#0039 Miner 2049er

You know what I've noticed in doing these reviews? The most boring games to write about are the games that are not quite bad, just not very good. Which brings us to today’s game on 1K1VGYMPBYD. Today we look at Miner 2049er, a platformer developed for nearly every platform at the time by Big Five Studios in 1982.

Okay, so the story goes that a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police named Bounty Bob is on a mission to search through Nuclear Ned's abandoned uranium mines for the evil Yukon Yohan. Bob must claim each section of each mine by running over it, while avoiding strange radioactive creatures that have been left behind.

Okay, so in this game you have to inspect every section of each mine in search of Yukon Yohan while avoiding various radioactive creatures that inhabit the mine. As you walk over a section of flooring, it fills with color, marking it. To complete a level every section of flooring must be colored. There are ten mines total. Each level is timed as there's only a limited amount of oxygen or something I don't know. It's not clear.

And that's... About it. Really not much else to tell. Is it good? I suppose. It's okay for an early platformer. It's no Donkey Kong, but it's certainly playable, the jump physics are still stiff, as they are in other platformers of it's time, the timer is unforgiving, the mechanic of collecting mining memorabilia to kill the enemies is confusing, as is the whole “step on every surface” thing that's at the center. But overall it's fine. I can't recommend it or anything, but it's fairly harmless.

Here's the catch however, it was a HUGE success and a very popular game at the time. As A.N.A.L.O.G. Magazine put it, “[Miner 2049er is] one of those rare games which looks like as if it were designed, and not just thrown together”. Praising it's animation and large number of levels. In 1984, Softline Magazine's readers named the game the fourth most-popular Apple game.

What the heck? What about this game makes it so special? The graphics and by extension, animations are nothing to write home about, I saw far better animation last year. To me it does look like this game was thrown together in a matter of months by greedy game devs to capitalize on the success of games like Donkey Kong. And yet, there are all these critics who are praising it. Why is that?

Well I started to search a little deeper within me and I realized something. Compare this game to what has come before it. When you really think about it, nothing like this game has ever really been done before. Sure Donkey Kong was a platformer, but where that games was transcending platforms to rescue your girlfriend from an abused ape, this game you must walk over every section of the floor. Sure, they both have scaffolding to climb, and the first level is slightly reminiscent of the first level of Donkey Kong, but that's where the similarities end. Honestly, this is a very original game. And when you really stop and think about it, it really does deserve the praise that it did. It is unique, the controls are simple, the levels are varied and plentiful, heck there's 10 levels! That's like 2.5 times the amount in Donkey Kong. All unique, never stale.

So, now that I realize what a true gem this game was, there only remains one question. Why didn't I see this before? I mean, it's not like I'm jaded by new games, I have more respect for pre NES classics than most gamers I know. So why did this game, a unique and well designed jem fail to enthrall me at first?

I think the answer to that question lies in the platformer genre in general. Nearly all of the games that I've played on this list so far have been SHMUPS, which are a niche genre now, catering to bullet hell fans, RPGs, which I was never a huge fan of, maze games, which are all but extinct now, text adventures which is even more niche than SHMUPS these days, only being played by the most hardcore of fans. Really, nearly all game genres on this list are from genres I don't play, or have since gone extinct with the exception of one, Platformers. Platformers are probably one of the most common genres I still play today. Just this afternoon I picked up a controller and played a good thirty minutes of Super Meat Boy. And that's where the problem is. While other genres are easy to take by themselves because they're genres I don't play, platformers are things I do play. All the time. So if an early platformer doesn't have the advantage of being a nostalgic Nintendo title, I'm going to be more harsh on it and subconsciously judge it on the unfair standards of today. It's something that I'm going to have to learn to be more aware of as I continue to review games. This game was a real eye opener, and I hope many more do the same. After all, that's the very reason I took this challenge.

Next up: Moon Patrol

#0038 Dig Dug

Man I am on a roll here. Three games in one week? A new record. Well, today we're looking at Dig Dug. An extremely popular... Maze game? (Honestly, that's the closest I could come, the game defies genre) Developed by Namco in 1982.

In Dig Dug, you play as the most adorable little guy ever, who's actual name is actually somewhat of a controversy. See, officially, Namco has given him the name Dig Dug, but in other Namco games such as the Mr. Driller series, we find out that Taizo Hori, the father of Susumu Hori, the main character of Mr. Driller, was the main character in Dig Dug. Taizo/Dig Dug was also the ex-husband of Toby Masuyo, the main heroine of Baraduke, another game by Namco.

So Taizo Dug's job in Dig Dug is to dig in the dirt of what appears to be a garden, and kill the monsters that dwell there by inflating them with an air pump until they explode. A rather gruesome death if you ask me. Or by dropping a rock on their heads. There are two different kinds of creatures, Pookas, who are little tomato looking things with goggles, and Fygars, who are little green dragons that can breathe fire. When the last creature is left on the playing field it will try to escape off the screen, unless you can kill it before it escapes. You advance to the next level by clearing the screen of enemies.

The controls are beyond simple. Standard joystick moves you around, and a single button deploys the hose. Digging through the dirt so effortlessly is a very creative gameplay choice and is very addicting as it allows you to build your own maze and set up traps unlike other maze games like Pac-Man where your maze is predetermined. Being able to move practically anywhere on the screen is a lot of fun, and is honestly one of the best parts of the game.

The graphics in this game are nothing if not adorable. I love all the bright colors, the quirky music that only plays while you're moving for some reason, the animation on the characters, all of it contributes to this happy, carefree atmosphere. It's very obvious that Namco is trying to catch lightning in a bottle again after the popularity of Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man by appealing to the female/younger child demographic with it's cute imagery and lack of gun violence. And while it wasn't QUITE the hit that Pac-Man was, it was still a popular game for people of all ages and genders.

If I HAD to nitpick the game I might say that I could have used more variety in enemies. The two they have are fun and memorable characters, but there's only so much you can do with them before you just want something else, another twist thrown at you to mix things up a tad. But like I said, that's just a nitpick.

Overall, this game rocks. (Lol, get it? Rocks?) It's adorable, the playstyle is unique and refreshing, the character are memorable. Just overall a solid title that deserves it's reputation as one of the greatest games from the Golden Age. If you haven't played it, give it a shot, and see for yourself why everyone loves our charming little Dig Hori.

#0037 Robotron 2084

Finally, a really good game. Not to say that that The Hobbit and Choplifter! Weren't good, but they never really kept my attention like, say, Donkey Kong. But hooooo boy is this an awesome game. Okay, today we're looking at Robrtron: 2084, a SHMUP developed by Vid Kidz and released by Williams Electronics, the same people behind Stargate and Joust.

Set in 2084, in a post-apocalyptic future where robots have turned against humans in a cybernetic revolt ala Terminator 2. You play as some as a genetically modified superhuman aimed with the task of saving the last human family from death at the hands of rogue appliances.

Drawing inspiration from games like Berzerk and even novels like 1984, co designers Eugene Jarvis, and Larry DeMar came up with a two-joystick control scheme to provide more precise controls, the left joystick controls your character while the right control stick aims your gun in any of the eight directions. One of the first arcade games to do so. In this game, you must face wave after wave of rogue robots bent on killing you, while trying to rescue civilians in the process. Each of the game's enemies are surprisingly unique in that no two serve the same function. There's grunts that are the standard enemies that chase you, Hulks can't be killed but only go after human civilians, Enforcers are annoying, as they actually shoot back at you, and even multiply, and Brains brainwash the humans on the stage. Each wave contains more enemies and obstacles than the last, making the game one of the most difficult and frantic I've ever played.

OMG Robotron, where have you been all my life? Guys, this is unlike any other game that came before it. I know I say that a lot in the Golden Age of Arcade games, but wow, this is what it means to be an action game. Unlike other SHMUPs, this game has enemies coming at you from all directions, resulting in a frenzied panic that's unlike anything we've ever seen in a game before this. The advancement of technology is really showing because there is just so much going on in this game. The fact that dozens of enemies can be on screen at the same time was practically unheard of just a couple years ago. 

There is just so much about this game that I love. I love the panic it ensues by constantly forcing you into corners, I love the action that comes from having to constantly be on your toes, I love the conflict that you must choose between saving the humans and gaining more points, or saving yourself. The size of the screen really has a lot going for it as well as nearly the entire thing is taken up by game. The actual HUD is surprisingly small, only a tiny bit is dedicated to lives and points. 

The fact that I've never heard of this game baffles me. As it was a huge sucess when it came out, but when the grwat arcade classics are brought up, people always mention Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Galaga, Space Invaders, but nobody seems to mention Robotron, which is a shame because it's honestly become one of my favorite classic arcade games of all time.

Guys, I don't know how I never heard of this game before, but seriously, you have to play it. It seems that so many games even as far forward as Resident Evil 4 owe themselves to this style of swarming you with enemies from all directions. It kept me entertained for nearly an hour in one sitting, and let's just say that I’m glad MAME doesn't take quarters to run, otherwise I'd be out 50 bucks by now. Seriously, if you haven't yet, go check this out. You will not be disappointed.

Next up: Dig Dug

#0036 Choplifter!

So guys, finals are over and school is out for winter! You know what that means! That means I'm back with “1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die”.

For those who are new or don't remember, I'm going through the book “1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die” and playing each game in chronological order to build kind of a video game history with all the great games from those eras.

So, today on 1K1VGYMPBYD we're looking at Choplifter! An Apple II game developed by Dan Gorlin and published by Br0derbund in 1982. It was ported to several systems and in 1985 Sega rereleased a coin-op arcade remake,which in turn had several ports of it's own, making it one of the few games to start as a home computer game, and then be ported to arcade, and in 1983 Billboard Magazine named it Computer Game of the Year. That's a lot of praise for a humble computer game, but does it hold up? Eh, kinda.

Before I talk about the game itself, let me first mention how hard it was to find a way to play this game. Normally I play all my old computer games on an Apple II emulator, but for some reason the site I play said games on wasn't working, so I tried to find alternative means of playing the game including a Java version. Nothing worked. I ended up playing the 1985 remake by Sega, so yeah, going by that the graphics and sound were phenomenal compared to the 1982 version, and still the same overall concept.

In this game, you play as a rescue helicopter, your mission being to rescue civilian prisoners of war from an enemy base. You must rescue as many civilians as possible and return them to your home base without getting shot by enemy tanks, turrets or fighter jets yourself.

In 1982, Softline Magazine called Choplifter "what may well be the first Interactive Computer-Assisted Animated Movie. A fusion of arcade gaming, simulation, and filmic visual aesthetics, Choplifter is destined to occupy a place in the software Hall of Fame"

Wow, the first Interactive Computer Assisted Animated Movie? Filmic visual aesthetics? This game sounds amazing! With praise like that you'd expect it to have some amazing, maybe even 8bit graphics right? Well no, not really. The graphics really aren't all that much to write home about. I mean, they're okay, compared to other computer games at the time, considering many don't even have graphics at all. Overall though, they're not super impressive, I thought Ultima had better graphics honestly.

Well, maybe it has an amazing story that can move it's players with all the emotion it evokes, or keep them at the edge of their seats with the nonstop narrative tension? Again, no. The story is there, but the story can be summed up by “you're a helicopter that rescues hostages from a POW camp”. It gets a little better when you think about how much the hostages need you and how much they're relying on you getting them home to their families, but other than that, the game's narrative really isn't any deeper than Space Invaders. Even Missile Command, which had a similar simple story, had HUGE implications that told a moving, disturbing story about the futile nature of a nuclear holocaust. Choplifter, on the other hand, does not have those deep implications. What you see is what you get.

Okay, so let's take the hype out of this. Let's just look at the game at face value. The controls are a little tricky to get the hang of at first, there's a button that turns the helicopter, which is a little tedious, but it allows you to move backwards while firing, so I think that was actually a good idea. The concept is interesting and different from any of the other games I've played thus far, and that's always a plus. The difficulty is just right, after I finally got the controls down, I had little trouble getting the hostages to safety, and the difficulty with each subsequent hostage group got steadily more difficult, in just the right increments to keep me coming back.

Overall, not a bad game. Certainly not worth the hype it received, and probably not going to be game of the year for me, but a good game nonetheless. If you're interested in a helicopter simulator, and like escort games, then you might get a kick out of this. There's an HD remake for PSN, XBLA, and steam, but it doesn't look nearly as good as the original. I'd recommend hunting down the 1985 remake. You won't be disappointed.

Next up: Robotron 2084