Granny Vinnie Reviews

7800 Rank: 41st Genre Rank: (Classic Arcade) 11th Awards: 5th Worst Graphics, 8th Worst Sound, 6th Worst Interpretation Look! Space Rocks Pros: If you like shooting rocks, here ya go Cons: Gotta miss the vector graphics Yawn...More Space Rocks

Overview: Ah yes, the venerable vector game which helped create a legend that would be Atari. While most people seem to think it was the game Space Invaders on the VCS that really helped Atari take off in the home market, however for the people and myself that I knew, it was something else. Just as mindless and yet incredibly addictive. The object? To blow away as many rocks as came hurdling your way and then take out the smaller bits and pieces until nothing remained. To add a little more target practice, UFOs and Satellites were tossed into the maelstrom of rocks for fun also. What else could this be but none other than Asteroids! Yes Atari had big plans to port this one to just about everything they made console wise. However, it was only release on the 2600 and 7800 officially. Today we look at the 7800 version and decide is it worthy of the Asteroids name?

Graphics: When Atari decided to make Asteroids for the 7800 they wanted it to be more than just a clone of the arcade. So instead they thought it would be better to improve upon one they had already ported. Yes, the version of Asteroids for the 7800 is nothing more than a graphically enhanced version of that found on the 2600. In other words no vectors are used or even simulated. Instead, Atari decided to do something a little different. They added some depth to the little rocks and gave them a psuedo 3D look instead. Just like the 2600 version all the Asteroids are different bright colors because all rocks in space are purple, red, blue, green, and that lovely white. However, it must be noted that all the Asteroids in this version are much smaller than they were in the arcade or on the 2600. To me that loses some of the intensity of it being Asteroids. Also little to no detail was added to your ship. You are basically still just a triangle in space, I mean I know they could have done better here right? If they were going to change the rocks, then they should have changed the player's ship as well. They did add more color and small amounts of detail to the UFO and Satellite though which doesn't make much sense given the statements above regarding our ship. Otherwise that is about it. Graphically there isn't anything there that shouldn't be. Just you, the rocks, UFOs, Satellites, and your wits.

Sound: Okay I know the 7800 doesn't have great sound and all…but what the heck is this? As I stated above Atari basically redid the 2600 version of Asteroids and then released it to the 7800. This is even more obvious in the audio department! I can't express enough my disappointment in hearing what sounds almost like the exact same sounds used in the 2600 version!!! Yeap, that's right. The laser fire sounds basically the exact same, the rocks explode sounding the same. The only difference I can tell is that the UFOs and Satellites sound different and occasionally there is some weird space sound/tune something that goes off in the background. You know the sound, it sounds just like the beeps the Microsoft "Space" theme screen saver makes. Basically that is what it sounds like but coming through a 7800 instead. I really can't believe this was hosed up so. They really could have improved upon the laser blast fire and the explosion of the rocks. Atari should have never included the space beeps noises in the background either. They could have at least made the thruster sound different. But nope, same old sounds. Only thing that sounds okay is the Jaws like theme being played in the background as well.

Gameplay: Hmm, not much to say here. If you have played the 2600 version then you have already played the 7800 version as well. Nothing has really changed, you fly around, shoot the rocks, which break up into smaller rocks, shoot those, blast the UFOs who show up from time to time, take out a Satellite should one show up. That is about it. I must also state something else that I find disturbing about this version. It could just be me, but I find that even the standard difficulty level begins insanely fast! This version really seems to kick into warp speed rocks from the start. The controls also mimic that of the 2600 version. Left/Right rotate clockwise/counterclockwise. Up are thrusters and down will hyperspace. But unlike the 2600 version or Arcade where the computer would place you in a safe zone, that doesn't happen here. I have actually had the crazy hyperspace place me right on a UFO or Asteroid before?! Hence instant death, defeating the whole reason why I used my hyperspace in the first place. It would have been much better to make this more like Asteroids Deluxe and have the shield but Atari didn't choose this path. That is why the game on the 7800 is called Deluxe Asteroids and not Asteroids Deluxe because they knew there would be complaints further down the line. All is not completely lost as Atari did do one very cool thing in this game. They added true multiplayer ability to the game! Yes! Now you and a buddy can play at once in either competitive mode or cooperative mode! Cooperative is the most fun since both you and your partner are on screen at once taking it to the rocks and UFOs!

Interpretation: Well, I suppose it is Asteroids. However, the changes present may make it more pleasing to the eye, but it still just doesn't feel like Asteroids to me. This version feels and plays more like a clone that you might see done for the PC or some other platform by other software houses or as homebrew projects by up and coming talented programmers. It only resembles Asteroids in that you are a ship who shoots rocks into smaller pieces until none remain. Otherwise it feels very different to me.

Value: With the insane speed of the game and the inclusion of the two player modes, this game could have some longevity in your library of playable games. However, other than frequency of the UFOs and Satellites and the increase in speed of the rocks themselves, nothing changes in this game. It does become monotonous very quickly after about five or so rounds.

Overall: I really wish I could find more positive things to say about this game. I suppose the graphic enhancements to the rocks themselves look nice and convincing, but the lack of detail in the player ship really bothers me. Atari seems to have been more interested in simply redoing their 2600 version as they may have wanted it for the 2600 in the first place rather than actually porting the real feel of the game to the 7800. Although the 7800 couldn't do vector like graphics, I don't see why they couldn't have added some simulated effect of the same. Sure it wouldn't have looked as spruced up but it sure might have felt more like Asteroids. I know the 7800 sound is poor, but other games have been done on the same hardware that sounded much more like their arcade counterparts (Ms. Pac-Man, Dig-Dug, etc…). The 7800 is known for excellent arcade conversions. But alas this one has failed in the attempt.


Other Reviews:
The Atari Times: 10 out of 10
Video Game Critic: A
Atari Invader: 4 1/2 Fujis
Tomorrow's Heroes: B+
CV's Panoramic Froo-Froo: 2.5 out of 5 (Weak)
JoseQ's Emuviews: 5.0 out of 10



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