Granny Vinnie Reviews

7800 Rank: 33rd Genre Rank: (Action/ Adventure) 12th Awards: Best Value, 2nd Best Gameplay, Worst Sound All This and Sperm Shaped Enemies, Too Pros: Cool Level Bosses/ Incredible Challenge/ Unique Power-Ups Cons: Terrible Sound/ Bland Graphics An Odd Looking, Albeit Formidable Opponent

Overview: In the 80's video game universe, 2D flying games were just a part of life. From River Raid to 1943 to Xevious to Raiden, chances are you played a game where you take a plane or ship and you wasted as much of the opposition as you could. Well, if you have played those, then you know basically what to expect from Planet Smashers. Atari said this game was the prequel to Alien Brigade, even though they were released near the same time and they are nothing alike. Basically, in this game you try to prevent an alien invasion and in Alien Brigade you attempt to neutralize one. So, even before you plug in and play, you know you have lost. Therefore, Atari did one thing right in their story telling. This game is tough to beat and doom is practically unavoidable.

Graphics: Nothing special here. You are in outer space, so you are flying your space ship in the midst of the flattest space you will ever see. You ship is a homely vessel, and the alien ships you attack will win no Best In Show awards either. Honestly, if it wasn't for the opening screen, the alien bosses, and the menu, this game could be confused for a 2600 game at first glance.

Sound: Audio is absolutely atrocious. The silly thing about this is that the back of the box brings attention to the fact that this game has amazing sound effects. In the nicest way I can put it, this is laughable. I can't remember anything about the audio besides the fact that your ship's laser cannons sound like you are spitting watermelon seeds at the enemy. This game requires tons of fire power, and sadly for the Atari fan the laser cannons are the most annoying thing I have ever heard...doo-doo-doo....Doo-Doo-Doo...DOO-DOO-DOO!!! DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO!!!! One word of advice, turn down the TV and turn up some classical music while playing this bad boy.

Gameplay: Gameplay is simple and good, although it would be nice if your ship had more agility. You are not only piloting a battle ship of doom, you are piloting an intergalactic goalie! Every meteor and alien that makes it past your ship will cause the "Earth Shield" to deplete. When the shield expires your reserve ships are totally gone and you are stuck with the one you got! Time to put in Alien Brigade! Your enemies are plentiful, and stopping everything is virtually impossible. There are 7 stages to the game, and at the end of each level is a boss ship and an asteroid field. Instead of trekking all the way though the level, you can avoid conflict by warping to the alien boss. This is accomplished by shooting special boxes that change color when hit. When you collect three boxes with the correct colors in the correct sequence, you will warp to the level's bad mamma-jamma. Along the way, your ship can pick up power-ups, such as cloaking, shield repair, extra ships, and weapon upgrades. Your weapons can get pretty Tim "the Tool Man" Taylorish...bigger, faster, and more powerful. But instead of your firepower sounding like the voice of God, the wimpy doo-doo-doo sound effect remains. Jeez!

Originality: What keeps this game from being a total bomb is also what makes the game unique. Namely, the Earth Shield, the Warp Codes, and the Alien bosses. If it wasn't for these features, the game would rival Pong in modern day playability.

Value: Whatever you lay down for this one, you will get your money's worth if you like the game. It's a booger to beat. The game is not too difficult when you have collected all of the cloaking and weapon upgrades you can...that is, until you lose a ship for the first time. When you lose a ship, you lose all cloaking and your weapons are set back two levels. Because the difficulty of the game progresses rapidly, a ship with no cloaking and a lame weapon is like flying the Space Shuttle into the Death Star...forget about it!

Overall: Planet Smashers would be a good gift to those who think they are good at everything. Playing this game would bring them back down to the rest of us. It is amazingly hard. I feel like playing this game is like getting beaten up by the nerdy kid at school. You are totally shocked, but yet there is nothing you can do about it! About the only thing enjoyable about Planet Smashers is the challenge that it presents and the few unique oddities that makes it slightly different from other 2-D shooters. After 10 years, I finally beat this game. At the end is an advertisement for Alien Brigade! Long live Capitalism!



Other Reviews:
The Atari Times: 9 out of 10
CV's Atari 7800 Panoramic Froo-Froo: 3.0 out of 5.0 (Fair)
Videogame Critic: D+
Atari Gaming Headquarters: 4 out of 10



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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