Granny Vinnie Reviews

7800 Rank: Not Ranked Genre: (Action/ Adventure) Awards: First Atari 7800 Homebrew Game The Latest 7800 Game Looks a lot Like the First Video Game I Ever Played Pros: Chaotic Gameplay, Smooth Controls Cons: Devoid of Almost All Audio, Lack of Game Variations And a Little Bit Like an Acid Flashback

Overview: I held it in my hands, blinked once or twice and took it all in. I was holding in my hand the first original Atari 7800 game released since 1990. How appropriate the name, then, Combat 1990 really was. This wasn’t an incomplete prototype, an overblown 2600 game, or a non-released title. This was a homebrew. A labor of love. Combat 1990 is a sequel to probably the first video game you ever played: Combat for the Atari VCS. Programmer Harry Dodgson said he wanted to take a demo he made for an earlier project and add what he liked about Combat and Battlezone to it to create a new full fledged game. Trying not to get my hopes up, I popped the game into my Atari 7800 and began to play.

Graphics: This game certainly does not push any limits in the graphics department, but what it does do well is display several tanks, bullets and UFOs at once without any sort of blinking or frame rate issues. Simply put, this looks like the original Combat with a better than average color scheme, especially compared to most of the nauseating brown on beige stages in the first one. The explosions are kind of cool, and they remind me of the destruction of Scorched Earth. With the addition of a friend’s tank, there can be eight large tanks and a UFO on the screen at once wrecking havoc. The biggest graphical hiccup here is that the score is pretty hard to read. Regardless, I'm okay with the simple looks of this game.

Sound: Simplicity is normally a good thing in the audio department with most Prosystem games, but this one plays it way too safe. There is absolutely NO music or little ditties in Combat 1990, and barely any sound effects. It actually has less burps and bleeps than the first one. In fact, I think there are only two noises: KEEEEEEEE and KOOOOOOO. That’s it. This game is way too quiet… kind of like that kid in homeroom you always thought would build a bomb and use it one day.

Gameplay: If this game is one part Battlezone, it is ninety nine parts Combat. But, there are several enhancements here and there to spice things up. The biggest addition to the game is the interesting use of shields. Shields can be turned on, but every time you fire bullets, your defenses drop. They can be raised back up by simply pressing the left button, but their strength drops when moving and can be totally destroyed when hit by enemies. All is not lost, because random defeated enemies drop shield power ups. The ability to go in reverse is a huge help, because the army can bum rush you in a hurry. Luckily for you, enemy tanks and ships either have no intelligence, or they simply lack the ability to drive in a straight line (an army of women drivers?). Random movement doesn’t necessarily make them total pushovers, however. The enemy tanks’ bullets can curve towards you unexpectedly like baseball pitches from Phil Niekro, and this can throw you for a loop often at first because your tanks’ bullets fire in straight lines, although they have the ability to ricochet like billiard balls off barriers. The quick games are timed affairs, where you either endure the waves of tanks or you do not.

Originality: The 7800 version offers a much needed one player mode and a two player cooperative mode, but interestingly enough it doesn’t offer the friend verses friend evilness exhibited in the venerable original. Besides a few nice touches seen in other games, nothing in Combat 1990 is very revolutionary.

Value: While it offers a stiff challenge, I think Combat 1990 is missing enough gameplay variations to keep it from being a real jewel. I would have liked the ability to play where the protagonist’s bullets could be steered and the enemies bullets caromed. Player verses player, with allied computer-controlled tanks would have been awesome. It could have included a survival mode, where you played until your supply of tanks were destroyed. More backgrounds, big tanks, fast tanks, ice boards… there could have been a bunch of variations. The two player mode adds some life to the game if you have a 7800 addict handy.

Overall: All things considered, Combat 1990 is a fine game because of one aspect: Smooth gameplay. I never felt like controlling the tank was annoying or sluggish. I always felt like I was in control. The game is fast paced and chaotic, however it may not hold your attention for very long. More game variations and better audio would have pushed this homebrew over the top. As it stands, Harry Dodgson should be proud of his creation, especially considering how hard the system is to program for. Other aspiring Atari 7800 programmers now have a pretty high bench mark to measure their creations by, and Combat fans now have a new game to get their swerve on with.

*Considering I never really enjoyed the original Combat game, you may take my final score and bump it up by a half point

You can buy the cartridge for the 7800 at Video 61



Bonus Points:

***The instructions are very funny- definitely worth a read through.

***Video 61 offered numbered games, complete with buyer’s name on the box, cartridge, and laminated instructions for a limited time.

***Harry Dodgson programmed the first Atari 7800 homebrew, although it wasn’t really a game. Maybe you have heard of it… it’s called the Monitor Cartridge, fools.

***For Combat 1990 Gameplay footage, click here!



I would like to thank Harry Dodgsen and Lance at Video 61 for their hard work put into this enjoyable game

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