ATARI
2600: This game could just as easily have been another space
shoot-em-up. The inspiration for this game, however, is the legendary lost
city of Atlantis. This is another
"defend-the-city-against-aliens" game in the classic Missile
Command mold. In this case, there is no bombsight, but you get to fire
from 3 fixed land positions (left, right & center). There are seven
sections within the underwater city which must be protected in order to
survive. There are various types of spaceships that scroll across the
screen in both directions. Shoot the fastest and you kill the rest. If the
center cannon is knocked out, the rest of the city is vulnerable. There
are four descending lanes each ship takes. If a ship makes it to the
bottom, it zips across the screen firing a death ray. There are three
different 1-player variations and a 2-player co-op one. The only tip I can
offer is stick with one gun at a time. There is really no time to switch
back and forth. There is a tie-in in the story line with Cosmic Ark.
Both have similar endings, a flying saucer (escape pod?) flying across the
screen. The 2600 edition is my personal favorite and it also seems to be
the most colorful one.
There
is a clone called Ocean City which has changed graphics. The
spaceships and the various city elements are totally different, but the
game play is the same. Another interesting clone has surfaced on PAL
multi-carts. Since I don’t know the name, I call it Atlantis III:
Birds & Bats. If anybody knows the actual name, let me know. The
spaceships have been replaced by birds which flap their wings, and bats
which just soar across the screen. The city has been replaced by various
people and things. This clone has no visible water level. It has been
eliminated. The game play may have been tweaked a bit, it’s hard to
tell.
ODYSSEY2: The O2 version has the most primitive graphics and what looks like a 1-player only mode. There are 4 levels to choose from easy to expert. There are only two gun emplacements. Come to think about it, you really don’t gain much with the central cannon. You lose a lot waiting for the ships to cross your firing range. You can take out more with the left/right cannon’s diagonal fire. The spaceships are the largest of any system, but overall the graphics are considerably lacking. There are only 6 segments to defend now and there is no flying saucer ending. This was obviously a quickie conversion.
INTELLIVISION:
This system has all the bells and whistles. The graphics are the most
detailed even though they are on the blocky side. There are 15 sections of
the city that must be defended, 3 skill levels and 1 or 2 player versions.
The spaceships now have more freedom and can move up and down or stop and
start. Now, time-of-day is a factor. Each round is a day consisting of
daylight, dusk and night screens. The night is the most difficult due to
restricted vision. You can only see the ships when they cross the
wandering searchlight beams. This version is also the most flexible since
a gun sight has been provided. The central command post contains a drone
which can be launched once per round. The drone has the ability to fire
left and right, so it is very useful to nail ships that you keep missing.
The side cannons work as usual and the flying saucer ending is back.
