Granny Vinnie Reviews

7800 Rank: 14th Genre Rank: (Classic Arcade) 5th Awards: 3rd Best Graphics, 9th Best Sound, 2nd Best Interpretation Nice Title Screen...LOSER! Pros: Includes most of the features from the arcade/ Excellent 2-Player modes Cons: Flapping over and over may induce cramps The Fire Calls Out For Your Soul....MU-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Overview: Joust was a revolutionary game back in the day. Midway/ Williams took a chance and created a simple game and replaced the traditional "fire" button with a "flap" button. Did the "Flap" "Flop"? Nope! Gamers loved the new gameplay, and the game became a hit. In Joust, you take the role of a space age knight who rides a flying ostrich, longing to defeat waves of enemy knights by lancing them. This turns the rider into an egg. Yes, Joust is pretty whacky, but by the same token, it is a very frantic ride that you may or may not enjoy. But regardless of your opinion, the 7800's version of the flapping conquest is a great translation of the arcade classic.

Graphics: It doesn't take much to make a translation of Joust look good, because even the Atari 2600 version of the game looks decent. But sometimes the programmers for the 7800 screw things up, and thankfully they didn't do any of that mess here. The game is nearly flawless as far as presentation is concerned. The color schemes are tasteful and not tacky, the riders are detailed, the backgrounds are flawless, and level titles/ messages are easy to read. My only beef is the gaudy title screen...and that sucked in the arcade version as well.

Sounds: While void of thumping soundtracks and modern ear candy hoop-la, the blips, buzzes, blurps, and "sonic what-not" are done as well as possible on the 7800's POKEY-less technology.

Gameplay: There are two ways to look at this category. The first way, and the way that I will give the most weight to my score is this: How close does the game come to feel like Joust? My answer is very, very close. In fact, it is nearly flawless. The rider's ascent/ decent with each flap is perfect, the stages and enemies are dead-on, and the 7800 version even includes all of the arcade's different stages: Egg wave, where the riders begin as eggs, and you have to smash as many as possible before their ostriches come and they mount up. If you are slow on the up-take in this level, you can be in for a long night. There is survival wave, where you get a bonus for not losing a man in that level. There is the Pterodactyl wave, where the riders are accompanied by the evil, grumpy and nearly indestructible Pterodactyl. This game has the total package!

The second chunk of my score will come from this: How fun is mashing the fire button over and over and over again? My answer is not very. In fact, this game kinda irritates me. Hitting the button over and over to make this guy's lard butt ascend requires alot. I wish this guy would diet! Defeating a fellow jouster requires making contact with him from above. Therefore, getting to the top of the screen is vital. But beware, flying near the top of the screen at all times rarely seems to work...especially when it comes to bouncing off of the ceiling, which is hard to avoid. Maintaining a steady altitude is a difficult chore. I rarely enjoy games where I am not in control, and sadly, this is a game where gravity is in control.

Interpretation: This game is a dead ringer to its arcade daddy. The ability to play this game on a 2600 joystick will probably make the game easier to control and makes the experience feel more like the arcade, since the side buttons on an Atari 7800 Proline controller aren't suited well for this game. Excellent job by Atari on this one.

Value: Again, value will vary with each user. Many people are fond of this game, and that is understandable. The game is unique and well done, but people who prefer not mashing buttons over and over again will probably shy away. There are four difficulty levels for the people to choose from. Atari buddies will be happy to know that a two player mode is included, where you not only do you have to worry about the buzzard bullies, but your human pal as well.

Overall: Joust is another in a long line of excellent arcade ports for the Atari 7800. The flapping madness may or may not entice you to play over and over, but no one can say that this game is not a great translation of an arcade classic.



Other Reviews:
Video Game Critic: A
Tomorrow’s Heroes: 88%
Atari Times: 8 out of 10
CV's Atari 7800 Panoramic Froo-Froo: 4.0 out of 5.0 (Very Good)



Additional Info: I would like to take this time to thank Mitch Orman, owner of The Atari 7800 Page for allowing the use of his screenshots for this review.

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