. Demon Attack is an excellent 2600 game, it just seems to get more repetitious after about 5 waves or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smf_4ever Posted May 9, 2002 Share Posted May 9, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Cafeman: the different types of birds & spaceship of Phoenix breaks up the game better. Demon Attack is an excellent 2600 game, it just seems to get more repetitious after about 5 waves or so. Can't say it any better.. so I will steal it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atari Master Posted May 9, 2002 Share Posted May 9, 2002 Ahh, Phoenix, my favorite game. I got it at a thrift for $3.00 and am very happy I forked over the cash. Great game! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAZ Posted May 9, 2002 Author Share Posted May 9, 2002 Demon Attack wins for sound effects, I love those. It really creates a "mood". Kinda reminds me of how Space Invaders for the 5200 makes you feel anxious as the sound gets louder and the aliens approach closer. And I always try to see if I can position my ship inbetween the lasers fired at me. Is this possible? Has anyone gotton their ship inbetween those parallel lasers some of the creatures fire? Phoenix wins because of the "birdwing" feature (they can be shot off), and of course the mother ship thing. And there's that shield thing that I haven't tried yet You press down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+johnnywc Posted May 9, 2002 Share Posted May 9, 2002 I always loved Pleiades too - the docking level was really cool... Hopefully whoever owns the ROM packages up the game for an official release... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris++ Posted May 9, 2002 Share Posted May 9, 2002 Yeah, I agree with NE146 -- it's kinda like comparing apples and oranges. They're both excellent games. Stan -- You DO get rapid fire? I'll have to play it again! I don't know what the hell I was thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanJr Posted May 9, 2002 Share Posted May 9, 2002 Yeah, you do, but ONLY on that second wave (little green and purple birds). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britboy Posted May 10, 2002 Share Posted May 10, 2002 My cat LOVES Phoenix! He actually sits in front of the set and meows/stares at me until I put it on. Then he bats at the screen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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